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THE EPISTLES OF ST JOHN. 
 
*- 
 
BROOKE FOSS WESTCOTT, D.D., D.C.L., 
 
 BISHOP OF DnKHAM, 
 HOXORART FELLOW OF TRINITY AND KING'S COLLEGES, CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 THIRD EDITION. 
 
 GDambrtlrge anir Honbon : 
 
 MACMILLAN AND CO. 
 
 1892 
 
-6. c/./fl 
 
 
 KAi TO TTN€YM<i ka'i h NfiwcfiH AeroYciN "Ep^oy. 
 
 Ka'i 6 AKOyOON eilTATCO "EpxoY. 
 
 ka'i 6 AiyajN epxecOco, 
 
 d GeAooN AaBgtoo fAcop zmhc AcopeAN. 
 
 Apoc. xxii. 17. 
 
 FiVi* JEdition printed 1883, Sccojwi 1885, T/iii-rf 1892. 
 
TN 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 variatioa 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 
 
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 ^vill 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 
 
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. We 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 
 
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 th'e'Tast 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 
 a 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. 
 
 Tliat which we have seen and Iteard declare we unto you also, 
 that ye also may have fellowship with us: yea, and our fellowship 
 is with the FatJier and with His Son Jesus Christ. 
 
 Though I am quite unable to acknowledge or even to dis- 
 tinguish in detail my obligatioirs to earlier writere 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- 
 
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 John. 
 
 Gambbisse, 
 
 June 22, 1883. 
 
 W. J. 
 
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 controversj' 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 Commentaiy. 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 %vithout 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 
 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. 
 
 I 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. F. W. 
 
 Cambeidge, 
 
 Oct. 10, 1885. 
 
 NOTICE TO THE THIRD EDITION. 
 
 Some corrections have been made in the third edition, 
 chiefly in references, for which I have to thank my very old 
 friend Dr C. J. Beard of Shepherd's Bush, and a young friend 
 the Rev. H. A. M. Brooksbank, of Adelaide, who have spared no 
 pains to remove the errors which remained in the last edition. 
 
 B. F. D. 
 
 AnoKLAND Castle, 
 March 4, 1892. 
 
 h2 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EPISTLE. paqb 
 
 Text xvii 
 
 Title xxviii 
 
 Farm xxix 
 
 Authorship, Date, Place of writing xxx 
 
 Destination xxxii 
 
 Character ixxiii 
 
 Object xxxviii 
 
 Style aiid Language xxxix 
 
 The Epistles and the Gospd xliii 
 
 Plan xlvi 
 
 INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND AND THIRD EPISTLES. 
 
 Text li 
 
 Authorship liii 
 
 Character Ivi 
 
 FIRST EPISTLE: TEXT AND NOTES. 
 
 Chap, i 3 
 
 The Fatherhood of God 27 
 
 The idea of Christ's Blood in the New Testament 34 
 
 The idea of Sin in St John 37 
 
 Chap, ii 41 
 
 The use of the word tKairiios 85 
 
 The state of man 87 
 
 7%e powers of evil 89 
 
 St John's teaching on creation 90 
 
 Antichrist 92 
 
 On the reading of ii. 20 93 
 
xiv Contents. 
 
 I'AGli 
 
 Chap, iii 95 
 
 Children of Ood 122 
 
 Aspects of the Incarnation 124 
 
 Titles of believers 128 
 
 On the idea of love 130 
 
 The nature of inaii 134 
 
 The Names of the Lord 136 
 
 Chap. iv. 139 
 
 On the reading of iv. 3 163 
 
 The revelation of God 166 
 
 The use of tlia term iiovoyemjs 169 
 
 The use of ^fos- and 6 deos 172 
 
 Divine Fellovjship 174 
 
 Chap, v 176 
 
 The use of the term 'the Christ' 198 
 
 References to the facts of the Gospel 200 
 
 On the readings in v. 6 f. 201 
 
 On the readings in v. 7 f. 202 
 
 Sin unto death 209 
 
 The idea of Life 214 
 
 'The true God' 218 
 
 SECOND EPISTLE: TEXT AND NOTES 223 
 
 THIRD EPISTLE: TEXT AND NOTES 235 
 
 Tlie Divine Naine 243 
 
 I. THE TWO EMPIRES: THE CHURCH AND THE 
 
 WORLD 249 
 
 II. THE GOSPEL OF CREATION 285 
 
 III. THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART 331 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 TO THE FIRST EPISTLE. 
 
I. TEXT. 
 
 The text of the Epistle is contained in the following authorities : Authori- 
 ties in 
 
 1. Greek MSS. which the 
 
 . Epistle is 
 
 (a) Primary uncials : contained. 
 
 K, Cod. Sin, saec. iv. 
 
 A, Cod. Alex. ssec. v. 
 
 B, Cod. Vatic, ssec. iv. 
 
 C, Cod. Ephr. ssec. v. from i. i — iv. 2 Ik toC Otov. 
 
 Secondary uncials : 
 
 K, Cod. Mosq. ssec. ix. 
 L, Cod. AngeL ssec. ix. 
 P, Cod. Porphyr. ssec. ix. 
 {P) Cursives. More than two hundred in number, including 
 13 (Cod. Colbert, ssec. xi. = 33 Gosp.), and 31 (Cod. 
 Leicestr. ssec. xiv. = 69 Gosp.). 
 D, Codex Bezoe, ssec. 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 
 II 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, vii.), 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. i — v. 12). 
 Many other fragments are preserved in quota- 
 tions. 
 Vulgate Latin (V. lat. vg and vg). 
 (j8) Syriac. 
 
 Peshito (syr. vg). 
 Han-chan (syr. hi), 
 (y) Egyptian. 
 
 Memphitic (Coptic) (me). 
 Thebaic (Sahidic) (the). 
 To these may be added the Armenian and the Ethiopia'. 
 Character The text does not present many difficult problems (ii. 20 ; iv. 3 ; 
 
 ° ^ ®^ ■ V. 10). 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 
 
 Stephens **^* °^ Stephens (1550) which I have adopted generally in accord- 
 's 5°- ance with the clear balance of the most ancient authority. The 
 reader will be able to judge of their importance, 
 i. 3 add KoX' vfuv, also to you (nABC). 
 
 4 yp. -ijjLcets, write we (XA*B), for yp. v/uv, we write to you. 
 
 V X- W™''. our joy (SB), for lij x- vfuSv (AC), your joy (doubtful). 
 
 5 lo-Tiv avTi/ (kBC), for aunj coriV (A). 
 
 ayycXta, message (sAB), for eTrayyeXta (C), promise. 
 
 • I 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 persede the study of a full apparatus 
 
 ancient versions, but this limited sum- critictis. 
 
TEXT. 3 
 
 cyvK iOTiv iv avTio (B), for €v auT(3 ovk larriv (XAC). 
 7 'Iijo-oD, Jesus (nBC), omit Xptorov, Christ. 
 ii. 4 add on' lyi'<i)Ka (NAB). 
 
 6 om. ouTcos ' irepiir. (AB) to walk, for so to walk. 
 
 7 dyawifToi, Beloved (SABC), for ahiK<j)oi, Brethren. 
 
 om. aTr' apx^s (2°) (NABC), ye heard, for ye heard from the 
 beginning. 
 14 iypaij/a, I wrote (KABC), for ypa.<j)(i>, I write. 
 
 18 om. o' avruxpurroi; (N*BC). 
 
 1 9 If r/fuSv rj(Tav (BC), for rjcrav i^ rjiiiov. 
 
 20 oi8aT£ iravTes (B), ye all know, for koL olSare -iravTO., atid ye 
 
 know all things (doubtful). 
 
 23 add d 6/i,o\oywv tov vlov koI tov Traripa Ip^et (XABC), he that 
 
 confesseth the Son hath the Father also. 
 
 24 om. ovv (nABC), therefore. 
 
 27 /xevet iv v/uv (N(A)BC), for ev v/juv p-ivn. 
 
 TO avTov )(puTfjia ((X)BC), his unction, for to avro xp. the same 
 
 unction. 
 jacVcTe ((S)ABC), aMde, for /ttvetTf, j/e shall abide. 
 
 28 eaj' (XABC), if he shall, for oTav, loAew he shall. 
 crxfu/ief (S°ABO), for cxtuyw.ei'. 
 
 iii I add /cal ia-fiev (SABC), one? such we tn-e. 
 2 om. Sc (nABC), but. 
 5 om. i7/to)v (AB), sins, for our sins. 
 
 13 om. fwv (XABC), brethren, for my brethren. 
 
 14 om. TOV a8eX.<fi6v (sAB), he that loveth not, for he that loveth 
 
 not his brother. 
 16 6tlv<u (nABC) for TddevoL. 
 
 18 om. p-ov (nABC), little children, for my little children, 
 add Tg' y\uicr<rQ (ABC), 
 add h' ipym (nABC). 
 10 CI/ TOUTw yvuKTOfieOa (om. Koi AB, yvo>cr6p.i0a XABC), in this 
 we shall perceive, for and in this we perceive. 
 Ttjv KapSiav (A*B), our heart, for Tas k. our liearts. 
 
TEXT. 
 
 21 om. T^/iiSv (twice) (i. AB, 2. BC). 
 
 22 ott' avTov (KABO) for Trap avTov. 
 
 iv. 3 om. KpuTTov «v trapKi. (XtjXvdora (AB), Christ come injlesh. 
 10 ■qyaTnqKap.tv (B), have loved, for Tjyamja-afiev, loved (doubtful). 
 
 1 2 ef ij/iiv toTiV (KB) for effTiv tv iz/iiv. 
 
 15 add XpiCTTos (B), Christ (doubtful). 
 
 16 add fUvti (SB), God abidelh (doubtful). 
 
 19 om. avTov (AB), we love, for we love him. 
 
 20 oi3 (^?B) for irols, cawjiot love, for how can he love? 
 v. I om. Kai (B), a&o. 
 
 2 7roi(3/i£v (B), do, for -n^piaiixv, observe. 
 
 5 Tts f o-Tii' Se (B), 6m< who is ? for who is ? (doubtful). 
 
 6 om. d (sAB), Jesus Christ, for Jesus the Christ, 
 add fv' T<a alfi, and in the blood, for and the blood. 
 
 6, 7 om. iv tS owpavu...«v rg y^ (sAB), m heaven, the Father, the 
 Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three wre one. And 
 there are three that hear vntness in earth. 
 
 9 oTt (nAB), that, for tjv, which. 
 
 10 auTto or avT<3 for eovruJ. 
 
 * t * ,^. - 
 
 no flcos -i^fjiZv (B), for ij/iiv d ^eds. 
 
 13 ri'a...aZuji'u>v, TOts 7rt<rT...5eoS (N*B) for rots ■7n(TT...6eov, Iva 
 
 ...a'uaviov, that ye may hnow 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...Ufe. 
 om. Ktti' Iva. -TTUTT. £ts TO ov. Tov vlov ToS 6eov (t?AB), and that 
 ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. 
 150 lav for o av. 
 
 air avTov (SB) for irap aurov, 
 18 TTipil avTov (A*B), keepeth him, for njptt kavrav, keepeth 
 himself. 
 
 20 yi.vmrKop.ev (SAB) for yivtMrKtajLar. 
 om. j; (KAB). 
 
 21 kavTo. (N*B) for kavrai<s. 
 om. 'kp.-qv (nAB). 
 
TEXT. xxi 
 
 To these may be added a few variations which are more or less 
 probable : 
 ii. 2 /jiovtov (B) for fiovov. 
 
 lo ovK Idriv (V auTu (order) (SAC). 
 
 25 vfuv (B) for -^fjuv. 
 
 29 add KoX Tra-s (XAC). 
 iii. 7 iraiSia (AC) tckvio. 
 
 23 irumvia/jLO' (XAG) for iruTTeaa-ioiJ.a'. 
 iv. 2 tXiyXu^crai (B) for (XrjKvdoTa. 
 
 3 Xuei for ^i; o/x,o\oy«. 
 V. 6 /xovoj (B) for fiovov. 
 
 In V. 10 it may be questioned whether d ftrj Tna-Tevoiv should not 
 stand absolutely, tw deS and t<o vim 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 most an- 
 Greek MSS. for the reading adopted. The mass of later Greek "^^^ ^^ ' 
 MSS. give in most cases the reading which is rejected, but not 
 unfrequently they are fairly divided between the rival readings 
 {e.g. ii. 4, 7, 13, 23, 24; iii. i, 13, 16, <fec.). 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. 10, 15 ; v. 5). 
 
 But not to enter now into the details of evidence it will be 
 obvious upon a 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 {e.g. i. 7 ; ii. 7, 
 19, 27; iii. I, 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 
 alsoi. 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 tov 
 
 6eov Koi irarpos; comp. 3 John 12 viro avrq^ r^s £KK\i;crias Kat ttj<; 
 
 aXr)QiUvi) ; of omissions by Jwmaeoteleuton (ii. 27 f. ; iv. 6, 21 ; v. 2 f . ; 
 
 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). 
 
 The text of The text of B is, as elsewhere, of paramount excellence. It 
 
 Cod. Vat. . 
 
 B. appears to be in error m very few cases : 
 
 i. 2+0 ioipaKa/Jiev. 
 
 ii. 14 TO air' dpxV''- 
 25 vfuv, comp. iii. i. 
 27 y^apLa-ixa. 
 
 iii. 21 £x^i. 
 
 Some of the readings which it gives are more or less doubtful : 
 
 ii. 2 [Loviav. Comp. V. 6. 
 
 14 Om. TOV 6iOV. 
 
 24 om. kv before tm ■jrarpl. 
 
 27 aAAa for aXX <ds. 
 
 29 om. Kttt. 
 
 iii. 15 iavTov for auroS. 
 
 23 7r«rT£u<T<i>/x,ev. 
 
 iv. 2 iXriXvOevai. 
 
 10 jJyairijKajLiev. 
 
 15 add XpicTTos. 
 v. 5 Tl^ icTTLV 8i. 
 
 6 fwva. 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 ovK ecTTiv iv avTM B 1 3 3 1 syr. vg me the. 
 ii. 6 om. ovTus AB syr. vg latt the. 
 20 om. (cat (2°) B the. 
 TravTcs nB the. 
 
TEXT. xxiii 
 
 iiL 5 om. ij/awv AB 13 lat. vg syr. hi nie. 
 19 om. xat (1°) AB lat. vg syr. hi me. 
 
 TTjv KapSiW A*B syr. vg the. 
 21 om. rjfii.<Sv (1°) AB 13. 
 om. ■jjju.wi' (2°) BC. 
 iv. 3 om. Xp. £1/ cr. tX. AB lat.vg me. 
 
 12 ev rjfuv ioTTLV NB. 
 
 19 om. avTov AB (the). 
 
 20 ov Svvarai XB syr. hi the. 
 
 V. I om. Kat (2°) B 13 (lat.vg) the. 
 2 TTOKo/iev B lat. vg syr me the. 
 18 avTov A*B. 
 (iv. 21 is not a case in point.) 
 
 The text of N contains many errors, some of which remain un- The text of 
 
 Cod. Sitt. 
 corrected, and not a few peculiar false readings : N. 
 
 i. 30 o.KrjK. KoX iuyp. Koi dirayyeW, 
 
 5 T] ctTrayyeXias corrected to 17 dyaTrr] Tij<; e7rayyeA.ta5. 
 ii. 3 <j>vX.a^o)iJi,ev (i" m.). 
 
 4 om. iv TovToj. 
 ■q aX. Tov Oiov. 
 
 8 aX. Ktti Iv. 
 
 9 [U(T<Sv, XJ/eVOTTIJi icTTLV KoX iv T. CTK. 
 
 13 TO TTOVTjpOV. Comp. V. 8 TOV (xX. ; V. I. 
 24 aKrjKoare (twice). 
 
 €v T<a TT. Koi ev ™ vl<o. 
 
 26 ravra 8c. 
 
 27 wreti/ia (l^ m.). 
 aXrj^iJs. 
 
 28 om. Koi vvv...avT<S. 
 
 ev ry trap. av. dtr avTOU 
 
 iii. 5 otSafjiev. 
 
 ovK e. ev avTto. 
 
 14 /xcra/SeySi/Kev. 
 
xxiv TEXT. 
 
 2 1 aScXi^oi, 
 2 2 aiTiiixfOa. 
 
 iv. 2 yiVIMTKOIXiV. 
 
 3 o/i. 'Iijo-oBi' KvpLov. Comp. I Cor. xii. 3. 
 
 OTl axijK. OTt. 
 
 8 om. d /A^ ay....6£oV (l" m.) : om. tov 6. (K°). 
 
 9 tfafxev. 
 
 1 7 ^e6' »;/i.<i)V cf jj/iiv. 
 T^ dyairg Ttj's Kp. 
 iarofieda. 
 20 om. OTt. 
 V. I TO yeyevvrj/jLtvov. Comp. v. 20; ii. 13. 
 7 01 Tpfls. 
 9 njv j«,apT. TOV 6 tov (i^ m.). 
 
 10 ouK fTTiaTeVKev. 
 ijxapTvprjKev. 
 
 20 TO a\r/6tvo'v (i* m.). 
 
 In several cases it has false readings in common with A and 
 with C respectively : 
 SA. 
 
 iii. 2 1 add ij/acSv after KaTayivoxxKr]. 
 V. 6 add Kol Tn'evijU.ttTos after at/xaro;. 
 SC. 
 
 i. 9 add ij/i.(3v after d/xapTia^ (2°). 
 ii. 6 add owtws. 
 iii. 5 add i7/i.<3v after a/xapTias. 
 
 1 1 eirayyeXia. 
 13 add Kai. 
 19 add Kai. 
 
 2 1 add j;/i<ur after KapSia. 
 
 The text of The text of A, which represents a far more ancient type in this 
 A_ ' " Epistle than in the Gospels, contains many peculiar readings, in 
 which it has often the support of the Vulgate : 
 
TEXT. 
 
 1. 6 idv + yap. 
 
 7 /J-er avTov (some lat). 
 
 ii. 2 fcTT. ik. lat. vg. 
 
 8 (TKia. 
 
 iv ai-T. d\. 
 27 om. Kat before KaOw. 
 
 iii. 20 om. oTt 2° lat. vgme the. 
 23 T(u dv. avTov' I. X. 
 
 iv. 6 hr TovTia lat. vg me the. 
 
 7 add Toi/ fleoj'. 
 
 8 OV yivdiUKCt, 
 
 10 tKcTvos for avTO). 
 
 15 o/jioXoyrj. 
 
 1 6 ■7rtcrT£vo/;t£v (lat. vg) me. 
 
 1 9 add ovi/ lat. vg. 
 
 d ^td; for ovrds lat. vg. 
 2 1 ttTTo Tou deov lat. vg. 
 
 V. 6 TTvev/J-aTi for at/xaTL. 
 
 10 add Toi) 6eoi5 lat. vg me. 
 Tu v«p lat. vg. 
 
 oilK iT7L<TTiVCriV. 
 
 1 1 auTij €<7ri>' j; ^. 
 14 ovofjLa for 6i\ri/j.a. 
 
 16 /X5y a/xapr. a/t. /^tJ Trp. 6. 
 
 20 dX.rj6iv6v Oeov lat.vg me. 
 om. 'Iiytroi; Xpicn-<3 lat. vg. 
 
 The peculiar readings of C have no appearance of genuineness: The text of 
 
 , , . „ , . - Cod. Eph. 
 
 1. 4 add in fin. tv rj/xiv. C. 
 
 9 om. 7//tas. 
 ii. 21 om. jrai'. 
 
 iii. 20 Kvpioi (for ^«ds). 
 iv. 2 XptCTTOi' 'Itjo-ouv. 
 
 W. J. C 
 
XXVI TEXT. 
 
 In several places it gives a correction which was adopted widely: 
 i. 3 cm. Si. 
 
 5 eTray-yeXto. 
 ii. 4 om. oTL. 
 iii. 14 add toV aSeXc/joV. 
 The Latin The Vulgate Latin Version is for the most part very close to 
 the early Greek text. It represents however in some cases readings 
 which are not now noted from Greek MSS. : 
 ii. I seel et si : koX idv Se (Did). 
 
 12 reniittwntur (1 a^iovTaC). 
 iii. 1 7 qui Jiabiierit : om. Se. 
 iv. 3 qui solvit (Xvcl) Jesum Christum, 
 hie est aniichristus, quod. 
 4 eum: avrov, 
 16 caritati + Dei. 
 V. 6 Christus for to irvevfjia. 
 
 7 unum sunt for tk to ev elcnv. 
 9 test. Dei + quod majus est. 
 
 15 et scimus (s*A omit kol idv). 
 
 Other readings are preserved in some later copies : 
 ii. 10 in nobis nan est. 
 27 maneat: fieviTto. 
 iii. 6 + et omnis. 
 
 16 + Dei. 
 
 iv. 2 cognoscitur : yivtinKeTau 
 V. 16 scit: ilSfj. 
 
 ut roget quis : iva ipwryjari Tts. 
 
 17 om. ov. 
 
 It agrees with K alone in ii. 8 ( + et in ipso), and with B 31* in 
 ii. 25 (vobis). 
 
 Some peculiarities of order may perhaps represent real variations: 
 i. 9 fidelis et iustus est. 
 ii. 5 verbum eius. 
 
TEXT. xxvii 
 
 iv. 3 nunc iain in mundo est. 
 12 vidit umquam. 
 
 17 nobiscum caritas. 
 
 In three places 'sicut est' represents <us, xa^cos, i. 7; iii. 3, 7. 
 
 Variations in other passages may be simply due to interpretation: 
 i. 4 seripsimus, ii. 18 nunc autem, id. 20 sed vos, iii. 19 suademus, 
 iv. 20 m<]?e< (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 [pecoatis]. 
 16 cone, carnis est...qucs non est. 
 21 non... quasi ignorantibus...sed quasi scientibus . . . 
 iii. I ut nomineniur et simus. 
 10 qui non est iustus. 
 
 14 translati sumus. 
 V. 4 quce vincit. 
 
 15 qvas postulamVjS. 
 
 16 petit. 
 
 18 generatio dei (? 77 •yewiyo-ts tou ^eov). 
 20 ut cognoscam,us...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 TrapdytTai is rendered 
 transierunt in ii. 8 and transibit (transit) (though both forms may 
 possibly represent transiit) in ii. 17; Trjpeiv is rendered in three 
 consecutive verses by observare, custodire, servare (ii. 3, 4, 5); <^a)s 
 is rendered by lux (i. 5, 7; ii. 9), and by lumen (ii. 7, 10) ; ywda-Ko- 
 liev in the same connexion is translated scimus (ii. 3, 5, 18; iii. 24), 
 cognoscimus (iii. 19; iv. 6; v. 2), and intellegimus (iv. 13). 
 
 C2 
 
xxviii TITLE. 
 
 II. TITLE. 
 
 Titles in In Cod. Vat. B and Cod. Alex. A the title is simply 'Iwavou 
 
 MSS 
 
 {-avvov) a. Of John i. In Cod. Sin. N this is further defined 
 
 'I. iiria-Tok^ a, The first Epistle of John; and in God. Angelicus L 
 
 (ssoc. IX.) it becomes ejrtcrToX^ KaOoXiKri rov dyiov avocnoXov 'I., Tlie 
 
 Catholic Epistle of the Iwly Apostle John ; while Cod. Porphyr. P 
 
 (ssec. IX.) gives 'I. tov euayyeXicrToC koX a.iro<T\T6\.ov iin(noXr]\ d. The 
 
 first Einstle of John the Evangelist and Apostle. 
 
 One heading from a later MS. (f ■=') is worth quoting : jipov-nj'; 
 
 Dios 'I. rdSe ypiuTiavola-iv, John, a son of thunder, [saith^ these things 
 
 to Christians. 
 
 The title The Epistle is commonly spoken of as kiria-ToXr] KaOoXiKij, ' a 
 
 catholic, general, epistle.' The meaning of the epithet is well given 
 
 by CEoumenius (ssec. X.). K.a6oXiKal Xe-yoirat avrai olovei iyKVKXioi. 
 
 Oi yap dcjuopUT/iivwi t6vei Ivl rj ttoXh (Js o Oelos IlauXos, olov Po)/u.ai- 
 
 OtS ^ KopivfitOtS, TTpOCTCJXtiVfi TauTttS TttS llTlO'ToXaS O TWV TOlOVTmV TOV 
 
 Kvplov ixaOryriav fitacros, aXXd Ka06Xov tois ttkttois, ^toi 'louSaiots rots 
 iv T-g StacTTTopa, ws koi o ITtTpos, rj koX irao"i T019 vtto ttjv avrrjv tricTTLV 
 Xpio-Tiai/ois TeXova-iv {Prcef. ad Cornni. in Ep. Jac.). 
 
 The word occurs in this connexion from the close of the second 
 century onwards. Thus Clement of Alexandria (Strom. I v. c. 15, 
 § 99, p. 606 P.) speaks of the letter contained in Acts xv. 23 ff. as 
 7^ JiriCTToXTy T] KaOoXiKi] TiSv aTToaToXiDV dirdvTuiv . . .hiaKO/j.iO'dficra cts 
 Toiis TTio-Tovs... Origen uses the epithet of the First Epistle of St 
 Peter (cf. Euseb. H. E. vi. 25), i John, Jude (in the Latin trans- 
 lation), and of the (apocryphal) letter of Barnabas (c. Cels. 1. 63). 
 So also the word is used of letters with a general application 
 (though specially addressed) which made no claim to canonical 
 authority (Euseb. H. E. iv. 23; comp. v. 18). 
 
 In this sense the word was appropriately applied to the letters 
 of James, i Peter, i 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 i John. 
 
 By a singular error the group of letters was called in the later The title 
 Western Church 'canonical' (canonicce) in place of ' catholic' ^'^"'""'"''' 
 Junilius (c. 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 (quse apostolorum Canonicae nuncupantur). Cassiodorus fol- 
 lowing shortly afterwards adopted the epithet apparently as a pecu- 
 liar title of the whole group {de hist. div. Litt. 8), though he extends 
 it also to the whole collection of apostolic epistles. Prom him it 
 passed into common use in this limited sense (comp. Deer. Gelas. 
 % 6 vv. II., Hist, of N. T. Canon, p. 572). 
 
 III. FORM. 
 
 In catalogues of the Books of the New Testament the writinst The 
 is always called a 'letter,' but the question arises In what sense can has no 
 it be so called 1 It has no address, no subscription; no name is con- ^frks'of 
 tained in it of person or place: there is no direct trace of the^^^***"^! 
 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 relation- 
 dealing with abstractions but with life and living men. He is ^"'P- 
 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 
 
toral. 
 
 FORM. 
 
 one who is acquainted both witli their position and with their 
 history (ii. 12 if.). 
 
 He speaks in teacliing and in counsel with the directness of 
 personal experience (i. i &.). He has a clear view of the dangers 
 and of the strength of tiiose whom he addresses (ii. 12 ff. ; 7, 22, 27 : 
 iii. 2, 13 f. ; iv. i, 4 ff. ; 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. 
 A Pas- 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. AUTHOESHIP, DATE, PLACE OF WRITING. 
 
 The au- The question of the authorsliip of the Epistle cannot be dis- 
 
 insepar? cussed as an isolated question. The writing is so closely connected 
 
 th^t ^Tth "^^^^^ *^® Fourth Gospel in vocabulary, style, thought, scope, that 
 
 Gospel. these two books cannot but be regarded as works of tlie 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 argumentB 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 between 
 
 Gospel (John i. i— 18) with the Introduction to the Epistle (i John ^^e ofUfe 
 
 i. I — 4), and it will be seen how the same mind deals with the "°' °f *^''" 
 
 ternal de- 
 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 a 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. I ; iv. 14), and that special knowledge which was pos- 
 sessed only by the most intimate disciples of the Lord (i. i ei/^jjA.a<^7;'- 
 cra/Aei/). 
 
 But while the two writings are thus closely connected, there is The rela- 
 no sufficient evidence to determine the relative dates of the Epistle of the two 
 and of the Gospel as written. The difference in the treatment of nirfa^n"'^ 
 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 
 
 ' Compare also i. 3 f., v. 13 with John xx. 31. See § ix. 
 
xxxii AUTHORSHIP, DATE, PLACE OF WRITING. 
 
 as strong as the circumstances alJow us to expect. It was used by 
 Papias (Euseb. H. E. iii. 39), by Polycarp {ad Phil. c. 7), ar.d by 
 Irenajus, the disciple of Polycarp (in. 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 pre- 
 served, Tertullian and Clement ; and till recent times was ' univer- 
 sally acknowledged' (Euseb. H. E. iii. 25 ; Hieron. cfe virr. ill. 9). 
 Probably There is no direct evidence to shew, when and where it was 
 
 late and at written. The circumstances of the Christian Society point clearly 
 Ephesus. ^ ^ jg^^g ^^^^ ^^^ ^j^jg j^^g^y Ijg gjj^gjj ^j^]^ 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. Gerinthus, 
 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 so, it seems to follow that the writing was addressed 
 of Asiatic pri™8,rily to the circle of Asiatic Churches, of which Ephesus was 
 Churches, ^j^g 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 {Qucest. 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 Superscript! Johannia duas in 2 i„ o„e Latin MS., referred to by 
 
 catholica (all. catholiois) habentur. Sabatier, the Epistle is said to bear 
 Comp. Hist, of N. T. Canon, p. 537. the title, Epistola ad Spartlios. This 
 
CHARACTER. 
 
 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 a ^ ^gw age 
 vivid picture of a Christian Society which is without parallel in the ^J^^, 
 New Testament. The storm which St Paul foretold in his Pastoral 
 Epistles (2 Tim. iii. i; iv. 3), and in his address to the Ephesian 
 elders (Acts xx. 29 f.), 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 first sight there is something almost unintelligible in the The world 
 
 overcome, 
 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 first Epistle, and then misiuterpreted. 
 
 originally epistola ad Sparsos (comp. So Cassiodorus extends the title ad 
 
 I Pet. i. i). It is however more pro- Parthos to the Epistles of St John 
 
 bable that the title is a corruption of generally : Epistolse Petri ad gentes 
 
 irpis Trapdinovs. In a fragment of the ...Johannis ad Parthos (de iiistit. div. 
 
 Latin translation of the Outlines of litt. xiv.). Bede's statement that 
 
 Clement of Alexandria, it is said : ' Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria,' 
 
 secunda Johannis epistola quae ad was 'among the many ecclesiastical 
 
 virgines scripta simplicissima est (p. writers who affirm that it was written 
 
 loio P.) ; and a late cursive MS. (62) to the Parthians ' {Prol. super vii. 
 
 has for the subscription of the second Canon. Epp.), cannot be accepted with- 
 
 Epistle, 'I. j3 Tpbs Ildp0ovs. This title out corroborative evidence, 
 may easily have been extended to the 
 
xxxiv CHARACTER. 
 
 point of sight is realised. According to liis view, which answers 
 to the eternal order of things, the world exists indeed, but more as 
 a semblance than as a 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 
 tiie 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 
 
 ish con- , m 1 
 
 troversy 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 diflfereuce of Jew and Gentile, and the question of 
 circumcision, have no place in the composition. The names them- 
 selves do not occur (yet see 3 John 7). There is notliing even to 
 shew to which body the readers originally belonged, for v. 2 1 cannot 
 The main be confined to a literal interpretation. The main questions of 
 that of the debate are gathered round the Person and Work of the Lord. On 
 Christ"^ *^® °^^ ^^^^ ^^ "^^^ 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 Baptism and left Him before the Passion (Cerinth- 
 ianism). 
 
 The Epistle gives no evidence that St John had to contend with 
 Ebionistic error. The false teaching with which he deals is Docetic 
 Docetism. and specifically Oerinthian. In respect of the Docetic heresy gene- 
 rally Jerome's words are striking : apostolis adhuc in sseculo super- 
 stitibus, adhuc apud Judseam Christi sanguine recenti, phantasm;!. 
 
CHARACTER. xxxv 
 
 Domini corpus asserebatur {Dial. adv. Lucifer. § 23). Ignatius 
 writes against it in urgent language : 
 
 Ad Trail, g, 10, KuKfxoOrjTe ovv orav v/juv xaypl^ 'Irjcrov Xpiorov 
 X.aXfj Tts, ToC €K yivovi Aaui'S, tov €k Mapt'as, os aXijSws iyevvrjOri, 
 €<j)ayiv re Kai lirter, dkyjOws eSioj^^J? €7ri novTtov IltXaTou, d.X.rjOoi'; 
 fo-ravpuidr] koI a.Tredav€v...o's (cat aXrj^cos rjyepOrj otto v«K/D<3i'...Et 8e, 
 aj<r7rep tives afleoi oi'Tes...A^'yoDcriv to SoKeiv -ireKovOivai airov airot 
 TO 8oK£ti' oVT€S, eyoj Ti ScScjuai ; 
 
 ^rf Sinyrn. 2, aXij^oJs eiradiv o)S Kat aXr;^o)s a.vi(TTrii7€v iavrov 
 ov)( (DOTTep aTncToi Tives Xeyoucrii/ to SoKetv aiTOi/ TCTroi'^cVat, awrot 
 TO SoKiLv oi/t€s. Oomp. cc. I, 5, 12. 
 
 jlc? E]phes. 7, as tarpo's ecrTiv, o-apxtKo's t£ xat Tri/evjuaTtKo's, yevvr;- 
 Tos Kat ayevvijTos, ev crapKt yevop.evo'i ^cos, O' davdra ^<diJ dX-qdwri, koI 
 ex Mapias Kai €« ^£ou TrpaJrov TvaOrjro's Koi to'tc aTra^T^s. Comp. c. 18. 
 
 So also Polycarp : 
 
 jlc? Phil. 0. 7, ''■as yap OS dv fxyj o/AoXoy^ 'Ir/crovv Xpto'TOV iv aapKi 
 
 iXrjXvdevai dvTLXpio'TO'; ian- Koi os dv firj 6p.oXoyrj to jxaprvpLOv tov 
 
 oravpov Ik tov Sta^SoXov eo-Tt'. 
 
 Irenffius characterises in particular the opinions of Cerinthus Cerin- 
 
 tJiidiizsiii 
 very clearly : [Cerinthus] Jesum subjicit non ex Virgine natum, 
 
 impossibile enim hoc ei visum est ; fuisse autem eum Joseph et 
 
 Marise filium...et plus potuisse justitia et prudentia et sapientia prse 
 
 omnibus, et post baptismum descendisse in eum Christum ab ea 
 
 principalitate quse est super omnia... in fine autem revolasse iterum 
 
 Christum de Jesu, et Jesum passum esse et resurrexisse : Christum 
 
 autem impassibilem perseverasse existentem spiritalem^. 
 
 In the presence of these false views St John unfolds the Trutli, Against 
 
 this false 
 
 ' The so-called 'Gospel according St John or Cerinthus should have 
 
 to Peter' is said to have favoured their visited the baths at Ephesus. This 
 
 views (Serapion, ap. Euseb. H. E. difEoulty however was not felt by 
 
 VI. 12). Irenffius. The Christology of Nes- 
 
 * Iren. adv. hxr. i. 26. i. Comp. torianism pressed to its logical con- 
 
 Epiph. Hcer. xxviii. i. For the story sequences is not distinguishable, as it 
 
 of St John's refusal to be under the appears, from that of Cerinthus. The 
 
 same roof . with Cerinthus, see Iren. more extreme Doceta regarded the 
 
 ap. Euseb. H. E. rv. 14 (Iren. adv. manifestation of the Lord as being in 
 
 hcer. III. 3. 4, on the authority of appearance only {tpavrafftf), like the 
 
 Polycarp). It is strange that either Theophanies in the Old Testament. 
 
xxxvi CHARACTER. 
 
 teaching not in the form of argument but of announcement. He declares 
 
 ^' "'?v!!,„ that Jesus Christ has come (iv. 2), and is coming (2 Ep. 7) in the 
 
 again the flggij (comp. v. 6). He shews that the denial of the Incarnate Son 
 Gospel \ r / c yv , /■• 
 
 is practically the denial of the Father, the denial of God (11. 2 2 ; 
 
 V. 20). It is the rejection of that power Ijy which alone true life 
 
 is possible through a divine fellowship (i. 2 f.). 
 
 as the old 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 wliich they had received. 
 
 So they would realise what in fact they already possessed (ii. 7, 24; 
 
 iii. ii). 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. 
 
 The letter Thus this latest of the Epistles is a voice from the midst of the 
 
 ST)6C13iilV 
 
 applicable Christian Church revealed at last in its independence. Many who 
 f mlts° ''®^'^ ^^ '^*'^' ^"^ *^^ probability, grown up as Christians. A Christianity 
 
 ciroum- qJ habit was now possible. The spiritual circumstances of those to 
 
 stances, 
 
 and whom it was first sent are like our own. The words need no accom- 
 
 modation to make them bear directly upon ourselves. 
 
 from its 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 Docetisra. Nor would it be hard to shew that 
 popular Christology is largely though unconsciously aflfected 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 
 
CxiARACTER, xxxvii 
 
 indeed no power to follow such revelations of Scripture into sup- 
 posed consequences, but our strength is to hold with absolute firm- 
 ness the apostolic words as St John 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 observe that Gospel the 
 
 it is intensely practical. St John everywhere presents moral ideas '^*^'? *°^ 
 
 •' •■ ■ motive for 
 
 resting upon facts and realised in life. The foundation on which action. 
 conviction is based is historical experience (i. i ff. ; iv. 14). This, 
 as furnishing the materials for that knowledge which St John'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 and a 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 dow^n 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 Intellee- 
 Christ is thus pressed as the prevailing and sufficient motive for Jq itself 
 godlike conduct ; and at the same time mere right opinion, apart c°^" * 
 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. 
 
 . range of 
 
 the Christian Church to the members of the Church. It is the the Epi- 
 stle 
 voice of an unquestioned teacher to disciples who are assumed to be 
 
 anxious to fulfil their calling. In virtue of the circumstances of 
 
 its 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 CHARACTJilv, 
 
 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 its 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 
 a present di^^ne 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. 
 Silence as Two other peculiarities of the Epistle seem to be due to the 
 Testament s^"^® causes which determined this catholicity of teaching. Alone 
 
 and eecle- ^f g_u ^]^g writings of the New Testament except the two shorter 
 
 siastioal ° 
 
 organisa- letters and the Epistle to Philemon, it contains no quotations or 
 
 tiou. 
 
 clear reminiscences of the language of the Old Testament (yet see 
 
 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. 
 
 VII. OBJECT. 
 
 The object The object of the Epistle corresponds with its character. It is 
 Epistle (as presented tinder a twofold form : 
 
 of the ,., . £ a < / \ < r > ,, , X , ~ a 
 
 Gospel) W 1- 3> ^- " €(i}paKaii.€v Kai aKTjKoafiev aTrayycAAo/icv Kai vfiLv, Iva 
 
 positive. vl- /It /!»«« \« ^nvec/ » 
 
 ^ Ktti Ujixcis Kotvttiviav iXV'^ l'-^" '7/*o'i', kol -q KOLVvivia fie rj T/fx-erepa /iera 
 
 Tov •Trarpos Kai.yxera rov vlov avTov Iti(tov Xptorou- Koi ravra ypa.<l>ou.ev 
 17/ietS ti/a T] xo-pa "qp-iav {v, vfuiiv) rj TCTrXijpto/ienj. 
 
 That which we have seen and lieard declare we unto yoii, also, 
 t/iat ye also may have fellowship with us: yea, and our fellowship 
 is vnth tlie Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ : and tliese 
 things we write, that our joy may be fulfilled. 
 
 (ii) V. 13 ravra iypa\j/a vfuv ii/a eiSj/tc ort ^ai-ijv cx"^ alwviov, tois 
 TTicTTevovarLV €is TO ovofiLa TOV uioi; tou Oeov. 
 
 These things have I written unto you, tJuxt ye may know tliat ye 
 Iiave eternal life, even unto you tlmt believe on the name of tfie Son 
 of God. 
 
OBJECT. xxxix 
 
 With these must be compared the account given of the object of 
 the Gospel : 
 
 (iii) John xx. 31 ravra Sk yiypaTnai, Iva ttio-tcuotjtc oti 'Itjo-ovs 
 eo-Tiv o XpwTTOs o viios Tou 6iOv, KoX Iva TTio-TcuovTes t,u>rjv IxqTi iv T(3 
 ovojxaTi avTOv. 
 
 But these are written, tlhat ye may believe tliat Jesus is the Christ, 
 tlie Son of God ; and that believing ye may have life in his name. 
 
 There is a complete harmony between tlje three. The acceptance 
 of the revelation of Jesus — the 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. 
 
 VIII. STYLE AND LANGUAGE. 
 
 The style of the Epistle bears a close resemblance to that of the General 
 
 resem- 
 Gospel both in vocabulary and structure. There is in both the same blanoe to 
 
 emphatic repetition of fundamental words and plirases, — ' truth,' , 
 
 ' love,' ' light,' ' in the light,' ' being born of God,' ' being ' or ' abiding 
 
 in God ' — and the same monotonous simplicity of construction. 
 
 The particles are singularly few. For example yap occurs only Scantiness 
 
 three times: ii. 19; iv. 20 ; v. 3 (2 John 11 J 3 John 3, 7); Secies. 
 
 nine times (about one-third of its average frequency) ; ^ec re and ovv 
 
 (3 John 8) do not occur at all (the last is twice wrongly in common 
 
xl STYLE AND LANGUAGE. 
 
 text). The absence of ovv is the more remarkable because it is 
 the characteristic particle of tlie narrative of the Gospel, where 
 St John seems to chvell on the connexion of facts which might be 
 overlooked; on, 'that' and 'because,' is very frequent; and it is 
 constantly found where yap might have been expected. 
 
 The common particle of connexion is (cat. This conjunction 
 takes its peculiar colour from the sentences which are tlius added 
 one to the other : e.g. 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: e.g. ii. 22 — 24; iv. 4 — 6; 7 — 10; 11 — 13- 
 See also ii. 5, 6 ; 9, 10 ; iii. 2 ; 4, 5 ; 9, 10. 
 
 Sometimes they are brought into an impressive parallelism by 
 the repetition of a clause : 
 
 i. 6, S, 10 (eav ciTTW/x-ci'). 
 
 V. 18 — 20 (o"Sa/ii€i'). 
 
 St John These different usages are different adaptations of St John's 
 
 develops characteristic principle of composition : he explains and develops 
 
 SiU lCl63i Dj 
 
 parallel- his ideas by parallelism or (which answers to the same tone of 
 ism. 
 
 thought) by antagonism. 
 
 It is not of course 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. 
 Charac- Of significant verbal coincidences of language between the 
 
 \vOTds? Epistles and Gospel the following may be noticed. The words are 
 either exceptionally frequent in these writings or peculiar to them : 
 /co(T/ios (moral) (John i. 10 note). 
 
STYLE AND LANGUAGE. xli 
 
 (jxS^ (i John i. 5 note). 
 
 (TKOTLOL (CTKOTO^) (i. 6 HOte). 
 
 (ftavipovv (i. 2 note). 
 ijiaCveiv (ii. 8 note). 
 euipaKivai (i. I note). 
 
 OiciaOai {diuipiiv only once in the Epistles : i John iii. 1 7 (John 
 i. 14 note). 
 
 Oa.vaTO'; (spiritual) (iii. 14 note). 
 
 tfny) aluivto<: {-q aluivioi t,., ■^ t,. V "'•) (Add. note on v. 20). 
 
 yj dX.->]6eia (i. 6 note). 
 
 aKrjBivos Ofo's (v. 20 note). 
 
 TO TTvev/xa r^s dXr/^ci'as (iv. 6 note). 
 
 jJi-apTVpiiv, fJ-apTvpia (i. 2 note). 
 
 TeKvta (ii. I note). 
 
 TraiSia (ii. 14 note). 
 
 o /iovoycnjs vios (Add. note on iv. 9). 
 
 ayaTrai/ oAAiyXovs, rdi/ aSeA.<^ov, tovs aS. (iii. 1 1 note). 
 
 vLKav (ii. 13 note). 
 
 /xei/cti', elvai, €v tivl (ii. 5 note). 
 
 ■njv fj/v)(>jv TiOevai (iii. 16 note). 
 
 The frequent use of "va when the idea of purpose is not directly 
 obvious, and tjie elliptical use of aAA' iva, are both characteristic of 
 these books (iii. 11 ; ii. ig notes). 
 
 In addition to these verbal coincidences there are also larger Verbal co- 
 coincidences of expression. Of these the most important are the ^.jfj^ (jjg 
 following : ^°=P^'- 
 
 1 Epistle of St John. Gospel of St John. 
 
 i. 2, 3 17 ^(ur; e(f>av€p(odr] Koi iii. 11 u iiapa.KafiL£V fx-aprv- 
 
 eWpaKa/AEV Kol flLapTVpOVfJ,€V...6 povft.€v. 
 
 io>pa.Ka/ji,€v koi d.KrjK6afji,€v diray- 
 ■ycXAo/nev koi v/uv. 
 
 id. 4 ToSra ypd<j)OiJ.ev ly/ixtis xvi. 24 alrure (cat Xi^/ni/rto-^e 
 
 tva Tj xapd vfniov y ireTrX-q- Iva rj X"P" v/xiuv r/ TmrX-qpto- 
 piap-ivr). fiivrj. 
 
 w. J. d 
 
xlii 
 
 I Epistle of St John. 
 
 ii. 1 1 d fiiaiuv Tov aS€\<f>ov avrov 
 ...iv rrj (TKOTiq, TripiiraTti /cat 
 ouK olSei' TTOV ijirayct. 
 
 id. 140 Xdy05 TOV 6fov iv vfitv 
 
 IXiVf.1. 
 
 id. 17 d irotMi/ TO OeXr/fjia tov 
 6eov jxivii CIS TOV aiojva. 
 
 iii. 5 d/xapTia iv avT^ ovK ecTTiv. 
 
 id. 8 dir dp)(!js d Sia/3oXos d/xap- 
 Tav€t. 
 
 icZ. 13 /XT/ 6avp.d^fTf, d8€X</)0t, 
 
 €1 p.KTil VjJ.d% KOCr/AOS. 
 
 i(^. 14 oiSa/A€V OTt /AerajSe/Sr;- 
 Kap-ev £K ToB OavaTOv eis tt/v 
 ^(oijv OTi dya.iTSp.ev Toiis aScXi^oiJS. 
 
 ici. 16 €K£tvos vTrip rjp.<i>v 
 Trjv ij/v)^rjv avTov tOyjKiv. 
 
 id. 22 o av aiTw/iitv Xapfiavopev 
 ...OTi...Ta dpeo'Ta ivwiriov av- 
 TOV 5roio5jU.«v. 
 
 Mi?. 23 aun; ecTii'i; Ji/toXj; avroC 
 ii'a...aya7r(3jU.€v aXXij'Xous xa- 
 6(05 eSuiKcv ivToXtjv rjfuv. Comp. 
 iv. II. 
 
 iv. 6 Ij'/XeiS EK TOV OiOV i<Tp.iv 
 6 yivuKTKuni TOi' 6i0V ctKOvci '^p.oiv, 
 
 OS OUK CO-TIV €K ToC fltoS (o) 
 
 OUK a/cov£t TJp,iSv. (b) 
 
 STYLE AND LANGUAGE. 
 
 GospKL OF St John. 
 
 xii. 35... 
 d TTtpnraTiav iv Trj (tkotlo. ovk 
 olScv TTOV vira-yet. 
 
 V. 38 tov koyov avTOv ovk cX''''' 
 p,ivovTa iv v p.iv. 
 
 viiL 35 d utds 
 pivtL «ts TOi' aZ<3i'a. 
 
 viii. 46 Tt's e| vp(ov i\iy\iL pe 
 irtpl dpapTLai ; 
 
 viii. 44 eKfivo'; [d Sia/SoXos] 
 av^pwrroKTOvos 171/ (itt ap^^s. 
 
 XV. 18 
 €1 Kocrpos vp.d'; picrel yivui- 
 
 (TKCTi OTt ipi TTpdlTOV vpwV p-CpC- 
 (TrjKiV. 
 
 V. 24 d TOV X.dyov pov aKOvwv... 
 p,€Ta^£lSrjKtv eK tov davarov 
 
 €IS TIJV ^(DTJV. 
 
 X. IS 
 Tijv ij/vy^rjv pov Tidrjpi virlp 
 T<Sv irpojidTuiv. 
 
 viii. 29 ouK a^fJKiv p.t pjovov 
 OTt iytii Ta apfa-ra avrai Trotoj 
 wavTOTe. 
 
 xiii. 34 cvToXiji/ Kaivrjv BtSwpi 
 vplv 
 
 Lva dyandTi a'XXj/Xous xaSck 
 ryyaTDjo-a d/nas iva... 
 
 Vlll. 47 O (111/ €K ToC dtov Ta 
 
 pT/piTa Toi) fleoi) tiKOutf 
 
 v/ittts OVK aKovtTe (b) 
 
 OTt £K TOV OiOV OVK i<TTf. (a) 
 
STYLE AND LANGUAGE. xliii 
 
 I Epistle of St John. Gospel op St John. 
 
 iv. 15 OS iav o/JioXoyrjcrr] OTi vi. 56 Tpoyyaiv fnov Trjv aapKa 
 
 'IfjCTOv's [XpiOTOs] eoTiv d utds tov koi Trivuiv fxov to at/jia 
 
 OiOV, 
 
 6 Oioi iv auT(3 /A€vci Ktti aiirds iv iv ifA.ol jxiva Kayw iv auTu. Oomp. 
 
 T(3 5e<3. Comp. V. 16; iii. 24. xiv. 17. 
 
 ic?. 16 e-yvoj/ca/xcv (cai Tmriir- vi. 69 7re7ricrT€i;Ka/A£i' KOt 
 
 TcijKa/x€i'. eyi/WKa/icv. 
 
 XV. 10 eai/ Tas €VTo\as /*ou rrjpij- 
 
 id. 1 6 <r9jT€ 
 
 o /icvcov iv TJj aya-TTt) iv t<3 6e(p iJ,€veiTe iv rrj dydirr) fiov. Comp. 
 
 fjLivei. V. 9 /nctVare iv rrj a. rrj i/jufj. 
 
 V. 4, f. avTJj coTii/ ?; viioj xvi. 33 6ap<7tLTf 
 
 ■q viKiqcracrarov KOtr/xoVjij ttiVtis eyoi vevLKrjKa tov Kocr/ior. 
 
 Tts ecTti/ d vtK(3v TOV Koarfiov... 
 
 id. 9 1; /jLaprupia tov d^ov fx-ilZfov v. 32 aWos eo-Tiv d fiapTvp<3v 
 
 icTTLV, OTi avTT] iuTiv t] fjLapTVpLa TTtpl ifioxS Kal oiSa oTi d\rj6T)'S iaTiv 
 
 TOV dtov, OTI jXijiapTvpriKiv TTtpX ij /jMpTvpta yjv fWLpTVpel ■Trepl ifwv. 
 TOV vlov auTOu. xvii. 3 avTij ia^TLv r/ aiuivtos 
 
 id. 20 SeSojKcv ij/Aiv Siavotav ^<u^ 
 
 iva ytyvwo-KO;u.£V TOV aXij^ivdv iva ytvwcTKiJO-t o-£ tov (xjovov 
 
 KaC io'it.f.v iv TiS aXijAivw, ev t<3 vlS aA.7/6tvov ^cdv Kat 6v aTreVTetXas 
 
 aVTOU PllJOrOU XpiffTw]. OUTOS eo"- 'IlJO'OUV XpiO"TOV. 
 
 Tiv d aXijSivds ^«ds, Kal ^uij aiu- 
 vios. 
 
 IX. THE EPISTLES AND THE GOSPEL. 
 
 The last two passages (i John v. 20 ; John xvii 3), which General 
 
 relation 
 have been quoted, illustrate vividly the relation between the of the 
 
 Epistles and the Gospel. Both passages contain the same f unda- ^^ jj^g 
 
 mental ideas: Eternal life is the progressive recognition (iva yivti- "°^P • 
 
 o-Kwo-i) 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 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 believei'. 
 The two This fundamental difference can be presented in another form, 
 
 mentary. In the Epistle the aim of St John is to lay open what is tlie 
 significance of the spiritual tniths of the Faitli for present liunian 
 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 tlie 
 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. 
 The differ- Several differences in detail in the topics or form of teaching 
 swer to ^" ^he books have been already noticed. These belong to the 
 befwenT '^iff^'^snces in the positions occupied by a historian and a preacher. 
 
 History The teaching of the Lord which St John has preserved was given, as 
 and a . r . o > 
 
 Pastoral. 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). 
 
 The Some other differences still require to be noticed. These also 
 
 Coming ■ £ 11- 
 
 (Trapouo-ia). spring from the historical circumstances of the writing. The first 
 
 regards the doctrine of 'the Coming,' 'the Presence' (17 Trapova-ca) 
 
 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 tlie side of these he records the 
 
THE EPISTLES AND THE GOSPEL. xlv 
 
 references to the 'judgment' (v. 28 f.), and to 'the last day' (vi. 
 
 40, 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 Clirist {I. c. : 
 
 iii. 2). As JEe '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 in The Ad- 
 vocacy of 
 close connexion with this view of His future work. As the Holy ciuist. 
 
 Spirit is sent to believers as their Advocate on earth, so He is 
 
 their Advocate with the Father in heaven (c. ii. 2). The two 
 
 thoughts are complementary; and the, heavenly advocacy of Christ 
 
 I'ests upon His own promise in the Gospel (John xiv. 13 1), though 
 
 it must not be interpreted as excluding the Father's spontaneous 
 
 love (John xvi. 26 f.). 
 
 The exposition of the doctrine of ' propitiation ' and ' cleansing ' The doc- 
 which is found in the Epistle (c. ii. 2 ; iv. 10 tXa<r/xo's; i. 7, 9 KaOa.- propitia- 
 jot'^cti') is an application of the discourse at Capernaum (see especially 
 John vi. 51, 56 f.)";"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' {^pia-jxa, c. ii. 20) perfectly embodies 
 the words in John xx. 2 1 flf. ; the disciples are in a true sense 
 'Christs' in virtue of the Life of 'the Christ' (John xiv. 19 ; comp. 
 Apoc. i. 6). Once more, the cardinal phrase ' born of God ' (c. ii. 
 29, (fee), 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 difierences be- These 
 
 (iifffirfiiiCGS 
 
 tween the Epistles and the Gospel are not only not indicative of any shew the 
 difference of authorship, but on the contrary furnish a strong proof ^°l^^^ °^ 
 that they are the products of one mind. The Epistles give later 
 
xlvi THE EPISTLES AND THE GOSPEL. 
 
 srrowths of common and characteristic ideas. No imitator of the 
 
 o 
 
 Gospel could have combined elements of likeness and unlikeness in 
 such a manner ; and on the other hand, tlie substance of the Gospel 
 adequately explains the more defined teaching of the tirst Epistle. 
 The one writing stands to the other in an intelligible connexion of 
 life. 
 
 X. PLAN. 
 
 No plan It is extremely difficult to determine with certainty the structure 
 
 eomnlete ^^ *'^® 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 difterent 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 INTRODUCTION, 
 
 followed. 
 
 The facts of tlie Gospel issuiiic/ in fellowshijy and joy (i. i — 4). 
 
 A. The problem op life and those to whom it is pro- 
 posed (i. 5 — ii. 17). 
 
 I. The Nature of God and the consequent relation of 
 man to God (i. 5 — 10). 
 
 II. 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— II). 
 
 IV. Things temporal and eternal (ii. 12 — 17). 
 
 B. The conflict of truth and falsehood without and 
 WITHIN (ii. 18 — iv. 6). 
 
 I. The revelation of Falsehood and Truth (ii. 18 — 29). 
 
 II. The children of God and the children of the Devil 
 (iii. I — 12). 
 
 III. Brotherhood in Christ and the hatred of the world 
 (iii. 13—24). 
 
 IV. The rival spirits of Truth and Error (iv. i — 6). 
 
PLAN. xlvii 
 
 C. The christian life : the victory op faith (iv. 7 — ^v. 21). 
 
 I. The spirit of the Christian life : God and Love (iv. 
 7—21). 
 
 II. The power of tlie Christian life : the Victory and 
 Witness of Faith (v. i — 12). 
 
 III. The activity and confidence of the Christian life : 
 Epilogue (v. 13 — 21). 
 
 The thought of a fellowship between God and man, made possible The main 
 
 thought, 
 and in part realised in the Christian Church, runs through the whole 
 
 Epistle. From this it begins : Our fellovjship is with the Fatlier, 
 and with His Son, Jesus Christ (i. 3). In this it closes : We are in 
 Hivi that is True, in His Son Jesus Christ (v. 20). 
 
 In the additional Notes I have endeavoured to illustrate the Systema- 
 main points in the development of this thought. These notes when tiation of 
 taken in proper order will serve as an introduction to the study of Jopj^g^j 
 the doctrine of St John. For this purpose they are most con- 
 veniently grouped in the following manner : 
 I. The doctrine of God. 
 
 The idea of God: note on iv. 8; comp. iv. 12. 
 
 The Divine Name: 3 John 7. 
 
 The Holy Trinity: v. 20. 
 
 The Divine Fatherhood: i. 2. 
 II. The doctrine of Finite Being. 
 
 Creation: note on ii. 17. 
 
 God and man: ii. 9. 
 
 The nature of man: iii. 19. 
 
 The Devil: ii. 13. 
 
 Sin: i. g; comp. v. 16. 
 
 The world (note on Gospel of St John i. 10). 
 
 Antichrist: ii. 18. 
 III. The doctrine of Redemption and Consummation. 
 
 The Incarnation: note on iii. 5. 
 
 The titles of Christ: iii. 23 ; comp. iv. 9; v. i. 
 
 Propitiation: ii. 2. 
 
dviii PLAN. 
 
 The virtue of Christ's Blood: i. 7. 
 Divine Sonship: iii. i. 
 The titles of believers: iii. 14. 
 Divine Fellowsliip: iv. 15. 
 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. ff. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 TO 
 
 THE SECOND AND THIED EPISTLES. 
 
I. TEXT. 
 
 The authorities for the text of the Epistles are enumei-ated in Authoii- 
 the Introduction to the first Epistle, § i (including tlie MSS. 
 nAB(G)KLP). The text of Cod. Ephr. (C) is preserved for the 
 third Epistle from v. 3 — end. 
 
 The variations from the text of Stephens (1550) which I have Variations 
 
 adopted are set down in the following table : Stephens, 
 
 155°- 
 The Secoxd Epistle. 2 John. 
 
 3 cm. Kvptov, 'Jesus Christ' (A.B), for ^ the Lord Jesus Christ.' 
 
 5 ypdiJMov for ypatjioi (apparently an error). 
 
 6 avrrj 17 ivToXtj i<mv (AB), for av-n] iarlv -q iVToXrj. 
 
 7 i$rj\6av, are gone forth (SAB), for d(r!j\6ov, are entered. 
 
 8 aTroXia-rjTe, ye lose (S'AB), for aTroXea-oifiev, we lose. 
 aTroXa'jSr/TC, ye receive (XAB), for airo\aj8a)/iei', we receive. 
 
 9 TTpodyuyv, goeth onward (sAB), for irapapaivtav, transgresseth. 
 
 om. Toij xP'-°"^°^ (^"h ' *1^^ teaching ' (NAB), for ' the teaching of 
 the Christ.' 
 
 1 1 Aeycov yap (SAB), for 0' yap XeytDi/. 
 
 1 2 yevea-6ai (sAB), for IXOeiv. 
 vjjuSv (probably) (AB), for ■^fiaiv. 
 imr\y]p(on,€vri jj (''B), for ■fi ireirX-qpmfi.ivy}. 
 
 13 om. 'A/Aijv (nAB). 
 
 The Third Epistle. 3 John. 
 
 4 xa'p'" (probably), favowr (B), for xapa^ joy- 
 
 eV + TJj dX-i^eaa. (ABC*), 'in the truth,' for 'in truth.' 
 
 5 TouTO, this (nABC), for «is rovi, to tfte. 
 7 i6vLK0}V (SABC), for idvmv. 
 
Hi TEXT. 
 
 8 u7ro\a/j,y8ai'£ii' (SABC*), to welcome, tor aVoXa/i/8ai £ii', to receive. 
 
 9 lypaij/o. + tl' (N*ABC), 'I wrote somewhat,' for 'I wrote.' 
 
 1 1 om. Se, but (XABC). 
 
 12 oTSas, thou knowest (xABC), for oiSart, ye know. 
 
 13 ypdij/aL croi for ypa^nv (NABC). 
 ypa.<l>€iv for ypai^at (NABC). 
 
 14 (r€ iSeTi/ for tSeiv ere (ABC). 
 
 The text The text of B maintains the first place as before. It has only 
 
 one error in 2 John, the omission of rov before irarpo's in v. 4 ; and 
 one error in 3 John, eypai/ras for iypaij/a in v. 9, in addition to two 
 faults of writing, puapTvpovv for /xapTvpovvrtav, v. 3 (at the end of a 
 line), and ov for ous, v. 6. 
 
 The text The text of N has numerous errors and false readings : 
 
 of N. 
 
 2 John. The Second Epistle. 
 
 3 d-iro 6eov...Kal 'I. X. X*- 
 
 + avTov' Tov Trarpos, S* corr. X°. 
 
 4 iKajSov. 
 
 5 oAA' + evToXiJi/' rjv, 
 
 6 ij ivToX-r] + avTOv', 
 ■TrepLiraDjcnjTi. 
 
 7 om. o avTL)(pL(rroi. 
 
 8 aTToXi^crOe H* corr. S'. 
 1 2 exo> N* A*. 
 
 (TTOfJM + Tl' a*. 
 
 JoHM. The Third Epistle. 
 
 8 eKKXTjo-i'g, for d\7]$€ia. H* (so A). 
 10 om. «K. 
 
 1 5 aCTTracrai. 
 
 The text There are, as in the first Epistle, many peculiar readings in A, 
 
 some found also in the Latin Vulsate : 
 2 John. The Second Epistle. 
 
 1 OVK iyu) 8i, 
 
 2 evoLKOVirav for n€vov(rav. 
 
 3 om. icrrat, p.iff vfiiSv. 
 
TEXT. liii 
 
 4 ajTo for irapd. 
 
 9 Tov vlov Koi TOV TTaripa vg. 
 
 1 2 ypatj/ai. 
 iX-Tri^di yap Vg. 
 
 The Third Epistle. 3 John. 
 
 3 om. (TV. 
 
 5 «py«&- 
 
 8 iKKX-qa-Lo. (so N*). 
 lo av. 
 
 13 OUK ifiovk-^6r]V. 
 (15 01 dSeX.<j>ol). 
 
 There is also an unusual number of peculiar readings in the The text 
 part of the third Epistle preserved in C: , John. 
 
 4 TovTwv ^apdv OVK ex*"* 
 
 6 TTonjaai irpOTre/xi/reis. 
 
 7 €6v(K<3v Ojn. T<i)l'. 
 
 10 cjiXvapdiv €ts "qp-a.^. 
 
 (iTnSe)(op.€vov;). 
 1 2 VTTO avTrj's T^s iKKXrjtrCa^ koi T17S dXrjdtia^. 
 
 The readings of the Latin Vulgate do not offer anything of The te.'it 
 special interest : Latin Vul- 
 
 The Second Epistle. , Johk. 
 
 3 Sit nobiscum (vobiscum) gratia, 
 a Christo Jesu. 
 
 The Third Epistle. 3 John. 
 
 4 majorem horum non habeo gratiam. 
 
 5 et hoc in. 
 
 9 scripsissem forsitan. 
 
 Some Latin copies have a singular addition after 2 John 11 : 
 ecce prodixi vobis ne in diem domini condemnemini. 
 
 II. AUTHORSHIP. 
 
 The second and third Epistles of St John are reckoned by These 
 Eusebius among ' the controverted books ' in the same rank as the reckoned 
 
liv 
 
 AUTHORSHIP. 
 
 External 
 evidence. 
 
 among Epistles of St James, St Jude and 2 Peter', 'as well known and 
 
 troverted' recognised by most.' He does not give the authority or the exact 
 
 Books.' g^-om-^ti 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 genuinel' 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. Comp. Hist, of N. T. Canon, p. 537. They were included 
 in the Old Latin Version. Clement of Alexandria wrote short notes 
 upon them*. Irenasus quotes the second Epistle as St John's, and 
 once quotes a phrase from it as from the first Epistle l 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. 
 
 The title It is not difficult to explain the doubt as to their authorship, 
 
 'the El- 
 der' likely which was felt by some. They probably had a very limited circula- 
 
 conftfalon ^^'^^ from tlieir 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 
 
 ' H. E. III. 25 T&v 5e avTi.\eyoii4vwt' 
 yvuplfMav 5' ovv bfucs tols TroXXots. 
 
 - /. c. etT€ ToO ei5a77cXi(rToiJ riyyx^^o^' 
 <rat ciVe koX ir^pov &pt.ojv6fwv iKeivt^. 
 He argued from them himself as being 
 written by St John ; Demonstr. Bv. 
 in. 5- 
 
 ' In Joh. Tom. v. ap. Euseb. H. E. 
 
 VI. 23. 
 
 * Euseb. H. E. vi. 14. Cf. Strom. 
 II. 15. 
 
 ' Adv. luer. iii. 16. 8, in prsdicta 
 Epistola, having quoted in § j, i John 
 ii. 18 ft. Comp. I. 16. 3 '\itii.vvqi 6 toO 
 Kvptov }ia.Br}Tr)s. 
 
AUTHORSHIP. Iv 
 
 Jerome'. But this view o£ 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 Jolin ' 
 would be in such a position as to be described by the simple title 
 ' the elder,' which denotes a unique preeminence. 
 
 On the other hand, there is nothing in the use of the title Not iuap- 
 
 • n' ■ .. 1 T-i • n • • pUoable to 
 
 o Trp(.(rpvT€po%, the elder, by the writer of the Epistles inconsistent st 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 Irenseus 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 
 
 a 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. H. E. iii. 23. 
 
 Internal evidence amply confirms the general tenor of external Internal 
 
 6vid6nc6 
 authority. The second Epistle bears the closest resemblance in lan- 
 guage and thought to the first. The third Epistle has the closest 
 affinity to the second, though from its subject it is less like the first 
 in general form. Nevertheless it offers many striking parallels to 
 constructions and language of St John : v. ^ iv aXrjOda. ; 4 fm^orepav 
 TovT(iiv...Lva... 6, 12 /xapTvpeiv TLVL, II fK Tov deov ia'TLV...ov)(^ IwpaKCv 
 Tov Oiov, 12 otSas OTi -q [lapr. 1/. d\r]6rj'; iiniv. 
 
 The use of the Pauline words irpoiripi.Treiv, ivo8ova-6ai and iyiai- 
 veiv, and of the peculiar words c^Xvapciv, <j>iXoirp(OTtv€iv, vjroXa/i- 
 pdveiv (in the sense of 'welcome'), has no weight on the other side. 
 
 ' Jerome however speaks of the 18). 
 opinion as widely held in his time: ' Iren. ap. Euseb. H. E. \. 20. 24. 
 
 opinio a plerisque tradita {de virr. ill. 
 
Ivi AUTHORSHIP. 
 
 Tlie complexion of the third Epistle is not Pauline ; and tlie ex- 
 ceptional language belongs to tlie occasion on whicli it was 
 written. 
 
 III. 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 'EkXckt^ Kupta is satisfactory. Nor does 
 the Letter itself offer any marked individuality of address. 
 Picture The third Letter, on the other hand, reveals a striking and 
 
 Church in m some respects unique picture of tlie condition of the early 
 Epistle 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 liis 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. 
 
lOANOY A 
 
 W. J. 
 
lOANOY A 
 
 O HN An' APXHC, o aKrjKoajxev, o itapuKajjiev 
 TOis 6<p6a\fjLoT^ ■nfJLwv, o edeacrafxeda kui al x^^P^^ rj/uwv 
 
 I. Tertulliau twice quotes the verse (omitting S ^v djr' dpx^s) as if he read 
 
 i iapaKa/iev, 8 d.K-iiKbaii.iv, tois d^eiiK/iMS ri/iuv ideaird/ieea Kal al X"PES {"^'O- Frax. 
 
 15, quod vidimus, quod audivimus, ooulis nostris vidimus et manus ; de An. 17). 
 
 Probably the transposition came from v. 3. This being adopted, the omission of 
 i before ieeaa-d/icBa became necessary. The s£ime transposition occurs in the free 
 quotation contained in the Muratorian Fragment, qiue vidimus oculis nostris et 
 auribus avMvivius et manus nostra palpaverunt hizc scripsimus vobis (N. T. Canon, 
 P- 535)- In v. 3 S harl transpose conversely and read 6 d/cTjK. koL iap. 
 
 Introduction. The facts op the 
 Gospel issuins in fellowship and 
 JOY. (l 1—4.) 
 
 This preface to the Epistle corre- 
 sponds in a remarkable manner with 
 the preface to the Gospel (John i. 
 I — 18); but the two passages are 
 complementary and not parallel The 
 introduction to the Gospel treats of 
 the personal Word (o Xdyor), 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 (o Xdyos TTjs iatrjs) which 
 culminated in the Incarnation, and 
 leads up to a view of the position and 
 privileges and duties 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. i, 2 — 
 S), 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 fiilness of the 
 apostolic testimony (l John i. i); then 
 he dwells specially on the historic 
 manifestation of the Life (i. 2); and 
 lastly, he points out the personal 
 
 results of this manifestation (i. 3, 4). 
 Thus there is a harmonious corre- 
 spondence between the two sections 
 regulated by the primary difference 
 of subject. In each the main subject 
 is described first (John i. i, 2 — 5: 
 I Johni. i): then the historical mani- 
 festation of it (John i. 6 — 13: i John 
 i. 2): then its personal apprehension 
 (John i. 14—18: I John i. 3 f.). 
 Comp. Introd. § 7. The parallel was 
 noticed by Dionysius of Alexandria 
 (Buseb. H. E. vii. 25. 14 f.). 
 
 ' 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 life — ' and the life was mani- 
 fested, 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 thai which we have seen and 
 heard (I say) declare we unto you 
 also, tliat you also may have fellow- 
 ship with us; yea and our fellotoship 
 is with the Father, and with his Son 
 Jesus Christ; < and these things write 
 we that our {your) joy may be ful- 
 filed. 
 
 I — 2 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [I. r 
 
 St John throughout this section 
 uses the plural (contrast ii. i, 7, &c.) 
 as speaking in the name of tlie apo- 
 stolic body of which he was the last 
 surviving representative. 
 
 I — 3. That which was. . .that which 
 we ham seen and heard declare we... 
 Tlie construction of the passage is 
 broken by the parenthesis of v. 2, 
 which may for the moment be dis- 
 missed from consideration. The be- 
 ginning of v. 3 (o ecopoK. Kal aKr/K.) thus 
 stands out clearly as a resumption of 
 the construction and (in part) of the 
 words of ». I. The relatives in the 
 two verses (o oki/k., o icapaK.) 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 V. 3 there can be no doubt 
 that the relative o is strictly neuter, 
 ' that which ' : it can have no direct 
 personal reference. The sense is per- 
 fectly simple : ' that which we liave. . . 
 heard, we declare...' If to such a 
 sentence the phrase, 'concerning the 
 word of life' {irepX toO \6yov rijs Cairjs) 
 be added, there can still be no doubt 
 as to the meaning. ' 77ie 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. . .have heard 
 concerning the word of life we de- 
 clare...' So far the general interpre- 
 tation of the passage appears to be 
 quite clear ; nor can the addition of 
 other clauses in v. 1 alter it. What- 
 ever view be adopted as to the mean- 
 ing of the phrase, ' tlie 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! 8.nd 'that which.. .our hands 
 handled,' is removed by the inter- 
 vening phrases ; and the preposition 
 (TTfpi) 'concerning,' 'in regard to,' is 
 
 comprehensive in its application. The 
 ordinary construction by which the 
 clause is treated as co-ordinate with 
 the clauses which precede : ' tliat 
 tchich was from the beginning, that 
 which we hace heard. ..Q\e\\ concern- 
 ing the word of life... we declare to 
 you! seems to be made impossible (i) 
 by the resumptive words in v. 3, (2) by 
 the break after v. i, (3) by the ex- 
 treme abi-uptness of the change in the 
 form of the object of we declare. 
 
 I. The contents of this verse cor- 
 respond closely with John i. i, 9, 14 
 In the beginning was the Word... 
 There was the Light, the trjie Light, 
 which ligMeth 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. 
 
 o TJV...0 aKTjK., o imp., o £d...€^rj\a- 
 (prja-av] That which was... that which 
 ...,that which... tliat which... handled. 
 These four clauses, separated by the 
 repeated relative, which follow one 
 another in a perfect sequence from 
 the most abstract (o ^v air apx^is) to 
 the most material aspect of divine 
 revelation (o i6...ai x- i'^\oi(f>ritrav), 
 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: th^t which was {rjv)... 
 that which we have heard {aKjjKoaiKv) 
 ..., that which we befield...{i6ea<Ta.- 
 ficda...). That which we understand 
 by the 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), wa.s already, and entered as a 
 factor into the development of finite 
 being, when the succession of life 
 began (^v an apxtjs, was from tlie be- 
 ginning). But these truths were gra- 
 
Li] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 5 
 
 dually realised in the course of ages, 
 through the teaching of patriarchs, 
 lawgivers, aud prophets, and lastly of 
 the Son Himself, Whose words are still 
 pregnant with instruction (o aKijKoa/xci', 
 which we have heard); aud above 
 all, through the Presence of Christ, 
 the lessons of Whose Life abide un- 
 changeable with the Church and are 
 realised in its life (o iapaKaiiev toIs 
 o<^6aX/ioir 'jAtfflJ', 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 (o edeaa-d- 
 jjicOa, K.T.X., 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, so 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 
 heginning...that which our hands 
 handled). 
 
 air apxos] from th^ beginning. 
 Corap. c. ii. 7 note. 'From the 
 beginning' is contrasted with in the 
 beginning (John i. i). The latter 
 marks what was already at the initial 
 point, looking to that which is eternal, 
 supra-temporal : the former looks to 
 that which starting at the initial point 
 has been operative in time. The 
 latter deals with absolute being (o 
 Xffyos ijr jrpos rbv 6(6v); the former 
 with temporal development. Com- 
 pare anb KaTo^oXrjs Kcxrfuiv (Apoc. xiii. 
 8, ivii. 8; Heb. iv. 3, ix. 26) as con- 
 trasted with Trpo Kar. ic (John xvii. 
 24 ; I Pet. i. 20). 
 
 The absence of the definite article 
 both here and in John i i is to be 
 traced back finally to Gen. i. i (lxx.). 
 The beginning is not regarded as a 
 
 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 ia-xari) <apa in c. 
 ii. 18, ea-xarai. rmipai 2 Tim iii. I is 
 similar. Compare iii. 10 iroulv Sik. 
 note. 
 
 The Greek commentators justly 
 dwell on the grandeur of the claim 
 which St John makes for the Chris- 
 tian Revelation as coeval iu some 
 sense vrith creation: deoXoymv i^rjyei- 
 rac p.ri vewTepov elvai to Ka6 rjfias piv- 
 tTTrjpiov, aW €^ dpxV^ H-^'^ *^^*' '^^^ 
 Tvyxavfiv avro vvv Se 7re(l>av€pa<rdat 
 €U Ta Kvpta, OS etrrt ^(ntj alavios icat 
 6ebs aXrjdivos (Theophlct Argum.). 
 And again in a note upon the verse : 
 rovTO Koi Trpbs 'lov^alovs Koi. npos EX- 
 \7jvas OL as veiOTepov bta^aXKovtri to 
 Ka6' ^nas pva-T^piov (id. ad loc). 
 
 The ' hearing' ' concerning the word 
 of Ufe' 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. i) ful. 
 filled at last by Christ. This the 
 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 
 {idcaaapfda, f^rj\a<f»]<rav) 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 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [I. 
 
 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 He is (jce 
 beheld. . .and handled). 
 
 Thus there is a survey of the 
 w^hole course of revelation in the 
 foui' clauses, more complete than has 
 been ahready 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. 22). The Re- 
 surrection was the final revelation 
 of life. At the same time the four 
 clauses bind together inseparably the 
 divine and huuiaa There is, as we 
 have seen, but one subject whether 
 this is revealed as eternal {tliat which 
 was from the beginning), or through 
 the experience of sense {that which 
 our hands handled). 
 
 aKj)<oaiuv] have heard, vv. 3, 5, iv. 
 3; John iv. 42, V. 37, xviii. 21. The 
 perfect in every case preserves its full 
 force. 
 
 eapax. t. 6<j>d.} have seen with our 
 eyes. The addition with our eyes, 
 like our hands below, emphasises the 
 idea of direct personal outward ex- 
 perience in a matter marvellous in it- 
 self. The vision was not of the soul 
 within, but in life. Comp. Deut. iii. 
 21, iv. 3, xi. 7, xxi. 7; Zech. ix. 8; 
 Ecclus. xvi. 5. See also John xx. 27. 
 
 On sight and hearing, see Philo, 
 de Sacr. A. et C. § 22, i 178. 
 
 o iapaKa(i,ev...o fdeaa-aiicda...] quod 
 vidimus... quod perspexim/as V., 
 which we have seen. ..which we be- 
 held. The general relation of these 
 clauses has been touched upon al- 
 ready. They oflFer 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. Qea<r6ai, like Beapciv, ex- 
 presses the calm, intent, continuous 
 contemplation of an object which re- 
 mains before the spectator. Comp. 
 John L 14 n. On the other hand the 
 emphatic addition of rois o(i>ddKjiois 
 ij/j-av to latpaKajiev emphasises the 
 personal nature of the witness as 
 eBfaa-aiifda 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 e6e<wafie6a : Non 
 solum quippe corporalibus oculis 
 sicut ceteri Dominum viderunt sed et 
 perspexerunt, cujus divinam quoque 
 virtutem spiritualibus oculis ceme- 
 bant. 
 
 f\jfr]\d(j)ri(rav] contrectaverunt V. 
 (all. tractaveruni, palpaverunt, per- 
 scrutatw 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... (Luke xxiv. 
 39 ■^Tj\a<f)'jiTaTf lit). The tacit re- 
 ference is the more worthy of notice 
 because 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 : ov yap <as erv^f 
 (rvyKoredfiifda tw otpdevri (Theophlct. 
 ad he). 
 
 Trept Tov Xoyou r^s C^^^l de verho 
 vitoB V. {de sermone vitoe, Tert), 
 concerning the word of life, that is 
 the message of life, or, according 
 to the more modem idiom, the 
 revelation of life. The word {6 
 Xdyor) conveys the notion of a con- 
 nected whole {serm/)), and is not 
 merely an isolated utterance (pfjiia' 
 comp. John vi. 68 pij/tai-a fa^r 
 alaviov). Hence th^ word of life is 
 the whole message from God to man, 
 which tells of life, or, perhaps, out of 
 
1. 1] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 which life springs, which beginning to 
 be spoken by the prophets, was at 
 last fiiUy proclaimed by one who was 
 His Son (Hebr. i. i, 2). Christ Is, in- 
 deed, Himself the Word, but in the 
 present passage the obvious reference 
 is to the whole Gospel, of which He 
 is the centre and sura, and not to 
 Himself personally. This follows both 
 from the context and from the ap- 
 pended genitive (r^s fa^y)- It is th£ 
 life and not the word which is said 
 to have been manifested; and again 
 in the four passages where o Xoyor is 
 used personally (John i. i ter, 14) the 
 term is absolute. On the other hand 
 we have o Xoyos tijs j3ao-t\fius (Matt. 
 xiii. 19), 6 \6yos T^s <r<BTT)piai ravrris 
 
 (Acts xiii. 26), o \6yos ttjs x°-P"'°' 
 
 avTov (Acts XX. 32), o Xdyos o roO 
 oraupoC (2 Cor. i. 18), o Xoyos -r^r 
 KaTaXkayris (2 Cor. V. 19), 6 Xoyos t^s 
 oKrjBelas tov evayyekiov (CoL 1 5), o 
 Xoyof T^s oKridfias (2 Tim. ii. 15 ; 
 comp. Xoy. oKjjdeiav James i. 18), in 
 all of which the genitive describes 
 the subject of the tidings or record. 
 There can 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 interpretation of ' the word 
 of life' is not supported by any pa- 
 rallel. Moreover, a modification of the 
 phrase itself occurs in St Paul, \oyov 
 fffl^r litix'^iv (Phil. ii. 16: compare 
 
 also Titus i. 2, 3 eV iKmSt fa^s- ala- 
 viov fjv £jnfyye(XaTo...«^avep<»(r€i' 8e... 
 TOV Xoyov auTov...: John vi. 68; Acts 
 V. 20). The personal interpretation 
 could not fail to present itself to later 
 readers, in whose speculation 'the 
 Word' occupied a far larger plax» 
 than it occupies in the writings of St 
 John, and to become popular. In a 
 most true sense Christ is the gospel ; 
 and the name of the triumphant con- 
 queror in Apoc. xis. 13 (o Xoyoy tov 
 6fov • comp. Acts vi. 7, xv. 6 &c.) shews 
 the natural transition in meaning from 
 'the Word of God' to Him who is 'the 
 Word of God.' Comp. John x. 35. 
 
 The Peshito Syrlac (not Hard.) ap- 
 pears to support the interpretation 
 which has been given; that which is 
 the word of life. 
 
 The sense of the genitive ttjs fm^r, 
 of life, is doubtful. According to 
 general usage noticed above, it would 
 specify the contents of the message : 
 'the revelation which proclaims and 
 presents life to men.' It must how- 
 ever be noticed that in other con- 
 nexions St John uses the words [ttjs 
 fw^f) to describe the character of 
 that to which they are applied, as 
 life-giving, or life-sustaining : to ^vKov 
 TTis (cutis (Apoc. ii. 7 &C.), o (rT£<pavos 
 TTJs fto^f (Apoc. ii. 10), C<o!js Trriyal 
 vdoTcov (Apoc. vii. 17), TO vba>p t^s fa^f 
 (Apoc. xxi. 6 &C.), if ^iffKos TTjs fmijr 
 (Apoc. iii. 5 &c.), and more particu- 
 larly d apTOS Tfjs (arjs (John vi. 35), 
 TO ^<Bs T^s Caijs (John viii. 12), which 
 suggest such a sense as ' the life- 
 containing, life-communicating word.' 
 The context here, which speaks of the 
 manifestation of th^ life, appears at 
 first sight to require the former inter- 
 pretation; for it is easy to pass from 
 the idea of the life as the subject of 
 the divine revelation to the life made 
 manifest, while the conception of life 
 as characteristic of the word does 
 not prepare the way for the transition 
 so directly. On the other side the 
 usage of the Gospel is of great weight ; 
 and it is not difiScult to see how the 
 thought of the revelation, which from 
 first to last was inspired by and dif- 
 fused life, leads to the thought that 
 the life itself was personally mani- 
 fested. 
 
 It is most probable that the two 
 interpretations are not to be sharply 
 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- 
 lutely united. See Additional Note 
 on V. 20. 
 
 The preposition (irepl) is used in a 
 wide sense, 'in regard to,' 'in the 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [I- 
 
 i^riXd(pria-av, Trepi tov Xoyou tjjs ^(ofj?, — '^Kai t] ^cor] 
 
 matter of.' Comp. John xvi. 8. The 
 subject is not simply a message, 
 but all that had been made clear 
 through manifold experience 'con- 
 cerning' it. 
 
 If we now look back over the verse 
 it is not difficult to see why St John 
 chose the neuter form (that which 
 was and not Him that was), and why 
 he limited the record of his experience 
 by the addition coiicerning the word 
 of 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 not 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 so much as illustrated the whole 
 revelation of life (comp. John xx. 
 30 f.). 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 (». 3 b; c. iL 27, 
 John i. 14, 16, iii. i, i6flF., 31 flF., 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 throughout time, 
 leads him to rest for a moment upon 
 the one supreme fact up to which or 
 from which all revelation comes. 'Con- 
 ceniing 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 
 shewn to us in a personal form. What 
 we have to declare is not a word 
 (Xoyof) only: it is a fact.' 
 
 The simple statement is given first 
 iflm life teas manifested), and then 
 subject and predicate are more fully 
 explained ('the life eternal which 
 was with the Father^ 'was m,ani- 
 fested to us'). The phrase, t/te life 
 was manifested, recals the correspond- 
 ing phrase in the prologue to the 
 Gospel, the Word became flesh. The 
 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 further, 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 difierence is felt 
 if for a moment the predicates 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 : ' tlie life became flesh.' 
 The manifestation of the life was a 
 consequence of the Incarnation of the 
 Word, but it is not co-extensive with 
 it. 
 
 KoX t; faij] and tJie life.... This 
 use of the simplest conjunction (xai) 
 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. 
 
 fj fai;] tlie life, John xiv. 6 n., li. 
 25 n. The usage of the word in John 
 i. 4 is somewhat diff'erent. Here life 
 is regarded as final and absolute: 
 there life is the particular revelation 
 of life given in finite creation. Christ 
 is the life which He brings, and 
 which is realised by believers in Him. 
 In Him 'the life' became visible. 
 Comp. c. v. II, 12, 20; Col iii. 4; 
 Rom. V. 10, vL 23; 2 Cor. iv. 10; 
 
I. 2] THE FIRST EPISTLE OE ST JOHN. 9 
 
 icpavepwdr], kui ewpaKu^eu Kai fxapTupoufxev Kai aTray- 
 
 2. Kai S iupoKa/ifv, B (,iop.); Kai 8 iwp. /lapr. Dion Alex. (Migne, P. Gr. x. 1248). 
 The insertion or omission of o before eop&KAMeN (so B) was equally easy; but 
 ((pavepdidri seems to require the direct connexion of iupaKap-tv with -rqy f. t. al. 
 
 2 Tim. i. I. But the term 'the life' 
 is not to be regarded as simply a per- 
 sonal name equivalent to the Word: 
 it expresses one aspect of His Being 
 and Working. Looking to Him we 
 see under the conditions of present 
 human being the embodied ideal of 
 life, which is fellowship with God and 
 with man in God. 
 
 i^avepmBrj] manifestata est V. (be- 
 low apparuit), was manifested. The 
 word is used of the revelation of the 
 Lord at His first coming (c. iii. 5, 8 ; 
 John i. 31; comp. c. iv. 9; John vii. 
 4; 1 Pet. i. 20; I Tim. iii. 16; Heb. 
 ix. 26); of His revelation after the 
 Resurrection (John xxi. 14, i; [Mark] 
 xvi. 12, 14); and of the future revela- 
 tion (c. iL 28 ; comp. I Pet. v. 4 ; Col. 
 iiL 4). In all these ways the Word 
 Incarnate and glorified is made known 
 as ' the Life.' 
 
 iapoKaptev . . . naprvpovfieu . . . oTrayyeX- 
 Xo/if v. . .] seen . . . bear witness . . . de- 
 clare... The three verbs give in due 
 sequence the ideas of personal expe- 
 rience, responsible affirmation, autho- 
 ritative 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, et vidimus et 
 testes sumMs. 
 
 iiopoKaiifv] John xix. 35, i. 34, xiv. 
 7, 9. It is worthy of notice that this 
 is the only part of the verb which is 
 used by St John in the Gospel and 
 Epistles (Spa /it;, Apoc. xix. 10; xxii. 
 9: not xviii. 18; nor John vi. 2); 
 and in these books it is singularly 
 frequent 
 
 Severus (Cramer Gat. ad loc.), com- 
 paring these words with iv. 12 6e6v 
 
 ovScis TTomoTe TfOearai, no man hath 
 beheld God at any time, remarks : ra 
 <r€aapKwa-dai kol eTrrjvBpaTrrjKevat dea- 
 Tos Koi T/^i;Xa<^i;rof yfneadat evSoKtja-fV 
 [d Xoyof], ov}( b ^v deadfls Koi ^jfrfKa- 
 (firjdels dXX' o yeyovev' els yap vnap)(wv 
 <cai abiaipcTOs 6 avTos rjv Kai dfaros Kai 
 aSearoi Kol a(^rj fjtrj viroTrlirrav Kai i//-!;- 
 Xa^atpLfvos. . . 
 
 p.apTvpovii,€v\ Comp. iv. 14 ; John 
 xxi. 24. For the characteristic use of 
 the idea of witness in St John see 
 Introd. to Gospel of St John, pp. 
 xliv. ff. 
 
 Augustine dwells on the associa- 
 tions of the Greek fiaprvpes which 
 were lost in the Latin testes: Ergo 
 hoc dixit Vidimus et testes sumus: 
 Vidimus et martyres sumus ; testimo- 
 nium enim dicendo...cum displiceret 
 ipsum testimonium hominibus adver- 
 sus quos dicebatur, passi sunt omnia 
 quse passi sunt martyres (ad loc). 
 
 aTrayyeWo/iev] adnunciamiis v., we 
 declare. The word occurs again in 
 St John's writings in John xvi. 25 
 (it is falsely read iv. ji, 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. I Cor. xiv. 25; Heb. ii. 12 
 (lxx.) ; V. 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 (v. 4, 
 Kai ravra ypac^o/ifi/), 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. 
 
lO 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [I- 
 
 yeWoiuLev v/ulv rnv ^wriv Trtv aiwviov IjVis riv ttjOOS rov 
 
 Trjv f. rfiv al] (/te eternal life, more 
 exactly, the life, even the life eternal. 
 The phrase used in the beginning of 
 the verse is fli-st 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 77 aldvios fmij 
 is also very rare (John xvii. 3 ; Acts 
 xiii. 46; I 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 conception 
 (f<oi7 oldivios, life eternal). 
 
 This 'eternal life' is seen in this 
 passage to be the divine life, the life 
 that is and which was visibly shewn 
 in Christ, and not merely an unending 
 continuance (Heb. vii. 16, f. aKaroKv- 
 Tof). Comp. John xvii. 3. The equiva- 
 lent phrase appears to occur first in 
 
 Dan. xii. 2 {^VJ '".d?). Comp. 2 
 
 Mace. vii. 9 fls aldviov avaPiairiv f<oijs 
 
 For the use of the article {q f. ^ 
 al.) see c. ii. 7 (?) ivr. jj 17.) note; and 
 for the idea of ' eternal life ' the Ad- 
 ditional Note on v. 20. 
 
 TJTK ^v..J] which was.... This clause 
 not only defines but in part confirms 
 the former statement. The relative 
 is not the simple relative {q), but the 
 'qualitative' relative (ijtis). Comp. 
 John viii. 53 (ocms mredavfv); Apoc. 
 i. 7; ii. 24; xi. 8; xx. 4. 'We de- 
 clare with authority' — such is the 
 apostle's meaning — ' the life which is 
 truly 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.' 
 
 fiv nphs T. w.] erat apud patreni 
 v., was with tlie Father. Comp. 
 John i. 1,2. The life was not ' in the 
 Father,' nor in fellowship (/ifrd) or in 
 
 combination {aiv) with Him, but real- 
 ised with Him for its object and law 
 (171/ irpos). That which is true of the 
 Word as a Person, is true necessarily 
 of the Word in action, and so of the 
 Life which finds expression in action. 
 The verb {r^v) describes continuous 
 and not past existence; or rather, it 
 suggests under the forms of human 
 thought an existence which is beyond 
 time (Apoc. iv. 1 1 ijo-av ; John i. 3 f.). 
 Tov jraT€pa] The Father, the title 
 of God when regarded relatively, as 
 the ' One God, of whom («^ ou) are 
 all things' (i Cor. viii. 6). The rela- 
 tion itself is defined more exactly 
 either in reference to the material 
 world: James i. 17 Trarfip rmv (jxoTav; 
 or to men : Matt. v. 16 6 Trarfip vpMv, 
 &c. ; or, more commonly and pecu- 
 liarly, to our Lord, ' the Son ' : Matt. 
 yii. 21 6 naTTJp fwv, &c. The diflference 
 of the paternal relation of the One 
 Father to Christ and to Christians is 
 indicated in a very remarkable man- 
 ner in John xx. 1 7 {ava^alva npos rov 
 narepa fiov Kal irar. vfiav) 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 o Tranjp occurs rarely in the Syn- 
 optic Gospels, and always with refer- 
 ence to 'the Son': Matt. xi. 27 1| Luke 
 X. 22; Matt xxiv. 36 1 1 Mark xiii. 32; 
 Luke Ix. 26; Matt, xxiii. 19. (But 
 comp. Luke xi. 1 3 o jr. o t f ovpamv ; 
 the usage in Matt. xi. 26 1| Luke x. 
 21 ; Mark xiv. 36 is dififerent) In the 
 Acts it is found only in the opening 
 chapters; i. 4, 7; iL 33. In St Paul 
 only Rom. vi. 4 (rjy4pdi]...Sta Tfjs fio|ijr 
 Tov TT.) ; I Cor. viii. 6 (els 6fbs 6 Trarijp) ; 
 Eph. ii. 18 {ttiv npoa'ayayf]v...7rpos rov 
 irartpa); Col. i. 12 J; (Rom. viii. 15 
 II Gal. iv. 6) and not at all in the 
 Epistles of St Peter, St James or St 
 Jude, or in the Apocalypse. In St 
 John's Gdspel, on the contrary, and in 
 
1-3] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 II 
 
 TTarepa /cat e<pavepw6n ^fxiv, — ^o ewpctKaixev kuI uKri- 
 Koafxev dTrayyeXXo/nev Kal vfxiv, 'iva kui ujuel? Koivwviav 
 
 3. 8 d/f>;K. rai^wp. N harl: seejj. I. + /cai' dTrayy. X am. -Kal' 
 
 viuv, r vg me. -Se S" C. Hence Aug. Ambr. vg et sooietas nostra sit 
 
 {ti'a...?x'7'"f "al 5 17 KOivuvla r] ii/KTipa...). 
 
 his Epistles (i. ii.) the term is very- 
 frequent (i Ep. i. 2 f. ; ii. 1, 13, 15, 18, 
 22 S. ; iii. I ; iv. 14. 2 JEp. 3, 4, 9). 
 Comp. John iv. 21 add. note; and the 
 additional note on this passage. 
 
 In this place the idea of Father- 
 hood comes into prominence 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. i d X. ^v 
 Trpos Tov 6f6v, 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 self-sufficing 
 includes Tripersonality. 
 
 i(j>av. TiiMv] apparuit nobis V. (ma- 
 nifestata est in nobis Aug., palam 
 facta est, &c. aH) was manifested to 
 us. The general statement given be- 
 fore {was manifested) is made per- 
 sonal Actual experience is the found- 
 ation of St John's testimony. 
 
 3. In the parenthesis {v. 2) St John 
 has described the subject of his mes- 
 sage as 't?ie life eternal': he now 
 describes it as 'that which we have 
 seen and heard.' The fulness of apo- 
 stolic experience, the far-reaching 
 knowledge of the Son of God, is in- 
 deed identical with the life. By ap- 
 propriating that knowledge of the 
 Son 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 
 fellowship with the Church and with 
 God. He contemplates first the fel- 
 
 lowship which exists in the Christian 
 body itself, and then rises from this 
 to the thought of the >vider privileges 
 of such fellowship as resting ou a 
 divine basis. Manifeste ostendit B. 
 Johannes quia quicunque societatem 
 cum Deo habere desiderant primo 
 ecclesise societati debeut adunari.... 
 (Bede). 
 
 o iap. Kai QKjjK.] that which we 
 have seen and heard... The transpo- 
 sition of the verbs in this resumptive 
 clause {v. 1 heard... seen...) is natural 
 and significant. Before the Apostle 
 was advancing up to the Incarnation, 
 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 {v. i that which... that 
 which...). 
 
 KOI v/xii/] 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 also' 
 might enjoy the fruits of it. There is 
 no redimdance in the repeated Kai. 
 
 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 ix. 26 ff ) who rose by 
 Faith above touch : Tetigit hominem, 
 confessus est Deum. Et Dominus 
 consolans nos qui ipsum jam in cselo 
 sedentem mann 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 beatitude quam Domi- 
 nus prsedixit futuram : manifestata est 
 
12 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [1.4 
 
 exnTe fxed' riixwv' kui ri KOLViovia Se »j ri^ieTepa ^lera tov 
 TraTjOOs Kal [xeTci tov ulou avrov 'Iriaou XpicrTOV *Kai 
 
 ipsa vita in carne...ut res quae solo 
 corde videri potest videretur et oculis, 
 ut corda sanaret (Aug. ad foe). 
 
 1va...iJL(6' ij/nwi'] ttt et vos societatem 
 hdbeatis nobiscum V., that ye also 
 may have fellowship with us, i.e. 
 ' may be united with us, tlie apostolic 
 body, in the bonds of Christian com- 
 munion ' (comp. vv. 6, 7 ; iv. 6) by the 
 apprehension of the fulnessof the truth; 
 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' can-ies with it the 
 corresponding action {e.g. 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.' 
 
 The phrase Koivaviav ^x""! ^^ dis- 
 tinguished from the simple verb koi- 
 vave'iv (2 John II; I Pet. iv. 13; Phil, 
 iv. 15), expresses not only the mere 
 fact, but also the enjoyment, tlie con- 
 scious realisation, of fellowship. Comp. 
 v, 8 {aiiajniav fx^'") note. 
 
 Koiv. neff ij/xffli'] feUowship with. 
 The preposition {jiera) emphasises the 
 mutual action of those who are united. 
 Koivavia is also used with a genitive 
 of the person (i Cor. i. 9), as in the 
 case of things (i Cor. x. 16; Phil. iii. 
 10), when the thought is of a blessing 
 imparted by fellowship in the person, 
 or of a fellowship springing from the 
 person (2 Cor. xiii. 13). The word is 
 also used absolutely Acts ii. 42. 
 
 Kol i| Koiv. 84...] et societas nostra sit 
 v., Aug., yea and our fellowship... 
 The connecting particles {Kai...8e) and 
 the possessive pronoun (i; n. ^ ^fim- 
 pa) are both emphatic. The particles 
 lay stress on the characteristics of the 
 fellowship which are to be brought 
 
 forward: the possessive in place of 
 the personal pronoun marks that 
 which peculiarly distinguishes Chris- 
 tians rather than simply that which 
 they enjoy. ' And the fellowship itself 
 in fact to which we call you, the fel- 
 lowship which is truly Christian fel- 
 lowship, &c.' 
 
 For Kai...8e... compare John vi. 51 ; 
 viii. 16, 17; XV. 27; 3 John 12. The 
 combination occurs sparingly through- 
 out the N. T. The Se serves as the 
 conjunction, while Kai emphasises the 
 words to which it is attached. 
 
 For i) KOIV. 1) TjiiiTepa compare John 
 XV. 9 n. (17 ay. 17 iiirj), II, 12; xvii. 13, 
 24; xviii. 36, &c.; c. ii. 7 note. 
 
 The insertion of the bi makes the 
 false construction {Latt.) 'and that 
 our fellowship may be...' impossible. 
 The whole clause is like v. 2 (see 
 note), a 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 t. 
 
 liera tov n. . .'I. X.] with the Father. . . 
 his So7i Jesus Christ.... The thought 
 prepared in m. 1,2 now finds full ex- 
 pression. The revelation of ' the life ' 
 had brought men into connexion with 
 'the Father.' 'The life' was appre- 
 hended in a true human personality 
 in virtue of the Incarnation, and so 
 men could have fellowship with the 
 life and with the source of life. 
 Through the Son God was revealed 
 and apprehended as Father. It must 
 also 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 
 
1-4] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 13 
 
 4. T)iiels KA*B the: i/uv r A**G vg syrr me. In such a case the evidence of 
 verss. is of little weight. 
 
 W X-) ^MW" KB the; ifiQv S" AC me. The later MSS. and the Latin and 
 Syriao verss. are divided. The confusion of rm. and i/i. in the best authorities is 
 so constant that a positive decision on the reading here is impossible. It may be 
 noticed that C*, reading i/iuv, adds iv ij/uv and some verss. reading ruiHi' add 
 iv ii/uv at the end of the clause. Comp. ii. 8, 25; iii. i; v. 4. 
 
 Some copies of Vulg. read \it + gaudeatis et' gaudium vestrum (nostrum) sit 
 plenum. 
 
 (comp. ii. 23). The consummation of 
 this fellowship is the ' being In God ' 
 (c. v. 20) ' a quo fontaliter omnia pro- 
 ceduntj^ in quo finaliter omnes sancti 
 fruibifiter requiescunt' (Th. Kemp. 
 
 i- 15- 2)- _ ^ ^ 
 
 Tov vlov av. 'I. X.] His Son Jesus 
 Christ. By the use of this full title 
 St John brings out now both aspects 
 of the Lord's Person (' His Son,' ' Jesus 
 Christ ') which he had indicated before 
 ('which was with the Father,' 'our 
 hands handled'). The full title is 
 found again in iii. 23; v. 20 (i); 2 
 John 3; I Cor. i. 9; 2 Cor. i. 19. 
 Compare also i. 7 (iv. 15; v. 5); i 
 Thess. i. 10; Heb. iv. 14. In each 
 case it vrill be seen to be significant 
 in all its elements. 
 
 4. Koi ravTci] and these things. 
 The apostolic message which had 
 been regarded before in its unity (o 
 that which) is now regarded in some 
 special aspects of its manifold power. 
 St John embraces in 'the 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. 
 St John has present to his mind both 
 the general revelation of the Gospel 
 (zee 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. 
 
 ypa(j)oiJiev ijfieis] write we. Both 
 
 the pronoun and the verb are em- 
 phatic. The proclamation (vb. 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 stress laid on the word write, 
 which is emphasised by the absence 
 of a personal object (the to you of the 
 common text is to be omitted), St 
 John looks forward to his apostolic 
 service to later ages. 
 
 The plural (ypatpo/iev) which belongs 
 to the form of the apostolic message 
 stands in contrast with the personal 
 address (^pa<pa>) which immediately 
 follows in c. ii. i. Elsewhere in the 
 epistle the verb occurs only in the 
 singular (iL 7 f, 12 ff., 21, 26; v. 13). 
 
 Iva ^ x. ^fiav (v. Vfiav) jj TTfjrXij/).] 
 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 other 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 (i;/imi/ and 
 viiav) 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. [1-5 
 
 ^ Kal ea-Tiv avrr] n ajyeXia i]v ciKrjKoafxev air avTOV 
 
 5. Kal IffTiv aih-n N*BC ; Kal aiirn i(rrlv T A vg. 
 r; a-yyeMa N°AB vg: ^ iwayyeXla r C me the. 
 
 N had originally i; a7ra77cXias, which the scribe himself altered by letters 
 written above to i) ayiwri ttjs ^Tra-jTeMas. Comp. iii. ir; 11. 25. 
 
 of the disciples is secured by the same 
 result. 
 
 i)/imv yap v/iiv (CBcum. vfiav...riiuv) 
 Koivavovvrav ■n\eiaTr)v exofiev ttjv X"/"" 
 (1. ;(apai') iji^mi', ^v rots Btpurralt o 
 yalpoiv aiTopevs iv Tjj tov pLttraov airo- 
 Xrp^d. ^pa^cva-ei )(mp6vTav Koi Toirrtov 
 OTi Tuiv TTOVtav avTcov (1. avTOv) ano- 
 
 Xavovcri (Theoplilct). 
 
 ■7TeTr\riptaiiivr)]plenum (V., A.ug.), fid- 
 filled. The phrase is characteristic. 
 Comp. 2 John 12 ; John iii. 29, xv. 1 1, 
 xvi. 24; xvii. 13. For the use of the 
 resolved form see iv. 12 n. Gaudium 
 doctorum fit plenum cum multos prae- 
 dicando ad sanctse ecclesise societa- 
 tem...perducuut (Bede). Comp. Phil, 
 ii. 2. 
 
 A. The Peoblem of Life and 
 
 THOSE to whom IT IS PKOPOSED (i. S — 
 
 ii 17). 
 
 I. 5 — 10. The Natdre op God 
 
 AND THE consequent RELATION OF 
 
 MAN TO God. 
 
 The section contains 1 the descrip- 
 tion of the Being of God (». 5) ; and 
 then 2 the description of man's rela- 
 tion to God as thus made known (6 — 
 10), 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 (i) on immediate denial of 
 what is distinctly known (6); (2) on 
 self-deception (8); and (3) on disre- 
 gard of divine revelation (10). 
 
 I. The Nature ofOod (i. 5). 
 5. ^And this is the message which 
 we hate heard from him and 
 
 announce to you, that God is light, 
 and in him is 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, a direct repetition 
 of any words of the Lord ; 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 
 upon mutual knowledge. If we have 
 fellowship with God we must kuow 
 truly what He is and what we are, 
 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 Ue 
 in this announcement : ' God is light '; 
 and man turns to the Light as 
 being himself created in the image of 
 God (Gen. i. 27 ; i Cor. xL 7) and re- 
 created in Christ (Bph. ii. 10; Col. 
 iii. 10). This message is really 'the 
 Gospel.' 
 
 Hac sententia B. Johannes... divinse 
 puritatis excellentiam monstrat quam 
 nos quoque imitari jubemur dicente 
 
i-s] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 IS 
 
 Kui dvaryyeWoixev v/juv, on 6 0eos (pw^ e(rriv kui a-KOTia 
 
 ipso : Sancti estate qwmiam ego sanc- 
 tus Dominies Deus vester Lev. xix. 2 
 (Bede). 
 
 Kai...'\And.., The declaration is the 
 simple development of the statement 
 in c. 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.' 
 
 eoTiv avTTi] this is the message. 
 The original order (lost in V. et hmc 
 est) in which the substantive verb 
 stands first with unusual emphasis (xai 
 eoTiK avTT), comp. Hebr. xi. i note), 
 marks the absoluteness, the perma- 
 nence, of the message. The 'is' is 
 not merely a copula, but predicates 
 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 c. ii. 25 ; iii. 1 1, 
 23; V. 4, 9, 1 1, 14 and 2 John 6. 
 
 ayye\ia\ adnuntiatio v., message. 
 The word occurs only here and iii. 1 1 
 in the N.T., and it is rare in the Lxx. 
 The corresponding verb occurs in the 
 N. T. only in John xx. 18. The simplest 
 word appears to be chosen to describe 
 the divine communication. The an- 
 nouncement as to the nature of God 
 is a personal revelation and not a 
 discovery. God gives tidings of Him- 
 self and so only can man know Him. 
 
 an avTov]from Mm, that is, the Son 
 of the Father, Jesus Christ, in whom 
 the life was manifested, and who has 
 been the main subject of the pre- 
 ceding verses. 
 
 The 'from' {car avroxi) marks the 
 ultimate and not necessarily the im- 
 mediate source {nap outov). The 
 phrase aRoidv ano is not found else- 
 where in St John (but see Acts ix. 13) 
 while aKoveiv napa is frequent: John 
 i. 40; vi. 45; vii. 51; viii. 26, 38, 40; 
 XV. 15. The 'message' which the 
 Apostle announces had been heard 
 not only from the lips of Christ but 
 in fact also from all those in whom 
 
 He had spoken in earlier times (i Pet. 
 i. u). He was the source even where 
 He was not the speaker. Comp. i 
 
 Cor. xi. 23 irapcXa^ov airo, and C. ii. 27 
 
 note. 
 
 dvaYY^Wo/iev] adnuniiam.iis, V., we 
 announce. The simple verb and its 
 derivatives convey shades of meaning 
 which cannot be preserved in a ver- 
 sion. 'AyyeXXeiK simply 'to bring 
 tidings' occvlts only John XX. 18. 'Avay- 
 yeWfw to report, with the additional 
 idea of bringing the tidings up to or 
 back to the person receiving them. 
 'AirayyeKKetv to announce with a dis- 
 tinct reference to the source or place 
 from which the message comes. Ka- 
 TayycXXcti' to proclaim with authority, 
 as commissioned to spread the tidings 
 througliout those who hear them. 
 In avayytXKctv the recipient, in anay- 
 yiKKeiv the origin, in KarayyeKKew the 
 relation of the bearer and hearer of 
 the message, are respectively most 
 prominent, (i) Thus avayy. has in 
 nine cases a personal pronoun {ifiiv, 
 if/iix) 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 Gospels (Mark 
 V. 14, 19 false readings). For its 
 meaning compare i Pet. i. 12 a vvv 
 avTjyy^jj v/xiv, tidings which were lately 
 brought as far as up to you. Acts xx. 
 20, 27 Tov p,fi dvayyelXai Vfiiv, 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 anayy., 
 again, is seen clearly Matt. ii. 8 anayy. 
 /loi, from the place where you find the 
 Christ, Mark xvi. 13 antjyy. roiyXotn-oir, 
 from Emmaus where the revelation 
 was made; [John iv. 51 carrjyy. \i- 
 yovres, from his house where the sick 
 child lay ;] i Cor. xiv. 25 dnayy., from 
 the assembly at which he was moved. 
 The word is frequent in the Synoptic 
 
i6 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [1-5 
 
 Gospels and in the Acts; elsewhere, 
 in addition to the places quoted, it 
 occurs only i Thess. i. 9; i John i. 
 2, 3. (Heb. ii. 12 lxx.) Comp. v. 2 
 note. (3) Karayyf'XXfij' is found only 
 in Acts {KarayyeXfiis Acts xvii. 18) and 
 St Paul. Its force appears Acts xvi. 
 21 KarayyiK'Kovcri.v (6% Xvii. 3 op iya) 
 KarayyiWto, &C. 
 
 In connexion with these words it 
 may be noticed that St John never 
 uses in his Gospel or Epistles fuay- 
 ycXiov (or cognates). Cf. Apoc. xiv. 
 6 ; X. 7. 
 
 OTt...ea-T\v Kai...ovK c<mv...} The 
 combination of the positive and nega- 
 tive statements brings out (i) the 
 idea of God's nature, and(2) theperfect 
 realisation of the idea: He is light 
 essentially, and in fact He is perfect, 
 unmixed, light. The form of the 
 negative statement is remarkable: 
 'Darkness there is not in Him, no, 
 not in any way.' OvSeis 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 : tenebrce in eo non sunt uUcb. 
 
 Positive and negative statements 
 are combined vv. 6, 8; ii. 4, 27 ; v. 12 ; 
 John i. 3, 5, 20 ; ii. 25 ; iii. 16 (20), 
 
 o 6i6s 4>as ioTLv] DexjLS lux 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 is, and not as to what He 
 does. 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 ' He is light.' 
 The words are designed to give us 
 some conception of His Being. Comp. 
 Philo de Somn. i. p. 362 Trpmros likv 6 
 Beos (j)as earTi...Kal ov fiovov <j>as dXXa 
 (cat navTos erepov (jxnTOs dp)(ervTrov, 
 /laWov 8f dpxfTvnov irpftrfivTepov koi 
 dvcoTcpov 
 
 Thus the phrase is at once distin- 
 guished from the cognate phrases 
 which are defined by some addition ; as 
 
 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 ' t/ie 
 light of onen ' (John i. 4 f.): or when 
 ' the light, the true light, which light- 
 eth every man ' is spoken of as ' com- 
 ing into the world' {ioXva i. 9; comp. 
 c. ii.8) ; or when Christ — the Incarnate 
 Word — declares Himself to be ' the 
 light of the world' (John viii. 12; ix. 
 5 ; comp. xii. 46) ; or ' the light ' 
 (John iii. 19 f., xii. 35 f.); 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 closely 
 parallel with two other phrases in St 
 John's TPi'itings with which it must 
 be compared and combined : God is 
 spirit (John iv. 24) and God is love 
 (c. iv. 8, 16). 
 
 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 ' diffu- 
 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 their 
 most complete expression in relation 
 to man as he is in the idea of ' fire ' 
 (Heb. xiL 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 
 Might' and of the thoughts which are 
 naturally suggested by a consideration 
 of the nature 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, gloi-y : 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 
 
1-5] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 17 
 
 visible by reflecting into our eyes that 
 which we had not before seen. Comp. 
 Philo de prcem. et poen. ii. 415 6 5«os 
 eavTov <piyyos <Sv dt avTOv y.6vov ^eo)- 
 pelraL. See also Ps. xxxvi. 10. As 
 light it cannot but propagate itself; 
 and, as far as its own nature is con- 
 cerned, propagate itself withoutbouud. 
 All that limits is darkness. 
 
 It must 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- 
 self unapproachable, infinite, omni- 
 present, unchangeable, the source of 
 life, 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 
 Umit. 
 
 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 in all fulness 
 that God is light, self-communicating, 
 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 
 revelation of the nature of God is not 
 
 a satisfaction of speculative question- 
 ings : it is the groundwork of practical 
 results. 
 
 God is light: therefore men must 
 walk in the light. 
 
 Crod 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. 8. 
 
 The general opposition of light and 
 darkness, which occurs throughout 
 all Scripture, as throughout all litera- 
 ture, in its manifold partial applica- 
 tions, gives additional meaning to the 
 phrase. 
 
 lategory 
 Light. 
 truth 
 good 
 
 ■0/ 
 
 Category of 
 Darkness. 
 falsehood, 
 evil. 
 
 joy 
 
 safety 
 
 Ufe 
 
 
 sorrow. 
 
 peril. 
 
 death. 
 
 Compare Matt. iv. 16; Luke i. 79;. 
 xi. 35 f.; John iii. 19, 20; i Pet. ii. 9; 
 2 Cor. iv. 6; vi. 14; Ps. xxvii. i (and 
 Hupfeld's note). 
 
 KOI o-KoTi'a...] The light which God 
 is, is infinite, unbounded by any out- 
 line, and absolutely pure. It follows 
 that all that is in darkness, all that is 
 darkness, is excluded from fellowship 
 with God by His very nature. 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. 
 BasiUdes, fragm. Quidam enim [bar- 
 barorum] dixerunt initia omnium duo 
 esse quibusbona et mala associaverunt, 
 ipsa dicentes initia sine initio esse et 
 ingenita: id est, in prinoipiis lucem 
 fuisse ac tenebras, quse ex semetipsis 
 essent non quse esse dicebantur (ap. 
 Iren. Stieren, L p. 901). 
 
 W. J. 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [1.6 
 
 oi)k ea-Tiv ev avTw ovZefxia. ^'Cdv eiTrwfxev oti 
 
 oiK lanv iv airi} B me the: h aiT<p ouk ianv r NAC vg. 6. ia.v + -^i.p A. 
 
 2. Tfw relation of men to God (i. 
 6— lo). 
 
 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 (c. 3). How can the message 
 'God is light' issue in our com- 
 munion with the Father and with 
 His Son Jesus Christ ? The answer 
 Ues, 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; I John iii. 2). 
 
 But this ' assimilation to God ' 
 {oiwiaxrLs Tw Ofa Kara to Swarov) re- 
 quires a frank recognition of what 
 we are. 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 responsibiUty 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): 
 ^1/ we say We have fellowship with 
 
 Him, and walk in the darkness, 
 we lie, and 
 we do not the truth. 
 
 'If we say We Jiave no sin, 
 
 we 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 {vv. 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. 
 ^Ifwe confess our sins, 
 
 He is faithful and right- 
 eous to forgive us our 
 sins, and 
 to cleanse us from all 
 unrighteousness. 
 
 The third contrast passes into a 
 different form (ii. i f.). 
 
 The whole description refers to the 
 general character and tendency of 
 life, 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: 'we 
 do not the truth,' 'the truth is not 
 in U.S,' '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 
 
 Koivwviav h^ofiev julct' avTov Kai ev tw ctkotsi irepi- 
 
 TraTtofxev, y^evZofxeQa Kai ou TroiovfJiev tyiv dXi^deiav. 
 
 To chocse 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 seek 
 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 {ev TTJ a-KOTia). Comp. Matt. iv. 
 16; Luke i. 79; Rom. ii. 19. Skotos 
 occurs in St John only here and John 
 iii. 19 note. 
 
 The image of 'walking,' resting on 
 the Old Testament ^?n, ixx. nepara- 
 Tfiv, 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. 21. St John, it may be 
 added, does not use dvacrrpotjiii, ava- 
 iTTpe<l)fa-6ai, which are common in St 
 Peter and occur in St Paul and St 
 James ; nor iropeveaSai, which is found 
 in St Luke (Gosp. Acts), St Peter (i, 
 2), and St Jude. Such 'walking' is 
 not to be limited to mere outward 
 conduct, but covers the whole activity 
 of life. 
 
 yjr(vS6p.eda...ov TToioOfiev...] The com- 
 bination of the positive and negative 
 expressions here again (v. 5) presents 
 the two sides of the thought. Men 
 who profess to combine fellowship 
 with God with the choice of darkness 
 as their sphere of life, actively aflSrm 
 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 (lie.. .do) correspond 
 with the two which precede (say... 
 
 life, a life of spiritual fellowship and 
 sanctification ; and then of its detailed 
 realisation in spite of partial failures. 
 
 6. eav 6i7ro)jL4ei/] 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 g^ard against the temptations 
 to which the three types of false doc- 
 trine correspond. 
 
 The exact form of expression (iav 
 firraiiev) is found only in this passage 
 (vv. 6, 8, 10; comp. iv. 20 iavrts eiiri]). 
 
 It contemplates a direct assertion of 
 the several statements, and not simply 
 the mental conception of them. 
 
 oTi] 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. 
 
 KOIV. €)(OfjL€V p^T aVToO] With HvM^ 
 
 i.e. 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, v. 3, note : " If 
 we claim to have reached the end of 
 Christian effort..." 
 
 Kol iv Tfo <TK. vtp.] The compati- 
 bility of indifference to moral action 
 with the possession of true faith has 
 been maintained by enthusiasts in all 
 times of religioxw excitement. Comp. 
 c. IL 4; iii. 6; 3 John 11. 
 
 For early forms of the false teach- 
 ing see Iren. i. 6, 2 ; Clem. Alex. 
 Strom, iii. 4 §§ 31 f.; 5 § 40. Comp. 
 Jude ». 4. 
 
 iv Ta <TK. Trep.] walk in the dark- 
 ness, choose and use the darkness 
 as our sphere of action. The ques- 
 tion is not directly of the specific 
 character of special acts, but of the 
 whole region of life outward and in- 
 ward. The darkness {to o-kotos) is 
 the absolute opposite of 'the light.' 
 
 \lrfvS6peda} 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. [I. 7 
 
 '^iav 8e ev tw (pwrt TrepnraTWfjLev ws ai/TOS ecTTiv ev tw 
 
 ov TTOiovjUV rfjv akj'jOeiav] 11011 faci- 
 inus veritatem V., we do not the truth 
 (syr vg gives do not advance in...). 
 Truth is not only in thouglit and 
 word, but also in action. ' The Truth ' 
 (77 ak^deia) which reaches to every 
 part of human nature — the sum of all 
 that 'is' — must fiud expression in a 
 form answering to the whole man. 
 'I act,' in the words of Whichcote, 
 'and therefore I am.' Coinp. John 
 iii. 21 note; Keh. ix. 33 (lxx.). 
 
 In the Old Testament the phrase 
 ' to do mercy and truth ' (lxx.) occurs 
 not unfrequently : Gen. xlvii. 29 ; 
 Josh. ii. 14; 2 Sam. ii. 6; xv. 20, &c. 
 Contrast Troieiv T/^fOSoi, Apoc. xxi. 27. 
 
 7. ' Walking in the darkness ' is 
 fatal to fellowship with God, but such 
 fellowship is still possible. The Chris- 
 tian can in his measure imitate God 
 (Eph. V. i) ; and as he does so, he 
 realises fellowship vrith 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. Tlie chosen rule of Ufe — the 
 'walking in light' — is more and more 
 perfectly embodied in deed. The 
 failure which is revealed in the pre- 
 sence of God is removed. 
 
 God is in the light absolutely and 
 unalterably: man moves in the light 
 from stage to stage as he advances to 
 the fulness of his growth ; and under 
 the action of the light he is himself 
 transfigured. 
 
 The process of this great change 
 is written significantly in the N. T. 
 Christ by resurrection from the dead 
 first proclaimed light (Acts xxvi. 23), 
 that is life reflecting the divine glory ; 
 to this God has called us (i Pet. ii. 9); 
 and opened our eyes to look on the 
 illumination of tlie gospel of the glory 
 of Christ who is the image of God (2 
 Cor. iv. 4); who made m meet to he 
 partakers of tlie inheritance of the 
 
 saints in tlie light (Col. i. 12). By 
 believing on the light we become soils 
 of light (John xii. 36 : comp. Luke xvi. 
 8 ; I Thess. V. 5) ; and finally are our- 
 selves light in the Lord (Eph. v. 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 appU cation of the virtue of Christ's 
 life given for us and to us. 
 
 eav hi...'] but if we walk... There 
 is a sharp contrast between the vain 
 profession of fellowship and godlike 
 action. But, setting aside mere words, 
 if we walk in the light... 
 
 4v T^ (p. irepm.'] 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 ; Ii. 4. 
 
 The thought of walking in light and 
 in darkness soon found expression in 
 the allegory of ' The two ways.' Barn. 
 Ep. xviii. S. Doctrine of the Apostles, 
 1—6. 
 
 as avTos...} sicut et ipse Latt., as 
 He Himsdf 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 (i Tim. vi. 16). The realm 
 of perfect truth and purity in which 
 He is completely corresponds to His 
 own nature. Under another aspect 
 light is His garment (Ps. civ. 2), 
 which at once veils and reveals His 
 Majesty. 
 
 Bede expresses well the contrast of 
 nepmaTfiv and tlvaj. : Notanda dis- 
 tinctio verborum... Ambulant... justi 
 in luce cum virtutum operibus servi- 
 entes ad meliora proficiunt... Deus 
 autem sine aliquo profectu semper 
 bonus, Justus, verusque existit. 
 
1-7] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHK. 
 
 21 
 
 (jiwTi, KOivtaviav exofxev /jlct dWriXwv kui to aljua 
 'Irja-ov Tov vlou auTOU Kadapi^ei rifxa^ d-rro 7ra'o->js d/uLap- 
 
 7. tier' aWriXwv: A* (appy) tol CI Al Tert (followed by J. C. domini nostri) 
 read /ier' avToS; harl has cum deo. The readings are evidently interpretative 
 glosses. 
 
 'IijiroS XBC syrr the : + xpi^CToO S" A vg me. 
 
 Kadapl!;ei : some auths., including A, read the future (KaSaplaei. or KaJda.pi.el). 
 
 avTos] He Himself, our Lord and 
 King. Comp. Deut. xxxii. 39; Is. 
 sli. 4 (Cheyne); xliii. 10 ; Jer. v. 12; 
 Ps. cii. 28 (S-ln). 
 
 Koiv. ex- H-^'"'' aW.'] societatem ha- 
 bemus ad invicem V., we Juive fellow- 
 ship one with another, that is, brother 
 with brother : we enjoy the fulness of 
 Christian communion. The transcen- 
 dental fellowship with God which the 
 false Christian claimed becomes for us 
 a 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 vain 
 professors of Christianity {we have 
 fellowship with Him, v. 6), but gives 
 that which is its true equivalent ac- 
 cording to the conditions of our being. 
 Comp. V. 3. 
 
 The supposition that jxct aWriKav 
 means ' we with God and God with 
 us' is against the apostolic form of 
 language (John xx. 17), and also a- 
 gainst the genera form of St John's 
 argument, for he takes the fellowship 
 of Christians as the visible sign and 
 correlative of fellowship with God : 
 iv. 7, 12. Comp. iii. 11, 23. 
 
 Koi TO at/ia...] and the Wood... 
 This clause is coordinate with that 
 which goes before. The two results 
 of ' walking in the light ' are inti- 
 mately bound together. Active fel- 
 lowship shews the reality of that 
 larger spiritual life, which is life in 
 God ; and at the same time the action 
 of Christ upon the members of His 
 
 Body brings about that real sinlessness 
 which is essential to union with God. 
 
 The case taken is that of those who 
 are in Christ's Body. The question 
 is not of 'justification,' but 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. 
 
 'It^o-ou tov vlov avTov'\ Jesus His 
 Son. The union of the two natures 
 in the one Person is clearly marked 
 by the contrast ^Jesus' (not Jesics 
 Christ), ' His Son.' Compare (iv. 15); 
 V. 5; Heb. iv.- 14; (Gal. iv. 4 ff.); 
 and for the full title v. 3 note. Here 
 the human name (Je^us) brings out the 
 possibility of the communication of 
 Christ's Blood ; and the divine name 
 brings out its all-sufficing efficacy. 
 
 Mire... ait et sanguis Jesu filii 
 ejiis : Pilius quippe Dei in divinitatis 
 natura sanguinem habere non potuit ; 
 sed quia idem Filius Dei etiam Pilius 
 hominis factus est recte propter uni- 
 tatem personae ejus Filii Dei sangui- 
 nem appellat ut verum eum corpus 
 assumpsisse, verum pro nobis san- 
 guinem fudisse demonstraret (Bede). 
 So Ignatius (ad Eph. i) ventures to 
 write iv oLiiaTi 6eov. Comp. Light- 
 foot on Clem. Rom. i. 2 iradrjjuiTa 
 auTov, and the Additional Note in the 
 Appendix, pp. 400 ff. 
 
 For the title see Additional Note 
 on iii. 23. 
 
 Ka6apl^€L\ emundat Y., purgdbit 
 Aug., cleattseth. Comp. John xiii. 10. 
 The thought is not of the forgiveness 
 of sin only, but of the removal of sin. 
 The sin is done away ; and the puri- 
 fying action is exerted continuously. 
 
22 
 
 8' 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. [I- 8 
 
 €dv eiircoixev on 'Afxapriav ovk exofJ-ev, iavTOv<; 
 
 The idea of ' cleansing ' is specially 
 connected with the fitting preparation 
 for divine service and di\ine 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. 13 f., 22 f.). He gave Him- 
 self for us, to cleanse for Himself 
 a peculiar people (Tit. ii. 14). He 
 cleansed the Church to present it to 
 Himself in glory (Bph. v. 26 f.). 
 
 The fulness of the thought is ex- 
 pressed in Matt. v. 8, where the bless- 
 ing of 'the clean {naBapoi) iu heart' 
 is that they shall see God (comp. i 
 John iii. 2). 
 
 a. naa-rjs a/ii.] from all sill, SO that 
 men are made like to God, iu Whom 
 is no darkness (». 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 c. iii. 8 f. ; John 
 i. 29: for the plural v. g; 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 iras with abstract 
 nouns (tt. a/i. 'sin in all its many 
 forms ') see James i. 2 Trao-a x^P^j 2 
 Cor. xii. 12 nao-a uTro/ioi/i), Eph. i. 8 
 jratra (Tocjiia, 2 Pet. i. 5 ncura ottouSi;. 
 Contrast I Pet. v. 7 ndo-a i; /icpifiva, 
 John V. 22 (ttjv Kpiaiv nacrav), xvi. 13 
 {rrfv d\i]$€iav Tratrav). 
 
 The apostle describes the end and 
 consummation of Christ's work, to- 
 wards which the believer is ever 
 moving. There is no promise that 
 the end will be reached on earth. 
 
 8. The mention of sin at the end 
 of V. 7 leads on to a new thought and 
 a new plea. ' How,' it may be asked, 
 'has the Christian anything more to 
 do with sin ? How does it still con- 
 tinue 1 ' The question has real difficulty. 
 
 Some who do not venture to affirm 
 the ijractical indifference of action, 
 may yet maintain that siu does not 
 cleave to him who has committed it, 
 that man is not truly responsible for 
 the final consequences of his conduct. 
 This is the second false plea : We Imve 
 no sin; sin is a 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 shew that ' the truth is not 
 in us' as an informing, inspiring 
 power. 
 
 afi. OVK fj^ofiev] we have no sin. 
 The phrase aixaprlav e^"" is peculiar 
 to St John in the N. T. Like corre- 
 sponding phrases ex^'" ""'Vrii' (Matt, 
 xvii. 20; xxi. 21, &c.), fmijj' fjffti' (John 
 v. 26, 40, &a), XvnTjii ex"" (John xvi. 
 2 1 f.), &c., it marks the presence of 
 something which is not isolated but a 
 continuous source of influence (comp. 
 KOivavlav exeiv V. 3). 
 
 Thus ' to have sin ' is distinguished 
 from ' to sin ' as the sinful principle is 
 distinguished from the sinful act in 
 itself. ' 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. 1 1. 
 
 The word 'sin' is to be taken quite 
 generally and not confined to original 
 sin, or to siu of any particular type. 
 A tempting form of this kind of error 
 finds expression in a fragment of 
 Clement of Alexandria {Eel. Proph. 
 § '5) P- 993 P-) ° Ff" Ttoreuo-as a<j>c(riv 
 ap.apTrjpArav TKa^^u jrapa rov Kvptovj 
 6 fi' fv ■yi/oierfi •ytvofievor are ^ijKert 
 aiiapravav Trap' iavTOV Tiji/ a<fif(nv rmv 
 \onrav Kopl^crat. 
 
1-9] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 23 
 
 irXavwfiev Kal ^ a.\t]Beia ovk ecTTiv iu tj/iuv. ^eav o/ulo- 
 Xoytofxeu Tas dfiapTia? rjfxwv, ttlctto^ ecTTiv Kal B'lKaioi 
 
 8. ouK ^(TTiv ev Tjfujf fc^B me the: ^v Tjfuv ovk ^trriv S" AC vg. Comp. v. 10. 
 
 iavToiis TrXav.] ipsi nos seducimus 
 v., tee deceive ourselves, or rather, 
 ice lead onrsehes astray. Our fatal 
 error is not only a fact {itKavdiuda 
 Matt. xxii. 29; John vii. 47), but it is 
 a 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 (i/ctuSd- 
 ficfla); 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 iavrovs with 
 the first person see Acts xxiii. 14; 
 Rom. viii. 23; xv. i; i Cor. xi. 31; 
 2 Cor. i. 9, &c. St John uses it with 
 the second person c. v. 21 ; 2 John 8 ; 
 John V. 42; vi. S3; xii. 8. 
 
 The idea of Ttkavri (c. iv. 6) is in all 
 cases that of straying from the one 
 way (James v. 19 f): not of miscon- 
 ception in itself, but of misconduct. 
 Such going astray is essentially ruin- 
 ous. 
 
 The cognate terms are used of 
 the false christs and prophets (Matt. 
 xxiv. 4 ff. ; Apoc. ii. 20; xiii. 14; xix. 
 20; comp. c. iv. 6 ; 2 Bp. 7); of 
 Satan (Apoc. xii. 9; xx. 3 fif.), of 
 Babylon (Apoc. xviii. 23), of Balaam 
 (Jude 11). 
 
 'ATrarao), airarrj {(fipevaTrardaj, tppeva- 
 irarris) are not found in the wi-itings 
 of St John. In this group of words 
 the primary idea is that of 'decep- 
 tion,' the conveying to another a false 
 belief. 
 
 Kal ij d\. OVK. f. ev i;/[i.] and the truth 
 is not in us. According to the true 
 reading the pronoun is unemphatic 
 (so V. Id). 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 ff. ; xviii. 37. Introd. 
 to Gospel of St John, p. xliv. 
 
 The same conception is found in 
 the other apostolic writings ; 2 Thess. 
 ii. 12; Rom. ii. 8; 2 Cor. xiii. 8; 
 (Gal. V. 7); I Tim. iii. 15; iv. 3; vi. 5; 
 2 Tim. ii. 15, 18; (Tit. i. i); Heb. x. 
 26; I Pet. i. 22; James iii. 14; v. 19. 
 
 The Truth may therefore in this 
 most comprehensive sense be regarded 
 without us or within us : as some- 
 thing outwardly realised (v. 6 do ths 
 trvih), or as something inwardly effi- 
 cacious {the truth is in lis). Comp. v. 
 10 note. With this specific statement 
 i) dX. OVK etrnv (V TJfuv (comp. ii. 4) con- 
 trast the general statement ovk e<mv 
 <jX. iv avra John viii. 44 (' there is no 
 truth 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 
 answer 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 (i) 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: i Cor. vi. 9; Luke 
 xiii. 27. 
 
 iav ofioX.J There is no sharp oppo- 
 sition in form between this verse and 
 V. 8, as there is between 7 and 6 ((/" 
 we say — but if {iav Se) we walk). Open 
 confession and open assertion are acts 
 of the same order. 
 
 6110k. TCLs afu] coTifess our sins, not 
 only acknowledge them, but acknow- 
 ledge them openly in the face of men. 
 Comp. ii. 23 ; iv. 2, 3, 15; Apoc. iii. 5 ; 
 John i. 20; ix. 22; xii. 42; Rom. x. 9, 
 &c. The exact phrase is not found else- 
 
24 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [1-9 
 
 iva dcbfj riiJuv ras djxapTia^ Kai Kadapicrrj ti/uLcc^ d-rro 
 
 9. Ttts oAi. (2) AB: +iiiJ.ap NC vg syrr the me. om. tj/ms C. 
 
 wherein Jf.T.; but the kindred phrase 
 i^0fjio\oyei(r6ai afiaprias {irapaTTTtijiaTa) 
 occurs Matt. iii. 6 || Mk i. S; James 
 V. 16. Comp. Acts xix. 18. 
 
 Comp. Ecclus. iv. 26 /ii) ala-xvvdjjs 
 6fio\oyij(Tat f(ji apuprlats (rov, Sus. V. 
 14 dp,o\6yTia-av t^v iTTi,8vfiiav. 
 
 Nothing is said or implied as to the 
 mode in which such confession is to 
 be made. That is to be determined 
 by experience. Yet its essential cha- 
 racter is made clear. It extends to 
 specific, definite acts, and not only to 
 sin in general terms. That which 
 corresponds to saying 'we have no 
 sin ' is not saying ' we have sin,' but 
 ' confessing our sins.' The denial is 
 made in an abstract form: the con- 
 fession is concrete and personal. 
 
 Augustine says ^vith touching force : 
 Ista levia quse dicimus noli contem- 
 nere. Si contemnis quando appen- 
 dis, expavesce quando numeras. And 
 again: Vis ut ille ignoscat? tu ag- 
 nosce. 
 
 TTto-rof eoTiK...] The subject (God) 
 is necessarily supplied from the con- 
 text, vv. 5 ff. The form of the sen- 
 tence {Tn<TT6s...lva) 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 
 regard. He is not, as men are, fickle 
 or arbitrary. On the contrary. He is 
 essentially 'faithful' and 'righteous.' 
 Comp. I Clem, ad Cor. c. 27. 
 
 "Iva is construed with adjectives in 
 other cases: John i. 27 a|ioj Iva...; 
 Luke vii. 6 ixai/os Iva..., but these are 
 not strictly parallel; see c. iii. 11 
 note. 
 
 The epithet 'faithful' (TnoTor) 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 (i Thess. v. 24; i Cor. i. 9), 
 
 and guard those who trust in Him 
 (l Cor. X. 13; comp. i Pet. iv. 19), 
 because this is His Nature (2 Tim. ii. 
 13). With these passages those also 
 must be compared 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. 1 7). 
 
 God (the Father) again is spoken 
 of in the New Testament as 'right- 
 eous' {bUaios) in Apoc. xvi. 5; John 
 xvii. 25; Bom. iii. 26; and so also 
 Christ, c. ii. i, iii. 7; i Pet. iii. 18 
 (the usage in Matt, xxvii. 19, 24; 
 Luke xxiii. 47 is difierent). The sub- 
 ject in c. ii. 29 is doubtful. 
 
 The essence of righteousness lies in 
 the recognition and fulfilment of what 
 is due from one to another. Truth 
 passing into action is righteousness. 
 He is said to be righteous who decides 
 rightly, and he also who passes suc- 
 cessfully through a 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; so 
 that the idea of righteousness in this 
 case draws near not unfrequently to 
 the idea of 'mercy.' Compare the 
 use of 'righteousness' in the second 
 part of Isaiah {e.g. xlii. 6, Cheyne). 
 
 It may indeed be said most truly 
 that the righteousness of God is His 
 love seen in relation to the discipline 
 of man; and that love is righteousness 
 seen in relation to the pm-pose of 
 God. 
 
 So far as righteousness is mani- 
 fested 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 
 
I. lo] THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 25 
 
 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 diflBcult to see how this 
 view of God's action is included in 
 the fundamental message: God is 
 light. Light necessarily imparts it- 
 self (TTtoTor), and imparts itself as 
 light (SiKoios). 
 
 The two epithets are applied to 
 God as 'a righteous and faithful wit- 
 ness,' Jer. xlii. 5. 
 
 a<^fi ijfiip ras afi.^ The verb dcfitivai 
 occurs in this connexion in St John 
 c. ii. 12; John xx. 23. The phrase 
 a0f<rtf afiapriav (Synn., Acts, Eph., 
 Col., Heb.) is not found in his writings. 
 The image of 'remission,' 'forgive- 
 ness,' presents sin as a ' debt,' some- 
 thing external to the man himself in 
 its consequences, just as the image of 
 ' cleansing ' marks the personal stain. 
 
 The repetition of the pronoun (ij/itc, 
 ijfiar) is to be noticed. 
 
 a(j>rj...Kadapi(rri] remittat. . .emundet 
 ab... v., dimittat...purget ex... Aug., 
 forgive... cleanse... Both acts are 
 here spoken of in their completeness. 
 The specific sins (at ifiapriai) are 
 forgiven (see Additional Note): the 
 character (adiKia) is purified. The 
 Christian ciia,rBCteT (righieoiisness) 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 (v. 7). 
 
 The two parts of the divine action 
 answer to the two aspects of right- 
 eousness already noticed. As judg- 
 ing righteously God forgives those 
 who stand in a just relation to Him- 
 self : as being righteous He commu- 
 
 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 as 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' 
 (c. v. 17). 
 
 dSiKLas] iniquitate V., unrighteous- 
 ness. The word occurs elsewhere in 
 St John only in c. v. 17; John vii. 18. 
 
 Generally the kindred words (SjKat- 
 oa-uvTj, &c.) are rare in his writings. 
 Righteousness and unrighteousness 
 are regarded by him characteristically 
 under the aspect of truth 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 {justu^s... iniquitate), and hence 
 in A.V. 
 
 lo. So far the Apostle has dealt 
 with the two main aspects of the 
 revelation God is 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 {if we 
 confess our sins). Man must become 
 like God; and to this end he must re- 
 cognise 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 deny that 
 he personally has sinned. This plea 
 is suggested by the words ' our sins ' 
 in V. 9, just as the plea in v. 8 was 
 suggested by 'all sin' in v. 7. Con- 
 viction in this case is sought not 
 primarily in consciousness {we lie, v. 6 ; 
 
26 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. [I. lo 
 
 ■^ev(rTt}v TTOioufxev avTOv Kai 6 Aoyos auTOv ovk ecrTiv 
 
 iu tJfXLV. 
 
 we deceive ourselves, v. 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 (»». 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 (c. ii. 14). By claiming 
 sinlessness we first deny generally 
 the truth of the revelation of God; 
 and, as a consequence of this denial, 
 we lose the privilege of 'converse' 
 with Him : His word is not in us. 
 
 Philo in an interesting passage 
 (Leg. Alleg. i. 13: i. p. 50 M;) notices 
 the grounds on which men seek to 
 escape the charge of sin : 6 iir/ e'/i- 
 TTVfVcrBeis (Gen. ii. 7) Trjv dXtjdiVTiv 
 ^aifjv dW arreipos mv dpcTrjs KoXa^o- 
 fievos f'<^' oTs TJfiaprev fZrrfv av <ar dbUas 
 KoKa^eraij airetpla yap tov dyaSov o'(l>d\~ 
 XetrBai irepX avT6...Tdxa 8e /xijS' dfiap- 
 Taveiv <^7/er€t to napdirav ct ye ra dKOva-ta 
 Koi ra Kara ayvoiav ovSe dSiKfjuirav 
 \6yov fX"" ^ao"' nves. 
 
 ovx jjiJuipTrJKaiJ.fv] we have not sinned. 
 The statement is quite unlimited. It 
 is an absolute denial of the fact of 
 past sin as carrying with it present 
 consequences. 
 
 ijr. iroiovp.ev avrov] m,endacein faci- 
 mus eum V., we make Him a liar, 
 that is God (the Father) who is the 
 main subject of the whole section 
 6—10 {with Him, V.6; as He is, v. 7 ; 
 He is faithful, v. 9). 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 
 a liar' in His whole dealing with 
 mankind. Comp. c. v. lo. 
 
 The peculiar phrase ^. irowvfiev is 
 characteristic of St John (John v. 18; 
 viii. 53; x. 33; six. 7, 12), and carries 
 with it the idea of overweening, un- 
 righteous self-assertion. 
 
 Xoyos avToii] 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. i; viii ii, 21; 
 xi. 28 ; and habitually in the Acts : 
 iv. 31; vi. 2, 7; viii. 14; xi. i; xii. 
 24; xiii. 5, 7, 44, 46, &c. 
 
 The 'word' here differs from the 
 ' truth ' in c. 8 as the process difiers 
 from the result. The 'truth' is the 
 sum 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. 31, 32). And 
 further, the 'word' is personal: it 
 calls up the thought of the speaker : 
 it is ' the word of God.' The truth 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 v. 38, comp. viii. 
 37), and conversely he ' abides in the 
 word' (John viii. 31). 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 2/ 
 
 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. i), 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 ^^^ Testa- 
 representative men. He thus became the ' Father ' of the chosen people ™^" ' 
 in a peculiar sense (Ex. iv. 22; Deut xxxii. 6; comp. L 31, viii. 5; Is. Ixiii. 
 16, Ixiv. 8; comp. xliii. i, 6, 11, xliv. 2, 24, xlvi. 3 fif.; Jer. xxxi. 9, 20; Hos. 
 xi. i; Mai. ii. 10; comp. i. 6); and each member of the nation was His 
 child (Deut. xiv. i; Is. i. 2, xxx. i, 9, xliii. 6, Ixiii. 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, ' have I hegotten 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 vnll m,ake him my firstborn, higher than 
 tlie kings of the earth' (Ps. Ixxxix. 26 f.; comp. 2 Sam. vii. 12 ff.). Comp. 
 Ecclus. xxiii. i, 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 1"""®"- 
 Eastern household, and further that it is nowhere extended to men gene- 
 rally. God is the great Head of the family which loqks back to Him as its 
 Author. His ' children ' owe Him absolute obedience and reverence : they 
 are 'in His hand': and conversely He ofiFers 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. i), and not from the original 
 connexion of man as man with God. If the nobility of sonship is to be 
 extended to Gentiles, it is by their incorporation in the chosen family (Ps. 
 Ixxxvii.). 
 
 So far the conception of a Divine Fatherhood is (broadly speaking) ii. The 
 national among the Jews as it was physical in the Gentile world. But in J^.®^ °f 
 the Gospels the idea of Sonship is spiritual and personal. God is revealed as pather- 
 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. 1 1 ff.). The original capacity of man to receive God is trospels. 
 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 Grod. 
 
28 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 This idea The idea of the Divine Fatherhood and of the Divine Sonship as realised 
 
 realised in jn Christ appears in His first recorded words and in His dedication to His 
 
 Christ. public ministry. The words spoken in the Temple: ' Wist ye not that I 
 
 must be in my Father's hoiise ? ' (Luke ii. 49 iv roU tov iraTpos) 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 Ser- ^oth to Christ and to the disciples is exhibited most prominently. The 
 
 Mount ^^^^ notice of the sonship of men is remarkable and if rightly interpreted 
 
 most significant : ' Blessed are the j)eacemakers for they shall be coiled 
 
 sons of God' (Matt. v. 9). This benediction is seen in its true light by 
 
 comparison with the angelic hymn : ' On earth peace am,ong tnen of icell- 
 
 pleasing' (Luke ii. 14). The peace of which Christ speaks is that of 
 
 reunited humanity (comp. Eph. ii. 14 fl;). 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. 
 1 6). These are to be in range no less universal than the most universal 
 gifts of God, the rain and the sunshine (v. 44 flf. ; Luke vi. 35 ff.), in order that 
 the fulness of divine sonship may be attained and manifested (». 45 on-ias 
 yfvrjo-df viol tov it. v. tov iv ovp. ; Luke vi. 35 ea-ea-de vtoi vx^Icttov). At the 
 same time the standard of judgment, even all-knowing love, impresses a 
 new character upon action (Matt. vi. i, 4, 6, 18). The obligations of kin- 
 dred to others follow from the privilege of kindred with the common 
 Father (Matt. vi. 14 f. ; Mark xi. 25 f.). 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 fi'. ; Luke xii. 24 ff.). Here and elsewhere the 
 laws of natural afiFection are extended to spiritual relations (Matt. vii. 9 fi'. ; 
 Luke xi. 1 1 ffi). 
 The eleva- From these passages it will be seen how immeasurably the conception of 
 idea i°n the ^^*'^®'"l>''°*i '^ extended by the Lord beyond that in the Old Testament The 
 New Tes- '"'"'^ '® '""''^l' ^°*^ 0°' physical : it is personal and human, and not national. 
 tament. I* suggests thoughts of character, of duty, of confidence which belong to a 
 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 (Mat x 
 20, 29; Luke xii. 32). The 'name' of Him whom the Lord made known 
 was, it may be said truly, 'the Father,' even as the name of Him who sent 
 Moses was 'Jehovah,' 'the absolute,' ' the self-existent i.' And in this con- 
 
 ' Tliere is really no strict represen- Apocalypse, and even there it is modi- 
 tatiye of the name Jehovah in the New fied: Apoc. i. 4, 8, iv. 8 (6 ,Sv ,al i jj. ^al 
 Testament except in the 6 ci. of the i ipx-), xi. 17, xvi. 5 (6 u). .-ai & ,%) 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 29 
 
 iiexion the first petition of the Lord's Prayer gains anew meaning: Our 
 Fatlier which art in heaven, hallmced he Thy name — tlie supreme revela- 
 tion of Fatherhood (Matt. vi. 9 ; comp. Luke xi. 2). 
 
 The revelation of the Father is indeed distinctly claimed by the Lord The reve- 
 for Himself alone (Matt. si. 27; Luke x. 22). True disciijleship to Him is lation of 
 the fulfilment of 'His Father's' will (Matt. vii. 21). He pronounces with thg^^*"' 
 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). Ho 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. 
 But with the confidence of a Son the Lord maintains also the dependence 
 of a 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); 
 and He reserves some things for His Father alone (Matt. xx. 23). 
 
 Such a revelation of the Divine Fatherhood through the Son to sons Distluct- 
 definitely distinguishes the Christian doctrine of God from Pantheism ive fea- 
 and Theism. As against Pantheism it shews God as distinct from and ^^^^ ° , 
 raised immeasurably above the world; as against Theism it shews God t;oji 
 as entering into a 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 difierent form from that in which it is found in revelation 
 the Synoptists. Two titles occur commonly in the Gospel in relation to hood in^"^ 
 Christ: (a) The Father; and (j3) My Father. Both of these occur in the st John, 
 Synoptists each nine or ten times. But on the other hand St John never 
 uses the phrases o Trar^p fiov 6 cv ovpavols (o ovpavios), o jraTTjp vp.aj/ o eV 
 ovpavots, which occur each nine times in the Synoptic Gospels ; nor does he 
 use the phrase o Trarfjp vp-av except xx. 17 (in contrast); nor yet the 
 Pauline phrase o irarfip rjpav in his own writings. In the Epistles he uses 
 
 1 The simple title 'my Father' is xxvi. 53 irapaKoKiixai. rbv iraTipa 
 
 comparatively rare in the Synoptic pov. 
 
 Gospels. It is not found in St Mark But most frequently with the addition 
 (eomp. viii. 38||Matt. xvi. ■27). It oc- 6 h (tois) oipavdis (6 oipdvios). 
 
 curs in St Luke : vii. 21, xii. 50 rb BiXiipa tov r. p. 
 
 ii. 49 [ev Tois TOV ir. p.) tov iv (rois) oiip. 
 
 X. 22 (parallel to Matt. xi. 27) x. 32, 33 ipirpoaSev tov it. p. toS 
 
 xxii. 29 (ko9us SUBeTb poi 6 ir. p. iv (rots) oip. 
 
 ^affiKetav) xv. 13 ^v ovk e0iJTeu(r€v 6 ir. p. 
 
 xxiv. 49 (riiy iirayyeXiay tou it. p.) oipavios 
 
 In St Matthew it is found more fre- xvi. 17 oi>k dweKaKv^Ev dXK ir. p. 
 
 quently o e'" oip. 
 
 xi. 27 iravTo. poL TrapeSbBj] vwb xviii. 10 t6 irpbffioTrov tov tt. p. toO 
 
 TOV TT. p. «" oip- 
 
 XX. 23 o7s TfTolpaaTM iiro tou tt. p. 19 -levi^atTai. airols Tapa tou 
 
 xxv. 34 ol €i\oyqpivoi tov tt. p. ir. p. tov h oip. 
 
 xxvi. 29 iv tJ ^a(ri\elf tov w. p. 35 oiirws rai i tt. p. oipavios 
 
 39, 42 TlaTep pov iroiiiaei ipXv. 
 
30 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 uniformly the absolute title o narrip (comp. 2 John 3) without any addition ; 
 
 and in the Apoc. 6 varfip avrov (liov) but not o narrip. 
 in contrast These differences though minute aro really significant. St John in his 
 with that latest writings regards the relation of the Divine Fatherhood in its eternal, 
 in the Sy- (.j^g^^. jg^ j„ {(.^ present, realisation, and not in regard to another order. Or 
 noptists. ^^ j^^j^ ^j. ^j^^ ^^^^^ ^^.^^ 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 full sense of the title ' the Father' will be seen by an examination 
 
 ' the Fa- of the passages in which the titles o TTaTrjp and 6 6e6s occur in close con- 
 *"®'"' nexion : 
 
 John i. 18 6c6v,..€ls tov koKttov tov Trarpos. 
 
 — iii. 34 ff. 6€6s...Ta pTjp,aTa tov Seov.,.6 irarrjp dya7ra...7j opyrj tov 
 
 6eov. 
 
 — iv. 21 ff. Tw 7rarpt...Tw 7rar/>t...o 7raT7Jp...7rv€vp.a 6 decs. 
 
 — vi. 27 o nari^p, 6 6e6s. 
 
 — 45 f. 6€ov....TOv 7raTp6s...Tou 7rarepa...roO 6eov...Tov TTaripa. 
 
 — xiii. 3 oTi TTOVTa c8a)K€V avra 6 ■iraT^p...Ka\ on arro deov i^ffKBev kol 
 
 TTpor TOV 6eov vnayet. 
 
 — xiv. I, 2, 9 TOV 6e6v...TOV naTpos iiov,..TOv TraTepa. 
 
 I John ii. 13 ff. TOV TvaTipa-.-TOv 6€Ov...tov Trarpoff . . .toO Trarpos... tov dcov. 
 iii. I o ■iTaTrip...6eov. 
 
 — iv. 14 ff. o 7raTrip...Tov 6eov...6 ^eo$-...r(a de<S. 
 
 The title The title ' ray 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.' Incarnation, and to all revelation as leading up to it. It is found John ii. 
 
 16, V. 17, 43, vi. 32, 40, viii. 19, 49, 54, X. 18, 25, 29, 37, xiv. 2, 7, 20, 21, 23, 
 
 XV. I, 8, 15, 23, 24, x.^. 17. 
 
 Therela- -^s 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, spring 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 courae 
 
 of the history of the world, the revelation of the connexion of the Incarnate 
 
 Son with God and with man. ' The Father ' con-esponds 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. 
 
 ii. 16 o oIkos tov n. pov, comp. Luke ii. 49. 
 
 iv. 21, 23 Trpoa-KvveTv tm Trarpi, comp. Matt. xi. 27. 
 
 And the first great discourse which lays the foundation of the Lord's claims 
 unfolds the relation of the Sou to the Father and to men, and so 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 {vv. ly, 43), but elsewhere only the absolute 
 titles 'the Father," the Son.' 
 
 The two titles occur not unfrequently in close connexion, e.ff. : 
 
 John V. 43 fXi/Xv^a cv ra oxo^rt toC irarpos i^ov. 
 
 — 45 fV SoKfiTE on (ya KaTr/yopijcrio vjiav itpos tov narepa. 
 
 — vi. 27 TovTov 6 irarfip f(r(j)payurev. 
 
 — 32 o Trarijp /lou SlSauriv vpXv tov aprov i< tov ovpavov. 
 
 — X. 27 S40 TOVTO lie 6 nanip ayaira. 
 
 — 28 TavTTjv TTjv ivToXrjv cXa^ov Trapa tov irUTpos fiov. 
 
 — 29 o iraTrip p.ov o biha>K€v...apna^(iv e'x Trjs ^^ipos tov jrarpos. 
 
 — xiT. 7 ''O" iraripa jiov av rjSeiTe. 
 
 — 9 ° iaipaKas cfic capaKfV tov Trarepa. 
 
 — XX. 17 ouTTffl avapi^rjKa npos tov iraTipa. 
 
 — avaPaiva irpos tov narepa /iov... 
 
 They are found also in phrases otherwise identical to which they give 
 a sensible difference of colour. 
 
 John xiv. 1 1 eya ev r« irarpl Ka\ 6 TraTrjp iv ifioL 
 
 — 20 6-y(o €V Ta TvaTpi p.ov Koi vfjiels ev cfioL 
 
 — 31 ivToXriv eSaticev fiOL 6 irar^p, 
 
 — X. 18 TavTrjv TTjv ivToKiiv eXafiov Trapa tov Trarpos fiov. 
 
 If we try to go a little further into detail we notice the title ' the Use of the 
 
 Father': *i'll''^^ 
 
 Father.' 
 (i) In relation to men: 
 
 John iv. 21 — 2 npoiTKVveiv tZ TtaTpL. 
 
 — V. 45 p-rj boKelTC ort eya KaTijyopija-Qi vfiZv irpos tov tt. 
 
 — vi. 45 ^^s aKovaas napa tov tt. 
 
 — 46 ovx OTI TOV TT. eoJpaKec Tis. 
 
 — 65 iav liTj jj SeSo/ifVOV avTa ex tov n. 
 
 — X. 29 apiri^eiv i< ttjs ;(ei/)or tov n. 
 
 — 32 eSfi^a vpXv icdKa Ik tov tt. 
 
 — xii. 26 Tip.ri(rci avTov 6 ir. 
 
 — xiv. 6 ovSeis epxfTai jrpos tov jr. 
 
 — 8 Set^ov TOV TT edpa<fv Tov it. 
 
 — XV. 16 on av ainJoTjTE tov tt. 
 
 — xvi. 23 av n oin/OTjTe tov it. 
 
 26 ipO)TI]<T(0 TOV TT. TTepi VfiaV, 
 
 — 27 o jr. <^tXft vfias.. 
 
 1 John ii. I TTapoKkrjTOV cx"!"-^" ^P°s tok Jr. (note). 
 
 — 14 iyvwKaTC tov jr. 
 
 — 15 "i ayanr] tov it. 
 
 — 16 ovK eo'Tiv eK tov jr. 
 
 — iii. I hehcoKcv fjp.'iv 6 jr. 
 
 2 John 4 ivTo\r]v eka^ojicv irapa tov jr. 
 (2) In relation to the Son absolutely: 
 John L 18 o wK cU tov koKttov tov jr. 
 
 — iii. 35 o jr. ayaira tov vtov (comp. XV. 9). 
 
 — V. 26 o jr....rffl via c8(<>Ket>. 
 
32 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 John Vi. 46 OVTOS ((OpaKfV TOV IT. 
 
 — 57 Kaya> f<5 6ia TOV tt. 
 
 — X. 29 f'yrn Km 6 77. «>» fir/ifi'. 
 
 xiV. 28 O TT. fiCL^aV IMV i(TTlV. 
 
 — xvi. 15 itavra Sera e'xei 6 tt. f'/x" eo^Ttv. 
 
 1 John i. 2 rJTiS ^V TTflOS TOV TV, 
 
 2 John 3 ToO VloO ToO 77. 
 
 — 9 (cai TOV TT. KOI Toi/ 1)101/ ?\;« (comp. I John ii. 22 ff.). 
 
 (3) In relation to the Mission of the Son— 'the Father that sent 
 me': 
 
 Jolm T. 23 o TT. o iriii'^ai avTov. 
 
 — 36 a SeSa>Kev fioi 6 it fiapTvpel OTi 6 tt. /if airia-roKKev. 
 
 — 37, viiL 16, 18, xii. 49, xiv. 24 6 iriii^at fie jrarTJp. 
 vi. 44 TT. o jrffi\j/as fie. 
 
 — X. 36 ov 6 IT. ^ylaaev Kal aireoTetKev. 
 
 — XX. 21 KaBms aTTecrraKKev fie 6 jr. 
 
 Comp. XvL 27 f. Trapu TOV n., ck tov it. i^ffKdov. 
 I John It. 14 o tt. aTre'o-T-aXKev tov v'lov. 
 
 — i. 3, ii. 22, 23, 24 TT., o viof. 
 
 (4) More particularly in relation to the form of the Mission: 
 John V. 36 d 8iSa)Kev fioi 6 TT. Iva TeXfuiira avTO. 
 
 — vi. 27 o vlhs TOV avBpcoTTov . . .TOVTOV o TT. €(r<f>payi<rev. 
 
 — viii. 28 Kadcos edida^ev jue o tt. raura XaXw. 
 
 — jS a eyat ecopaKa napa to) tt. XaXtu. 
 
 — xii. 50 Kaddis fiprj<€V /io» o tt. ovtcos XaXm. 
 
 — xiv. 31 Kadcos ivToXrjv etaiKev p.oi 6 tt. ovTas ttolw. 
 
 — XV. 10 KaBcis f'-yca tov tt, ras tvToXas TenjprjKO. 
 
 — xviii. 1 1 TO 7roTi]pwv o BeBoiKev fiot 6 tt. 
 
 (5) And also to the active communion between the Father and the 
 Son in the accomplishment of it ; 
 
 John V. 19 ff. av /hi; ti ^\tirri tov tt. noiovVTO, 6 tt. TTovra SfiKWViv avTw. 
 
 — vi. 37 o BiSacriv p.01 it. 
 
 — X. 15 yLvai<TK€i pe 6 TT. Koya yivcocKO) tov tt. 
 
 — 3^ ^'' epoi 6 TT. Kayto eV Tw tt. 
 
 — XIV. 10 6 TT. ev €po\ fievoiv TTOtel to tpya avTov, 
 
 — II cyoo iv Ta tt. Koi 6 tt. ev epoL 
 
 — 3^ ayajTco tov tt. 
 
 — xvi. 32 o TT. peT epov ecTiv. 
 
 (6) And to the consummation of the Mission: 
 
 John X. 17 8ia toCto pe 6 TT. ayaTTa otj cytD Tidripi TrfV ^vx^v pov. 
 
 — xiv. 12 Ey<» Trpor tok tt. TTopeiopai. 
 
 — 13 "iva Bo^acrBfi 6 tt. ev tm via. 
 
 — 16 ep<i>Ti^(Ta TOV TT. Koi aXKov TrapaxXijrov Soio-et. 
 
 28, xvi, 28 TTOpeVOpai TTpoS TOV TT. 
 
 — xvi. 10 Trpoj TOV jr. VTTayo). 
 
 — 17 vjraym jrpos tov it. 
 Comp. xiii. I iva fieTd/3,7...jrpor tov tt. 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OP ST JOHN. 33 
 
 (7) And to the Mission of the Spirit : 
 
 John xiv. 26 TO wfviia t6 aywv o ^4/1^(1 6 jr. ev to okohoti fwv. 
 
 — XV. 26 irapaK\rjTos ov eyat ire/x>/^cd vfiiv Trapa rou tt., to TTvevjia.'.o 
 
 napa tov tt, eKTropcverai. 
 
 — xvi. 25 Trept ToC TT. dnayyeXa vfiiv. 
 
 In each respect the particular relation is traced up to the primal 
 relation of the perfect divine love expressed in the idea of Fatherhood and 
 Sonship. 
 
 The title 'ray 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 ^ ^, ^7 
 bring out a more obvious sense. It fixes attention, as has been already 
 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 
 
 (i) Specially in connexion with the oflBce 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 acts and 
 VFords, Israel might see the true character of the Lord. The Son was the 
 revelation of His Father : 
 
 John ii. 16 TOV OLKOV TOV TT. fU 
 
 — V. ly 6 TT. fi. etas apTi epyaferai. 
 
 — vi. 32 o jr. p.. SiSaxTiv iplv tov apTOv «k tov ovpavov. 
 
 — viii. 1 9 cure epc oiSaTC ovts tov tt. p.. 
 
 — 49 '"t/*^ TOV n. fi, 
 
 — 54 ^o^i-v 6 IT' p^ 6 So^a^Oiv p.e. 
 ■ — X. 37 f' ov ttolS Ta cpyo- tov tt. p. 
 
 — XV. I 6 IT. p. 6 yeapyos ecmv. 
 
 — 8 fv Tovro) ibo^a<T6ri 6 n. p. 
 
 — 23 o e'/ie purav (cai tov it. p. purel. 
 
 — 24 pepiw^KaiTiv Kai epe Koi tov tt. p. 
 
 (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 TO Bikijpa tov tt. p. 
 X. 18 TavTJjV TT/v ivToKriv tXajSoK Trapa tov it. p. 
 
 — 2g 6 IT. p. o B4ba>K€V poi. 
 
 — xiv. 2 iv Tg oiKia tov tt. p. 
 
 — 7 ft iyvaKeiri pe Koi tov jt. p. av ijSeiTe. 
 
 — 20 yvaxreaBc otl iym iv Ta jr. p. 
 
 21 ayairav e/ie ayairq8ri<7erai ujro toC jr. p. 
 
 — 23 o jr. /*. ayair^irei avTov. 
 
 — • XV. 15 a iJKOVira trapa tov tt. p. iyvapuja vp'iv. 
 
 — XX. 17 avafiaiva irpoy tov w. p. kw. iraTepa vpav. 
 
 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.' Christ consummated the 
 
 W. J. 3 
 
34 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 earlier teaching and presented in a pattern of complete sacrifice the fulfil- 
 ment of that love which is the source of being : 
 John V. 43 e\iji\v6a iv Ta ovofiari toO it. y- 
 
 — X. 25 ra epya a iyio Troiia iv raJ 6v6jiaTi,_ tov tt. ft. 
 Comp. xvii. 6, 11, 12, 26 (to ovofia rov jr.). 
 
 ' My Father ' in the revelation of Christ brings ' the Father ' clo.se to 
 us (comp. Heb. ii. 1 1 ff.). 
 'Theliving Still 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 flfoC (avTos, xv. 7 tov 6eov tov ^wvtos (Is tovs al. 
 Matt. xvi. 16 o vlos Toi 6. Toi C &c.). 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 o ^ao-tXeu? tcok aldvmv, i Tim. i. 17; Apoc. 
 XV. 3. 
 
 Additional Note on i. 7. The idea of Christ's Blood in the 
 Neiu Testament^. 
 
 The idea 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 0. T. j.|jg interpretation given to the use of Blood in the sacrificial system of the 
 
 0. T. 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 througU- 
 
 Tbeseatof out the Pentateuch. The Blood is the seat of Life in such a sense that it 
 
 Life; and ^^.^ j,g spoken of directly as the Life itself (iJ'QJ Gen. ix. 4; Deut. xii. 23). 
 
 More exactly the Life is said to be 'in the Blood' (Lev. xvii. 1 1). Hence it 
 
 was forbidden to eat flesh with the blood (Gen. ix. 4 ; Lev. vii. 26 f. ; xvii. 
 
 II 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 
 
 when shed, ^yhich 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 {■:Tapa. TOi/°A/3fX); Apoc. vi. 10. 
 
 Appointed This prohibition of the use of Blood as food gave occasion for the 
 
 for an clearest declaration of its significance in sacrifice (Lev. xvii. 10 f.): / will 
 
 -atone- ^^^^ ^^^ ^^ y^^^ against that soul tliat eateth blood, and will cut him off 
 
 from among tlie people. For the soul — ^ »/«— (tJ'QJ) of the flesh is in the 
 
 blood J and I have given it to you upon tlie altar to make an atonement 
 
 for your souls— lives (Uyri^^rhv), fur the Blood, it atones through 
 
 the soul— life (123' B'Sp), i.e. 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 note I may pp. 263 ff. Compare Additional Note 
 refer to the very suggestive note of Dr on Hebr. ix. n. 
 Milligan, Tlie Resurrection of Our Lord, 
 
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 f'^P'^'^'s of 
 speak, of the princijile of life by which it had been animated, so that this ,^^ gj^g^. 
 life became available for another end^ The ritual of sacrifice took account ding, (2) 
 of both these moments in the symbolic act. The slaughtering of the victim, spiink- 
 which was properly the work of the offerer, was sharply separated from ^"-S- 
 the sprinkling of the blood, which was the exclusive work of the priest. 
 The 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 the one word aiiJ.aTfKxv(rla, 
 sanguinis effusio (fiisio) V., outpouring of blood (Heb. ix. 22). Thus the 
 life was first surrendered and then united with God. 
 
 So far the thoughts suggested by the Jewish animal sacrifices seem to The Levi- 
 be clear; but they were necessarily imperfect and transitional. The union *'<'^1 "^^ 
 between the offerer and the offering was conventional and not real. The g ™^^" 
 victim was irrational, so that there could be no true fellowship between it bolioaland 
 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 case wanting in it, Christ supplied. AVith Him, the ^ '^.^®^ '" 
 Son of Man, all men are made capable of vital union : in Him all men '^'^ • 
 find theu- 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. He was at once 'offered' and 'offered Himself (Heb. ix. 
 14, 28); and hy His own hlood He entered in mice for all into the Iwly 
 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 (i) as rendered in free self- Blood 
 sacrifice to God for men, and (2) as brought into perfect fellowship with i^eath), 
 God, having been set free by death. The Blood of Christ is, as shed, the (^jbrought 
 Life of Christ given for men, and, as apphed, 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 mvolved in Christ's Death, the gj^^^"^*'^ 
 Death of Christ, on the other hand, expresses only a part, the initial part, always in- 
 cludes that 
 „ , „ of Christ's 
 
 1 ComparePhilo, qu. det.pot.ij1s.%23, \oyiKTJs iiroppevcTa-a iniyvh J" -^vev/ia... j^jfg 
 i. 207 M..:ii/ui> ovv KOivri vpbs to 0X070 Tiiirox nco. koI xi^paKTrjpa Betas Swifieas, Usage of 
 Sivanis oifflcw 0>.ax(y at/m' 71 Sk ix rTJs ■^v 6v(iit.an Kvplcf Muu<r?s eU6va KoKei... St John. 
 
 3—2 
 
36 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. 53 — 56. Participation in Christ's Blood is par- 
 ticipation in His life (v. 56). But at the same time it is imj)lied 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 J"^ ayaTraxni ij/x5r /cai Xvcravri i^/ms ck 
 rav afiaprtSiv [)J/i<Bi/] iv rm alfian avrov, and in Apoc. v. 9 07-t ea-(j)a.yris Koi 
 riyopatrai ra 6f(S Iv ra oL/iaTi, 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 (a-ya7r<ai/ri) seems to extend the act 
 beyond the moment of accomplishment ; and in the other ev tw alfiarc 
 is felt to add something to e(r<f>ayr)s which is noj, included in it. The 
 Blood is not simply the price by which the redeemed were purchased but 
 the power by which they were quickened so as to be capable of belonging 
 to God. 
 
 On the other hand in Apoc. xii. 11 cvUrjo-av avrbv Sia to alyui tov 
 apviov, Apoc. vii. 14 iXevKavan avrai [ras a-roXas] iv tm alfUiTi tov apvlov, 
 I John i. 7 TO at.fi.a*lrj(rov tov vlov avToii KaOapl^et- T]fj.as airo nacj-qs afiapTias, 
 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 stress 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; I John v. 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 the writings of St John (John xi. 50 f. ; 
 
 xviii. 14; xii. 24 f., 33; xviii. 32). It is only iu 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 (■n-aax^^v). 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. 
 
 Usage of In the Epistle to the Hebrews the manifold efficacy of Christ's Blood is 
 
 to1;S''^*^^ di^'ectly illustrated by a parallel with two representative sacrifices, the 
 
 Hebrews. 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. 1 1 ff.). 
 
 The Blood of Christ is the Blood of the New Covenant: Heb. ix. 15 ff. 
 See Matt. xxvi. 28; Mkxiv. 24; Lc. xxii. 20; i Cor. xi. 25, 27 (comp. i Cor! 
 X. 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. 12, i. 3. 
 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 cleansino-. He 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OP ST JOHN. 37 
 
 himself 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 Himl 
 
 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 °^^'^^'^ 
 salvation: books of 
 
 Acts XX. 28 T7JU €KKK7]criav Tov Beov rjv 7repte7rotTja"aro Sta rov olfiaTos 
 roil ibiov. 
 
 I let. 1. 18 f. eKvTpai6r]Te...Tifj.im mfiari as aiivov afuajiov K.a\ aawlXov 
 
 'X.pLOTOV. 
 
 Col. 1. 20 CLprjvoTrotrjcras Bia tqv oLfiaros rov a-ravpov avTov. 
 
 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 : 
 
 Bom. V. 9 diKMiodfirrcs vvv iv to atp.an auTov fra6r]<T6ii,fda St' avTOv. 
 
 Bph. i. 7 ev 0) e)(op.€v Trjv dnoXirrpaa-iv Sm toO alp.aTos avTov. 
 
 Eph. ii. 13 eyev^drjTC e-yyus eV tm atfiari tov Xptorou. 
 
 In other places the thought of the continuous efficacy of Christ's Blood 
 as a power of Ufe is even more conspicuous : 
 
 I Pet. 1. 2 {cKXeKTols) etff vnaKo^v kol pavricrfiov aip,aTos 'Itjo-qv XpiOToO. 
 
 Heb. ix. 14 TO alfxa TOV 'K.pLOTOv . . .Kadapifl ttjv {rvvfidrja-LV ^fimi/ otto 
 veKpSv epycov els to Xarpeveiv Sem ^wvti. 
 
 Heb. X. 19 e)(OVT€s ..wapprjo-lav els rfjv etcroSov Tai/ dylav iv rco aip.aTi 
 Irjcrov . . .7rpocrepx<^[i€6a. . . 
 
 Heb. xiL 24 (jrpoaeXTjXvdare) atfiari pavrio'p.ov KpeiTTOv XclKovvtl Tvapa 
 TOV 'AfieX. 
 
 The two elements which are thus included in the thought of Christ's iJohni. g. 
 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 ofiered), are indicated clearly in v. 9 [God] is faithful and righteous 
 to forgive us our sins (the virtue of Christ's Death) ; and to cleanse us 
 from all unrig fUeousness (the virtue of Christ's Life). 
 
 Additional Note on i. 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 °^ t™i^"^ 
 in the Epistle. 'Sin,' St John says in a phrase of which the terms are 
 made convertible, 'is lawlessness' (c. iii. 4 dfiapTia ea-Av 17 dvopia, pec- 
 catum est iniquitas 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 
 
 ' Compare a remarkable passage of koI tout' (an ■nc'iv to at/ia tov 'ItjctoC 
 
 Clement of Alexandria : SiTrhv Si to rijs KvpiaKrjs peraXapelv d<pffap<rlar l<r- 
 
 alpa tov KvptoVf to phi y6.p iartv aiiTOv x^^ ^^ "^^^ \6yov to irvevpa, (hs atpa 
 
 aapKiKdv, (^ TTJs ^dopas XeXuT/jtijue^a, to crapKos [Peed. ii. -z, § 19). 
 5e TTveupuTiKQv, ToiTeffTw y KexptO'peOo.. 
 
38 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 is 'a sin': the priuciple which finds expression in the special acts is 'sin' 
 (?J a/iapTia, John i. 29)^ 
 Sin is self- When traced baclc to its last form this 'sin' is the self-assertion of the 
 assertion, fJujte in violation of the limits which guide the harmonious fulfilment of 
 ness^ ^' "^^ ^^^^ °^ '^^ being. Every such act, being in its essence self-regarding, 
 hatred. self-centred, must be a violation of 'love.' Thus lawlessness is under 
 another aspect selfishness; or as it is characterised by St John, 'hatred' 
 in opposition to love (i John ii. 9; iii. 14 i. ; iv. 20). There can be essentially 
 no middle term. 
 The re- The 'law' which determines man's right conduct finds manifold declara- 
 
 vealedlaw. tion, through special divine utterances (John xvii. 8, prJiiaTo), commandments 
 (c. ii. 3 ivToKai), which are gathered up in the unity of one revelation (Xoyoj) 
 without and within (c. ii. 7, 14). To disregard any of these is to sin. 
 'Sin,' It follows that afiaprla ('a sin,' 'sin') and dfiapravfiv ('to sin') have two 
 
 ' sms.' distinct meanings. 'Afxapria may describe a single act impressed by the 
 sinful character (i John v. 16 f.), or sin regarded in the abstract (John xvi. 
 8 f.). And again afiaprdveiv may be 'to commit a sinful act' (c. 1. 10) or 'to 
 present a sinful character' (c. iii. 6). The plural dpaprlaL ofiers no ambi- 
 guity (John viii. 24; xx. 23; i John i. 9; ii. 2, 12; iii. 5; iv. 10; comp. 
 Apoc. i. 5 ; xviii. 4 f.). 
 The sinful This distinction between the priuciple, the power, of sin and the mani- 
 character. festation of the power in individual sins is of primary importance. The 
 WTong-doer embodies sin in deed (c. iii. 4, 8 o ttoumc rf/v dfiapTiav, comp. 
 John viii. 34), just as the right-doer embodies the Truth (c. i. 6 iroieXv -rtiv 
 akrieetav); and by so doing he contracts a character corresponding to his 
 deeds (c. i. 8 ex^i apapriav). 
 All men as Sin, as a fact, is universal (i John i. 10) ; and the end of sin is death 
 salvatfon ("^^^^^ '■ 'S)- Or, as St John states the case, looking at the eternal re- 
 lations of things, man in his natural state is 'in death' (i John iii. 14 
 p-fTa^f^riKapev eK tov davdrov els ttjv C'^rjv; comp. John V. 24, 40; Matt. viii. 
 22 II La ix. 60; Le. xv. 24). 'The wrath of God abideth upon him' (John 
 iii. 36 pevfi in avTov; conip. Eph. ii. 3 tcki/q ^uo-ei dpyrjs). He needs 'sal- 
 vation' (trtuffii- John iii. 17; v. 34; x. 9; xii. 47; aar-qp John iv. 42, i John 
 iv. 14; ij o-fflTT/pio John iv. 22; comp. Apoc. vii. 10; xii. lo; xix. i). 
 
 It may come to pass that 'sin' and 'sins' surround the sinner and 
 become as it were the element in which he exists (John viii. 21 iv t^ 
 dfiapTca, 24 iv rais dixapriais, COmp. I John V. 19 iv ™ TToi/ijpm KciTm). He 
 
 who sins 'has not seen God' (i John iii. 6). 'Darkness' not only hinders 
 the use of sight but destroys the organ of sight (i John ii. u). There 
 is even in the Christian body a sin unto death (cl v. 16 d/iapWa Trpot Sdvarov, 
 
 ' This use of ij ipapHa is not found Matthew, St Paul, Hebrews, St James; 
 
 in the Synoptic Gospels nor in the Acts. in 2 John 9 read 7rpod7<oi/); (irapavoiutv. 
 
 It occurs in St Paul: Eom.v. 12, Ac. vapcivop.la) ; ^apiwTupa. (irapairl-nreLv) 
 
 Many of the special terms which are (St Matthew, St Mark, St Paul). He 
 used for sin in different aspects in commonly speaks of sin under the 
 other writings of the New Testament, terms 'darkness,' 'hatred,' 'wander- 
 are wanting in St John, e.g. iuie^uv, ing.' Compare the very interesting 
 dcr^/Seia (St Paul, St Peter, St Jude), enumeration of typical forms of sin 
 ■wapa^ixlveiv, irapd^ajis, Trapap&Tt)i (St in Ecolus. xii. 17 f. 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 39 
 
 peccatum ad mortem V.) which excludes from the privileges of the Chris- 
 tian society, the natural 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 6 afmos deals with 
 Toil 6(ov, 6 alptov Ti)i/ afiaprtav tov Koa-fiov, V. Agnus Dei. ..qui tollit pecca- ^'" ^ 
 turn mundi) ; and again ' He was manifested that He may take away sius,' 
 not simply 'our sins' (i John iii. 5 (<f>avepd6ri cva apjj Tas a/iapTias, ap- 
 paruit ut peccata tolleret V.). Under another aspect this 'removal of sins' 
 is an 'undoing,' an 'abrogation of the works of the devil' (c. iii. 8 i<\>av- 
 epddrj 6 vios tov 6cov iva Xvcrj; to. cpya tov Sia^oKov, appwruit 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. Siu unless it be taken away 'abideth' (John ix. 41); and ^^bt, 
 its consequences fall under three main heads. The sinner incurs a debt; ^li^n^fion 
 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 so 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 'remission' of sins (c. i. 9; John xx. 23): the notion of bondage 
 finds a most emphatic exposition in John viii. 32 ff.: 'the love of the 
 Father' is incompatible with the love of the world, out of which sin springs 
 (i John ii. 15 ff.; comp. Bph. iv. 18; Col. i. 21). 
 
 Thus it is that man needs forgiveness, redemption, reconciliation. For- Porglve- 
 giveness in order to be complete involves not only the remission of the "^^^• 
 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' (i John 
 
 i- 9)- . . 
 
 Redemption again includes two elements, the deliverance of the sinner Eedemp- 
 from thraldom to a foreign power, and the restoration of his lost strength, tioi^- 
 St John does not use the group of words connected with Xw-pov (KvrpovaBai, 
 XuTptBTiJs, XiIrpaxTif, avTiXvTpov), but he has the simple Xu<b (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 f). 
 
 Man's estrangement from God by sin can also be regarded in two ways. Eeooncili- 
 Sin cannot but be a. bar to God's love; and conversely man as sinful ation. 
 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 KoroKKcuTafiv, dn-o/taTaXXao-o-fti/, 
 icaraXXayi), which are pecuUar to St Paul: the former in the group 
 iXia-KoijLai, tKcurfios, iXa<mjpioi>. The change in the personal relation of 
 man to God, from the side of man, indicated by 'reconcilement' (2 Cor. v. 
 18—20; Rom. V. 10 f), is referred to its source by St John, who shews that 
 
40 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 All flow 
 from fel- 
 lowship 
 in Christ. 
 
 the love of God in the Mission of His Son calls out man's love (i John iv. lo). 
 On the other hand God looks with good pleasure on man in Christ : Christ 
 is 'the propitiation for our sins' (c. ii. 2). 'He loosed us from our sins in 
 His blood' (Apoc. i. 5). 'His blood cleanseth from all sin' (i. 7; comp. 
 Heb. i. 3 Kadapiafwv a/i. iroujo-afievos, Acts xxii. 16 OffoXot/o-at rar d/i.)^. 
 
 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 
 reconcilement. 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' (i John v. u f.). The possession of such 
 life is the destruction of past sin, and safety from sin to come (i 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 
 xvL 9). 
 
 Compare additional notes on i. 7; ii. 2, 13. 
 
 It may be added that it will be evident from this sketch of the teaching 
 of the N.T. on sin, according to which the fundamental conception of sin is 
 tlie 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 things. 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. 
 
 ^ 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, 
 (i) As to sin itself, He brought 
 
 condemnation by His Incarnation ; 
 Bom. viii. 3 6 6e6s tov eauTou 
 viov Trifi-J/as...KaT{KpiP£ ttjk a/j.ap- 
 tIcw iv Ty trapxl. 
 disannulling by His sacrifice: Heb. 
 ix. 26 els idiniaiv ttjs a/xaprlas, 
 5ta T^s Bvffla.s adroi Trefpavipu}- 
 Toi... Comp. Bom. vi. 7 6 airo- 
 daviiv SediKaiojTOL diro t^s ap.. 
 (2) As to the sins of men Christ 
 
 makes propitiation for them : Heb. 
 ii. I7...a/>xte/)ei)s...£is to IXda/tetr- 
 Bai. Tos kpaprlas rou \aoO. 
 
 forgives them : Matt. ix. 2 ff. : 
 dipUrrral ffov al apaprlai. Comp. 
 Col. ii. 13 x<'-P^'^^l^'">^ Ti, irapa- 
 TTTthpara. 
 
 takes them away, by bearing them : 
 I John iii. 5 Iva aprj tos apup- 
 rlas ; John i. 29 6 aXpuv ttjv apap- 
 rlav TQv Kdtrpov. Comp. Heb. x. 4 
 afpaipuv ap. ; X. 1 1 Trepiekav ap. 
 
 looses men from them : Apoc. i. 
 5 Ty . . .X waxj-i ripas iK twv ap. 
 iv tQ aXpaTL avrov, Comp. Bom. 
 vi. 22 iXevdepojdivres otto ttjs 6,p. 
 
 cleanses men from all sin: i John 
 i. 7 TO af/ia 'lri<roS...Ka9apl^cirip. 
 
 OTTO TT. a^. 
 
 saves from sins: Matt. i. 21 o-iio-ei 
 
 ...aTTO TfjijV dp. 
 
II. i] THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 41 
 
 II. ' TcKvla fjLOV, TavTa ypdipuj vjuuv 'iva fxrj afxap- 
 
 II. The eemedy for sin and 
 
 THE SIGN THAT IT IS EFFECTUAL (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 {vv. i, 2). 
 
 2 The sign that the remedy is effec- 
 tual in any particular case {vv. 3 — 6). 
 
 The first sub-section answers to the 
 counter-statements made in relation to 
 the first two pleas of men (i. 7, g), but 
 it has a prominent distinctness of form, 
 as giving the complete answer to the 
 problem raised in i 5 — 10. 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, 
 soUicitus esto. Fidelis enim est et 
 Justus ut dimittat nobis delicta nostra 
 si semper tibi displiceas et muteris 
 donee perficiaris. Ideo quid sequitur ? 
 Filioli Tnei, haec scribo vohis ut non 
 peccetis. 
 
 I. T?ie divine remedy for sin 
 (ii- I, 2). 
 
 ^My little children, these things I 
 vyrite to you that ye may not sin. 
 And if anyone sin, we h<ive an advo- 
 cate with the Father, Jesus Christ, 
 the righteous; "and himself is a 
 propitiation for our sins, and not 
 for ours only, tut 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. 
 
 How, it may be asked, is that forgive- 
 ness, that cleansing, ah-eady spoken 
 of (i. 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 'we 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 true throughout. 
 
 I. TCKvia /iot)] filioli mei Y., my 
 little children. The form adopted in 
 i. 7, g 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 rcKi/ia oc- 
 curs in John xiii. 33 and c. ii. 12, 28; 
 iii. 7, 18; iv. 4; V. 21 (Gal. iv. 19 Teiaiia 
 fiov is uncertain). The full title TCKvia 
 
42 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. [II. i 
 
 TriTe. Kat eav ti£ d/napTri, irapaKXriTOv e^oimeif irpo's 
 
 IJ.OV is found only here (c. iii. i S is a 
 false reading). A commentary on St 
 John's use of the word is given by 
 the story (jivdot ov fivBos) of the 
 young Robber (Euseb. H. E. iii. 23). 
 
 TavTa ypa(j}a>] 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 
 the preceding section includes all by 
 implication. 
 
 The use of the singular, I icrite (vv. 
 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 21, 26; V. 13; contrast 
 i. 4) follows from 'my dear children.' 
 
 Xva fj.fl diiapTrjTc] ut non peccetis V., 
 that ye may not sin. The phrase 
 is absolute. The thought is of the 
 single act (d^ripri^re) not of the state 
 (o/ittpTni/jjTe); 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 (». 6). 
 
 The difference of the aor. and pres. 
 conj. in connexion with %a is well 
 illustrated by John v. 20, 23 ; vi. 28 f. 
 
 Kat iav Tis. . .] sed et si quis V., i.e. iav 
 Sf KOI, 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 iav Se), nor simply as a 
 parallel clause (i. 9 ekv o/ioXoyi/iei/) ; 
 but as a continuous piece of the one 
 message. Here again the thought is 
 of the single act (d/iapTj;) regarded 
 as past, into which the believer may 
 be carried against tlie true tenor of 
 his life (i. 7), as contrasted with the 
 habitual state {afiapTava, 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 
 
 sentence is remarkable. St John 
 writes i/ any one. ..ice... and not if 
 ye sin. ..ye..., nor yet if we sin... 
 we. ..or if 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 himself, 
 and to which Christ's promises are 
 assured. This is forcibly pointed out 
 by Augustine : Non dixit habetis, nee 
 me liabetis dixit, nee ipswm Christum 
 habetis dixit ; sed et Christum posuit 
 non se, et hdbemus 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 damuandos 
 superbos. Comp. Hebr. x. 26 u. 
 
 e;(op.fi/] ?o« have as a divine gift. 
 Comp. ii. 23; V. 12; 2 John 9. 
 
 n-apd(cXj)Toi/] 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 .igainst his 'accuser' 
 {Kar-qyap Apoc. xii. lo; comp. Zech. 
 iii. I; avribiKos I 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. 1 1 ff., 24 ; vii. 25). 
 
 For the meaning of the term n-opn- 
 KXrjTos 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.). 
 
II. 2] THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 43 
 
 Tov TTUTepa 'Iriarovv Xpia-rov BUaiov, '■kuc avVos 
 
 Augustine applies the legal image 
 in a striking parallel : Si aliquando in 
 hac vita committit se homo disertse 
 linguae et non perit, committis te 
 Verbo et peri turns 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 (we Christians have). 
 
 Clement of Rome (i. 36) speaks of 
 the Lord under a corresponding title : 
 ...evpofjLiv TO (ratrrjpiQv rjnajv Irja-ovv 
 "KpiOTOVj TOV dp^icpea Ttov irpotrf^opoav 
 ij/imv, TOV irpoaraTriv (patronum) Koi 
 ^or}6ov Trfs do-0ev€ias tJ/kuv. 
 
 Trpbs TOV rraTcpa] apud patrem V., 
 ad patrem Aug. (apud deum patrem 
 Tert.), with the Father, not simply 
 in His Presence, but turned toward 
 Him, addressing Him with continual 
 pleadings. Comp. c. i. 2; John i. 1. 
 
 Christ's advocacy of man is ad- 
 dressed to God in that relation of 
 Fatherhood vphich has been fully re- 
 vealed in the Son who has taken man- 
 hood to Himself {npos tov naripa not 
 irpos TOV 6e6v). 
 
 Comp. i. 2 T/v npos tov Trarepa; i. 3 
 /xera tov izaTpos kol fj.€Ta tov vlov av~ 
 tov; ii. 14 eyvcoKOTe tov Trarepa; ii. 1 5 
 »7 aycLTTr] tov naTpos', ii. 1 6 ovK ecrrti/ 
 €K TOV TraTpos; ii. 22 o dpvovp.evos tov 
 TTorepa Ka\ tov vlov; ii. 23 o ofwXoyav 
 tov vlbv Kul TOV TraTcpa e;^€t; ii. 24 ^v 
 Tfi) via Kol [cV] Tfij Trarpt; iii. I SedatKev 
 rjfiTv 6 TraTTip; iv. I4 <5 TraTrjp aTTeo'TaK- 
 
 K€V tov vlov. 
 
 in every case this special concep- 
 tion is important for the fulness of 
 the argument. See Additional Note 
 on i. 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. 
 
 Siratoi'] 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- 
 vocacy of man. 
 
 This rests (so to speak) not on His 
 divine nature as Son of God, but on 
 His human character (comp. i Pet. iii. 
 18). 
 
 He has Himself 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 turn 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 John: John xvii. 25 Trarrip SUaie; 
 c. i. 9; ii. 29; iii. 7. Comp. Rom. iii. 
 26. 
 
 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 a 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 (Lc. 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. 
 
 [II. 2 
 
 iXao-jmo^ e(TTLv irepl twu d/uapTiwi^ riixwv, ov irepi twv 
 rjfxerepwv Se fxovov dWa kul vrepi bXov tov Kocrfxov. 
 
 •2 iX. eanv KBC : ecrr. IK. A vg. 
 Eom. iii. 29. 
 
 tliat work which He accomplished on 
 earth. 
 
 Bede says well : Unigenito Filio 
 pro homine interpellare est apud co- 
 seternum Patrem se ipsum hominem 
 demoustrare ; eique pro huniana na- 
 tura rogasse est eandem naturarn in 
 divinitatis suae celsitudine suscepisse. 
 InterpeUat ergo pro nobis Dominus 
 non voce sed miseratione, quia quod 
 damnare in electis noluit suscipieudo 
 servavit. 
 
 2. KQt aiJrof...] 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 sins. Comp. 
 2). 25 ; c. i. 7; iv. 10, 19 (3 John 10) ; 
 John ii. 25 ; iv. 44 ; v. 20 ; vi. 6 (xii. 
 49) ; I 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, so 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 is) 
 and not as past {He was; comp. iii. 16 
 Tr)v ^V)(riv edrjKfv). 
 
 iKaa-iios] propitiatio V., a propi- 
 tiation. Comp. iv. 10. The Latin 
 renderings are unusually numerous. 
 Besides propitiatio which prevailed, 
 exoratio, deprecaiio, placatio are 
 found, and also the verbal renderings 
 {ipse) 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 
 
 ndvov SAC vg : /ideuv 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. iiL 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' (i 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 propitiatur nobis cum Patre 
 (Bede ad loc). 
 
 TTcpl ran a/i. /;.] pro peccatis nos- 
 tris v., peccatorum nostrorum Aug., 
 for our sins. The privilege of Chris- 
 tians (ij/xtov) is noticed first. And it 
 is natural that in the first case the 
 stress is laid on 'sins' {mpX rav ofi. 
 ?i/x(ai/) and in the second case on 'our' 
 {ircfH Tmv TfiieTeptov). 
 
 'The propitiation of Christ is here 
 described as being 'for,' 'in the mat- 
 ter of {trepl) our sins' (comp. ?JJ ^i?), 
 and not as 'in behalf of us' {imip 
 Tip,aiv). On the phrases irepl {inkp) 
 afxapTias (-itov) see Hebr. xiii. 11 
 note. 
 
 ov n. I . fj. S«'] The particle (Sc) marks 
 the clause as guarding against error, 
 not merely adding a new thought. 
 
 TTfpt oKov TOV K0<7^0u] prO tOtiUS 
 
 mundi [sc. peccatis] V., {sed et) totius 
 mundi Aug., for tlie whole world. 
 The variation in the construction {for 
 our sins., for the whole world) is full 
 of meaning (comp. Heb. ix. 7). Chris- 
 tians as such are holy but still not 
 
II. 3] THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 45 
 
 ^ Kai iu TOVTb) 'yivuxTKOixev on eyvwKUjULev avTOV, iav 
 
 3 Aug. reads simply et in hoc cognoscimus eum. <pv\6iuiii€v (for Tijpu/j.ei') X*. 
 
 unstained by sins contracted ' in the 
 walk of life ' (John xiii. 10) ; the 
 world, all outside the Church, as such 
 is sinful (c. v. 19). But for all alike 
 Christ's propitiation is valid. The 
 propitiation extends as far as the 
 need of it (I.e.), through all place and 
 all time. Comp. iv. 14 (John iv. 42; 
 xii. 32; xvii. 22 — 24). 
 
 The supposition that nepl oXou roO 
 Koaiiov is an elliptical expression for 
 irepi Tojv a^apnav oXoo tov Koa-p/w 
 (so Latt.) is not justified by usage, and 
 weakens the force of the passage. Con- 
 trast Hebr. vii. 27. 
 
 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: o tSp 'lov- 
 Saiav dp)^iepfvs ov iiovov mep anavTOS 
 dvdpaTrav yevovs dWa koX VTrep tmv rijs 
 KJivceois fiepcov, yrjs vdaros depos KoX 
 TTvpos, rds re €V)^as kol ras evxftpLtrrlas 
 noi€iTai, TOV KCKTiiOv, oirtp e'orl raii 
 dXrjdelais, irarplha eivai eavTOV vop,l^<ov, 
 vjrep ^s iKe(rLais Kal XiTois eitaBev €^ev- 
 ixevl^eiv TOV Tjye^ova noTvimfMevos rijs 
 €7ri€iKovs KOL i\e<a <jiv(reas avrov /lera- 
 8i86vai T(3 yevop^va, 
 
 Comp. I Clem. R. C. 7 drevia-aixev 
 els TO aifjuz TOV "KpioTov Koi idtop-ev as 
 coTiv Tiiuov TO 6fa Koi naTpi avTov, on 
 Sia TTJi) i^fierepav trcDTripiav eKxvdev ttuvtI 
 Tm KOirpM lieravolas X^P'" vn^veyKev. 
 
 2. The signs of the personal efficacy 
 of the divine remedy for sin 
 (ii. 3-6). 
 5 And in this we perceive that we 
 know him, if we observe his com- 
 mandments. *He that saith I know 
 him, and observeth not his command- 
 ments, is a liar, and in this man the 
 truth is not; ^but whosoever diserveth 
 his word, verily in this man the love 
 of God hath been perfected. 
 
 The first two verses of the chapter 
 declare the nature of the divine remedy 
 for sin; in these next four St John 
 indicates the sign of its personal efli- 
 cacy. The sign is twofold, and corre- 
 sponds with two aspects of the spi- 
 ritual life ; there is the sign of know- 
 ledge (»». 3 — 5 a) ; and there is the 
 sign of union {vv. 5 b, 6). The sign of 
 knowledge is (shortly) obedience ; and 
 the sign of union is imitation. 
 
 3. The new form of false doctrine 
 which St John meets corresponds with 
 and gi'ows 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 ; 
 c. iii. 7). 
 
 vv. 3 — 5 a. The sign of knowledge. 
 The sign of knowledge is developed 
 characteristically by the Apostle. He 
 first states generally that it lies in 
 obedience [v. 3), and then follows out 
 this statement further negatively and 
 positively, shewing the issues of the 
 want of obedience (c. 4), and of the 
 activity of obedience (». 5 a). 
 
 3. Under one aspect this verse is 
 connected with i. 5. But between the 
 declaration of God's nature and man's 
 knowledge of Him there comes in the 
 episode of sin. This fatal interrup- 
 tion breaks the natural development 
 of thought. The connexion of i. i, 3, 
 5 (koi), ii. 3 {K.aV], corresponds with 
 that of John i. i, 14. 
 
 61/ T0UT6) yivanrKop.ev\ in hoc sciT/ius 
 v., in hoc cognoscimus Aug., in this 
 we perceive. The phrase ' in this ' is 
 characteristic of the Epistle and oc- 
 curs with slight va,riations of form. 
 
 (i) In this (fv Toira) we perceive 
 (ytvcicrKop.fv) : ii. S ; iii. 24 ; iv. 13 ; 
 v. 2 and so also 'in this we know 
 
46 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [11.3 
 
 (dyviDKanfii)' iii. i6 ; and 'in this we 
 shall know {yvat<T6iJ.f6a)' iii. 19; and 
 ' in this ye perceive (-yii/aio-itfT-f ) ' iv. 2. 
 Comp. John xiii. 35 (xv. 8 ; xvi. 30). 
 
 (2) From this (« tovtov) we per- 
 ceive : iv. 6. 
 
 (3) Whence {p6iv) we perceive : 
 ii. 1 8. 
 
 Generally 'this' (tovto) marks some- 
 tliing whicli lias been already express- 
 ed, thougli it is further developed in 
 what follows (conip. e.g. Sia toCt-o... 
 on, iii. i; John v. 16, 18; vi. 65; 
 viii. 47 ; X. 17; xii. 18 ; xvi. 15). 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... numeiy if 
 .... Perhaps however even here the 
 ' this ' really rests upon the whole 
 relation of the Cliristian to Christ 
 which is implied in vv. i, 2. That 
 relation furnishes the test of know- 
 ledge ; if the relation be vital it will 
 include obedience. Oomp. ». 2. 
 
 The experience to which the A- 
 postle appeals here and in the pa- 
 rallel passages (yivda-Kofiev) 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 (oi8a/if v, iii. 2, note). 
 
 eyvoaKafifv...] cognovimus v., know 
 Him, or more exactly, have come to a 
 knowledge of Him,. Knowledge of a 
 person involves sympathy (c. iii. i 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 fulfil that rela- 
 tion towards Him for which we are 
 bom. 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; i Cor. viii. 2; xiii. 
 12; John X. 14 f.; and negatively 
 Matt. vii. 23; 2 Cor. v. 21. 
 
 This knowledge of God gained by 
 experience (yij'ia(rK«i'),and so contrast- 
 
 ed with the knowledge which is imme- 
 diate and absolute (oiSa), is presented 
 in its different stages in the Gospel and 
 Epistles of St John. It is regarded 
 
 (i) In reference to the point of 
 acquisition (fyi/tui/ John i. 10; x. 38 ; 
 xvi. 3 ; xvii. 8, 25 ; c. iii. I ; iv. 8). 
 
 (2) As a result of the past realised 
 in the present {eyuaKo, John viii. 55; 
 xiv. 9; xvii. 7; vv. 4, 13, 14; iii. 6, 16; 
 2 John i). And 
 
 (3) As being actually realised at 
 the moment (yti/wo-Kw, John viii. 43 ; 
 X. i4f., 27, 38; xiv. 7, 17; xvii. 3,23; 
 c. iv. 2, 6, 7; v. 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 St John 
 nowhere uses yvacns (St Luke, St 
 Paul, St Peter), nor the compound 
 forms cTnyvaia-Keiv (Synn., Acts, St 
 Paul, 2 Peter), iiriyvaxTK (St Paul, 
 Heb., 2 Peter). He confines himself, 
 as he does almost exclusively in deal- 
 ing with faith (jrjarfu'fii/ eU), 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 {iyv. ai- 
 TQv) refers. The Divine Being fiUs 
 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 ff the airoS 
 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 v. 5 implies 
 a reference of the preceding avrov 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 {i.e. the Father) as iii. 22, 24; v. 
 2, 3; and that God is the great under- 
 
11. 4, 5] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 47 
 
 avTOv Ka\ Ta<s e'l/xoAas ayroi/ /Uf; Trjpwi/ yl^eva-Ti]^ 
 ioTTLV, Kai €U TOUTO) t] d\r]6eia ovk eo'Tiw ■'6? S' ai/ rripi] 
 
 4 6 Xiyuni otl 'V<AB syrr : - 6Vi S"C. 
 •^ dX. + rou 0coO X. 
 
 lying subject of all, the ' He ' (auVos) 
 which is self-defined ; so that in point 
 of fact auTos generally refers to ' God,' 
 while ineivos always refers to Christ 
 (». 6 note). 
 
 The sense remains substantially the 
 same in both cases. It is in the Son 
 that the Father is known (John xiv. 
 9). 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 Son and 
 now to the revelation of the Son 
 (comp. iil I — 3, 5,6: v. 20). 
 
 ica>...TqpSiii€v'\ si observemus V., si 
 servaverimus Aug., if we keep His 
 commandments. Comp. v. 4; iii. 22, 
 24; V. 3; John xiv. 15, 21; xv. 10; 
 Apoc. xii. 17; xiv. 12. The phrase 
 (rripclti ras ivTo\as) is Only found else- 
 where in Jfew Testament in Matt, 
 xix. 17; I Tim. Vi. 14 {rripe'iv Trjv ivT.). 
 
 Comp. I 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 a principle which is ever taking a 
 new embodiment in the very process 
 of life. 
 
 - The phrase iroteiv ras ivroXas, which 
 is found in the common text of Apoc. 
 xxii. 14, is a false reading. 
 
 The idea of rripeiv, as distinguished 
 from (ftvXda-creiv in this connexion 
 (John xiL 47 ; Matt. xix. 20 ; Luke 
 si. 28), appears, to be that of watchful 
 heed to an object which claims, so to 
 speak, a living observance, a service 
 
 - KaV f c T. A. 
 
 - €V toOtio X ; 
 
 not of the letter but of the spirit. 
 A definite, unchangeable, deposit is 
 'guarded' (^uXoo-trerm, I Tim. vi. 20): 
 a vital, growing, word is ' observed ' 
 {■rrjpelTai, John xiv. 22). The two 
 verbs occur in juxtaposition in John 
 xvii. 12 (note). 
 
 4. o Xeyav] He that saith. This in- 
 dividualising of the statement stands 
 in contrast with the comprehensive 
 form cited before If we say (i. 6, 8, 
 10) and that used in v. 5. It occurs 
 again vv. 6, 9. The clause is an in- 
 teresting example of a compound sub- 
 ject o [kiyuiv OTL.,.KaL...^r) Ttjpwv], 
 
 eyvioKa auroi/] se nosse eum v., 
 quia cognovit {cognoni) eum Aug., / 
 know Him,. The direct personal as- 
 sertion (o \iyu>v on) is bolder in form 
 than the oblique construction in vv. 
 6, 9 (o Xeyft)!* ixiveiVj etvat). Comp. 
 Hos. viii 2. 
 
 In the words which follow St John 
 significantly takes up again phrases 
 which he has used already in connexion 
 with the three false pleas in regard 
 to sin [yjreiKTTrjs eariv || ylz-evdofieSa i- 6; 
 ev TovT<o j; d\. ovk eortj/ || ^ dX. ovk 
 eoTiv iv Tjiiliv v. 8; (or S' av t-qpfj) avTov 
 rov Xdyov || d \6yos avTov (ovk eirnv iv 
 ■fjixiv) V. lo]. 
 
 ^evoTrjS. . . iv Tovrm . . .] fl! liar. . .in this 
 man.... The whole character is false. 
 See i. lo note. The clause is very 
 similar to i. 6 6, 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 
 is not in him), and there two separate 
 manifestations of the state {loe lie, we 
 do not the truth). 
 
 iv TovTa)...ovK %(TTiv\ in him, the 
 truth is not. Or more literally in 
 this m,an thus definitely characterised 
 
48 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. [II. 5 
 
 auToO Tov Xoyov, dXriOw^ ev tovtio r\ dyaTrri tov 6eo0 
 
 and brought before us. See v. 5. 
 This use of the demonstrative pro- 
 noun is characteristic of St John (John 
 V. 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 
 (c. i. 8; John viii. 44; comp. John 
 viii. 32); and again a man is said to 
 be in the truth, as the sphere in vphich 
 he moves (2 Jolin 4; 3 John 3, 4; 
 John viii. 44; comp. John xvii. 17). 
 
 5. Of S' av Trjpfj.. .] qui autem servat 
 v., qui a. servaverit Aug., hut who- 
 soever keepeth. The_ indefinite form 
 (iii. 17; iv. 15) marks the breadth of 
 the assertion. The Apostle does not 
 here, as before and after, either single 
 out a special example (o \4ymv, ». 4), 
 or join himself with others (fav fina- 
 IMcv, 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 (i. 7 if we walk; i. ^ if we 
 con/ess; v. 10 he that loveth). 
 
 TrjpTJ avTov TOV \6yov] keepeth his 
 word. The phrase expresses not 
 only the fulfilment of specific injunc- 
 tions {keep His commandments, v. 3) 
 but also the heedful 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. 
 John viii. 51 f., 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 
 {avTov TOV Xoyov), as contrasted with 
 that which it has in v. 3 (ras eVroXaj 
 avTov), emphasises the personal idea. 
 The main thought is that the word is 
 His word, the word of God. There is 
 
 emphasis also on the 'keeping' os 8' 
 av TTipfi contrasted with 6 . . .ras ivT . 
 
 /lij TTjpav). 
 
 dXridas ev tovto] herily in him, in 
 this inan, v. 4 note. 
 
 In the description of the state of 
 the watchful behever the form of 
 expression is changed significantly. 
 St John does not say of him (». 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 a man is, but 
 what such a man has received from 
 Him who is unchangeable : in this 
 m.an 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. 
 Truth 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. i) be- 
 comes an active, divine power in the 
 man who welcomes it. 
 
 rj aydfrri tov fltoG] caritas Dei v., 
 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 sittg. or 
 olj., either (i) 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 ayoTrrj in the N. T. is subj., and 
 defines those who feel or shew love : 
 I Thess. iii. 6 ; 2 Thess. i. 3 ; PhiL i. 
 9 ; Col. i. 8 ; Philem. 5, 7 ; Apoc. ii. 
 4, 19- Once it marks the object of 
 love: 2 Thess. ii. lo ij ay. t^? 0X7- 
 Beias. But the object is more com- 
 monly expressed by ds : 1 Thess. iii. 
 12; Col. i. 4; I Pet. iv. 8. Comp. 
 Ign. Mart, i ; [Clem. R.] fragm. i 
 (Jacobson). 
 
 In St Paul ' the love of God,' with 
 
II. s] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 49 
 
 TereXeiwTai. 'Gi/ toutw yivuxTKOfxev otl ev auTw eV/xeV* 
 
 5 €v ToiT(f...i(r/i4v: Aug. reads in hoc cognoscimus quia in ipso surmts si in 
 ipso perfecti fuerimus. 
 
 the doubtful exception of 2 Thess. iii. 
 5, always means the love which is 
 shewn by God, which comes from 
 God : 2 Cor. xiii. 13 ; Rom. v. 5 ; viiL 
 39 ; Bph. 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 
 Trail. 6 ; ad Rom. inscr. In like 
 manner ' the love of the Spirit' (Rom. 
 XV. 30) is that love which the Spirit 
 kindles and sustains. The phrase ' the 
 love of God' does not occur in the lxx. 
 
 The usage of St John is less simple 
 than that of St Paul. In i John iv. 
 9 ' the love of God' is evidently the 
 love which God has shewn (comp. c. v, 
 9 i; fiapTvpta tov 6eov), and this love 
 is declared to be the spring of all 
 love. 'His love' (». 12) becomes 
 eflfective in man. This conception of 
 the love of God as communicated by 
 God to man is plainly expressed in i 
 John iii. i the Father hath given to 
 zis love (comp. c. iv. 7, 16). Love such 
 as God Himself feels — '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 (c. iii. 
 17). At the same time God is Him- 
 self the object of the love of which He 
 is the source and the rule : c. v. 3 
 (comp. John xiv. 15, 31); ii. 15 (ij ay. 
 TOV iraTpos). 
 
 It appears therefore most probable 
 that the fundamental idea of 'the love 
 of God' in St John is ' the love which 
 God has made known, and which an- 
 swers 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 is a love divine in 
 its origin and character is not lost. 
 Comp. John xv. 9 f. 
 
 W. J. 
 
 According to this interpretation 
 the phrase 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 ; John v. 42. In 
 each case the rendering ' love to God' 
 is admissible, but this rendering does 
 not seem to exhaust the meaning 
 (comp. Clem. R. i Cor. 49). 
 
 In the present passage there can be 
 little doubt that c. 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 ayairri by St John 
 see additional note on c. iii. 16. 
 
 akrjBais] vere V., verily, in very 
 truth, and not in word only (c. iii. 18). 
 Comp. John i. 47 (48) ; viii. 31. The 
 word qualifies the whole clause which 
 follows. This practical result 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. 
 
 TCTfXeiiBTat] perfecta est V., con- 
 summata est Lucf., hath been per- 
 fected. Comp. c. iv. 12 (note), 17, 18 
 where the thought is presented in 
 different lights. Comp. Clem. R. i 
 Cor. 50 ol ev ayaiTji TfXeiaSevTfs. 
 Doctr. Apost. X. 5 ii.vri<r6rjTi, Kvpie, t^s 
 €KK\T]alas o-ov...T€\€ia(rai avnjv ev rfj 
 
 ayaTtt] <tov. The potential fulfilment 
 of the love of God in the Christian 
 lies in his absolute readiness to leam 
 and to do God's will (comp. Rom. xiii. 
 10). Each Christian according to his 
 
so 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [II. 6 
 
 *d Xeycov iu avrw jueveiv 6<pei\€L Kadw^ CKeTuo^ irepie- 
 TTa.Tr](rev kui auT09 TrepiTrareiv. 
 
 6 Kal airbi Treptir. AB vg the : Kal aiT.+ouTUs' irepiir. rXC me syr hcl. 
 
 measure is perfected as a member of 
 Christ (Eph. iv. i6). He receives 
 from Christ what Clirist has Himself 
 received. Comp. John xvii. 25 f. On 
 this idea of 'perfection,' ' consumma- 
 tion,' see Heb. ii. 10 ; ix. 9; xii. 23 and 
 notes. Contrast reXe'irat 2 Cor. xii. 9. 
 
 Both TfXecoiiv and emreXeXv are used 
 of Christian action (Phil. iii. 12 ; Gal. 
 iii. 3). But in rcXdovv there is the 
 idea of a continuous growth, a vital 
 development, an advance to maturity 
 {rcXeioT7)s, Heb. v. 13 ; vi. l). In 
 iinT(\elv the notion is rather that of 
 attaining a definite end (re'Xos). Con- 
 trast James ii. 22 ex rav epya>v 17 ttiV- 
 Tis ireKeidBr] with 2 Cor. vii. I tViTE- 
 \ovvTes dytoiorvvrjVj and Acts XX. 24 
 T-cXeimo-at tov hpoiMV with 2 Tim. iv. 7 
 Tov bpoy.ov TCTeKeKa. In 2 Cor. xii. 9 
 T€\ctovTai has been substituted in 
 later authorities for Tekeirai. 
 
 V. 5 6, 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 (». 3) and in the keep- 
 ing of the divine word in its unity 
 (». s), so the sign of fellowship is to 
 be seen in the copying the divine life. 
 
 In this we perceive that we are in 
 him: ^he that saith he abideth in 
 him, ought himself also to walk even 
 as he walked. 
 
 'Ei/ tovtm] Hereby, in this, in the 
 realisation of this spirit of obedience 
 which is the gift of love : v. 3 note. 
 
 yivdi<TKo(i(v\ Comp. e. 3 ; c. V. 2 notes. 
 
 iv avra eo-fie'v] are in him,. The 
 idea finds a full expression in Acts 
 
 XviL 28 iv avTW (afifv Kai Ktvov/ieda 
 Kal iajiiv. It is prominent in St John's 
 writings in its 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 ' (c. v. 
 19 f.). 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 
 John 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 f.; 15 f. John vi. 56 note ; xv.4 ff. 
 
 Thus there is a progressive close- 
 ness of relation in the three phrases 
 used in this section : iyvmKfvai avrov, 
 elvm iv aura, /Uvfiv iv avra (' COgnitio, 
 communio, constantia,' Bengel). 
 
 6. o Xcymi/] /le that saith. v. 4, 
 The open, personal profession carries 
 with it a paramount obligation. 
 
 iv avra /iei/etw] V. 5 note. 
 
 The construction of Xiya with the 
 infin. occurs again in v. 9. Comp. 
 2 Tim. ii. 18; and v. 4 note. 
 
 o(/)€(Xci] debet V., ougM, is bound. 
 The obligation is represented as a 
 debt (Luke xvii. 10). The life which 
 is from God and in God must be 
 manifested after the pattern of the 
 divine life which has been shewn 
 upon earth. As contrasted with 8el, 
 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 (c. iii. 
 14 note) and the Apocalypse, o0ctX«i> 
 expresses a special, personal obli- 
 gation. 
 
 Comp. c. iii. 16 ; iv. 1 1 ; 3 John 8 ; 
 Hebr. ii. 17 note. 
 
 The image is frequent in St Paul. 
 Comp. Rom. i. 14 ; Gal. v. 3. 
 
II. 6] 
 
 THE FIEST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 51 
 
 naSios fKf'ivos] even as he, i.e. Christ. 
 The pronoun eKuvos 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 ovTms see 
 c. iv. 17 note. 
 
 Trfpien-dn/o-ei'] 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 
 us in the New Testament, is in every 
 case a pattern of humiliation, suffer- 
 ing, sacrifice. Comp. Matt. xi. 29; 
 John xiii. 1 5 ; Rom. xv. 2 f. ; Bph. v. 
 I ffi; Phil. ii. S ff.; i Pet. ii. 21; 
 Heb. xii. 2. 
 
 Augustine points out that 'walking' 
 may be 'bearing' only: [Christus] 
 fixus in cruce erat et in ipsa via am- 
 bulabat : ipsa est via caritatis. 
 
 III. Obedience in love and light 
 
 IN ACTUAL LIFE (ii. 7 — II ). 
 
 The declaration of the test of know- 
 ledge of God and fellowship with God, 
 which St John has given in vv. 3 — 6, 
 leads to a view of the practical fulfil- 
 ment of the test indicated already in 
 V. 6. The Life of Christ, a Life of com- 
 plete love, of complete self-sacrifice, is 
 the type of the Christian's Life; 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' (v. 3) and 'walk- 
 ing even as He walked' {v. 6). This 
 commandment is first set forth in its 
 twofold character as old and yet new 
 («». 7, 8) ; and then traced out in its 
 issues (»». 9 — 11). 
 
 I. The Commandment old amd 
 new (ii. 7, 8). 
 
 The commandment, which is the 
 rule of the Christian Life, is as old as 
 the first message of the Gospel and 
 
 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. 
 
 ^Beloved, it is no new command- 
 ment I write to you, hut an old com- 
 mandment which ye had from, the 
 beginning: the commandm,ent, 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 true light, already shineth. 
 
 The 'commandment' to which the 
 Apostle refers has not been formally 
 stated, but it is implied in the 'ought' 
 ('is bound' o(jie[K€i) of v. 6. The idea 
 of the imitation of Christ is identical 
 with the fulfilment of love. And the 
 word 6<pe[\et carries us back to the 
 Lord's interpretation of His example : 
 John xiii. 14 (iJ/xeir ocjuiXcTf). We 
 have already seen that the many 
 'commandments' (». 3) are included 
 in 'the word' {v. 5). Now the ' com- 
 mandments' are summed up in the 
 one 'commandment' (John xiii. 34; 
 comp. c. iii. 22 f.). 
 
 This commandment is spoken of as 
 ' not new but old.' In this connexion 
 'old' may mean either (i) 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 
 from the beginning, from the first 
 origin of their faith ; or (2) old abso- 
 lutely : 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 undoubt- 
 edly right. 
 
 4—2 
 
52 
 
 THE FIEST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [II. 7 
 
 '''AyaTrrjToi, ovk evToXrjv Kaivrju ypacfxa vjuliv, dW 
 ivToX^v iraXaLav nv e'l-xere cnr dp^fj^' t] evToXri jj 
 
 7 dyairriToi HABG vg the me syrr : ddeXipoi r. 
 
 7. 'AyaTrrjToi] Carissimi v., Dilec- 
 tissimi Aug., Beloved. This is 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 {v. i) was sug- 
 gested by i. 10. 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. 
 iii. 2, 21; iv. I, 7 note, 11; and in 
 the sing. 3 John 2, 5, n. In each 
 case the use of the title illustrates the 
 apostle's thought. So also the title 
 adfX<^oi brings out the point of his 
 teaching in the one place where he 
 adopts it : iii. 1 3. Comp. Hebr.vi. 9 note. 
 
 With dyairrjToi contrast ■qyairrjfj.ivoi 
 
 Col. iii. 12; I Thess. i. 4; 2 Thess. ii. 
 13. Comp. Bph. i. 6. 
 
 OVK ivT. K. y.] Comp. 2 John 5 ovx^ 
 fos evT. ypd<l)a>v croc k. 
 
 ott' apxv^] ob 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: c. iii. 8 
 an apx^js o Siafio'Kos afuxpravfi, when 
 first the present order of being is 
 disclosed. 
 
 W. 13, 14 o air' apx^s. 
 C. i. I o rjv air ap)(^s. 
 Matt. xix. 4, 8 air apx^s. ]| Mc. x. 6 
 air' apx^fs ktIo- fat. 2 Pet. iiL 4. 
 
 2. Again it is used relatively in 
 difi'erent connexions : 
 
 John XV. 27 air' dpxrjs tier tfioii 
 iarri, from the beginning of my public 
 ministry. Comp. f | apxns John vi. 64, 
 
 Xvi. 4; Acts xxvi. 4 ttjv air dpxrjs 
 
 yevoiifvrjv {fitaa-iv} from the beginning 
 of my life. 
 
 Luke i. 2 ni air' apx^js avrowTai. 
 Comp. Acts i. 22. 
 
 C. ii. 24 o air' dpxrjs rfKovo'aTC^ from 
 the beginning of your Christian faith. 
 Comp. c. iii. 1 1 ; 2 John 6. 
 
 These last passages, which areclosely 
 parallel, decide that the reference here 
 is to the beginning of the Christian 
 faith of the readers. 
 
 Comp. Is. Ixiii. 16 (lxx.). 
 
 The article is omitted as in the cor- 
 responding phrases diro KaTafio\ijs 
 Koo-fMov, npo KaTajBoXrjs Kotrp^v. See 
 c. i. I note. 
 
 ij ivTo\r)...rJKovcraT€\ the command- 
 ment, the commandment of which I 
 speak, the old commandment, is the 
 word tchich ye heard. The form of 
 expression used emphasises the two 
 thoughts which have gone before {tlie 
 commandm,ent, the old command- 
 ment). Comp. i. 2, ii. 25 ?; ftoij ij alavios 
 {the life, tlie eternal life) ; i. 3 17 Koivat- 
 vla rj Tiixeripa (the fellowship of which 
 I speak, the fellowship which is our 
 
 blessing) ; ». 8 to ^as to dXrjdtvov ; iv. 
 9 o vioy o novoyevqs: 2 John n toIs 
 epyois avTov Tohirovijpols: l^iTjs dSf\- 
 <f)!ji- a-ov rrjs eKkeKrfjs. 
 
 ' On the other hand St John writes 
 C. iv. 1 8 7; TfXela dyiin] : 3 John 4 ra 
 ipa TCKva. 
 
 6 Xoyof] The old commandment, 
 the commandment of love, was in- 
 cluded in the 'Gospel' which the 
 apostles proclaimed. The record of 
 the Lord's work, th^s icord of life, was 
 a continuous call to love. 
 
 ov iJKova-aTf] which ye heard, ». 24, 
 iii. II. Contrast the perfect: i. i, 3, 
 5, iv. 3. The change of tenses iu e'p^ere, 
 r)KoitTaT(, is significant. The com- 
 mandment was a continuous power : 
 the hearing of the word was at once 
 final in its obligation. 
 
II. 8] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 53 
 
 "TToXaia i(rTiv 6 Acyos bu i]Kou<raTe. ^ttoKiv evToXrju 
 Kuivrjv 'ypd(pw v/uiiu, 6 ecniv dXr]de^ ev avrco Kal ev vfiiv, 
 
 •^KoiiffttTe SABC vg the me syrr : +dir' dpxn^ S". 8 aX. koX iv airif S : 
 
 iv aiiTif a\. A. ei> i/jiv XBO vg the me syrr : h ri/uy A syr hcl mg (lat). 
 
 8. TrdKai] iterum V., again. The 
 Apostle has given one side of the 
 Truth: he now turns to the other. 
 The iraKiv answers exactly to our 
 'again' when we enter on a new line 
 of argument or reflection, starting 
 afresh. Comp. John xvi. 28; i Cor. 
 xii. 21; 2 Cor. X. 7; xi. 16. 
 
 ivToktfv Kaiwi/i/] mandatum novum 
 v., a 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 proportion as 
 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. viiL 13. 
 
 o i<mv dXij^c'f...] quod verum, est... 
 v., even that which is true... The 
 whole sentence admits of several dif- 
 ferent translations: (i) 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 (i.e. 
 that it is new as well as old) which is 
 true... The symmetry of the struc- 
 ture seems to be decisive against (i): 
 'EwoX^v Kaiv^v ypa(j>ai cannot but be 
 strictly parallel to ovk ivToKr)v Kcuvfjv 
 ypaxJKa — 'a new commandment do I 
 write,' 'not a new commandment do 
 I write.' It is more di£Scult to decide 
 between (2) and (3). If (2) be taken 
 the sense will be : 'A new command- 
 ment write I unto you, new no less 
 than old, new in its shape and in its 
 
 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, as 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 (J)ecause...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. 
 
 oTi 17 <7xo7-ia...] because the darA- 
 w««.. .The Apostle justifieshis 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. [II. 8 
 
 OTi t] (TKOTia TrapdyeTai kui to <pw^ to d\r]6ivov r]h] 
 
 (jKii A. 
 
 (for e.^ample) was made clearer than 
 before by the Gospel of St 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. 
 
 ■n-apdyerm. . .^ai'wt] transierunt. . . 
 lucet v., is passing away... already 
 shineth. The change is pictured as 
 n process. The darkness is being 
 withdrawn (Trapd-yerat) as a curtain 
 from the face of the world, and the 
 light is beginning (^Si;) to have free 
 course. 
 
 For jrapaycTai see V. 1 7. The in- 
 trans. vapayti occurs i Cor. vii. 31 ; 
 Ps. cxliv. (cxliii.) 4. The idea seems 
 to be that God is removing the veil 
 in order to lay open the better things 
 which it conceals. 
 
 TO <^as TO aKr)6ui6v] verum, lumen 
 v., lux vera Aug., the light, the 
 true light. The addition of the 
 epithet aKr)6iv6v (c. v. 20) which is 
 found only here and John i. 9 (note) 
 with <^a>s, marks the light as that 
 which fulfilled all that had been pro- 
 mised by the preparatory, pai-tial, 
 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 Ught' absolutely (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. 
 
 </)aiWt] lucet v., shineth. Comp. 
 John i. 5 (note). The idea is of a 
 luminary giving out its brightness: 
 Apoc. i. 16, viii. 12, xxi. 23; 2 Pet. 
 i. 19. 
 
 For the image generally compare 
 Bom. xiii. 1 1 flf. ; Tit. ii. 1 1 ; iii. 4. 
 
 2. The issues of the command- 
 ment of love (iL 9 — 11). 
 
 The fulfilment of the command- 
 ment of love is regarded in its general 
 nature {v. 9) and then more in detail 
 in the effects of love and hatred (vv. 
 10, ii). 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 SO; for dwelling in dai-kness de- 
 stroys the very power by which the 
 light is discerned. 
 
 ^He that saith he is in the light 
 and hateth his brother is in the dark- 
 ness until now. '"Se that loveth his 
 brother ahideth 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 knoioeth not 
 whither he goeth, because the dark- 
 ness hath blinded his eyes. 
 
 9. The link of transition lies in tlie 
 last words of v. 8. The thought of ' the 
 light already shining' naturally sug- 
 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 separated from 
 the action which embodies it (comp. 
 f. 4). 
 
 'O \iy<av...'\ He that saith. v. 4. It 
 
11.9] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 55 
 
 (paivei. ''O Xeytov iv tw (pwTi elvai kuI tov 
 
 d^eXtpou avTOu julktcov iv tJj a-KOTia ecTTiv ews aoTi.. 
 
 9 luiTuv : + \l/ei<mjs iarlv Kai X Cypr Lcfr. 
 
 is always easy to mistake an intel- 
 lectual knowledge for a spiritual know- 
 ledge of the Truth. Real knowledge 
 involves, at least potentially, corre- 
 sponding action. 
 
 iv ra <j)a>TL flvai] is in the light, 
 surrounded, as it were, by an atmo- 
 sphere of divine glory. Oomp. L 7 (iv. 
 15 note). 
 
 /xio-ffli/...] hateth.... Indifference is 
 impossible. Corap. 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, 
 iii. 20). 
 
 There is however a certain ambiguity 
 in the word 'hate' for it serves as the 
 opposite both to the love of natural 
 affection {tpLKeiv), and to the love of 
 moral judgment (ayaTrav). In the 
 former case 'hatred,' which may be- 
 come a moral duty, involves the sub- 
 jection of an instinct (John xii. 25, 
 XV. 18 f.; comp. Luke xiv. 26); in 
 the latter case 'hatred' expresses a 
 general determination of character (c. 
 iii. 15, iv. 20; comp. Matt. v. 43, vi. 
 24; Eph. V. 28 f.). 
 
 TOV dSeX(f)6v'] his brother, that is, 
 his fellow-Christian, 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 i(Jea of 
 brotherhood under the new dispensa- 
 tion (comp. Acts ii. 37, iii. 17, vi. 3, 
 ix. 30, &c.: Bora. i. 13, &c.) is nor- 
 
 mally thus limited (yet see Acts xxii. 
 i,sxviii 17; Rom. ix. 3). 'Brethren' 
 are those who are united together in 
 Christ to God as their Father (John 
 XX. 17, xxi. 23; comp. Matt. xii. 50). 
 The title occurs significantly in the 
 first record of the action of the Church 
 (Acts i. 15 €v /x€0"G) Tcov aSeX<^fflv; 
 comp. ix. 30, &c.) and then throughout 
 the apostolic writings (i Thess. v. 26; 
 Gal. i. 2; I Cor. v. n ; Bom. xvi. 14 
 &.C.; I Tim. vi. 2; James i. 9; i Pet. v. 
 12 &c. ; c. iii. 14, 16; 3 John 3, 5, 10). 
 
 The singular is characteristic of this 
 epistle (»». 10, II, iii. 10, 15, 17, iv. 
 20 f, V. 16). Comp. Rom. xiv. 10 ff.; 
 I Cor. viii. 13. Compare Additional 
 Note on c. iii. 14. 
 
 There is, as far as it appears, no 
 case where a fellow-man, as man, is 
 called 'a brother' in the N. T. Such 
 passages as Matt. v. 22 ff., Luke vi. 
 41 ff., presuppose a special bond of 
 'brotherhood.' The 'love of the 
 brotherhood' {<f)iKaS(X<f)ia- i Thess. iv. 
 9; Rom. xii. 10; Heb. xiii. i; i Pet. 
 i. 22 (iii. 8); 2 Pet. L 7) leads up to 
 'love' (ayoTn;). But this widest love 
 is expressly assigned in its full extent 
 only to God (John iii. 16, c. iv. 10 {.). 
 
 Augustine 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 fratema? Qualis 
 apparuit in istis [Donatistis]. Cum 
 accusant Afros deseruerunt orbem 
 ten-arum. 
 
 And again he points out the ground 
 of the Christian's love of enemies : Sic 
 dilige inimicos ut fratres optes. Sic 
 dilige inimicos ut in societatem tuam 
 vocentur. Sic enim dilexit ille qui in 
 cruce pendens ait Pater ignosce illis, 
 quia nesciunt quid faciunt. 
 
56 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [II. lO, II 
 
 '°d dyaTTwv tov aZe\(p6v avrov ev rw (pwTi fxevei, kui 
 (TKciv^aXov ev avrw ovk co-tip' "6 Se fxia-wv tov dBe\<pov 
 avTOu ev Tr\ o-kot'io. eaTLv kui ev t^ o-kotio. TrepnraTeT, 
 
 lo iv aiiTu oi5k Io-tip B vg : oiK (ctw iv alrnp NAC (me) the. 
 
 €v Trj cTK. iarlv] is in the darkness. 
 Comp. i. 6 note. The assertion is not 
 simply characterised as false (i. 6 we 
 lie) or as revealing a false nature (». 4 
 he is a liar) : it involves the existence 
 of a moral state the exact opposite of 
 that which is claimed. 
 
 £<as aprt] usque adhttc V., until 
 now, though the light is actually 
 shining, and he afiBrms that he is in 
 it, yea even that he has been in it 
 from the first. 
 
 10. o dyairav...] He that loveth... 
 The reality of the fact is set against 
 the assertion in v. 9 [He that saith...). 
 Comp. vv. 4, 5 note. 
 
 ev Ta (fiarl fievfi] abideth (and not 
 simply is as in c. 9) in the light. 
 The idea of stability is added to that 
 of simple 'being' (comp. tr. 5, 6). 
 The position of the false brother and 
 of the true brother is referred 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 v. 6, iii. 14, iv. 16; 2 
 John 9; John xii. 46. 
 
 By love the disciple 'follows' his 
 Master and has 'the light of life' 
 (John viii. 12). 
 
 (TKdvdaXop...f(TTtv'] scandalum in eo 
 non est V., there is none occasion of 
 stumbling in him. The image occurs 
 elsewhere in St John's writings in 
 John vi. 61, xvi. i; Apoc. ii. 14; 
 comp. John xi. 9 £ 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 ». 11 favours the 
 second view. Love gives the single 
 eye which commands a clear prosjiect 
 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 
 o-ndvbaKov points to the first meaning, 
 and it is quite in St John's manner to 
 regard love in its twofold working in 
 relation to tlie man who loves and to 
 others, wliile he regards hatred only 
 in its subject The triumph of love is 
 that it creates no prejudice against 
 the Truth. Want of love is the most 
 prolific source of offences. 
 
 iv aurm] 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. 
 
 II. Of the fruits of love it is suffi- 
 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). 
 
 tWi'i/.-.TrepiTraTel...] Comp. i. 7. The 
 
II. II] THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 57 
 
 Kai ovK oJBev ttov vTrdyei, otl >} CTKOTia eru<p\u)(rev 
 
 phrase itopfvecrdai (V (TKOTfi is used in 
 a different sense in Is. 1. lo. 
 
 OVK o'Sfi/...] knoiceth not... John 
 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. Jolm xiv. 4, 5). 
 He knows what is the end of life. 
 
 inayei] goeth. The idea is not that 
 of proceeding to a definite point 
 (ffoptuf o-flai), but of leaving tlie present 
 scene. 
 
 cVOc^X. Tovs o<^6aKiiovs\ 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. si. 10 (Ps. 
 Ixix. 24) ; and for the opposite Eph. i. 
 18 7r€(l>aTia-fiivovs tovs 0^6. tt^s Kapdlas. 
 (Clem. I Cor. 36.) 
 
 fTv(j>\aaev] The English idiom will 
 not bear the exact rendering blinded. 
 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 tva 
 lir) KaToKaQji, i. 5 ov KartKa^fv). This 
 darkness not only hindered the use of 
 vision but (as darkness does physically) 
 destroyed the spiritual organ. 
 
 ■ IV. Things temporal and eternal 
 (il 12 — 17). 
 
 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 first gives the 
 
 ground of his appeal {vv. 12 — 14); 
 and then he gives the appeal itself 
 
 (15—17). 
 
 I. The ground of tlie 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- 
 pressive 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 fulfilled' (c. i. 4). 
 
 The exact relation of ypacfxo to 
 eypai|<-o 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 ; I Cor. v. 9 ; 2 Cor. ii. 3 f., 
 vii. 12) ; but the use of (ypw\ra in vv. 
 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. 
 I Cor. ix. ij; 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 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. [II. 12 
 
 TOi)s 6cj)6aXfXOv^ auTOV. " rpdcpw vfxiv, T6Kvia, 
 
 explanation in another form, St John 
 may look at his letter first as it is in 
 the process of transcription still in- 
 complete (i 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. vv. 21, 26, V. 13; 2 John 12; 
 I Pet. V. 1 2 ; Gal. vi. 1 1 ; Philem. 1 9, 2 1 . 
 The Latin renderings of ypd(f>a> and 
 typa^a are alike scribo. 
 
 The symmetry of the corresponding 
 clauses is remarkable, 
 (i) I write to you, little children 
 {reKv'ux), because 
 
 your sins are forgiven you 
 for His name's sake, 
 (a) / write to you, fathers, be- 
 cause 
 ye know Him that is from the 
 beginning. 
 (0) I write to you, young men, 
 because 
 ye have overcome the evil 
 one. 
 (2) / have written (I wrote) to 
 you, little ones {iraiSia), because 
 ye know the Father, 
 (a) / /lave written [I wrote) to 
 you, fathers, because 
 ye know Him that is from 
 the beginning. 
 (j3) / have written (/ wrote) to 
 you, young men, because 
 ye are strong and the word 
 of God abideth in you and 
 ye have overcome the evil 
 one. 
 The common title of address is 
 different in the two cases (i) 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 (i) because your sins are 
 forgiven for His nam£s sake; (2) 
 became ye know the Father: The 
 special ground of addressing 'the 
 fathers' is the same In each case: 
 
 that of addressing 'the young men' is 
 not changed in the second case but 
 more fully developed. 
 
 The causes of these variations \vill 
 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 
 juvenibus fortitude. 
 
 12. rpa(j)a] I write. Comparer. I, 
 and contrast i. 4 {we torite). For the 
 present tense compare Gal. i. 20: 
 I Cor. xiv. 27; 2 Cor. i. 13; i Tim. 
 iii. 14. 
 
 TeKvia] flioli v., little children. 
 Comp. V. I my little children. The 
 simple title occurs again v. 28 (iii. 7), 
 iv. 4, V. 21. The word which ex- 
 presses fellowship of nature is con- 
 nected with that which is the sign of 
 it, the forgiveness of sins. Comp. 
 John iii. 5. Both from the symmetry 
 of the structure (little children, 
 fathers, young m,en), and from the 
 general scope of the passage, it is 
 evident that the title (here as else- 
 where) is addressed to all St John's 
 readers and not to a particular class 
 of children in age. 
 
 on] quoniam, 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. 
 
 d<f>4oiiiTat V. al ajtt.] remittuntur 
 vobis peccata V., your sins are for- 
 given, i.e. have been forgiven. The 
 present of the Latin is misleading 
 though the past forgiveness of sin 
 carries with it the constant applica- 
 
II. 12] THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 59 
 
 OTi dfpewvTai v/luv ai djxapTLai Zia to ovo/ma avTOv. 
 
 tion of the gi-ace to which it was due : 
 John xiii. lo. In parallel narra- 
 tives, it may be added, a^Uvrm is 
 used by St Matthew (ix. 2, 5) and St 
 Mark (ii. 5, 9), and d^e'coirai by St 
 Luke (v. 20, 23). In Luke vii. 47 f. 
 d<j)iavTai is practically undisturbed. 
 The reading in John xs. 23 is some- 
 what doubtful {d(pfavTaL, acfiUirrai). 
 
 The proclamation of the forgiveness 
 of sins was the message of the Gospel : 
 Luke xxiv. 47; Acts xiii. 38. This 
 includes potentially the fulfilment of 
 man's destiny as man. Comp. i. 9 note. 
 For Christ's sake the Father {v. 14) for- 
 gives those who are united with Him. 
 
 dia TO ovojia auToC] propter notneri 
 ^us Y.,per n. e. Aug., for His 7iame's 
 sake. There is no direct antecedent ; 
 but from v. 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 means (8ta ffen.) and the ground 
 Jbr the sake of which as the cause 
 {tLa ace.) it is accomplished. See c. iv. 
 9 (ijcranei> Si avTov; John vi. 57 f/)0-ft 
 St' efit. The latter consti-uction is 
 very rare. Comp. John xv. 3 KaOapoi 
 itrrc Sia rov \6yop ; Apoc. xii. 1 1 evi- 
 Ktjaav Sia to al/M Tov dpviov. 
 
 For Sua TO ovofia see Matt. x. 22, 
 xxiv. 9 and parallels; John xv. 21 ; 
 Apoc. ii. 3. 
 
 Sia TOV ovofiaTos Acts iv. 30, X. 43 ; 
 I Cor. i. 10. 
 
 In two other places of the Epistle 
 'the name' of Christ is mentioned as 
 
 the object of faith in different aspects. 
 The commandment of God is that we 
 helieve the name {mareveiii rm iv.) of 
 Hi^ 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 tlie name 
 {jriarevciv els to ov.) of the S07l of 
 God (v. 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 helieve that Jesus is the Christ, 
 the Son of God, and believing may 
 have life in His name [iv rm 6v.), in 
 fellowship with Him as He has thus 
 been made known. 
 
 The pregnant use of 'the name' as 
 summing up that which is made known 
 of Christ, explains how it came to be 
 used as equivalent to 'the faith': 3 
 John 7 'JT«p TOV ovojiaTos i^riXBav. 
 See 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 correspond 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 
 {iyvaKore): that of 'young men,' 
 victory, the prize of strength. St 
 
6o 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [11. 13 
 
 ^^'ypdcpui v/miv, TraTepes, on ijvwKaTe tov oltt dpxfj^' 
 ypdd)(jo vijuv, veavi(TKOL, OTi veviKr]KaTe tov Trovrjpov. 
 
 13 t6 tromjpdv N. 
 
 Jolm bases his appeal to each class on 
 that which they had severally gained. 
 
 Trarepef] The word, like 3N, Abba, 
 pater, papa, is used naturally of those 
 who stand in a position of responsible 
 authority. Thus it is applied in the 
 O.T. to prophets (2 K. ii. 12 ; vi. 21 ; 
 xiii. 14), priests (Jud. xvii. 10; xviiL 
 19), teachers (Prov. i. 8). Comp. Matt, 
 xxiii. 9; (i Cor. iv. 15;) Acts vii. 2; 
 xxii. I. Here the natural character- 
 istic of age is combined with that of 
 eminence in the Christian body. 
 
 on cyi/oiicare] quoniam (quia) cog- 
 novistisY., becatise ye know.... The 
 essence of wisdom lies in the recog- 
 nition of the unity of purpose which 
 runs through the whole development 
 of being, and of that unity of life 
 which exists in alL This truth 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 see v. 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 (eyi/wKare) and not that 
 which marked a crisis in growth 
 (cyvare) or which is still in continuous 
 advance (ytvda-KeTe). 
 
 TOV OTT apx^f] euin qui ab initio 
 {a principio Aug.) est V., Him that 
 is 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. 
 I— 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 (c. i. i) 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 a 'father,' and the knowledge is 
 the opportunity for the completest 
 life. 
 
 viavi(T<oi\ adulescentes V., juvenes 
 Aug., young men in the full vigour of 
 opening life. Comp. Matt. xix. 20; 
 Luke vii. 14. 
 
 vtvinriKaTc] have overcome, not 'over- 
 came' simply (c. v. 4 7 vUrj jj viK^a-a- 
 a-a). The past remains eflfective. The 
 image, based on John xvi. 33, is cha- 
 racteristic of the Apocalypse (iL 7 ff., 
 xii. 1 1, xxi. 7) and of this Epistle : 
 V. 14, iv. 4, v. 4 f. 
 
 TOV 7rovi]p6v] malignum V., the 
 evil one, v. 14, iii. 12, v. 18 f. ; John 
 xvii. 15; Matt. vL 13, xiii. 19, 38 (v. 
 37, 39)- The personal aspect of the 
 Christian conflict on its spiritual side 
 is naturally brought out now. Dark- 
 ness has its prince: John xii. 31, xiv. 
 30, xvi. II. It is assumed that a con- 
 flict is inevitable unless men passively 
 yield to the power of evil (a v. 19). 
 Comp. Eph. ii. 2, vL 12. 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 ». 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 
 Avritten, because you have had ex- 
 perience of the Faith.' 
 
 TraiSi'a] infantes V., pueri Aug., 
 little ones. This title, little ones, which 
 like TfKvla is applied to the whole 
 
II. 14] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 6i 
 
 ^^kypayfra vfjiiv, waid'ia, OTi eyvwKare toi/ Trarepa' 
 k<ypa^a vfjiiv, TraTepes, oti eyvtoKare tov (xtt' dp^fj^' 
 kypa^a v^Tv, veavicTKOi, on larxvpoi icrre kui 6 Aoyos 
 
 14 (ypa\j/a i. ir. NABC the me syrr: yp6.(f>(o v. tt. S". to oltt dpxv' ^• 
 
 6 X670S Tou deov NAC vg syrr : — roO $(ou B the. 
 
 Christian body, di£fers from liltle 
 children by emphasising the idea of 
 subordination and not that of kins- 
 manship. St John speaks not as shar- 
 ing the nature of those to whom he 
 writes, but as placed in a position of 
 authority over them. Comp. ■». 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 
 human 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: as '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 (0. i. 3). 
 
 There is a difference in the general 
 ground for writing (». 1 2 became your 
 sins are forgiven..., v. 14 because ye 
 
 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 coiTOsponding to the 
 two general ideas of forgiveness and 
 Fatherhood {w. 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 his reason 
 {because ye have overcome the evil one) 
 iDut he develops what he 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 
 'stronff' {la-xvpos comp. Eph. vi. 10; 
 Matt. vii. 29) as having the personal 
 qualifications for his work ; and ' the 
 word of God abideth in him,' so 
 that he is in Uving contact with the 
 source of life. The natural endowment 
 of energetic vigour is consecrated to 
 a divine end by a divine voice. 
 
 6 Xdyor. ../leVft...] the word. ..abid- 
 eth... Comp. vv. 24, 27; John xv. 7 
 {v. 3). The converse thought occurs 
 John viii. 31. Comp. c. i. 10 note. 
 
 2. The a2}peal(\i. is—i?)- 
 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. [II. 14 
 
 [tov deovl ev vjuau fxevei Kal veviKriKare tov irovripov. 
 
 on to enforce the consequence which 
 is made possible. A great ' love not ' 
 follows on the command to lore. 
 
 The structure of the passage is 
 simple and regular. The prohibition 
 ( 1 5 a) is followed by a view of its over- 
 whelming necessity. The love of the 
 world is incompatible with the love of 
 the Father (15 b), 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). 
 
 ^^Love not the world nor the things 
 in the world. If., any one loce the 
 world, the love of the Fatlxer is not in 
 him: ^^hecause all tJiat is in the 
 world, the desire of the flesh, and the 
 desire of the eyes, and the vainglory 
 of life, is not of the Father, hut is of 
 the world, ^i And the world is pass- 
 ing away, and the desire thereof, 
 but he that doeth the vnll of God 
 ajbidethfor 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 (imdv/iia, eVi- 
 Buiiia, aXa^ovia), they indicate prevail- 
 ing false views in regard to want and 
 to possession. We desire ^vrongly 
 and we glory wrongly iu 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 appropriation. The 
 desire of the flesh embraces the one 
 class {e.g. gratification of appetites); 
 the desire of the eyes the other (e.g. 
 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 oKaCojv is in this case 
 'one who lays claim to blessings 
 which are not truly his for the sake 
 of reno^vn' (comp. Theophr. Char. 
 § 23; [Plat.] Def. p. 416 akaCoveia 
 £^is 7rpo(T7rotrjTtKrj ayoBov rj ayadav rwv 
 p.TJ v7rap)(6i'Ta>v). 
 
 The three tendencies naturally re- 
 call the three Temptations of the 
 Lord, mtli which they have obvious 
 points of contact. The first Tempta- 
 tion corresponds to the first and most 
 elementary form of iiri6viiia ttjs crap- 
 Kos, the desire of the simplest support 
 of natural 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 (t^s 
 oiKou/xe'i/Tjs) and their glory, which is 
 placed second in St Luke's order 
 seems to answer in the loftiest shape 
 
 to iin6vp.ia Tuv o<pda\fiav, 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 be allowed 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 aXa(ovla tov ^iov, 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). 
 
 1 1 has been felt no less natural to look 
 for some correspondence between the 
 threefold worldly tendencies of St John 
 and the three master vices which oc- 
 cupy a prominent place in ancient and 
 medifeval ethics, (^iXijSovia, nXfovt^la, 
 </)iXo8o^ia, voluptas, avaritia, superbia. 
 
II. is] the first epistle of ST JOHN. 63 
 
 '^M>) dyairaTe tov Kocrfxov juri^e ra iv tw k6(TIXw. edv 
 Tis d'yaira. tov Koa/nop, ovk ecTTiv >} d'yaTrt} tov TraTpos 
 
 15 ^ dyaTTr] tov iraTpds HB vg syrr the me : i] 07. tov deov 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. 
 Just M. Dial. 82, p. 308 D 8«a Seos 
 ovv [Bzech. iii. 172] koI ijptcif o-ttou- 
 fiafo/i€i' o/xtXelv Kara Tas ypafpas, ov fita 
 <^iKo-)^pT}^iaTiav r) (jjiKoSo^iav rj ^tXrjSo- 
 vlav' iv ovhevi yap TOvrav eXey^at r)fias 
 ovras dvvaTai tis. 
 
 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 Kovfios as 
 an external system which has lost its 
 true character: Bom. viii. 19 f. 
 
 15. Ml) dyajrare] Nolite diUgere 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 {-fiyairrja-cv tov 
 Koafiov). God looks through the sur- 
 face of things by which man is misled 
 to the very being which He created. 
 
 TOV Koa-jiov] mundum V., tfie 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 
 (Kotr/ior) is in other places considered 
 as the dominant form of life, the age 
 (6 aldv ovros, 6 vvv aldv). Comp, Rom. 
 xii. 2; 2 Tim. iv. 2. 
 
 For the use of Koa-fios see John i. 
 10 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 so 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 laudai-e ut aines creatorem. 
 
 Quemadmodum si sponsus faceret 
 
 sponsse suse annulum et ilia acceptum 
 annulum plus diligeret quam sponsum 
 qui illi fecerit annulum ; nonne in ipso 
 dono sponsi anima adultera deprehen- 
 deretur quamvis hoc amaret quod 
 dedit sponsus? 
 
 iav TIS...'] 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 (ij 
 (piXia TOV (coo-fiou). Unum cor duos 
 tam sibi adversaries amores non capit : 
 Matt. vi. 24 (Bede, ad foe). 
 
 Here as elsewhere St John places 
 the contrast before his readers in its 
 ultimate essential form, as of light 
 and darkness, love and hatred. He as- 
 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; funde quod habes ut accipias 
 quod non habes. 
 
 It \n\l be observed also that he 
 speaks here of tfoe love of the Father 
 
64 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. [II. i6 
 
 ev avTw' ^^OTi irav to ev T(S Koa-fxw' ri eTridu^ia rfj^ 
 
 and not of the love of God (c. ii. s note). 
 The phrase is unique (comp. Col. 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. c. 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 shewn to them by 'the Father' 
 whom 'they know' {v. 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 is not in him 
 as an animating, inspiring power (c. 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. c. i. 5 ; ir. 16 f. ; 
 John V. 45; vi. 45; vii. 28; viii. 44, 
 50, 54; ix. 16; X. 12, 34; xiii. 10, i6. 
 
 The thought finds a striking expres- 
 sion under the imagery of St John in 
 a fragment of Philo quoted by John 
 of Damascus {ParaU. Sacra a, Tit. 
 XXX. p. 370) • aixrjxavov <Tvvvna.p)(eiv 
 rrjv npos Koafjiov dydTrrjv Tij Trphs rov 
 6e6v dydnji, <bs dfi,ijf(avov a-uvvndp)^eiv 
 oKKriKois <^tai kol (tkotos. 
 
 16. on...] 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 
 
 is more distinctly defined than in v. 
 15. In themselves all finite objects, 
 ' the things that are in the world,' are 
 'of the Father.' It is the false 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 human 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- 
 doing. 
 
 This general aspect of the question 
 determines the exact form of lan- 
 guage. St John writes ndv ro ev t. k. 
 and not irdvra TCL ev t. k. He looks at 
 'all' in its unity in relation to the 
 feeling man. Comp. c. v. 4: Bph. v. 
 13 {navra, Trai/). The world as Such 
 has nothing more to offer than what 
 is summed up in the three typical 
 phrases by which -n-dv is 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- 
 nis est et.... 
 
 i; e'lridviila rrjs cap/cof] concupiscen- 
 tia {desiderium Aug.) camis V., 
 tlie desire of the flesh, the desire of 
 which the flesh is the seat. The geni- 
 tive with e'lriBvp-ia is in the N. T. 
 characteristically subjective (John viii. 
 44; Rom. i. 24; Apoc. xviii. 14). 
 Comp. Gal. v. 16, 24; Bph. iL 3; i 
 Pet. ii. 1 1 (a! o-apKiKQi tVtflu/ii'ai), Rom. 
 
 xiii. 14 ; I Pet. iv. 2 {dvOpciirav em6v- 
 p-lais); Tit. ii. 12 (ai Koafuxai eniBv- 
 ixiai). 
 
 Under this categoi^ are included 
 all desires which involve the appro- 
 priation of the object to which they 
 are directed. By the separate men- 
 tion of 01 o<^daXjuoi the sense of <Tap^ 
 is proportionately limited. 
 
 In St John generally adp^ is used 
 to express humanity under the present 
 
II. i6] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 65 
 
 crapKO^ Kai n eTridufxia twv dcpdaXjuwu kui n aXaXpv'ia 
 Tou /3iou, ovK ea-Tiv e'/c tou warpo^, dWd €k tov koct- 
 
 conditioiis of life (c. iv. 2 ; 2 John 7 ; 
 John i. 14; vi. 5 1 — 55 ; xvii. 2). Once 
 the deXriiia (rapKos is set by the side of 
 6f\r)ixa dvSpos as distinct from it (Jolin 
 i. 13); twice o-apl is opposed to TTwO/ia 
 (John iii. 6; vi. 63); and once Kara 
 Tf)v a-apKa is used to describe a judg- 
 ment which is external, superficial, 
 destitute of moral insight (John viii. 
 1 5). The desire of the crap^ as o-ap^ 
 is necessarily for that which is like 
 itself. It cannot include any spiritual 
 element. 
 
 Compare Additional Note on iii. 19. 
 
 ^ emd. tSiv d^fl.] concupiscentia 
 {desideriwm Aug.) oculoriim V., the 
 desire of the eyes, the desii-e of which 
 the eyes are the organ : not the 
 pleasure of the raiser only or charac- 
 teristically (Eccles. iv. 8; v. 11), but 
 all 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 illustra- 
 tion of what he holds to be 'the 
 desire of the eyes,' which is worth 
 quoting as giving a vivid trait in the 
 Christian feeling of his time: Ali- 
 quando tentat etiam [curiositas] ser- 
 vos Dei, ut velint quasi miraculum 
 facere: tentare utrum exaudiat illos 
 Deus in miraculis. Curiositas est; 
 hoc est desiderium oculorum; non 
 est a patre. 
 
 ij aka^. rov ^iov\ guperbia vitce V., 
 ambitio swculi Aug. (other Latin au- 
 
 W. J. 
 
 thorities give Jactantia hujus vitw, 
 vitce humance), 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. Tlie dXafaii' (conip. 
 Rom. i. 30; 2 Tim. iii. 2) is closely 
 connected with the iSirepij^ai/or; but 
 his vice centres in self and is con- 
 summated in his absolute self-exalta- 
 tion, while the vjTfpri4>avos shews his 
 character by his overweening treat- 
 ment of others. ' The dXaCdv sins most 
 against truth: the virepiicjjavos sins 
 most against love.' 'AXaCovia may 
 be referred to a false view of what 
 things are in themselves, empty and 
 unstable: v7repr]<f>avia to a false view 
 of what our relations to other persons 
 are. Comp. Mk. vii. 22 ; Luke i. 5 1 ; 
 James iv. 6; i Pet. v. 5. See also 
 Wisd. 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 (o /Si'or) in its present concrete 
 manifestation and not to life in its 
 essential principle (i? fm^). Comp. 
 Luke viii. 14 {^doval tov ^iov); i Tim. 
 ii. 2 (/S/ov SidycLv); 2 Tim. iL 4 (rals 
 roC fiiov TTpayiuiTeiais) ; (in I Pet. iv. 3 
 TOV /Si'ou is an addition, but (3im<rat oc- 
 curs in V. 2). Hence 6 /3i'os is used 
 for 'the means of life': Mk. xii. 44; 
 Luke [viii. 43I xv. 12, 30; c. iii. 17. 
 Compare also ^iaans, Acts xxvi. 4; 
 and ^lUTiKos, Luke xxi. 34 ; i Cor. vi. 
 
 These characteristic feelings of want 
 and of wealth, the desire of the Jlesh 
 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; xviiL 36). The decla- 
 ration marks the false position into 
 which man has come. In his original 
 
 s 
 
66 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [II. 17 
 
 fjiou icTTLV ^"^ Kal 6 Koaixo's TrapdyeTaL Kai }j eTridvfxia 
 
 \a.vrov~\, 6 Se ttoiwv to deXrjfxa roO deov jnevei ek tou 
 
 aiMva. 
 
 17 i) iiriB. avToD : - auToD A. Many Latin authorities and (in sense) the The- 
 baic version add : quomodo [sicut et) deus (ipse) manet in aternum. 
 
 constitution the desire was good, be- 
 cause it was directed consciously to- 
 wards the fulfihiient 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 by the Living 
 Author to whom the child should 
 look ifK Tov Ttarpos not simply ck tov 
 6eoii). Thus each typical false ten- 
 dency is the corruption of a noble 
 instinct, the longing for support and 
 for beauty, the joy of thankfulness. 
 
 Est ergo triplex amor qui tria ilia 
 
 escludat quse non sunt ex Patre. 
 
 Bt forte hsec sunt de quibus in Lege 
 prsecipitur : Diliges Dominum Deum 
 tuum ex toto corde tuo et ex tola 
 aniina tua et ex tota virtute tua 
 (Deut. vi. 5), id est diliges dulciter sive 
 affectuose, diliges prudenter, diliges 
 fortiter (Bern. Sertn. de div. xxix. i). 
 
 The phrase elvai eK {v. 21 ; lii. ig; 
 iv. 5) to be of is characteristic of St 
 John expressing derivation and de- 
 pendence. Compare John iii. 31 note ; 
 and Additional Note on iii. i. 
 
 17. This clause contains a second 
 ground for the prohibition in v. 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 antagonism of the 
 love of the Father and of the love of 
 
 the world, so far as these are at vari- 
 ance in their issue no less than in their 
 source. But this connexion appears 
 to be less natural than the other. 
 
 i:apa.yiTai\ is passing away: see 
 V. 8. The word describes not the 
 general character of the world as 
 transitory but its 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) a screen which hides 
 the presence of God. By the declara- 
 tion of the Truth this was in St John's 
 time beginning to be removed. Com- 
 pare ». 8 ; I Cor. vii. 3 1 ; and contrast 
 the ideal view from the divine side : 
 Ta dp)^aia TrapTJXdev, 18011 y4yov€v Kaivd 
 (2 Cor. V. 17: comp. Apoc. xxi. 4). 
 
 In the thanksgiving after the 
 Eucharist in The Doctrine of the 
 Apostles the clause occurs: iXdero) 
 xdpis KOL napiKBiTO) o Kotriios ovrot (c. 
 X. 6). 
 
 i; inidvu'ia auroC] concupiscentia 
 {desideria Aug.) ejus V., the desire 
 thereof, the desire which belongs to 
 it and which it stimulates. Comp. 
 Tit. ii. 12 ai KO(Tp.iKai iniBviilai. The 
 gen. 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 irapayerai 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 (KaTapye'iTai). But 
 the desire remains as an aching void. 
 
 The contrast to this ' desire ' which 
 is earth-born and empty is ' the will 
 of God.' That alone is permanent of 
 which this will is the gi-ound. 
 
11. 17] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 67 
 
 o hi 7roic3i'.../iei/«.,.] qui autem 
 facit {fecerit Aug.) V., but fie tJiat 
 doeth...dbideth... While the fabric of 
 'the world' is being removed the 
 Christian suffers no disturbance. The 
 present in this sense is eternal. When 
 all else changes the obedience of love 
 continues unchanged. This abides 
 in the neve 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- 
 gested by w. 15, but he that doeth the 
 will of God dbidethfor ever. Such a 
 one is truly akin to the Son of man : 
 Mk. iii. 35. 
 
 Compare John iv. 34 ; vi. 38 ; vii. 
 17; 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 origin. 
 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: 
 Apoc. iv. II. Compare i Thess. iv. 3. 
 
 In speaking of the divine vrill St 
 John says 'the will of God' and not 
 'the will of the Father' as might 
 seem to be suggested by v. 16. Stress 
 is laid upon the divine majesty rather 
 than upon the divine love. 'The wiU 
 of the Father' is found only in St 
 Matthew (vi. 10 our Father, vii. 21 ; 
 xii. 50 my Father; comp. xviii. 14; 
 xxvi. 42). The will of our God and 
 Father occurs Gal. i. 4 (comp. Bph. 
 i. 5, 9, 11). The will of God is not 
 unfrequent: i Pet. ii. 15; iii. 17; iv. 
 19; Rom. i. 10; xii. 2; Heb. x. 36. 
 In the Gospel of St John the phrase 
 which is always used by the Lord is 
 the will of Him that sent me: iv. 34 ; 
 V. 30; vi. 38 ff. (vii. 17). 
 
 fievei els T. ai.] obideth for ever. 
 Comp. John viii. 35; xii. 34; 2 Cor. 
 ix. 9 (lxx.); I Pet. i. 25 (lxx.). The 
 
 absolute use of fievtiv is not unfre- 
 quent: John XV. 16; r Pet. i. 23; 
 Heb. X. 34. 
 
 ds Tov alava] in oBtemum, V. This 
 is the only form in which alav occurs 
 in the Epistles (here and 2 John 2) 
 and Gospel (12 times) of St John, 
 except tlie correlative (k tov alavos 
 (John ix. 32). The phrase occurs in- 
 dependently of the LXX. (i Pet. i. 25 ; 
 2 Cor. ix. 9; Hebr. v. 6; vi. 20; vii. 
 17 ff.) only (with negative) in Matth. 
 XXL igllMk. xi. 14; Mk. iii. 29; i 
 Cor. vni. 13 (Jude 13 elsalava). [i Pet. 
 i. 23 and 2 Pet. ii. 17 are false read- 
 ings.] It is very common in the lxx. as 
 the rendering of D^ijJ, dVii;^, dVijj ~iV. 
 The thought contained in the words 
 here is given by the addition which is 
 found in Thd). and Old Lat. 'as God 
 also abideth for ever' {sicut et ipse 
 manet in cBtemum). 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 seternus; 
 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 Fgo dixi, dii estis 
 etfilii altissimi omnes. 
 
 B. The conflict op Truth and 
 Falsehood 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 
 great 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. xiiL i ff.) 
 takes its place by the side of the 
 
68 
 
 THE PIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [II. 1 8 
 
 '^naiB'ia, eiT)(^aTri wpa icTTiv, kui Ka6to<s riKOVcraTe 
 
 imperial power (Apoc. xii. i ffi). These 
 false teachers, this 'spirit of anti- 
 christ,' are 'of the world' (iv. 4 f). 
 
 Characteristic luarlvs of this conflict 
 appear throughout : avrixpiaros \i. 18, 
 20; TO TTvev^a Tov dvTi)(pt(rrov iv. 3j 
 ^lr€v^o^^po{pr|Tai iv. I ; ol TrXaucovres ii. 
 
 26, COUip. iii. 7 j TO TTVevjia TTJS 7r\duT)s 
 
 iv. 6. And underneath the false spi- 
 ritual teaching lies 'the hati-ed' of 
 the world: iii. 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 wliich St John gives of 
 the Christian conflict falls into four 
 sections : 
 
 I. The Revelation of Palsehood 
 AND Truth (ii. 18—29). 
 
 II. The Children OF God AND THE 
 
 CHILDREN OP THE DEVIL (iii. I — 12). 
 
 m. Brotherhood in Christ .ind 
 
 THE hatred of THE WORLD (iii. 1 3 — 
 
 24). 
 
 IV. The Rival Spirits of Truth 
 AND Error (iv. i — 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 Sonsbip, in the 
 activity of Love, in the power of 
 Spiritual Discernment. So the con- 
 flict passes to victory. 
 
 I. The Revelation op Falsehood 
 AND Truth (ii. 18—29). 
 
 This section is separable into 
 three parts : 
 
 1. Antichrists and Christians (iS 
 
 -21). 
 
 2. The essence and the power of 
 the Truth (22—25). 
 
 3. AUding in the Truih (26—29). 
 The progress of thought is simple. 
 
 The fact of apostasy from the Chris- 
 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 aclcnowledgment 
 of tlie 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 rigliteousness, likeness to 
 God, the mark of divine sonship. 
 I. Antichrists and Christians (18 
 
 -21). 
 
 The necessity of conflict which has 
 been laid down on general grounds in 
 TV. 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 itself (18, 19). At the same 
 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). 
 
 ■M/j/ little ones, it is a last }mur, 
 and as ye heard that Antichrist 
 cometh, even now many Antichrists 
 have arisen; whence we perceive that 
 it is a last hour. '9 They went out 
 from us, but they were not of us, -for 
 if they had been of us, they would 
 have remained with us; but they 
 went out that they may he made 
 manifest that they all are not of us. 
 ""And ye have an unction from the 
 Holy One; and ye all know — =■/ 
 iMte not written to you became ye 
 know not the truth, but because ye 
 know it, and because no lie is of 
 the truth,. 
 
 18. HaiSt'a] Filioli (Puerx) V., 
 My little ones. See e. 14. The Apostle 
 addresses his readers with the au- 
 thority of age and experience, and 
 not as dwelling on the thought of 
 spiritual kinship {reKvia). 
 
II. 1 8] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OP ST JOHN. 
 
 69 
 
 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 tlie con- 
 dition of tlie Christian society. It is 'a 
 last hour.' 
 
 The conception of 'a last time,' 'a 
 last season,' the 'last days,' rests upon 
 the 0. T., in which the phrase nnriK 
 Q'pjn is used for the distant future, 
 on which the prophet's eye is fixed. 
 Thus in Gen. xhx. i; Num. xxiv. 14 
 (tTT (a-x^draiv [-rou] rav ruiepav) it 
 
 points to the time when Israel had 
 entered upon the possession of Ca- 
 naan, the first stage in the fulfilment 
 of the divine promise. In Is. ii. 2 ; 
 Mic. iv. I ; Hos. iii. 5 ; Jerem. xxiii, 
 20; xsx. 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 suflFering through which 
 the divine victory should be accom- 
 plished. This appears to be the ruling 
 idea of the phrase in the N. T. : Acts 
 ii. 17 iV TOLLS tarx- VM- (Joel iii. i, eV- 
 ^aVais being an explanatory gloss); 
 James v. 3 iv ia-x- vH-i i Pet- '■ 20 
 
 CTT etrxorav Tav xpovtav. 
 
 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 
 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; i Pet. i. 5, 
 contrast ». 20): as we look back we 
 have entered on an inheritance now 
 through struggles of 'a last time.' 
 
 But while the great counsel of God 
 goes forward to fulfilment the date of 
 the consummation is not revealed: 
 Acts 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: jrei/TaKio-xiXi'mi' 
 evtavrav Trapadpafiovrav e^ ov yeyoveu 
 o KO(rfios...Kat airb rfjs Xptorow Trapov- 
 CTLas ouTTo) n€7r\rjpaifi€VQiV e^aKoaioiv 
 r)yovv €7rTaKocri(tiv tj ;^iXio)i/ erav, da>p.€v 
 yap ovToi, jriiif [ovk] {dele) ? fm Xoyou <^a- 
 vrj<T€Tai rav i^aKoatav erav fj ;^iXt(wr, el 
 Tvxotj Tas T]p.€pas npos ras tmv TTCvraKtcr- 
 ;^iXta)c TrapG^eTa^Ofievas eaxoras koKcIv; 
 
 In this passage the anarthrous 
 phrase ia-xaTrj (Spa, novissima liora 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 
 N.T. (comp. I Pet. i. S; 2 Tim. iii. i). 
 The use of 'hour' recals that in the 
 Gospel: iv. 21, 23; v. 35, 38; xvi. 2, 
 4, 25, 32. Compare ii. 4; vii. 30; viii. 
 20; xii. 23, 27; xiii. I; xvii. I; and 
 the idea of 'a last hour' corresponds 
 with the characteristic phrase of St 
 John 'the last day' (vi. 39 f., 44, 54; 
 xi. 24; xii. 48). The definiteness of 
 this latter phrase (ij tax- >)■) justifies 
 the mder sense given to the former 
 (comp. iv. 1 7, 1) f\pipa T^r Kplceas note). 
 Comp. Ign. ad Ephes. c. 1 1. The true 
 reading in i Thess. v. 2 (1)^. not i) ij^i.) 
 illustrates ea-x- <Spa here. 
 Kadas ijKova-aTf] OS ye heard in 
 
70 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [II. i8 
 
 OTi ' AvTi^pKrTO^ epx^Tai, Kal vvv dvr'Lxpi-<TTOi ttoWoi 
 
 i8 on'XvT.. -on A. 'AKrfxpwi's N*BC : b avrixpufTos ^'k. 
 
 general terms as part of the evangelic 
 message (Mk. xiii. 6 ff. ; Matt. xxiv. 5, 
 24), and in the teaching of apostles 
 (Acts XX. 30). Comp. I Tim. iv. I. 
 These general predictions of false 
 Christs and false teachers were con- 
 centrated in the thought of a typical 
 adversary; 2 Thess. ii. 3. 
 
 ' kvTLXpi-a-Tos] The term Antichrist 
 is peculiar to St John in the N.T. It 
 occurs again v. 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' (avTi^atrCKevs, avTirafjiias, dv6v- 
 iraTos), or 'one who under the same 
 character opposes Christ' {ainibiba- 
 CKaXof, dvTiaTpaTimTTjs). There is a 
 similar ambiguity in the word avri- 
 a-rparriyos, which means both 'one 
 who occupies the place of a-rpaTrjyos, 
 proprceior,' and also 'an opposing 
 general.' It seems to be most conso- 
 nant to the context to hold that 'Kvrl- 
 Xpi-oTos 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 Anti- 
 christ assails Christ by proposing to do 
 or to preserve what He did while he 
 denies Him (comp. John v. 43). The 
 false Christ on the other hand (•\|/'eu8d- 
 XpioTos 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 
 man in his union with God tlirougli 
 Christ; while the lie of Antichrist 
 was to teach tliat man is divine apart 
 from God in Christ. 
 
 The passages in which the term 
 occurs are not decisive as to St John's 
 teaching in regard to the coming of 
 one great Anticln-ist, of which the 
 others were preparatory embodiments. 
 As far as his words are concerned 
 'Antichrist' may be the personifica- 
 tion of the principle shewn in dif- 
 ferent antichrists, or the person 
 whose appearance is prepared by 
 these particular forms of evil. The 
 former is however the most natural 
 interpretation : r. 22 ; 2 John 7. The 
 spirit of evil conies 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 (». 22 o apmi- 
 fievos on 'irja-ovs ovk ccttlv o ;(pi(rTor. 
 IV. 3 wv. o fjLTj o/ioXoyfi (\vei) tov 'Iijtrovv. 
 2 John 7 o' P-^ 6fio\oyovvT€s 'lijtrovv 
 XpuTTov epxoiifvov iv a-apKc). 
 
 This denial iuvolves the complete 
 misunderstanding of Christ's past and 
 future 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 Irenseus, 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 6 Tijs dvonias 
 
 av6pa>nos (Dial. 32, p. 250 A d t^j 
 airoaraa-ias avdpcoiros, Dial. 1 10, p. 336 
 
 d). It appears therefore to be cha- 
 racteristic of the school of St Johu. 
 See Additional Note. 
 
II. 19] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 71 
 
 yeyovaiTiv' bdev yivwaKOfxev otl e(T~)(aTr] wpa ecTTiv. 
 ^'e^ ^jULcSv 6^fj\6av, aA.\' ouk rjcrav i^ i^juiiSv' el yap i^ 
 
 ig i^ TjuSiv riaav (3") BC syrr me the : rjcav i^ ijij.up S"XA vg. 
 
 epxerai] venit {sit venturus) V., 
 Cometh. The same term is used of 
 Christ and of His adversary. Comp. 
 c. iv. 3 ; John xiv. 3 ; xxi. 22 f. ; Apoc. 
 xxii. 20. In both cases it implies 
 something more than one advent, 
 though it includes this. The rival 
 power finds a pei-sonal expression as 
 often as Christ comes. Comp. v. 6 
 note. 
 
 Ka6a>s...Kai viiv] as...eren so now. 
 Comp. John xv. 9'; xvii. 18; xx. 21. 
 
 yeyova<riv] facti sunt V., have 
 arisen, and fulfilled the expectation. 
 The use of a different word for their 
 advent {yeyovacnv not i\r)Xv6a(Tiv) con- 
 nects their appearance with the ac- 
 tual conditions of the development of 
 the Church. Comp. Heb. ii. 1 7 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 tj'pes of Antichrist but 
 revelations of him in many parts : c. 
 iv. 3. 
 
 For the absolute use of yivca-dai see 
 2 Pet. ii. I ; John i. 6; Mk. i. 4. 
 
 odfvyiv<aiTKoiJ.fv...] whence ice per- 
 ceive... 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. 
 
 'Oflei; is found here only in the 
 wi-itings 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. f ^ ij'/t. e'^.] Ex 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 
 rest of the Christian society; but they 
 were not of us, they did not draw 
 their life from our life (c. i. 3) and so 
 form living members of the body. 
 Comp. Heb. vi. 4 ff. 
 
 The change in the position of e| 
 ffjiav 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 elvat ck see v. 16 note. 
 
 The phrase e^iKdeiv e| may describe 
 either removal (Apoc. xviii. 4 ; John 
 viii. 59) or origin (Apoc. ix. 3; xiv. 
 13 ff. ; xix. s, 21; John iv. 30). The 
 correspondence with ouk ^<rav i^ ^fiav 
 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- 
 fessed to speak with the voice of the 
 Christian Body. Aia rt dirb rav tov 
 Kvpiov p.a6j]To)V ol dvTi)(^ptaTOL; lv e- 
 Yotei/ TO TTiOTOV Tols TrXavauevots ko~ 
 fiL^eiv as ano Ttav fiadrfTa)v oi/res... 
 (Theophlct.) 
 
 el yap..-] If they had in the truest 
 sense shared our life, the life would 
 have gone forward to its fruitful con- 
 summation {jienevriKeurav av perman- 
 sissent utiqm 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 
 loquuntur ; 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. [11. 19 
 
 rifxcov ricrav, iJ.efxevriK^'-o'civ CIV fxed' ^fxtov dXX 'iva (pavepw- 
 
 life is presented as real, but liable to 
 an abrupt close (John xv. i 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 to the actual Church : Si 
 antequam exirent non eraut ex nobis, 
 multi intus sunt, non exierunt, et 
 tamen Antichrist! sunt. And again: 
 Sic sunt in corpora Christi quoniodo 
 humores mali. Compare also the 
 striking language of Ignatius, ad 
 TtoM, 1 1 ovTQi ovK fieri ^vT€La irarpos 
 dKX eyyova Karrjpafleva, iraua df, (^t;- 
 a\v 6 Kvpws, ipvTela rjv ovk €<j>vT(v(r€v 6 
 iraTrjp fiov o (jrovpaiiios fKpL^adijTa. cl 
 yap fjtrav tov irarpos kKoSol oi3k an rjo-av 
 exOpoX TOV (TTavpov tov XpLorov dWa 
 Tav aTTOKTeivairro)!/ tov ttjs do^rjs Kvptov, 
 
 It may be added that yap, for, is 
 very rarely used in the Epistles ; c. iv. 
 20; V. 3; 2 John II; 3 John 3, 7. 
 As distinguished from oti, becaiise, it 
 will be seen that yap expresses a 
 reason or explanation alleged (sub- 
 jective), while on marks a distinct 
 fact (objective) which is itself an ade- 
 quate cause or explanation of that 
 with which it is connected. Comp. 
 c. V. 3, 4; John ii. 25; iii. 16—21 ; 
 iii. 23 f. ; ix. 22, &c. 
 
 pf6' i^fiav] It might have been ex- 
 pected that St John would have 
 written eV ij/itc, according to his cha- 
 racteristic usage which is all but uni- 
 versal in his Epistles; but the thought 
 is not of absolute unity in one body 
 but of personal fellowship one with 
 another: John xiv. 16; Luke xxiv. 
 
 aXK' Iva...] but they went out (or 
 this separation came to pass) that 
 thai may he made manifest {ut 
 manifesti sint [manifestarentur] V.), 
 that they all are not of us i.e. that 
 none of them are of us. For this 
 ellipse see John i. 8 ; ix. 3 ; xiii. 1 8 ; xiv. 
 
 31; XV. 25. The departure of these 
 false teachers after a temporary 
 sojourn in the Christian society was 
 broughtabout that they might be shewn 
 in their true character, and so seen 
 to be not of it The last clause is 
 rather iiTCgular in form. The vavTes 
 is inserted as it were by an after- 
 thought ; ' they went out that 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 to 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. 
 I Cor. xi. 19. 
 
 When the -iras is separated by the 
 verb from the ov the negation, accord- 
 ing to the usage of the New Testament, 
 is always universal {all... not), and not 
 partial (not all). Comp. c. 21 ; iii. 15; 
 Apoc. xxii. 3; Matt. xxiv. 22 (ov... 
 nas); Luke i. 37 (ov nas); Acts x. 
 15; Rom. iii. 20 (ov...nas); Gal. ii. 
 16 (ou...7rar); Bph. v. 5; and in de- 
 pendent negations, John iii. 16 (not 
 .../iij); vi. 39 (iris...p.ij); xii. 46 (id.); 
 
 1 Cor. i 29 (ii^...iras); Eph. iv. 29 
 (7ras...ii.ij). Comp. Apoc. xxi. 27 (ov 
 fiij. . .iras). 
 
 On the other hand see Matt. vii. 21 ; 
 Rom. ix. 6 ; I Cor. x. 23 ; xv. 39 (ov 
 
 TTOs). 
 
 In the face of this usage it is im- 
 possible to translate the words 'that 
 they may be made manifest them- 
 selves, and thsit it may be made mani- 
 fest in them ttuit not all who are out- 
 wardly united with the Church are of 
 us, in true fellowship with Christ.' 
 
 For <j)avfp. on OVK elaiv compare 
 
 2 Cor. iii. 3 t^avcpou^evoi on (are. 
 
 20. Even without this revelation 
 
II. 20, 21] THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. "Jl 
 
 dwa-iv OTi ouK ei<riv Trai/res i^ ti/mcov. ""/cat u/uLei^ ;^picr//a 
 exere dwo tou dylov oi'Sare TraVres — "ovk eypa^a 
 
 20 otdare jrdrrcs : Kal otSare wavTa 5". See Additional Note. 
 
 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' (i Pet. ii. 5 (9); Apoc. i. 
 6; V. 10; XX. 6); and in virtue of that 
 consecration endowed with corre- 
 sponding blessings. So Severus (Cra- 
 mer, Cat. in loc.) writes: ;^pi(rToi ela-iv 
 ovx ot 7rpo<l}rjrai fi6vov...d\}C e^aiperas 
 Koi navres ol els rbv fieyav Kal fiovov 
 KaX a\7j6^ 'S.pKTTov Kal acor^pa Geov 
 7ri(TT€v<ravT€S...Kal eura 6€L(a.../^a7rTia- 
 fian (Tvp^oXiKas ra p.vpa ;^pto/xei'Ot... 
 
 Kal u/icit...] Sed (el) vos... Y., And 
 further you yourselves, in virtue of 
 your position as contrasted with them, 
 have an unction (comp. v. 27 xp^o'P-a 
 e'XdjSeTe) from the Holy One. Comp. 
 vv. 24, 27; iv. 4. 
 
 Xpi-a-p.a'] unctionem V. (unguentum 
 Hier.), an unction. The word, vpliich 
 expresses not the act of anointing, 
 but that with which it is performed 
 ('anointing oil' Ex. xxix. 7; xxx. 25; 
 xl. 15 (liXX.); comp. Dan. ix. 26), marks 
 the connexion of Christians with their 
 Head. As He was ' anointed ' for His 
 office (Luke iv. 18 [Is. Ixi. i] ; Acts iv. 
 27 [Ps. ii. 2]; X. 38; Heb. i. 9 [Ps. xlv. 
 7]); so too are they (2 Cor. i. 21 f.). The 
 verb xP'<» (answering to nB'p) in lxx. 
 is employed generally, though not ex- 
 clusively, of the anointing of things 
 for sacred use. In the 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 the 
 OldTestament — thesacred 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 (». 
 
 270 eXa^ere) ; and the narrative of the 
 Acts fixes this normally at the im- 
 position of hands which followed on 
 Baptism (Acts viii. 14 fi'.). But the 
 context shews that the word j^/jiVfio is 
 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. 
 Perhaps, 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: Egressi de lavacro perun- 
 gimur benedicta unctione de pristina 
 disciplina, qua ungi oleo de cornu in 
 sacerdotium solebant (ofe £apt. 7). 
 
 Unctio spiritualis ipseSpiritus Sanc- 
 tus est cujus sacramentum est in unc- 
 tione visibili (Bede). 
 
 This 'unction,' this gift of the Spirit, 
 is said to come finally (diro, see c. 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 i Cor. vi. 19; John xiv. 16; 
 comp. Baruch iv. 22, 37; but o S-yioy 
 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). 
 
 olhare Trdn-fr] ye all know, i.e. 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 
 Truth.' With oidare r^i/ dX. contrast 
 2 John 2 01 eyvmKOTes rffv d\. 
 
74 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [II. 22 
 
 v/uiLv OTi ovK oihaTe Trjv dXrideiav, dW oti o'lBwre 
 avrrjv, kui oti ttuv -v/^ei/Sos efc t^s dXrjdeia^ ovk 
 
 eCTTLV. ^' T'l^ icTTlU 6 ylrevCTfl^ €1 fXt] 6 dp- 
 
 2 1 — irav C. 
 
 The common reading Ka\ oiSare 
 ■travra gives an explanation of the ac- 
 tual force of xP'V/ia e^^" • 'j® have an 
 unction, and, in virtue of that gift of 
 the Holy Spirit, ye know all tilings ; 
 ye have potentially complete and cer- 
 tain knowledge : no false teaching can 
 deceive you if ye are faithful to your- 
 selves.' Comp. V. 27; Jude 5 (eiSorar 
 a7ra| -TravTo); John xlv. 26, svi. 1 3. 
 
 See Additional Xote. 
 
 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 
 eypa\jra see tv. 14 note, 26. 
 
 aXX' oTi..,.Kal OTI...] sed quasi 
 scientihus...et qiu>ina'm...{sed quia... 
 quia) v., hut because... and because... 
 The OTI 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 
 truth. 
 
 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 on can however also be 
 translated ' that ' thus defining a se- 
 cond feature in Christian knowledge : 
 'ye know the truth and know that no 
 lie is of the truth.' In this case the 
 words indicate the practical conse- 
 quences which follow from the revela- 
 tion of the antichrists. 
 
 According to both views the abso- 
 lute irreconcileableness of any false- 
 hood with 'the Truth' is laid down as 
 a clear rule for the protection of Chris- 
 tians in the presence of seductive 
 teachers. It was, on the other hand, 
 
 the ofBce of the Paraclete to guide 
 them 'into all the Truth' (John xvi. 
 
 13). _ 
 
 TTav i\r....ovK c<TTiv\ see v. 19 note. 
 
 i^ev&os] mendacium V. Error is 
 regarded in its positive form as part 
 of 'the lie' (to -^evbos) 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. 
 
 « Tfjs ok. OVK e<mv\ c. iii. 19; John 
 xviii. 37. See c. 16 note. The source of 
 falsehood is marked in John viii. 44. 
 
 2. The essence and the power qf 
 the Truth (22 — 25). 
 
 The mention of 'lies' in c. 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 (22, 23). Then 
 follows the portraiture of the power 
 of the Truth firmly held, which brings 
 fellowship with God, even eternal life 
 (24, 25). 
 
 " Who is the liar hut he that 
 denieth that Jesus is the Christ? 
 This is the Antichrist, even he t/iat 
 denieth tlie Fatlier and the Son. 
 ''^ Every one that denieth the Son liath 
 not eoen the Father: he that con- 
 fesseth the Son hath the Father also. 
 ">As for you, let tliat which ye 
 heard from the beginning abide in 
 you. If tliat abide in you which 
 ye lieard from the beginning, ye also 
 s/udl abide in t/ie Son and in the 
 Father. '^And thi^ is the promise 
 that he himself promised us, even 
 the life eternal. 
 
 22. Ti's fWii/...] Quis est mendax 
 ...? V. Who is the liar...? The 
 abrupt question (comp. c. v. 5) corre- 
 sponds with a brief mental pause after 
 
II. 22] THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 75 
 
 vovfJLevo^ OTi 'Irjcrov^ ouk ecmv 6 ■x^pio'TO^ ', oi)tos 
 ecTiv 6 dvTL')(^pi<TTOS, 6 dpvoufxevo^ tov irarepa Kai tov 
 
 V. 21. ' I have spoken of lies : what, 
 nay rather, who is their source ? Who 
 is the liarl' The abruptness of vv. 
 22 f. is remarkable. Clause stands 
 by clause in stern solemnity without 
 any connecting particles. 
 
 6 A^fuCTT^j] t/ie 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 full significance — intel- 
 lectual, moral, spiritual — includes 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. 
 
 TIS...C1 /iij] c. T. 5; I Cor. ii. il; 
 2 Cor. ii. 2, &c. 
 
 o dpvovfievos ori...ovK eoTivj that 
 
 denieth that... The insertion of the 
 negative in the original (preserved in 
 the Old Latin, qui negat quod Jesus 
 non est Ghristus) gives a positive, 
 aggressive, character to the negation. 
 The adversary denies that Jesus is 
 the Christ wlien 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 marks the progress of Christian 
 thought In the earliest stage of the 
 Church the words would have ex- 
 pressed a denial of the Messiahship 
 of Jesus from the Jewish point of 
 view (Acts V. 42, ix. 22, xvii. 3, 
 xviiL 28). They now answer to a 
 later form of opinion. A common 
 'Gnostic' theory was that 'the seon 
 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 heeame flesh. 
 
 ouTor] this liar, this maintainor 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 Sonsliip 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. 
 
 o avrixpitTTOi] 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 lie that... Son), which are not 
 simply a resumption of oui-or. 
 
 o apvovfievos t. tt.] 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. 
 I ; Jude 4. 
 
 TOV TTorepa] The title the Father 
 occurs in the Epistles of St John, as 
 in the Gospel, in connexion with ' the 
 Son' (w. 22, 23, 24, i. 3, iv. 14; 2 J. 
 3, g), and in relation to men (ii. i, 14, 
 1 5 f., iii. I ; 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 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [II. 23, 24 
 
 VLOV 
 
 ^^Tras 6 dpvou/J.evo'i tou vlou ouBe tov TraTcpa e^ei. 
 6 oiuLoXoywu Tov vlou Kal tov irarepa ex^i-' ""^'V/xei? o 
 
 23 6 6/ioX....^x" *<A.BC me syrr. om. r. 
 Other oonjuuotions are inserted in versions. 
 
 or 'our Father,' or 'the Father in 
 heaven ' do not occur. See Additional 
 Note on i. 2. 
 
 Tov v'wv] By the use of the absolute 
 term the Son (comp. John v. 19 note), 
 which occurs in the Epistle first here 
 (comp. iv. 14, V. 12), St 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 
 'tlie Son' includes both these con- 
 ceptions in their ideal fulness. 
 
 23. Tras o apv. t. vl ] Qui negat 
 
 F ilium nee Patrein hdbet V. The 
 original ' is compressed : Eeery one 
 that denieth the Son hath not even 
 the Father {ovSe t. it. e.) or, according 
 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: qui negat Filium nee 
 Filium nee 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 oihi retains its full force 'has 
 not even the Father,' though this re- 
 sult may seem to be against expecta- 
 
 24 vfieTs KABC vg: v/i. + oui' r. 
 
 tion, and contrary to the claim of the 
 false teachers. Comp. John v. 22, 
 viii. 42 ; Gal. ii. 3 ; i Tim. vi. 7. 
 
 For the use of rras 6 apv. in place of 
 the simple o apv. see c. iii. 3 note. 
 
 ovbe (x^L.-tx^i] hath not even... 
 iMth... The second clause in each 
 case is more than a simple repetition 
 of the first (comp. Wisd. x. 8). 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 a man might shrink from deny- 
 ing 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 enjoys the certain 
 possession of a living Friend. And 
 conversely he 'that confesseth the 
 Son' not only confesses the Father 
 in an act of faith, but also lives in 
 conscious communion with Him. 
 
 t;^«i] Comp. V. 12; 2 John 9. 
 
 Augustine has an interesting dis- 
 cussion on the application of the test 
 to Catholics and Donatists. His con- 
 clusion is : ' Quisquis factis negat 
 Christum Antichristus est,' adding 
 the words quoted on v. 19. And Bede 
 says of this confession: confessionem 
 hie cordis vocis et operis inquirit qua- 
 lem quaerebat Paulus (i Cor. xii. 3). 
 
 o/ioXoymi/ TOV v\.ov\ qui confite- 
 tur Filium V., he that confesseth the 
 Son, he that openly acknowledges that 
 Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. 
 The constructions of o/ioXoyeli/ in N.T. 
 are numerous. The simplest are those 
 with the injin. and with on which 
 serve for the affirmation of a definite 
 fact past, present or future {inJin. 
 c. Iv. 2 ; Tit i. 16; Matt. xiv. 7 ; on 
 c. iv. 15; John i. 20; Acts xxiv. 14; 
 Heb. xi. 13). From the construction 
 with the i?{/?n. that with the accus. 
 
II. 24] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OP ST JOHN. 
 
 77 
 
 riKOvcraTe air ap^n^, ev vjuuv fxeverw eav eu vfxiv jueivri 
 b air dpx^^ r]KOv<raTe, Kai v/JLeT^ ev tm vliS Kai fei/] 
 
 a.Kr)K6a.Te (bis) K. S aV dpx- aKijK. X (vg) mg the. h Tif tt. XAC : - ^v B vg. 
 iv T<fi IT. Kai iv Tifi vl(f a syr vg. 
 
 follows, either a simple accus. Acts 
 xxiii. 8 (comp. c. i. 9); or an accus. 
 with a secondary predicate 2 John 7 ; 
 John ix. 22. Here and in c. 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 cogn. 
 accus. I Tim. vi. 12; with the sub- 
 stance of the confession added in the 
 direct : Rom. x. 9 (Kvpios 'lijo-oCj). 
 More remarkable is the construction 
 with iv Matt X. 31 f. ; Luke liL 8, 
 which suggests the idea of an ac- 
 knowledged fellowship. 
 
 To know the Son as Son is to have 
 such knowledge as we can have at 
 present of the Father (John xiv. 7 ff.). 
 Hence ?ie that coi\fesseth the Son 
 hath the Father also as well as the 
 Son whom he directly acknowledges. 
 
 24 f. 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. 'Y/ieJr...] As for you... The 
 pronoun stands at the head of the 
 sentence in contrast with the false 
 teachers of whom the Apostle has 
 spoken (». 22): comp. Matt. xiii. 18. 
 For the irregular construction see v. 
 27; John vi. 39; vii. 38 ; xiv. 12 ; xv. 
 2 ; Luke xxi. 6, &c. 
 
 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 
 
 not to hinder. Comp. John xv. 7. For 
 the double divine fellowship, ' God in 
 us, we in God,' see iv. 15 note. 
 
 o 7JKov<raT€...] that which ye 
 heard... {r. 7). The first simple mes- 
 sage of the Gospel apprehended in its 
 unity (o not a; comp. John xiv. 23). 
 This ' word ' taken into the heart be- 
 comes a power fashioning the whole 
 man (John viiL 31 f. ; xv. 7). 
 
 eV vyuv ^ez/e'ro)] let that... abide in 
 you. The Gospel is described both as 
 a medium in which the believer lives 
 (John viii. 31), and as a quickening 
 spirit which dwells in him (Col. iii. 
 16 ; 2 John 2). 
 
 o i/k. cltt apxr}S...o an dp}^. iJk....] 
 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 
 tlie beginning). Comp. iiL 8 note. 
 
 Km unfir...] ye also...\.e. 'then ye 
 on your side...' 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: eav iv viuv...Kai v/iels. 
 
 Comp. iii. 24. 
 
 For the use of Kai to mark a cor- 
 responding issue, see iv. ii. 
 
 iv TIM via Kai iv t. tt.] The order, as 
 contrasted with that in v. 22 (t. tt. koI 
 T. VI.), is significant Here the thought 
 is that of rising through the con- 
 fession 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 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. [11. 25, 26 
 
 Tw iraTpi jueveTre, '^^Kai avTt} icTTtv r\ tTraiyyeXia 
 
 viov. 
 
 36 
 
 TauTa eypaylya ufiiu irepl twi/ irXa- 
 
 i}fiLv : Ofuv B (lat). 
 
 25. Koi avTT] eoTiV...] And this is... 
 The pronoun may refei- either to that 
 which precedes or to that which fol- 
 lows. The promise may be tliat 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 (John xvii. 3), so 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, iii. 23, 
 V. II, 14), nor is thei-e any sufficient 
 reason for departing from it. 
 
 eVayyeXi'a] repromissio V., jyolli- 
 eitatio Aug. This is the only place 
 where the word occurs in the writings 
 of St John (not c. i. 5). Contrast 
 cVayyeX/ia [promissum V.) 2 Pet. i. 4 ; 
 iii. 13- 
 
 rjv avT6s...'\ tliat He... He himself, 
 Christ our Master. The norn. {outos) 
 is always emphatic : see v. 2 note. 
 There is not any special saying of the 
 Lord recorded in which this promise 
 is expressly contained (yet 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. 
 
 T-iji/ f. Tr\v aX!\ See c. i. 2 note. For 
 the attraction compare Phil. iii. 18. 
 Winer, p. 66;. 
 
 3. Abiding in the Truth (ii. 26 — 29). 
 
 The view which St John has given 
 of the nature and power of the Truth 
 is followed by a fresh application of 
 the teaching to the readers of the 
 Epistle. An afiSrmation (/ifVfTf, indie, 
 
 26 Taira + Si^ syrvg. 
 
 V. 27) leads to a command (juvere, 
 iinper., v. 28). Thus the paragraph 
 falls into two parts which deal (i) 
 with the divine teaching as perma- 
 nent and progressive {vv. 26 f.) and 
 (2) with human effort directed to the 
 future (vv. 28 f.). 
 
 =« These things have I written to 
 you concerning them, that would lead 
 you astray. =? And as for you, the 
 imction which ye received from him 
 abideth in you, and ye luwe no need 
 that any one teach you ; but as his 
 unction teaclieth 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, tliat, if he shall be nianifested, 
 we may have boldness and not shrink 
 in shame from him at his presence. 
 =9 If ye know that he is righteous, 
 know {notice) that every one that doeth 
 righteousness hath been begotten of 
 him. 
 
 26 f. In the preceding verses (»». 
 24 f.) St John had appealed to the 
 original apostolic message which his 
 readers had received (S ^Kova-arf) in 
 contrast with all false teaching. He 
 now appeals to the inward voice of the 
 Spirit whose first teaching {idlSa^ev) 
 and whose present teaching (SiSao-xet) 
 is one. 
 
 26. TavTo] These things, the clear 
 unfolding of the true character and 
 significance of the false teachers in 
 relation to the Church {vv. 18—25). 
 
 eypayfra] See ». I4 note. 
 
 Tav TrXai/oivTO)!'] qui seducunt vos 
 v., them tliat would lead you astray, 
 who are actively engaged in the effort: 
 c. iii. 7 ; Apoc. xiii. 14, xii. 9. 
 
 St John has spoken of the false 
 
II. 27] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 79 
 
 vwvTwv vfxa^. ''"' Kai v/mel? to ^pla-fxa o eXdjSeTe aV 
 avTOu fxevei ev vfxiv, Kai ou XP^'^^'^ ^X^'^^ "''"" ''"'^ BiBdcTKri 
 u/xas* dW o)? TO avTOv xp'i'^ixa didda-Kei i//xa? irepi 
 
 ■2? XP^<^f^ (i) : Xnp'i'' A«i B. ^;;/. 4i> i/j.. NABC vg me the : h i/i. iiAv. 5": 
 
 /levh-w vg. aW lis SAC vg the : aWa B. to avrov SBC vg the 
 
 syr hi. : rd airS TA me. XP^c/^a (2) : iryeuyna ^?* me (xpeiffitta B). 
 
 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. Koi vfieis...] And as for you... 
 The construction is like that in v. 24. 
 The pronoun is set at the head of the 
 sentence in order to bring out sharply 
 the contrast between believers and 
 their adversaries. 
 
 TO xptciJji] V. 20 note. 
 
 o fXd(3. a. at).] which ye received 
 from Him 'the Holy One' (». 20), even 
 Christ {v. 25). The gift which before 
 {v. 20) was simply described as a pos- 
 session (exf'f) is now referred to its 
 source. The personal relation to which 
 it witnesses is a ground of confidence. 
 
 eXd(3. air av.'] The use of airo tO 
 mark the source in this connexion has 
 been already touched on (c. i. 5). The 
 distinction of the 'source' (dn-o) and 
 the 'giver' {napa) is illustrated by 
 the combination of the prepositions 
 oTrd and irapa with different verbs: 
 
 (1) Xan^avfiv Trapa John V. 4I7 44 i 
 X. 18 ; 2 John 4 ; Apoc. iL 27 ; Mk. xii 
 2 ; Acts ii. 33 ; iii. S ; xvii. 9 ; xx. 24 ; 
 James i. 7 ; 2 Pet. i. 17. Xa/i^avciv 
 OTTO I John iii. 22 ; 3 John 7 ; Matt. 
 xvii. 25. 
 
 (2) wapaKa/ifiaveiv wapa I Thess. ii. 
 13; iv. I ; 2 Thess. iiL 6; Gal. i. 12 ; 
 irapaKaiipaveiv airo I Cor. xi. 23. 
 
 (3) ^X"" "■"/"' ■^<'*S i^ '4- ^X^'" 
 
 dm c. ii. 20 ; iv. 21 ; I Tim. iii. 7. 
 ex^iv i< I Cor. vii. 7; 2 Cor. v. i. 
 
 For cLKomiv Trapa, caro see c. i. 5 
 note. 
 
 fiivei] abideth. The apostle so writes 
 as looking at the divine side of the 
 
 truth. The gifts of God are sure on 
 His part. 
 
 ou xP^'^" ^X---\ y^ have no need... 
 The outpouring of the Spirit, the 
 characteristic of the last days (Jer. 
 xxxi. 34 ; Joel ii. 28 ; Heb. viii. 1 1 ; 
 Acts ii. 17 ff.), gave to each one who 
 received it a sure criterion of truth. 
 Christians needed not fresh teaching 
 even from apostles, still less from those 
 who professed to guide them into 
 new ' depths.' 
 
 ov xp- ^X- '""--.J non necesse habetis 
 ut v., non lidbetii necessitatem ut 
 Aug. The same construction occurs in 
 John ii. 25, xvi. 30. The phrase xpf'"" 
 ?X^iv is used absolutely in several 
 places : Mk. iL 25 ; Acts ii. 45, iv. 35 ; 
 I Cor. xii. 24 ; Eph. iv. 28, as in this 
 Epistle c. iii. 1 7. This usage supplies 
 a probable explanation of the con- 
 struction : ' Ye are not in need such 
 that you require....' 
 
 dXV as...Kal Ka6a>s...iv airo] but 
 as His unction 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 contrary 
 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 
 
8o THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. [II. 27 
 
 TrdvTOOP, Kai dXrjde's ecTTiv Kai ovk eaTiv -^evSos, kuI 
 
 27 6X'f}6'f}s t5. 
 
 KaJ KaBus: om. Kai A the. 
 
 rather a continuation of the former 
 words (as His... no lie), or a new and 
 distinct clause. In the latter case the 
 first apodosis will be in the words ' so 
 is it true and no liel 'but as His 
 unction teacheth you, even so is it 
 true and no lie.' This use of /cal in 
 the apodosis is however rare in St 
 John ; nor does there appear to be 
 any special force in making the affir- 
 mation of the perfect truth of the 
 divine teacliing a substantive con- 
 clusion. It is therefore more natural 
 to suppose that there is only one 
 apodosis (2/e abide in Him), and that 
 the sentence as originally shaped (put, 
 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. 
 
 TO av. xp-} His unction, the unc- 
 tion which ye received from Christ. 
 Comp. John xvi. 7. 
 
 The most unusual order ro av. xp- 
 (for TO XP- o-v-) throws a strong empha- 
 sis on the pronoun. Comp. i Thess. 
 ii. 19 (contrast i Cor. xv. 23; 2 Cor. 
 vii. 7); Rom. iii. 24 (iu 2 Pet. iii. 7 
 TM avTov \. is probably a false read- 
 ing). As might be expected this is 
 the normal order with f/ceivor: John 
 V. 47 ; 2 Pet. 1. 16 ; 2 Cor. viii. 9, 14 ; 
 2 Tim. ii. 26 ; Tit. iii. 7. 
 
 diS. i5. TT. TT.] teac/ieth you of all 
 things. The application and inter- 
 pretation of the truth is continuous. 
 
 The Spirit of Truth sent in Christ's 
 name (John xiv. 26), sent, that is, to 
 make the meaning of the Incarnation 
 fully 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 {nepl mivTmv). Comp. 
 John xvi. 1 3 f. 
 
 Koi aKijdis iaTiv...] and it is true... 
 The ' unction,' the gift of the Spirit, 
 is now identified with the results of 
 the gift. The Spirit is the Spirit of 
 Truth (John xiv. 17); and its teaching 
 is true, and admits no element of 
 falsehood (». 21). 
 
 Parenthetical reflections like this 
 are found elsewhere in St John's 
 writings. Comp. c. i. 2 note. 
 
 OVK e. iJ/evSos] non est tnendacium 
 v., is no lie. By the use of -^tiihos 
 (not -^evih) St John implies that the 
 false teachers practically represented 
 the Gospel as ' a lie ' in its concrete 
 form, and not simply as ' false ' (comp. 
 V. 21 note). 
 
 The combination of the positive and 
 negative is characteristic of St John : 
 i. 5 note. 
 
 Ka\ KaOais f8i8a|fi'...] and even as it 
 
 taught The first teaching contained 
 
 implicitly all that is slowly brought to 
 light in later times (comp. ii. 7). The 
 behever 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 Kadas marks this idea of 
 a definite and fixed standard: w. 6, 
 18, iii. 2, 3, 7, 12, &c. 
 
II. 28] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 Kadui eSi^a^eu J/^as, /ueVere eV auTw. ^^ Kai vvv, 
 TCKvia, fxiveTe iu avrw, iva. iau (f)avepw6fj a-^wiaev irap- 
 
 fiAvere XABC vg syrr me the: fievetre r. 18 - Ktd vvv...aiTif K. 
 
 iva idv NABG the : 'iva orav r syrr. cx(oi^ev N=ABC : Ix'^/isv r N*- 
 
 fievfTe €v avra] ye abide in Him, 
 i.e. Christ. The verb may be indi- 
 cative or imperative (as in v. 28, so 
 Vulg. manete in eo), but the pa- 
 rallelism with fic'vfi (<Ae 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 c. 28. 
 
 For the general thought compare 
 John vi. 56, XV. 4 flf. Elsewhere the 
 Christian is said to 'abide in God': 
 iii. 24, iv. 12 flf. So in vv. 28 f. 'Christ' 
 and 'God' are treated as interchange- 
 able. 
 
 At first sight it might appear most 
 natural to take iv avra of the ' teach- 
 ing of the Spirit ' ixpia-iia) 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 v. 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 : Bonus ver- 
 bonim nostrorum aures percutit, 
 magister intus est. Nolite putare 
 queraquam hominem aliquid discere 
 ab homine. Admonere possumus per 
 strepitum vocis nostrse ; si non sit in- 
 tus qui doceat inanis fit strepitus 
 noster.... Magisteria forinsecus ad- 
 jutorla quaedam sunt et admonitiones. 
 Cathedram in cselo habet qui corda 
 docet. 
 
 28 f. 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. J. 
 
 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- 
 veloped {<f)avepova-6ai, nappTjcriav e)((i.v, 
 TTOietv rrjv diK., yeyevvrjo-3at €^ avTov). 
 
 28. Koi vvv...] And now... For tliis 
 connexion see John xvii. 5 ; 2 John 
 5; Acts iii. 17, x. 5, xiii. 11, xx. 25, 
 xxii. 16. 
 
 TeKvlalfilioli v., iny little children. 
 The tenderness of the address (riKvia) 
 commends the charge. 
 
 iv avra] in Him, i.e. in Christ, v. 27. 
 
 iav <j)avepaidi]] cum, apparuerit V., 
 cum, manifestatus fuerit Aug., if he 
 shall be manifested, c. iii. 2. The hy- 
 pothetic form does not throw doubt 
 upon the fact in itself (see v. 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. Iii.; C. iv. 17 iv TJj Tip,. Ttjs Kpl- 
 
 <Tetos. 
 
 The same word <i>av£pa>9rjvai is used 
 for the first manifestation of the Lord 
 in the flesh (c. i. 2, iii. 5, 8 ; i Tim. iii. 
 16 ; I Pet. i. 20) ; and for that mani- 
 festation which is still looked for (c. 
 iii. 2; Col. iii 4; i Pet. v. 4). It is 
 used also for the manifestations of the 
 Risen Lord ([Mark] xvi. 12, 14; John 
 xxL 14 (1)), and for His 'manifesta- 
 tion to Israel' (John i. 31 : comp. vii. 
 
 4). 
 
 It is worthy of notice that St John 
 nowhere uses airoKaKvirretrBai, of the 
 revelation of Christ. 
 
 a-x^iifv irapp.] ice may... St John 
 again identifies himself with his 
 
 6 
 
82 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [II. 29 
 
 pricr'iav Kai fxri aicT'xyvQoiiJiev dir' avTOv ev Tt] irapovcrLa. 
 avTOv. "'eai/ etS/yre oti Sikulo^ ecTTiv, yivwa-KCTe otl 
 Ira's 6 ttokSv -rnv ZiKaiocrvvriv i^ avTOv yeyevvriraL. 
 
 ■28 h TJi Trap. d. dir' airov X. 29 dSTJTe XBC vg syiT : tSTp-e A me. - otl 
 
 iras B me syr hi: Sn + Kal' was f<AC the syr vg. 
 
 children : comp. v. 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. 
 I Thess. ii. 19 f.; Phil. iv. i). The 
 parallel with i 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 f^fiv napprja-iav (c. iii. 
 21, iv. 17, V. 14; comp. Heb. iii. 6, 
 X. 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. 
 4 note. The difference in order here 
 {(Tx. irapp.) and in iii. 21, iv. 17 {napp. 
 exet") indicates a diflFereut emphasis 
 on the elements of the phrase ; comp. 
 Bph. iii. 12. 
 
 p-Tf alfT)(yv6ap^v an avTov\ non con- 
 fundamur db eo V., not shrink with 
 shame from Him, ' as a guilty thing 
 surprised.' The same thought of 
 separation is found more plainly ex- 
 pressed 2 Thess. i. 9. The construc- 
 tion al(Txvvea6ai diro is used in the 
 same sense in the lxx : Is. i. 29 ; 
 Jer. ii. 36, xii. 13 (tP Bi-U); Ecclus. 
 xxi. 22, xli. 17 ff. 
 
 Trapouo-t'a] adventu v., presence 
 (coming). The word does not occur 
 elsewhere in St John's writings. Its 
 single occurrence here, where it might 
 easily have been omitted, in exactly 
 
 the same sense as it bears in all the 
 other groups of apostolic writings 
 (Matt., James, 2 Peter, i, 2 Thess., i 
 Cor.) is a signal example of the danger 
 of dra^nng 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 John. 
 Comp. John xxi. 22. 
 
 It may be added that St John does 
 not use the Pauline word ewKJyavfia 
 (2 Thess., I, 2 Tim., Tit). 
 
 29. eav eldfJTe . . .ytvaaKere . . .] si scitis 
 ...scitote (Vig. Taps, scitis)... V. If 
 ye knoiD... perceive, observe, notice.... 
 Knowledge which is absolute (ciS^re) 
 becomes the basis of knowledge which 
 is realised in observation (-yivmo-Kere}. 
 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 (yti/oJo-Kcre) 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 {p-ivere, and 
 iii. I Iberc). On the other hand it is 
 said that v. 29 contains a general 
 reason for the command in v. 28. 
 'Abide in Him in fruitful well-doing, 
 for the first article of your faith teaches 
 you that right action is the sign of a 
 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 readei-s to apply practi- 
 
II. 29] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 83 
 
 cally the truth which they had in- 
 wardly mastered, than that he should 
 appeal to them as having done thus. 
 
 The use of eav with the subj. {eav 
 fiS^rf), 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. c. iv. 12 
 (v. 15); John xiv. 15. 
 
 SUaMs...(^ av. •yfyei/v.] Se 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 v. 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 V. 29. And there is a further pre- 
 sumption that the same subject is 
 continued from the fact that in iii. i 
 a new subject is distinctly named {the 
 Father). The application of the epi- 
 thet 'righteous' to Christ is supported 
 by V. I. But it is argued on the other 
 side that the Christian cannot be said 
 'to he horn oj Christ.' It is certainly 
 true that the exact phrase does not 
 occur elsewhere, while 'to he horn of 
 God' (who is called 'righteous' c. i. 
 9) is a characteristic phrase of St John 
 (yevi/. CK deov John i. 13, ytvu. e'k toC 
 deov c. iii. 9 ; iv. 7 J V. 1 , 4, 1 8). But this 
 argument does not seem to be con- 
 clusive. Christians are said equally 
 to 'abide in God' and to 'abide in 
 Christ' {v. 27). They are also said to 
 be 'bom of the Spirit' (John iii. 6, 8). 
 The word of Christ is in them as a 
 quickening power (conip. i Pet. i. 23 ; 
 James L 18). There is then nothing 
 against the tenour of Scripture_ in 
 saying that Christians are 'bom of 
 
 Christ,' who is ' God only-begotten ' 
 (Johni. 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. c. 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' {eav 
 (^avep(i>Qfij ev Trj napova-la avTOVf 5i- 
 KaLos fo-TLV, €^ avTov yeyevvTjTai) ; and 
 conversely in iii. i — 4 the passage is 
 from 'God' to 'Christ' {riKva Otov, 
 ovK eyi/0) avTov, €av (^aveptaSf]^ oftotoi 
 avTa ecro/ie^a, Ka6ccis CKeivds), yet with- 
 out any change of Person. 
 
 This appears to be the view of 
 Augustine who writes : ex ipso natus 
 est, ex Deo, ex Christo. Bede writes 
 simply ' id est, ex Christo.' 
 
 diKGios] righteous. The epithet is 
 used of Christ ii. i ; iii. 7. Comp. 
 Acts iii. 14, vii. 52, xxii. 14; and of 
 God (the Father) c. i. 9 (see note); 
 John xvii. 25 ; Apoc. xvi. 5. 
 
 on TTcis ...yfyevvriTai] that every 
 one. ..hath been begotten of Him. The 
 presence of righteous action is the 
 sure sign of the reality of the divine 
 birth. We are often tempted, ac- 
 cording to our imperfect standards of 
 judgment, to exclude some (comp. v. 
 23 irSf o apv. 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 
 foUows 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. 
 
 [II. 29 
 
 Christ' (v. i). Each one, it will be 
 found, includes the others. See v. i 
 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 power of Sonship in its 
 amplitude. The outwardly witnessed 
 fact of righteousness points to the 
 reality of a relation which includes 
 blessings not yet fully grasped. 
 
 o TToitSi/ Trjv 81.K.] qui facit justi- 
 tiam v., who doeth rigMeousness, who 
 realises in action little by little the 
 righteousness which corresponds with 
 the Divine Nature {ttjv Sue. compare 
 c. iii. 7 note). The tense {noiav) is 
 full of meaning, as Theophylact ob- 
 serves : €7ria-rjfiavT€ov on ovk etTrc Has 
 
 6 Troiijtras dLKcuotrvvrjv 1;, *0 Trotijtrav 
 dW 'O woimv. irpoKTiKal yap [at] ape- 
 ral Koi (V raJ ylve(r6ai C)(ova-i. to fivai' 
 Travfrdfievai Se y p.eWova'ai ov8e to 
 €Lvat e)(ov<Ti. 
 
 Bede thus marks the beginning and 
 the end of this realisation of right- 
 eousness : CcBpisti non defendere pec- 
 catum tuum, jam inchoasti justitiam. 
 Perficietur autem in te qoando te 
 nihil aliud facere delectabit. 
 
 Compare also iroifiv ttiv aKrjBeiav 
 c. i. 6 note. 
 
 e^ avTov yfyewr}Tai\ eX ipso natus 
 est v., is begotten of Him. Comp. 
 c. iii. 9 note. The phrase occurs here 
 first in the Epistle. The order em- 
 phasises the fact that such a one has 
 God for his Father, and not that he 
 has a new life. Compare iii. 96; iv. 
 7; V. I ; John i. 13. 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 85 
 
 Additional Note on ii. 2. The use of IXaa-fjLO'i and cognates in 
 the Greek Scriptures. 
 
 The word IKaa-fios occurs in the N.T. only here and in a parallel passage Use of 
 iv. 10. l\aa-fi.6s in 
 
 In the Lxx. it is found with the corresponding i^iKaa-iios more frequently, ?^^" ^'^^ 
 where one or other of the two words is the usual representative of D'ISS : 
 
 Lev. XXV. 9 t) ij/xf'pa Tov tX-aa-fiov. 
 
 — xxiii. 27 f. 7) ijfitpa TOV i^tXacriiov. 
 Num. V. 8 o Kpcbs TOV iKaiTiiov fit' ov i^iXcuTfTai. 
 
 — XXix. 1 1 7-0 iTtpi TTjS afiaprias rijs i^CKaiTfas. 
 Exod. Xxix. 36 i; ripipa tov Ka6apLa-p,6v. 
 
 Vat. A. 2. e. e|iXa(r/iou. 
 
 — XXX. 10 dirb TOV aipMTOs TOv KaBapuTfiov. 
 Vat. A. f^iXao'pov. 
 
 The two words used also for DStsn : 
 
 xlv. 19 X^'yjfeTai dirb tov alpuTos tov €^iKaa-pov. 
 xliv. 27 TTpofToicoviTiv fXa(rp.6v. 
 
 Comp. Ezek. xliii. 23 (Amos viii. 14 is a false rendering of HO^'S). 
 2 Mace. iii. 33 noiovp.ivov tov ip^upias tov tKaa/iov (the sacrifice offered 
 for the recovery of HeUodorus). 
 
 2 Mace. xii. 45 ntpl Tav TedvrjKOTav tov i^i\a(rp,ov eiToajo-aTO Trjs apaprias 
 aTToXvBrjvai. 
 
 In Ps. cxxix. (cxxx.) 4 and Dan. ix. 9 IXaa-pos (-01) is used to translate 
 
 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 Ecclus. xviii. 12 iirKi^Swe ^Kvpios) tov i^iXacrp^v avTov the sense is that 
 of Ps. cxxix. 4 ' mercifulness.' Comp. c. xvi. 1 1 i^CKaa-poi. 
 
 The corresponding verb iXao-Kopai is found twice in the N.T. : Use of 
 
 (i) With the dat. of person sinning, iXdo-zcoMai. 
 
 Luke xviii. 13 iKaaBijTi poi ™ apjipTaXa. 
 (2) With the accus. of the sin, 
 
 Heb. ii. 17 f's to tKa<TKfcr6ai Tas apapnas tov Xaov. 
 'JXaa-Kopm is comparatively rare in the lxx. It occurs as a translation 
 of IS? : 
 
 (i) With accus. of the sin, 
 
 Ps. Ixiv. 3 iXdoT/ TOs daffifias (all. rais da.). 
 
 (2) With dat of the sin, 
 
 Ps. Ixxvii. 38 iXd(7€7-ai Tois dpapTiais. 
 
 — Ixxviii. 9 iKdcrdrjTi tois dp. 
 It occurs also as a translation of njD for which iKcas tlvat is commonly 
 used: 
 
 (i) With the dat. of person, 
 
 4 (2) K. V. 1 8 i\da'eTai{lXa<r6^iT(Tai.} ra SouXoi. 
 
86 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 (2) With the dat. of the sin, 
 
 Ps. xxiv. 12 'i\a<r6j]Ti Tji afiapTLO.. 
 
 (3) Absolutely, 
 
 Lam. iii. 42 ovx IXaadrjs. 
 Dan. ix. 19 iXacr^ijTt. 
 And once as a translation of Dn? which is commonly rendered by 
 
 Ex. xxxii, 14 IXaadr) Kvpios irepiiroiTJa-ai tov \aov avTov. 
 
 The use of the aor. JXao-^^i/cu of God corresponds with the sense of 
 i\a(TKfir6ai., 'to be propitious,' and does not involve the sense 'to pro- 
 pitiate.' 
 e^CKia- The compound e^iKaa-KOfiai, which is the usual representative of ^^^, 
 
 Kofiai. ig more coiumon. This is found 
 (i) With the accusative 
 (a) of the object cleansed : 
 
 Bzek. xliii. 26 to dva-iaa-TJ^pwv. 
 
 — xlv. 18 TO ayiov. 
 
 xlv. 20 TOV OiKOV. 
 
 — xliii. 20, 22 TO Bvaiaarrjpiov (NtSn). 
 (&) and specially of sin, 
 
 Dan. ix. 24 tov i^CKitraaBai. dSiKias. 
 
 Ecclus. iii. 30 afiapTias. 
 Comp. Ps. Ixiv. 4. 
 In this case the subject (he who expiates, atones, cleanses) may be either 
 
 (a) God, 
 
 Ecclus. V. 6 TrXfldos afiapTiav. 
 
 — Xxxi. (xxxiv.) 23 ovSe iv irKijBei Bvatav i^CkcuTKerai 
 
 ap-aprtaSf 
 or 
 
 (b) the human agent, 
 
 Ecclus. iii. 3 ° Tifiav irarepa c^CKacreTai afiaprlas, 
 
 — XX. 28, xxviii. 5. 
 
 So also the word is found in the passive, 
 
 I Sam. iii. 14 «' e^iXaadija-eTai ?) aSiKi'a. ..c'k dvtrLas (1350^). 
 Comp. Deut. xxi. 8 i^iXao-dija-eTm avToU to aliia. 
 (2) With ircpl gen. 
 (a) of the sin, 
 
 Ex. xxxii. 30, &c. 
 or 
 (6) of the person sinning, 
 Lev. 1. 4. 
 — iv. 20, &c. 
 Comp. Ecclus. xvi. 7 ovk e^iKda-aro nepl rav dp}(alav yiydvrav. 
 So also with virdp, 
 
 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. 8y 
 
 (3) Passive with ano, 
 
 Num. XXXV. 33 ouK €'|tXatr5ij(7-€T-ai ij yij otto toC m/iaTOS. 
 
 (4) The accusative of the person 'propitiated' is found ooly, 
 
 Gen. XXXll. 20 ("1^?) e^tXao-o^i to TrpotTtaiTov avTov iv tols 
 
 Sdpois (for fv comp. Levit. vi. 37 ; i Sam. iii. 14). 
 Zech. vii. 2 (n^n) e'^iKaa-aa-Bat tov Kvptov. 
 
 These constructions stand iu remarkable contrast with the Classical Contrast 
 and Hellenistic' usage in which the accus. of the person propitiated is the °^ Biblical 
 normal construction from Homer downwards ; a usage which prevails in ^i • 1 
 patristic writers. usage 
 
 They shew that the scriptural conception of IXaa-icea-Bai 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. v. 18 ff. ; Rom. v. lo f.). 
 There is a 'propitiation' in the matter of the sin 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 so, the iXao-fids, 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 Paulin6 phrase 
 ' in Christ.' The believer being united with Christ enjoys the qmckening, 
 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. g. 
 
 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 
 consciousness. 
 
 Naturally ' darkness * (comp. c. i 5, note) is the sphere in which man Man by 
 abides (John xii. 46 ; 1 John ii. 9 c<as aprt) until it is dispelled. (Comp. nature in 
 John viii. 12 ; i Pet. ii. 9 ; Bph. vL 12 ; CoL i. 13.) Under one aspect this ^*^ aSth 
 darkness has wrought its work, and the crisis is past (c. ii. 11, irvtpXaa-ev, 
 note). Under another aspect there are times when the darkness falls 
 afresh over men with a thicker gloom (John xii. 35, iva /117 o-k. v. KaT-aXojSij). 
 Viewed from a different point of sight this darkness is death (John v. 24). 
 
 ' E.g. Clem, ad Cor. i. 7 oJ de (the iraffais raa iyvolais rdv SiKcUav. Philo, 
 
 Ninevites) /ieroxo^cracTEj ivl rots a/iap- de plantat. § 39 (i. 354) ei^a/iei'oc xal 
 
 TrifjLajiv i^iXda'avTO tov deov iKereijaavTes. dvaias aj^ayay6i/T€s, Kal iXaffa/tecoi t6 
 
 Herm. Vis. i. 2 wm iiiXdcro/uu rbv Behv Beiov. Comp. Leg. AUeg. iil. § 61 (i. 
 
 irepl Tuy a/jLapTiwi' /j,ov Twv TeXetiov ; Test. 121 M.). Joseph. Antt. viii. 4, 3 rivi. 
 
 lii.Patr. Levi 3 ol a77cXot...oJ XeiToup- SXXifi /mXXov iXio-airffat /irfvlon-a [t6v 
 
 yovvres Kal i^iXaffKd/ievoi. Tpbs Kipiov iirl 8e6i']...de^id!Tcp6v ianv rifuv ij ^ui'j... ; 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 This state 
 due to ex- 
 ternal in- 
 fluence. 
 
 Man failed 
 to see God. 
 
 The mis- 
 sion of the 
 Son of God 
 revealed 
 man to 
 himself. 
 
 The actual 
 state of 
 man 
 
 shewn in 
 contrasts. 
 
 The Tvide 
 extent of 
 these 
 contrasts. 
 
 This present state of man is due to a mysterious interruption of the 
 Divine plan which is noticed abruptly (John i. S) and came froml another 
 order (c. iii. 8}. It is not due to a 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. Sin has disturbed his normal development 
 (c. iii. 4). Nothing however is said by St John of the Fall ; nor does he 
 mention Adam (yet comp. Apoc. xii. 9 ff.; xx. 2 o o(pis 6 dpxaloi). 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 (c. iii. 12). 
 
 As a necessary consequence of his state, man failed of himself to gain 
 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). 
 
 Under these circumstances God sent his Son to save the world, giving 
 in this the measure of His love (John iii. 16 f.; c. iv. 10). But the coming 
 of Christ was in effect a judgment, shewing to men what they had become 
 (John IK. 39; comp. Apoc. iii. 17 ff.; Luke ii. 34 f.). For they were not 
 without the power of recognising this Divine revelation (John xv. 22, 24 ; 
 V. 36). The will to recognise God and not the capacity was wanting (John 
 V. 40; vii. 17; viii. 44; xii. 48 f^" '^°'' Kplvovra; comp. iii. 18; vL 67; 
 ix. 41). The manifestation of love called out, as a necessary consequence, 
 the opposition of selfishness, hatred (John iii. 19 f ; vii. 7 ; xv. 18 f, 23 £; 
 xvii. 14; comp. c. 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' (c. i. 6, 8; ii. 4, 22; iv. 20). 
 
 These several traits combine to give a sti-iking view of the grandeui- 
 and powerlessuess of man ('un roseau peasant'). He is made for God: he 
 is unable of himself to attain to God : God claims his concurrence with the 
 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 v. 24; c. iii. 14). On the other 
 side the true Light shineth (John i. 5 ; xii. 36 ; c. ii. 8) ; and Christ offers 
 'His flesh 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. 1 1 ; comp. 
 xiii. 40; c. V. 4 17 vLKri ^ viKtjcraa-a). There is a human will whichas responsible 
 and therefore in that sense 'free' (John v. 40; iii. 19 ff.; vii. 17). On the 
 other side there is a Divine will which we cannot conceive to be finally 
 ineffective (vi. 44 ff., 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 eXa/Sov, 
 nurrevova-ip, yfvia-Bai. On the other side the Divine element is seen in 
 eyevvijdr)a-ai/, cSwKf k e^ovtrlav, rUva deov. Comp. John vi. 27 ff. (Jpya^cirdf, 
 
 8ti<T€l). 
 
 The same clear assertion of truths which appear to be in opposition 
 extends to other parts of the region of Divine and human relations. There 
 is 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. 17). 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 expresses a universal want 
 which Christ alone can satisfy (John vii. 37). A new birth is necessary for 
 the perception of the Divine Kingdom and entv:uice into it (John iii. 3 ff.); 
 and yet there are, as still without it, those who 'are of the truth' (John 
 xviii. 37), who 'do the truth' (iii. 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 St 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 fragments. 
 
 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 
 
 structure of the Apocalypse, which contains also characteristic references ^"°o™i- 
 
 to 'the Serpent,' 'the ancient Serpent,' 'the dragon' (xii. 3 ff.; xiii. 2 ff.; powers 
 
 xvi 13; XX. 2), 'who is called the Devil and Satan' (xii. 9); compare also of good 
 
 ix. 20 (to baifiovia); xvi. 14 (ttv. baiaoviav). But into these notices we do andevilin 
 
 i • • St John. 
 
 not now inquu-e. 
 
 The only references to angels in the Gospel are in i. 5 1 (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; viiL 48 ff. ; x. 20 
 f.). In the first epistle ' spirits ' of antichrist are described as influencing 
 men (c. iv. 2 ff. note, 6). 
 
 But the notices of the representative power of evil are of great im- The Evil 
 portance. He is spoken of as 'the Devil' (o SmiSoXor John viii. 44; xiii. 2 ; One. 
 c. iii. 8, 10), the false accuser (John vi. 70 note); 'Satan' (o Saroi/at John 
 xiiL 27), the adversary (comp. 6 Kor^yap Apoc. xii. 10); 'the evil one' 
 (o jroKijpoE xviL 15, note ; c. ii. 13 f. ; iii. 12 ; v. 18 f.); 'the ruler of this (the) 
 world' (o apxav tov Koa-jiov tovtov John xii. 3 1 ; xvi. 1 1 ; o roC k. apx- 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 bei>ig- 
 and evil He was originally good, but 'he stood not (John viiL 44 ovk 
 fOTTjKev, note) in the truth.' This is all that we are concerned to know. 
 For the rest he appears 'from the beginning' on the scene of human 
 activity (c. iii. 8). Thus he stands in opposition to the Word (c. i. i), and 
 finally to the Incarnate Son (c. iii. 8 note ; v. 18 f. ; John xiv. 30 f.). 
 
 In this respect he is directly at variance with Christ in His essential The anta- 
 character. Christ is 'the truth' (John xiv. 6) : the devil is a liar (John viii. gonist of 
 44; comp. c. ii. 22). Christ is 'the life' (John xiv. 6): the devil is a *^^ ^°°- 
 murderer (John viii. 44; comp. c. iii. 15). In each case a personal an- 
 
90 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 His pre- 
 sent influ- 
 ence on 
 men. 
 
 Already 
 over- 
 thrown. 
 
 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 (c. iii. 8 ffi ; John viii. 44; xiii. 2, 27). 
 They may become his 'sons,' his 'children' (c. iii. 10 note); they may be 'of 
 him' (a iii. 8). But they are never said to be 'bom of him,' as they are 
 born of God (c. ii. 29 &c.). And in relation to the work of Christ he is 
 already finally defeated (John xvi. 11; xii. 31; xiv. 30; c. v. 4, 18). It 
 remains to secure the fruits of the victory. 
 
 Additional Note on ii. 17. St John's teaching on creation. 
 
 St John's 
 concep- 
 tion of 
 creation. 
 
 An order 
 unfolded 
 in spite of 
 the irrup- 
 tion of 
 darknesE. 
 A Divine 
 'must.' 
 
 A Divine 
 ' cannot.' 
 
 The main conception of creation which is present in the writings of St 
 John is expressed by the first notice which he makes of it : ' aU things came 
 into being {iyivfro) 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 
 relation between the creature and the Creator ; for as all things come into 
 being 'through' the Word, so they are supported ' in' Him (John i. 3 o yt'y. 
 iv avTa (ar; fjv note; comp. CoL i. 16 f.; Heb. i. 3). And yet more the 
 use of the term e'yevero, ' came into being,' as distinguished from iKriaQtj 
 '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 {nivra iyiv^ro hi avTov) answers to the Incarnation (0 \6yos 
 aap^ eyevero). All the unfolding and infolding of finite being to the last 
 issue Ues in the fulfilment of His will Who is love. 
 
 The irruption of darkness, however, has hindered the normal progress of 
 the counsel of God. This is obvious in ' the world ' which falls 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 parts. 
 
 This Divine ' must ' (8fl) extends to the relation of the Forerunner to 
 Christ (iii. 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. i; 
 iv. I ; 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. j). And so also it 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 9 1 
 
 fixes the conditions of discipleship (iii. 5 ; vi. 44, 65 ; vii. 34, 36 ; viii. 2 1 f. ; 
 comp. xiii. 33, 36); of understanding (iii. 3; viii. 43 f.; siv. 17); of faith 
 (xiL 39; comp. v. 44); of fruitfulness (xv. 4f.); of progress (xvi. 12); of 
 character (i 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 '^°^'^-' 
 distinctly marked by the term ' hour.' The crises of the manifestations of 
 the Lord are absolutely fixed in time (iL 4 ; comp. xi. 9 f. ; ix. 4). Till this 
 hour comes His enemies are powerless (vii. 30; viii. 20). When it has 
 come He recognises its advent (xiL 27; xvii. i); and it is appointed with 
 a view to the issue to which it leads (xii. 23 ; xiii. i ha). 
 
 Compare iv. 21, 23; v. 25, 28; i John ii. 18; Apoc. xiv. 7, 15 (apa); 
 John vii. 6, 8 (xaipos); Eph. i. 10 ro 7rXi;p<B/ia t£v Kaipmp; Gal. iv. 4 to 
 TrXrjpQjfia tov ^povov. 
 
 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 
 ii/a ; XL 4 iva). Even unbelief was a necessity in regard of the history of 
 mankind (xii. 38 ; xiii. 18 ; xv. 25 ; xvii. 12). This being so, Christ knew 
 all 'the things that were coming upon Him' (xviii. 4; comp. xiii. i, n; vL 
 64; comp. xviii. 9, 32). He laid down His life 'in order to take it again' 
 (x. 1 7). This was His Father's will. 
 
 The whole life of Christ was thus a ' fulfilment,' ' 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 persecution is part of the revelation of the counsel of God JJ^ of the 
 (John xvi. 2 iva, note), as even was the failure of the disciples at their oggordine 
 Master's suffering (John xvi. 32 iva, note). The birth of the Church has a to 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 'i**"''^ 
 lying beneath the surface of things, and veiled by suffering and by the neath ap- 
 workings of evil. In the same way he seems to indicate that below the pearances. 
 transitory appearances of nature there is that which is Divine and abiding. 
 ' The world passeth away (irapayeTai) and the desire thereof (i John iL 
 17, 8), but at the same time he looked for a new heaven and a new earth 
 (Apoc. xxL i). 
 
 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 vkripbui, (6) reXeiSirai 
 
 reXeiou is worth study: iv. 34 reX. airoO rb Ipyov; v. 36 to 
 
 (a) irKiipCiaai. ipya d Sid. iva reX.; xvii. 4 t6 Ipyov 
 
 vii. 8 o l/ibs Kaipis oOttw 5re7rXj}pwroi. reX. SiSaxis p.oi. 
 
 Of Holy Scripture and Divine words : Of Holy Scripture: xix. 18 t>a reX. ij 
 
 iva w\ripu>B-u xii. 38; xiii. 18; xv. 25; yp. Comp. rerAeff-rai, xix. 28, 30; and 
 
 xvii. 12; xviii. 32; xix. 24, 36. Comp. Apoc. x. 7. 
 Apoc. vi. II. 
 
92 
 
 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 nature and from the 
 Gnostic degradation of nature. (Comp. Lutterbeck, Lehrh. d. Apost. ii. 
 
 270 f.) 
 
 Elements 
 in the con- 
 ception of 
 Anti- 
 christ. 
 
 lBEN.a;us. 
 
 Okioen. 
 
 Tektdl- 
 
 LIAN. 
 
 Balaam. 
 
 Armillus, 
 
 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. 
 23 ff.; 2 Thess. ii. 3 ff.; Apoc. xiii. 
 
 But the aspects under which the opposing power is presented by St 
 Paul and St John (Epistle) 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, and the 
 spiritual falsehood which gave him the semblance of strength. 
 
 IreNjEUS, the earliest writer who treats of the subject in detail, combines 
 the name of Antichrist with the description in 2 Thess. ii. 3 ff. and the 
 cognate passages in Daniel, St Matthew and the Apocalypse (Iren. v. 25 ff.; 
 compare iii. 6, 4; 7, 2; 16, 5, 8; 23, 7). 
 
 Clement op Alexandria is silent on Antichrist. But the teaching on 
 Antichrist attracted the attention of Celsus, though Origen says that he had 
 not read what was said of him by Daniel or Paul (c. Cels. ri. 45). In reply 
 to Celsus Origen explains his own view, which is briefly that the Sou of 
 God and the son of the 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 Origeu 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' (irf. § 47). 
 
 Tertullian speaks several times of Antichrist and Antichrists. 
 Quothig 2 Thess. ii. 3 he writes 'homo delinquentice, id est, antichristus' 
 {de Res. carnis, 24; cf. 27). Again referring to Matt. xxiv. 24, he asks: 
 ' qui pseudoprophetse sunt nisi falsi prsedicatores ? qui pseudapostoli nisi 
 adulteri evangelizatores ? qui antichristi nisi Christi rebelles ? (de proescr. 
 hmr. J^. And again in reference to i John ii. 18 he writes: in epistola 
 sua eos maxime antichristos vocat qui Christum negarent in came venisse, 
 et qui non putarent Jesum esse filiura del. I Hud Marcion, hoc Bbion 
 vindicavit {id. 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 Apoc. 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 slain by the Messiah of the stock of David (Targ. on Is. xi. 4; 
 comp. 2 Thess. ii. 8). 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 93 
 
 Tlie Epistles to the Seven Churches form a commentary on the idea of The Apo- 
 the many antichrists. calypse. 
 
 Apoc. ii. 2 (Bphesus) tovs Xiyovyac eavToiis aTrooTo'Xour. id. 6 to epya 
 rav NiKoKaiTaif. 
 
 ii. 9 (Smyrna) rav Xcyoirmi/ 'lou8aiout ehai. 
 
 ii. 13 (Pergamum) Snov 6 6p6vos tov Sarofa. 14 tijv fiiSa^^K BaiKaifj.. 
 15 Trjv SiSa^fiv NiKoXaiTcox. 
 
 ii. 20 (TllJ'atira) 'lEfc'j3eX, ij Xc'youo-a caur^K 7rpo<prJTiv. 24 ra fiadia tov 
 SaTava (cf. I Cor. ii. lo). 
 
 iii. 3 (Sardis) fivrifiovtve vac ciXrj^af Kai ^Kouo-ar (cai T^p«. 
 
 iii. 8 f. (Plliladelpllia) rrjs a-vvayayrjs tov 2aTava, Tmv XfyoiTcBV eaurour 
 loufiai'ouff ftvai. 
 
 Additional Note on the reading of ii. 20. 
 
 There is a remarkable variety of readings in the last words of this 
 verse : 
 
 (1) Ka\ oiSaTf ndirra 
 
 AC MSS mss 
 Meniph Vulg. 
 
 The Syriac reads Trdvra but translates it as if it were masc. (and know 
 every man). 
 
 (2) Koi otSaTf {-ai N) ttcivtcs NP 9. 
 
 Hesych. Presb. (ssec. vii) in Lev. i. 5 ff. (Migne P. Gfr. KCiii. p. 796) Bt 
 vos unctionem habetis a sancto et scitis omnes. 
 
 (3) o'lSare jrai/rer B Theb. 
 
 The rendering which is given without variation in the Discourses of 
 Augustine (ad loa) ut ipsi voMs manifesti sitis can hardly be correct. 
 His comment suggests navTfs : banc unctionem Christi dicit omnes qui 
 habent cognoscere males et bonos ; nee opus esse ut doceantur quia ipsa 
 unctio docet eos. 
 
 The Latin translation of Irenseus, in a continuous quotation of vv. 18 — 22, 
 omits V. 20 and part of ». 21 : ...sed ut manifestareutur quoniam non sunt 
 ex nobis. Cognoscite ergo quoniam omne mendacium extraneum est et 
 non est de veritate. Quis est mendax...(Iren. iii. 16. 5). 
 
 The combination for rrdvres KBP 9 Theb. is very strong; and the shorter 
 reading without Kal readily explains how the others arose. When once the 
 connexion of oiSare with t^v dX^Beiav was lost, the insertion of Kat and the 
 change of irdvTes to jrai/ra was almost inevitable, especially Avith the ap- 
 parent parallel in v. 27 mpi TrduTav. 
 
 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 Person and Marsh that this MS is that marked 
 ly in Stephens' edition of 1550; and apparently the capricious selection of 
 
94 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 editors. Mill's generalisations from the 
 readings in Stephens [Proleg. 1170) might well have caused it to be more 
 carefully examined. 
 
 The following readings in i Jolin are worthy of notice : 
 
 i. 2 €<PaU€p(o6r} fV 7]fXLV, 
 
 — 9 ■''Off cL^ctpTias ijfiSu. 
 li. I ypd<poiJ.€U. 
 
 — 8 «V ^nif. 
 
 — II €Tv<f)\(D(r€v avTou Koi Tovs 6<pda\fj,ovs avTov. 
 
 — 17 ^ €7ridvfiia Otn. avTov. 
 
 — 18 vvv otn. Kal. 
 
 — 20 Koi o'ldare 7rai/T€s. 
 
 iii. I €d(OK€V. 
 
 KKrjdSfiev KOI eafiev, 
 
 — 5 "^^s- dfiaprlas i]fiav, 
 
 — 7 T€KVa. 
 
 — 8 Tov Sia^oXov ioTiv Oin, €k. 
 d Std^oXos OTT* opp^ijs. 
 
 — 19 yLvciXTKOfxeda. 
 
 — 21 KarayLVciarKT] OJU. jjjxav. 
 
 23 7rL(TT€V(Op.€V. 
 
 iv. 2 ytvadKOfiep. 
 
 3 'l^O'OVV Om. TOV. 
 
 — S 6 fiTj dyaTTcov e/c tov Beov ovk tariv. 
 
 — 10 Tjy a7ri]Kafi€V. 
 V. 4 u/x<uz/. 
 
 — 20 7/ ^<of} 77 alavios. 
 
 The title of the Epistle is eTna-ToXr] ^laavpov d and the subscription tov 
 dyiov air. 'Ic5 iirioToKT} a. 
 
III. i] THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 95 
 
 III. '' /oeT€ TTOTairnv dydwriv SeStoKev tjjuIu 6 TraTrjp 
 
 I didbiKcv NBC : iSuKev A. tj/ui> : {iiiiv B. 
 
 II. The children of God and 
 
 THE CHILDREN OP THE DEVIL (iii. I — 12). 
 
 The section seems to fall most na- 
 turally into three parts ; 
 
 1. Tlie position present and future 
 of the children of God (iii. i — 3). 
 
 2. Tlie essential character of the 
 children of God (4 — g). 
 
 3. Tlie outward manifestation of 
 the children of God (10 — 12). 
 
 The thoughts are mifolded 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. Siu is Incompatible with 
 Sonship of God. Active hatred is the 
 sign of hostility to right. 
 
 I . The position present and future 
 of the children of God (i — 3). 
 
 The position of Christians is con- 
 sidered in regard both to the present 
 {v. i) and to the future {v. 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 
 future 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 efibrt 
 
 («■ 3). 
 
 ■ Behold {See) what manner of 
 love the Father hath given to us, 
 that we should be called children of 
 God: — and such we are. For this 
 cause the world knoweth us not, 
 because it knew him, not. ' Beloved, 
 now are we children of God, and it 
 is not yet manifested what we shall 
 be. We know that if he shall be 
 m,anifested, we shall be like him, 
 because we shall see him even as he is. 
 
 And every one that hath this hope 
 
 on him purifieth himself even as he 
 is 2}ure. 
 
 1. 'iSfTf] Videte V., Ecce Kug., Be- 
 hold, See. The use of the plural is re- 
 markable, and elsewhere it is used only 
 of something actually visible (Gal. vi. 
 1 1 ; yet comp. Acts xiii. 41, lxx). The 
 image at the close of the last chapter 
 {born of Him) seems to fill St John's 
 vision, and, as he pauses to dwell upon 
 it himself, he invites bis readers to 
 contemplate the same truth as pre- 
 sent before them in an intelligible 
 shape. 
 
 770TaTrrjv ayaTnjv] qualem carito- 
 tem {dileclionem Aug.) V., what man- 
 ner of love truly divine in its nature. 
 The word irorairos, which is not found 
 in the lxx, is rare in the New Testa- 
 ment. It is used to call attention to 
 the character both of persons (Matt. 
 viii. 27; Luke vii. 39; 2 Pet. iii. 11) 
 and of things (Mk. xiiL i ; Luke i. 
 
 29)- 
 
 d nanqp] the Father. This title is 
 chosen in order to illustrate and (in 
 some degree) to explain the gift of 
 love which God has bestowed on men. 
 
 Se'SwKei/ ?J.] dedit nobis V., liath 
 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. 10). In virtue of this 
 gift therefore they are inspired with a 
 love which is like the love of God, and 
 by this they truly claim the title of 
 children of God, as partakers in His 
 nature. Comp. c. iv. 7, 19. See also 
 Leo, Serm. xii. § i (Migne, Patrol. 
 Lat. liv. p. 169): Diligendo itaque 
 nos Deus ad imaginem suam nos re- 
 parat et, ut in nobis formam suae bo- 
 nitatis inveniat, dat unde ipsi quoque 
 quod operatur operemur, accendens 
 
96 THE FIRST EPISTLE OP ST JOHN. [III. i 
 
 'iva TeKva deoO KXridw/mev, kuI ia-fxeu. Sia tovto 6 
 
 Kal iiTiiAv XABC vg me the syrr : om. r. The Latt. by a natural error read et 
 siimis (as depending on !tt). Compare o. v. 20. 
 
 scilicet mentium uostraruni lucernas, 
 et igne nos suae caritatia inflammans, 
 ut nou solum ipsum sed etiam quid- 
 quid diligit diligamus. 
 
 With Sc'SmKEi', which regards the en- 
 dowment of the receiver, contrast 
 Ke)(api(rrai (Gal. lii. 1 8), f)^api(raTo 
 (Phil. ii. 9) which regards the feeling 
 of the giver. 
 
 ij/xii/ {vfjuv)] St John is here con- 
 sidering the blessing of love as actu- 
 ally realised in the Christian society. 
 Contrast John iii. i6 ^yanrjo-ev 6 6e6s 
 Tov Kocr/iov. 
 
 tva... KXT]daiJ.ev ...} ut.. .nominemur 
 {vocemur Aug.) V., tJMt we shoidd 
 he called. The final particle has its 
 full force. The divine gift of love 
 which is appropriated by the believer 
 forms the basis, the justification, of 
 the divine title. The end of the bless- 
 ing is that sonship may be real. For 
 tva compare v. 11 note. 
 
 Pelagii...coudemnatur hseresis in eo 
 quod dicitur a Deo nobis caritatem... 
 dari qua adoptionem filiorum acoipia- 
 mus (Bede). 
 
 TiKva 6iov\ 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 {tckvov, 
 comp. 2 Pet. 1. 4), and not of the posi- 
 tion of privilege (uidr). The only place 
 in St 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 uior 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 if.; Rom. ix. 26; 2 Cor. vi. 18; Matt. 
 V. 9, 45, xvii. 26 ; Luke xi. 35, xx. 36. 
 
 On the other hand the idea of ' chil- 
 dren of God' {rcKva 6eov) is not un- 
 
 frequent in St John: vv. 2, 10, v. 2; 
 John i. 12, xi. 52. See Additional 
 Note. 
 
 By using diou in place of the sim- 
 ple pronoun avrov St John, reciting 
 the full name of Christians (». 10; v. 
 2; John i. 12, xi. 52; Rom. viii. 16 flF., 
 ix. 8 ; PhiL ii. 1 5), emphasises the idea 
 of the nobility of the Christian's posi- 
 tion ('children of Him who is God'). 
 
 kXij^w/xck] le called. The privilege 
 is already enjoyed in the present and 
 not only 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 St John 
 never uses koKc'iv of the Divine ' call ' 
 (John X. 3 0<or/ct). Comp. John ii. 2. 
 Kw. eV/i/i'] 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 depends 
 on the Father's gift of love. He af- 
 flnns now that that historic position 
 corresponds with a real fact. The 
 name represents an absolute truth. 
 For such an introduction of a reflec- 
 tive comment see i. 2 note; 2 John 2. 
 The Latin by a natural error con- 
 nects the cV/icK with Xva, ut nomine- 
 mur... et sim,us. 
 
 8ia tovto] 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, seeing 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 
 
III. 2] THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. (^j 
 
 Koa-^a OX) 'YivuxTKei rifxa^ on ouk eyvw avTOv. '^'Aya- 
 TrrjTOi, vvv xe/ci/a deov ia-jULev, Kai oottw i<pai/epw6r] t'l 
 
 ilfMs: v/ias a*. 
 
 world. He has shewn the relation 
 in which they stand to God : he now 
 shews 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 hkeness to God becomes the oc- 
 casion of misunderstanding. 
 
 ov yivda-Kfi...oVK eyva...] non no- 
 vit...non novit... V., 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 (c. ii. 
 3 note). The conduct of Christians 
 must be more or less a riddle to those 
 who do not take account of that 
 which is to them the spring of actioiL 
 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 
 Sim not (comp. c. iv. 8 note). The 
 world failed to recognise God so far 
 as He was manifested in creation and 
 history (i Cor. i. 2i); 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. 'AyamjToi] Carissinni V., Di- 
 lectissimi Aug., Beloved. The title 
 (ii. 7 note) embodies the thought 
 
 W. J. 
 
 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 (icai 
 icTjiiv); '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 
 will not be anything essentially diflFer- 
 ent hereafter, but he will be what he 
 is now essentially more completely, 
 though in ways wholly beyond our 
 powers of imagination. 
 
 vvv...eiTixiv, Kcu...^ 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. 
 
 OUTTO) f<j>avep<a6q...fav (pavcptoSrj...^ 
 nondum, apparuit...cum fippartie- 
 rit...y., nondum manifestatum est 
 (and apparuit)...cum, apparuerit 
 (and manifestatum, fuerit) Aug., 
 manifestatum, est... si m,anifestaverit 
 (one MS. manifestatus fuerit) Tert., 
 nondum, revelatum est... cum revela- 
 tum, fuerit Ambr. 
 
 The main difficulty in this passage 
 lies in the interpretation of the clause 
 iav (fiavepadj. The subject is not 
 expressed; and the clause can be 
 rendered either (i) if it shall be 
 manifested i.e. what we shall be ; 
 or (2) if he shall be manifested. In 
 
98 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [HI. 3 
 
 ecToneda. o'lSa/uLev oti edu (pavepcod^ ofxoioi avTw e(ro- 
 jueda, OTi oylrOfxeda auTOu Kadio^ ecTTiv. ^kuI Ira's 6 
 
 1 otSafJ.d' t? ABC vg the syr hi : +54 S" me syr vg. 
 
 favour of the first interpretation it is 
 urged that the clause must refer back 
 to the corresponding words {oSna 
 iifiavepddrj) which have immediately 
 gone before : it is not yet manifested. . . 
 if 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 m,anifested 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 
 so 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 
 a 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 if 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. It may be added 
 that this use of <pavepova-dai appears 
 to rule the whole line of the Apostle's 
 thought (ii. 28, iii. 8). Christ has been 
 (was) manifested and He wiU 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. 
 
 ovwai i<f>avepd>6ri\ it is not yet m,ade 
 manifest. The aorist {((paufpadrj) ap- 
 pears to point back to some definite 
 occasion on which the revelation 
 might have been expected (compare 
 eyvo) V. i). 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. 
 
 TL i<r6p.eda] For. the use of the 
 direct interrogation, see Moulton's 
 Winer, pp. 210 f. 
 
 otSapev] We know. Comp. c. v. 2, 18 
 notes. There is no opposition between 
 this clause and that which imme- 
 diately precedes such as is suggested 
 by the St of the common text. The 
 knowledge corresponds with the 
 whole consciousness of the position 
 of children. 
 
 o/ioiot ain-ai] 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, iii. i (a). 
 
 This likeness of man redeemed and 
 perfected to God is the likeness of 
 the creature reflecting the glory of 
 the Creator. Contrast Phil. ii. 6 t6 
 thai laa 6c^, said of the Son. Dispar 
 est res, sed sicut ad similitudinem 
 dioitur. Habemus ergo et nos imagi- 
 nem Dei, sed non illam quam habet 
 Pilius sequalis Patri (Aug.). 
 
 oTi oyjrofieda...] quoniam, vid-ebi- 
 mus...Y., because we shall see.... The 
 
in. 3] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 99 
 
 causal particle is ambiguous.... The 
 likeness to God may be either (i) the 
 necessary condition, or (2) the actual 
 consequence of the Divine Visioa 
 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 not 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 tliat 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. Augus- 
 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 implearis. 
 Deus differendo extendit desi- 
 derium, desiderando extendit ani- 
 mum, extendeiido facit capaciorem. 
 And again: Hsec est vita nostra ut 
 desiderando exerceamur. 
 
 At the same time it may be urged 
 that the verb (ea-ofifda), which de- 
 scribes a being and not a becoming 
 (yoTjo-o/iefla I Cor. XV. 37, 54; John 
 X. 16), appears to mai-k 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 transfiguring virtue of 
 the divine vision is familiar. Comp. 
 2 Cor. iii 18; v. 4; Iren. iv. 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 
 full 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 
 
 Augustine strives to emphasise the 
 thought of the verse : Ergo visuri su- 
 mus quandam visionem...pi-8eceHen- 
 tem omnes pulcritudines terrenas, 
 auri, ai-genti, nemorum atque cam- 
 porum, pulcritudinem maris et aeris, 
 pulcritudinem solis et luiise, pulcri- 
 tudinem stellarum, pulcritudinem an- 
 gelorum : omnia superantera quia ex 
 ipsa pulcra sunt omnia. Quid ergo 
 nos erimus quando htec videbimus? 
 Quid nobis promissum est ? Similes 
 ei erimus, quoniam tidebimzts eum, 
 sicuti est. Quomodo potuit lingua 
 sonuit : cetera corde cogitentur. 
 
 Philo in a remarkable passage 
 {de Abr. § 12, ii. pp. 9 f. M.) speaks of 
 the vision of the 'Father of all things,' 
 as man's highest blessing : ora e^tye- 
 vcTO fjLTj fjiovov ra oXXa oaa iv ttj <^i;a"« 
 8l eTTLOTTjfJLtjs KaToKafi^atfeLv dWa Kal 
 Tov TraTepa kol TroLijTrjv rav (rvfxiTavToiv 
 opav, cV* aKpov evdaiiiovLas lOTca wpo- 
 €\i]\vdtSs. ovSev yap dvayripco Oeov Trpos 
 Of ei Tis TO rrjs yjrvxtjs relvas ofifia 
 €(l>daKe p.ovTjv €vxitr6o) Koi trrdaiv. 
 
 The main elements in the idea of 
 the 'vision' of God seem to be a 
 real knowledge, a direct knowledge, 
 a 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 
 (Bph. L 18; Matt. V. 8). The 'vision' 
 of God's face appears in the hope of 
 the righteous in the Psalms (Ps. xvii. 
 IS; xi. 7 Hupfeld), while it is recog- 
 nised as unattainable and unbearable 
 by man in the present earthly life 
 (Ex. xxxiii. 18 fi'.). In the new Jeru- 
 salem it finds accomplishment, Apoc. 
 xxii. 4, His servants (SoSXoi) shall do 
 Him service Q^aTpfvaovo-iv) and they 
 shaU see His face and His name 
 shall he 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 
 18 ff.). 
 In treating of this final transfigu- 
 7—2 
 
lOO 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [in. 3 
 
 6YWI' T^v eXTTiBa TavTnv eir avTW djvi^ei eavTov Kadw^ 
 
 ration the Greek Fathers did not 
 scruple to speak of men as being 
 'deified' (efOTTon'ia-eat), though the 
 phrase sounds strange to our ears 
 (Athan. de Inc. VerU iv. § 22). 
 
 KaBds iaTi.v'] sicuti est v., even as He 
 is. 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 (John xvii. 
 24). It may be doubted whether it 
 could be said of the Father that men 
 shall see Him 'as He is.' Comp. 
 I Cor. xiii. 12, apn bi itroTrrpov iv al- 
 viypxiTi Tore irpoaoJirov irpos Trpoamirov. 
 Thomas Aquinas discusses at length 
 {Sum. Theol. Suppl. Qu. xcii. art. i) 
 the question whether the human intel- 
 lect can attain to seeing God in essence 
 (ad yidendum 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 versej "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 shall transform us into His 
 likeness"' {Life ii. 329 f.). 
 
 3. Kai.i:as...(TT aura\et omnis qui 
 habet hanc spem in eo {ipso Aug.) V., 
 And every mie that hath this hope mi 
 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 (Kai). 
 The conclusion itself is involved in 
 the hope. He who looks forward to 
 becoming hke God hereafter must 
 strive after His likeness now: Matt. 
 V. 8 ; Gal. v. 5, Ajrt'fia biKaiocrivt]t 
 dneKSexoiifBa, 
 
 By employing the universal form of 
 expression (war exav) instead of the 
 simply descriptive (d ex'^v), St Jolm 
 deals with the exceptional presump- 
 
 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 {m>. 4, 6, 9, 10, 
 IS; c. ii. 23, 27; iv. 7; v. 1,4, 18; 2 
 John 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 (i Pet. i. 3). 
 
 eV avTa] on Him., that is, as before, 
 on God in Christ. 
 
 The phrase ex"" f^T'S" fTi nvi is 
 not found elsewhere in the N.T. It is 
 distinguished from iXn. ex^ai «r (Acts 
 xxiv. 15) by the idea of 'hope resting 
 upon' in place of 'reaching unto': and 
 from the simple 'hoping on' {eXmC^iv 
 iuL Rom. XV. 12 ; 1 Tim. iv. 10) by that 
 of the enj oy ment of possession. Comp. 
 
 i. 3 note {Koivaviav ex^'")- 
 
 ayvi^ei eavTov] purifieth 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 ; i Pet. i. 22; 
 2 Cor. vii. 1 ; I Tim. v. 22. 
 
 ayi/t'fci] sanctiflcat V., castifcat 
 Aug., purifieth. The thought pro- 
 bably is derived from the ceremonial 
 purification required before the ap- 
 pearanceintheDivinepresence. Comp. 
 John xi. S5 (Acts sxi. 24 fi'.) ; Ex. xix. 
 10. The spiritual correlative is marked 
 Heb. .X. 19 ff. 
 
III. 4] THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. lOl 
 
 e/ceti/os dyvo^ icmv. * Fla^ 6 ttolwv t»ji/ afxap- 
 
 It is not easy to lay down sharply 
 the distinction between iyvot, dyvl^eiv 
 and Kadapos, KaOapi^fiv. As far as the 
 usage of the N.T. is concerned, ayvit 
 has a personal, an internal, reference 
 which is wanting in Ka6ap6s. "Ayxor 
 suggests the notion of shrinking from 
 contamination, of a delicate sensibility 
 to pollution of any kind, while Kadapos 
 expresses simply the fact of cleanness. 
 'Ayvos marks predominantly a feeling, 
 and Kadapos a stata 'Ayveia comes as 
 the result of an inward eflfort, Ka6a- 
 porrjs by the application of some out- 
 ward means. He of whom it is said 
 that he ayvt^ti eavrov not only keeps 
 himself actually 'pure,' but discipliues 
 and trains himself that he may move 
 more surely among the defilements of 
 the world (i Tim. v. 22; i Pet. iii. 2). 
 Both dyvos and xaOapos differ from 
 ayios in that they admit the thought 
 or the fact of temptation or pollu- 
 tion ; while ayios describes that which 
 is holy absolutely, either in itself or 
 in idea. God can be spoken of as 
 dyms but not as ayvos, while Christ 
 can be spoken of as ayvos in virtue of 
 the perfection of His humanity. A 
 man is ayws in virtue of his divine 
 destination (Heb. 1. 10 ; Is. iv. 3 lxx.) 
 to which he is gradually conformed 
 (ayia^erai, Heb. X. I4); he is ayvos in 
 virtue of earthly, human discipline. 
 Comp. note on Hebr. vii. 26. 
 
 Kadats CK, ayvos sortf] ecen OS He 
 (Christ) is pure. The pronoun ««- 
 vof, as throughout the Epistle (ii. 6 
 note), refers to Christ. It is chosen 
 here, though the preceding avros 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 ieyvos ; and in respect of 
 His true humanity it can be said of 
 Him that "He is pure," and not only 
 that "He was pure." The result of 
 the perfection of His earthly disci- 
 
 pline (Heb. V. 7 ffi) still abides in His 
 glorified state. For the change of 
 pronouns compare v. 5; John v. 39; 
 six. 35. 
 
 2. The essential character of the 
 children of God (iii. 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 {vv. 4 — 6). Sin 
 marks a connexion with the devil as 
 righteousness with Christ {vv. 7, 8). 
 Sin is impossible for the child of God 
 {■». 9). The underlying thought of the 
 action of false teachers {v. 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 (c. 4); as to Christ 
 both in His Work and in His Person 
 (». 5); and as to man negatively and 
 positively (». 6). 
 
 * Every one that doeth sin doeth 
 also lawlessness ; and sin is lawless- 
 ness. 'And ye know that he was 
 manifested, that he may take away 
 sins ; and in him is no sin. ^ Every 
 one that dbideth in him, sinneth not ; 
 every one that sinneth hath not seen 
 him neither knoweth him,. 
 
 4. The transition of thought from 
 vv. I — 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 se- 
 cond with the innermost essence of it. 
 
 In CO. 4, 5 the successive clauses 
 are coordinated by Kat...Kai...KaL In 
 vv. 6 — 8 clause follows clause without 
 any conjunction. 
 
 4. nar o voiav. . .] Every one thai. . . 
 
I02 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. [III. 4 
 
 Tiav Kul rr]V duofxiau TTOieT, Kal »/ dfxapria ea-Tiv »j 
 
 Comp. V. 3 note. The constant repe- 
 tition of this form in this group of 
 verses is very impressive. 
 
 o TToimi/ TTiv ail.} qui facit pecca- 
 tum (delictum Tert.) V., that daeth 
 sin. The phrase is distinguished 
 from the simple term 'that sinneth' 
 (o ajxapravav V. 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 (T171' aiiapriav). The man does 
 not simply commit a sin (irar o a/iap- 
 riav noiav comp. ». 9; I Pet. ii. 22 ; 2 
 Cor. xi. 7), but realises sin in its com- 
 pleteness. Comp. Burip. Andr. fr. 150. 
 Compare vv. 8, 9, John viii. 34 (rfiv 
 an.); and contrast James v. 15 Kav 
 anaprlas fi irfTTOiij/cmf. 
 
 The corresponding phrase is o TroKav 
 Tr)V SiKaioarvvriv V. 7 (lo), ii. 29. Sin 
 as a whole (j; ajiapna) answers to 
 righteousness as a whole (i; SiKaioa-vvri). 
 For i; afiapria Compare Rom. v. 12 
 (diiapria V. 1 3) ; 20 f., vL I ff. 
 
 Koi Ti]v avo\i.. TTOift] et iniquitatem 
 facit v., doeth also lawlessness, vio- 
 lates a law which claims his loyal 
 obedience (comp. Matt. xiii. 41 ; vii. 23 
 01 epyafo/xei^ot rr^v dvofi.). And, yet 
 more than this, 
 
 i) dfiapria cariu 1; dvofila, peccatum 
 est iniquitas V., sin is lawlessness. Sin 
 and lawlessness are convertible terms. 
 Sin is not an arbitrary conception. 
 It is the assertion of the selfish vrill 
 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 himself : 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. I4f.), 
 who shews also that the neglect of 
 duty, the violation of the lawof growth, 
 is sin (James iv. 17). So St John lays 
 down that ' unrighteousness,' the fail- 
 ure to fulfil our obligations to others, 
 is sin (c. V. 17). 
 
 Other examples of the use of the 
 article with both subject and predi- 
 cate, when the two are convertible, 
 occur : Apoc. xix. 10 tj /uipTvpia 'Iri<rov 
 coTjv TO nvevfia Trjs npo^r/Tflas ; Matt, 
 vi. 22; I Cor. X. 4; xv. 56; Phil. iii. 
 19; comp. John i. 4; XV. i; 2 Cor. iii. 17. 
 The variations in Matt. xiii. 38 f. are 
 instructive (o dypos icrriv 6 Koirpos... 
 6 6epi(Tp.os crvvreXeia alavos). 
 
 It is interesting to notice that Bede 
 observes the inadequacy of the Latin 
 rendering : Virtus hujus sententise, 
 he says, facilius in lingua Graecorum, 
 qua edita est epistola,comprehenditur, 
 siquidem apud eos iniquitas dvofiia 
 vocatur... Omnes enim qui peccant 
 preevaricationis (Ps. cxix. 119 Lat.) 
 rei sunt, hoc est non solum illi qui 
 datam sibi scriptse 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 
 
III. s, 6] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 103 
 
 dvojuia. ^Kai oiSaxe OTi eK€ivo9 e(pauepo}dr] 'iva tds 
 d/napTia^ cipri, Kai d/ULapTia ev avTw ovk ecTTiv. ^ird^ 
 
 5 ofSare: otSafiev ^{ the (lat). ras d/i. AB vg me syrhl: +rinav S'tiG the (lat). 
 
 iv ail. oOk ^. : oOk ^. iv ai). X 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. 
 
 oiSare] scitis V., ye know. This 
 appeal to the knowledge of Christians 
 is characteristic of St John, though it 
 is found also in St Paul : c. ii. 20 f., 
 iv. 2, 14 f., V. 15, 18 f. note ; 3 John 12. 
 
 fKeii/os i^av.'\ ille apparuit V., 
 TnanifestatTu est Aug., He was mani- 
 fested. The subject is not defined 
 under any particular aspect {Lamb of 
 God John i. 29, Son of God v. 8), but 
 left in its fulness. For (kcivos see c. 
 iL 6 note. It will be observed that in 
 this verse eKelvos and avros are natu- 
 rally referred to the same subject. 
 Comp. John xix. 35. 
 
 i<})avfp(idTi] 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 6 tjv 
 air dpxV' l>ut also rjv iv ap^rj. 
 
 For the different phrases used by 
 St John to describe the Incarnation 
 see Additional Note. 
 
 'iva...apTJ\ utpeccatum, (,-ta Tert.) au- 
 ferat Aug., ut peccata nostra toUeret 
 v., that He may take away sins, not 
 simply do away with the punishment 
 of them. Comp. i. 9 note. 
 
 ToUit autera et dimittendo quae 
 
 facta sunt et adjuvando ne fiant et 
 perducendo ad vitam ubi fieri omnino 
 non possint (Bede). 
 
 For the sense of aipetj/ compare John 
 i. 29 note ; and Heb. x. 4 {a(f)aipeiv 
 ap..); id. II (ircpieXfiK ap.) 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 Himself sinless. It is true 
 that Christ 'took away' sins 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' (raj ap.) 
 distinguishes the exact conception of 
 Christ's work here from that given in 
 John i. 29 ('the sin of the world'). 
 The idea is that of the manifold per- 
 sonal realisationsof the sinof humanity 
 which Christ takes away. The phrase 
 stands without further definition {sins 
 not our sins) in order to include the ful- 
 ness of the truth expressed in c. ii. 2. 
 
 For the plural used absolutely see 
 Rom. vii. 5 ; Col. i. 14 ; Heb. i. 3 ; 
 (James v. 16 ; i Pet. ii. 24). [The com- 
 mon reading in Bph. ii. i is wrong.] 
 
 apapria iv avra ovk eoTivJ The clause 
 is independent and not to be con- 
 nected with oTi. For the statement 
 and the form of expression compare 
 John vii. 1 8 aSiKta iv avra ovk (<ttlv. 
 This fact at once explains how Christ 
 could take away sin, and how sin is in- 
 compatible with fellowship with Him. 
 The tense {is not was) marks the 
 eternal character of the Redeemer. 
 All that belongs to His 'perfected' 
 manhood (Heb. ii. 10, v. 9) 'is' in Him 
 no less than His unchanged Divinity. 
 
I04 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [III. 6 
 
 d ev avTW fxevwv oux afxapTciver Tras 6 dfMaprdvwv oux 
 
 6 Trasaaii.: +K:a;vgsyrvg 
 
 The 'purity' of v. 3 is traced back to 
 its inberent 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 c 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.' 
 
 lievav] 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. 
 
 ovx aixapravei] silineth not. The 
 commentary on this phrase is found 
 in c. i. 6. It describes a character, ' a 
 prevailing habit' and not primarily an 
 act. Comp. Tit. iiL 11; Hebr. x. 26. 
 Each separate sinful act does as such 
 interrupt the fellowship, and yet so 
 far as it is foreign to the character 
 of the man, and removed from him (ii. 
 i), 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 
 character. Comp. c 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 
 peccat; but he leaves out of sight 
 the internal spiritual character. 
 
 ttSs d d/i....ot58f eyvrnKfy auTov] The 
 
 interruption of the formal parallelism 
 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 a 
 case there is no question of ' abiding.' 
 The conditions of fellowship have 
 never been satisfied. Such a one hath 
 not seen Christ (God in Christ) nor 
 yet come to know Him.' 
 
 Compare i. 6 f. ('fellowship with 
 Him,' 'fellowship one with another'); 
 i. 8, 9, ii. 4 f. C the truth is not in us,' 
 'the love of God is perfected'); m. 7, 
 8 ; iv. 5, 6 a ; 7 b, 8 ; v. 10. In il 23 
 there is a perfect correspondence. 
 
 ovx ^P cvTov] 7ion vidit eum nee 
 
 cognovit eum V., hath not seen... 
 neit/ier 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 truth from 
 without : ' knowing' {eyvatKevai), the ap- 
 prehension and coordination of the 
 truth within. ' Knowing' is less direct 
 and immediate and therefore forms 
 the climax here. 
 
 (oipaKev] Comp. c. iv. 20; 3 John 1 1 ; 
 John i. 18, V. 37, vi. 46, xiv. 7, 9 (Heb. 
 
 XL 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. L 
 I ff. ; 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). 
 
 ovSe fyxuKei/] ' 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 know- 
 ledge cease to be unless they go forward. 
 
III. 7] 
 
 THE PIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 lOS 
 
 ewpuKev avTOV ov^e kyvcuKev avTov. ' TeKv'ia, jurj^eh 
 irXavaTOi v/ma^' 6 ttoiwv Trju ZiKaiocruvriv S'lKaios ecTTiv, 
 
 7 TeKvta NB vg syrr; TraiSi'a AC me syrhlmg. ^i) tis A. -ttjv' Sik. K*. 
 
 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. 
 
 7 Little children, let no one lead 
 you astray: he that doeth righteous- 
 ness is righteous, even as he is 
 righteous: * he that doeth sin is of 
 the devil, because the devil sinneth 
 from tlie beginning. Unto this end 
 the Son of God was manifested that 
 he may destroy the works of the devil. 
 
 7. TfKvla] Filioli v., Little chil- 
 dren. See ii. 12 note. The tender- 
 ness of the address is called out by the 
 peril of the situation. 
 
 /ii/8eis ffXararm] nemo vos seducat 
 v., 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. 
 
 o TToiSv T^v 8t(c.J he that doeth 
 righteousness, he who gives effect to 
 it in life, who realises it in conduct 
 (c. ii. 29). Compare 'doeth sin' (v. 4 
 note), 'doeth the truth' (c. i. 6 note). 
 
 'To do righteousness' is more than 
 'to do righteous acts' (jroi€iv SUcua, 
 comp. I Pet. iii. 12 Troielv Kam, James 
 iv. 17 KoXox jr.), or even than 'to do 
 the acts of righteousness' (jroieiv to 
 
 SUaia, comp. v. 22 tt. ra dpecrra, Rom. 
 iii. 8 jr. Ta Ko/cd); and it differs from 
 ' doing that which is righteous ' (tt. to 
 SUaiov, comp. Rom. xiiL 3 f. ?r. to aya- 
 66v, TO KOKov) by presenting the idea 
 in a less abstract form. Compare Col. 
 
 iv. I (to dUaiov, Tijv j<roTT;ra) ; iii. 5 
 {dKadap<riav, t^v nXeove^iav). 
 
 The exact phrase is different in 
 form from the negative phrase (v. 10 
 note). 'Righteousness' here is the 
 virtue in its completeness and unity 
 {Trjv SiKaiOiTvvriv) : in V. lo SiKatoenJwj 
 expresses any particular manifestation 
 of righteousness. Comp. ii. 29; Matt. 
 V. 5. 
 
 SUaiis ioTiv] Righteousness is the 
 sign of divine sonship (c. iL 29). The 
 'doing righteousness' reveals the cha- 
 racter and does not create it. The 
 man who is righteous is recognised by 
 his actions. The personal character 
 underlies the deeds. The form of the 
 sentence may be compared with John 
 iii. 31 A« that is of the earth is of 
 the earth and speaketh of the earth. 
 
 Ka5mf] sicut v., even as. Christ 
 (eKfivos c. 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. ». 3; ii. 6; iv. 17; John xiii. 
 15 ; XV. 12; xvii. 14. 
 
 Augustine (whom Bede transcribes) 
 remarks on this comparison between 
 the righteousness of the believer and 
 the righteousness of Christ (see v. 2) : 
 Videtis quia non semper sicut ad 
 parilitatem et sequalitatem refertur. .. 
 Habemus et nos imaginem Dei, sed 
 nou illam quam habet Filius sequalis 
 Patri. 
 
 SUaios eariv] ii. 29; iv. 1 7; c. 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 ». 7 is ex- 
 pressed with characteristic variations 
 in the parallelism : 
 
 (a) o TT. Tjjv 81K. II o jroimi/ ttju dfi. 
 
 (b) SiKaiQS ioTlV II CK TOV 8ia^. f(TTtV. 
 
 (c) Kadat f. 8, f. II OT1...6 Sid/3. a/ji. 
 The spiritual affinity (b) is in the 
 
io6 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [III. 8 
 
 Ka6<i}<i CKeTvo^ diKuio^ ccttcv ^6 itolwv Triv dfxapriav e/c 
 Tov Zia(i6\ov ea-Tiv, otl dir' ctpxrj^ o Sia/3oAo9 dfiap- 
 TaveL. eU tovto icpavepwdrj 6 i/ios tou deou \va \vcrij 
 
 8 6 TOiuv : 6 5e TT. 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 
 (xa^tuf, on), a reflection of his spi- 
 ritual master (c). 
 
 6 ir.Trjv a/i.] V. 4 note. 
 
 f'/c TOV Staff, fariv] ex (de, a, all.) 
 diabolo est V., is of the devil, draws 
 from him the ruling principles of his 
 life, as his child. Oomp. ii. i6 note ; 
 and Additional Note on ». i. The 
 phrase finds a parallel in was of the 
 evil one, ». 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., 
 0. ii. 16. Additional Note on v. i. 
 
 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; I Cor. xv. 22), so 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 (o-tIv ex and not 
 yeytvvrjTaL cV {ytyevvr)ixfvos icTTLv eK) {in 
 
 Joh. XX. § 13, iv. 325), elsewhere gives 
 
 iK TOV diaffoXov yeyevrjTai {ycycvvrjTaC) 
 
 {Horn. ix. in Jer. § 4, iii. 181 ; Sch. in 
 Jer. xii. 10, iii. 290; Horn. vi. in 
 Ezech. § 3, iii. 377, Lat) in quoting 
 the verse freely. 
 
 For St John's teaching on the powers 
 of evil see Additional Note on ii. 1 3. 
 
 iTi...ajiapTa.vti\ because. ..the begin- 
 
 ning. The force of the argument lies iu 
 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 drr apxrjs at the head of 
 the clause emphasises the thought. 
 Contrast i. i ; ii. 7 ; iiL 1 1 ; and com- 
 pare ii. 24 note. 
 
 an apxris] ab initio v., a primor- 
 dio Tert., from the beginning. Comp. 
 i. I ; ii. 7 notes. Sin exists before 
 man. 
 
 diiapTavei] sinneth. See v. 6 note. 
 His sinful action is continuous and 
 present : subjunxit verbum prsesentis 
 teniporis quia ex quo ab initio coepit 
 diabolus peccare nunquam desiit 
 (Bede). 
 
 ds toCto] in hoc V. {idea, idcirco 
 all.), unto this end, which has been 
 included in the preceding clauses and 
 is defined by what follows. 
 
 i<j}ai'epci6ri] See V. J note. 
 
 o vibs TOV 6(ov] the Son of God. 
 The title of dignity is now expressed 
 for the first time in the Epistle to 
 bring out the nature of the conQict (c 
 iv. 4). Hitherto the Christ has been 
 spoken of under the title 'the Son' 
 (ii. 22, 23, 24), or more fully 'His (le. 
 the Father's) Son' (i. 3). Hencefor- 
 ward 'the Son of God' is His most 
 common name (iv. 15; v. 5, 9 ff., 20). 
 The spiritual adversary of man has 
 a mightier spiritual antagonist. A 
 second Adam answers to the first 
 Adam : the Son of God to the devil. 
 , Xi5(TT)] dissolvat V., solvat Aug., 
 destroy. 'The works of the devil' are 
 
III. 9] 
 
 THE FIEST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 107 
 
 Ta epya toO dia(3oXou. ^Tras 6 yeyevvtiiiievo^ ck tov 
 deov dfxapTiav ou iroiei, oti (nrepfjia aurov ev avTw 
 
 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 \vfiv occurs literally in 
 this sense Acts xxvii. 41. Comp. 
 Eph. ii. 14 ; John ii. 19, and 2 Pet iii. 
 10 — 12; and Acts v. 38; GaL ii. 18; 
 Rom. xiv. 20 &c. {KardKifiv). 
 
 The transition to the figurative 
 sense is seen in Acts xiU. 43 {Xvdeia-rjs 
 
 Tjjs o-miayayyrjs), ii. 24. Comp. Ign. 
 Eph. 13 Kadaipovvrai al Sui/a/^eif tov 
 ^arava Koi Xuerat o oXeOpos avTov ev 
 TTJ ofiovoia vfi^v Trjs Triarcas. 
 
 The two objects of the ' manifesta- 
 tion' of Christ {vv. 5, 8) cover the 
 whole work of redemption, 'to take 
 away sins,' '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 nuUo peccato 
 nascimur, quid est quod cum infanti- 
 bus ad baptismum curritur ut absol- 
 vantur? Ergo duas nativitates at- 
 tendite fratres, Adam et Christi... 
 Nativitas ilia trahit secum peccatum, 
 nativitas ista liberat a peccato. 
 
 9. The antagonism of the Christian 
 to sin is now placed in its last and de- 
 cisive aspect Two things are aflBrmed 
 
 of him: 'he doetli 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 « TOV 6eov is placed emphatically 
 first ; 'he cannot sin, because it is of 
 God, and of no other, that he hath 
 been born.' 
 
 9 Every one that is begotten of God 
 doeth no sin, because his seed abideth 
 in hiin; and he cannot sin because he 
 is begotten of God. 
 
 o yeyewTjfievos eK rov 6eov] qui natus 
 
 est ex 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, V. I (4), 18. 
 
 John i. 13 (iii. 3, 5 ff.). 
 
 The exact form is important. The 
 perfect (o yeyewrifievos) marks not only 
 the single act {aor. eyevv:^di]<rav John 
 i. 13; c. v. 18) but the continuous 
 presence of its efficacy. 'He that 
 hath been bom and still remains a 
 child of God.' See Additional Note 
 on V. I. 
 
 dfuipTiav ov TTOLct] Compare v. 4 
 note. A fine phrase of Athenagoras 
 will serve as a comment on this view 
 of the Christian life : ols 6 fitot as 
 Trpbs trradpTjv tov 6eov Kavovt^erai 
 ('Christians for whom the conception 
 of God is the ideal standard of life ') 
 ...tore TovTovs, firjS' els evvoiav TVOTe tov 
 ^pa^vTOTOv ikevo'Ofievovs ajiapTripMros 
 {Leg. pro Christ, c. 31). 
 
 aitfpjm airov] 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. 
 
io8 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [III. lO 
 
 fxevei, Kai ov Bvvarai d/napTaveiu, otl €k tov 6eov 
 'ye'yevvr]TaL. ^°'€.v tovtw (pauepd ecrriv tu tckuu 
 
 TOV deov Kat tcl tskvu tov Sia(36\ov' 7ra9 6 jixri ttoiwv 
 
 The instrument by which this vital 
 element is conveyed is the 'word': 
 James L i8; i Pet. i. 23; Luke viii. 
 12, 15. 
 
 The absence of the article (anepiw. 
 not TO tnrepiia) directs attention to 
 the character of the divine principle 
 and not to the divine principle com- 
 municated in the particular case. See 
 V. 10 note. 
 
 ov bvvarai. d/i.] Its cannot sin. The 
 ideas of divine sonship and sin are 
 mutually exclusive. As long as the re- 
 lationship with God is real (on i< 6eov 
 yeyew.) sinful acts 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, &c. 
 
 Augustine again insists that the 
 reference is to the great command- 
 ment of love : Est quoddam peccatum 
 quod non potest admittere ille qui 
 natus est ex Deo, et quo non adraisso 
 solvuntur cetera, quo admisso confir- 
 mantur cetera. Quod est hoc pec- 
 catum? Facere contra mandatum 
 Christi, contra testamentum uovum 
 (John xiii. 34). The explanation is 
 true 80 far as love is the deter- 
 mining element in the Christian cha- 
 racter. 
 
 3. 77ie outward manifestation of 
 the children of God (10 — 12). 
 
 The spiritual afiSnities of men are 
 shewn by two patent signs, righteous- 
 ness and love (». 10) ; and these signs 
 correspond to two archetypal pat- 
 terns, the Gospel, that is, the Life of 
 Christ {v. 11), and the history of Cain 
 {v. 12). 
 
 "/« this the children of God are 
 manifest and the children q/" the 
 devil: evety one tliat doeth not 
 
 righteovLsness is not of God, and he 
 that loveth not his brother. "Be- 
 cause this is the message which ye 
 heard from tJie 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. 
 
 'Ev TovTo] In hoc V. {Ex hoc F.), In 
 this, in this fact of the essential sin- 
 lessness of the Christian's life, which 
 is followed out into its main aspects 
 in the verse which follows (comp. c. 
 ii. 3 note). 
 
 ra TCKva tov ^eoO] Jilii Dei V., the 
 children of God. See v. i note. 
 
 St John divides the world sharply 
 into two classes. Looking at the spirit- 
 ual characteristics of life he admits no 
 intermediate class. For him there is 
 only light and darkness, and no twi- 
 light. He sees only 'life' and 'death.' 
 
 <j)avfpa} m^anifesti V., m/inifestati 
 Aug., manifest, so that all men may 
 see what they are: Matt. xii. 16; Acts 
 vii. 13; I Cor. xi. 19. That which is 
 in its essence secret is thus revealed 
 before the eyes of men. Comp. Mark 
 iv. 22 ; 2 Cor. V. 10 f. 
 
 TO T€Kva TOV SiojSoXov] flU dioboH 
 v., the children qf the devil. The 
 phrase is unique. Compare Eph. ii. 3 
 
 TfKva <^iio-ft opy^r. 2 Pet. ii. I4 Ka- 
 
 Topas TfKva. And also: Matt xiii. 38 
 
III. II] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 109 
 
 BiKaiO(Tuvr]v ovk ecTTiv ck tov 6eou, Kai 6 fxri dyaircav 
 Tov dZe\(pov auTOU. "oti avTrj eirTiv »j dyyeXia rjv 
 
 10 6 /IT) ToiQv StK. XABC me syrr (lat) : /j-ij ay SUaws vg the syrMmg. 
 SiKaioairqv SB: tt]v Slk. AC. Comp. v. •]. ii dyyeX/a AB vg: iirayyMa KG me 
 
 the syrr (lat). Comp. i. 5. 
 
 oJ VIOL TOV irovTjpov ; xxiil. 1 5 vtos yeev- 
 vr^s ; Acts xiii. 10 vU StajSoXou. 
 
 nas lit) 77. 8.] Every 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 
 (b. 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 (c. iv. 3 o /xi? 
 onokoyci) is fatal to the reality of the 
 diivine connexion. 
 
 o jifj TToiaJv 81K.] qui non est Justus 
 V. (qui non facit justitiam F.), that 
 doeth not righteousness. It has been 
 already noticed (o. 7 note) that the 
 phrase used here is different from 
 that used in v. 7, ii. 29. Here ' right- 
 eousness' {biKaio<Tvvjf) expresses that 
 which bears a particular character : in 
 the former passage 'righteousness' 
 (17 hi,<au3<Tvvri) 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: ifuipTia vv. 
 5, 9, V. 16 1; rj a/jLapria VV. 4, 8; 
 ayarrri iv. 8, 16; i; dyairri (ii. 5, 1 5), 
 
 iii. 16, iv. 7, 10, 12, 16 ff. (v. 3); {;a>j 
 V. IS, V. II, 13, 16, 20; ^ fmi; i. 2, ii. 
 25, iii. 14, V. 12; oK^deut 3 John 3; 
 ^ aK^e€ia i. 6, 8, ii. 4, 21, iii. 19, iv. 6, 
 V. 6; 2 John i, 2; 3 John 8. 
 
 The full force of the article will also 
 be felt in the following places : i. 6 iv 
 
 roj (TKOTfi, ii. 9 fv Tffl (f)a>Ti, iii. 4 17 
 dvofila, iv. 18 T^ y\da'a'rj, V. lO rrjn 
 fiaprvpLav (v. 21 rav el8<o\o>v). On the 
 other hand the absence of the article 
 in the following places is significant: 
 in ii. 18 i<T)(aTrj tSpa, c. 9 <nripp.a. 
 From the nature of the case anar- 
 throus forms occur in predicates and 
 negative sentences : yet see iii. 4, v. 6. 
 ov< c. i. T. fl.] Comp. iv. 3 note ; 
 Additional Note on p. i. 
 
 (tai o /ii) ay. t. dS.] and he that loveth 
 not his hrotTier. Comp. iL 10 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 (c. 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. 
 
 II. oTi...] 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. 
 
 t; ayyeXj'a] adnuntiatio V., mando- 
 tum F., repromissio (eVayyeXia) Lucf., 
 tiie message. Comp. L 5 note. 
 
no 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [III. 
 
 riKOVcrare aV ctpxrj^, 'ivci dyaTrwfJLev dWriXous' "01/ Ka- 
 6wi Kalv €K TOv TTOvnpov rjv Kai e(T(pa^ev tov dBeXcpov 
 avTOV' Kac X°^P'-^ tlvo's ecrcpa^ev avTOV ; OTi tu epya 
 avTOV TTOvrjpd rjv, rd 5e tou dSeXcpou auTOu oiKaia. 
 
 air dpxrjsjfrom the beginning. See 
 ii. 7 note. The first tidings of Ciiris- 
 tianity contain this lesson. 
 
 Iva ayanafi,€V aXX.] u( diligotis al- 
 terutrum V., diligamus invicem Aug., 
 t/iat 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 iva see v. 23; iv. 21; 
 John xiii. 34; xv. 12, 17. The par- 
 ticle not unfrequently expresses an 
 effort or an aim suggested by the 
 words which precede : c. v. 3 ; iv. 
 17; 2 John 6; John iv. 34; vi. 29; 
 viii 56; XV. 13; xra. 3. Sometimes 
 it indicates a divine purpose which is 
 not at once obvious : ». i ; i. 9 ; John 
 xii. 23 ; xvi. 2, 32. 
 
 The phrase Ho love one another' 
 {v. 23 note) differs in shade of mean- 
 ing from 'loving the brethren' {v. 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. ov Ka6d)s...^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 c. 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 
 ot V. II, 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 ov requires that 
 the sentence should be treated as 
 independent and not connected with 
 Iva {lirjbf eSiiev i< tov iroi/r^pov Ka6a>s 
 Kaiv...). 
 
 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 1 1 ; Heb. . 
 xi. 4; xii. 24. Philo discusses the 
 history in a special book. In Clem. 
 Horn. iii. 25 it is said of Cain: <l)ovevs 
 TJv Ka\ i/'euoTijf KOLi fifra afiapriav ij(TV- 
 p^afetv iMTjSi eVi ra apx^t" Bekav. 
 
 eK TOV novrjpov ^v] ex maligna erat 
 v., was of the evil one. Comp. v. 8 €< 
 
 TOV Siaj3<iXou eVriV note; ii. 13 tov 
 TTovrjpov note. The name is chosen 
 here in order to connect the works of 
 Cain (irovripa. rjv) with their spiritual 
 source. 
 
 €cr(^a|f 1/] occidit v., slew. The word 
 occurs elsewhere in the N.T. only in the 
 Apocalypse. It expresses properly the 
 slaughter of a victim. Here it seems 
 to point to the deliberate determina- 
 tion of the murder. 
 
 Kal x^P'" Tivoi;...'] et propter quid 
 v., and wher^ore... This unusual 
 mode of expression (comp. v. 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 x^P'" occurs in this 
 place only in the writings of St John. 
 Elsewhere in the N.T. it stands (as 
 generally) after its case. It expresses 
 
III. 13] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 Ill 
 
 '^ Mrj Qavixa^ere, dde\<poi, el [xurei v/Jta^ 6 Koa-fxo^. 
 
 13 /i-i) 9avii. ABC"" vg me the syrhl: +KaX' fir] Savfii. NC* syrvg. 
 NABC vg : +fiov S" me the syrr. 
 
 d5eX0o£ 
 
 commonly an object aimed at (Eph. 
 iii. I, 14; I Tim. v. 14; GaL iii. 19, 
 Lgtft. &c.), but also an antecedent 
 ground (Luke vii. 47). 
 
 on...] because... The explanation 
 given is an interpretation of the his- 
 tory in Gen. iv. The sacrifices (Heb. 
 xL 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. 
 
 III. Brothbehood IN Christ AND 
 
 THE HATRED OF THE WORLD (iii. 1 3 
 
 —24). 
 
 There appear to be three main di- 
 visions of the section : 
 
 1. Hatred and love {13 — 15). 
 
 2. The matii/estation of love (16 
 -18). 
 
 3. The fruit of love {ig— 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. 
 
 I . 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 
 ( 1 4). And consequently hatred among 
 Christians is the sign not only of the 
 absence of life but of the destruction 
 of life (is). 
 
 '3 Marvel not, brethren, if the world 
 hateth you. m tVe hnoic tliat we have 
 passed out of death into life, because 
 we love the brethren: he that loveth 
 not aMdeth in death. ^^Every one tliat 
 hateth his brother is a murderer; 
 and ye know that no murderer loath 
 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 so. 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. 
 
 M^ BaviiA^ere] NoHte mirari V., 
 Marvel not. For the thought com- 
 pare John XV. 18 ff., xvL i ff. 
 
 The words occur again John v. 28, 
 and in another form John iii. 7 fir/ 
 Savjiaa-ris. The latter place is the only 
 example in the Gospel or Epistles 
 (John xix. 24 is not strictly parallel) 
 of the imperative construction of /itJ 
 with aor. subj. which occurs more fre- 
 quently than the construction with 
 pres. imp. in the Apocalypse (vi. 6, viL 
 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. i). Comp. I Pet. ii. 17; John 
 ii. 16 note. 
 
 For Bav/jLa^eiv el see Mark xv. 44. 
 
 dfifX0ot] brethren. This is the only 
 place in the Epistle where this title of 
 address is used (ii. 7 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. 
 
 [III. H 
 
 ^'^tjfxels oiBafxev oti fxeTafie^t^KaiuLev e/c tou davcLTOu eU 
 Tr]v Vwtiu, OTi d'yaTTuijuev tows dSe\<pou9' 6 /mr] dyaTraJv 
 
 14 Toi)s dS. + T]fj.wv a syrvg. 
 me syrr. 
 
 mutual affection is characteristic of 
 them as distinguished from other men 
 ('the world'). The title is common 
 in St James (aStXtjioi, ade\(j)oi /xov), 
 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 
 proper meaning. ' Brethren' expresses 
 the idea of Christian equality in virtue 
 of the common life: 'Children' (jfaiLa) 
 that of spiritual dependence in the 
 order of the new life with the pro- 
 spect of growth: 'Little ones' (iratSia) 
 that of subordination and immaturity. 
 In contrast with these 'Beloved' is 
 simply the personal manifestation of 
 feeling. 
 
 fi iii<Tfi\ si odit v., if.,.hateth you. 
 This is assumed aa a fact (comp. c. Iv. 
 II; V. 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., hie mundus F.). 
 14. ij/ieiy otSa/ifi/] rws scimus V. 
 We ('jfieU) as distinguished from the 
 world, know by the essential 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 oiSaiup 
 in V. 2. 
 
 /lero^fjSi/Ka/ifi/] translati sumui V., 
 have passed... Comp. John v. 24 (xiii. 
 i). This love was indeed the accept- 
 
 6 ^7; d.y. NAB vg, : + rbv ade\<f>6v [auTov] f C 
 
 ance in faith of Christ's 'word' (c. ii. 
 7, iii. 1 1). 
 
 cK Tov 6. eU TTjv f.] de morte in vitam 
 v., out nf 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' (o Bdvaros,' tj 
 ^atri). 'O Bavaros 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). 
 'O Bavaros is personified in Apoc. i. 18, 
 vi. 8, ix. 6, XX. 13 f. (xxi. 4). Compare 
 Acts ii. 24; Rom. v. 12 ff., viii. 2; i 
 Cor. XV. 21 ff. ; 2 Cor. iv. 12; 2 Tim. i. 
 10 (opposed to ^arj) ; Heb. ii. 14. For 
 t; fooi) compare i. 2 note ; John v. 24 ; 
 Matt. vii. 14 (opposed to i; anoKeui), 
 xviii. 8 f, xix. 17; (Mark ix. 43, 45); 
 Acts iii. 1 5 ; 2 Cor. v. 4. The depth 
 of the expression is lost both in Latin 
 and in English. 
 
 'To enter into life' (rio-tX. tls t^v f.) is 
 a phrase characteristic of St Matthew 
 (xviii. 8 f., xix. 17; comp. vii. 14) and 
 of St Mark (ix. 43, 45). In this 
 largest sense 'life' (^ fcaij) is the fulfil- 
 ment of the highest idea of being: 
 perfect truth in perfect action. Com- 
 pare 2 Tim. i. 10 KaTapyrjtravTos iiiv 
 TOV davaTotf ^aTi(ravTos Se ^afjv kol 
 
 a^dapa-lav, 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. 
 
 07-1...0TJ...] quoniam...qwyniam... 
 v., that...lecause... Active love is the 
 sign of life and not the ground of life. 
 Comp. Luke vii. 47. The connexion 
 is 'we know because...' and not 'we 
 have passed because....' 
 
 Tovs d8.] the brethren. The simple 
 phrase (3 John 5, 10) is more expres- 
 
III. IS] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 "3 
 
 fxevei ev tw davaTco. '•^Tras 6 fxiarwu tov d^e\(pov 
 avTOv di/dpcoTTOKTOVO'i ecTTiv, Kai o'lSare on Tras aV- 
 dpiDTTOKTOvo^ ouK e;^€t ^w^v aiwviou ev avTw fxevov- 
 
 1 5 eaurou B. aurcu B : eavri^ N AC. 
 
 sive than 'our brethren.' This is the 
 only place in which the exact words 
 occur (ay. Toiis ade\(j>ovs). Elsewhere 
 St John says ay. dXXiiXour (v. 1 1 note). 
 'Ay. TOV ad. occurs ii. lo; iii. lo; iv. 20. 
 
 See Additional Note. 
 
 In view of the imperfection of 
 Christians Augustine says; Viget 
 [gloria caritatis] sed adhuc in hieme : 
 viget radix sed quasi ai-idi sunt rami. 
 Intus est medulla qufe viget, intus 
 sunt folia arborum, intus fructus; sed 
 SBstatem expectant. 
 
 d fifj ayawav] qui 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. 
 
 Iiivd iv ra 6.'\ oMdeth {permanet 
 F.) in death. There is a moral vis 
 inertias. It is not said that he dies. 
 Death is his natural state. It fol- 
 lows that love and life are convertible 
 terms. Si in morte manet qui non 
 diligit, in qua morte manet qui odit? 
 (Petr. Ven. [ap. Bernard. Epp!\ Ep. 
 229 § 5.) 
 
 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 as being the 
 first step towards it but as involving 
 the same moral position. It is more- 
 over in the man himself the destruc- 
 tion of that life which is love. 
 
 ttas d...] Every one that hateth... 
 though he bear the name of Christ. 
 Comp. c. iii. 3. 
 
 avBpamoKTovoi] homicida V., tnur- 
 derer. The word is used of the devil, 
 
 W.J. 
 
 John viii. 44. Among men Cain is 
 the type. 
 
 ol'Sare] ye know. Comp. a v. 18 
 note. 
 
 7Tas...ovK...] Comp. ii. 19 note. 
 
 TTCLs dvOptoTToicrovos] Omnis inquit 
 homicida : scilicet non solum ille qui 
 ferro verum et ille qui odio fratrem 
 insequitur (Bede). 
 
 f. al. iv avra fieV.] 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 communi- 
 cated gift (comp. John vi. 53). 
 
 The whole phrase is unique. Else- 
 where 'the word' (ii. 14; John v. 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 (c. 24, iv. 12, 13, 15 f.) and 
 Christ (John vL 56, xv. 5). Even to 
 the last man has not 'life in himself.' 
 This is the divine prerogative alone. 
 
 2. The manifestation of love (vv. 
 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 
 it known in sacrifice (v. 16). Such 
 love extends to the common inter- 
 course of life {v. 17); and must be at 
 once active and real (v. i8). 
 
 '^ In this we know love, because lie 
 laid doton his life for us; and we 
 oitghi to lay down our lives for tM 
 brethren. •? 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. 
 
114 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. [III. i6, 17 
 
 a-av. '*'6i/ TOVTU) iyvtoKa/nev tiiv dya7rr]V, otl 
 
 eKeti/o? virep i'l/dcov ti]v -i^vxnv avTOu edrjKev kui jy/zeis 
 oCpeiXoiJLev vrrep rwv dBe\(pwv -ras -v/'i/xa? deivai. '^os 
 S' av exn '^ov l3iou tov KOcr/ULOU Kac dewprj tov dde\(p6v 
 
 16 Tr]v dy. + ToC 6eoS vg. Beivac SABC: TiBivai, S". 
 
 let lis not love in tcord, neither with 
 the tongiie, but in deed and truth. 
 
 16. 'Ex TovTio] In this, see c. ii. 3 
 note. 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. 
 
 cyvaKa/iev] cognovimus v., cognosci- 
 mus Aug., we 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 (01- 
 Sare) in t). 15. Comp. John xv. 13. 
 
 Tr]v dyaiTT)!/] See Additional Note. 
 
 fKeiTOs] He, Christ. See ii. 6 note. 
 
 TTiv ■^vxfiv avTov edrjKtv] animam 
 suam posuit V., laid down His life. 
 The phrase is peculiar to St John, 
 John X. II (note), 15, 17 ff., xiii. 37 ff., 
 XV. 13. 
 
 This is the only passage in the 
 Epistle in which St John uses virtp in 
 behalf of {coiap. 3 John 7). It occurs 
 in the Gospel in similar connexions not 
 unfrequently : vi. 51; x. 11, 15; xi. 50 
 ff. ; xiii. 37 f. ; xv. 13; xvii. 19; xviii. 
 14. Contrast nepl c. ii. 2 ; iv. 10. 
 
 The image appears to be that of 
 divesting oneself of a thing (John xiii. 
 4). Compare ' animam ponere,' 'de- 
 
 Kol ijfifis o(/)eiXofif v] 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. 
 V. 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 
 His example, but the truth which 
 that example reveals. Comp. b. 7. 
 For d^fiXo/icx see iL 6 note. Ignatius 
 speaking of himself in the spirit of 
 this passage says to the Ephesians: 
 dvTiyjfvxov vpav iyu> {ad Eph. 11 ; 
 comp. ad Smyrn. lo; ad Poly c. 2, 6). 
 The words addressed by St John to 
 the young Robber sound like an echo 
 
 of it : av 8erj TOV aov davarov CKau vno- 
 IMfvm, as 6 Kupiof tov virep ^jiav' virkp 
 (TOV TTjV ylrv^^v ai/rtSoScra) ttjv epijv 
 
 (Buseb. H. E. iii. 23). 
 
 17. St John turns from considering 
 thegreatness of ourobligation to notice 
 the ordinary 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, wo need look no further 
 for judgment. 
 
 OS S' av txrj] Qui habuerit V. Comp. 
 ii. s note. 
 
 TOV ^iov TOV Koa-fiov] suhstantiam 
 vitcB v., facultates m,undi Aug., tJie 
 life of the world, 'the substance of 
 the world,' as contrasted with 'life 
 eternal' (». 15). Comp. Luke xv. 12 
 {tov filov); 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 'he was 
 tender to dulness as to all forms of 
 poverty.' 
 
III. 1 8] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 115 
 
 avTOv ^peiav e^ovTa kui K\eicrri ra cnrXdy^va avTOv 
 
 dir auTOv, ttws r] dyairri tov 6eov fxevei eV avrw; 
 
 TcKvla, fxrj d'yairiofxev Xoyca /^tjjSe Trj yXwcrcrri dWd 
 
 18 TcKvla NABC (vg) syrU: +nou ff" syrvg me the (vg). tj 7X. ABC: 
 
 -■nj rN. 
 
 dfiopfj] behold as a spectacle on 
 which he allows his eyes to rest. This 
 is the only place where the verb oc- 
 curs in St John's Epistles ; and else- 
 where in the Epistles it is found only 
 in Heb. vii. 4. Comp. Apoc. xi. 1 1 f. 
 The word is common in the Gospel of 
 St John and is always used with its 
 full meaning. See John ii. 23 note. 
 
 Xpftav l;^;oiTa] necesse habere V., 
 egere P., esurientem, egentem Aug. 
 The rendering of the Vulgate is 
 suggested by ii. 27. See note there 
 for the absolute use of xp- i^X""- 
 
 KKcia-ji TO. o-ttX.] clauserit viscera sita 
 ah eo v., shuts up his heart from him 
 so that the destitute brother can find 
 no access to his sympathy. The phrase 
 'to shut up the heart' is apparently 
 unique. It expresses the interposi- 
 tion of a barrier between the sufiferer 
 and the tender feelings of his brother. 
 Comp. Ps. Ixxvii. 10 ('m J'Dp trwix'^i.v 
 Toiis oiKTipiiovs LXX.). Ta crirXayxva is 
 found here only in the writings of St 
 John (it occurs in St Luke and St 
 Paul). 
 
 TTffls... ;] how doth... ? The interro- 
 gative construction is similar to that 
 in V. 12. 
 
 i; d. roG 5.] caritas Dei V., dUectio 
 Dei Aug., the love of God, the love of 
 which God is at once the object and 
 the author and the pattern. Comp. 
 ii. S note. 
 
 /ifi/ei] abide.. .as a continuous active 
 power. Comp. ». 15. 
 
 18. TfKvio] Filioli v., Little chil- 
 dren. The word of address is changed 
 {v. 13). The father now pleads with 
 those who draw their being from him. 
 
 liri...\oy<a fi,r)hk Trj y\.] not. ..with 
 
 word, neither with the tongue, in 
 theory as opposed to action; with 
 
 mere outward expression as opposed 
 to the genuine movement of our whole 
 being. 
 
 'koy(o...iv fpyw...] with word. ..in 
 deed. . . The slight change of construc- 
 tion marks the difference between the 
 instrument and the sphere of the mani- 
 festation of love. It must find scope 
 in our true and full life. For iv epya 
 Koi dX. compare John iv. 23 f. iv 
 
 irvivpxiTL Kcu oKr^Qela. 
 
 'If love depends on a word, when 
 the word ceaseth the love ceaseth. 
 Such was the love of Balak and Ba- 
 laam' (Jalkut Reub. 145. 4: Schoett- 
 gen). The passage quoted from Aboth 
 V. 22 is wholly different in sense. 
 
 3. The fruit of love (vv. 19 — 24). 
 
 As St John has spoken of the ne- 
 cessity and of the pattern of love so 
 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 (vp. 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 
 (v. 24). 
 
 "» 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 greater tJian 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 is his com,mand- 
 ment, that we shoiddbelieee the name 
 
 8—2 
 
ii6 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. [III. 19, 20 
 
 iv epyto kul d\t]6eia. '''Er toutio yuwcroiixeda 
 
 OTi e'/c TJjs aKr\6e'ia^ icrfxev, Kai 'eiJiTrpo(r6ev auTOu rrei- 
 crofiev Trjv Kapbiav rj/awv on eav KaTwyivaxTKr] n/ULWv 
 
 iv I. XABC : -iy S". ig iv T. AB vg mo syrhl : + Kal' iv t. ^<C the syrvg. 
 
 ■yvwcrdfieBa NABC me the: yi.viiiaKoii.ev r vg syrr. t^i/ (c. A*B the syrvg: ras 
 
 K. XA**C vg me syrhl. 
 
 of his Son Jesus Christ and love one 
 another, even as he gave us comniand- 
 ment. '■> And he that dbserveth his 
 commandments abideth in him and 
 he in him; and in this we know tliat 
 he abideth in us, from the Spirit 
 which he gave us. 
 
 19. 'El/ ToiiTo] In this, the con- 
 sciousness of active and sincere love 
 of the brethren, resting upon and 
 moulded by the love of Christ. 
 
 yvaa-oiieda] cognoscemus v., weshall 
 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 v. 14 {p'i8aii.ev). 
 
 cK TTJs aX. fV/ic'j'] ex 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. 
 
 Kal efrnpoa-dfu auroC...] and, as a 
 consequence of the knowledge of our 
 complete dependence upon the Tnith, 
 we shall assure our hearts before Him, 
 i.e. in the presence of God. The an- 
 tecedent is supplied by the reader. 
 
 The simple pronoun {a-iros) naturally 
 describes the one Sovereign Lord, 
 just as the isolating and defining pro- 
 noun (fKfii/of) describes Christ. 
 
 The phrase 'before Him' (in con- 
 spectu ejus 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 
 Presence (comp. ii. 28), if not before, 
 he comes to find what he is. Comp. 
 2 Cor. V. 10 {(pavepadrjvai) ; I Thess. 
 iii. 13. 
 
 7reLaofiev...oTi iav KaTayiv(ocrK7j...oTi 
 
 lid^av. ..■jravTa]suademus {svadeamus, 
 svMdebimv^) quoniam si reprehende- 
 rit nos {male senserit Aug.) cor nos- 
 trum major est Deus corde nostra et 
 novit omnia V., {we) shall assure our 
 heart before Him whereinsoever our 
 heart condemn us, because God is 
 greater than our heart and knoweth 
 all things. The many conflicting in- 
 terpretations of this passage spring 
 out of the different translations of (i) 
 the verb ndtroyiev, and (2) the double 
 conjunction or relative on. (5 rj). 
 
 I. Thus if we take the sense per- 
 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 (/3) 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 on may be simply 
 resumptive : We shall persuade our 
 heart, t/iat, if our heart condemn us, 
 that, I say, God is greater... 
 
ii; 
 
 III. 20] THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 r] Kaphla, on fxei^wv ecrTiv 6 6e6^ rfj^ KupScas rtixiav 
 
 20 Sti /a,. NBC syrvg : om. 6Vi A vg me the. 
 
 K^ptos (for deos) C. 
 
 (b) Or the first on 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 
 furnish the basis of the conviction of 
 the sovereign greatness of God. 
 
 O) 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 otj 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... 
 
 (6) Or again the first on may be 
 taken as the relative : we shall per- 
 suade our heart whereinsoever our 
 heart condemn us, because God is 
 
 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 further it 
 may be remarked that while the use 
 of a resumptive on is quite intelligible 
 after the introduction of a consider- 
 able clause it is very unnatural after 
 the insertion of a fewwords. 
 
 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 on may be taken as 
 resumptive in the sense of because: 
 we shall assure our hearts, because if 
 our heart condemn us, because, I say. 
 
 God is greater. Such a resumptive 
 use of the particle has however been 
 shewn to be very harsh. 
 
 (j3) There remains then the adop- 
 tion of the first on as the relative : 
 We shall assure our heart, wherein- 
 soever our hea/rt condemn us, because 
 God is greater... 
 
 This sense falls in completely mth 
 the context and flows naturally from 
 the Greek. 
 
 But an ambiguity stiU 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, 
 (i) 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. 
 
 7r«tVo/iei/] 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. 
 
 TTjv Kaphiav] 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 John always 
 uses in the Gospel and Epistle) fixes 
 the thought upon the personal trial in 
 each case. See Additional Note. 
 
 20. on eav\ whereinsoever. The 
 words balance the 'aU things' which 
 follows. The form on iav does not 
 occur as the true text elsewhere in 
 N. T. (Col. iii. 23 o iav), but always 
 
Il8 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. [III. 21, 22 
 
 Kai jivwcTKeL TrduTu. "'AyaTrrjTol, eav n Kaphia fir] 
 Kara-yLVwcTKn, Trappncriav exofxev irpo^ tov veov, kui 
 
 21 ayairriTol : dSe\<pol X. ij k. AB (lat): +ii/i.Civ TNC vg syrr me the. 
 
 /xri Kar. BC : + ^/u.Si' rt<A vg me the syrr. txoi^^'' '■ ^X" B. 
 
 on an (John li. S, xiv. 13, XV. 16). This 
 however does not appear to be a deci- 
 sive objection. In John ii. 5, xv. 16 
 eav is an early variant (KA). 
 
 KaTayivda-Ki]] reprehenderit V., 
 male senserit Aug., condemn. The 
 word is used of the internal judgment 
 of conscience (Bcclus. xiv. 2) as dis- 
 tinguished from the formal sentence 
 of the judge {naTaKpivai). 
 
 Comp. Gal. ii. 11. 
 
 fiei^aiv (. 6 6. TTjs n.. ij.] major est 
 Deus corde nostra 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 mil. 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.' 
 
 yuima-Kei it.] novit omnia V., know- 
 eth all things, watches (to use human 
 language) 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 oflFers us His 
 love and assures us of it 
 
 Thus the meaning of the whole 
 passage will be: The sense within us 
 of a sincere love of the brethren, which 
 is the sign of God's presence with us, 
 ivill enable us to stay the accusations 
 of our conscience, whatever they may 
 be, because God, who gives us the 
 love, and so blesses us vrith His fellow- 
 ship, is greater than our heart; and 
 He, having perfect knowledge, for- 
 
 gives all on which the heart sadly 
 dwells. 
 
 21. 'A-yan-i/T-oi] CarissimiY ., Dilec- 
 tissimi Aug. Comp. c. 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 tlie 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. 
 
 iavTj KapSianfiKUTay.] si cor nostrum 
 non reprehenderit V. {male senserit 
 Aug.), if our heart condemn us not. 
 This evidently is the converse case to 
 ^ if our lieart condemn its' It does 
 not imply a claim to sinlessness, nor 
 yet an insensibility to the heinousness 
 of sin, 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 {on iav KaTayivdaKji 7 
 Kapdia): in the second on the moral 
 faculty which pronounces no con- 
 demnation {iav 7; KapSia p.^ Koroy.). 
 irapprjcrlav e;(0(ifi/] fiduciam }ia- 
 
 bemus V., we have boldness, so as 
 to express without reserve all our 
 wants. Compai-e c. v. 14 (ii. 28, iv. 
 17); John vii. 4 note. The tliought 
 here is of the boldness with which the 
 son appears before the Father, and 
 not of that with which the accused 
 appeai-s before the Judge. 
 
 TTpof T. ft] ad Deum V., towards 
 God. Compare Acts xxiv. i6; Rom.iv. 
 2 (^rpos 6.), V. I ; 2 Cor. iii. 4 ; Phil. iv. 6. 
 
ni. 23] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 119 
 
 6 av aiTWfxev Xajji^avofxev air avrov, on ras evroXd^ 
 avTOv TT]poviJ.6v Kui TO. dpecTTa ivwTTiov auTOu Troioufxev. 
 ^^Kai avTt] eoTTLV ^ evToXt] avTOu, 'iva TricrTevirioiuev tw 
 
 22 ahiineBa H. Comp. V. 14 f. Xa/ij3(£i'W|Ucv A: oomp. for similar con- 
 
 fusion c. iv. 17 (N) 13 : accipiemus vg the syrhl. air' ai. t<ABC: Trap' aii. r. 
 
 TTjpQ/icv fc^A. 23 TriffTe^iTiiJfiev 5'B : TnoTeidifiev SAC. tw 6v, toO vi, aO, 
 
 'I. X. NBC vg me the syrr : rf 6v. ai. 'I. Xpurrf A (all. t(J) vlif ai. 'I. X.). 
 
 22. KOI av alraiiev] et quodcunque 
 petierimus V., and whatsoever we 
 ask... The expression of our wants is 
 followed by the satisfying of them. 
 The words describe the actual present 
 experience of the believer (airajxEK) 
 and the assertion is absolute. Every 
 prayer is granted. But Augustine 
 rightly adds : Discernamus exaudi- 
 tiones Dei. Invenimus enim quosdam 
 non exauditos ad voluntatem exau- 
 ditos ad salutem ; et rursus quosdam 
 invenimus exauditos ad voluntatem 
 et non exauditos ad salutem. 
 
 Here the thought is of the actual 
 perception of the gift by the believer 
 in time (Xaftj3ai/o/«v) : in St Mark xi. 
 24 {iKdficTf) the thought is of the 
 divine response in the eternal order. 
 For \afi^. diro see c. ii. 27 note. 
 
 oTi...T7]povfi€v] hecarise we observe... 
 Obedience is not alleged as the ground 
 but as-the assurance of the fulfilment. 
 The answer 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, xL 42). The sole 
 object of the believer is to do thorough- 
 ly the part which has been assigned 
 to him: his petitions are directed to 
 this end and so are necessarily granted. 
 Comp. John xv. 7. 
 
 Trfpovficv. . .iroiovfuv] keep. . .«?o. . .The 
 eyes of the believer are turned watch- 
 fully to discern (TTipov/ifv) 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 also 
 as spontaneous. 
 
 For the sense of rqpelii see John 
 xvii. 12 note, and for Tripelv t. Ivt. c. 
 ii. 3 note. T?7peri' and Troieiv occur 
 again together in v. 2. 3. 
 
 TO. apcoTo] ea qiue sunt placitaY., 
 the things that are pleasing... T\ot 
 simply 'things pleasing,' but definitely 
 those which correspond with our po- 
 sition and duty. 
 
 Compare John viii. 29. 
 
 ivmiriov avTov\ corain eo v., in His 
 sight. Comp. Hebr. xiii. 21 ; Acts iv. 
 19; I Pet. iii. 4; i Tim. ii. 3; v. 4. 
 But we find apco-i-a aira John viii. 29. 
 
 The slight shade of difference be- 
 tween ep.irpocrBev avToii (v. 1 9) and evat- 
 TTiov avTov 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 (c/iir. av.) 
 and XX. 30 {etidir. r. p..). 
 
 23. Koi avTTj 6. tJ €VT. aO.] And this 
 is 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. 
 
 q ivTo\ij...iva...'\ Comp. John xiii. 
 34, XV. 12, 17. 
 
 tva 7ria~re6<ra>pev...} that loe believe 
 ...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 {■ma-Tfvap.Ev) or as exer- 
 cised at a critical moment when the 
 
I20 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. [III. 23 
 
 ovofxarL too uloO avTOV 'lr](rov Xpca-rou Kai d'yaTrwfxev 
 
 whole tenor of life is determined 
 (jna-Tfva-aiiifv). This is the first place 
 in the Epistle in which the exercise 
 of faith is mentioned. Afterwards 
 TTia-Teva occurs not unfrequently. 
 
 On the whole the reading mcrrev- 
 a-afifv is the more likely here. In this 
 case the decisive act of faith is treated 
 as the foundation of the abiding work 
 of love; at the same time the pre- 
 sent TTia-Tevafifv gives an excellent 
 sense, faith and love being presented 
 as simultaneous in their present de- 
 velopment. 
 
 The tenses of the verb (ma-Tcia) 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 {els), 
 
 XX. 31 (oTi), iv.42, X. 25 f., xii. 39 
 
 (xix. 35), XX. 31 (abs.). 
 imper. : John iv. 21, x. 37, xiv. 11; 
 
 I John iv. I (dat.) ; John xii. 36, 
 
 xiv. I (fir). 
 partic. (6 TrtoTCTjtuv, ol TricrTevovTes) : 
 
 John V. 24; I John v. 10 (dat); 
 
 John iii. 16, 18, 36, vi. 35, 40, 47, 
 
 vii. 38 f., xi. 25 f., xii. 44, 46, xiv. 
 
 2, xvii. 20; I John v. 10, 13 (els), 
 
 I John V. I, 5 (on); John iii. 15, 
 
 vi. 64 (abs.). 
 
 2 Imperfect: the continuous exer- 
 cise of faith in the past: 
 
 John V. 46 (dat.), vii. 5, xii. 1 1, 37 
 («s). 
 
 3 Aorist: the definite, decisive act 
 of faith : 
 
 John ii. 22, iv. 50, vi. 30, x. 38; i 
 John iii. 23 (dat.); John ii. 11, 23, 
 iv. 39, vii. 31, 48, viii. 30, ix. 36, 
 X. 42, xi. 45, xii. 42 {els); John 
 viii. 24, ix. 18, xi.42, xiii. 19, xvii. 
 8, 21 (oTi); John i. 7, iv. 4, 53, v. 
 44, xi. IS, 40, xiv. 29 (abs.). 
 
 partic. : John xx. 29 (abs.). 
 
 4 Perfect: the past exercise of faith 
 continued into the present : 
 
 John viii. 31 (dat.); John iii. 18, i 
 John V. 10 {els); John \\. 69, xi. 
 27, xvi. 27 {oTi); John xx. 29; i 
 John iv. i6(?) (abs.). 
 
 The difierences come out clearly 
 where different tenses stand in close 
 connexion; e.g. John vi. 29 f., vii. S, 31, 
 xii. 37, 42; I John v. 10. 
 
 TTLCT. T<a ovo/iari] 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 (c. i. 3 
 note), is a compressed Creed. Con- 
 trast 'believe in the name' v. 13 ; John 
 i. 12, ii. 23, iii. 18. Comp. v. 10. The 
 translation of A. V. probably comes 
 from the Vulgate which gives cre- 
 darmts in nomine, the rendering else- 
 where of TrKTreveLV els ro ovo^a (John 
 i. 12, ii. 23, iii. 18). See Additional 
 Note on the names of Christ in this 
 Epistle. 
 
 ayairoinev dX\.] diligamics cdteru- 
 trumY., love one another: ». 11 note, 
 iv. 7, II, 12; 2 John 5; John xiii. 
 34 (ei/ToX^v Kaivijv SiSafii); XV. 12, I7. 
 The exact words are used (contrast v. 
 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 eSaxev is sup- 
 plied naturally from the preceding 
 clause. 
 
 Compare Rom. xiii. 10. 
 
 Multum facit qui multum diligit... 
 Bene facit qui communitati magis 
 quam suae voluntati servit (Thom. a 
 Kempis, De Imit. i. ij, 2). 
 
 24. The obedience, which is the 
 rule of the Christian life, issues in 
 abiding fellowship with God. This 
 verse is closely connected with v. 22, 
 while V. 23 is in thought parenthe- 
 tical. 
 
III. 24] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 121 
 
 dWrjXov?, Kadw^ eSwKev ivToXrju rifxlv. '^Kai 6 Trjpwu 
 Tas ivToXa^ avTOv ev avTw fxevec kui auT09 iv auTw. 
 Kai iv TOVTia yivcoa-KOiuLev on fxevei iv nfjiiv, e/c tov Trvev- 
 fxaTO^ ov rifxiv eSwKev. 
 
 il/uv XABC vg me the syrr: om. r. 24 Kai iv t.: om. Kal X* the. oO 
 
 rj/j,. Id. ABC (lat) : o3 IS. ^/4. N vg me the syrr. 
 
 Kal o TTjpaif...] And he that obser- 
 veth... These words take up on tcls 
 evToXas avTov Trjp. in V. 22, SO that the 
 reference is to 'the commandments of 
 God,' and not directly to the one com- 
 mandment of Christ V. 23. Our prayers 
 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. 
 
 iv avTa /ievft...] i.e. in God. See 
 c. 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. 
 
 iv TOVTCO yivdiTKOiiev] in this ice 
 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 
 (iv) this,' 'from (eV) the Spirit,' shews 
 that the two clauses are not in ap- 
 position. Tivda-KOfiev is repeated in 
 thought before ex tov ttv. c. iv. 6. 
 
 ix TOV TTvfviiaTos^ 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. 
 
 o^...?S<BK6i'] which he gave when 
 we became Christians. Comp. c. iv. 13 ; 
 John xiv. 16; Acts v. 32, viii. 18, xv. 
 8; 2 Cor. i. 21 f. 
 
 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. Hie in te 
 laudetur qui per te operatur. 
 
122 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 The three 
 phrases by 
 which St 
 John de- 
 scribes the 
 new life. 
 
 i. ' To he 
 torn (be- 
 gotten) of 
 God,' 
 (i) in the 
 Ferfect, 
 
 (i) in the 
 Aorist. 
 
 Additional Note on iii. i. Children of God. 
 
 St John uses several phrases to describe the relation of believers to 
 God which require to be carefully considered in connexion with the contexts 
 in which they occur. 
 
 The initial fact of the communication of the divine life is expressed by 
 yevvr]6rjvai c'k rov fleoO (i). The essential connexion existing in virtue of this 
 quickening is expressed by elvm ix. roS Bcov (ii). In virtue of this connexion 
 the believer becomes and is a t4kvov Seov (iii). 
 
 i. (i) The phrase yevirqBr^vai « ,-. 6. is used commonly in the perfect 
 (ycyivvrjTai, yeyevvrjitivos) ; that is, the initial fact of the new life is regarded 
 in its abiding power. 
 
 This communicated life is 
 
 (a) shewn by certain signs, faith in Jesus as the Christ, righteousness 
 and love : 
 
 I John V. I Tras 6 TTKrrevwv otl ^l-qaovs itrriv 6 ;^ptOTOff ck rov 6eov yeyiuvrjrai. 
 
 — ii. 29 Tras 6 iroiav Tr)v hiKaiotrvvqv i^ avTov ycyipvrjTai. 
 
 — iv. 7 TTCff o ayaTTav ck rov deov yeyevvrjraL, 
 and 
 
 0) carries with it certain consequences, freedom from sin and victory : 
 I John iii. 9 irSr o yeyevvr/fievos ck rov 6eov a)iapriav ov iroiel on inr^pfia 
 avTov iv avra fievei, 
 
 — ov dvvarat afiapravetv ort cV rov deov yeyevvrjrai. 
 
 — V. 18 Tras o yeyevvrjfieuos etc rov Oeov ov^ afiapravei. 
 
 — 4 nav TO y€yfvvTip.4vov Ik rov deov viKa rov Koo'fjLOV, 
 Compare 
 
 John iii. 6 ro yeyevmip-evov eic rov irvevfiaros. 
 — 80 yeyevvrjjjievos eK rov Trvevfiaros. 
 
 (2) The fact of the communication of the divine life is specially noticed : 
 
 John i. 12 f. eSaKev avrols e^ovcriav reKva deov yev4tr6at...oi...eK deov eyev- 
 vridj)<Tav. 
 
 Compare 
 
 I John V. iS 6 yevvrjde'is eK rov deov. 
 
 — I Tras 6 ayajTmu rov yewrja-avra... 
 
 Compare also 
 
 John iii. 3 (7) eav p-q Ttr yevvr;d§ avadev. 
 ■ — 5 'O" A") '■'f yevvrfdrj c| vbaros (cai irvevparos. 
 
 The aorist and perfect occur together i John v. i8 ; John iii. 5—8. 
 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 yew^v 1 Cor. iv. 15 ; Philem. 10 ; and 
 St Peter's use of dvayemav, I Pet. i. 3, 23. 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 1 23 
 
 ii. The phrase elvai cV toD Beov is connected with a considerable group ii. • To be 
 of similar phrases, elvat ck toS SiajSoXou (c. iii. 8), cktov nomipov (iii. 12), ck of God, 
 Toi Kotr/iou (ii. 16, note), « t^s a\j]deias (ii. 21, note), « rijs yvr (Jolin iiL 
 31, note), i< rav koxoh, « rmv ava (yiiL 23). It expresses the ideas of 
 derivation and dependence, and so of a moral correspondence between the 
 issue and the source. 
 
 (i) The characteristics of him who is thus vitally dependent upon God (i) signs 
 (i John V. 19, iv. 4, 6) are expressed both in a positive and in a negative "^ ™®°' 
 form. 
 
 (a) positively : 
 
 3 John 1 1 d ayaBoiromv ck tov dcov iarlv. 
 
 John viii. 47 6 av i< tov dtov ra prmara tov Beov aKovei. 
 
 (fij negatively : 
 
 I John lU. 10 Tras Q fif] TTOiau hiKaiofrvvrjv ovk eoriv €k tov 6€0V. 
 
 — IV, 6 Off OVK ctTTtv Ik Toi) 6eov ovk Slkov^l T]fiav, 
 
 (2) And corresponding declai-ations are made with regard to spirits (2) signs 
 (I John iv. i) : ii spirits. 
 
 I John iv. 2 irav TTvevfUi o d/ioXo-yel 'lrj(T0vv XptCTTOv «V crapKi iXTjXvdora ck 
 Toil Beov ioTLV. 
 
 — 3 "■2" nvfyp-a o fir/ o/ioXoyit rov 'hjo'ovv fK tov deov ovk eoTiv. 
 
 Compare 
 
 I John iv. 7 ^ ayairrj €K tov deov corlv. 
 
 John vii. 17 ...irepl Tfjs SiSa;^^^ iTOTcpov ck tov deov icrTiv... 
 
 I John ii. 16 Trav ro iv Tffl K6(Tiim...ovK toTiv ck tov naTpos... 
 
 The nearest parallels in other writings of the N.T. are : 
 
 Acts V. 38 f. ft f K 6eov iariv. 
 
 I Cor. i. 30 €| avTov [tov 6fov] vp-ets eWe ev Xpurra 'Ii;<roO. 
 — xi. 12 TO de iravTa ck tov deov, 
 
 iiL The familiar title t4kvov Beov, which describes the relation established "i- ' Child 
 by the new life, is of rarer occurrence in St John's writings. "•' " ' 
 
 (i) The power of duly becoming a 'child of God' is given by the W The 
 communication of the divine life. ^ ^ ^' 
 
 John i. 12 f. cSaKev avrols e^ova-lav TfKva 6eov yfvtadai, tois Tnarevova^iv 
 els to ovop.a avTov, ot. ..c'k deov eyevirqGifaav. 
 
 (2) The position is realised through the gift of love. (2) The 
 I John iiL I.-.a-yam/v SebaKev 'qpXv 6 TraTrjp iva TCKva 6eov Kkr/Oapev... ° , 
 
 — 2 viiv reKva deov io'fiev* 
 
 (3) Thus 'the children of God' form a distinct body marked by right- (3) The 
 eousness and love. ° 
 
 I John iii. 10 ev tovto cpavepa etrTiv to. TCKva TOV 6eov... 
 
 Comp. c. V. 2 ; John xL 52. 
 
 The idea of t^kvov 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 °^g^, 
 growth. The child is made to share in his Father's nature (comp. 2 Pet. L 
 4), and he uses in progressive advance the powers which he has received. 
 
124 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 This thought of progress will bo traced through the whole picture which 
 St John draws of the spiritual life. ' From strength to strength ' is the 
 law by which it is shaped, 
 distinct It is therefore easily intelligible why St John never uses the title v'ws, 
 
 from that (.jjg jj^me of definite dignity and ijrivilegc, to describe the relation of 
 Christians to God. He regards their position not as the result of an 
 'adoption' (vlodea-la), 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. 
 
 Different The phrases which St John uses to describe the Incarnation fall into 
 
 aspects of different groups corresponding with different aspects of the Fact. In 
 the Inear- regard to the Father, it is a 'Sending,' a 'Mission' (i). In regard to the 
 Son, it is a 'Coming' (2). In regard to the form, it is in 'Flesh' (3). In 
 regard to men, it is a 'Manifestation' (4). 
 I. Mission. i. The idea of the Mission of Christ, the Son, by the Father is ex- 
 pressed by two verbs, n-EftT", dnoa-Tf\\a>. The former describes the simple 
 relation of the Sent to the Sender: the last adds 'the accessory notions of 
 a special commission and so far of a delegated authority in the person sent.' 
 (a) The niiina) is not found in this connexion in the Epistles of St John (comp. 
 
 use of Rom. viii. 3 only) ; and it is used in the Gospel only by the Lord in the 
 "■ /iTw- participial form in three phrases 6 neijc^as /xc (avrov), 6 wiiiilfas /xe jran/p, 
 
 o narfip 6 iriji^as y.e. 
 i. iriii- Of these phrases the simple o irffiyjras fie is by far the most common. 
 
 ij/as lie. It ig used in two connexions to express (a) some relation of Christ to Him 
 Who sent Him, and (^) some relation of men to Christ as so sent. 
 
 (a) John IV. 34 'V"" ^pS>iia...lva noir)tTU> to 6(Krijia Tov n. ji. 
 
 — V. 30 (j]TQa...TO 6(\7]fia TOV n. fi. 
 
 — vi. 38 KaTa^€^riKa...1va ■noia...TO 6iKt]ii,a tov tt. fi. 
 
 — 39 '''ovTo earcv to diXjjfia tov w. fi. iva,..ix^ diroKio'ai... 
 
 — vii. 16 Tj cfiTJ 8iSax^..-eaTlii...Tov tt. fi. 
 
 — 26 o TT. /A. dXrjd^s iaTLV Kayuj a ^Kouo"a. . .XaXoi. 
 
 — IX. 4 5f^ epyd^eadai tcl epya tov tt. p.. 
 
 — Vlii. 29 o TT. fi. ficT ipov imiv. 
 
 ■ — vii. 33, xvi. 5 VTrdyai npbs tov tt. p.. 
 Comp. vii. 18 o (,rjTav Trjv So^av tov it. avTov aKi]6^s eariv. 
 (j3) John V. 24 d...7rioTeu<BK ra tt. p,. 
 
 — xii. 44 o Triarevav fls fpe...wiaTevfi...elt tov tt. p.. 
 
 — 45 ° 6eapa>v tpi Bfuipei tov jr. p.. 
 
 — xiii. 20 fpe Xap^avav \ap^avft tov tt. p. 
 
 — XV. 21 TavTa jrotijcrouo-tn 8ta to ovopa p.ov on ouk otSa<riv 
 
 TOV JT. p. 
 
 Comp. vii. 28 eoTiv dXrjBivos 6 IT. p. ov vpf'is ouK oifiure. 
 
. THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 125 
 
 The phrase o wfii\jras fie narijp adds to the notion of 'sending' that of ii. W/a- 
 the essential relation which gives authority to the mission. fas ine -n-a- 
 
 T 1, ' > - ''"^P- 
 
 JOnn V. yj o TT. /x. 7r. €K€ivos fiefiaprvprjKev. 
 
 — [viii. l6 (doubtful reading: comp. viii. 29) /xoi/os ovk elpt, aX\' 
 
 c'yia Koi o n. /i. jr.] 
 
 Vlll. 18 [J^pTVpel TTCpt €pov 6 TT. p^ n. 
 
 — Xll. 49 o TT. p. TT — evToKfiv ScSoxev Ti etmo... 
 
 — xiv. 24 o Xoyor ov aKOveTe...e<rriv...Tov it. p. tt. 
 
 In the phrase 6 irarrip 6 nep'<\ras pe the two notions of natural authority iii. 6 irarr/p 
 and mission are dwelt on separately. It occurs ° ^rii^Tpas 
 
 J Oun VI. 44 ^^^ pi] o TT. o IT. p. eAKV(rrj avTou. 
 
 Comp. V. 23 O p^ Tipwv TOV vloV ov Tipa TOV TT. T. TT. OUTOV, 
 
 The use of diroareWa differs from that of nepna by the fact that in St (6) The 
 John (yet see Matt. s. 40 ; Mark ix. 37; Luke ix. 48, x. 16) it is found only ^^^ °^ 
 in the finite forms, dncareiKa, ajreVraX/ca. Xu"^'^^'^ 
 
 The aorist is by far the most common tense. This is used to describe i. Aorist. 
 the fact of the specific Mission in some particular aspect : 
 
 John iii. 17 direcrrcCKev o 6eo^ tov viov els tov K6(rpov...Lva (radrj 6 Koapos 
 St* avTov. 
 
 — X. 36 oc o TTaTrjp ^ylairev Koi dnifTTeiKev etff tov Kocrpov. 
 
 I John iv. 10 [o deos] direaTeiXeif tov vlov avTov iXaa-pov nepl Tmv dpapTiMV 
 ripav. 
 
 Compare 
 
 John vi. 57 *^^G^s direoTfiKev pe 6 ^cov naTrjp... 
 
 — xvii. 18 Kadas epe dnea-TetXas els tov Koapov... 
 
 — vii. 29 Tra/)' avTov elpi KaKelvos pe d7reoTei\ev, 
 
 — viiL 42 oi/'Sc an ipavTov iXi^Xvda dW CKetvos pe aTreoTeiKev. 
 
 And this Mission is presented as the object (a) of recognition (know- 
 ledge), or O) of faith : 
 
 (a) John xvii. 3 iva yiv(0(rKa<riv...ov diricrTeiKas 'irjiTovv XpKTTOV. 
 
 — 23 tva yivacTKTj 6 KOirpos oTi (TV pe dTrearecKas. 
 
 — 25 ovToi cyvtacrav OTi (TV pe ajreoTciKas. 
 
 (j3) John V. 38 ort ov dweoTeiKev cKelvos TOu'ra v/xfif ov ncoTeveTe. 
 
 — vi. 29 TO cpyov TOV 6eov Iva iricrTCVTjTe els ov dnecTeiKev 
 
 fKctvos. 
 
 — XL 42 tva 7ri<rr€va'<oa-iv otl trv pe aTTCtrrftXaff. 
 
 — xvii. 2 1 Iva 6 Kocrpos ntoTevji on <tv pc djreVrctXar. 
 Comp. John iii. 34 ...i(r(j>payia-fv 0T1...0V yap diriareiKev o 6eos... 
 
 The perfect, which occurs but rarely, describes the Mission in its ii. Perfect, 
 abiding continuance: 
 
 John V. 36 TO epya a Troia papTvpe'L,,.oTL 6 TraTTjp pe dire<rrciK<ev. 
 I John iv. 9 tov vlov avTov TOV povoyevT} diretyTaXicev 6 deos els tov Kotrpov 
 ti/a ^^a-apev fit' avTov. 
 — 14 TeOedpeBa Koi paprvpovpev otl 6 naTrjp aireorToKKev tov vlov 
 
 aa}Trjpa tov Kotrpov. 
 John XX. 21 Kadats airearaXKev pe 6 TraTtjp, <dyd irepna vpas. 
 
126 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 2. Coming, 
 
 (a) Aor. 
 TjXOov. 
 
 iiTJ\6ov. 
 
 (b) Perf. 
 
 2. The Coming of Christ, like the Mission, is regarded both as a simple 
 fact realised historically once for all (^\6ov), and as an abiding fact (iJKa>, 
 fXriXvda). It is also set forth as a present fact being realised at the 
 moment, and as a future fact of which the fulfihnent is potentially begun 
 {(pxofiaiy. 
 
 The simple fact of Christ's Coming is affirmed by St John both in 
 respect of His true Divinity as the Word, and of His true humanity. 
 
 John i. 1 1 fir to iSui rjXSev [to ^as to d\t]div6v]. 
 
 I John V. 6 o eXdav 8t vSaros Koi m/iaTos 'Irja-ovs Xpiaros. 
 
 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 els Kpifia eya els Tov k6(tiiov tovtov TJXdov tva oi p.fi fiXejrovTfs 
 ...Koi oi /3\c7roi/r«... 
 
 — X. lO iya> ^dov Iva ^a>riv tx<i><Tiv Ka\ Trepicro'ov exaxTiv. 
 
 — xii. 47 OVK ^X6ov iva Kplvco tov Koo-p.ov oXX' iva fra^to tov Koa-fiov. 
 
 — XV. 22 el jif) rfKBov Koi ekakxiira ovk av eixov afiapTiav. 
 
 And the Lord bases the truth of His witness on His consciousness of 
 the Act: 
 
 John viii. 14 dXijfiiji icTTW 77 napropla jxov oTi olha TTodev TjXdov Koi ttoC 
 viraya (contrasted with n-o^eK epxojiai}. 
 
 The divine relation implied in this use of 'came' is expressed more 
 distinctly by the verb 'came forth' {e^ffkdov). This is used in the Lord's 
 words with different prepositions {ex, napa) : 
 
 John viii. 42 eya> e< TOV Beov e^ffKBov Koi rJKoi. 
 
 — xvi. 28 e^TJXOov eK TOV TraTpos Kal e\^\v6a els tov Koapov. 
 
 — 27 neTncTTevKaTe OTi eyd Trapa tov iraTpos e^fjXBov. 
 
 — xvii. 8 eyvacrav...0Ti wapa (roC e^7J\6ov. 
 
 And it is significant that St John and the disciples use the word with a 
 yet different turn of thought {drro) : 
 
 John xiii. 3 fl8as...oTi otto 6eov e^fjKBev. 
 
 — xvi. 30 TTUTTevopev OTL airo Beov i^rjKBes ^. 
 
 The perfect {IkrjKvBd) serves to bring out the abiding significance of the 
 fact of Christ's Coming, the necessary effects which it has as distinguished 
 
 ' The usage in John i. g riv to <j>us 
 
 TO oKTjdivov ipxofievov is unique. 
 
 See note. 
 
 ^ It is of interest to compare the 
 instances of the use of rj\8ov, iXTjXvBa 
 in the Synoptic Gospels : 
 
 Matt. v. 17 oifK Ti\6ov KaToKOtraL 
 dXXd TrXijpaSffat. 
 
 ix. 13 II Mark ii. 17 oix ^\6ov 
 
 Ka.\i<rai dixalovs dXXA AyitapTuXoiJs" 
 Luke V. 32 oifK i\ri\v6a k. S. d. 
 d. els fierimiav. 
 X. 34 oi5k rj\6ov /SaXeiK elprf)yi)v 
 
 dXXd pAxaupav^ ^$ov yd.p Six^' 
 
 Luke xii. 49 irvp ^\8ov /SaXeiK iirl 
 
 TTjv yrjv. 
 Matt. xi. 19 II Luke vii. 33 TJKecv 
 
 (Lk. eMjKvSev) vlbs toC avBpd- 
 
 TOV ^ffdLljiV Kol Trivuv. 
 
 XX. 28 II Mark x. 45 6 ulds 
 
 TOV &.v6pC)Trov oiK rjKdev diaKovrj$7]- 
 
 vat... 
 Luke xix. lo ^XSev 6 vlis tov iv- 
 
 dpunrov ^T^o-ai koX <ru<Tat ri 
 
 diroXwX6s. 
 
TJKOl. 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 1 27 
 
 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 iii. 19 to <f>as e\rj\vdfv els roi/ Kocrjiov Koi rjyairricrav oi avBpanoi 
 
 piSXXoV TO KTKOTOS... 
 
 I John iv. 2 nav TTwO/io o o/ioXoyei 'L X. iv aapKi ikrjKvBora i< tov B(0v 
 eoTiv. 
 
 And the Lord thus speaks of the special character of His Coining : 
 
 John V. 43 ^'y" eKrikv6a iv ra ovoiiaTi Tori Trarpos p-ov. 
 
 — xii. 46 iya (j>as els tov KCXTfiov ikrjkvda. 
 
 — xviii. 37 eXif^uSa els TOV KOO'/xoi' Iva p,apTvpria-a> ttj dXr/deia. 
 
 and generally: 
 
 John vii. 28 koX an i/iavTov ovK f\^\v6a (viii. 42 ou8t air ep,. eX.). 
 
 — xvi. 28 e^rjXdov €K TOV iraTpos Kal i\^\v6a els tov Koupov. 
 The verb ^km is used in this connexion twice only: 
 John viii. 42 « tov 6eov i^ijXBov kcu iJKio. 
 
 1 John V. 20 6 vibs TOV 6eov rJKei. 
 
 It occurs also in quotations from the lxx. Hebr. x. 7, 9 (^ko>) ; Rom. x. 
 26; Heb. X. 37 (i7|€i); and of the future Coming of Christ; Apoc. ii. 25, 
 iii. 3- 
 
 The present epxopai occurs to describe a Coming realised at the (c) Pres. 
 moment : Ipxop^i- 
 
 John viii. 14 rrodev epxopai (contrasted with noOev ^\6ov), 
 and as a future fact potentially included in the present : 
 
 John xiv. 3 iraKiv ep^opac. 
 
 — 18, 28 epxopai jrpos vpas. 
 
 — xxi. 22 f. eas epxopat. 
 
 2 John 7 oi pri opoXoyoiivTes *I. X. epxopevov iv (rapKL. 
 Comp. John iii. 31 f. o avadev (ex TOV ovpavoii) epxopevos. 
 
 See also Apoc. i. 7, ii. 6, iii. n, xxii. 7, 12, 20. 
 
 The passages John viii. 14, 42, xvi. 27 f. will repay particular study as 
 illustrating the different forms. 
 
 3. The mode of Christ's Coming is exhaustively set forth in the three 3- Inoab- 
 phrases in which it is connected with 'flesh.' First there is the fundamental ^^'^'^°^- 
 statement : 
 
 John i. 14 o Xoyos o-ap^ iyeveTO. 
 
 And then this fact is connected with the past and present : 
 
 1 John iv. 2 {opoXoyelv) 'h]aovv "K-pitrrov iv aapKL iXTjXvdoTa {iXrjKv- 
 
 devai), 
 and with the future : 
 
 2 John 7 {6pokoye7v) 'hjo-ovv XpuTTOv ipxopevov iv irapici. 
 
 The 'manifestation' {4tavepai6^vai) of the Lord is noticed by St John 4- Mani- 
 in regard to the great crises in His progressive revelation. Thus it is said testation. 
 that He was 'manifested' by the Incarnation: 
 
 I John i. 2 ^ ^atj e<f>avep(i6r]. 
 
 — iii. S ixeivos i(j)avepddri tva ras apaprlas apt]. 
 
 — 8 ecj}avepa6ri 6 vios tov Seov "va Xvot; ra epya tov SiafioXov. 
 
128 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OP ST JOHN. 
 
 teaching. 
 
 and when He was openly presented to the people : 
 
 John i. 3 1 Iva <j>avepa>6fi rm 'la-par/X Sia tovto ^\dov. 
 
 So also 'He was manifested' and 'He manifested Himself in the new 
 life after the Resurrection : 
 
 John xxi. 14 {(jjavipcodri 'lT]crovs Tois fiadrirats. 
 — I iffiauepciiorev eavTou *Ii;a"oOff rois fiaOTjTaTs. 
 
 and Christians still look for a manifestation in the future : 
 
 I John ii. 28 tva eav (jiaveptadfj (r;^<3/x€V 7rapp-qtriav,..iv ttj napova-ia avrov. 
 — iii. 2 iav (pavcpcoSij oiioioi avra tirop^da. 
 Complete- It is not necessary to draw out in detail the teaching of these pregnant 
 ness of the words. They ofifer the fullest view which man can gain of the Person of the 
 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 
 a final harmony, the fulness of apostolic teaching, upon the central Truth 
 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 combination of the different phrases suggests answers 
 to the thought of the Apostle which underlay all that he \vrote. 
 
 The titles 
 of believ- 
 ers in the 
 New Test. 
 Christians. 
 
 Four 
 
 titles : 
 
 disciples, 
 
 brethren, 
 
 saints, 
 
 believers. 
 
 Additional Note on iii. 14. Titles of believers. 
 
 The different names which are given to Christians in the Apostolic 
 writings offer an instructive study of the original conception of the Gospel. 
 The origin of the historic Gentile name ' Christians ' {Xpianavoi, comp. 
 Pompdani) is noticed in Acts xi. 26; and it is used as familiarly known 
 by Agrippa (Acts xxvi. 26) and by St Peter (i Pet. ix. 16; comp. Tac. 
 Ann. XV. 44). From the time of Ignatius this name, with the correlative 
 for 'Christianity' (^puTTiavicrpos), passed into general use (comp. Ign. ad 
 Magm. 4, 10; ad Rom. 3; Mart. Polyc. 10); but it was natural that in 
 the first age of the Church it should not be used by believera 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' (01 pa&r^rai), 'the brethren' (01 a.h(k<^o'C), 'the saints' (ot aywi), 
 ' the believers ' (oJ marol, ol marevovrfs). These fall into two pairs, of which 
 the first pair, ' disciples,' ' brethren,' marks predominantly traits of pei-sonal 
 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,' i. The 
 'teacher' (diSao-xoXos), 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 also 
 in a narrower sense for ' the twelve' (John xiii. j ff.). After the Ascension 
 it is still employed absolutely in the narrative of the Acts to describe 
 believers generally (vi. i, 2, 7; ix. 19, 25, 38; xi. 26, 29; xiii. 52; xiv. 20, 
 22, 28; xviii. 23, 27; xLx. 9, 30; XX. i; 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 oJ 
 fi. aijTov) and once with the Lord (ix. 19). It is remarkable that in one 
 place (xix. i) 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 '"•«*'"■««• 
 onwards it occurs in all the gi-oups of Apostolic ^vritings. Thus in the Acts 
 it is found in the narrative: ix. 30; x. 23; xi. 29; xiv. 2; xv. i, 3, 22, 32 f., 
 40; xvL 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. Tvrice 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: i Thess. iv. 10; v. 26 f.; i Cor. viiL 12; 
 xvi. 20; GaL i. 2; Rom. xvi. 14; Phil. iv. 21; Bph. vi. 23; CoL iv. 15; 
 I Tim. iv. 6 ; 2 Tim. iv. 21. In the writings of St John it occure : i John iii. 
 14; 3 John 5, 10; John xxi. 23. St Peter uses the abstract term 'the 
 brotherhood' (ij aSe\<p6Trjs, i Pet. ii. 17; v. 9). The singular is not 
 uncommonly used {e.g. Rom. xvi. 23 ; i Cor. vii. 15), and especially mth a 
 personal pronoun, 'thy brother,' 'his brother' {e.g. Rom. xiv. 10; i John 
 ii. 9 ff.}. Compare c. ii. 9 note. On 'the friends' see 3 John 15. 
 
 The general idea of 'the believers' is expressed in three different forms 3- .^'^ 
 which convey shades of difference in the application of the common mean- * '«"«>■*• 
 ing: 'the believers' (oi nurroi), 'they that believe' {ol mcrrevoin-fs), 'they 
 that believed' (oi irurreiKravrfs). The first {ol jTioToi) is found Acts x. 45 
 (oi in nfpLToiMrjs ivioroi); I Tim. iv. 12; comp. Bph. i. i ; i Tim. iv. 3; 
 iPet.i.2i. ' They that believe' (01 n-to-iEuojTes) occurs: iPetii.7; i Thess. 
 i. 7; ii. 10 f.; i Cor. i. 21; Rom. iii. 22; Eph. 1. 19. 'They that believed' 
 (ot nia-T(va-avTft) occurs: Acts 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 
 remains. 
 
 The title 'the saints' is characteristic of St Paul and of the Apocalypse. 4- 2'fte 
 It occurs four times in the Acts, twice in connexion with St Paul's conver- *"'"**• 
 sion (Acts ix. 13 tous aylcws <tov; 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. I Pet. ii. 5, 9). In St Paul it is frequent and distributed throughout 
 his Epistles: i Thess. iii. 13; 2 Thess. L 10; i Cor. vi. i f ; xiv. 33; xvL i, 
 15; 2 Cor. i. i; viii. 4; ix. i, 12; xiii. 12; Rom. xii. 13; xv. 25 f., 31; 
 xvi. 2, IS; Phil. i. i; iv. 22; Eph. i. i, 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. J. 9 
 
13° 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 Apocalypse it is found: v. 8; viii. 3 £; xi. i8; 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, rpj^g igggou ^-hich 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 less common and characteristic than 'the saints' ('the holy'), which 
 marks the recognised consecration of believers. 
 
 But while these broad distinctions are obvious, it is not easy to seize 
 the exact force of the particular titles except that of 'the faithfiil' on each 
 occasion, or even when they come near together, as 'disciples' and 
 'brethren'; Acts xi. 29; xviii. 27; xxi. 16 f.: 'disciples' and 'saints'; Acts 
 ix. 38, 41: 'brethren' and 'saints'; i Cor. xvi. 15, 20; Eom. xvi. 14 f.; 
 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. i. 
 
 The titles 
 In con- 
 nexion. 
 
 Additional Note on iii. 16. St John's conception of love 
 {dydiTT]). 
 
 1. The verb dyairav occurs throughout Greek literature from Homer 
 downwards. The noun dycnni belongs to Biblical literature exclusively. 
 It occurs first In the lxx. (for TiZr:^ most commonly, which is also 
 rendered by ayoTrtiais and rarely by <j>L\ia), where it is found in 2 Sam. xiii. 
 1 5 (/i^y^ ^^ fiiaos o ifiiaTjaev avTrjv vTrep rfjv dyairrjv ^v ^yairrjaev avrrjv [Sofiap]), 
 thirteen times in Bccles. and Cant., and in Jer. ii. 2 {eiiV7^(r6r]v...aya!rrjs 
 TcKeuia-fios crou). It is not found in the Pentateuch ; nor is it quoted from 
 Josephus (Philo, Qvad Deus immut. 14 <j)6fiov t€ Kai dyamjw). The word is 
 used in all the books of the New Testament except the Gospel of St Mark, 
 Acts, and the Epistle of St James (in the Synoptic Gospels only Matt, xxi v. 
 12; Luke xi. 42). The collateral form dydmi<ris occurs in the Lxx. and later 
 Greek writers but not in the New Testament. 
 
 'Epms occurs twice in the lxx.: Prov. vii. 18; xxx. i6 (as also tpdv and 
 ipaa-njs), but it is not found in N. T. Comp. Ign. Horn. 7, 6 f'/iot epas 
 iaravpaTaL and Bp Lightfoot's note. 
 
 The one compound of dyarr- which is recorded is the Homeric dymnjvcop. 
 
 2. The words dyairav, dydnrj are used to describe the feeling of 
 L God (the Father) for 
 
 (i) The Son: 
 
 John iii. 35 ° narfip dyaira tov uioV. 
 — X. 17 8'o TOVTo fie 6 Trarfip dyarra on... 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 131 
 
 John XV. 9 KaBais ^yairrja-e /le 6 iraTr\p, Kayw... 
 
 — — lO ^ei/fu avTov ev TJj ayajnj. 
 
 — xvii. 23 ...KaOtos €fi€ ^yaTrrjaas. 
 
 — — 24 ijydnrjaai /xe irpo KaTafioXrjs Koer^ou. 
 
 — — 26 Lva j; ayain] t]v tjyain](ras fic iv avTois ^... 
 
 (2) The world: 
 
 John iii. 16 ovTcas ^yairrja-ev 6 6e6s tov kocjiov ao'Te... 
 
 (3) Men : 
 
 Jollll XIV. 21 ayairmv fie dyairijd^aeTai vtto tov irarpos jxov. 
 
 — — 23 o narqp fiov dyaTr^aet avTov, 
 
 — xvii. 23 TjyafmjiTas avToiis Ka6a>s e/ie ijyajrriaai. 
 I John iv. 10 avTos [o 6e6s] rjyairrjaev ijiids. 
 
 — — 1 1 f I ovTos 6 deos i]ycL7rT](r€v ijp.as... 
 Comp. Apoc. XX. 9 "^W T^oKiv TTiV 7}ya7rqp.evr)v. 
 
 *iXci>/ is found in a corresponding connexion in regard to 
 (i) The Son: 
 
 John V. 20 d variip (j)i.Xel (v. 1, ayaira) rbv.vlov. 
 (2) Men: 
 
 John xvi. 27 d irarrip (fjtXel vfias- 
 
 II. The Son, for 
 (i) The Father: 
 
 John xiv. 31 t^a y^<jj d Kocrfios on dyana tov TraTcpa. 
 (2) The disciples: 
 severally 
 
 xi. 5 vy^"^^ ^^ o *Itjo-ovs TTjV M.dp6av,.. 
 
 xiii. 23 ; six. 26 J xxi. 7j 20 {els Tav padrjTcav) ov -qyana d 'Ii;o"oi3s. 
 
 xiv. 21 cycB dyarrri<Ta avTov... 
 
 Apoc. iii. 9 oTi iya t]ydi7ri<Td (re. 
 
 generally 
 
 xiii. I dya7Trj(ras Tovs ISiovs Tovs iv T<a Koap-a els TeXos ijydjrrjo'ev 
 
 avTovs. 
 xiii. 34 ; XV. 9, 12 rjydiTrjtTa Vjitaf p,elvaTe. . . 
 [ — 9 fielvaTC ev Tji dyairrj ttj ep,ri\1 
 — 10 p,eve'tTe iv ttj dydnjj pov KaBds..- 
 Apoc. i. 5 Tm dyajravTL ^/iSf. 
 
 Compare the use of <l>iKe'Lv for the feeling of Christ towards men severally. 
 John xi. 3 iSf ov ^iXfif dtrBeveX. 
 
 — — 36 Ibe nas i<f>iXei avTov. 
 
 — XX. 2 paBr/T^s ov i<j)[Kei 6 'lri<roiis. 
 Apoc. iii. 19 eyo) o<rovs iav <f)iKa, i\eyx<i>- 
 
 III. Men for 
 (i) God {the Father) : 
 
 John V. 42 rfjv dydwr]v tov 6eov ovk e^^ere iv eavTOis. 
 
 9—2 
 
132 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 I John ii. 15 ovK €(TTtu t) aydirr) tqv irarpos «V avrS, 
 
 — iv. 10 ov)( oTi TJixels "qyaTTTfKay.cv top deov. 
 
 — — 20 f. iav Ti9 eLTTji OTI ^Ayancd rov deov. 
 
 — V. I TTCLs ayairoiv tqv yevvrjcraPTa... 
 2 ...oTav Tov Oeov ayan^jxev. 
 
 (2) Christ : 
 
 John viii. 42 el 6 Bebs Trarqp vixav rjv tjyairaTe av €fj.€. 
 
 — xiv. 15 ^au dyaTrare fie.., 
 
 — — 21 ...eWivoff ecTTiu 6 dyanSv fjLe- o 8e dyaTTCov fi€,.. 
 
 — — 23 idv Tis dyaTra fie... 
 
 — — 24. 6 fiJ] dyanatv fie.., 
 
 — — 28 ei ^yanaTC fxe exdprjTe av... 
 
 [ — XV. 9 P-eivaTe ev ttj dydnrj rij ifirj...^! 
 
 — xxi. 15 f, Sifxav ^Icodvov dyanas p-e...] 
 
 (3) The brethren : 
 
 John xiii. 34; xv. 17 (cWoXi)!/) tva dyaTrare dW^Xovs. 
 
 — — jS'--**^'' dyaTTTjv ex^Te iv aWijXots. 
 
 — XV. 12 iva dyanaTC aXXrjXou? Ka6a>s tjyaTrrjtTa Vfxas. 
 I John ii. 10; iv. 21 6 dyanav tov dfifX^ov... 
 
 — iii. lOj 14; iv. 20 fj-T} dyajrav tov dBe\<p6v. 
 
 — — II, 23; iv. 7) II J 2 John 5 {dyyeXla) Iva dyuTrSfiev 
 
 aXK^Xovs. 
 
 — — 14 ...otl ayairoafj.€V tovs aScX^ous". 
 
 — V. I ...ayaTra koi tov ycyevvrjfiivov i^ avTOv, 
 
 — — 2 on dyaTrafxev ra TCKva tov Beov. 
 
 2 John I ovs €ya> dyaTra. 
 
 3 John I OP €ya> dyaTTO). 
 
 (4) Life: 
 
 ApOC. xii. 1 1 OVK ijyairrjcrav -nj v i\rv)(riv avriov a^pi. Bavarov. 
 
 (5) Evil {darkness) : 
 
 John iii. 19 i\yaTTr)(Tav..,iiaKKov to (tkotos rj to 0a>;. 
 
 — xii. 43 riyajrqtrav Trjv bo^av rav dvOpairav, . . 
 
 I John ii. I^ iJ.fl dyairare rov Kocrfiov fMTjBe ra €v ra KotTixa* iasf tis 
 ayajra tov Koap-ov... 
 
 So <l>CK€iv is used of the feeling of men foi- 
 
 (i) Christ: 
 John xvi. 27 v/ifir ifit ■rrfCJuXijKaTf. 
 
 — xxi. I ^ & ail olSas (yivd(TKeis) OTt <^i\c5 o-e. 
 
 — — 17 0<XeIr ixf ; 
 
 Comp. I Cor. xvi. 22 « ns ov <^tXei t6i/ idipiov. 
 
 (2) Life: 
 
 John xii, 25 o ^ikav rf/v yjfvx'^v. 
 
 (3) Evil: 
 
 Apoc. xxii. 150 </)iX(3i'...'\^fOSor. 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 133 
 
 Comp. John xv. 19 o xoVfioj av to tSiov t^iVj. 
 
 *.\fl.. is not used by St John of the feeUng of man for the Father or for 
 man (Matt. x. 27; Tit iii. 15). 
 
 ^i\ia occurs only James iv. 4 ^ (juXia roC kocthov ex^pa roC e^oi coriV 
 
 3. The words ayawav, dydnrj are also used absolutely. 
 
 1 John iii. I noran^v dyanrjv SedaiKev ijulv 6 6(6s... 
 
 — 10 ei/ Touro) eyvwKa^ev rrjv dydnnv... 
 
 — — I^ /"7 dyan&iiev Xoya... 
 
 — IV. 7 i) ayajni ck tov deov €(ttIv. 
 
 *^. TTCff o ayarr^u iK tov Oeov yeyei/i/nrat. 
 o ^i; ayairoiv ovk eyva tov acov. 
 
 — — *£*., l6 o Seos dydnrj ecrrtV. 
 
 — lo fv TOUTQ) earlv i; dyoTrrj^ ovx ort... 
 
 — — 10 o fievav iv rfj dydrrrj. 
 
 — — 17 f" ''ours) TfreXfi'mrati; dydirrj fled' ij/iwi", ii/a... 
 
 — — 1 8 <f>6^os OVK toTiv evTTJ dydirrj. 
 
 — — id. Tj TsKela dydiTJ) eftu j3dXX« tov (fiofiov. 
 
 — — id. 6 <fio^oviievos ov TeTeXeiajTM iv Trj dydirrj. 
 
 — — 19 rlfieis dyairafieVj on... 
 
 2 John 3 iv dXrjdeta Kal dydirrj. 
 
 — 6 avTTj ioTlv ij dydirrj, tva... 
 
 3 John 6 ijiapTvprjfrdv o-ov Trj dydirrj. 
 
 4. From a consideration of these passages it will be seen that dyairav, 
 dydirrj 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 (ipdv, epas). 
 
 J. God Himself is love. The creation and preservation of the world 
 are in essence 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 intrusiou 
 of sin (i John iii. 16 ; iv. 9). So it is that the revelation of the divine love 
 is referred to an absolute (eternal) moment (ijyajn/was, i^ydmja-ev) 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 
 (i John iv. 7). He endows believers with love (i John iii. i, 16 f. ; iv. 9, 12, 
 16 ; 2 John 6) ; and this love becomes in them a fountain of moral energj-, 
 issuing necessarily in self-sacrifice (John xv. 13 ; i John iii. i6). 
 
 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 : 
 
 1; dydirrj tov 6eov' 2 Thess. iii. 5 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 13 ; Bom. v. 5 ; (Bph. ii. 4). 
 7) dydirrj tov ;y>toTou " 2 Cor. V. 14 ; Rom. viii. 35 ; Eph. iii. 19. 
 jj dydirrj tov irveijiaTos' Rom. XV. 30- 
 
134 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 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 c. ii. 5 note. 
 
 Additional Note on iii. 19. The nature of man. 
 
 Limita- 
 tion of St 
 John's 
 view of 
 man's 
 nature. 
 
 i. Flesh 
 
 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' (Siavoia) occurs only once in the most remarkable passage i John 
 V. 20; and 'mind' (i/oCf) is found only in the Apocalypse (xiii. 18 ; xvii. 9). 
 'Conscience' {iTvvfi8t]a-is) is nowhere mentioned by St John (contrast [John] 
 viii. 8). In St Paul these words are not unfrequent. For St John's use of 
 ytvmaiceiv see c. ii. 3 note. 
 
 The term ' flesh' {crap^) describes the element with the characteristics 
 of the element (comp. i 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 om- 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. T.) John xvii. 2 (rra'ja a-dpi) 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 iiL 
 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' (i 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, but 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 FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 135 
 
 The essential conception of crap^ is seen in its application to Christ. Use of 
 
 (i) in His Person : '^f,^' ^° 
 
 ^ ' relation to 
 
 John i. 14 o X670ff trap^ ey €1/6X0. Christ. 
 
 1 John iv. 2 eXjjXvdas tv aapxl. 
 
 2 John 7 €p;^6/xti/os ev crapKi. 
 
 Compare I Tim. iii. 16 e<pavepcidrj iv o-apxi. 
 
 Col. i. 22 TO acjfia Trjs aapKOS avTov, 
 
 And 
 
 (2) in His Work : 
 
 John VI. S^ V ^"P^ f*0^ TJTTCp TTJS TOV KO(Tp,0V ^(ofjs. 
 
 — 53 0ayfi'' TTjif crapKa tov vlov tov avOpwirov Kcu TTielv avrov to 
 
 aip,a. 
 
 — 5^ ^^ rproycow fwv Trjv arapKa kol nivav p.ov ro at/xa. 
 
 In these pa.ssages 'flesh' is seen to describe the element of Christ's 
 perfect humanity. 
 
 It may be added that while o-m/xo is found in St John (John ii. 21 ; xx. 
 12, &c.), it is never used metaphorically, and it does not occur in the 
 epistles (Apoc. xviii. i2 = mancipioruin). In the Apocalypse aap^ is found 
 only in the plural. 
 
 The sense of the word represented by 'soul,' 'life' {^vxv) is often ii- Soul 
 obscure in other apostolic writers from the complex nature of the living ' ^'^ ,. 
 man; but in St John it is used only for the personal principle of our ^^"^'^'' 
 present earthly life, the vital energy of the a-ap^ (yet notice John x. 24). 
 
 It is used 
 
 (i) of men generally : 
 
 John xii. 25 (comp. Luke xiv. 26 ; xvii. 33). 
 
 — xiii. 37 f. Tidevai T^v ifrvx'jv. 
 
 — XV. 13 id. ; I John iii. 16 id. ; 3 John 2. 
 And 
 
 (2) of Christ : 
 
 John xii. 27 ; x. 11, 15, 17 Trjv \Jf. TiOivai. 
 
 I John iii. 16 id. 
 
 With the phrase Tidhm tt/v ylryxv" wep (x. 11, 15 ; comp. Matt. xx. 28) 
 must be contrasted {Sovvai) r^v a-dpKa virip (vi. 51). 
 
 In the Apocalypse V'^X'i '^ used in the most unusual sense of disem- 
 bodied ' souls' ; vL 9 ; xx. 4. 
 
 While the 'soul' (i/'ux';') expresses the sum of man's present vital iii. Spirit 
 powers, the 'spirit' {irveviia) describes the quickening element which (TveC/io). 
 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 (iyevofiriv iv TTvevfuin) ; iv. 2 {id.) ; xvii. 13 {iv Trv(vp.aTi) ; 
 xxi. 10 {id.). 
 
 The sense the ' breath of life' is wholly distinct : John xix. 30 (comp. 
 Matt, xxvii. 50 ; Lk. viii. 55) ; Apoc. xi. 11 {nvevpa foi^f) ; xiii. 15 {hovvai m>. 
 
 Trj flKOVl). 
 
136 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 iv. 'Heart' The seat of individual character, of personal feeling and moral determi- 
 (xopSio). nation, is the 'heart' {KapSia), The elements already considered are 
 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. I, 27), and also of purpose (xiii. 2), and spiritual disceniment 
 (xii. 40, Lxx.). 
 
 The most remarkable passage in which he describes the office of the 
 heart is in i John iii. 19 — 21. In this the heart appears as representing 
 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 charac- 
 terise action. 
 
 Compare Apoc. ii. 23; xviL 17; xviii. 7. 
 
 The names 
 of the 
 Lord in 
 the Epi- 
 stles. 
 
 The idea 
 of 'the 
 Name.' 
 
 The 
 special 
 names : 
 His Son 
 Jesus 
 Christ, 
 
 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 Divine 
 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 
 \ised in the latter sense in regai'd to the revelation of God in Christ in 
 3 John 7 vnep Tov ovofwros, where to ovofia, ' 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. 41 ; 
 John XX. 31). In ii. 12 81a ro oi/o/io avTov the term is more limited. The 
 Person Who is present to St John through the paragraph is Christ as He 
 lived on earth and gave Himself for those whom He called brethren (ii. 6 ; 
 comp. Hebr. ii. 11 ffi). 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 (o vlhs avrov 
 'Ir/o-oCr XpioTOf) is found i. 3, iii. 23, v. 20. The divine antecedent is 
 differently described in the three cases, and this difference slightly colours 
 the phrase. In i. 3 it is 'the Father' (compare 2 John 3 irapa Ocov Trarpos, 
 (tai napa 'It/o-ou XpioToO tov uioC tov irarpos) ; in iii. 23, ' God' ; and in v. 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 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 137 
 
 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. i ; comp. ii. 22). It is in other words ' the 
 Name' written out at length. 
 
 The constituents of this compressed phrase are all used separately bv 
 St John : 
 
 (i) Jesus: Jesus, 
 
 U. 22 o apvov^tevos art ^1t](tovs ovk etrrtu 6 xP^'^'^os. 
 
 V. I O TTHTTCVaV OTL 'l7](rOVS €<TTLU 6 ;^ptOTOff. 
 
 iv. J & lifi dftoXoyfl Tov 'iricrovv. 
 In these passages it is obvious that the centi-al 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 v. 2. 
 
 (2) Christ: Christ, 
 2 John 9 ij SiSaxfi TOV xp^c'''"^' 
 
 The title seems to point back to the long preparation under the Old 
 Covenant which checks impatience {irpoayav) mider the New. 
 
 (3) Jesits Christ : Jesus 
 ii. I 7rapaK\7]Tov €xoii€v..,'l7]<7ovv XptoToi/ StKaioK Christ, 
 V. 6 o eKOwv 81 v8aros Kol at/xaroff, 'lijaovs Xpitrros- 
 
 1 John 7 01 p-r) opoX. 'Irja-ovv Xpiarov ipxop^evov ev (rapni. 
 
 Here the idea of the Messianic position of the Lord is no les* important 
 for the full sense than that of His true humanity. 
 
 In iv. 15 oTi 'IijffoCs [XpioTos] iuTiv 6 v'los rov Sfov the reading is doubt- 
 ful. The adoption of Xpioror adds to the completeness of the thought. 
 
 For the clause iv. 2 o/xoX. 'h/crovv Xpiarbv ev a-apKi eX. see note. In 
 spite of the close verbal parallel of these words with 2 John 7 the use of 
 'hjo-ovs Xpia-Tos here seems to be differentiated from the sense there by 
 iKriXvdoTa as contrasted with ipxopevov. 
 
 (4) the Son : the Son, 
 ii. 22 dpvovfievos TOV TTUTepa kol tov vlov. 
 
 — 23 o dpv. tov vlbv ov8e tov iraTipa ex^t. 
 
 — 23 o opaXoyciv TOV vlov kol tov TraTepa exei. 
 
 — 24 ev ra via Kol ev ra TTOTpi peveXre. 
 iv. 14 o TraTTJp diretTTokKev tov vlov. 
 
 V. 12 o exo'v TOV vlbv ?;(fi ttjv ffflrfv. 
 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 Scm of God: tlie Son 
 iii. 8 f(f>avep<ii6ri 6 vibs tov 6eov iva \v<tt; to epya tov Sia^oXov. ^ ' 
 V, 10 o TTLaTevav els tov vlbv tov deov, 
 
 — 12 pri ex^ov Tbv vlbv tov Seov. 
 
 — 13 TOis TTtaT. els Tb ovop.a tov vlov tov 6eov. 
 
 — 20 otdapev oTt 6 vlbs TOv deov ^Kei. 
 
138 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 With these passages must be compared 
 
 iv. 10 anifTT, Tov viov auroO, 
 V. 9 ff- o "'05 avToi, 
 
 where the immediate antecedent is o Beos. In all these cases the idea of 
 Christ's divine dignity is equally prominent with that of sonship in relation 
 to a father. 
 
 Compare also v. iS o yiwrfBin eV toC dtov. 
 Jesus His (6) Jesiis His {Godi&) Son: 
 """' i. 7 TO alfia ^hjiTov Toii viov aiyrov. 
 
 The double title brings out the two truths that 'the blood' of Christ 
 can be made available for men and is efficacious. 
 
 His Son, (7) His (God's) Son, Sis only Son : 
 
 ■^'^ "" 'J iv. g TOV viov avTov TOV fiovoyevrj. 
 
 The 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 fomns 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 ' (xupior) is not found in the 
 Epistles (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 
 jS'. 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. 
 
IV. I] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 139 
 
 IV. ^'AyaTrrjToi, jxri iravTi TrvevfxaTi iria-TeveTe, 
 d\\a SoKi/uLci^eTe to. irvevixara el €k tou deov eariv. 
 
 IV. The rival spibits op Truth 
 AND Error (iv. i — 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 : ii. 18 — 29. It contains 
 three main thoughts : 
 
 1 There are many spiritual in- 
 fluences at work (o. i). 
 
 2 TIte test of spirits lies m the 
 icitness to the incarnation (vv. 2, 3). 
 
 3 The test of men lies in the 
 recognition of the Truth {m. 4, 5). 
 
 The progress of thought is parallel 
 to that in ii. 18 — 29 (see 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 
 
 I Tlie many spiritual influences 
 
 {V. I). 
 
 The 'many false prophets' stand 
 in a relation towards the Spirit like 
 that which the 'many Antichrists' oc- 
 cupy towards Christ (ii. 18). Through 
 them evil spiritual powers find ex- 
 pression. Spirits therefore must be 
 proved. 
 
 ^Beloved, believe not every spirit, 
 but prove the spirits, whether they 
 are of God; because many false 
 prophets are gone out into the world. 
 
 I. 'A.yatrqTOL\ Comp. ii. 7 note. The 
 existence of a subtle spiritual danger 
 calls out the tenderness of love. 
 
 fiti Tran-i irv. ttiot.] nolite omni 
 
 spiritui 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 
 false 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- 
 ments. All such spirits are partial 
 revelations of the one spirit of evil 
 which become (so to speak) embodied 
 in men. 
 
 Comp. Doctr. App. \i oi n-as o 
 XaX&jf iv irv€Vfj.aTi 7rpo<J3i^Ti]S ea-riv, dW 
 eay ?XV "^ovs rpoTrovs Kvpiov. 
 
 SoKina^eTE 7-a irv.lprobate spiritusY., 
 prove the spirits. As we are charged 
 to 'prove' the season (Luke xii. 56), 
 ourselves (i Cor. xi. 28 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 5), 
 what is the will of God (Rom. xii. 2 ; 
 Eph. V. 10), our work (Gal. vi. 4), our 
 fellow-workers (2 Cor. viii. 8, 22 ; i 
 Cor. xvi. 3; I Tim. iii. 10), all things 
 (i Thess. V. 21, notice vv. 19, 20), so 
 we are charged to 'prove the spirits.' 
 Elsewhere the discrimination of spirits 
 is referred to a special gift (i Cor. xii. 
 10 biaKplcrcLs nveviiorav). Here how- 
 ever the injunction to 'prove' them 
 is given to all Christians. Comp. ii. 
 20. Man maintains his personal su- 
 premacy and responsibility in the pre- 
 sence of these powers : i Cor. xiv. 32. 
 
 ft Ik tou 6. eWi'j'] whether they are 
 of God, whether they derive from Him 
 their characteristic being and their 
 power. 
 
 For Eti/at eK see ii. 16 note; and for 
 boKifL. fl compare 2 Cor. xiii. 5 ; Mk. 
 iii. 2; Lk. xiv. 28, 31 (Matt. xii. 10 
 parallels). 
 
140 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [IV. 
 
 OTL TToWoi yjyevBo7rpo(pfJTai i^eXtiXvdaa-iv ets top 
 KocrjJLOv. "'61/ TOVTia yivwcTKeTe to irvevfxa 
 
 1 yiviiicKfre S^ABC me the syrhl: yivuffKerai vg syrvg: yi.vui(ncoiJ.iv X* 
 
 on IT. \/rEi)S....] Such watchful care 
 is required because inany false pro- 
 phets, througli whom the false spirits 
 speak, as the Spirit speaks through 
 the true prophets (2 Pet. i. 21, ii. i), 
 are gone out into the world. 'Tlie 
 spirit of antichrist' inspires them. So 
 'false Christs' and 'false prophets' 
 are joined together (Matt. xxiv. 24). 
 
 The use of the term yjfev8cr77pocj>ijTris 
 in the N. T. is suggestive. It is ap- 
 plied to the rivals of the true prophets 
 under the old dispensation ^Luke vi. 
 26; 2 Pet. ii. i) ; and to the rivals of 
 the apostles under the new dispensa- 
 tion (Matt. vii. 1 5, xxiv. 11,23. f II 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. i 
 ■<lr€vS<yrrpo<l>rjTai., ■\jr(vSo8i8a(rKa\oi.), but a 
 false-teacher who supports bis claims 
 by manifestations of spiritual power 
 (Matt. xxiv. 24 ScoiTOvcnv <T7]ii('ia fieyoKa 
 Kol Tepara; Acts xiii. 6 avSpa Toia 
 liayov ; Apoc. xix. 20 o n-oiijVas to 
 
 iifXrfKvdacrui] exierunt V. {prodie- 
 runt P.), are gone out on a mission of 
 evil from their dark home. The tense, 
 as contrasted with ii. 19, 2 John 7, 
 e^rjXdav, expresses the continuance of 
 their agency as distinguished from 
 the single fact of their departure. 
 Comp. John viii. 42, xiii. 3, xvi. 27 &c. 
 
 fh Tov K.6<Tii.ov\into the world as the 
 scene of their activity. John iii. 17, 
 ix. 39, X. 36 &c. 
 
 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 pseudo-Christianity which is 
 vaguely spoken of as Gnosticism, the 
 
 endeavour to separate the ' ideas' of 
 the Faith from the facts of the his- 
 toric Redemption. 
 
 2. Tlie test of spirits lies in tlie 
 witness to tlie 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 Gospel 
 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. 
 22 f.). 
 
 'In this ye know tlie Sjnrit of God; 
 every spirit which confesseth Jesus 
 Christ come in flesh is of God; ^and 
 every spirit which confesseth not 
 Jesus is not of God. And this is th^e 
 spirit{reve\a,tiou}of Antichrist w/iere- 
 ofye heard that it cometh; and now 
 is it in the world already. 
 
 2. 'Ek rouTw] /« Aoc v. (/Tmc F. 
 Hereby. The idea of the process of 
 testing passes directly into that of the 
 test itself. 
 
 yii/mcTKCTe] cognosoitur {i.e. yiva>- 
 a-KETat) v., ye know, i.e. perceive, 
 recognise the presence of. The Vul- 
 gate rendering is evidently derived 
 from a common itacism {-ai for -c ) and 
 may be dismissed at once. Through- 
 out the Epistle St John speaks per- 
 sonally (we know, ye know), and not 
 in an abstract form [it is known). It 
 is more difficult to decide whether 71- 
 
IV. 3] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 141 
 
 Tov 6eou' TTCLv Trvev/da 6 o/uLoXoyeT 'Iricroiiv XpicrTov kv 
 <rapKi eXriAvdoTa e'/c tov 6eov ecTTiv, ^kuI ttuv Trvev/uia 
 
 Iv Xk : Xv Ip C. 
 
 eXTjXuflira XAO: iX-riXveifat B (vg). 
 
 i/oitrKfre is indie, (ye know), or imper. 
 {know ye). In every other place in 
 the Epistle ev tovtm is joined with a 
 direct statement. On the other hand 
 it is always elsewhere used with the 
 first person in combination with yi- 
 yaj(TKat {ev tovt<o ytvajo'KOfiev, eyvco- 
 Kaiiev). 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. v. 4. 
 
 TO TTv. Tou 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 ». 13 St John speaks of 'His 
 Spirit' (i.e. of God), and in c. 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. V. 6. 
 
 nav nv. o...] every spirit which... 
 There is an endless variety in the 
 operations of the Spirit (i Cor. xii. 4). 
 These severally appear to find cha- 
 racteristic organs in 'spirits' which 
 are capable of acting on man's spirit. 
 Comp. I Cor. xii. 10; xiv. 12, 32; 
 Hebr. i. 14, (xiL 9, 23), (i Pet. iii. 19), 
 
 (ApOC. XxiL 6); ra hrra nv. Apoc. i. 
 4; iii. i; iv. 5; v. 6. 
 
 oiutXoyi'L] confitetur V., confesseth, 
 openly and boldly acknowledges the 
 Person of the Incarnate Saviour and 
 not only the fact of the Incarnation. 
 
 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 soiu-ce. Ergo, Augustine 
 says, followed by Bede, ipse est spiri- 
 tus Dei qui dicit Jesum in came ve- 
 nisse ; qui non dicit lingua sed factis ; 
 qui dicit non sonando sed amando. 
 
 'L X. iv a. f'X.] The construction of 
 these words is not quite clear. Three 
 ways of taking them are possible, (i) 
 The direct object may be 'I?;croCi' and 
 xpta-rbv iv a: eX. a secondary predi- 
 cate; 'confesseth Jesus as Christ and 
 a Christ come in flesh'; (2) The direct 
 object may be 'irjo-ovv Xpioroi/ and 
 iv a-. i\. a secondary predicate: 'con- 
 fesseth Jesus Christ, Him who is known 
 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 
 V. 3 'irja-ovv which gives the person 
 and not any statement about the per- 
 son as the object of confession is in 
 favom* of the last view. 
 
 iXrjKvOoTa] The construction with 
 the participle gives a different thought 
 from that with the infinitive (Ai;Xu- 
 Bivai). It does not express the ac- 
 knowledgment of the truth of the fact 
 but the acknowledgment of One in 
 whom this fact is fulfilled and of whom 
 it is predicated. Comp. 2 John 7 (o/ioX. 
 ipxoiifvov). For the sense of epxfo-Bai 
 see c. V. 6 note. 
 
 iv a-apKi cXi;X.] come in flesh, mani- 
 fested under this special form. The 
 order (iv a-apKt eX.) and the tense of 
 the verb (i\r}\.) lay emphasis on the 
 mode rather than on the fact of 
 Christ's coming. ' The Word became 
 
142 THE FIEST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. [IV- 3 
 
 S fxh ofJioXojei Tov 'haovv 6k toG dead ovk ecTTLV Kal 
 
 3 8 M^ 6moXot« : 8 X^« vg. See Additional Note. ro. l7 AB (vg) me .yrr ; 
 
 T. T. (vg) (others read rbv Tv X^). +1-' -rap.i iXv^vBSra N syrr (lat) : cm. AB 
 
 vg me the. 
 
 flesh' (i. 14); and that not tempo- 
 rarily, but so 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' 
 (iXOovTa) but of One who 'is come' 
 (fXT/Xu^dra), whose 'coming' is an 
 abiding fact And yet further He 
 came 'in flesh,' as revealing the nature 
 of His mission in this form, and not 
 only 'into flesh' {els a-apKo), as simply 
 entering on such a form of being. 
 
 €K Tov 6. I] Comp. I Cor. xii. 3; 
 and Additional Note on iii. i. 
 
 3. KOI irav TTv.] The negative state- 
 ment is here directly joined to the 
 positive. In ii. 23 the positive and 
 negative statements are placed in 
 simple parallelism. 
 
 o /ii) ofi. TOV 'I.] 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' (i Cor. xii. 3, 
 Rom. X. 9), is to recognise divine 
 sovereignty in One Who is truly man, 
 or, in other words, to recognise the 
 union of the divine and human in one 
 Person, a truth which finds its only 
 adequate expression in the fact of the 
 Incarnation. 
 
 The very ancient reading o Xvei. tov 
 'lr)(Tovv {qui solvit Jesum V., qui 
 destruit Lcfr. : 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 
 
 "Irjo-oOr 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 o \vfi 
 'Irio-oiv Xpurrov Or even by o Xvei tov 
 XpKTTov. It 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 oJ Xuoi/rfr tov xp'- 
 a-Tov, 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 
 aspects : was yap os av fir] o/xoXoyj Ii)- 
 a-oxiv XptCTTOv iv crapKi eXrjKvdevai avri- 
 XpiOTos etrn, (cat 6j av p-fj upoXoyfj to 
 u.apTvpLov TOV aravpov e< tov StajSoXou 
 iari {ad Phil. c. vii.). 
 
 o /if] o/ioXoy«] The use of jii; marks 
 the character of the spirit which leads 
 to the denial ('sucli that it confesseth 
 not') as distinguished from the simple 
 fact of the failure to confess (o ovx 
 6[io\oye7: v. 6 os ovk €utlv), 
 
 TOV 'I.] Comp. i. 7 note. For the use 
 of this simple human name of the Lord 
 in similar connexions see Rom. iii. 26 ; 
 (x. 9;) 2 Cor. xi. 4; Bph. iv. 21 ; Phil, 
 ii. 10; Hebr. ii. 9 note. Comp. 2 Cor. 
 iv. 10 f. 
 
 « TOV deov OVK ?.] 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. 22 ft). 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 
 
 TovTo ecTTLv TO Tov ai'Ti^pKTTOV, 6 oiKtiKoaTe OTL epx^- 
 Tai, Kai vuu ev tw Kocr/mo) ea-Tiv tj^t]. '^'Yfj.eh 
 
 5 a.KT)K.: Sn dxTjK. X. 
 
 The antagonists regarded here are 
 not mere unbelievers but those who 
 knowing Christianity fashion it into a 
 shape of their own. 
 
 Augustine {ad loc.) remarks cha- 
 racteristically that the denial of the 
 Incarnation is the sign of the absence 
 of love : Caritas ilium adduxit ad car- 
 nem. Quisquis ergo non habet cari- 
 tatem uegat Christum in came venisse. 
 And so he goes on to interpret 'solvit' 
 of the spirit of the schismatic: lUe 
 venit colligere, tu venis solvere. Dis- 
 tringere vis membra Christi. Quo- 
 modo non negas Christum in carne 
 venisse qui disrumpis Bcclesiam Dei 
 quam Ille congregavit? 
 
 It is of interest to notice the two 
 negative signs which St John gives of 
 'not being of God.' In c. iii. 10 he 
 writes irat 6 ixt] troiav biKaioo-vvrjv ovk 
 ctrriv eK tov Oeov : here irav irvevixa o 
 fiTj oiioKoyel tov ^Irjaovu eK tov 6eov ovk 
 toTiv. 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 spirits in the 
 failure to confess the Incarnation. 
 The two tests 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 eflfort after 
 righteousness which finds its absolute 
 spiritual support in the belief in the 
 Incarnation. 
 
 Kai TOVTO... '\ et hie est antichristiis 
 quod audistis V., hoc est illius anti- 
 christi quad aiid. F., ' and this whole 
 manifestation of false, ungodly, spiri- 
 tual powers is the manifestation of 
 antichrist, w}isreof{o not ov) ye have 
 heard...! The omission of n-yeC/ia in 
 the phrase to tov avrixpiarov gives 
 greater breadth to the thought, so 
 that the words include the many 
 
 spirits, the many forces, which reveal 
 the action of antichrist. 
 
 TOV avTixpi<TTov\ The spiritual in- 
 fluence is not only negatively 'not of 
 God': it is positively 'of antichrist.' 
 
 a.Kr\Koa.Ti\ Compare Ka6<os ^Koia-aTe 
 
 ii. 18. The difference in tense places 
 the two wai-nings in a somewhat dif- 
 ferent relation to the hearers. For 
 the perfect see c. i. i, 3, 5; for the 
 aorist, ii. 7, 18, 24, iii. 11 ; 2 John 6. 
 
 epxeTm] The same word is used of 
 the advent of the power of evil as of 
 the advent of the Lord. Oomp. ii. 18 ; 
 V, 6, notes. 
 
 Koi. vvv...ijSri'} et nunc jam V., aiid 
 now. . .already. For the position of ^81; 
 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 
 charactei'. He now regards the sub- 
 ject from another point of view and 
 considers the teaching of spirits as the 
 test of men. 
 
 < Ye are ofCrod, little children, and 
 have overcome them, becatcse greater 
 is lie that is in you than he tliat is in 
 the world, s They are of the world: 
 for this cause speak they of the world 
 and the world heareth them. ^ We 
 are of God: he that knoweth God 
 heareth tis; he who is not of God 
 heareth not us. By this we know 
 the spirit of truth and the spirit of 
 error. 
 
 4. 'Y/ifir] You as contrasted with 
 the world; you who are in possession 
 of spiritual endowments. Comp. ii. 20 
 Kai v/nf ts -xp'KTfia ^xfTc, ii. 24, 27. 
 
 eK TOV Beov toTf] Comp. Addi- 
 tional Note on iii. I. 
 
144 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [IV. 5 
 
 €K Tov deov ia-Te, reKu'ia, Kai veviKmaTe avrovi, on 
 fiei^wv ia-Tiu 6 ev v/ulu fj 6 ev tw Koa-fxw- ^auroi eK tov 
 
 The hearers of St John have that 
 divine connexion which the false 
 spirits have not (». 3 ex tov 6. ovk e.). 
 
 TCKvia] c. iii. 18. The father in 
 Christ speaks again. The address 
 'beloved' has been used twice in the 
 interval (iii. 21, iv. i). 
 
 VfviKrJKaTf avTovs] vicistis eum v., 
 eos ¥., 1mm overcome them. The per- 
 sonal reference goes back to v. i (^(v- 
 h<mpo(^r)Tai). 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 triumph which 
 has been already gained. 
 
 Comp. iL 13 {vtviKriKare) note. 
 
 The thought of a spiritual conflict 
 is developed in Eph. vi. 12 S. 
 
 ort...] The ground and the assur- 
 ance of the victory of Christians lie in 
 the Power by which they are inspired 
 (c. iii. 24). The strength of men is 
 proportioned to the vital force of 
 which they are the organs. 
 
 Vicistis eum, inquit. Sed unde vi- 
 cerunt? Numquid liberi virtute ar- 
 bitrii? Non utique. Taceat Pelagius, 
 dicat ipse Johannes : Quoniam major 
 est quiinvobis est... (Bede). So Au- 
 gustine; ...qui audit Vicistis erigit 
 caput, erigit cervicem, laudari se vult. 
 Noli te extoUere: vide quis in te 
 vicit. 
 
 liei^av] greater. See iii. 20. 
 
 o (V vfiuv] 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. 4 f., 
 xvii. 23, 26. Elsewhere 'the word of 
 God' (c. 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 e. 
 15. St Paul expresses the same 
 thought in relation to the individual: 
 Gal. ii. 20. 
 
 iv ra Koo-fio)] he that is in the 
 loorlcl. '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. 
 10). The world occupies in regard 
 to him the same twofold position 
 which Christians occupy with regard 
 to God : ' the world lieth in the 
 wicked one' (c. 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. avroi...] ipsi V, they, the false 
 prophets, through whom the false 
 spirits work. 
 
 The nom,. pi. avrol, which occure 
 here only in the Epistles, emphasises 
 the contrast. Comp. James ii. 6, 7 ; 
 Hebr. .xiii. 17; Luke xL 48. See c. ii. 
 25 note. 
 
 cK T. K. il(Tlv\ de m,undo sunt V., 
 are oftlie world and not simply oj the 
 earth (John 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 c. ii. 16; John xv. 19, xvii. 
 
IV. 6] THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 145 
 
 Koa-^ou elcriv ^la tovto e/c tov Koa-fiou AaXoucriv kuI 
 6 KOO-/XOS auTwv ctKovei. ^nfieh ck tou deov ea-fxev 6 
 •yivaxTKWv tov deov (XKOuet >J/xwi/, 09 ouk ccttiv ck tou 
 
 6 OS ouK.,.ijfiiai' : om. A. 
 
 14, 16 and the cognate phrase 'to be 
 of this world': John viii. 23, xviii. 36. 
 
 8ia tovto] ideo v., Jvr this cause. 
 The character of their speech and the 
 character of their hearers are deter- 
 mined by their own character. They 
 draw the spii-it and the substance of 
 thtir 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. II. 
 
 d/couet] Comp. John xv. 19. 
 
 6. ij^ifls « T. 6. e'.] we are of God. 
 The apostle has spoken of Christian 
 hearers {v. 4 i5/if tj 6k t. 6. e.) : he now 
 speaks of Christian teachers. In each 
 case living dependence upon God pro- 
 duces its full effect. The hearer dis- 
 cerns the tme message. The teacher 
 discovers the true disciple. And this 
 concurrence of experience brings fresh 
 assurance and deeper knowledge. 
 
 The opposition of ij^ctr to u/x«r and 
 the use of axovei 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. J. 
 
 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. 
 o yaiiiaKuiv T. 6.] qui novit Deain 
 v., lie 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. v. 7, 
 V. 20 ; John xvii. 3. Contrast ii. 3 f., 
 13 f., iii. I. 
 
 So St Paul speaks of 'the call' of 
 God as continuous; i 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 tlie 
 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 a slightly different form in v. 7 
 where it is said 'he that loveth hath 
 been bom qf God and knoweth God, 
 
 10 
 
146 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [IV. 6 
 
 6eou ovK (XKOuei rifxwv. ck toutou •yivwo'KOjj.ev to irvevixa 
 TJjs d\r\6eia<s kul to Trvevixa tjjs TrXavrj^:. 
 
 (K Tcirav KB sj'rr: iv roihtfi A vg me the. 
 
 while ' he that loveth not kneic not 
 God.' 
 
 OVK oKovfi] Comp. John xiv. 17 
 note. 
 
 cK Tovrov] in hoc v., fierebp, from 
 this. The phrase does not occur again 
 in the Epistle and must be dis- 
 tinguished from the common iv Tovra 
 (see c. ii. 3 note). It is found t«ice in 
 the Gospel marking a connexion partly 
 historical and partly moral (vi. 66, 
 xix. 12). 'Ell roilrm seems to note a 
 fact which is a direct indication in 
 itself of that which is perceived : ex 
 TOUTOU 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. 
 
 ■yti/mo-Ko/ifx] cognoscimug V., we 
 know, recognise, perceive. This power 
 of recognition belongs to all believers. 
 It is not limited to teaehers by an 
 emphatic pronoun as before; but ex- 
 presses what is learnt in dififereut 
 ways by hearers and teachers. 
 
 TO TTv. Trjs aX.] spiritum veritatis 
 v., the Spirit of Truth. Comp. John 
 xiv. 17 note; i Cor. iL 12 ff. 
 
 TO irv. TJjs jrXdwjr] spiritum erroris 
 v., the spirit of error. The phrase is 
 unique in the N. T. Comp. i Cor. ii. 
 12 TO irvfvjxa tov Kooriwv. I Tim. iv. I 
 jTvev/iaa-i n\avois. In contrast to i; 
 oXij^em 'the Truth' stands tj TrKamj 
 (Eph. iv. 14) 'the error,' in which lie 
 
 concentrated the germs of all manifold 
 errors. Compare to \j/ev8os 2 Thess. 
 ii. II; Rom. i. 25 ; Eph. iv. 24 f. ; 
 John viii. 44 
 
 'The seven spirits of error' oc- 
 cupy an important place in TTie 
 Testaments of tlie XII Patriarchs, 
 Reuben 2ff. The two spirits of truth 
 and error are described as attending 
 man, and it is added, to wi/fC/xa T^r 
 
 oKrjQeLas fiapTvpel TravTa Koi KaTryyopcl 
 TTovTav, Kal (p.-neirvpitXTai 6 ap^prfjaas 
 €K Trjs Idias Kapdlas. Judah, 20. 
 
 C. The Christian Life: the 
 
 Victory op Faith. 
 
 (iv. 7 — V. 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 
 has before touched upon, and groups 
 them in relation to the final revela- 
 tion God is love (iv. 8, 16). 
 
 The whole division of the Epistle 
 seems to fall most naturally into 
 three sections : 
 
 I. The Spirit op the Christian 
 
 Life: God and Love. 
 (iv. 7 — 21.) 
 
 II. The Power op the Christun 
 Life : the Victory and Witness 
 OF Faith. 
 
 (v. I — 12.) 
 
 III. The Activity and Confidence 
 OP THE Christun Life : Epi- 
 logue. 
 
 (v. 13— 21.) 
 
 I. The Spirit op the Christian 
 Life: God and Love (iv. 7 — 21). 
 
 This section deals in succession 
 with 
 
IV. 7] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 147 
 
 ' 'AyairriTOif dyairwuev aWjjAous, oti n dydirr] e'/c 
 Tov deov icrriv, kui ttms d d'yairwv e'fc tou deou yeyev- 
 
 7 6 i.yaTrSiv : +tov Bebv A (fratrem is also added). 
 
 1. The ground of love (7 — 10). 
 
 2. The inspiration of love 
 (11 — 16 a). 
 
 3. The activity of love (166 — 
 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. 
 
 I. The ground of love (7 — 10). 
 
 The Christian Society has been 
 shewn to be clearly distinguished 
 from the world, even when the world 
 obtains the support of spiritual pow- 
 ers. 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 {m. 7, 8); 
 and in the Incarnation we have set 
 before us the manifestation {v. 9) 
 and the essence of love {v. 10). 
 
 1 Beloved, let us love one another, 
 because love is of God, and every one 
 that loveth is begotten of God and 
 knoweth God. ^He that loveth not, 
 knoweth not {knew not) God, because 
 God is love. ^In this was mani- 
 fested 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 tliat he loved u^, 
 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. 23 f.). 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 tf. note. 
 
 'AyairrjToi] Tlie 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. I, 8, 14, 17; 
 Jude 3, 17, 20; I Pet. ii. 11 ; iv. 12; 
 2 Cor. vii. i; xii. 19; Rom. xii. 19; 
 Phil. iv. I ; Hebr. vi. 9. 'AyajnjToi 
 juni occurs I Cor. x. 14; and aScXtpoi 
 liov dyanrjToi, James i. 16, 19; ii. 5 ; 
 I Cor. XV. 58. 
 
 dyajrw/ifv dXXiyXovs] diligamv^ in- 
 vicem V., let ics love one another. 
 Comp. ch. iii. 1 1 note. St John deals 
 with the love of Christians for Chris- 
 tians {(f>i\a8c\(j)ia, St Paul, Hebr., St 
 Peter) as the absolute type of love. 
 There is no longer any distinction of 
 'ye' and 'we' {vv. 4 ff.); nor any em- 
 phasis on the pronoun. Compare iii. 
 14, 18, 23; iv. 12, 19; V. 2. St John 
 never says ayairare, though he does 
 say /irj ayawaTf (ii. 1 5). 
 
 OTI...'] because... The charge is 
 based upon a twofold argument: (i) 
 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). 
 
 fK T. 6. i.~\ is of God, flows from 
 Him, as the one spring, and in such 
 a way that the connexion vrith the 
 source remains unbroken. See Addi- 
 tional Note on iii. i. 
 
 TTos 6 dyoTTiBi'. . .] 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 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [IV. 8, 9 
 
 vr]Tai Kal yivwcTKei tov deov. ^6 jur) dyawwu ovk kyvw 
 Tov deov, OTi 6 6eo9 dyaTrri earTiv. ^ev tovtw e<pave- 
 ptSdrj ri dyciTrri tou deov ev ii/uuv, OTi tov vlov avTOv 
 
 8 6 nil a.-y....8e6i': om. X* 
 
 (om. rbv Beliv X«). 
 
 o6k iyvoj : oi) yivuiaKef. A : 
 
 direct argument to say 'let us love 
 one another because... every one that 
 is born of God loveth.' But as it is, 
 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. Conip. c. iii. 19. 
 
 ■nas d...] every one that... Conip. 
 iii. 3 note. St John does not say 
 simply '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. 
 
 ex TOV 6. yfyivvTiTai] hath been be- 
 gotten of God. Compare Additional 
 Note on iii. i. The combination of 
 yeyevvTjTai with yiva<rKfi (not eyvwKev) 
 is significant. Living knowledge is 
 regarded only in its present activity. 
 The active principle of sonship is 
 refeiTed to its origin. 
 
 yivdcrKfi] cognoscit V., knoweth. 
 See V. 6 note. The present is sharply 
 contrasted with the aor. (eyru, nont, 
 V.) which follows (». 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 {v. 6). 
 
 8. As the presence of active love 
 is the pledge of advancing know- 
 ledge, so the absence of love is the 
 proof that apparent knowledge was 
 not real. 'He that loveth not, knew 
 not God' {ovk f-yi/o) T. 6., non novit V., 
 
 ignorat P.) 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. (fyvav) always has its full 
 force. Compare iii. i ; John x. 38, 
 xvi. 3. 
 
 on...] 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 c. ii. 5). 
 
 This conception of the nature of 
 knowledge corresponds with the view 
 of the Gospel as 'the Truth.' 
 
 6 6. ay am) einiv] Deus caritos est 
 V. See Additional Note. 
 
 9. iv TovTm...oTi...'\ In hoc.quo- 
 niam... V. In this... that... Socio, 
 John ix. 30. 
 
 iv T. e(f>av....'] The manifestation and 
 the essence of love (v. 10 iv r. iar'tv 
 1? a.) are distinguished, though both 
 are seen in the Incarnation. The 
 manifestation of love was shewn in 
 the fact (r. vl. T. fiov. dn-f'oT.) and in 
 the end (ii/a fijo-.) of the Mission of 
 the Son. The essence of love was 
 shewn in this that the Mission of the 
 Son was absolutely spontaneous (aO- 
 
 Tos ^yairrja-ev ij.). Comp. Rom. viii. 32. 
 
 i<l>av€padr)]apparuitV.,manifestata 
 est Aug., was manifested. That which 
 'was' eternally waa made known in 
 time. Compare c. i. 2 note. In the 
 retrospect of His completed work on 
 earth the Lord says: ftj)avepa<rd a-ov 
 TO ovona (John xvii. 6), that is 'the 
 Father's name,' the revelation of love. 
 See also 2 Tim. i. 9 f. 
 
IV. lo] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 149 
 
 Tov /JLOvoyeufj aTrea-raXKev 6 6e6? eis tov koo-julov iva 
 ^jjtTftJjuej/ Si' avTOv. "iu tovtw ecTTii/ >; dyctTrii, ov^ 
 
 9 f^traj/xcv : ^ufieir N * 
 
 10 Tj &y.: +TOU deoO 5^ me the. 
 
 fv ij^ix] 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. ■;;. 
 
 16. The Christian shares the life of 
 Christ, and so becomes himself a 
 secondary sign of God's love. There 
 is a 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 
 as a manifestation of His love in man. 
 
 The sense in our case, or among 
 us (John i. 14), is excluded by the con- 
 stant use of the preposition in the 
 context to express the presence of 
 God in the Christian body (». 12). 
 
 Tov vtoi/ av. Tov ^ov.] Jilium suuw> 
 unigenitum V., His Son, His only 
 Son. The exact form occurs only here 
 and Johniii. 16. Comp. ii. 7; John i. 
 14 notes; and Additional Note 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. 
 
 aTreardKKfp] He hath sent, and we 
 now enjoy the blessings of the Mission : 
 V. 14; John V. 36, XX. 21. Comp. 
 John V. 33 ; Luke iv. 18 ; 2 Cor. xii. 
 
 17, &c. The aorist (aireirreiXa) oc- 
 curs V. 10 ; John iii. 17, 34, vi. 29, &c., 
 xvii. 3, &c. See Additional Notes on 
 ML 5; John xx. 2i. 
 
 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 
 
 Father stands to the Son and, through 
 the Son, to men. Contrast v. 14, and 
 see Additional Note on i. 2. 
 
 Iva frjo-mfxei'...] tJuit we may live... 
 The natural state of men is that of 
 death: c. iiL 14. It is perhaps strange 
 that this is the only place in the 
 Epistles in which the verb f^v occurs. 
 Compare John v. 25; vi. 51, 57 f. ; 
 xi. 25 ; xiv. 19. The term is used 
 because the Apostle lays stress upon 
 the activity of the Christian and not 
 upon his safety only {that we m,ay be 
 saved: Johniii. 17'. In him, as lie 
 lives, the love of God is seen visibly 
 working. As compared with John 
 iii. 16 f., 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. 
 
 bC avTov] per enm V., through 
 Him, as the efficient cause of life. 
 
 Elsewhere the Christian is said to 
 live 'on account of Christ; John vi. 
 57 (St' f>e'). 
 
 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. 
 10 f.; and Christ is his life: Col. iii. 
 4 (comp. I John v. 12, 20); while 
 hereafter the Christian will live with 
 Him {<rvv avTo): I Thess. v. lo. So 
 Christ is the aim of the Christian's 
 life : Rom. xiv. 8 {tS Kvpla f.); comp. 
 Rom. vi. 10 f.; Gal. ii. 19; and the 
 substance of his life (to ^v): 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': i John v. 11 ; Rom. vi. 23; 
 2 Tim. i. I. This phrase however 
 
ISO 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [IV. II 
 
 OTi fj/xels riya7rt]KafJiev top deov, dXX 'on avTa riya- 
 7rt](r€u rjixa^ Kal direo'TeLXev tov vlov avTou iXacriuiov 
 Trepl Twv djJLapTLcav »;/xwi/. " ' AyaTrnTOi, ei 
 
 0UTW5 6 deo^ ^ydirncrev ijjum, Kal tifxei^ 6(pei\o^ev dWrj- 
 
 ■/iyaTriiTa/J,ev H'A (Tiyiir-qaev X*): rjyaTr-riKafiei' B. 
 
 occurs in Polyc. ad Phil. 8, 8t' rijias, 
 Iva ^ij(ra>iicv iv avra, iravra virejifivf. 
 
 lo, iv TOVTa €aTti'...ori..,J in this 
 is...t}mt... In this we can see a 
 revelation of tlie true nature of love. 
 The source of love is the free will of 
 God Himself. He loved us because 
 ' He is love,' and in virtue of that love 
 sent His Son. The origin of love lies 
 beyond humanity. 
 
 i; ayoTTTi] caritos V., love, in its 
 most absolute sense, not farther de- 
 fined as the love of God or of man. 
 
 ovx oTt...a\X on...] non quasi... sed 
 quoniam V., not that. ..but t/uit... 
 The negative clause is brought for- 
 ward to emphasise the thought of 
 man's inability to originate love. For 
 somewhat similar forms of expression 
 see 2 John 5 ; John vi. 38 ; vii. 22 ; 
 xii. 6. Non ilium dilexinius prius: 
 nam ad hoc nos dilexit ut diligamus 
 eum (Aug., Bede). 
 
 avT6s:] ipse v.. He, of His own free 
 will. Compare ii. 25 note. 
 
 jjydirria-fv] loced US. The love is 
 viewed in regard to its historic mani- 
 festation, John iii. 16 ; Eph. ii. 4 ; 
 2 Thess. ii. i6. Comp. Gal. ii. 20; 
 Eph. v. 2, 25 ; Apoc. iii. 9. 
 
 iXaa-fiov] propitiationem V., litato- 
 rem Aug. ; in quibusdam codicibus... 
 \egii\xr...litatorem... Bede; escpiatorem 
 Lcfr., 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 
 (e. 9) followed on the removal of sin. 
 
 2. The inspiration of love {11 — i6a). 
 St John has shewn that love must 
 
 airds : iKetvos A. 
 
 come from God Who has revealed in 
 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 (c. n) 
 through the fulfilment of which by 
 the Spirit we gain the highest possible 
 assurance of fellowship with God {vv. 
 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 so loved its, ice 
 also ougfit to love one another. "iVb 
 man hath ever yet beheld God: if we 
 love one another, God dbideth in us 
 and his love is perfected in us. '^ 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 wittiess that the 
 Father hath sent the Son as Saviour 
 of tlie world. '5 Whosoever shall 
 confess that Jesus [Ghrisf] is the Son 
 of God, God abideth in him and he 
 in God. ^^ And we know and have 
 believed the love which Gud hath in us. 
 
 1 1. 'A-yaTTijroi'] V. 7 note. 
 
 « oCrms...] si sic Deus dilexit nos, 
 if it was so, as we see 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 (iiyairijo-fK, John iii. 16); 
 and the repetition of 6 6e6s empha- 
 sises the Majesty of Him Who thus 
 revealed His love. 
 
IV. 12] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 IS I 
 
 Aous dyairav. "6e6v ouSe/s -TrwiroTe Tedearar edv dya- 
 TTWfxev dWri\ou9, 6 Qeoi ev i^fxiv fxevei Kal >; dydwri avTov 
 
 Koi Tj. o(^.] et nos debemus V., we 
 also ought. . . See iii. 1 6 note. The lore 
 which God has not only shewn but 
 given to us (v. i) becomes a con- 
 straining motive for action. 
 
 d\\. dy.] alterutrum diligere V., 
 invicem diligere Aug. (F.). The 
 phrase marks the mutual fulness of 
 love. Comp. iii. 1 1 note. Of the love 
 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 4raws 
 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 
 deSniteness and reality under the 
 conditions of our present state (comp. 
 «. 2o; c. i 3 note). Tlie thought of 
 ' the love of God ' {i.e. of which God 
 is the object) as distinct from the 
 'hive of Christ' (John xiv. 1.5, 2i, 23 f., 
 28 ; xxi. 16 ; Bph. vi. 24) is very rare 
 in the N. T. (». 21 ; c v. 2 ; Bom. viii. 
 28 ; I Cor. ii. 9, LXX. ; viii. 3 et ris 
 ayaira tov deoVj ovtos cyvanrrai, vw av- 
 Tou). The command to love God is 
 quoted from the Law (Matt. xxii. 37 
 and parr, from Deut. 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. 6e6v...Tf6eaTcu] Deum nemo 
 vidit unquam V., God hath no man 
 everhelield. Comp. John i.' 18 note. In 
 both passages 6e6v ' 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 
 {(dpaKev): here the thought is of the 
 coutinuousbeholdingwhich answers to 
 abiding fellowship (refleaTat). Comp. 
 John xvi. 1 6 note. On deos and 6 
 Seoi see Additional Note. 
 
 ovdelsiraJTroTe...] no man ever yet... 
 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. 
 
 eav dyairafiev...'] if we love 
 
 Though God is invisible He yet is not 
 only vei-y 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: (i) the 
 abiding of God in them, and (2) the. 
 presence of divine love in tliem in its 
 completest form. There is both the 
 reality of fellowship and the effective- 
 ness of fellowship. 
 
 d 6. iv ^11. iiivci] abideth in us. See 
 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 nmtual 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 essence of Christian love. This 
 resting upon the Incarnation regards 
 
152 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [IV. 13 
 
 TeTeXeiwfxevr] ev rnjiiv ccttiu. '^ ei/ toutw yivuxTKOfxev 
 on iu auTco /uLevo/meu Kai auro^ ev rnjuv, on e/c toO 
 
 1 2 TCT. iv Tjfuv i. NB : ^i" i)/ui> tct. e. A vg : rer. i. iy iifuii 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 : Ssevit 
 in te homo. lUe ssevit, tu deprecare: 
 ille edit, tu miserere. Pebris animse 
 ipsius te edit: sanus erit et gratias 
 tibi aget (Aug. in i 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 aslts on 
 this passage, and replies : In intel- 
 lectu, in mente, iu 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 
 (TVoct 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 esse videbis 
 aequalem. Debes velle omnes homi- 
 nes aequales tibi esse (§ 8.) 
 
 7 ay. auTov\ caritas ^us 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. 
 
 TeTf\....i(TTiv] The resolved form 
 (i. 4 ; contrast v. 17, ii. 5) empliasises 
 the two elements of the thought : 
 •the love of God is in us'; ' the love 
 of God is in us in its conipletest 
 form.' It is through man that 'the 
 love (if 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 c. ii. 5 the sign of the 
 perfection of 'the love of God' in man 
 is found in the watchful regard which 
 the believer pays to His revelation 
 (off av Tqpfi avTov tov \6yov). 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. c. iii. 23). 
 
 In vv. 17, 18 the perfection of love 
 is presented under another aspect. 
 The frait of the possession of ' love ' 
 is shewn iu 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. Tlie 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 Mvri(rdi]Ti., Kupie, r^j cKKKrja-ias <rov 
 Tov...Te\eia(rai avTfjv iv rfj dyaTrij 
 
 <TOV... 
 
 13. iv rouTO) yivoio-KO/iiei'...] in hoc 
 intdlegimus 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 lias been 
 aflirmed generally (». 12, God abideth 
 in us); and that by continuous and 
 progressive experience (contrast iyva- 
 
 Ka/ifv, v. 16). 
 
 f'v nvra fifvofifv...] See Additional 
 
IV. 14, IS] THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 153 
 
 TTveufMaTO^ auTOu Se^wKev rjjjLLV. ^* Kai >;/xets Tedeajueda 
 Kai fxapTvpovjJLev oti 6 TraTrjp direa-ToKKev tov vlov 
 arwrfjpa tov koct/ulou. '■'6s eau o/moXoyricrri oti 'Ir/crov^ 
 
 13 d^8o}K€v i^B: ^S(ijK€v A. 
 
 1 5 6/AoXo7^<7T7 : 6fi6Koy§ A. 
 
 Note on v. 15. The believer feels 
 in the enjoyment of this aflfection 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. 
 
 (K TOV TTi/.] 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' (i Thess. iv. 
 8), or 'of His Spirit.' For the use of 
 £K (contrast iii. 24) see John vi. 11, i. 
 16. In the Holy Trinity we conceive 
 of the perfect union of the Father 
 and the Son as reahsed through the 
 Spirit. So too it is through the same 
 Spirit tliat the 'many sons' are united 
 in the Son with God. 
 
 SfSojKev] hath given. Contrast iii. 
 24, tbioK.€v. The difference in tense 
 corresponds to the difiFerence in the 
 sense of ck tov Trvev^aTos. 
 
 14. Kai rifL€is Te5....] Et no-1 vidi- 
 mus v., And we have beheld.... The 
 emphatic pronoun {v. 6, i. 4; John 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 immediate dis- 
 ciples correspond 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. 
 
 14 Tedeafieda XB: ideaffdfieda. A. 
 'Ii)(roCs: +XpuTT6s B. 
 
 TcdfaficSa] Strictly speaking the 
 immediate objects of Tcdtdfieda .and 
 liapTvpovixfv are different. The object 
 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, nevov). Here 
 however the thought is that the sig- 
 nificance of tlie 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 (deaa-dai) and 
 not of vision. Compare John i. 34 
 (iapaKo) with John i. 32 (redeaiicu). 
 See also c. i. i, 2. 
 
 The use of TtBeiiieBa carries the 
 mind back to v. 12, debv ov8(is TtBia- 
 Tat. Though God Himself had not 
 been the object of direct human re- 
 gard, yet Christian faith rests upon a 
 historic revelation of His Nature. 
 
 Tcdeafifda Kai fiapTvpovficv] Comp. 
 i. 2, iatpaKaiM€v koI fiapTvpovfieVj iii. II, 
 32, and contrast John i. 34, iifipaxa koI 
 fjLfliapTvprjKa, xix. 35. The continuous 
 witness was baaed upon the abiding 
 experience. 
 
 o 7raTi7p] Comp. V. 10 (o 6eos) note. 
 
 o'jrecrraXKfi'] Jiath sent. The testi- 
 mony is borne not simply to the his- 
 toric fact (». 10, aireareiKiv), but (as 
 in V. 9) to the permanence of Christ's 
 mission. Of this believers have direct 
 knowledge. Comp. Additional Note 
 on c. iii. j. 
 
 a-mrfipa tov le.] salvatorem mundi 
 V. (swculi F.), as Saviour of the 
 world. The full title occurs once 
 again in the N. T. as the confession 
 
IS4 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [IV. i6 
 
 [X|0zo-Tos] ecTTiu 6 i/Ios Tou 6eou, 6 6eo£ ev auTw 
 fxevei Kal aiJTO^ ev Tta dew. ^^ Kal rtfxeL<s eyvwKafxev 
 
 of tlie Samaritans, John iv. 42; and 
 the thought which it conveys is ex- 
 pressed in John iii. 17. St John 
 nowhere else uses the title a-anjp, 
 which in other apostolic writings is 
 applied both (i) to 'God': 1 Tim. i. 
 I 6e6s (rarfip J^fiav Koi X. 'I. ; Tit. i. 3 
 d (T. TJiiav 6., ii. 10, iii. 4; Jude 25 
 fiovos Beos <T<DTTJp ; and more expressly 
 
 1 Tim. ii. ^ 6 <t. ^, 6. os navras dvdpta- 
 TTQVS $eXft acodTJvaL, iv, lO Oebs C^v, 
 OS eoTiv (xayrrjp jravTcov avSptairuiV, fid- 
 Xiora TTicTTav (comp. Luke i. 47); and 
 (2) to Christ : Luke ii. 1 1 crexdrj ifuv 
 IT. or eVrii/ -j^purrbs Kvpws; Acts V. 3 1 
 [ Irjtrovv^ 6 Oebs apj(Tjyov i^ai <r<OTrjpa 
 v^aaev, xiii. 23 d 6eus . . .i)yayev t<o 'I<r- 
 paifK (TWTijpa 'lrj<Tovv ; 2 Tim. i. lo d a: 
 ?J. X. 'I. ; Tit. i. 4 X. 'I. d 0-. >;. (comp. 
 V. 3), ii. 1 3 d fieyas 6ebs Koi cr. i). X. 'L, 
 iii. 6 'I. X. d 0-. 7/.; 2 Pet. i. 11 d Kvpios 
 ri- Koi 0-. 'L X., ii. 20, iii. 18 (comp. iii. 
 
 2 d K. Ka\ a-.); and more particularly 
 Phil. iii. 20 0-. aTt€Khexoixe6a Kvpiov *I. 
 
 X. (Eph. V. 23 avTOS ITlOTTIp TOU tTtojia- 
 
 Tos is doubtful). Thus the title is 
 confined (with the exception of the 
 writings of St Luke) to tlie later writ- 
 ings of the N. T., and is not found in 
 the central group of St Paul's Epi- 
 stles. The double application in Tit. 
 i. 3 f. is very instructive. 
 
 The title is applied to God not un- 
 frequently in the lxx.: Deut. xxxii. 
 15 8ebs a. (inrC'l n-IV a Deo salutaH 
 V.) ; Ps. xxiv. (xxiii.) 5 ; xxv. (xxiv.) 5 
 {DeussakatormeusV.} ; xxvii. (xxvi.)9 
 CW'! 'fPK Deus salutarts mens V.) ; 
 Ixv. (Ixiv.) 6; Ixxix. (Ixxviii.) 9; xcv. 
 (xciv.) I II Deut. xxxii. 15; Is. xviL 10; 
 xlv. 15 (r»B*io salvator V.). Corap. 
 Wisd. xvi. 7 ; Ecclus. Ii. i ; i Maca iv. 
 30. It is used also of human deliver- 
 ers: Jud. iii. 9, 15 {V''W\'asalmtorY.); 
 and of the promised salvation (Sa- 
 viour) : Is. Ixii. 1 1 (W'. salvator V.). 
 
 In Classical writers the title is iised 
 of many deities, especially of Zeus; 
 and it was given under later Greek 
 dynasties to princes and benefactors. 
 Comp. Pearson On tite Creed, pp. 72 f. 
 (136 S.) notes, and Wetstein on Lk. 
 ii. II 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? jta magnum est ut Latine 
 uno verbo exprimi non possit. Is est 
 nimirum soter qui salutem dat {in 
 Verr. ii. 2, 63). 
 
 The accus. {aar^pa) describes what 
 Christ is and not simply what He is 
 designed to be. Compare ii. 2 l\aa-p.6s 
 coTiv, V. 10 air^areiKev iXaafiov. That 
 which is yet partly future in its human 
 application (Phil. iiL 20 a-oiTfjpa iireKSe- 
 x6fi.e6a) is complete in the divine idea. 
 
 It is worthy of notice that the words 
 trto^fiv and (Tu>Tripia are not found in 
 the Epistles of St John. 
 
 15. or cai/] See ii. 5 note. There 
 is no limitation in the wiU of God 
 (i Tim. ii. 3). 
 
 d/ioXoyiJoTj] See ii 23 note; t. 2 
 note. The different forms of the con- 
 fession require to be studied together. 
 He that amfesseth 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 ahideth 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. I Cor. xii. 3). 
 The fruit of the confession character- 
 ised in V. 2 is now described fully. 
 
 Ii)o'oOr...d vlos Tov 6I\ Comp. Hebr. 
 iv. 14 note; and c. iii. 8 note. 
 
 o 6. ev ai....av. iv to 5.] God in him 
 ..Jie in God. See Additional Note. 
 
IV. i6] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 ISS 
 
 Kai TreTrKfTevKajxev ttiv dyawriu riv e^^ei d ^eos eV 
 
 1 6 v£TriirTe6Ka/iev XB (vg): Trurrcio/io' A me. 
 
 6 9e6s : -0 a. 
 
 The two clauses mark two aspects 
 of the Christian's life. The believer 
 has 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 
 liebelongs essentially to anotherorder : 
 '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 ahideth in 
 him (iii. 17), and he abideth in love 
 (iv. 16). Uternal life abides in him 
 (iii. 1 5) ; and this life is in the Son 
 of God (v. 1 1). The Truth is in him, 
 (i. 8; ii. 4), and he wcdketh in the 
 Truth (2 Bp. 3). The word of God 
 is and ahideth in him, (i. 10; ii. 14; 
 cf. ii. 24), and he abides in the word 
 (John viii. 31). He is and abides in 
 the light (ii. 9 f.), and the unction of 
 God abides in him (ii. 27), and guides 
 him to all the Truth. Comp. Apoc. 
 iii. 20. 
 
 Vicissim in se habitant qui continet 
 et qui continetur. Habitas in Deo, 
 sed ut continearis : habitat in te 
 Deus, sed ut te contineat ne cadas 
 (Aug., Bede). 
 
 16. Kal riiiels\ And We, we who can 
 speak from the fulness of Christian 
 experience as confessors of Christ.... 
 The case is taken from supposition 
 (09 iav) to fact. For ij^ifir see v. 14 
 note. 
 
 fyemK. Koi neniar. t^v ay.] COgnovi- 
 m,us et credidimus caritati V., cogn. 
 et credimus quam dilectionem Deus 
 hdbet Aug., cogn. et credidimus in 
 [caritate] quam habet Deus F. 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- 
 
 ledge. The Vulgate rendering throws 
 the emphasis wrongly on beli^. The 
 same two verbs occur in John vi. 69 
 in the reverse order: ij^itls irewKTrei- 
 Kafiev KoX €yi^wKafj.€v otl av et o ayws 
 Tov 6(011. Under different aspects 
 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. Tl>e 
 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.' 
 
 Triv ay. Tfv e;^6t o d. €V ^^lv] For the 
 
 phrase dyan. €Xiai see John xiii. 35 
 dav ay. ^XV^^ *'" d^^V^ois; John XV. 
 13; I Pet. iv. 8 Tijv els savToifS ay'. 
 €KTf VTJ exovres; I Cor. xiii. I ff. ; Phil, 
 ii. 2. It 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 (eij "i/iSr)- The love of 
 God becomes a power in the Chris- 
 tian Body (e'l/ iliiiv). Believers are 
 the sphere in which it operates and 
 makes itself felt in the world (2 Cor. 
 iv. 10 f.). Comp. V. 9 note. 
 
 3. The activity of love (166 — 21). 
 
 In the two preceding sections St 
 John has shewn what love is in its 
 essence and origin, and how it neces- 
 
156 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [IV. 1 6 
 
 tj/uui/. 'O 6eo9 d'yairr] iaTiv, Kai 6 /mei/wu ev 
 
 Trj djoLTrr) ev rw deio fjLevet Kat 6 6eos iv auTw [jueVei]. 
 
 ev avTtfi /jtinei KB me the syrhl: -/ihei A vg. 
 
 sarily becomes an inspiring power in 
 tlie believer, answering to a confession 
 of the Incarnation. He now developes 
 more fully the activity of love; and 
 this in two relations, as to the be- 
 liever in himself (i6 b — 18), and as 
 to the 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 6), while love is 
 perfected in the divine fellowship, so 
 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 fulfilled after a divine type, in love 
 to the brethren (20), according to the 
 divine commandment (21). 
 
 Ambrose has traced in a 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 aflfection 
 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 Isaac et 
 anima, c. viii. § 68). 
 
 God is love, and he that dbideth in 
 love abideth in God and God [cibidetK] 
 in him. ■? In this love is perfected 
 with us, that we may have boldness in 
 the day of judgment; because even 
 as he is, so are we in the world. 
 '^ There is no fear in love, but per- 
 fect love casteth out fear, because fear 
 Jialh punishment; and he that fear- 
 eth is not perfected in love. 
 
 The words of v. 8 God is 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. 
 
 Kcu 6 fievav...^ and he tlMt abidello 
 ... 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 thai abideth) the 
 unity of the complex idea is empha- 
 sised. 
 
 o fuvav iv Tj oy.] he that abideth 
 in love as the sphere in which his 
 life is fulfilled. Compare John xv. 
 9 f. f: ev rfi dyairi) rfj ifi^, /i. (v rfj ay. 
 liov. Here the feeling is regarded 
 absolutely without any further defi- 
 nition of its object, as God or man. 
 But the divine ideal made known 
 through Christ is present to the mind 
 of writer and reader. 
 
 Under different aspects St John 
 presents elsewhere 'the light' (c. ii. 
 10), 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' 
 (c iii. 14). 
 
 ev T. 6. II. Ka\ u 6. iv av. [/a,]] abideth 
 in God and God [abidethl in him. 
 See V. 15 Additional Note. He that 
 so abideth in love hath risen to the 
 heavenly order (Col. iii. 3) and found 
 
IV. 17] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 157 
 
 ^'''E.v TOUTw TereXeiwrai jj dyciTrr] jued' ij/ncov, 'iva Trap- 
 
 17 T} 070771;: +TOU 6eoO the (lat). /led' ri/jiuv: +ev V'" ^• 
 
 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). And 
 love involves obedience (John xiv. 15 
 Trjpj]a-€Te, Eom. xili. 10), and is the 
 condition of fuller knowledge (John 
 xiv. 21 ff.). 
 
 17. 'Ev ToiJro)...] 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, ev TovTco...ari...in 
 this. ..because..., and again with the 
 first, ev TovTif...iva..., in this. ..that 
 ... The former construction may be at 
 once set aside. The intervening clause, 
 lva...Kpi(T€a>s, makes the connexion of 
 iv Tovra with on most unnatural. The 
 connexion of iv roira with Iva gives a 
 true sense and is not foreign to St 
 John's style, though the exact com- 
 bination does not occur (not John 
 XV. 8) in his writings; for it would not 
 be strange that he should use a final 
 particle (Iva) in place of a demon- 
 strative particle (ori), in order to 
 bring out the idea of eflfort involved 
 to the last in the realisation of con- 
 fidence (comp. John xvii. 3 ; c. iii. 
 II note). But the context and his 
 general usage (comp. ii. 3 note) fa- 
 vour the conclusion that the refer- 
 ence is to that which precedes. The 
 argument requires the affirmation of 
 a fact from which a consequence is 
 drawn, rather than a 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. In this — 
 in this double communion — love hath 
 been perfected already on the divine 
 
 side; and it is God's will that men 
 should make its blessings tlieir 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, si fiduciam liabe- 
 amus...ut quomodo ille est sic et nos 
 simus... (c. Jijvin. i. c. 40). 
 
 T€T(K. fjiid' ri^coi/] perfecta est no- 
 biscum v., is {hath been) perfected 
 with us. There can be no donbtthat/icfi' 
 ijliav is to be joined with the verb. 
 The structure of the sentence is de- 
 cisive against taking rj ay. fieff i^fiav 
 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 (iv rifuv) by an act 
 of divine power, but in fuIfiUing this 
 issue God works with man {y.fff iJ/i<Si/). 
 Something of the same thought of 
 cooperation is seen in Acts xv. 4, 
 otra inoirjirev 6 6eos /iCT avTiSv. Comp. 
 2 John 3 etrrai fied^ ^fiav x^piff 
 
 Philo calls attention to a use of the 
 preposition not unlike in Gen. iii. 12 
 (lxX. iJ yvvfi Tjv eSa>K.as fier iiiov): 
 tv TO fiij <f)miai i; yvvti ^v eSaiKas 
 iixot aWa fxer ifiov. ov yap ifioi as 
 KTrjiia...eba)Kas dWa Koi avr^v d<j>^Kas 
 averov (cal i\cv6epav... {Leg. AUeg. iii. 
 §l8;i.98M.). 
 
 T€Te\eLaiTat\ V. 12 ; C. ii. 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 01 iv 
 dydirrj TeXeitodevres. 
 
 Iva irapp. tx-\ ^* fiduciam hdbea^ 
 mus V. The fulness of love is given 
 with a view to an end. The feeling 
 
iS8 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [IV. 17 
 
 pi](riav 'e')(Wfxev ev tJ7 nfxepa t»Js Kpia-ews, on kuBw^ 
 
 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- 
 \eia>Tai...1va ex<a/ifj/...). In an earlier 
 passage (ii. 28), he enjoined abiding 
 iu 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.'" 
 
 irapp, €;^a)^ei'] c. ii. 28 note. 
 
 iv TTJ jq/i. Trjs Kp.^ in die judicii V., 
 in the day of judgment, when Christ 
 shall come to execute judgment on 
 the world (c. ii 28). The definite 
 phrase is found here only. The in- 
 definite phrase, 'a day of judgment' 
 {■qp.. Kp.), occurs in Matt. x. 15; xi. 
 22, 24; xii. 36; 2 Pet. ii. 9; iii. 7. 
 Compare also Apoc. vi. 17 t) ^p. r; 
 
 peyaXrj rfjs opyfjs avTaVj Rom. ii. 5 '//A. 
 opyrjs Koi ajroKoKvyl/eats Tfjs StKatoKpi- 
 crlas Tov 6eov ; I Pet. ii. 12 ijfi. fVi- 
 o-Kojr^f. In the Gospel St John speaks 
 of 'the last day' (17 ta-xani ijft.); vi. 
 39, 40, 44, 54; xi. 24; xii. 48; which 
 is elsewhere styled simply 'that day' 
 {cKfivrj 7) ijft., 1) ^p. fK.), Matt. vii. 22 ; 
 Luke vi. 23; x. 12; xxi. 34; 2 Thess. 
 
 i. 10; 2 Tim. i. 12, 18; iv. 8. The 
 phrase 'the judgment' (i; Kplais) is 
 found Matt. xii. 41 f.; Luke x. 14; 
 xi. 31 f 
 
 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. 
 
 oTi Kada>s f'/cfiKot...] because even as 
 He [Christ, c. ii. 6 note] is... The 
 ground of boldness is present likeness 
 to Christ. He has ' passed out of this 
 world' (John xiii. i), 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 (c. ii. 6) : con- 
 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 {Ka6u>s Ik. 4<mv, comp. 
 iii. 2, 7) and not to the particular form 
 in which it was historically manifested 
 
 (k. €K. ^v). 
 
 The reference is 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 (see iii. 7 note) 
 Bede says forcibly: Non semper ad 
 sequalitatem dicitur sicut, sed dicitur 
 ad quandam similitudinem... Si ergo 
 facti sumus ad imagiuem Dei, quare 
 non sicut Deus sumus? non ad sequa- 
 litatem sed pro modo nostro. Inde 
 ergo nobis datur fiducia iu die judicii, 
 quia ^icut ille est et nos sumus in 
 hoc mundo, imitando videlicet perfec- 
 tionem dilectionis in mundo cujus ille 
 exemplum nobis quotidie prsebet de 
 caelo. 
 
IV. i8] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 159 
 
 e/cetj/os ea-Tiv Kai rifxeh ea-fxev iv tm koo-julw tovtw. 
 ^^(p6^o<5 ovK ea-Tiv ev t^ dyaTrri, dW >; -reXe'ia djdirr] 
 e^w /3aAAet tov (pofiou, oti 6 <p6^o<i KoXaaiv ex^h 6 
 
 Kada)s...Kai iJ/ifTs...] The ourus in 
 
 the second member of the comparison 
 is sometimes replaced by Koi : c. ii. 6, 
 i8; John xvii. i8; xx. 2i (xv. 9 is 
 doubtful); sometimes it is omitted: 
 c. ii. 27 ; and especially when the 
 order of the clauses is inverted: John 
 V. 23 ; Rom. XV. 7. 
 
 Koi ij/i. €. iv r^ K. T.] The likeness is 
 conditioned by the circumstances of 
 the present state. 'This world' (o 
 K. ovTos), as distinguished from 'the 
 world,' emphasises the idea of transi- 
 toriness. The phrase is not fovmd 
 elsewhere in the Epistles of John. 
 See John L 10 note. 
 
 1 8. The thought of boldness neces- 
 sarily calls up that of its opposite, fear. 
 There is fear in man naturally; bat 
 love ever tends to expel it. Pear 
 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. 
 
 <l>oPos...iv Tji dy.] , 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. 
 Pear 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 a 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 ffi), 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 gelien- 
 nam cum diabolo : aliud est timere 
 Deum ne recedat a te. 
 
 aXX'...] hut, 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. Pear 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 aXX'...cx" is 
 parenthetical. 
 
 ?j TcX. ayawrj] perfect love, not ' per- 
 fected love' (tJ TeTf\(ia>iievij ay.). 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 is and not of what 
 it has become. Comp. James i. 4; 
 iii. 2; Eph. iv. 13. 
 
 The arrangement 17 reX. dy., which is 
 common, for example, in 2 Pet., is 
 unique in the Epistle (comp. 3 John 4 
 TO. ifiA TeKva). See c. ii. 7 note. It 
 expresses a shade of meaning, as dis- 
 tinct from ij dy. 17 TfX., which is evi- 
 dently appropriate here. 
 
 e^a> jSoXXei] 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 /3dXX« e^to, 
 which suggests the thought of a de- 
 fined realm of spiritual activity (Apoc. 
 xxii. 15), is more vivid than iK^aXKfi. 
 Comp. Matt.v. 13; xiii. 48; Lukexiv. 
 35 dSaXXfti/ ?|<a); John vi. 37; ix. 
 34 f.; xii. 31 ; xv. 6 (eicjSdXXeiv ?|<a). 
 
 oTL o <j). k6\. exei] quotiiam timor 
 pcenam {tormentum Aug.) hdbet V., 
 
i6o 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. [IV. 19, 20 
 
 
 19 T)iiets KB me the syrhl: +0Z11 A vg ayrvg. 
 X (vg) me syrr. (airov and invicem are also added.) 
 6 6e6s A vg. 
 
 ayaTTW/iej' AB : + t6p deSy 
 air OS i<B me the syrr: 
 
 because fear liath 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 oflBce : Hebr. sii. 11. Such 
 punishment is not future only but 
 present. Comp. John iii. 18. 
 
 KoK. ex^'] includes, brings with it 
 punishment. Comp. Hebr. x. 35 (t^v 
 7rappT)(Tiav) 7]Tt9 e^ct fieyoKrjv fLurdairO' 
 Soa-Uv. James ii. 17 (i. 4). 
 
 The word Kokairts occurs elsewhere 
 in the N. T. only in Matt. xxv. 46. 
 The verb KoXa^eaOm is found in Acts 
 iv. 21 ; 2 Pet. iL 9 (not ii. 4). The noun 
 occurs in the lxx. of Ezekiel (for 
 
 VlE'^p) : xiv. 3,4, 7 ; xviii. 30 (xliii 
 11); xliv. 12; and both the noun and 
 verb occur not unfrequently in Wis- 
 dom : xi. 14, 17; xvi. I, 2, &c. 
 
 The familiar classical distinction be- 
 tween Ti/jiapia, which regarded the re- 
 tributive suffering, and KoXao-ir, which 
 regarded the disciplinary chastisement 
 of the wrong-doer, was familiar to the 
 Alexandrine Greeks: e.g. Philo, de 
 confus. ling. § 34 (i. 431 m.) tori be 
 KOi KoXao'ts OVK iiTi^Tfjiwv afLaprrjfidTCiiv 
 ov(Ta Ka\vfris Kcu iiravopQatais, 
 
 o de ^o/Sou/xfi/or...] and he that 
 feareth... This clause goes closely 
 with the first clause of the sentence : 
 ' there is no fear in love, but he that 
 feareth hath not been made perfect 
 in love.' 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 
 
 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 aWa {sed) and Sc {autetn). The 
 second clause (aXX' ij r. a.) stands in 
 sharp opposition to the first, while 
 the third (d fie (j>.) deals with a limita- 
 tion, or objection. 
 
 ov T(T€\ficorai ev rrj ay.] This con- 
 summation of the believer is presented 
 in two complementary forms. He is 
 liimself the sphere in which love finds 
 its perfection ; and love is the sphere 
 in which he finds his perfection. Love 
 is perfected in hiiu (ii. 5): and he is 
 perfected iu love. Oonip. Additional 
 Note on v. 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; 
 cum 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. 
 
 '9 We love, because he first loved us. 
 ""If any one say I love God, and 
 hate his brother, he is a liar ; for lie 
 that loteth not his brother wliom lie 
 hath seen cannot love Ood, whom he 
 liath not seen. " And this command- 
 ment have wefrmn him that he who 
 loveth God love his brotlier also. 
 
 19. 'tinett dy.] Nos ergo diligamus 
 invicem V. Tho absence of any title of 
 
IV. 20] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 l6l 
 
 Tis e'lTT^ on 'AyuTTw top 6e6v, kui tov dSeXcpov avTOv 
 fJ-ia-^, y^eva-TT}^ ea-Tiu' 6 yap fxrj dyaTrwv tov dZeX(t>ov 
 
 20 — ort N. 
 
 address aud the addition of the per- 
 sonal pronoun distinguish this phrase 
 from v. 7 dyairrjToi, ayanafifv dXXi;- 
 Xouf, 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. SjTiac which give the 
 hortatory rendering add a connecting 
 particle as many Greek authorities 
 {pvv). 
 
 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 its full breadth 
 without any definition of the object, 
 as God [avTov or tov Beov), 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.' 
 
 OTl avTOS irp. ^y. i;/i.] Comp. V. lO. 
 
 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. 
 Our 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. 
 
 wparos 177.] prior dilexit Y. Comp. 
 Rom. V. 8. The priority of the love 
 of God to all love on man's part 
 which is accentuated here, is aground 
 for the spontaneous exercise of love 
 on the part of the believer towards 
 those who do not seem to invite it. 
 
 20, 21. The consequences of the 
 preceding statement are traced out 
 in two ways from the nature of the 
 case (v. 20), and from the direct com- 
 mandment of God (v. 21). The love 
 of God, which is assumed to exist at 
 
 W. J. 
 
 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. v. 
 10). 
 
 20. idv TLs cOTg] The form of ex- 
 pression differs slightly from that in 
 i. 6 ff. {eav uTTiofiev). 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],' c. iii. 3 note ; ii. 
 4 note. 
 
 AiTTi OTl 'AyoTTia...] For the use of 
 the recitative on. see i. 6 note. The 
 claim is like those which have been 
 noticed in ii. 4, 9; i. 6 ff., by which 
 the faith is taken out of the sphere of 
 practical life. 
 
 It is worthy of notice that in the 
 Gospel of St John ayanav 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. 
 
 (jKTj] hate. St John admits no po- 
 sition of indifference. See ii. 9 note. 
 
 ijrfvanjs eariv] Comp. ii. 4 o Xeyo>i' 
 OTl EyvioKa avTov kol Tas evroXds avTov 
 liri Tr/pmv -^jrcviTTrjs fiTTiv... 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 {\jrevSea-6at), but falseness of 
 character. Comp. i. 10 note, and v. 
 10. See also John viii. 44, 55 ; and 
 c. ii. 22. 
 
 o yap fiTf dya7rcov...1 for lie that 
 lovethnot... The particular statement 
 {iav Tis finri) 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 
 
 II 
 
1 62 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [IV. 21 
 
 a 
 
 '/ Bvv 
 
 avTOu ou euypaKev, tov veov ov ov^ ewpuKev ov ovvaTai 
 dyairav. "Kai TavTrjv Tr]V evToXr}V ex^OfJiev drr auTOV, 
 'iva 6 dyaTTUiv tov deov d'yawa Kal tov dhe\(pov avTOu. 
 
 ou Svv. ^?B the syrhl: irus Siiv. A ¥g me syrvg. 
 deov A vg. 
 
 21 aw aVTOv : airo tov 
 
 than that which we cannot grasp in 
 a finite form. And the title ' brother ' 
 brings out the idea of that which is 
 godlike in man to which love can be 
 directed. He therefore who fails to 
 recognise God as He reveals Himself 
 through Christ in man (Matt. xxv. 40 
 €v\ TovTOiv Tt^v ade\(f)Sv fxQv Twv e\a- 
 xioTcov) 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- 
 rents : <l>a<rl Tives (os apa nar^p Kal 
 p^Trjp ejx^aviis elfjX 6€oL..ap.rjxavov be 
 fvaf^elo'dat tov doparov vno twv els 
 Tovs €p.<j>aveLS KaL eyyvs ovras aae^ovif- 
 rav (de decal. § 23, ii. p. 204 M.). The 
 love of parents involves the love of 
 brethren. 
 
 TOV 6. ov ovx fMp] John i. 18 note ; 
 ». 12 (Tedcarai.) ; I Tim. vi. 16. The 
 inverted order in the corresponding 
 clauses is singularly expressive. There 
 is also a more solemn pathos in the 
 direct negative ou SvvoTai than in the 
 more rhetorical phrase of the com- 
 mon text irms SvvaTai. 
 
 iapaK€V...ovx ecopaKev...] videt... 
 non videt... V., hath seen. ..hath not 
 seen... It might have seemed more 
 natural to say 'seeth.. .cannot see...'; 
 but 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 'tlie 
 brother' may in any particular case 
 
 be clouded but he has been seen, and 
 the idea of brotherhood abides for 
 constant use. 
 
 21. Koi Tavrrjv r. e'.] That which is 
 a spiritual necessity is also an express 
 injunction. The commandment of 
 love which has been implied in the 
 preceding verses is now defined. 
 Gomp. c. iii. 23. 
 
 an avTov] a Deo v., ab ipso Lat. 
 yet.j/rom 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 
 {v. 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 (djro) as its final source. 
 Compare i. 5 ; ii. 27 notes ; and con- 
 trast the use of napa Apoc. ii. 27 ; 
 John viii. 26, 40; x. 18. 
 
 iva...} that... The final particle 
 gives more than the simple contents 
 of the commandment It marks the 
 injunction as directed to an aim ; and 
 implies that the eflfort to obtain it 
 can never be relaxed {iva...dyaiTS). 
 Comp. John xiii. 34 note. 
 
 Augustine (on c. 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 caelum, sed adhuc 
 in terra jaceo. Hie ad dexteram pa- 
 tris sedeo : ibi adhuc esurio, sitio et 
 peregrinus sum. 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 163 
 
 Additional Rote 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 ^i^w of 
 
 ,,,,., ,^ „ , _ the varia- 
 
 TT. Try. 6 /J.7] ofioXoyei tov iTjaovv A_b. tions 
 
 7r. TTi/. 6 {i.ri ofxoXoyet 'iT/trouc "Kijptov 4v trapKl eXi^Xuddra X* 
 
 TT. TTv. S fj.7j 6fj.o\oyeT rbv ^XriiTouy 'KpLffTov ^v capKl i\T}\v66Ta L, &c. 
 
 TT. TTV. 6 pt.Tj ofioXoyet 'lijaovi* XptaTov iv aapKl i\r}\u66Ta K, &c. 
 
 To these variations must be added another, which is represented by the 
 
 Vulgate reading : 
 
 IT. TTi/. 5 Xi5et TOP 'lTj<roOv, 
 
 The main interest centres on the alternatives ^i; ofioXoyei and XJei. 
 
 As the direct evidence now stands, /ii) ofioXoyel is read by External 
 
 (i) All Greek Mss, uncial and cursive, evidence 
 
 for 
 
 (2) All the versions except the Latin, and by one important Old /j> , , 
 
 Latin ms (Fris.), Xovei, 
 
 (3) The Greek Fathers who quote the passage with the exception 
 of Socrates, from Cyril downwards, to whom Polycarp must probably be 
 added : iras yap Off av fiij opLoXoy^ ^Irjaovv Xpiorov cXrjXvOivai avTixptoTos 
 ea-Ti. {ad Phil. 7). 
 
 On the other hand 
 
 (i) Socrates gives X-uei as having be3n the reading in 'the old (ii) for 
 copies.' , ^"^"• 
 
 (2) All Latin mss, with one exception, read solvit; and 
 
 (3) This reading, with the variant destruit, prevails in the Latin 
 Fathers, being universal in the later wi-iters. 
 
 The evidence of Socrates, the only Greek authority for Xwei, is contained The evi- 
 in a passage which presents several difficulties. Speaking of the error of denee of 
 Nestorius and of his general self-sufficiency and contempt for accurate """i* '^^' 
 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 (Xu'ei) Jesus is not from God. For they that 
 desired to separate the deity from the man of the dispensation [i.e. Christ 
 Jesus] removed this thought [the condemnation of those who 'divide 
 Jesus '] 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\' 
 
 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 ' {yeypaiTTo) and not tliat ' it is 
 written ' (yeypanrai). Again it is a sign that he is not quoting any Greek 
 
 1 £[. E. vii. 32, airrtKO, yoOv ijyvlyrio'ev r^s oUovofdas avdp-jjirov ^ovX6fjL€voL t^v 
 
 oTt h Ty KaOoXtic^ 'litjdvvov yiypa-WTO iv dedTrjra' Stb Kal ol iraXaiol ipfitjveh aOrb 
 
 rots iraXaLoh dvTiypd<l>OLS Urt irav wvevfia tovto iiretrTifirjvavTOy us rtves elev pi;iSu}vp- 
 
 5 Xi5et rbv ^Itjctovv Airb tov deou oOk ^ffrt. y^a'avres ttjv iiruTToX'^v, XOetv airb tov 
 
 TaivTTjv y6.p t7]V dtdvoiav ix rwv icaXatwv deou tov dvdpojirov diXovTcs, 
 avTiypdtpwv irepieiXov ol ^wpffeii' dirb tov 
 
 II — 2 
 
164 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 Quota- 
 tions in 
 texts of 
 Greek 
 Fathers. 
 
 Latin 
 
 Patristic 
 
 evidence. 
 
 MS that he writes dn-o roii Beov for eV tov deov, a variant which has no Greek 
 authority. His language is in fact perfectly satisfied by the sujjposition 
 that he was acquainted with the Latin reading and some Latin com- 
 mentary'. 
 
 In the Latin translation of Ihe.x.eus 2 John 7 and i John iv. 3 are quoted 
 as from the same epistle (Iron. iii. 16, 8). After the quotation of the former 
 passage the te.xt continues... Johannes in praidicta epistola fugere cos pne- 
 cepit dicens...o?nHi.s sjyiritus qui solvit Jesum iwii est ex Deo sed de (ej;) 
 Antichristo est. The context shews clearly in what sense Irenneus under- 
 stood St 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 ('Yn-orim-mo-fir) on 2 John 
 gives as part of the substance of this Epistle: adstruit in hac epistola... 
 ut nemo dividat Jeswn Chrislam, sed unum credere Jesum Christicm 
 venisse in came. 
 
 The reading ' solvit Jesum ' is found in the Latin translation of Omgex : 
 Hsec autem dicentes non solvimus suscepti corporis hominem, cum sit 
 scriptum apud Johannem omnis spiritus qui solvit Jesum non est ex Deo, 
 sed unicuique substantia} proprietatem servamus {in Matt. Com,. Scr. 
 § 65). But the character of the translation is such as to give no satis- 
 factory assurance that Origeu's Greek text read Xu'st. 
 
 There is no indication, as far as I am aware, that the reading Xvei 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 'solvere Jesum' (adv. Marc. v. 16) and 'sol- 
 vere Jesum Christum' {de Jejun. i). In the former passage he appears to 
 combine the language of i John iv. 3 and 2 John 7, as is done in the Latin 
 translation of Clement : Johannes dicit processisse in mundum prsecursores 
 antichristi s,^mtns,negantes Christum in came 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 epx^ofi-evov in 2 John 7) makes 
 it difficult to decide to which of the two reference is made in particular 
 cases. The words of TertulUan de Came Chr. 24 qui negat Christum, in 
 came venisse hie antichristus est; de Preiser, haer. 33 in epistola sua 
 [Johannes] eos maxime antichristos vocat qui Christum negarent in came 
 venisse et qui non putarent Jesum filium Dei esse (comp. c. Marc. iii. 8 
 negantes Christum in came venisse); and of Cyprian {Testim. iL 8) qui 
 autem negat in came venisse de Deo non est sed est de antichristi spiritu^, 
 were probably moulded by the passage hi the second epistle. 
 
 Augustine in his explanation of the epistle first quotes the passage at 
 length with the reading 'qui non confitetur Jesum Christum in came 
 venisse,' which he explains (referring to c. ii. ig), and then without any 
 remark he passes on to explain 'solvere' : Adeo ut noveritis quia ad facta 
 retulit : Bt omnis spiritus, ait, qui solvit Jesum ; and again afterwards 
 he unites both phrases : ' solvis Jesum et negas in came venisse.' 
 
 ' Socrates was acquainted with 
 Latin : H. E. i. 12. 
 
 - All. de Deo natus non est sed est 
 Atitichristus. 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 165 
 
 The variations in Pmscilliajt are very instructive : Johannes ait omnis 
 spiritus...qui solvit Jcsmn de Deo non est... (Tract, i. 37). Scriptum est : 
 omnis spiritus qui confitetar...qui autem non confitetur d-e Deo non est 
 (Tract, ii. 52). lUam apostolicam feraiuus jure sententiam omnem spirituni 
 qui negat Jesum de Deo non esse et omnem spiritum... (Tract, iii. 67). 
 
 PuLGENTius' and TicHONius^ combine phrases from tlie two epistles 
 with even greater freedom. 
 
 It is remarkable that Bbde, who was aware of the substance of Socrates' 
 criticism, supposes that those who tampered with the epistle left out the 
 whole clause: In tantnm ex Deo non sunt ut quidam...hunc...versiculum 
 quo dicitur et ontinis spiritus qui solvit Jesum ex Deo non est, ex hac 
 epistola eraserint, ne scilicet per auctoritatem beati Joannis convinceretur 
 error eoruni. Denique Nestorius nescire se prodidit banc authenticis ex- 
 emplaribus inditam fuisse sententiam... 
 
 This strange assertion is repeated by Fulbert of Chartres', and 
 HiKCMAR^. 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 /iij d/ioXoyei. To set this aside without the evidence, 
 clearest necessity is to suspend all laws of textual criticism. No reading sup- 
 ported by such authority as \\iei is, I believe, more than a very early gloss. 
 Aud on careful consideration it seems that the internal evidence is not 
 more favourable to Xuti 'Irjtrovv than the external. It is scarcely possible 
 that such a phrase could be used for separating the divine and human 
 natures in Christ. The name 'li;o-oCs brings prominently forward the 
 humanity of the Lord. Socrates eridently felt this, for he defines Xiiiv 
 by the addition airh t-oC fleoS. 
 
 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 Xveiv 'Irja-ovv Xpiorov and ^^ o/xoXoyeiK tok 'Iijo-oCx (answering to 
 Kvpios 'Irj<Tois Rom. X. 9). This being so, the Xufi in the former phrase was 
 added as a gloss on the phrase /u? d/ioXoyeZ of the epistle in some early 
 
 ^ Ad Trasim. i. c. 5. De qua veri- carne venisse de Deo non est sed hie de 
 
 tate...ille qui de pectore ipsius sapien- Antichristo est. Quod audistis quoniam 
 
 tiffi mysteriorum cselestium meruit venit et nunc in isto mundo prcesens est. 
 
 intelligentiam illumiBatus haurire fidu- ^ £^. y. (jj Cujus [Arii] auditores 
 
 cialiter dicit : om,ni$ spiritus qui confi- quoniam Spiritum Sanctum Deum esse 
 
 tetur Jesum Christum in carne venisse negabant de Evangelic eraserunt illud 
 
 ex Deo est. Omnis spiritus quinoncon- quod Salvator ait Spiritus est Deus, et 
 
 Jitetur Jesum Christum in carne venisse de epistola Joannis eraserunt et omnis 
 
 ex Deo rwn est ; et hie est Antichristus. spiritus qui solvit Jesum ex Deo non 
 
 Ep. xvii. 0. 10 Joannes. ..testatur quia est. ■ Sicut Nestorius... 
 
 omnis spiritus qui solvit Jesum ex Deo * Opusc. et Epist. xviii. (Migne, Patr. 
 
 twn est, et hie est antichristus. Lat. cxxvi. p. 351) quidam etiam de 
 
 ^ Beg. IV. Super Joannem multi pseu- epistola Joannis eraserunt et omnis 
 
 doprophet<eprodierunt in hunc mundum. spiritus qui solvit Jesum ex Deo rwn est. 
 
 In isto cognoscite spiritus Dei. Omnis The whole paragraph is very instruc- 
 
 spiritu^ qui solvit Jesum et negat in tive. 
 
1 66 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 copies, and so passed into the Latin versioui. The additions to 'Ir/o-oCi/ are 
 easily intelligible, and the forms in wliich 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 con-esponding phrase ; nor is the characteristic word of that passage 
 {epxoiievov} introduced here by any authority. 
 
 concrete. 
 St John 
 unites 
 them. 
 
 Additional Note on iv. 8. The revelation of God. 
 
 Tenden- Jewish thought in the age of St John represented in striking fonns the 
 
 cies to- two chief tendencies of religious speculation on the Being of God. On the 
 wards two ^^^ ^jjg there was the philosophic, theoretic tendency which leads to 
 
 COnCGT)- J. J. 7 •' 
 
 tions of 3'W 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 piiiio ; the latter was embodied in the current creed of Palestine, which 
 sfract and ^°^^ ^^^ more reduced the God of the Covenant to the position of the God 
 of the Jews. 
 
 St John unites the truths which gave force to these tendencies, the 
 transcendental and the personal truth, in a perfect harmony. He wholly 
 avoids the Alexandrine terms — to ok, iiziKfiva vaa-qs ovaias and the like — 
 and yet he preserves the thoughts at which they aimed. He recognises 
 most emphatically 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 0. T., 
 ing rests which is not rigid, sterile, final, like the Monotheism of Islam, but vital and 
 o7d T t progressive. The unity which it affirms is not numerical but essential 
 ment. (John X. 30 iya Koi 6 irarrip iv i<riifv : comp. xvii. 3 ; I John V. 20). 
 
 Opposed I'l this sense the thought of 'the only God' (John v. 44) is opposed to 
 
 all forms of Dualism, Polytheism, Pantheism. He is the One source of life 
 (John V. 26) ; and through the Word, ' the Son,' to Whom ' he gave to have 
 life in himself (John I.e.), ' all things came into being' (John i. 3). All 
 notion of coeternal matter or of a coeternal principle of evil, as antago- 
 nistic to or limiting the divine action, is set aside. God 'loved the world' 
 (John iii. 16 ; comp. i 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' (i John iii. 8) by taking 'flesh,' which 
 could not therefore have been in essential opposition to His Nature. 
 
 The allusions to Polytheism in St John are naturally less prominent than 
 those in St Paul. Once in general terms he warns against 'the idols' which 
 
 1 A passage of Cyril of Alexandria 
 will shew how naturally the gloss 
 might be introduced. He quotes the 
 passage : irav rvev/ia S /ii) o/wXoyei riv 
 'Irqaovv Ik toD Biov oix lirn and then in 
 his interpretation adds 6 toIvvv oi) Xiywv 
 Bfim eifai dXiiSuis rbv Xpt<TTOV StaipQw Se 
 Kal KaTafffUKpdvwv tt^v dd^av aiiTov rb 
 
 to 
 
 Dualism, 
 
 Poly- 
 theism 
 
 Tov A.VTiXpi(TTQV TTvevfjut ^x^^ aKibtrerat 
 {de recta Jide ad reg. p. 94). The Greek 
 version of Leo's Letter to Flavian (0. v. 
 p. 830) gives jroK weviia rbSiaipovv 'I?;- 
 trovv X-ptarbv atrb deov oOk ^tm Kol ovrbf 
 i(mv ' AvTlxpi(TTos as the rendering of 
 the Latin omnis spiritus qui solvit Jesum 
 ex Deo non est et hie est Antichristus. 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 167 
 
 usurp the place of ' the true God' (i John v. 21); and in the Apocalj-pse he 
 marks the connexion between the empire and idolatry (xiii. 14 f. ; 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 with- 
 out the Christian Body. 
 
 St John, like St Paul, places Creation in close relation with the Creator, Pan- 
 but he affirms the reality of the relation which the words imply. God is 'heism. 
 present in all things but He transcends them. They answered to His will 
 in their beginning (Apoc. iv. 1 1), 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 three 
 action : but in three phrases he has laid down once for all the great outlines ^'**^; 
 within which our thoughts on the Divine Nature must be confined. The to jije 
 first sentence is in his narrative of the Lord's words : ' God is s^nrit' (John Divine 
 iv. 24); the two others are in his first Epistle : 'God is light' (i John L 5 note) Nature. 
 and 'God is love' (i 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 
 true God and eternal life' (i 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 (irvevfia 6 6eos). The statement obviously refers to the i. God is 
 divine nature and not to the divine personality. The parallel phrases are spirit, 
 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 0. T. The 'Spirit of God' is 
 constantly spoken of; but the loftiest descriptions of the Divine Majesty are 
 always relative to space (Is. Ixvi. i ; i K. viiL 27 ; Jer. xxiii. 24). 
 
 It follows that God as God is not cognisable by the senses (John i. 18 
 I John iv. 12). The Theophanies of the 0. T. were not manifestations of 
 'God' but of the Son of God (John xii. 41 ; Is. vi. i ; comp. Apoc. 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 (i John iii. 2). 
 
 ii. God is light {6 6eos <f)as ia-Tiv). This statement again is absolute ii. God is 
 as to the Nature of God, and not as to His action (not 'a light' or 'the I'S^i*- 
 
1 68 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 light of men'). The plirase expresses unUmited self-communication, diflfa- 
 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 )-et God is not to be fully apprehended 
 by man as He is. 
 
 The idea is not distinctly expressed in the 0. T., though it underlies tlie 
 thought of the Divine 'glory' (Ex. xxiv. 17; Hab. iii. 3 f.). Compare also 
 Is. X. 17; Ps. xx.wi. 9; 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, 
 irparov fiev o 6e6s </)<5s eVri. ..xai ov iiovov (pas dWa Koi iravrbi irepov <f)a)TOs 
 dpx^rvnov /laXXoK 8e apxervTrov irpetr^vrepov, Kai dvarepov, \6yov c^mi' irapa- 
 8eiy)iaTos. Compare also Philo de nom. mut. i. 579; de sacrif. ii. p. 254 ; 
 one remarkable phrase which Philo uses deserves to be quoted: o 6eos 
 eavTOV ^e'yyor <of Si avTov fiovov Bfcape'irai. {de praim. et pcen. 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 iii. God is love (o debt aymr) (o-tIu). In this declaration the idea of 
 love. 'personality' is first revealed, and in the case of God necessarily of a self- 
 
 suflicing personaUty (see Additional Note on v. 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 (i Jolm iv. 7 ft), which requires the 
 recognition not only of glory but of goodness. And this love is original, 
 and not occasioned (i John iv. 10). It corresponds to the innermost nature 
 of God, and finds its soui-ce in Him and not in man (i John iv. 19, iii. i), 
 non enim habet homo unde Deum diligat nisi ex Deo (Aug. De Trin. xv. 17, 
 32). It is not like the love which is called out in the finite by the sense of 
 imperfection (epws Plat. Sympos. pp. 201 £F.), but i.s 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 
 Hkened 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. ; Hos. ii.). 
 
 Augustine argues that the name ' Love' belongs characteristically in the 
 Holy Trinity to the Holy Spirit ; who 'communicates to us that common 
 love by which the Father and His Son love one another' {de Trin. xv. 17, 
 27). Si ergo, he says, proprie aliquid horum trium caritas nuncupanda est, 
 quid aptius quam ut hoc sit Spiritus Sanctus ? Ut scilicet in ilia simplici 
 summaque natura non sit aliud substantia et aliud caritas, sed substantia 
 ipsa sit caritas, et caritas ipsa sit substantia, sive in Patre sive in Pilio, sive 
 in Spiritu Sancto, ut tamen proprie Spiritus Sanctus caritas nuncupetur 
 {id. 17, 29). 
 
 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 (i 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 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 1 69 
 
 Epistles. These lie, so to speak, rathei" 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 : Deut. iv. 37, vii. 8, 13, x. 15, 18, xxiii. 5; 2 Sam. xii. 25; 
 Is. xlL 8, xliii. 4, xlviii. 14; Mai. i. 2. In the N. 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 o f<5i/ 
 jraTTJp), 'true' (aXij^i/r John viii. 26, iii. 33; comp. i John i. 10), 'faithful 
 (irtoTof I John i. 9; Apoc. i. 5, iii. 14, xix. 11), 'righteous' (SUmos John xvii. 
 25; I John i. 9; comp. Apoc. xvL 5), 'holy' (ayiot 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 (xi. 4, xix. 11), and Grace (vi. 44 f.). 
 Comp. John xii. 28, x. 29, xi. 41 f. 
 
 Additional Note on iv. 9. The use of the term /j.ovoyevi]';. 
 
 The term ^oKoyfi'Tir is derived from the vocabulary of the lxx. It occurs The use of 
 there altogether eight times, three times in the Psalms, three times in Tobit, fwvoyevi^s, 
 once in Judges and once in the book of Wisdom. The use of the word in ^' ™ 
 Tobit is quite simple. Tobit and Sarah are two iiovoyevels, only children 
 of their parents (viii. 17): Sai-ah is /iovoycvijs (or /iw iii. io)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, iiovoyEves, 
 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 ^^^J, twice as a significant title of the soul, the one single 
 irreparable life of man (Ps. xxii. (xxi.) 21 ; xxxv. (xxxiv.) 17, wnicam meam 
 Lat. Vet.; solitariam meam V.), and once of the sufferer left alone and 
 solitary in his distress (Ps. xxv. (xxiv.) 16 unieus Lat. Vet. ; solus V. ; 
 and so Aquila rightly in Ps. Ixviii. (Ixvii.) 6 [lxx. ^ovorpoTrour], but in 
 the three other places he gives /lovaxos, which is the rendering of Sym. 
 and Theod. here). 
 
 In six other places the same original word (T'Dl) is represented by 
 ayamjTos (Gen. sxii. 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 ayaTrd- 
 fievos, Prov. iv. 3. In Jud. xi. 34 Cod. A. gives the duplicate rendering 
 /xocoyewjr, ayamjn}. 
 
 In the New Testament iwvoyevjjs has the same meaning only (Lk. viii. 42 ii. in the 
 unicd), or only child{h)ii. vii. 12 unieus; ix. 38 id.; Hebr. xi. 17, unieus Vet. ^- '^• 
 Lat. unigenitus V., comp. John i. 14, unici Tert., unigeniti most); and 
 so the word is used of the Lord (John iii. 16 unieus 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 
 
111. 
 
 170 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 word 'God' (John i. 18 ^npoyei>fis 6t6s; unicus filius, Adim. ap. Aug. ; uni- 
 genitus Alius (Deus), rell.). 
 .... in later The one instance of the use of the word in the sub-apostohc writings 
 writings, giyes exactly the same sense. Clement speaks of the Phoeni.'c (Ep. 1. 25) as 
 j^o.'oyf./^ irripxo", a bird 'absolutely unique, the only one of its kind.' 
 (Gomp. Bp Lightfoot ad he.) 
 
 The word next appears prominently in the system of Valentmus. The 
 Mind (NoOs) the offspring of the ineffable Depth (Bu^os) and Silence 
 {Siyn), which alone embraced the greatness of the First Father, itself 'the 
 Father and beginning of all things,' was also called 6 Morayfi/Tir, the only- 
 born. And from this Being 'like and equal' to its Author, in conjunction 
 with Truth the other .Sons proceeded (Iren. i. i, 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 
 Ireuaeus, TertuUian and Xovatian; and in TertuUian the corresponding 
 Latin term miicits is used of God (the Father) : de virg. vel. i ; adv. Prax. 1. 
 But it is worthy of notice that in the confession of Ignatius before Trajan, 
 which follows the great lines of a Baptismal Symbol, tlie phrase is found : ets 
 eo-Tti/ flfof . . .KOI els Xpioror 'Itjo-oCs 6 uios tov 6eov o /xovo-yci'iif (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. 
 Confes- In the second half of the third century the word appears in the Con- 
 
 sions fessions of Syria and Asia Minor {Syn. Ant. a.d. 269, Routh, iii. p. 290; 
 
 of Faith. Q^^^ Thaum. ap. Greg. Nyss. 3, p. 912; Lucian, Socr. 2, 10, 7; Apost. 
 Const. 7, 41 ; Marcellus, Epiph. Hcer. 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 
 its 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 {yemrjrov, vlbv fiopoyevrj), 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 subsistence, 
 ' God, Son of God, having recognised Him as such both in the Old and New 
 'Testament' (Routh, Rell. Sacr. iii. 290; comp. Ales. Alexaodr. ap. Theodor. 
 H. E. I. 4. 45, (j>v(ns fiovoyevrfs). 
 
 The point which is emphasised by the word here is evidently the abso- 
 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, 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHK. 17 1 
 
 and this interpretation has passed into our version of tlie Constantino- 
 politan Creed {only-b«goUen). 
 
 The sense of onli/ Son is preserved by the Syriac versions of the Nicene 
 Creed, which go back to the original word which was rendered in the lxx. 
 liovoyevr/s and dyairrjTos (,_»..»»j) following in this the example of the Syriac 
 translation of the N. T., wliere the word iwvoyevrjs is so rendered uniformly : 
 Caspari, pp. loi, ii6. 
 
 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 
 'an only Son' {yew-qBivra i< irarpos liovoytvrjY, where the uniqueness of 
 nature is further defined by the addition 'that is to say of the essence of 
 ' the Father.' And this proper sense of the word iiovoy^v^s, as marking the 
 oneness of the sonship, preserves a close affinity in idea with ayajn/To'r 
 well-beloved, the second translation of Tn^. Both words define that which 
 is essentially singular in filial relationship : ' Only son and well-beloved,' 
 Athanasius writes, 'are the same' {Or. c. Ar. iv. 24). 
 
 But iu the interval which elapsed before the council of Constantinople Later in- 
 the important distinction between the sonship and the generation of the *frpreta- 
 Son was beginning to be obscured, and fiovoyevris was treated as equivalent 
 to fiovos yevvr]6fis, SO as to include both the fact of the uniqueness of the 
 K ature 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 (fioj/oT-pon-ms) ' ( 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: Movoyevfis Se on fiovos e'/c ftovov tov narpbs fiovcos 
 €yevpT]6ri (2)« Fid. Orthod. i. 8. 135). 
 
 One other use of the word fjLovoytvris, which is at first strange to our The 
 ears, remains to be noticed. The true reading in John i. 18 is in all proba- phrase 
 bility iwvoyevrjs 6e6s {unigenitus Deus), and this phrase occurs in some of i^'""'y^'^^ 
 the Confessions of the fourth century. Thus it appears in a copy of the 
 Nicene Creed addressed by Eustathius to Liborius (c. 366), (Socr. iv. 12, 
 14), and in a Creed set forth by the council of Antioch in 341 {mtmioiJifv 
 ...els €va ^vpiov 'Iv. Xv. tov vtbv avTov tov fiovoyev^ 3e6v...Tov ytwrjOevTa... 
 
 Socr. ii. 10, 12; Athau. 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, S, 9: Bpiph. Hwr. 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 
 
 ' There can be no doubt that in this ' The word tutvoyevvijTbs does not 
 
 sentence novoymiTJ is (so to speak) a occur. The instance quoted by Eing- 
 
 Eecondary predicate, and not a fresh ham (3, 359) from Ussher Is simply a 
 
 epithet. The clause is so rendered in false conjunction of the words... /loi/o- 
 
 the Syriac version; Caspari, p. loi. ye;/^ rbv... See Heurtley, pp. 79, 82. 
 
172 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 iwvoyevfis Behs Xoyos parallel with eh 6f6s. Aloxauder, wlio reads o /iora- 
 y€i/ijf uior in John i. 1 8 speaks afterwards of the 'ineffable subsistence of 
 God the only Son' {6(os ^ovoyevris Theod. i, 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 {tov fiovoyevfj 6e6v) who is the Truth and 
 ' the true Light and the Power of God and the Life' (c. Eunwn. 12, p. 913, 
 Migne). 
 
 On the relation of liovoyevrjs to wpcoTOTo/cos as applied to the Son see 
 Lightfoot on Col. i. 15; and the typical passage of Athanasius: Oral. c. 
 Ar. ii. 21 § 9. In connecting npaTOTOKos with the Incarnate Lord, I 
 believe that the great Greek fathers wished to guard the truth which 
 I have sought to express in the Essay on 'The Gospel of Creation.' 
 
 For the use of the phrase fiovoyev^s 6e6s see Dr Hort's Tico Disserta- 
 tions, Cambridge, 1876. 
 
 Additional Note on iv. 12. On the use of 6e6<; and 6 6e6<;. 
 
 Differ- A careful examination of the passages, relatively few in number, in 
 
 enee of which Beos is used without the article in St John's writings leads to the 
 o eei! and conclusion that the difference between 6 6eus and deos is such as might 
 have been expected antecedently. The former brings before us the Personal 
 God Who has been revealed to us in a personal relation to oureelves : the 
 latter fixes our thoughts on the general conception of the Divine Character 
 and Being, 
 i. Use in i. eeos occurs without the article (exclusively of cases where it occurs 
 
 St John, viith a preposition) in the following passages : 
 out the John i. I debs ^v 6 Xoyos. 
 
 article. » 12 reKva deov. So I John iii. i, 2. 
 
 Beov ovdels iapaKev. I John iv. 12 6eov ovdels Trairore 
 
 TedearaL. 
 SiSaKToi 6eov (lxx). 
 Xeyere ort Oeos vfiwv earlv. 
 TTOLels aeavTov 6e6v. 
 34 f. etira 6eol etrre (lxx). 
 
 vlov Beoit eavTQV enoLrjaev. 
 
 (above John i. 12). 
 
 (above John i. 18). 
 
 Beov ovK e^^et. 
 
 cr<j)payiSa Beov ^mvTos (comp. I Thess. i. 9; 2 Cor. iii. 
 
 3, vi. 16; I Tim. iv. 10; Hebr. ix. 14, x. 31, xii. 22). 
 6 6eos fjLer avToov ea^at- [avrav Beosl- 
 eirofiai aurcS Beos. 
 
 It is clear that in these passages 6 Beos either could not be used, or 
 could only be used with a serious change of sense. 
 Use with The use of o Beos and Beos with prepositions presents some marked 
 
 prepo- results. 
 
 I. drro. 
 (a) With article: 
 
 3J 
 
 12 
 
 )J 
 
 18 
 
 » 
 
 vi. 45 
 
 )J 
 
 viii. 54 
 
 )J 
 
 X. 33 
 
 » 
 
 34 
 
 « 
 
 xix. 7 
 
 I John 
 
 iii. I, 2 
 
 » ^ 
 
 iv. 12 
 
 2 John 
 
 9 
 
 Apoc. vii. 2 
 
 „ xxi. 3 
 
 ») 
 
 7 
 
 sitions. 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 173 
 
 Apoc. xii. 6 TOTTOi/ ^Toifiaa-fjievov dj70 ToG 6. 
 
 „ xxi. lO {iroXtv) Kara^ali/ova'av eV tov ovpavov otto tov B. 
 O) "Without article : 
 
 John iii. 2 ano 6. iXrjKvdat. 
 
 „ xiii. 3 dno 6. e^TJXdev. 
 
 „ xvi. 30 ano 6. i^TjXdes. 
 
 2. €lf. 
 
 John Xiv. I TttO-TiVeTe €l£ TOV 6. 
 
 3- «■ 
 (a) With article : 
 
 yfVvrjdqvaL (k tov 6. I John iii. 9, V. I, 4, 18. 
 
 dvai cK TOV 6. John vii. 17, viii. 47 ; i John iii. 10, ir. i ff., 6f., v. 
 
 19 ; 3 John 1 1. 
 John viii. 42 ck tov 0. i^fjXdov. 
 
 Apoc. Xi. I I TTVeVfUl ^(ofjs £K TOV 6. 
 
 ((3) Without article : 
 
 John i. 13 CK 6eov eyevv^dTja-av, 
 
 4. €V. 
 
 (a) With article : 
 
 1 John iv. 15 avTos [/zei/ei] eu rw 6. 
 
 „ 1 6 eV ro) ^. fxei/ei. 
 
 (j3) Without article : 
 
 John iii. 21 tV 5. ia-Tiv elpyacrixepa. 
 
 5. irapa. 
 
 (a) With article : 
 
 John vi. 46 o tov TTopa [roO] 5. 
 „ viii. 40 Tjv ^Kov(ra Trapa tov 6. 
 (/3) Without article : 
 
 John i. 6 airetTTiiKfiivos jrapa 6, 
 
 „ iX. 16 OVK €<TTtV OVTOS TTapa 6. 
 
 !' 33 f' V" '^°P« ^■ 
 
 2 John 3 flp-qvr) Trapa 6. Trarpos. 
 
 6. Trpoy. 
 
 Uniformly vrith the article : 
 John i. I rjv npos tov 6. 
 
 „ xiii. 3 virayfi npos tov 6. 
 I John iii. 21 irapprjcriav exo/ifv Trpos tov 6. 
 Apoc xii. 5 TipTTCurBrj Trpos tov 6. 
 „ xiii. 6 ^\aa-(prip.ias Tvpos tov 6. 
 Throughout it will be seen that in 6e6s the general conception of divinity 
 is dominant, and in 6 6e6s that of the One Being in personal relation to 
 others. 
 
 ii. The same general diflference is observable in the use of the terms in ii. Use in 
 the other Books of the N. T. Thus it may be noticed that the article is other 
 uniformly found _^ _ ^ wUh'^'re- 
 
 (l) with evdmov (_evavTi, KarevaiTiov, KaTcvavri) (31 times) except positions. 
 2 Cor. ii. 17. 
 
174 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 (2) with Tvpos ace. (19 times). 
 
 (3) with imo gen. (13 times) except llom. xiii. i; Gal. iv. 9. 
 
 On the other hand tlie article is never used with Kara ace. (6 times), while 
 it is used in the two places wliere Kara is used with gen. 
 Examples A few illustrations will serve to make this difference felt : 
 ' Acts v. 4 o^'c tyjrfvaai avSpcoTTOis dWa riu ^€(5. 
 
 „ 29 ireiBapxeiv del Sea fiaWov rj avSpcoTTOis. 
 
 ,, vii. 55 ftSei/ do^av 6eov kol ^Itjcovv eaTcora €k be^itav tov deov. 
 J, xiv. 15 eVtoTpe^etv eiri 6e6v ^avra. 
 
 ,, XV. 19 Tols diro Tav cSuoiv i7n(TTpi<j>ovfTiv iirX tov Beov. 
 Comp. I Tim. iv. 10 and 2 Cor. i. 9. 
 Acts XX. 21 TTjp els Oeov fierdvoiav. 
 
 „ xxiv. 15 eKniba e^^eiv els tov Oeov. 
 I Thess. i. 9 enea-Tpeyj/aTe npos tov 6eov diro tcov elddXcov 8ovXevei.v 6eS 
 ^avTl KOL aXrjOlva, 
 „ li. 13 evj(apLo-TOvp.ev ra 6ea...oTL wapaXa^ovres \uyov aKorjs... 
 TOV deov ede^acrde ov \6yov dv6p. dWa .,\6yov 6eov, 
 I Cor. iii. 19 p,a>pLa Trapd rtu dea ecrriv. 
 „ vii. 24 ev TOvTcp p-everoi napd Beta, 
 Rom, ii. 17 K.av](dfTai ev 6ecd. 
 
 J, II Kavx(opevoi ev ra 6e<o. 
 
 In this connexion also, though other considerations come in here, the 
 following parallel phrases deserve notice : evayyeXiov 6eov Rom. i. i ; to 
 evayy. tov 6. Rom. XV. 16; bLKaio<Tvvr) deov 2 Cor. V. 21 ; j; hiK. tov 6. Rom. 
 ^- 3) opyfi deov Rom. i. 18; i; opyfj tov 6. John iii. 36, Eph. v. 6; d\ij6eia 
 6eov Rom. XV. 8; -q dXjjd. tov 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 
 forms. 
 
 I. Sometimes it is set foi-th in its reciprocal fulness : 
 iii. 24, he that keepeth (o TxipStv) His commandments abideth in Him, 
 
 (0 6e6s) and He in him. 
 iv. 13, -hereby we perceive that we abide in Him and He in its 
 
 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 (o rpdyav) my flesh and drinketh my blood 
 
 abideth in Me and I in him. 
 John xiv. 20, in tlcat day ye shall know (yvdo-ea^de) that I am in my 
 Father, and ye in Me, and I in you. 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 17S 
 
 John XV. 5 lie that ahideth in Me and I in him, the same heareth 
 
 much fruit. 
 
 It will be observed that, with one exception (c. iv. 1 5), the ' dwelling ' 
 
 or 'being' of man in God is placed first (iii. 24, iv. 13, 16; conip. 
 
 li. 24; John vi. 56, xiv. 20, xv. 5). The ascension to heaven, if we 
 
 may so speak, generally precedes the transfiguration of earth. 
 
 2. Sometimes again the divine fellowship is regarded in one of its two 
 aspects : 
 
 (a) The abiding (being) of man in God (or Christ) : 
 ii. 5, in this we know (ytvcia-KoiKv) that we are in Him. 
 ii. 6, he that saith he ahideth in Him, ought himself also to walk 
 
 even as He walked. 
 iii. 6, every one that ahideth in Him, sinneth not. 
 V. 20, ice know (otdaiiev) that the Son of God hath C'jme...and we 
 are in Him tliat is true {iv ra a\rj6i.va). 
 Compare John xv. 4 (ye cannot bear fruit) except ye abide in Me. 
 
 ii. 28, ahide in Him that if He shall be manifested we may have 
 boldness... 
 (/3) The abiding (being) of God (or Christ) in man : 
 iii. 24, hereby we know {yivda-Koixev) that He ahideth in us, from 
 
 the Spirit which He gave us. 
 iv. 12, if we lose one anotlier God ahideth in us... 
 John xvii. 22 f., the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given 
 unto them; tliat they muy be one, even as We are one; I in 
 them, and Thou in Me... 
 John xvii. 26, 1 made knowm, unto tliem 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 
 efiicient 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. 22 f., 
 26, xiv. 20 ; I John v. 20. 
 (/3) 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. 
 
 (5) The results : fruitfulness, John xv. 4 f. ; confidence, i 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., 15 f. ; John vi. 56, xv. 4 f. 
 
 (6) be : ii. S, 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, Ms the place of the saints; and the saint is a place appropriate to the 
 ' Spirit...' {de Spir. S. xxvi. § 62)'. 
 
176 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 IV. I 
 
 V. ' /7as 6 TTia-revwu otl 'lr]<rou£ ia-Tii/ 6 XP^^'^^^ 
 
 II. The Power op the Christian 
 Life : the Victoiiy and Wit- 
 ness OF Faith (v. i — 12). 
 The whole of this section is closely 
 connected, hut two main thoughts, 
 ' Faith' and ' Witness,' respectively 
 prevail in the opening and closing 
 verses. Thus it may be divided into 
 two parts, 
 
 1. The victory of Faith (1—5). 
 
 2. The Divine Witness (5 — 12 ) 
 
 I. The victory of Faith {\. i — 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 (i). 
 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). 
 
 ■ Every one tliat believes that Jesus 
 is the Christ is begotten of God, and 
 every one that toveth him that begat 
 loveth him that is begotten of him. 
 'In this we know that we love the 
 children of God, when we love God 
 and do his commandments; ^for this 
 is the love of God, that tee observe his 
 commandments, and his command- 
 ments are not grievous; * because 
 everything that is begotten of God 
 overcometh tlie world; and this is 
 the victory that overcame the world, 
 even our faith. = [ Yea,"] who is he 
 
 that overcometh the world but he tluxl 
 bdieveth that Jesus is tlie Son of God? 
 
 I. 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 do so. For he consciously shares 
 witli every brother the principle of 
 his new being. 
 
 Has 6 TTio-revQ)!'] Comp. C. ilL 3. 
 
 The verb TTia-rdeiv is here used for 
 the first time in the 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 tmth but enters into a 
 direct relation with the powers of a 
 spiritual order. ' The command ' of 
 God (iii. 23) finds so far an individual 
 accomplishment. 
 
 In the former chapter (iv. 2, if; 
 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 vt. 5, 10, 13. 
 
 Such faith involves the present ac- 
 tion of a new and Divine life, which 
 must have a Divine origin. Comp. 
 I 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 
 
V. 2] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 177 
 
 6K Tov 6eou jeyefvrirai, Kai Tras d dyaTrtSv tov <yevvri- 
 aavTa ayaTra tov 'yeyevvrtfxkvov i^ aurov. ^iv tovtw 
 
 I dy. t6v 7e7. B vg the: 117+ Kai' riv 757. (X) A syrr. tAk 7«7. : t6 7C7. 
 
 K. 
 
 the Divine — the faith of man, and 'the 
 seed of God' (iii. g) — in the first quick- 
 ening of life. Comp. John i. 12 note. 
 oTi 'I. eiTTiv 6 xP'oTof] Corap. v. s 
 oTi 'L foriv 6 vibs tov 6fov. John xx. 
 31 OTi 'I. eoTiv 6 ^piarbs 6 vlos tov 
 
 6eov. For the choice of the exact 
 terms of belief here, see ii. 22. 
 « TOV 6. 7e7.] See c. iii. 9 note. 
 
 Kol Tras o ay. t. yew.^ et omnis qui 
 diligit 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. 
 
 o ayanav] Augustine brings out the 
 necessary connexion between faith 
 and love (faith in action) : cum dilec- 
 tione, fides Christiani ; sine dilectione, 
 fides dsemonis. 
 
 TOV y(vv.] The word is used also of 
 the human agent, Philem. 10. 
 
 TOV 7e7ei'i'. i^ avTov^ eum qui na- 
 tus est ex eo 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' v. 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 ff., 9 flf., 15, 17, 
 22 f., 29; iiL 3 ffi, 9 f., IS, 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.J. 
 
 is essentially dififerent 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- 
 dience to God. At first sight this 
 answer seems simply to invert the 
 terras 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.' Either 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. 22). 
 The effort to fulfil 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 : lUe 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 c. ii. 3 in this we perceive that 
 ice know Him if we keep His com- 
 mandments ; and with iiL 23 this is 
 His commandment that we believe 
 the Name.. .and love one another... 
 (comp. iv. 20). 
 
 Obedience to the manifold com- 
 mandments of God (ai evToXal), the 
 active fulfilment 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 (i; f'lToXij) 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. 
 
 [V. 2 
 
 yivuxTKOfxev on dyairw/Jiev tu reKva tou deoO, otuv 
 Tov deov dyaTTwiuiev Kal ras eVroAas avTOu Troiw/ixev' 
 
 2 TToiQ/iev B vg (me the syrr): Tripufiev X (lat). -i, 3 om. Troi.u!fiev.,.avTou A. 
 
 it (v. 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 es- 
 tablished, the other follows from it. 
 Comp. c. 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 {yivda-Koiicv) the re- 
 ality of his love in spite of the many 
 difiFerences which separate him from 
 the object of it under the conditions 
 of earthly life. 
 
 ev Toi!™...] in this .. The percep- 
 tion comes not as a conviction drawn 
 from a state of obedient love {ck 
 TovTov, 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. 
 
 yaiaaKoiuvl cognoscimtis V., ice 
 know, pfirceive. 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 o"8a/xf k in iii. 2, 5, 
 14 f.; V. 15, 18 ff. (V. scimus, scitis). 
 See V. 1 8 note. The use of mav brings 
 into prominence the immediate and 
 continuous exercise of this power of 
 knowledge. 
 
 ayairujievl The love which is spoken 
 
 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. 
 
 TCI TfKva TOV 6J] natos Dei V., the 
 children of God. Comp. iii. i note. 
 St John does not say 'brethren' here, 
 because 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 v. 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 arav 
 occurs in the Epistles of St John. 
 With the present conj. it expresses 
 either an action repeated indefinitely 
 (John viii. 44, ix. 5, &a), or an action 
 at an indefinite time regarded as 
 actually going on (John vii. 27 epxr)Tai, 
 contrast v. 31 cXflij; xvi. 21 tUtji fol- 
 lowed by y(vvTia-rj). Comp. i Cor. xv. 
 24 {irapaSiddi, KaTapyij(rrj). 
 
 oTav...ayajTciiifv] cutn...diligaTnus, 
 V. The literal rendering 'when- 
 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. 
 'Eav (c. iL 3 ; John xiiL 35) gives the 
 Seneral condition : orav, the particu- 
 lar and repeated fulfilment of it 
 
 The change of order (comp. iii. 4) 
 in the objects (dyoTr. to. tikvo, oTav rbv 
 6. ayarr. Km Tar ivr. noi.) 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 
 
 ^avTr] yap icTTiv >| dyawri rov 6eov \va Ta^ eVroAas 
 avTOU Tripwfxev, kui al evToXal avrov fiapeiai ovk elcriv, 
 
 A «i 
 
 OTi Trav TO yeyewtT/uLevov efc tou veov viku tov KO(riJLOv 
 
 de 
 
 action.' In other cases where the 
 object stands before the verb a similar 
 shade of meaning is seen : e.g. ii. 20 ; 
 iv. 9, 12; V. 9. 
 
 Koi ras evr. avrov Trot.j et tnUTl- 
 data eius faciamus V., and do His 
 commandments. This clause brings 
 the love of God into the region of 
 active life. The phrase itself is unique 
 (Apoc. xxiL 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. C. L 6 TT. TTjv aKri6ftav 
 note. 
 
 Augustine follows out his false in- 
 terpretation of 'him that is begotten 
 of Him' in v. i by a striking applica- 
 tion here: Filios Dei dixit qui Fili- 
 um 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 fratemo amore flagretis sive 
 in fratrem factum, sive in iuimicum 
 ut frater fiat diligendo. 
 
 3. avTTi yap...'] for this... The 
 words give an explanation of the 
 second clause {and do His comm,and- 
 Tnents) in the former verse. Love 
 of God can only be shewn in the 
 effort to fulfil His will. Comp. John 
 xiv. 15, 21, 31. 
 
 lva...Ti]paiixv Km...] ut custodiamus 
 V. The love of God is not simply 
 the keeping (n^pj^a-n, to rrfpeiv) of 
 the commandments of God, but rather 
 a continuous and watchful endeavour 
 to observe them. Comp. John vi. 29 
 Iva jTUTTevtjTe, xvii. 3 ha yiv. . 2 John 6. 
 And the nature of the command- 
 ments is not such as to crush the 
 
 freedom and spontaneity of love. 
 They are not grievous, heavy (fiaptiai, 
 grama V.), an oppressive and exhaust- 
 ing burden. Compare Matt. xi. 30 
 ro ^oprlov jiov i\.a<^p6v iariv, and 
 contrast Matt, xxiii. 4 heaiieiovtriti 
 <l>opTia ^apia. 
 
 4. on...] because... Comp. ii. ig 
 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 (Acts 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 {nav 
 TO ycyfw.) to the concrete and per- 
 sonal (tIs i(TTiv o viKav), through the 
 decisive history in which the truth 
 was once for all absolutely realised 
 
 (7 viKT] i; yi/ojo'ao'a). 
 
 ttSk to yeyi] St John chooses the 
 abstract form (contrast v. i tov 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 to 
 ■yfy. and John iii. 8 iras 6 yty. 
 
 vtKa TOU K.] conquers the world — 
 not 'hath conquered' (c. ii. 13 f, iv. 4), 
 nor yet ' will conquer ' — in a struggle 
 which is present and continuous. 
 Under the title 'the world' St John 
 gathers up the sum of all the limited, 
 transitory powers opposed to God 
 which make obedience difficult. It 
 
 12 — 2 
 
i8o 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHK. 
 
 [V. 5 
 
 Kai avTf] icTTiu tj v'iky] t] viKr'icraa-a tov koct^ou, r\ iria-Tfi 
 fl/mwu- ^rk ecmv [^e] 6 vikwv tov koo-^oi/ ei fxr] 6 
 TTLCTTevwv OTi ' lr]crou^ eaTiv 6 vlo? rov deou ; 
 
 5 Hs idTw U B (lat) : Ws U iaTW X (lat) syrlil me : rh icrtv 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 a 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. 
 
 KOI at/TT/...] 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. 
 
 /J v'i.Kr)...Ti nicms i^fiav] tlie victory 
 . ..our faith. The word vIkti occurs here 
 only in the N.T., and ivi<ms here 
 only in St John's Epistles. Uio-ns 
 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 appears to be used objectively 
 for 'the faith of Christ,' as embodied 
 in a confession ('fides quae creditur') : 
 in ii. 19, xiii. 10, 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 icorld. 
 Thus the aorist (>; nKiJo-ao-a, quco 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 effects. Comp. Ign. 
 ad Sin. 10 i; TcXfi'a iriaTis, 'lr](TOvs 
 Xpurros, and Col. ii. 2 tir iiriyvaxriv 
 TOV fiva-Ttjplov rov ^eou, 'X.ptaTov, 
 
 5. ris ((TTiv. . .] At length the ques- 
 tion becomes directly personal. St 
 John appeals to the experience of 
 those whom lie addresses. The single 
 believer (o viKciv) takes the place of 
 the abstract element (to yeyfvvifiievov), 
 and of the absolute force (i; nicmt). 
 The victory of the divine principle is, 
 as he triumphantly claims, actually 
 realised in the victory of the Chris- 
 tian. 
 
 Tis...fi /x?J...] Compare ii. 22. The 
 personal victory is regarded in its 
 course (o viKav), as the representative 
 victory was regarded in its completion 
 
 (1; v. ^ viKjjo-aora). 
 
 OTi 'I. ioTiy 6 vi. TOV fl.] Comp. V. I. 
 
 By the use of the title 'the Son of 
 God' in connexion with the human 
 name, Jesics, the antithesis involved 
 in the faith is expressed in the sharp- 
 est form. There is a 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 (9 — 12), of the 
 witness by which this confession is 
 sustained and justified. 
 
 6 — 8. The character of the witness 
 to the substance of the Christian 
 Faith is laid open by a consideration 
 of the historical witness which is of- 
 ferred to men in the Life of Christ, and 
 
V. 6] THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. l8l 
 
 OuTOi icTTiv 6 iXdwv Bt [ySaros kuI ai/maTO's, 'Irjcrou^ 
 
 6 Kal ai/mTos B vg syrvg: +Kal Tri/eu/iaros NA (lat) me the syr hi (others sub- 
 stitute 7ri». for aifi.. and some read Kal tv. koX a't/i.). 'Is Xs XAB : Xs 'Is the: 
 'Is Xs r syrhl. See Additional Note. 
 
 in the life of the Churcli (6 a, b) ; 
 of the divine principle of witness 
 (6 c) ; and of the personal witnesses 
 (7, 8). 
 
 ' This is He that came hy water 
 and blood, Jesus Christ ; not in the 
 water only, but in the water and 
 in the blood. And the Spirit is that 
 wliich heareth witness, because the 
 Spirit is the Truth. ' 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 distinguished 
 by the different forms in which the 
 common outward symbols ai-e used in 
 corresponding clauses. He came ' hy 
 water and blood,' and again ' not in 
 the water only, hut in the toater and 
 in the blood' 
 
 Ovrof...] 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, Jesu^ Christ, em- 
 phasises the truth which is estab- 
 lished by the manner of the ' coming ' 
 of ' Jesus ': ' This is He that came...' 
 and whose Divine Office is expressed 
 by the full name which He bears, 
 even Jesus Christ. 
 
 6 eK6dv...1 He that came... The 
 verb is used with a clear reference to 
 the technical sense of 'he thatcometh ' 
 (o ipx&iievot Matt. xi. 3 ; Luke vii. 
 19 f.; comp. John i. 15, 27; vi. 14; 
 xi. 27 ; xii. 13 ; see also John i. 30 ; 
 X. 8). Thus 'He that came' is equiva- 
 lent to ' He that fulfilled the pro- 
 mises to the fathers, as the Saviour 
 sent from God.' Comp. ii. 18 note. 
 
 bC vhaToi Koi alfiaros] per aquam et 
 
 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 
 fulfil all righteousness' (Matt. iii. 
 1 5). 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 f ) ; and by His 
 Baptism Christ fulfilled for the hu- 
 manity which He took to Himself, 
 though not for Himself, the condition 
 of regeneration. 
 
 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 
 
l82 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [V. 6 
 
 His historic work. While He hung 
 upon the Cross, dead in regard to 
 mortal life, but still living (sec John 
 xi.x. 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 
 stream, 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 
 ApoUinaris (Routh, Rett. i. i5i) cV- 
 ;^eaff CK rrjs TrXeupaj avTov ra dvo ira- 
 "Ktv KaBaporia v8a>p Kol alfia, \6yov Koi 
 i7vevfia (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 : Nee reticendum 
 quod in hoc quoque sanguis et aqua 
 testimonium illi dederunt quod de 
 latere mortui vivaciter effluxerunt, 
 quod erat contra uaturam 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, hut in the 
 icater and in the Mood, followed by 
 
 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 
 (Si' V. Koi at) is now spoken of in its 
 separate parts {(v ra v. Koi iv to 
 alfi..). 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 
 its 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 Augus- 
 tine, whose Commentary is not ex- 
 tant after v. 3, well combines the 
 historic and sacramental references : 
 Qiii venit per aquam et sangidnem. 
 aquam videlicet lavacri et sanguinem 
 suse passionis : non solum baptizari 
 propter nostram ablutioneni 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. 
 
 fim...fi/...J The historic Mission of 
 Christ — the pledge of His Presence- 
 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 
 
 Xp 
 
 ItTTO?' OUK eV Ttp vSuTl jULOUOV dW iv TW vBuTl KUl 
 
 ev TW aifxaTi' kul to Trveu/na ecTTLv to juapTupouv, oTi to 
 
 fiSvor: fiibvif B. at/mn XB vg me the syrr: Tri/eii/iari A (some add Tn-eu/iari, 
 others read aiiJum...TT-veu/j.ari.). to Trveu/x.a (2"): X/mcttos vg. Perhaps xpo for sps. 
 (Not Ambr. Fulg.) 
 
 Koi TO TTi/....] and t/ie 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' (v. 9). His testimony is 
 given now and uninterruptedly. Such 
 '.witness' is the peculiar office of the 
 Spirit (John xiv. 26 ; xv. 26 ; xvi. 
 8 if). 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 witness 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 parallelism 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 heareth 
 witness, ever applying and interpret- 
 ing His Mission and His gifts. 
 
 oTi TO jTveO/xa. . .] quoniam {quod) 
 ChristusY.jbecause the Spirit... The 
 conjunction (oTt) 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 unless 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 (i) be- 
 
 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. 
 
 St' vSoTos Koi aJ/i.] 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 symbolism of 'blood' as re- 
 presenting the natural human 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 iii. 5 ; iv. 14 ; vii. 38 (Zech. 
 xiv. 8). Comp. Apoc. xxi. 6; xxii. i, 17. 
 
 ovK. ill Ta SS. fi.] not in the water 
 only. The reference is probably to 
 such teachers as Irenaeus mentions 
 (i. 26, i) : [Cerinthus docuit] post 
 baptismum descendisse in eum (lesum) 
 ab ea principalitate quae est super 
 omnia Christum figura columbse; et 
 tunc annunciasse ineognitum Patrem 
 et virtates perfecisse : in fine autem 
 revolasse itemm Christum de Jesu et 
 Jesum passum esse et resurrexisse ; 
 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 ovk 
 iv ra 58. /ioKov, and not ov bi vS. fiovov. 
 He contradicts a false view of Christ's 
 abiding work and not only a false 
 view of Christ's Person in Himself. 
 
1 84 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [V. 7, 8 
 
 irvevixd ecrTiv tj d\/i6eia. "'on Tpei<i elcriu ol [xapTv- 
 pouvTC^, ^t6 TTvevna kuI to uBwp Kai TO ai/ULa, kuI ol 
 
 7 Tpeh: oi Tpas N. 7, 8 See Additional Note. 
 
 cause it is essentially fitted to do so : 
 or (2) because by its essential nature 
 it is constrained to do so. Pei'haps 
 the one idea passes into the other, so 
 that it is not necessary to distinguish 
 them sharply. In that which is Di- 
 vine, nature and oflBce coincide. 
 
 TO irv. iariv i; oA.] the Spirit is the 
 Truth. Just as Christ is the Truth 
 (John xir. 6), so the Spirit sent in 
 Christ's name is the Truth. The Spirit 
 cannot but make known, as men can 
 bear the revelation, that which is 
 eternal and absolute in changing phe- 
 nomena. That which ' is ' is in virtue 
 of the Spirit, in virtue of Christ (CoL 
 i. 15 ffi). 
 
 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 ilium ve- 
 ritatem praedicat, Filius tonitrui veri- 
 tatem evangelizat : taceant blasphemi 
 qui hunc phantasma esse dogmati- 
 zant ; pereant de terra memorise eo- 
 mm qui eum vel Deum vel hominem 
 esse verum denegant. 
 
 7, 8. ort Tptis ela-iv.,.] Because 
 three are they... This clause appears 
 to give the reason for the main pro- 
 position in e. 5, that 'Jesus is the 
 Son of God,' a truth briefly expressed 
 and affirmed by His full Name, 'Jesus 
 Christ.' What has been said in v. 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 flF. 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 
 
 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 
 is given perfectly in the declaration 
 of His Nature and Office as 'the 
 Truth.' Yet it is possible that the 
 oT-i may simply explain the addition 
 of the Spirit : " besides ' the Water ' 
 and ' the Blood,' there is yet another 
 witness; because three are they that 
 bear witness." 
 
 rpels...ol iiapTvpoiivTes] The passage 
 from the neuter 7-0 naprvpovv to the 
 masculine 01 iiaprvpovvTes marks the 
 different aspect under which the 
 witness is now regarded, as a per- 
 sonal witness. Tlie transition is made 
 through the Spirit, who is regai-d- 
 ed both as a power and as a per- 
 son : comp. John xiv. 26 ; xv. 26, 
 TO nvfvpa...o...€Ketvos. 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. 
 
 o( ixapr.] The participle, as distin- 
 guished from the noun oi pApTvpts 
 (Acts i. 8 ; ii. 32, fee), expresses the 
 actual delivery of the witness, and 
 this is a present, continuous, action. 
 The witness here is considered mainly 
 as the living witness of the Church 
 and not as the historical witness of 
 the Gospels. Through 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. TO irvfi/iia] The Spirit has a two- 
 fold office, one corresponding with 
 
 that of Christ {ovtos eariv 6 eKdav... 
 TO TTvevfm ioTtv to p-aprvpovv...); and 
 
V.9] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHX. 
 
 185 
 
 T-joet? ets TO ev e'lcriu. 'Gt Trjv iJ.apTvpi.av tmv dvdpanrwv 
 XajuL^dvo/uLev, r] imapTvpia tou 6eou fxei^wv k<rTiv, OTi 
 a'vTri ecTTtv »j juapTvpla tou Oeov OTi nefxapTvpr]Kev irepi 
 
 9 Twv avdp^: Tov deoO N*. 
 
 the other coordinate with that of the 
 power of spiritual life and the power 
 of redemption brought by Christ (i-o 
 nv., TO vSap, TO alfio). 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 f. 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 v. 32. 
 
 oi j-pfif €« TO fv diTiv] the three are 
 for 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- 
 lute end,' to establish the one Truth 
 (to £v, the oiw, not simply one), that 
 definite Truth which is everywhere 
 present through the Epistle. The 
 idea is not that of simple unanimity 
 in the witnesses {els ev etvai), but that 
 of their convergence (so to speak) 
 on the one Gospel of 'Christ come in 
 the flesh,' to know which is eternal 
 life. 
 
 With the phrase els to ev elvat may 
 be contrasted ev elvat John x. 30; 
 xvii. 2lf.; iCor. iii. 8; Te\eiov(r0ai els 
 ev John xvii. 23 ; a-vvayeiv els ev 
 John xi. 52. 
 
 9 — 12. St John goes on from con- 
 sidering the character of the witness 
 to Christ to consider its eflFectiveness. 
 It is a divine witness (9) : it is a 
 human, 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 home witness concerning His 
 
 OTI (2°) NAB vg me the: rjv r. 
 
 Son. '" He that believeth on the Son 
 of God hath the witness in himself: 
 he that believeth not God hath made 
 Him a liar, because he hath not be- 
 lieved on the witness which God hath 
 borne concerning His Son. "Anil 
 this is the witness, that God gave us 
 eternal life, and this life is in His 
 Son. "He that hath the Son hath 
 the life : he that hath not the Son of 
 God hath not the life. 
 
 9. El TTiv /x. T. avdp. Xa/i(3.] Si... 
 accipimus V., ^we receive.. ■ This is 
 assumed as unquestioned: c. iii. 13. 
 The threefold witness of which St 
 John has spoken, simply as being 
 threefold, satisfies the conditions of 
 human testimony. Much more then, 
 he argues, does a threefold divine 
 witness meet all claims ; and such a 
 witness, it is implied, we have in the 
 witness of the Spirit, the water and 
 the blood. This witness therefore is 
 ' greater ' than the witness of men in 
 regard to its authority : John v. 36. 
 Comp. 0. iii. 20; iv. 4. 
 
 For /inpr. Xa/ijS. see John iii. 11, 
 32 f.; V. 34. 
 
 The form of the argument is irregu- 
 lar. Instead of completing the sen- 
 tence on the same type as he began, 
 'much more shall we receive the wit- 
 ness of God,' St John states that which 
 is the ground of this conclusion, 'the 
 witness of God is greater.' 
 
 OTI avTTi C....0T1...] quoniam hoc est 
 .. quia... v., because this is. ..that... 
 The words look backward and for- 
 ward. This triple witness which has 
 been described, and which is now 
 defined further to be a witness of God 
 concerning His Son : this is the final 
 form of the witness of God. 
 
 The witness was open and visible 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [V. lo 
 
 TOU 
 
 if 
 
 uiou avTOv. 
 
 TTicTTeubov ets Tov u'lov TOU veou 
 6 fxri 7ri(7Tev(av tw dew 
 
 e^ei Tr]v fxapTupiav ev auTW 
 
 lo Trjy fiapT. HB the syrr: +toC BeoC A vg me. avra AB: eauT-^J >?. 
 
 Ttfi Beifi KB me syrr: tc? vli} A vg syrhlmg (others read t^ uii? tou fleou, tijj viif 
 auTou, and Cod. Am. omits by the first hand). 
 
 to the world in the general efifect of 
 Christ's death and the pouring out of 
 the Spirit : so 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 
 a witness has been given, and there- 
 fore we appeal to it. 
 
 The second on is ambiguous. It 
 may be (i) parallel with the former 
 one : ' because this is the witness of 
 God, because, 1 say. He hath borne 
 witness...'; or, it may be (2) explana- 
 tory of the fiapTvplav. 'because this 
 is the witness of God, even that He 
 hath borne witness...'; or again (3) 
 the word may be the relative (o «) : 
 'because this is the witness of God, 
 even that which He hath witness- 
 ed....' 
 
 No one of the explanations is with- 
 out difiiculty. 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 1 1 n.] 
 
 The usage of St John (c. i. 5 ; v. 
 II, 14) is equally against (i). 
 
 On the whole it is best to take the 
 clause as explanatory of auri; : ' 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. c. 11. 
 
 lifHaprvprjKev] testificatus est v., 
 
 /lath witnessed. The form is to be 
 distinguished from 'witnesseth' and 
 ' witnessed.' 
 
 p.eii.af)Tvpt)Ka John i. 34; iii. 26; v. 
 2,3, ij; xi.x. 35. (Hebr. xi. 5 ; 3 John 
 
 12.) 
 
 inapTvpr)(Ta John i. 32; iv. 44; 
 xiii. 21; Acts XV. 8; i Cor. xv. 
 15; I Tim. vi. 13; 3 John 6; Apoc. 
 i. 2 ; Hebr. xi. 2, 4, 39. 
 
 It may be added that vv. 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.' 
 
 10. 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 t/uit believeth on the 
 Son of God hath the witness in him- 
 sdf. 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 {fhe Son of 
 God) points to the assurance of this 
 efifect Moreover it is to be noticed 
 that here the condition laid down is 
 belief in the Person of Christ (ttiot. 
 eis), and not belief in a fact (irwrr. on. 
 V. 1). 
 
 6 fii) jTio-r. Tffl 6.] he that belieseth 
 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 iifi nKmiav tm 6ea 
 
V. n] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 187 
 
 ylrevorTriv TrCTroirjKev avTOv, oti ov TreTriarTeuKev ek Trju 
 juapTvptav r\v juejuapTuprjKev 6 6eo? -Trepi tov vlou avTOu. 
 
 iwviov 'ehwK€v 
 
 "Kai auTti €<rTiv t] /japTUpia, oti tcorjv a 
 
 ov iretrtarevKey r'B: oix iirlaTivffsv A {piK iiriaTevKev K). fxefiapT. -. i^afyrOprjKev H. 
 
 (as distinguished from /i^ rr. els tov 6.) 
 see John v. 24; vi. 29 f.; viii. 30 f. 
 Comp. c. iii. 23 n. 
 
 ^ev(rTr)v neir. au.] mendacem faeit 
 v., hath made Him a liar, false in 
 aU His dealings with men. See i. 
 10 n. The word marks the general 
 character and not only falsity in the 
 particular case. Comp. John viii. 44 ; 
 c. 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. 
 
 'ir(iTQlrjK€V...Tr€7ria'T€vK€v\ 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 
 ■jTfjrioTeu/ca, John iii. r8; vi. 69 (c. iv. 
 16); xi. 27 ; xvi. 27; XX. 29; 2 Tim. 
 i. 12; Tit. iii. 8. 
 
 OTI OV ircmtrr.J The negative ex- 
 presses the direct fact. Contrast John 
 iii. 18 on jiri TtcitiaT. which presents 
 the conception. See John vi. 64. 
 
 ov TTfTTioT. €is rijv /lopr.] non ere- 
 didit in testimonium V., hath not 
 believed on the witness, not simply 
 'believed the witness.' The phrase 
 is unique. Belief in the truth of the 
 witness (ttiot. tji luiprvpia, compare 
 John V. 47) is carried on to personal 
 belief in the object of the witness, 
 that is, the Incarnate Son Him- 
 self. 
 
 The phrase is illustrated by ttut- 
 Tfieai els to ovofia (v. 13 n.), in which 
 the 'name' represents the Person 
 under the particular aspect which it 
 expresses. In one other case irifTTei!- 
 
 fiv (Is is used with an object not 
 directly personal, John xii. 36 incrTeveiv 
 els TO c^mr, but here <t>cis is used with 
 immediate reference to John viii. 12 ; 
 ix. s. 
 
 So it stands out that the ultimate 
 object of faith is not a fact or a dogma 
 but a Person. 
 
 ijf fiefiapr....'] It might have seemed 
 simpler to say 'the witness of God' 
 (v. 9) ; but St John repeats at length 
 what he has shewn that witness to be, 
 a witness concerning His Son. 
 
 II, 12. 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. 
 
 II. (caiauT?;...] 'The witness of God' 
 (v. 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, ev TW ovoiian). 
 
 f. cu. eSaKev] gave eternal life, not 
 hath given. Compare c. iiL 23 f. 
 (fSoHcei/) with c. iii. i; iv. 13; v. 20 
 (Se'SoHcfy). 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 (ij^tiK), who appropriate it. 
 
 foj^i/ aX<!ivuni\ W. 13, 20; C. iii. 15. 
 This form is to be distinguished from 
 ^ f. 17 cddv. (c. L 2, note) and ^ almvios 
 f. which occurs only John xvii. 3. 
 It simply defines the character of the 
 life, and does not identify it with the 
 only true life. 
 
i88 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [V. 12, 13 
 
 d 6eo%' rifjiiv, kul avTt] 7] ^wt] ev tw vim avrou icrrii/. 
 "d e^tov TO J/ ulov e%et ttji^ ^coriv 6 jurj e^wv tov vlov 
 Tov deou Trju ^toriv ouk e^ei. '^ TavTa eypayfy-a 
 
 II 6 ff. iifi.B (the) syrlil : ijpL. 6 S. NA vg me syrvg. 
 
 auTTj iariv rj f. A. 
 
 fv TM viw] The life is not separate 
 from God but in God. Believers united 
 with Christ are in Him united with 
 God. Comp. Rom. vi. 23; 2 Tim. 
 i. I. 
 
 12. o txav...] The variations from 
 exact parallelism in the two members 
 of the verse are significant. In the 
 second member tov vlov tov $eov 
 stands for tov vlov, and the position 
 of rfiv fco?ii/ is changed. 
 
 6 ex'^" '^°^ vliv^ He tluit hath the 
 Son, in Whom the Father is known. 
 Comp. c. li. 23 ; 2 John 9 ; and for 
 the use of cx"", John iii. 29 ; iv. 17. 
 
 fX" '"'?'' C] hath life, or rather 
 the life which God has given. Con- 
 trast V. 13; iii. 15; John v. 26; 
 X. 10; XX. 31. Comp. Col. iii. 4. 
 
 In the spirit of these words Igna- 
 tius speaks of Jesus Christ as to 
 dSiaxpiTov ^/lav (fjv, ' our inseparable 
 life' {Eph. 3); and to oKijdivov ^fiav 
 (ijv, 'our true life' {Smyrn. 4). Comp. 
 Magn. 5 ; Trail. 9. 
 
 o }i.T\ f\aiv T. vl. TOV 6.] he that hath 
 not tfie Son of God. The fuller title 
 seems to mark emphatically the ne- 
 cessity of failure in such a case. God 
 is the only source of life. 
 
 For the combination of the positive 
 and negative see c. i. 5 ; ii. 4, 27 ; 
 John i. 3; iii. 16. 
 
 III. The Activity .4JSD Confidejjcb 
 OP THE Christian Life: Epi- 
 logue. 
 
 This last section of the Epistle is 
 symmetrical in structure; 
 
 1. The aim re-stated {12,). 
 
 2. The confidence of spiritual 
 
 action (14 — 17). 
 
 3. The certainty of spiritual 
 
 knoicledge (18 — 20). 
 
 4. A final teaming (21). 
 The progress of thought is clear. 
 Having reached the close of his 
 writing St John recals the main 
 purpose of writing it (i. 4), which he 
 has fulfilled (». 13); and then illus- 
 trates the confidence of the Christian 
 life under two aspects, (i) as it finds 
 expression in spiritual action(i4 — 17), 
 and (2) as it is realised in inward con- 
 viction (18 — 20,1. He concludes by a 
 warning against everything which 
 usurps the place of God (21).') 
 
 I. The aim of the E23istle re- 
 stated {i^. 
 
 '3 These things ha>:e I written, that 
 ye may know that ye have eternal life, 
 to you who believe on t/ie name of the 
 Son of God. 
 
 13. TavTa eypa\jra] These things 
 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 eypay\ra (contrast 
 yeypa<f>a John xix. 22) see c. ii. 12 
 —14 note. The Apostle looks back 
 upon his work, and records the aim 
 which he set before himself. 
 
 wa ciSrJTe] 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 
 knowledge of life which is independ- 
 ent of external signs ; and this St 
 John seeks to quicken. 
 
 The order fw^i/ f^- "'w". is not found 
 
V. 14] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 189 
 
 v/uiLU \va etSjjre oti ^(joyjv e';^eTe a'luivLOV, toIs TriCTTeiiova-iv 
 ets TO bvofxa tov ulov tou 6eo0. ^'^kuI auTrj ecTTiv rj 
 Trapprjcria i]v e^Ofxev tTjOOs auTOu, oti eav ti a'iTWfxeda 
 
 13 v/jlv (CAB vg me the syrr; +Tors irLureiovaiv ei's t6 &voixa. tov vlov tov deov 5". 
 
 Ix- ilti"- AB vg syrhl : aliiv. ^x- ^- '"'>" TncrTevova-i.v S*B syrr : oi TruTTfi- 
 
 ovrey K'^A vg me the: koX iVa Tna-TevijTe S", 14 ^xo/*^"' ^X^j^^*' ■^' ^^^ 
 
 edK Ti S"XB syrhl the: i>7-< ok A: on S ^ok vg syrvg. 
 
 elsewhere : the epithet comes as an 
 afterthought: 'that ye have life— yes, 
 eternal life.' 
 
 Tots niarevova-iv] to you who heliece. 
 The dative, vrhich is added as a kind 
 of afterthought, defines the character 
 of the persons who are addressed : ' to 
 you, yes, to you who believe ..' Com- 
 pare John i. 12; V. 16. The present 
 activity of faith {■mcrTeiova-Lv) is the 
 sign of life (iii. 23 note). 
 
 Tois nuTT. (Is TO ov....] qui creditis 
 in nomine... Y., who believe in the 
 name of..., who believe in Him who 
 is revealed to us under this title as 
 being the Son of God. Contrast iii. 
 23 note {iria-T. Ta oV.); and compare 
 John i. 12 note; ii. 23 note; iii. iS. 
 For similar uses of ovo/lio see c. ii. 12 
 {bia. TO ovojia avTov) note; 3 John 7 
 (t-o ovofxa) note. 
 
 TOV vlov TOV 6eov\ the Son of God, 
 m. 5, 10, 12, 20; iii. 8 note; iv. 15. 
 The title is the pledge of the cer- 
 tainty of the possession of life. 
 
 2. The confidence ofspiritiud action 
 (14—17). 
 
 The consciousness of a divine life 
 brings to the believer perfect bold- 
 ness in prayer, that is, in converse 
 with God (14, 15); and this boldness 
 finds characteristic expression in in- 
 tercession for the brethren (16, 17). 
 
 ^*And this is the boldness which 
 we have towards Him, that, if we ask 
 anything according to His will. He 
 heareth us. '^And if we know that 
 He heareth tts whatsoever we ask, we 
 know that we Iiave the petitions which 
 loe have asked from Him. 
 
 ■* If any one see his hrotlier sinning 
 a sin not unto death, lie shall ask, and 
 He (he) icillgive 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: '7 all un- 
 righteov^sness is siii, and there is sin 
 not unto death. 
 
 14. Kcu. auTTj...] 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. Comp. 
 Matt, xviii. 15, 20. 
 
 I) napprjcria f/v t^oF^""-] fducia 
 quani Imbemus... V., the boldness of 
 speech, utterance, which we have as 
 the consequence of our possession of 
 life. See c. 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 (c. iii. 21); 
 and he looks forward to a like open- 
 ness of trust 'at the presence of 
 Christ' (iL 28), and 'in the day of 
 judgment' (iv. 17). 
 
 Trpor auTw] ad eum Y., towards 
 Him, that is, God, the main subject 
 of the passage. 
 
 avTrj ... OTI ... QKQveL ...] this ...tliat 
 ...He heareth. The fact (that He 
 heareth) and not the conviction of 
 the fact ('we know that He heareth'), 
 is identified with the feeling. Our 
 boldness is not simply a belief, but 
 indeed a certainty, an experience. 
 
 eav Ti aiTaiieda] quodcunque petie- 
 rimtis v., if we ask anything. The 
 
190 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [V. 15, 16 
 
 Kara to 6e\r]fxa avroO aKOvei nfjLWV. ^^Kac eav otZa^ev 
 on aKOvei rj/ULwv o eav airutfjieQa, o'lhafxev on exofiev 
 
 (zap Tis lori Tov 
 
 Tu aiTrjfxaTa a TiTrjKajuev air avTOv. 
 
 6i\-qii.a.: ovo/ia A. 15 Kal iav (av B) oiSafxev (Idoi/iev H' me) on Ak. -i). 5" 
 
 (X"^) B syrr (me) the : et scimus vg : om. N*A. ^x.oi^ef : ^xw/^ej' ^5 {iav Ix- H*). 
 
 air' avTov XB : Trap' airov 5" A. 
 
 distinction between the middle [al- 
 Teia-dai) and the active {ahf'iv) is not 
 sharply dra^vn; 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 alreltrBai see 
 Matt, xsvii. 20 (and parallels), 58 (and 
 parallels); Acts iii. 14. 
 
 Kara to BeKrjiia avJ] according to 
 His will. Comp. i Pet. iv. 19; Gal. 
 i. 4; Bph. i. 5, II. This will finds 
 expression in the soul : John .\v. 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. 
 
 oKouci rjiimv] Compare John is. 3 1 ; 
 xi. 41 f. This sense of 'hearing' is 
 peculiar to St John. The 'hearing' 
 of God, like the 'knowledge' of God, 
 carries with it every perfect conse- 
 quence. For the thought see c. iii. 22. 
 
 15. KoliiwoXhaiJ.fV...'] Etscimus\., 
 si scimus F., And if ice 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.' 
 
 eav alrmiieBa} whatsoever we ask. 
 This universal phrase can be substi- 
 
 tuted for the limited phrase which 
 was used before {iav n air. k.t.6). The 
 believer would not make his own 
 any prayer which is not according 
 to God's will. And since he has made 
 God's will his own will, he has all he 
 truly seeks in immediate and present 
 possession (Mark xi, 24) though the 
 visible fulfilment may be delayed. 
 
 ra aiT-ij/iara] petiliones V., tlu pe- 
 titions (Phil. iv. 6; Luke xxiii. 24): 
 the substance of the requests, if not 
 necessarily the actual things asked 
 for (to atTTjdevTa). 
 
 air avTovl from Him. These words 
 go perhaps more naturally with 'have' 
 (c. ii. 20) than with ' asked.' Yet see 
 Matt. XX. 20 (air avTov). 
 
 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 
 mth 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 
 coiTesponds 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 
 
V. i6] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 191 
 
 dS€\(p6v avTOu ctjuLapTavovTa dfiapTiav fxti ttjOos ddvaTOv, 
 aiTricrei, Kal Swcrei avTcv ^w>jVj Toh djaapTciuovcnv fxri 
 
 16 aiT7io'£i...S(jba€ti alr-^ffLS (-^<r«sj..,5c6(reis K*. roh afj.afrr. firj : to?s fj.r] 
 
 afiaprav. afiapHav /i-rj A, 
 
 order; and throughout the Epistle 
 St John assumes the reality of this 
 inner fellowship among those whom 
 he addresses, and he bases his argu- 
 ments upon it. 
 
 Compare i Pet. iv. Z rrjv «s iavTovs 
 ayarrriv; id. 10 els favTovs avTO Sta- 
 KovovvTcs; Bph. iv. 32; Col. iii. 13 
 X<ipifo/i£i/ot iavTois; Col. iii. 16 vovde- 
 ToiivTes (avTovs. 
 
 16. 'Eai/ ns tSjj...] 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. 
 
 Tov ddfXfpbv avTov] his brother. 
 The end of prayer is the perfection of 
 the whole Christian body. The Chris- 
 tian prays for himself only as a mem- 
 ber in the society. The sight of sin 
 in 'a brother' — a fellow Christian 
 (c. ii. 9 note) — and it is only with 
 Christians that St John is dealing — 
 necessarily stirs to intercession. Comp. 
 Clem, ad Cor. i. 2 eV! rois napa- 
 TTTafiaa-L rav nX^a-iov eircvdeiTC Ta 
 vtrrepijfiaTa avrcdv i8ta cKplvfTe. 
 
 a/iapT. a/xopr.] peccare peccatum 
 v., sinning a sin. The form of ex- 
 pression {apapTavovTo, inadequately 
 rendered in the Latin) emphasises 
 the outward present character of the 
 act. There is no exact parallel in 
 Jf. T. to the phrase. Comp. c. il 25. 
 Winer iii § 32, 2. 
 
 /iij Trpor Bavarov] not unto death. 
 Life is fellowship with Christ {v. 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 degree. 
 
 The thought is not of the definite 
 
 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 the participle and with the 
 noun, as is shewn separately after- 
 wards. 
 
 For the conception of 'death' see 
 c. ii. 14 (the only other place in the 
 Epistles where the word occurs), 
 John v. 24 (viii. 51 f.; vi. 50; xi. 26; 
 viii. 24). The thought is evidently 
 not of physical death as James v. 14 
 fi'. Compare, in another connexion, 
 John XI. 4 ai'TV V da-deveia ovk eart 
 TTpos flai/oToi'. The subjective nega- 
 tive {p.Tj wpbs 6.) naturally follows 
 from the supposition (idv ns). It is 
 otherwise in z>. 1 7. 
 
 al-TTia-fi] petit (-at) v., postidabit P., 
 he shall ask. This will be his natural 
 and spontaneous action. There is no 
 need of a command. 
 
 Kol 8<aa-et] atid he tcill give. The 
 subject has been taken to be (i) the 
 intercessor, or (2) God {dabit ei mtam 
 Dominus Tert. de Ptidic. 19; but 
 dahitur ei, id. 2). In favour of the 
 first view the continuity of the con- 
 struction (aiTijo-fi, haa-fi) 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 ; 
 c. II. 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 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [V. 17 
 
 TTjOos ddvaTOV. ecTTiv djuapTLa ttjOOs davaTOV ov Trepi 
 eKeivri^ Xeyu) 'iva epwTrja-r]. '''Tracra dSiKia dixapTLa 
 
 ipur^ar} : + ti! vg syr vg. ipari^a-ris X°. 
 
 then mra maj' be the ' ethical ' 
 dative, and rois mar. the direct 
 object of Sda-ft: ' 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 
 avTm is most naturally the sinning 
 brother in any case. 
 
 8. ftfl'ii'] give life. The sinner is 
 not 'dead,' nor ret 'sinning unto 
 death,' but his life is, as it were, sus- 
 pended in part. Comp. John x. 10. 
 
 Tois afiapr.^ even to them that... 
 The single case {ifj.apTavovTa) is now 
 generalised. Comp. ». 13. 
 
 The apposition of a personal plural 
 to an abstract noun is not strictly 
 parallel; i Cor. i. 2. 
 
 e(rrtv ap.. np'os 6.'\ Est peccatum ad 
 mortem V., There is sin unto death. 
 The translation 'a sin' {apapria rts) 
 is too definite. The thought is not 
 of specific acts as such, but of acts 
 which have a certain character : 
 'There is that which must be de- 
 scribed as sin unto 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. 
 
 ov TTfpi fK(ivTfs\iya iKa...] non pro 
 illo dico ut roget quis V., not con- 
 cerning that do I say that... The 
 sin unto death is isolated and re- 
 garded in its terrible distinctness 
 {eKeivt]). The words irepl eKelinjs 
 may be connected either with Xeym or 
 with (paT^oTj. Perhaps it is best to 
 connect them with epmrijcrj. Comp. 
 John xvi. 26 ; xvii. 9, 20. 
 
 The construction Xeya tva is not 
 common : Acts xix. 4. Comp. elirc'iv 
 iva Matt. iv. 3, &c. ; ippi^Br) "iva Apoc. 
 vi. II, &c. 
 
 epmr^crrf] make request. The change 
 of the verb from alrelv (V. petere), 
 {aWelcrdai), to iparav (V. rogare), 
 cannot but be significant. 'Epmrfii/ 
 is the word which is used of Christ's 
 prayer to the Father (John xiv. 16; 
 xvi. 26 ; xvii. 9, i S, 20 ; comp. i Thess. 
 iv. I ; 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 tlie prayer of brother for 
 brother as such, to the common 
 Father. Such a 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. iraaa dStxia...] omnis iniqui- 
 tas... v., aM unrighteousness... The 
 words are added to shew the wide 
 scope which is given for the exercise 
 of Christian sympathy and interces- 
 sion. Apart from such sins as are 
 open manifestations of a 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 (c. 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 unright- 
 eousness is sin ' must be compared 
 
 1 It is interesting to notice that ipoir^v 
 is used in this sense of Christian prayer 
 for Christians in a very early inscription 
 in the Roman Catacombs; zhchc eN 
 
 KCO KiM epWTA YTT6P HMCON (North- 
 
 cote and Brownlow, Eoma Sotterranea, 
 ii. 159). 
 
V. i8] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 193 
 
 etTTLV, Kat ecTTiu d/uLapTia ov ttjOos ddvaTOv. ^^O'l- 
 
 Safxev OTi 7r«s 6 yeyevurjiuLevo^ e/c tov 6eou ov^ d/nap- 
 
 17 oi) irp6s: om. oi) vg syrhl the Tert. 
 
 with the comprehensive definition of 
 sin in c. iii. 4 lawlessness is sin, and 
 conversely sin is lawlessness. 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 'sins.' 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. Bom. vi. 13 SirKa aSiKi'aj 
 TTJ dfjtapria. 
 
 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- 
 afSrms the truths which the Christian 
 knows: the privileges of the divine 
 birth (18); the fact of the divine 
 kinsmanship (19) ; the advance in 
 divine understanding issuing from 
 divine fellowship (20). 
 
 The threefold repetition of oida/iev, 
 we know (18, 19, 20), gives a rhythmic 
 form to the paragraph. 
 
 '8 TVe know that everyone who is 
 begotten of God sinneth not, hut 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 icorld 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 
 that is true; and we are in Him that 
 
 W. J. 
 
 is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. 
 This is 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 
 re-affirms 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. 
 
 OKa/ifi/] 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 ol&afiev OTi iav ^avepcady Ofiotoi 
 avra €0-6fieda, OTi 6^6y.i6a avTov 
 KaOas eaTiv. 
 
 iii. 14 ijfttty oidaiiev on fiera^e^rj- 
 KOfiev ix. Toil Oavarov (Is ttjv CafjV, on 
 dyaTrafiev Toiis dd€\<povs. 
 
 V. 18 o'SafifV on was 6 ycycvvrjiiivos 
 CK Toil 6eov ovx afiapTavei. 
 
 V. 19 oidafiev on €k tov Beov e(rfJi€v. 
 V. 20 olbaii.€V on o vios tov Beoii 
 ^Kei Kol SeSoxcev ^fuv Siavoiav ii/a yivd- 
 ITKOfieV TOV d\i)dtvov. 
 
 In contrast with these appeals to 
 fundamental knowledge, St John else- 
 where appeals to the knowledge 
 brought by actual experience (yivd- 
 a-KOfiev): V. 2 note. 
 
 St Paul uses the same form (otSa- 
 fiev) not unfrequently : i Cor. viii. i, 
 4; 2 Cor. V. i; Rom. ii. 2; iii. 19; 
 vii. 14; viii, 22, 28; i Tim. i. 8. 
 
 Ol'Sare is found: 
 
 ii. 20 oZdare iravTes...Triv d\ij6eiav. 
 
 iii. 5 otSoTf OTI (Ktivos e<f)avcpd6ri iva 
 \ < /I 
 
 Tas afiapTias aprj. 
 
 iii. 15 o'lSare oti tras dvBpamoKTovos 
 
 OVK €;^e( ^arfv aldviov iv avTa fievovtrav, 
 
 13 
 
194 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [V. 19 
 
 t<s e/f Tou 
 
 Tcivei, dW V 'yewnQei' 
 6 7rovripo9 ovx ccTrreTai 
 6eou ecTfiev, kul 6 Koa-fxo's 
 
 18 o ycvvrjeels: generatio vg. 
 Tra? o ytyfvv, CK rov 6.] 07T1711S 
 
 qui nattis est ex Deo V. Comp. c. 
 iii. 9 note. 
 
 ou'x aiiapravfi] Comp. iii. 9 note 
 (duapTiav ov jrotfi). While St John 
 states this without reserve he yet 
 recognises 'the brother' — brother as 
 son of the one Father — 'sinning a sin 
 not unto death' (». i6). The paradox 
 remains unsolred. 
 
 aXX' 6yevini6('is---T. at).] sed gcnero- 
 tio {nativUas F.) Dei conservat eum 
 v., hut He that was Begotten of God 
 keepeth him. He does not depend 
 on his own strength or vigilance. He 
 has an active Enemy (o novripos), but 
 he has also a watchfiil Guardian. 
 
 The phrase o yewr)6e\s i< TOU 6(0v 
 is unique. Standing as it does in close 
 juxtaposition with 6 ytyevrnjiifvos « 
 TOU 6cov it is impossible to regard it 
 as identical in reference, and the men- 
 tion of the great adversary naturally 
 suggests the thought of the Son of 
 God. The peculiar expression is pro- 
 bably used to emphasise the con- 
 nexion of the Son with those whom 
 He 'is not ashamed to call brethren ' 
 (Hebr. ii. ii tl tvos n-oM-er); while 
 the difference of ycvvi]deis from ye- 
 yewriiUvos suggests that difference in 
 the sonship of the Son from the son- 
 ship of men which is marked in John v. 
 26 T« via cdtaKcv ^(ofjv €)^eiv iv iavra. 
 
 The remarkable Latin reading ap- 
 pears to represent the Greek ij ytv- 
 v7j(Tis Tov Ofov (Matt. i. 18). 
 
 TTjpel] The verb is used of persons 
 Matt, xxvii. 36, 54; (xxviii. 4); John 
 xvii. II, 15 (note); Apoc. iii. 10; 
 Jude 21 (eauToir Tijpijo-oTe). It ex- 
 presses a watchful regard from mth- 
 out rather than safe custody. 
 
 o TToiirfpos] malignus V. See c. ii. 
 13 note. 
 
 OTl €K TOU 
 
 KeTrai. 
 
 6eou rrjpeT avrov, kui 
 avTou. ^^o'lBainev 
 6\o^ iu Tw TTOvnpw 
 
 airSf A*B vg: iavrSv rXA**. 
 
 aTTTfTm] 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 
 {Biyyaveiv). Even when it is used of 
 simple physical contact, a deeper 
 connexion is indicated, as when the 
 Lord 'touclied' the sick. See Col. ii. 
 21 1j.f1 ci^f] p,rjde yfvoTi f";Sc 6iy;]C. 
 Compare Ps. cv. 15 p.fi wfrTjirdf 
 rav xP""""" f*""- The ground of 
 safety is revealed in John xiv. 30 ty 
 ffwi ov< €xei ovSev. 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 (cK TOU 6(0v eap-iv). 
 
 The structure 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 « toO 
 6iov fivai and ev T<u rrovrjpa Keiadai. 
 The first describes the absolute source 
 of being: the second the actual (but 
 not essential) position. 
 
 (K roO d. e.] See Additional Note 
 on iii. I. 
 
 Kai 6 K. 0.] This clause like the 
 corresponding clauses in vv. 18 {aiWa 
 6 yevv.\ 20 ((tat i<Tp.<v), is an inde- 
 
V. 20] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 19s 
 
 *°oiSa^6i/ Se OTi 6 ylos tou 6eou >j/c6t, Kai ^eSwKev i]/juv 
 Siavoiav 'I'va yivcoa-KOjULeu tov dXriBivov Kai ecrfxev ev tw 
 
 10 oiSafiev Si SB me: Kai otSa^iev A vg syrr the. -^/tei: +et carnem induit 
 nostri causa et passus est et resurrexit a mortuie; adsumpsit nos et dedit. ...(Latt.). 
 o45<aK€v : ^doiKep A. yiVitjaKOfiev K AB* : yivdxTKUJixev 5". rbv dX. : t6 d\. N* the : 
 + 9c(5» A vg me (Latt.). e<rfi4v: simus vg. ec rijj dX. . om. me; in vita the. 
 
 pendent statement and not dependent 
 on oTi. The Christian is able to look 
 upon the saddest facts of life without 
 being overwhelmed by them. 
 
 The order 6 Koa-fios oXot suggests a 
 slightly diflferent conception from oXos 
 o Koa-fios (c. ii. 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'jentirety of it, are 
 given separately. The same form 
 occure Matt. xvi. 26 and parallels; 
 and the same order in Matt. xxvl. 59 ; 
 Lc. xi. 36; John iv. 53-, Acts xxi. 
 30 ; I Cor. xiv. 23 ; Apoc. iii. 10 ; 
 vi 12; xii. 9; xvi. 14. There is a 
 similar difference of colour given by 
 the coiTCsponding position of -iras: 
 John V. 22; xvi. 13; Matt. x. 30; xiii. 
 56; xxvi. 56; Acts xvi. 33; Rom. xii. 
 4; xvi. 16; I Cor. vii. 17; x. i; xv. 7; 
 xvi. 20, &c. 
 
 ev ra nov. k.] in maligno positus 
 est v., lieth in tM evil one, is placed 
 in the sphere of his influence. There 
 is no question here of the Evil One 
 'laying hold on' (an-Teo-^m) the world, 
 as from without (c. 8) : it has been 
 placed 'in him.' The phrase answers 
 to the elvai Iv TM dXijdixu which fol- 
 lows, and to the characteristic Pauline 
 iv xp"^'^^- Comp. c. iii. 24, iv. 15 
 note. The connexion shews beyond 
 question that ™ jrovripa is masculine, 
 and the converse of Kei<rdai ev t. it. is 
 given in John xvii. 15 Iva Trjpijcrijs ck 
 TOV TToi/ijpoC. Compare Luke xi. 15 ff. 
 fv BefXfe/SouX. 
 
 A close parallel to the expression is 
 found in Soph. (Ed. Col. 247 iv ifi.lv 
 <BS 6eif KCifieda rXa^ovf r. Comp. CEd. 
 
 R. 314; Ak. 279. 
 
 20. The third affirmation of know- 
 ledge is introduced by the adversative 
 particle (oiS. Sc). There is, this seems 
 to be the line of thought, a startling 
 antithesis in life of good and evil. 
 AVe 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 yet 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 fit 
 is comparatively unfrequent in St 
 John's writings: c. L 7; ii. 2, 5, 11, 
 17; iii. 12, 17; iv. 18; 3 John 14. 
 
 ^Kei, Kai. hihmKev'] hath conie and 
 hath given. Faith rests on the per- 
 manence of the fact and not upon 
 the historic fact only. Comp. John 
 viii. 42 note. 
 
 SeSaiKev] c. iii. I, iv. 13. Contrast 
 iii. 23, 24; V. II (cStuKei/) note. 
 
 Siavomv'] sensum V., understand- 
 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 yvaais, nor 
 is voiis found in his Gospel or Epistles. 
 C^iavom, as compared with vous, repre- 
 sents the process of rational thought. 
 Comp. Bph. iv. 18 iv iiarawTriTt tov 
 vobt avrav, icTKorafievoi rg Suivoia 
 ovTes (the first principles of the Gen- 
 tiles were unsubstantial, and they had 
 lost the power of right reasoning). 
 Exclusive of quotations from the txx, 
 Stavoia is found : I Pet. i. 13 ava^aa-a- 
 fifvoi Tas 6<T<jivas tjjs Siavoias ; 2 Pet. 
 iii. I Sifyflpo) T^v flXiKpivij Siavoiav ; 
 and, in a more concrete sense, Lc. i. 
 
 13—2 
 
196 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [V. 20 
 
 dXridivo), ev tw vlw avrou 'Irjaou XpLCTTw. ouros ecrriv 
 
 'I. X. : om. A vg. 
 
 51 btavoia Kapblas ; Col. i. 21 ix&povs 
 TJj Siavoia; Bph. ii. 3 ra ^fXij/xara r^f 
 aapKos Kol Twv biavoiav. 
 
 That with which 'the Son of God' 
 Incarnate has endowed believers is 
 a 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 (ira 
 yvao-iv) but by a continuous and pro- 
 gressive apprehension {iva yivaa-Kaxri), 
 '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 (uios rov 6. ijKfi) 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: bia tI 
 ov TrdvTfs <^p6vifioi yiv6fi€6a XajSovres 
 6fOV yvaa'iVj o iuTiv 'iTjtrovs Xptoroff ; 
 TL fiapas diroWvueda dyvoovvres to )(a- 
 pi<rpxi TrtVo/K^fj/ a\i]6as 6 Kvpios ; 
 (ad Eph. xvii.). 
 
 Iva yi.va>(rKop.ev] This clause finds a 
 remarkable commentary in John xvii. 
 3. Eternal life is the never-ending 
 eflFort after this knowledge of God. 
 Compare John x. 38, tva yvare koX 
 
 yivda-KTjTe on iv €fio\ 6 TraTrjp Kaya ev 
 avra. 
 
 It seems likely that yivcia-Kop.€v is 
 to be regarded as a corrupt pronun- 
 ciation of yivda-Kapitv. It is remark- 
 able that in John xvii. 3 many authori- 
 ties read yivdcrKava-iv for -acriv. Comp. 
 Winer, iii. § 41. i. 
 
 Tov aXrjdivou] verum Deum V., 
 quod est verum F. (i.«. to d\.), Hhn 
 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 Son (John i. 18, xiv. 9). Christ 
 is also called 6 akr)6iv6s, Apoc. iii. 7 ; 
 compare also Aijoc. iii. 14 (vi. 10). For 
 a\r}6i.v6s see John i. 9, iv. 23, xv. i 
 notes. Comp. i Thess. i. 9 6eos fcay 
 KOI aXrjdivos. 
 
 Kat fcrii.fv...'L Xp.J et simus (as de- 
 pending on ut) in vero JUio eius 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.' IVe are in Him 
 t/iMt is 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. 
 
 ovTos soT-tv...] As far as the gram- 
 matical construction of the sentence 
 is concerned the pronoun (oZtos) may 
 refer either to 'Him that is true' or 
 to 'Jesus Christ.' The most natural 
 reference however is to the subject 
 not locally nearest but dominant in the 
 mind of the apostle (comp. c. ii 22 ; 
 2 John 7 ; Acts iv. II; vii. 19). This is 
 obviously 'He that is true' further 
 described by the addition of 'His 
 Son.' Thus the pronoun gathers up 
 the revelation indicated iu the words 
 which precede (comp. John i 2 note) : 
 This Being — this One who is true, 
 who is revealed through and in His 
 Son, with whom we are united by 
 His Son — is the true God and life 
 eternal. In other words the reve- 
 lation of God as Father in Christ 
 (coinp. ii. 22 f.) satisfies, and can alone 
 satisfy, the need of man. To know 
 God as Father is eternal life (John 
 xvii. 3) and so Christ has revealed 
 Him (c. i. 2). 
 
V. 21] 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 197 
 
 d dXridivo^ deo^ Kai ^wt^ a'loivio^. " TcKvia, (pvXd^are 
 eavTa otTrd twi' el^wXwv. 
 
 Beds: om. (Latt.). fu-^ ai. KAB : ^ f. oi. r: ^ f. ^ ai. all.: +et resurrectio 
 nostra (Latt.). 11 eau7ct N*B : eauToiis N^A. eiSiiXwi'; +d/nr)i' S". 
 
 o dXi;(9. 6.] Comp. Is. Ixv. 16 (lxx). 
 Compare the famous words of Igna- 
 tius; €tf deas fiTTi 6 <^av€p(otras eavrov 
 Via 'lTj(rov \puTTOv tov vlov avTov, os 
 ((TTiv avTov \uyos diBioSj djro <Tt.yfjs 
 7rpa€Ko<aVj os Kara Trdvra €vrjp4<TTrj(r€V 
 Ta Treii-yjrairn avTov (ad Magn. viii.). 
 Aristides is said to have maintained 
 before Hadrian 'quod Christus Jesus 
 solus [al. verus) esset Deus' {Mart. 
 Rom. ap. Routh Rell. Sacrr. i. 80). 
 This statement may be regarded as a 
 summary paraphrase of tlie Greek 
 text: ■yti/ojcKoucrj rov 6cov ktIotjjv koI 
 dtjfiiovpyov Tmv aTravrav iv via p.ovo- 
 yevfl Km nvevfian aylco Kai akXov 6eov 
 TvXrjv TOVTOv ov tri^ovTai (c. XV.). The 
 Syriac text has no reference to the 
 Son and the Holy Spirit. Yet see 
 Harnack, Text. ti. Untersuch. i. 1 14. 
 
 ouros-...f(oi7ai(aV.] The phrase is not 
 exactly parallel with those which de- 
 scribe (as far as we can apprehend it) 
 the essential nature of God (John iv. 
 24, c. i. 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 necessity 
 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 
 through God with man. 
 
 "Little children, guard yourselves 
 from idols. 
 
 21. TeKvia] Once again the anxiety 
 of the Apostle calls up the title of 
 aflfection which has not been used 
 since iv. 4. See ii. i note. 
 
 <j>v\a^aT( EOUT-a] custodite vos v., 
 guard yourselves. The exact phrase 
 is not found again in the N. T. Com- 
 pare Trjpciv tavTov Jude 21 ; and yiitXi 
 an adj. James i. 27 ; 2 Cor. xi. 9 ; i 
 Tim. V. 22. This 'guarding' of the 
 Christian answers to the 'keeping' of 
 Christ {v. 8). The use of the active 
 with the reflexive pronoun as dis- 
 tinguished from the middle (Lc. xii. 15 
 <^uXao"crea"^€ dno ir. irXeove^ias) em- 
 phasises the duty of personal effort. 
 The use of the neuter (eavTo.) in direct 
 agreement with TfKvia seems to be 
 unique. For the use of iavrd with 
 the second person see c. i. 8 n. The 
 aorist imp. (ipvXa^are) is remarkable : 
 compare i Pet. ii. 17 for its exact force. 
 Elsewhere in the Epistle (except iii. 
 i) St John always uses the present. 
 
 dno rmv flS.] a simulocris V. The 
 word ('ISaXov is comparatively in- 
 frequent in the N. T., and elsewhere 
 it is always used literally (e.g. 1 Thess. 
 i. 9). But ' idolatry ' (CoL iiL 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 call up all the famihar 
 objects which fall under the title. 
 The command to Christians is not 
 generally to keep themselves from 
 such things as idols (airo flS.) but 
 from the well-known objects of a false 
 devotion. Compare 2 Cor. vi. 16 /lera 
 elSoKav with Rom. ii. 22 o /SSfXutro-. 
 TO eiSoiXa. 
 
 This comprehensive warning is pro- 
 bably the latest voice of Scripture. 
 
igS THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 Additional Note on v. i. Tlie use of the term ' the Christ' 
 
 The use The history of the title 'Messiah,' 'Christ' (n'tran, 6 xP'a''"<>f, 'the 
 
 t 'tVi Anointed One') is very remarkable. It is not a characteristic title of the 
 Christ' in promised Saviour in the 0. T. It is not even specifically applied to Him, 
 the Apo- unless perhaps in Dan. ix. 25 f., a passage of which the interpretation i.s 
 stolic age very doubtful. And still in the apostolic age it was generally current 
 thp Old™ among the Jews in Judaea, Galilee, Samaria, and in the Dispersion ; and 
 Testa- i' ^^'^^ applied by them to the object of their religious and national hope 
 ment. (Matt. ii. 4, xvi. 16, xxii. 42 ; Jolm i. 20, 41, iv. 25, xii. 34 ; Acts ix. 22, 
 xvii. 3, xviii. 28, xxvi. 23). The Hebrew word had beeu clothed in a 
 Greek dress, and was current side by side with the Greek equivalent 
 (Meo-o-mr John i. 42, iv. 25). 
 The use The word H'B'D, 'anointed,' occurs several times in the Book of 
 
 of the Leviticus in the phrase n'BTOn jn'sn ; Lev. iv. 3 (o dpf^iepfiis 6 Kexpto^H^''os), 
 term in ^. /«,* > \ n ht - ,,,«. 
 
 (i) the ^' ' ^'' '5 \o "PX- ° XP'"'''"^^- v^Omp. 2 Mace. 1. 10 (ajro tov Tmv ;fpt(rriai' 
 
 Law, Upeav yevovs). 
 
 (ii) the In the Historical Books the word is used of the representative kings of 
 
 Historical the theocratic nation : Of Saul : 
 °° °' I Sara. xlL 3, J in'SJ'r?, d xpta-Tos avTov. 
 
 1 Sam. xxiv. 6, 11 ; xxvi. 16; 2 Sam. i. 14, 16 nin*. niy'D, LXX. 6 
 
 XPICTOS Kvpiov. 
 
 1 Sam. xxvi. 9, 1 1, 23 nj.n^ O'B'P LXX. xp'ctos Kvpiov. 
 Comp. 2 Sam. i. 21 \Pf^ n'TO 'V?, LXX. ovk expia-Sr] iv iXala,. 
 Of David: 
 
 1 Sam. xvi. 6 UTE"!?, LXX. d xP'fi'os avrov. 
 
 2 Sam. xix. 21 njn^ n^tJ'P, LXX. d xp'ordj Kvpiov. 
 
 2 Sam.xxiii. I ap.^! 'n'^S n'B'O, LXX. xp'o-rdr deoi 'laKoS/S. 
 
 2 Sam. xxii. 51. 
 
 Ps. xviii. 50. 
 Of Solomon : 
 
 2 Chron. vi. 42 in''B'p, LXX. d xP'o^J^or <tov. 
 Of Jehu : 
 
 2 Chron. xxii. 7 LXX. irpos 'lriov...xpi<TT6v Kvpiov, ITp) iil'J'P "IB'N. 
 
 Compare the wider use in : 
 
 1 Sam. ii. lo in'tjip Qp DT'!...nin;,LXX.i;\(^<i)o-« Kc'par xP'o^oO auroO. 
 „ ii 35 'D'B'p \3P7, LXX. ivditiov xpurrav (xpioToC) nou. 
 
 I Chron. xvi. 22. 
 
 Ps. cv. 15. 
 
 (iii) the In the Prophets the word is used of Cyrus : 
 
 Prophets, j^ ^,^ J ^^^i^ ^P,,g;pt, ^..j, ^p^. ^.^^ j^^^_ ^„^_^^ ^^,^^^ ^^^^^ ^ 
 
 5<ds TW XP'"'''*' M"" Kdpo). 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 199 
 
 In the second passage where it occurs it is doubtful whether it is used 
 in a personal or national sense : 
 
 Hab. iii. 13 l^n'B'PTIN VP^h^ LXX. tov a-ma-at Tovs XP'-<^°^^ <'''"'• 
 It occurs twice in a difficult passage of the Book of Daniel : 
 Dan. ix. 25 T3J D'B'D, Theod. xP'oxof ijyou^ti/or. 
 
 „ 26 n'2'10 JT1.3^ Theod. e^oKeBpcuaeTai xpi-cy-^- 
 
 Compare also : 
 
 Amos iv. 13 LXX. airayyeXKav tov xpi-o^ov avTov. 
 
 Hebr. inErno...T30. 
 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 ^™P *' 
 common use in the special technical sense. 
 
 Ps. ii. 2 in'E'P 7V\ nilT. 71;, LXX. Kara tov Kvptov Koi Kara tov 
 
 XptOTOV aVTOV. 
 
 Ps. xviii 50 1)'p in^B'P?, LXX. to xP"^9 auVoG tw Aavfi'S. 
 
 Ps. XX. 6 irT'C'P, LXX. (^(Ttaaev Kvpios) tov xpi^Tov avTov, 
 
 Ps. xxTiii. 8 N-in in»B*p niyiE;''. TISJD, LXX. vnepaamtrTfjs tS>v it<otj]- 
 
 pitOV TOU XpLOTQV OVTOV ioTiV. 
 
 So Ps. Ixxxix. 38, 51, cxxxii. 10, 17. 
 
 Compare Ps. Ixxxiv. 10 ^n'K'tp, Q'HPN, LXX. odeoi...Tov xp'oroi/ <tov. 
 
 It occurs in the plural : 
 
 Ps. cv. 15, I Chron. xvi. 22 'n'S'p, LXX. oi xP'<^<"' /*<>"■ 
 The full phrase is found : 
 
 Lam. iv. 20 nin^ O'K'P, LXX. xP^aros Kvpios. 
 Compare Luke ii. 1 1. 
 
 It will be observed that in all these passages, with the exception of 
 those in Leviticus, 2 Sam. 121, Dan. ix. 25 f., the Anointed One is always 
 spoken of as the Anointed of the Lord or of God. 
 
 The title xP^"^"' occurs in connexion with Kvpws Ecclus. xlvi 19 The use of 
 €7r€fjuipTvpaTo evavTi Kvplov Kol xpLOTOv. . ^ term 
 
 It occurs several times also in the Psalms 0/ Solomon : hooks^'^ 
 
 xviL 36 (there shall be no unrighteousness, because) ndvTes ayioi Psaltns of 
 
 Koi ^ao'iKevs avTav xP^(^t6s Kvpios. Solomon. 
 
 xviii. 8 (happy are they who are) Otto pafiSov iraiSeias ;^pi<rToi) Kv- 
 plov iv (po^at dcov avTov 4v troi^ia nvevfioTos Koi 8iKato,trvvTjs koX 
 la-xvos. 
 xviii. 6 ...els rjixipav fKXoyrjs iv dva^ei ;;^ptoToiJ avTov (toO Geov). 
 
 It is found in the Book of Henoch : Henoch. 
 
 c. 48, 10... they have denied the Lord of Spirits and His Anointed. 
 
 c. 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. 
 
 But even here the title has not become an absolute title (' the Christ,' 
 
 'the Anointed,') but describes one who has the character of ' an anointed one.' 
 
200 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 Targmm. And it occurs twice in the Targum of Onkelos on the Pentateuch : 
 
 Gen. xlix. lo NDo'pO NM n^m KH^B'D ^ri'n 111, until Messiah 
 
 come, whose is ths kingdom. 
 Num. xxiv. 17 "pN^a^D NH't^D Nlin'l 3pJ)'0 Ns'pD D1p'-n3, iohen 
 a king shall arise from Jacob, and a Christ from Israel s/iall 
 rule. 
 and commonly in the Targum of Jonathan. Comp. Buxtorf Lex. ?.v. 
 
 It may be added that it is found also in 4 Bsdras vii. 28 f. my Son 
 Christ (comp. xii. 32). 
 
 And in the Apocalypse of Baruch: cc. xxiv, xxx, xxxis, xl, Ixx, Ixxii. 
 
 The use of 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 
 
 ? stament ^*' ^^^^ ^^^ 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 in Daniel served 
 
 of Old jQ concentrate attention on the scriptural language in regard to ' the 
 
 jjjg^j' 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 o xP'otoj 
 
 'H? 1 '^ without question uniformly an appellative ('the Christ,' 'the Anointed') 
 
 in the Gospel: i. 20, 25, iil 28, iv. 29, vii. 26 f., 31, 41 f., x. 24, xL 27, xiL 
 
 34, XX. 31 (compare also the use of xp'o'^'os : i- 4i, i^- 25, ix. 22). So it is 
 
 also in the first epistle: ii. 22, v. i. 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. 
 
 Beferenee The Epistles of St John are permeated with the thoughts of the Person 
 of th^ ^*°' ^'"^ ^°^^ °^ Christ but direct references to the facts of the Gospel are 
 Gospel singularly rare in them. In the third Epistle there is nothing in the lan- 
 in the guage which is distinctively Christian except the pregnant reference to 'the 
 Epistles of Name' {v. 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. 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 201 
 
 (i) 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. 
 
 (3) The Passion: iii. 16 He laid down His life for M5— v. 6 This is 
 He that came...hy blood. 
 
 (4) The Resurrection, Ascension and Session at the right hand of 
 the Father: ii. i we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ. 
 Comp. 2 John y... confess that Jesus Christ cometh in flesh; i John i. 3. 
 
 (5) The coming to Judgment: ii. 28 that we may have boldness and 
 not be ashamed before Him at His presence ; iii. 2 If He should be mani- 
 fested we slmll be like Him, for we shcdl see Him as He is. 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 dbideth in Him ought himself also to walk 
 even as He walked; iii. i The world knoweth us not because it knew Him 
 not; ii. 25 ifie prom,ise which He promised ; iii. 23 as He gave us com- 
 mandment. Compare also i. i note. 
 
 The revelation of the purpose and issue of Christ's work is made with 
 singular fulness: 
 
 iii S He was manifested to take away sins. 
 
 — 8 The Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works 
 
 of 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 corns 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 mss in the passage ouro£.../iap- 
 Tvpovvrei deserve to be studied in detail Happily in this case the com- 
 mon text follows in the main that of B. 
 
 B. 
 
 ovTos etTTiv 6 eXOav 
 81 vBoTOS KOL atfiaTos 
 
 'lrj(rovs XpLcrros' 
 ovK iv T^ vbari fiova 
 aXX' €v rw vSari 
 KOI €V Ta aifiart 
 Kot TO irvevfia... 
 
 ovTOS eoTLV 6 eKSc^v 
 8ia vdaros Koi aifxaros 
 Ka\ irvcvfi.aros 
 'Irja-ovs XpKTTos' 
 OVK iv Tffl vban fiovov 
 dW iv ra vBart 
 Koi Ta aifiari 
 Kol TO irvevfia,.. 
 
 A. 
 
 OVTOS itTTiv 6 iXOav 
 di vSaTos Ka\ aifxaros 
 
 Kai TTVfVfiaTOS 
 
 *lr}<roifS XpiOTOs' 
 OVK iv tS vdaTi fiovov 
 dWa iv TO) vdari 
 Koi iv T^ 7rv€Vfj.aTi 
 KOI TO TTvevfia... 
 
 OTt TpClS €l<TtV OTl 01 Tp€Li CtCTtV OTl TpflS flO'tV 
 
 ot [lapTvpovvTts. ., ol fiapTvpovvTcs... ol fiapTvpovvTes.,. 
 
 For TO irvevfia the Latin Vulgate gives Ghristus. 
 
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 tliis 
 polated passage {iv rm oipava 6 warfip o Xdyos Ka\ to ayiov TTvevfia' koX ovtoi ol rpels 
 gloss. „^ ^,^^ ^^> ^^^-^ ^,^^^ ^, naprvpovvres iv TJj yjj) ofiFer 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 Bast 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 editicms 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 singu- 
 lar importance. The mass of later Latin copies which contain the inter- 
 polation obviously add nothing to the evidence in favour of the authenti- 
 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 
 
 °^Tnce°^ (i) In any independent Greek MS (more than 180 siss and 50 
 
 lectionaries are quoted). Both the late iiss 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 Cl.Al Orig Did Athan Bas Greg.Naa Cjt.AI)^. 
 
 (3) In any Latin Father earlier than Victor Vitensis or Vigilius 
 Tapsensis (not in Tert Cypr Hil Ambr Hier Aug Leo i '). 
 
 (4) In any ancient version except the Latin; and it was not found 
 (a) in the Old Latin in its early form (Tert Cypr Aug), or (6) in the Vul- 
 gate as issued by Jerome {Codd. amfuld) or (c) as revised by Alcuin {Cod. 
 valliceU*Y. 
 
 On the 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 
 some 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 
 
 ' The Codex Ravianus which was that he connected ' the word ' and ' the 
 
 formerly quoted as a ms authority spirit ' with ti. 8 in a different sense, 
 
 has been shewn to be a, copy made ^ Compare Griesbach I. c. 13 ff. 
 
 from printed texts, chiefly from the * The words are found in the Theo- 
 
 Compluteusiau, which it follows. in dulfian Recension (Paris Bibl. Nat. 
 
 this passage. Comp. Griesbach, N. T. Lat. 9380) in the following form : quia , 
 
 Lii.App.^t. The clause is also written tres sunt qui testimonium dant in 
 
 on the margin of a Naples ms 173 terra spiritus aqua et sanguis et tres 
 
 ' manu reoenti, unius ut mihi vide- unum sunt ; et tres sunt qui testimo- 
 
 tur ex bibUothecariis, saso. fine 17' nium diount in oselo pater et filius, et 
 
 (Tischdf.). spiritus sanotus et hi tres unum sunt 
 
 ■■' The gloss of Claudius Apollinaris, (Prof. Wordsworth), 
 quoted in the note on the text, shews 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 203 
 
 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 shews that he was not acquainted °^ '^^ 
 with them as part of the apostolic text, shews at the same time how j*g" 
 natural it was to form a distinct gloss on v. 7 according to their tenor: 
 Dicit dominus: Ego et Pater unum sumxis; et iterum de Patre et FiUo et 
 Spiritu Sancto scriptuni est; et tres unum sunt [de Eccles. unit. c. 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' (eir to ev tl<nv) is made clear by a later reference to it 
 in Facundus:...De Patre et Filio et Spiritu Sancto sic dicit: Tres sunt qui 
 testimonium dant in terra, spiritu^, aqua et sanguis, et hi tres unum 
 sunt; in spiritu significans Patrem, sicut Dominus mulieri Samaritanse... 
 loquitur.. .in aqua vero Spiritum Sanctum significans sicut in eodem 
 Evangelic exponit (John vii. 37).. .in sanguine vero Filium...Quod... 
 Johannis apostoli testimonium beatus Cyprianus...in epistola sive libro 
 quern de Unitate scripsit de Patre Filio et Spiritu Sancto dictum intelligit 
 (Pro def. tr. Cap. i. 3). The same mystical interpretation is found in 
 Augustine (c. Maxim, ii. 22), and Eucherius {Instruc. i. ad loc. Migne, 
 Patr. Lot. 1. 810); and Augustine supplies the word 'Verbum,' which 
 is required to complete the gloss: Deus itaque summus et verus cum 
 Verbo suo et Spiritu Sancto, quae tria unum sunt, Deus unus et omnipotens 
 \de Civ. V. ii)\ 
 
 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 tract of Priscillian j°^®j'®^ ™ 
 (t 385), who quotes the passage with remarkable variations^. Sicut Jo- 
 hannes ait: tria sunt quxje testimonium dicunt in terra, aqua caro et 
 sanguis, et hcBC tria in unum sint ; et tria sunt quw testimonium dicunt 
 in caelo, pater uerbum et spiritus, et hmc tria unum sunt in Christo 
 Jesu. 
 
 The use of the neuter (comp. Eucherius I.e.) in both clauses is peculiar 
 and in itself proves conclusively that the passage was not taken directly 
 from any Greek text. The substitution of caro for spiritus (transposed) in 
 the earthly triad is found also in Vict Vit. c. Varim. j (p- 204); and 
 so the connexion of in Christo Jesu with the heavenly triad is likewise 
 found in one of the quotations from the same group of writings (see 
 below). 
 
 ' It is by no means unlikely that the tres unum sunt uon unus ; quomodo 
 
 mystical interpretation of v. 8 may dictum est ego et pater unum sumus 
 
 have taken a definite shape in Africa (John x. 30) ad substautise unitatem, 
 
 from a very early time. The language non ad numeri singularitatem. It is 
 
 of Tertullian, which shews conclusively possible that the gloss may have found 
 
 that he was not acquainted with the a place in copies of the Latin Version 
 
 words tres unum sunt as a scriptural as soon as it was definitely shaped ; but 
 
 phrase, indicates the beginning of its there is no evidence that it was found 
 
 growth : adv. Prax. ■25...connexus pa- in the text of St John before' the latter 
 
 tris in filio et filii in paracleto, tres effi- part of the 5th century, 
 
 cit cohierentes, alterum ex altero. Qui ' Liber Apol. § 4. 
 
204 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 On the whole this earliest example of the interpolation recedes farthest 
 of all from the original apostolic words ; and seems to shew that it took 
 shape among a people ignorant of Greek. Perhaps it indicates yet more, 
 and points to Spain as the country where it was formed (see below m, 
 Codd. Cav. and Tol). 
 
 The interpolation occurs next in a group of writings which come from 
 Africa in the last quarter of the fifth century: 
 
 (i) Ut adhuc luce clarius unius divinitatis esse cum Patre et Filio 
 Spiritum Sanctum doceamus, Joannis Bvangelistse testimonio comprobatur. 
 Ait namque Tres sunt qui testimonium perhibent in ccelo. Pater, 
 Verbum et Spiritus Sanctus, et hi tres unum sunt {Prof. Fid. ap. 
 Vict. Vit. de Per sec. Vand. iii. 1 1)^ 
 
 (2) Pater est ingenitus, filius vero sine initio genitus a patre est, 
 spiritus autem sanctus processit (Gasp, procedit?) a patre et accipit de filio 
 sicut evangelista testatur, quia scriptum est: Tres sunt qui dicunt 
 testimonium in cobIo, pater, verbuin et spiritus, et luiec tria unum sunt, in 
 Christo Jesu. Non tameu dixit: unus est in Ghristo Jesu^. 
 
 It was not unnatural that in the stress of the Arian persecution words 
 which were held to give the plain meaning of St 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: Tres sunt, inquit, qui testi- 
 m,onium perhibent in terra, aqua sanguis et caro, et tres in nobis 
 sunt ; et tres sunt qui testimonium, perhibent in ccelo. Pater Verbum 
 et Spiritus. ..et hi (ii) tres unum sunt (c. Varim,. 5). And again: 
 (4)...dicente Joanne Evangelista in epistola sua: Tres sunt qui testi- 
 monium dicunt in ccelo. 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. Ixii. 243). 
 
 From this time the words seem to have maintained partially their 
 position in the text. They are quoted by Pulgentius (c. 550) as St John's 
 in the form : Tres sunt qui testimonium perhibent in ccbIo, Pater, Ver- 
 bum et Spirittis ; et tres unum sunt {Resp. c. Arian. p. 68, Migne, Patr. 
 Lat. Ixv. 224) ; though the same writer in another place (c. Fabian, fragm.) 
 speaks of the application of the clause et 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 (c. 550) seems to me to 
 shew that he did not find the gloss in his text of St John, though he 
 
 1 The authorship of this 'Exposition s This remarkable form of the gloss 
 
 of the Faith' is uncertain. It is per- has been printed by Caspari in an Ex- 
 
 haps a later addition to the history of positio fidei preserved in the Ambro- 
 
 Viotor (Papenoordt, Gesch. d. VuTid. si&Q ms which contains also the Mura- 
 
 Hernch. 369 n.) ; but in no case does it torian fragment on the Canon (Kirclien- 
 
 prove more than that the words were hUt. Anecdota, pp. xxiv. 305 and 
 
 found in the copy of the Epistle used notes), 
 by the writer. 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 205 
 
 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, quas in passione Domini leguntur impleta; in caBlo 
 autem Pater et Filius et Spiritus Sanctus ; et hi tres unus est Deus {Com- 
 plex, in Epp. ad loc. Migne, Pair. Lat. Ixx. pp. 1372 f.)'. 
 
 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 ^^Titten with this express purpose: [In prima Johannis 
 Epistola] ab infidelibus translatoribus multum erratum esse a fidei veritate 
 comperimus, trium tantum vocabula, hoc est, aquae sanguinis et spiritus, 
 in ipsa sua editione ponentibus et Patris, Verbique ac Spiritus testimonium 
 omittentibus ; in quo maxime et fides catholica roboratur et Patris ac Filii 
 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. 
 
 But the gloss is found in early mss both of the Old Latin and of the 
 Vulgate, and in substantially the same form, so that it must have been 
 introduced into both from the same source. These are {a) (of the old Latin) 
 a Specidum (a classified series of Scriptural passages) m (ssec. viii. or ix.) 
 and a Munich fragment q {cod. Fris. seec. vi. or vii.) ; (6) of the Vulgate, 
 the Spanish (Visigothic) Mss Cod. Cav. (ssec. ix.) and Cod. Tol. (ssec. x.). 
 
 The whole passage appears in these authorities in the following form : 
 
 Expressly 
 affirmed 
 to be 
 authentic. 
 
 The 
 earliest 
 MS au- 
 thority 
 for it. 
 
 Cod. Fris.^ 
 quoniam tr 
 
 in terra 
 
 spiritus et aqua et sa 
 
 tifieantur 
 in caelo 
 pater e 
 
 tres unum sunt. 
 
 Spec. (m). 
 
 quoniam, tres sunt qui 
 
 testimonium dicunt 
 
 in terra 
 
 spiritus aqua et san- 
 guis; 
 
 et hi tres unum sunt 
 
 in Christo Jesu. 
 
 Et tres sunt 
 
 qui testimonium dicunt 
 
 in caelo 
 
 Pater verbum et spiri- 
 tus 
 
 et hi tres unum sunt. 
 
 Codd. Cav. Tol. 
 
 quia tres sunt qui 
 
 testimonium dant 
 
 in terra 
 
 spiritus et aqua et san- 
 guis; 
 
 et hi tres unum sunt 
 
 in Christo Jesu. 
 
 et (cm Tol) tres sunt 
 
 qui testimonium dicunt 
 
 iu caelo 
 
 pater verbum et spiri- 
 tus 
 
 et hi tres unum svmt. 
 
 Here, it will be observed, the testimony on earth is placed first, so that 
 
 ' The passage of Cassiodorus is well 
 discussed by Bp Turton in his Vindi- 
 cation of Porson, pp. 279 fE. 
 
 2 The MS is imfortunately mutilated. 
 About half of each line is lost. The 
 lines of the ms so far as they are pre- 
 served run thus : 
 
 quiaspsestueritas qmtr 
 in terra . spsetaquaetsa 
 
 tificanturincaelop tere 
 tresunumsunt sitestim 
 
 There is room in each line for about 2 1 
 more letters. It is not possible therefore 
 that the words et hi tres unum sunt in 
 Christo Jesu could have formed part of 
 the text. It is further to be noticed 
 that this MS reads spiritus in v. 6 for 
 Christus. 
 
206 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 the heavenly testimony retains ita position as an interpretative gloss'. And 
 there is also a second similar though shorter gloss in Christo Jesu which 
 is even older than that which follows ; for it is indicated in the Latin transla- 
 tion of the Outlines' oi Clement of Alexandria: el hi tres unum sunt: in 
 salvatore qiiippe istse sunt viitutes salutiferae, et vita ipsa in ipso Filio 
 ejus existit (p. ion P.). 
 Modifioa- After a time the second gloss in Christo Jesu was omitted; and the 
 
 tion of the tw-o clauses were transposed; so that the passage assumed the form which 
 was generally current in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and was 
 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 : 
 
 text. 
 
 Cod. Cav. 
 
 quia tres sunt qui 
 
 testimonium dant 
 
 in terra, 
 
 spiritus et aqua et san- 
 guis ; 
 
 et hi tres unum sunt 
 
 in Christo Jesu 
 
 et ti-es sunt qui 
 
 testimonium dicunt 
 
 in caelo, 
 
 pater verhum et sjnri- 
 tus; 
 
 et hi tres unum sunt. 
 
 The first 
 appear- 
 ance of 
 the words 
 in Greek. 
 
 Common Text. 
 quoniam tres sunt qui 
 testimonium dant 
 in caelo, 
 
 pater verbum et spiri- 
 tus sanctus; 
 et hi tres unum sunt. 
 
 et tres sunt qui 
 testimonium dant 
 in terra, 
 
 spiritus et aqua et san- 
 guis ; 
 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 : Queraadmodum in canonica Johannis epistola legitur : 
 Quia tres sunt qui testimonium dant in ccelo, Pater, Verbum et Spiritus 
 Sanctus ; et hi tres uniim sunt. Statimque subjungitur : et tres sunt 
 qui testimonium dant in terra, spiritus aqua et sanguis ; et tres unum 
 sunt, sicut in quibusdam codicibus legitur^ For this the corresponding 
 Greek, as far as it has been preserved, is : ov Tporrov iv rfj KavoviKrj tov 
 
 Cod. ValliceU.** 
 quoniam tres sunt qui 
 testimonium dant 
 in terra, 
 
 S2}iritus aqua et san- 
 guis ; 
 et tres unum sunt 
 
 sicut tres sunt qui 
 testimonium dant 
 in caelo, 
 
 p)ater verbum et spiri- 
 tus sanctus ; 
 et tres unum sunt. 
 
 ' Another form of the reading pre- 
 served in n, St Gall ms: Quia tres 
 sunt qui testimonium dant spiritus et 
 aqua et sanguis, et tres unum sunt. 
 Sicut in ciElo tres sunt, Pater Verbum 
 et Spiritus, et tres unum sunt (Dob- 
 bin, Codex Montfort. p. 45), points 
 clearly to the original gloss-form of 
 the addition. This ms is now in the 
 British Museum (Add. iiiSj'z) and 
 was formerly in the possession of Bp 
 Butler. (See Diet, of Bible, Vulgate, 
 p. 1713 n. q). A Greek ms has notes 
 in v. 8 TovT^cTTL r6 irveOfia to aytov Kal 6 
 irarrip Kal aMt iavroS and on h d<ri : 
 
 TovricTL ula Befn-n^, els Sebs (Tischdf. ad 
 loc). 
 
 - This last clause is omitted in many 
 late iiss. Some account of the Latin 
 Mss known up to his time is given by 
 Bp Turtou, I. c. pp. 141 f. Gries- 
 bach I. c. 12 calculates that the gloss is 
 omitted by 50 — 60 mss of the Vulgate. 
 In collections which he mentions it is 
 omitted by 18 mss out of an aggregate 
 of 234. 
 
 ' This remark refers to the last 
 words et tres unum sunt which were 
 omitted by many late mss of the Vul- 
 gate. 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 207 
 
 'ima'i'i/ou fTTUTToK^ avayivdcrKfTai on rpeXs el<nv 01 /lapTvpovVTCs iv ovpava, o 
 TTaTTjpj Xoyos Koi TTVfVfia ayLov kcll tovtoi (sic) ol rpetff €V elaiv. €v6vs re 
 TTpoaTidq(ri *** KaOats fv ritri kcS^tj^lv evptaKeTai. 
 
 The clause was quoted afterwards incompletely by Manuel Calecas (ssec. 
 xiv.), and perhaps by Jos. Bryenuius (ssec. xv.), who both wrote under 
 Latin influence; and at last it found a place in a Greeco- Latin MS of the 
 Epistle (Cod. Fat. Otiob. 162) of the fifteenth century, and in a Greek M3 
 of the sixteenth century {Cod. Montfort. Dubl. 34, the Codex Britannicus 
 of Erasmus). The Greek text in both these mss has been adapted in other 
 places to the Latin Vulgate ; and in this passage both follow a late Latin 
 text in omitting the ns to ev ela-i after the earthly witness. The language 
 of both, especially that of Cod. Montfort., shews decisively that the Greek 
 is a translation of the Latin ^ 
 
 The passage is thus given in the two mss : 
 
 Cod. Montf. (34). 
 
 04 p.apTvpoiivT€S 
 
 €V ra ovpava, 
 
 TTarfip Xoyos Koi nvcvp.a 
 
 dyiov 
 Koi ovToL ol rpels 
 ev flat' 
 Kai TpfXs eiffXv 
 ol p.apTvpovvT€S 
 iv Tjj yy, ^ ^ 
 
 TTVfvpAX vStJOp Kol aifJUI' 
 
 ft rffv p.apTvpiav... 
 
 Cod. Vat. Ottob. (162). 
 
 quia trea sunt 
 
 qui testimonium dant 
 
 in caelo, 
 
 pater verbura et spiri 
 tus sanctus: 
 
 et hi tres 
 
 unum sunt. 
 
 et tres sunt 
 
 qui testimonium dant 
 
 in terra, 
 
 spiritus aqua et san- 
 guis 
 
 si testimonium. 
 
 ort rpeis eianv 
 ol pxiprvpovvTes 
 aiTO Tov ovpavoii, 
 TraTTjp \6yos Koi jrveO/ia 
 
 ayiov 
 kq\ 01 rpeTs 
 
 els TO ev €ia"i' 
 Kai Tpels flariv 
 ol p-apTvpoiivTes 
 enl T^s yfjs, 
 TO TTvevfia TO v^tap kol 
 
 TO alfjia' 
 el Trfv fjLapTvplav... 
 
 The Complutensian editors introduced another translation of the Vul- The iutro- 
 gate similar to that in Cod. 162, into their text^. Meanwhile Erasmus duction of 
 had published his first edition giving the whole passage as he found it in -Qto t^e^ 
 his Greek MS with the note : In Grseco codice tantum hoc reperio de testi- printed 
 monio triplici on rpels el<riv ol pjxpTvpovvTes to nvevpa Kai to vSap Km t6 Greek 
 ai^ia; and on the clause et hi tres unum sunt, which he retained in his *^^*' 
 translation, he writes : Hi redundat : Neque est unum sed in unum, els 
 TO uvTo. 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 a 
 single Greek MS, he inserted the words on the authority of the Cod. 
 Montfort. retaining however the words Km ol TpeU els to ev ela-tv. 
 
 The words were afterwards brought into a more correct shape without 
 any manuscript authority ; and at last the passage assumed the form which 
 
 1 It has been shewn by Dr Dobbin 
 that Cod. Montf. is 'a transcript with 
 arbitrary and fanciful variations' of 
 the MS in Lincoln College, Oxford 39, 
 in which the gloss is not found (Codex 
 Montf ortiamii, p. 57). 
 
 ' The i.Tth tov oipavou in the Greek 
 
 text of Cod. 162 is very peculiar. Is it 
 possible that iirl has been misread 
 ijrb, as was done in the corresponding 
 clause, and that the translator in- 
 tended iTrl TOV oipavoO to answer ex- 
 actly to iTrl T^y T^s ? 
 
208 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 is given in the texts of Steplianus in 1550 and Elzevir of 1633 ('text, rec.'), 
 and from tliem 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. i, 1516. Erasm. Ed. 3, 1522. 
 
 Erasm. Ed. 4, 1527. 
 
 OTL Tpeiff €1(711' 
 
 OTt rpeis eia-iv 
 
 
 OTl Tp€tS eifTlV 
 
 01 fiapTvpovvres 
 
 ol fxapTvpovvres 
 
 
 oi fiapTvpovvTes 
 
 * 
 
 •fr 
 
 fv TW ovpava. 
 
 
 €V ra ovpava. 
 
 * 
 
 * 
 
 TTOTijp \6yos 
 
 <a\ 
 
 6 naTrjp, 6 Xoyor, Kai 
 
 * 
 
 * 
 
 TTveiifia ayiov 
 KaX ovToi oi Tpeis 
 
 TO nveiip.a ayiov' 
 Ka\ OVTOt oi Tpcls 
 
 # 
 
 * 
 
 cv fla-i. 
 
 
 €V €iai. 
 
 * 
 
 # 
 
 Kai Tpeis et<rlv 
 
 
 Kai Tpcle €ia-tv 
 
 # 
 
 * 
 
 * 
 
 oi p.apTvpovvT€s 
 ev Tfi yij 
 
 ol fiapTvpovvTes 
 
 TO nveviia Kai to iJSap 
 Ka\ TO alp.a- 
 
 TTPevpa Koi v5a>p 
 
 Kai 
 
 TTvevfia Ka\ vdap Ka\ 
 
 aifj.a' 
 
 
 aip-a- 
 
 Koi ol Tpfis 
 
 KoX ol Tpeii 
 
 
 Ka\ oi rpfls 
 
 €LS TO €V fhriv. 
 
 f Iff TO ev fltTiV. 
 
 
 els TO €v eitriv. 
 
 ei Trjv fjiapTvplav... 
 
 fi T171/ fiapTvpiav.. 
 
 
 EI Tijj/ iiaprupLav . . . 
 
 Ed. Compl. 1514 (Cod 
 Rat.). 
 
 OTl TpflS €ltT\v 
 oi fHapTVpOVVTCi 
 
 fv TO) ovpavm 
 
 o jraTTip Kai Xoyoff Kai 
 
 TO ayiov jTvfviia 
 Kai 01 Tpfis 
 els TO ev flai. 
 Kai Tpeis elo'ly 
 oi fxapTvpoituTes 
 €771 rfjs yrjs 
 TO TTvevfia Kai to vdiop 
 
 Kai to aiua\ 
 
 * * 
 
 * * 
 
 el Ti)v paprrvpiav... 
 
 Erasm. Ed. 3, 1522. 
 
 ort Tpels elcrXv 
 
 ol fiapTvpovvres 
 
 ev Tm ovpav^ 
 
 TraTrjp \6yos Kai irvev- 
 
 pa ayiov 
 Kai ovToi oi Tpeii 
 ev elai. 
 
 Kai Tpe'is eliriv 
 01 fiapTvpovvres 
 €V Triyg 
 irvevpa Kai vdap Kai 
 
 aipa. 
 Kai oi Tpeis 
 els TO ev eiaiv. 
 el TTjv papTvpiav..- 
 
 Ed. Steph. 1550; Elz. 
 1633 (text. rec). 
 
 OTl Tpels elalv 
 
 oi papTvpovvres 
 
 ev TO) ovpavta 
 
 o TraTrjp 6 A.oyoff Kai to 
 
 ayiov nvevp-a 
 Kai OVTOI oi Tpels 
 ev ela-i. 
 
 Kai Tpels elirlv 
 oi papTvpovvTes 
 ev TTj yrj 
 TO TTVevpa Koi to vSap 
 
 Kai TO aipa. 
 Kai oi Tpeis 
 els TO ev ela-i. 
 el T^v p.apTvpiav... 
 
 ' A note is added which seems to 
 shew that the editors found the fol- 
 lowing clause Kai — eMv in their Greek 
 uss: Sanctus Thomas in expositione 
 secundse decretalis de sermone Trini- 
 tate et Fide Catholica tractans istum 
 passum contra Abbatem Joachim viz. 
 Tres sunt qui testimonium dant incaelo, 
 pater verbum et spiritus sanctus, dicit 
 ad litteram verba sequentia. Et ad 
 insinuandam unitatem trium per- 
 sonarmn subditur, et hii tres unum 
 sunt. Quod quidem dicitur propter 
 essentia unitatem. Sed hoc Joachim 
 perverse trahere volens ad unitatem 
 
 eharitatis et consensus inducebat con- 
 sequentem auctoritatem. Nam sub- 
 ditur ibidem : et tres sunt qui testi- 
 monium dant in terra S. spiritus aqua 
 et sanguis. Et in quibusdam libris 
 additur: et hii tres uiimn sunt. Sed 
 hoc in veris exemplaribus non ha- 
 betur : sed dicitur esse appositum ab 
 hasreticis Arriauis ad pervertendum 
 intelleotum sanum auctoritatis prse- 
 missaa de unitate essentiie trium per- 
 sonarum. Hoao beatus Thomas ubi 
 supra. 
 
 This is, as far as I have observed, 
 the only note of the kind in the New 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 209 
 
 When the gloss had gained a place in the Greek text it naturally influ- 
 enced the texts of other versions. Gutbir and Schaaf introduced with very 
 slight modifications a translation which had been made by TreineUius 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 has given a value to 
 the evidence in its favour out of all proportion to its critical weight. The 
 MS authority, for example, for the spurious Epistle to the Laodicenes is 
 essentially the same. This also is supported by m, and by the La Cava and 
 Toledo Jiss and by a multitude of later mss of the Vulgate. In the pre- 
 ceding verse {v. 6) of the Epistle almost all Latin authorities read Christus 
 for Spiritus {to Trvevfia). A remarkable group of ancient authorities of the 
 same type including Cod. Tol. add to c. ii. 17 quomodo Deus manet in 
 ceternum. In c. v. 20, in and Cod. Tol., with Hilary substantially, add 
 a clause very similar in character to the gloss on ». 8 ; and in the same 
 verse m. Cod. Montf. with the Lat vg (Hil Ambr Vigil Pulg Leo) read 
 simiis {(Sfifv). 
 
 It will also have been observed that the gloss itself sprang from a false 
 reading wium, for in unum, a change due to an omission which was equally 
 easy in Greek {rpeis ctr) 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 readers of the Epistle and is evidently borrowed from current la.nguage. F-j^^'^nto 
 And so in fact the distinction of 'sins uuto death ' and 'sins not unto death' death' in 
 is common among Rabbinic writers (Schoettgen ad loc.) and represents, it use among 
 cannot be doubted, an old traditional view. Comp. Is. ii. 9; xxii. 14. Jews. 
 
 I. In the first and simplest sense a 'sin unto death' would be a sin ^ ^'? 
 requiring the punishment of natural death: comp. Num. xviii. 22 aiiapria ^bie bv 
 davaT7i<f)6pos'^. Death in such a case was final exclusion from the Divine death. 
 Society. 
 
 Testament. The treatment of the pas- versum in aliis E. E. desideratum 
 
 sage is wholly exceptional ; for else- adscripsimus. Schaaf s note is to the 
 
 where the Edition marks prominently same effect. 
 
 in the Greek text the absence of Latin ° Origeu identifies the two phrases : 
 
 additions : e.g. Acts viii. 37, ix. 5, 6, firi a/iapr^jnoo-i toU jmti irplis Bdvarov ij 
 
 X. 6, xiv. 7, XV. 41; I John ii. 23; 2 ws thvdfiatTcv iv 'AptOfioh vd^ios rots 
 
 John II ; and conversely the absence /i?) 6ava.Tri<j>6pois (in Matt. T. xiii. § 30). 
 
 of words found in the Greek text In another passage he treats the in- 
 
 from the Latin: e.g. Acts x. 21, 32, fliotion of death as the complete ex- 
 
 XV. 24; I Pet. iii. 12, iv. 14; i John piation of the crime for which it is 
 
 V. 13. inflicted : Absolvitur peccatum per poe- 
 
 ^ Gutbir's note is worth quoting : nam mortis, nee superest aliquid quod 
 
 Cum notum sit Arrianos nee ipsi Grffico pro hoc crimine judioii dies et poena 
 
 Textui nee Versionibns Orientalibus ieterni ignis iuveniat (Horn, in Lev. xiv. 
 
 hie pepercisse, ex Notis Tremellii hunc § 4). 
 
 W. J. 14 
 
2IO 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 A sin of 
 the same 
 class. 
 
 A sin 
 
 carrying 
 
 exclusion 
 
 from the 
 
 Christian 
 
 society if 
 
 persisted 
 
 Death the 
 tendency 
 not the 
 necessary, 
 issue. 
 
 The mode 
 of dealing 
 with such 
 
 In some 
 
 cases 
 
 uttermost 
 
 2. It was a natural extension of this meaning when the phrase was 
 used for an offence which was reckoned by moral judgment to belong to 
 the same class. Words very closely resembling those of St John are used 
 Test. xii. Patr. Issach. 7 ovk cyvayv iv t'/ioi (al. iir ini) afiapriav lU (for 
 TTpos) Bavarov. Couip. I Cor. V. II. 
 
 3. If now the same line of thought is extended to the Christian Society, 
 it will appear that a sin which in its very nature e.xcludes from fellowship 
 with Christians would be rightly spoken of as a 'sin unto death.' Such a 
 sin may be seen in hatred of the brethren (c. iii. 15), or in the selfishness 
 which excludes repentance, the condition of forgiveness (L 7), or in the 
 faithlessness which denies Christ, the One Advocate (c 21; iv. 2). But in 
 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 further that St John speaks of the sin as ' tend- 
 ing to death' {npos davarov) and not as necessarily involving death. Death 
 is, so to speak, its natural consequence, if it continue, and not its inevitable 
 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 Christian 
 intercession. The power of prayer avails for those who belong to the 
 Body (corap. 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, virifying power of God. 
 
 6. We can imderstand 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 
 
 ' The truth finds a noble expression 
 in Browning's Tlie Ring and the Book: 
 The Pope, ■21 16 ft. 
 
 For the main criminal I see no hope 
 Except in such a suddenness of fate. 
 I stood at Naples once, a night so dark 
 I could have scarce conjectured there 
 was earth 
 
 Anywhere, sky or sea or world at all: 
 But the night's blaok was burst through 
 
 by a blaze — 
 Thunder struck blow on blow, earth 
 
 groaned and bore, 
 Through her whole length of mountains 
 
 visible : 
 There lay the city thick and plain with 
 
 spires, 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 21 1 
 
 of the necessity of purification through death for a faithless people. And ohastiae- 
 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 Patristic 
 subject for study. comments. 
 
 Clement of Alexandria in discussing the different kinds of voluntary Clement 
 and wrong action (Strom, ii. 15, § 66) refers to the language of St John as o*' Alex- 
 shewing that he recognised diflferences in sin (cj)aiveTm...Tas 8ia<t>opas rav *'''°'*'*- 
 ifiapTimv e'/cSiSao-KMi'), and quotes as illustrating the kind of distinction to 
 which he refers Ps. i. i, but he gives no classification of specific ofiences. 
 
 Teetullian naturally lays down a clear and definite interpretation : Tertul- 
 ' Who, he asks, can escape from the sin of rash anger... of breaking engage- '^'•^•'■ 
 'ments, of speaking falsely through shame or necessity... so that if there 
 ' were no pardon for such acts, 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 diffei-ent 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 uo 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 V 
 
 Origen speaks with wise reserve; after referring to i Cor. iii. 15, Matt. Oeioen. 
 xvi. 26, he 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 ' (Horn, in Ex. x. § 3^). 
 
 And, like a ghost disshrouded, white ergo erit venia per exoratorem patris 
 
 the sea. Christum. Sunt autem et coutraria 
 
 So may the truth be flashed out by istis, ut graviora et exitiosa, quae ve- 
 
 one blow, niam non capiant, homicidium, idolo- 
 
 And Guido see, one instant, and be latria, fraus, negatio, blasphemia, uti- 
 
 saved. que et moechia et fornicatio...Horum 
 
 ultra exorator non erit Christus. Haec 
 
 With this compare Guide's last words, hqq admittet omnino qui natus ex 
 
 Abate — Cardinal — Christ — Maria — Deo fuerit, non futurus Dei filius si 
 
 God — admiserit. The classification is in- 
 
 Pompilia, will you let them murder structive. In an earlier chapter (0. 2) 
 
 me? he divides sins into 'remissible' and 
 
 ' De pitdic. 19, Cui enim non ac- 'irremissible': the former are fit sub- 
 
 cidit aut irasci inique et ultra solis jects of intercession, the latter not, 
 
 ocoasum, aut et manum immittere, and he concludes : Secundum hanc 
 
 aut facile maledicere, aut temere ju- diSereutiam delictorum poenitenti^ 
 
 rare, aut fidem pacti destruere, aut quoque conditio discriminatur. AUa 
 
 verecundia aut necessitate mentiri ; erit qute veniam consequi possit, in 
 
 in negotiis, in ofiSciis, in qusestu, in delicto scilicet remissibili; alia quae 
 
 viotu, in visu, in auditu, quanta consequi nullo modo possit, in delicto 
 
 tentamur ; nt si nuUa sit venia isto- scilicet irremissibili. 
 
 rum nemini salus competeret. Horum ^ Comp. in Joji. Tom. 11. (iv. p. 62 
 
 14 — 2 
 
212 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 Hilary. Hilary brings out an important aspect of tlie truth. 'There is,' he 
 
 says, 'a limit to mercy [misericordlw), and justice must be used in sliening 
 ' 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 qiiis scit fratrem suuin delinquere sed non ad 
 ' mortem, petal et dabit illi Deus vitam. Est enim peccalum ad mortem 
 ' sed non pro eo died' {in cxl. Pscdm. § 8). 
 
 Ambbose. Ambkose regards the direction of St John as applying to the general 
 
 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. 1 1 ; vii. 
 '16; Baruch iii. if.; v. i), but to the people, who required to employ 
 'another to pray for their own sins; for whom it is enough if they jjray 
 ' God for lighter faults, and think that the pardon of graver must be re- 
 ' served for the prayers of the just' {depoenit. i. 10). 
 
 Jeeome. Jerome combines the language of i Sam. ii. 25 with that of St John, 
 
 when he is insisting on the different degrees of the heinousness of sins. 
 ' Qui scit fratrem, siium peccare peccatuni non ad mortem,, petat, et dabit 
 ' ei vitam peccanti non ad inortem. Qui vero peccaverit ad m,ortem, quis 
 ' orabit pro eo?' '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 some sins and others' (adv. Jovin. ii. § 30). 
 
 AuGcs- The Interpretation of Augustine 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 praecipi- 
 tur, cum Dominus etiani 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 ad versus 
 ipsam gratiam qua reconciliatus est Deo invidentiae facibus agitatur {de 
 Serm. Dom. i. 22, 73) \ In reviewing this passage afterwards in his Retrac- 
 tationes (c. a. d. 426 — 7) he writes : Quod quidem non confinuavi, quoniam 
 hoc putare me dixi : sed tamen addendum fuit, si in hac tarn scelerata 
 mentis perve'rsitate flnierit banc vitam ; quoniam de quocunque pessimo in 
 hac vita constitute non est utique desperandum, nee pro illo imprudenter 
 oratur de quo non desperatur {Retract, i. 19, 7), 
 
 He developes this idea of deliberate persistence in evil in treating of 
 the sin against the Holy Spirit : 
 
 E.). In Horn, in Lev. iv. § 5 Origen 
 compares with i John v. 16 the words 
 in I 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 Church. 
 
 1 Bede silently quotes this interpre- 
 
 tation in his Commentary ; and after- 
 wards a singular alternative : Potest 
 etiam peccatum usque ad mortem ao- 
 oipi, pro quo rogare quempiam vetat, 
 quia scilicet peccatum quod in hao vita 
 non corrigitur ejus venia frustra post 
 mortem postulatur. But he prefers 
 Augustine's view. 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 213 
 
 Hoc [peccatum in Spiritum Sanctum] est duritia cordis usque ad fineni 
 huius vitaj qua homo recusat iu unitate corporis Cliristi, quod vivificat 
 Spiritus Sanctus, remissionem accipere peccatorum...Huic ergo dono 
 gratiae Dei quicunque restiterit et repugnaverit vel quoquo modo fuerit ab 
 eo alienus usque in finem vitse non remittetur ei neque in hoc sseculo 
 neque in future ; lioc scilicet tam grande peccatum ut eo teneantur cuncta 
 peccata quod non probatur ab ahquo esse commissum nisi cum de corpore 
 exierit {Epist. clxxx. v (1), xi. § 49). No one can be pronounced guilty of it 
 wliile life still continues : Hsec blasphemia Spiritus, cui nunquam est uUa 
 remissio,... non potest in quoquam, ut diximus, dum in hac adhuc vita est 
 deprehendi {Serin. Ixxi. 3, 21). 
 
 The fatal consequences of the sin are, he points out, involved in its 
 essential character : 
 
 Hie peccat in Spiritum Sanctum qui, desperans vel irridens atque cou- 
 temnens prsedicationem gratiae per quam peccata diluuntur et pacis per 
 quam reconciliamur Deo, detrectat agere poenitentiam de peccatis suis et 
 in eorum impia atque mortifera quadam suavitate perdurandum sibi esse 
 decemit et in finem usque perdurat (in Ep. ad Bom. § 14; comp. § 22). 
 
 Quisquis igitur reus fuerit impoenitentiae contra Spiritum in quo unitas 
 et societas communionis congregatnr Bcclesiae nunquam illi remittetur ; 
 quia hoc sibi clausit ubi remittitur... ((Stermo Ixxi. 21, 34). 
 
 For chastisement is the vcay 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 c^dente et nolis eum 
 Patrem pati quia non parcit peccanti, tu te alienasti ab haereditate, ipse te 
 non abjecit ; nam si maneres flagellatus non remaueres exhsereditatus {in 
 Psalm. Ixxxviii. Serm. ii. § 3). 
 
 Chrysostom, like several earlier writers, connects the passage in St Chbyso- 
 John with the words of Eli (i Sam. ii. 25), and finds the description of the stom. 
 sin in Ps. xUx. iSfif. 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 Gelasius the issue of the sin in death is Gelasius. 
 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 runs in like sense : Est peccatum ad mortem, non dico ut oretur 
 '■pro eo; et 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 sin 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. xlvii. § 5; Migne, Patrol, Lat. Ivi. p. 622). 
 
 (BcuMENUrs, in the same spirit, when commenting upon the passage (Ecume- 
 sees the ground of the apostle's instruction in the absence of all signs of nws. 
 
!I4 
 
 THE FIEST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 Distinc- 
 tion of 
 ' venial ' 
 and 
 
 ' mortal ' 
 sins. 
 
 repentance in him ' who sins a sin unto death.' The brother is not to pray 
 for such an one, he says, ' for he will not be heard, because he asks amiss, 
 'speaking for one who shews no intention of return (nepi tov luibcfiiav 
 ' ftnSfiKvviievov fVioTpo0i;i'). For this sin is alone unto death tliat has no 
 ' regard to repentance (j; /xi) npos fieravotav a(f)opatra), from which Judas 
 'suffered and was brouglit under the eternal death' (ad loc.)K 
 
 8. The language of St John gave occasion to the cun-ent distinction of 
 sins as 'mortal' and 'venial.' In Augustine this distinction occurs fre- 
 quently under the contrast of ' crimina ' {in Joh. xli. 9 crimen est peccatum 
 gravi accusatione et damnatione dignissiraum) and ' peccata ' : c. duos Epp. 
 Pel. i. § 28 ; in Ps. cxviii. ^, z; de perfec. Just. Horn. ix. 20 ; Enchirid. 
 c. Ixiv. So he writes : Non peccata sola sunt ilia quse crimina nominantur, 
 adulteria, fornicationes, sacrilegia, furta, rapinse, falsa testimonia : non ipsa 
 sola peccata sunt. Attendere aliquid quod non debebas peccatum est; 
 audire aliquid libenter quod audiendum non fuit peccatum est ; cogitate 
 aliquid quod non fuit cogitandum peccatum est {Serin, cclxxi. 9, 9). 
 
 The later technical distinction is well summed up by Richard of St Victor 
 who discussed the difference in a brief tract : Mortaie peccatum, quantum 
 mihi videtur, triplici recte ratione distinguitur, Mortaie est quod a quovis 
 non potest committi sine grandi corruptione sui. Item mortaie est quod 
 non potest committi sine gravi laesione proxirai. Mortaie niliilorainus quod 
 non potest committi sine magno contemptu Dei. Cetera vero omnia viden- 
 tur mihi venialia (Migne, Patrol. Lat. 196, p. 1193). 
 
 The 
 Father 
 the source 
 of life. 
 
 Additional Note (i) ow v. 20. The idea of Life. 
 
 The idea of ' Life ' in St John has been already touched upon in the 
 note on i. I ; but it requires to be discussed somewhat more in detaiL For 
 the characteristic message 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 o narfip e^" f""^" f" eavTa, the Father hath life in Himself (comp. 
 I Tim. vi. 1 6). 
 
 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. Tlie Son 'hath life in Himself,' but not as the final source of 
 life. John v. 26 da-jrep 6 narfip e;)(fi fm^i/ e'l/ eavTa, ovTas (cat ra via eSaKfv 
 
 ^ In the Council of Troyes a.d. 879 
 it was forbidden to mention the names 
 of those who had died under excom- 
 munication on the ground of this pas- 
 sage. Peccatum enim ad mortem, it 
 
 is said, est perseverantia in peccato 
 usque ad mortem {Cone. Trie. 11. § 3). 
 This widespread interpretation came 
 from the ambiguity of the Latin prepo- 
 sition. See Bede above. 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 215 
 
 {afiv ix^iv iv e'aura, as the Father liath life in Hiinself, even so gave 
 He to tlie Son also to have life in Himself. Compare John vi. 57 fm Sw 
 Tov narepa, 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 (cV Xpiorroi ' 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 Tpdyav), xiv. 19. 
 
 ii. The Nature of Life. 
 
 Three terms are used by St John to describe 'life' uader diflferent Terms for 
 aspects: 'life' and 
 
 (i) i; ffflv (the life), 'life which is truly life': c. iii. 14 note. SWohn.™ 
 
 (2) ^atj aldvios, ' eternal life ' (not in Apoc.) : c. i. 2 note. 
 
 For the shade of difference between fcai; and (a>fj atdmos see John iii. 36 
 (i John iii. 14 f. ; John v. 24). 
 
 (3) TJ alcivws ftui; (John xvi. 3; comp. Acts xiii. 46; i Tim. vi. 12); 
 17 (afj 77 alcDvws (i John i. 2, 11. 25), 'the eternal life': c. i. 2 note. 
 
 In connexion with those terms the following verbal phrases must also 
 be noticed : 
 
 (i) (jjv to live : John v. 25, vi. 57, xi. 25, xiv. 19 ; i John iv. 9 (Apoc. 
 XX. s). Comp. I Pet. iv. 6; i Thess. v. 10; 2 Cor. xiii. 4; Rom. viii. 13; 
 Hebr. xii. 9. 
 
 (2) (rjv (Is TOV aloiva, 'to live for ever': John vi. 51, 58. Comp. Apoc. 
 iv. 9, 10, XV. 7 o fcuj/ eh Toiis almvas Tav aldviou (peculiar to St John in N. T.). 
 
 (3) ex^iv ftaiii/, 'to have life': John x. 10, xx. 31 ; i John v. 12 (ttjv f.) 
 (peculiar to St John in N. T.). 
 
 (4) fx^'" f""?" atoiwoK, 'to have eternal life': John iii. 15 f., 36, v. 24, 
 vi. 40, 47, 54 ; I 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 
 succession and duration. ' Eternal life ' is that which St Paul speaks of as *p'""^s 
 jj Sirrois fail}, 'the life which is life indeed' (i Tim. vi. 19), and i) (afi tov 
 6cov, '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 
 must 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 ev avTa Life lies 
 (KTiaBrj Ta 7ravTa...Ta iravTa iv ovtm (TvveaTrjKev ; ActS xvii. 28 iv avTm ^aifiev), ^^ know- 
 Such union is for a rational being involved in a real and progressive know- it f^-° 
 ledge of God in Christ. For spiritual knowledge is not external but fellowship 
 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 
 iva yivcia-Koxriv) ; or, as the apostle writes out the Lord's words more fully: 
 ' t/ie Son of God hath come and luUh given us understanding that we may 
 
2l6 
 
 THE FIEST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 Universal 
 life. 
 
 Individual 
 
 life. 
 
 The two 
 lives one. 
 
 ' knoic (iva yivda-Kmixfv) Him that is true; and we are in Him tluxt is true. 
 ' in His Soil Ji'siis Christ' (i John v. 20). So it is that Christ's words arc 
 ' words of life ' (John vi. 68 ; coiiip. vi. 63 ; viii- 5 1 ; -vii. 50 ; James i. iS ; 
 Acts V. 20 is different). Real knowledge rests on fellowship and issues in 
 fellowship. 
 
 Under this asjDect all being is a revelation of life to man (John i. 4). 
 which may become intelligible to him. The thought is one which is 
 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 iu the world. 
 
 Under another aspect it can be said that the Gospel is ' the revelation 
 of life,' and that in the Incarnation 'the life was made manifest.' By 
 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 oflSce. 
 
 This view of life corresponds with and completes the former. All power 
 is finally the gift of God : all office is for the accomplishment of His will. 
 Life therefore is the use of the gifts of God according to the will of God. 
 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 
 f'yo) fi;xt i; avafsraan Kal )) fmij / am the Resurrection and the Life) and in 
 regard to the whole sum of being (John siv. 6 cym etfjn ij oSos Kal ij AijOfia 
 Koi f) ftofj, / am the Waij and the Truth and tlie Life). Even before His 
 Coming in flesh, the Creation which He sustained by His presence was a 
 reation. divine revelation (John i. 4) ; and by His Coming 'the life was manifested ' 
 and men recognised it (i John i. 2). 
 
 He came that men may have life and the fuhiess of all that life needs 
 (John X. 10 fm^i/ nepia-irov ex^w). 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 ofiPer of Life is imiversal (John vi. 51 o Spros ov iya Sa<r<o n <r6pi /lou 
 ea-rh xmep t^s tov Koap-ov fm^r, the bread which I will give is my flesh for 
 the life of the world). And the ofi'er 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 iyivtro). 
 
 In one sense the gift of life is made and complete (i John v. 11 f. a,'. 
 €b<oKev Tj/iix) ; but under another aspect it is still off'ered, promised, given 
 (John X. 28 hibap.1 avTois f. al; xvii. 2 'va...baa-ei f. ai.; I John ii. 25 fVay- 
 yfXi'a). The spiritually sick, if living in one sense, require 'life' (i John v. 
 l6 htia-ei avTa far/i/, roir anapravovaw p.fi npoi eivaTov : comp. John iv ;o) 
 Comp. § v. 
 
 Christ is 
 the Life 
 in Crea- 
 tion and 
 in the 
 New 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 217 
 
 iv. The Life of the Believer. 
 
 The universal gift of life offered by Christ has to be personally appropri- The hfe . 
 ated (John vi. 35, 50 f., 58). In this process it comes through Christ, as the of tlie 
 agent (i John iv. 9 ira Cijcrafiei/ 8i" avrov, v. per enm : comp. John v. 40) ; P^'^j^'^'^'^ 
 and it comes for the sake of Christ, as the ground of quickening (John vi. 57 possession 
 fijo-ei 81 ffif, V. propter me), because He is what He is (i John ii. 12). of theLiv- 
 In other words the life of the believer follows from the life of Christ ^"S Son. 
 (John xiv. 19 oTt fy<B fm Koi v/iflf fi/o-fo-^c, where the future is used in 
 regard to the completer fulness of Christ's working ; comp. 2 Cor. iv. 10 f. ; 
 Col. iii. 4; Bph. ii. 5), and is realised in (that is, by union with) Him 
 (John iii. 15 ; i Johu v. 11: comp. Rom. vi. 23; 2 Tim. i. i), as He has 
 been made known (John xx. 31 f. f)(. iv t<b oco/iori avrov). For the life is 
 in the Living Son (i John v. 11) and not in the letter of the Law (John v. 
 39) ; so that the possession of the Son is the possession of life (i John v. 12, 
 comp. Rom. v. 10 icaTijX\ay7j^Ei»...dia tov Bavarov . . .(Tu>6r](Tone6a iv rfj ^ajj 
 avTov). And he who is one with Christ is one with God (John xvii. 21 tva 
 iv ij/iiv ma-iv : comp. 1 John ii. 24 f. ; John vi. 56 f.). 
 
 For the believer the transition from death to life has been made In the 
 (John V. 24 ; I John iii. 14 /iera/Se^iiica/ici/ « tov davarov els ttjv fmiji/ : realisation 
 comp. I John v. 12). But the consequences of the transition are realised, ~ ' ^ 
 as the transition itself is conditioned, by the activity of faith (John iii. 16, 36, unites 
 vL 47, XX. 31; I John V. 13 [o mcrrcvav, oi jrioTf uoxt-cs] ; John vi. 40 o with God 
 deapav koX iiumiavY. So man in a true sense works with God; and in "7 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 a striking parallelism (eyev- 
 v^di]aav, i^ov(Tiav, TCKva — cKa^ov, nuTTtvovcnv, yeviaOai). By this energy of 
 faith the beUever 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' (i John iii. 14: comp. 
 V. 16). But 'eternal life' is beyond the limitations of time: it belongs to 
 the being of God (i John i. 2 rjv irpbs t6v naripa), and finds its con- 
 summation in the transforming vision of the Son seen as He is (i John iii. 2 ; 
 John xiv. 23, 2 f.). For us now therefore it is spoken of as both present 
 and future. 
 
 I. 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; and 
 
 1 In all these places the force of the Acts iv. 32, xi. 21, xix. 2; 2 Thess. 
 
 present participle is conspicuous. St i. 10, ii. 12; Eph. i. 13; Hebr. iv. 3 ; 
 
 John uses the aor. partic. onoe only : Jude 5 ; and again with the perfect : 
 
 John XX. 29. The force of the present Acts xv. 5, xvi. 34; [xviii. 27, xix. 
 
 can be seen by contrast with the aorist : 18 ;] xxi. 20, 25 ; Tit. iii. 8. 
 [Mark] xvi. 16 f.; Lukei. 45, viii. 12; 
 
2l8 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 I John V. 12); and the possession of life may become a matter of actual 
 knowledge (i John v. 13: comp. i Johniii. 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). 
 future. 2. At the same time the life is regarded as future in its complete 
 
 realisation, so far as it is the fulfilment of Messianic promises (John iv. 14, 36, 
 vi. 27, xii. 25, V. 25, vi. 57, xi. 25, xiv. 19, vi. 54: compare i 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 (i John v. 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' (John xx. 31), on 
 which we beUeve (i John >-. 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 limits of the individual, 
 and preserves, completes, crowns individuality by placing the ijart in con- 
 nexion with the whole : a Ufe which satisfies while it quickens aspiration : 
 a life whic6 is seen, as we regard it patiently, to be capable of conquering, 
 reconciling, uniting the rebellious, discordant, broken elements of being on 
 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.' 
 
 ' The true When St John speaks of God as ' He that is true' (o dXijflii/o'r), He who 
 God' an- alone (John xvii. 3 o /iwor aXridivos d(6i) and absolutely fulfils the idea 
 the words '^^ ^^ which man is constituted to form, and then in significant and 
 ' God is mysterious words identifies union with ' Him that is true,' with union 'with 
 love.' 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- 
 ' Person- elusions. St John, as all the biblical writers, everywhere uses language of 
 ality' as Qq^ which assigns to Him 'action' and 'will.' But, as far as our human 
 ^V^ ° observation reaches, 'will' implies resistance, and 'action' implies suc- 
 cession. Such limitations can find no place in the idea of God. The con- 
 ception of 'personaUty' 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. 
 Love in- g^t y,Q cannot rest here. When we endeavour to think of God Himself 
 
 VOlVGS Qj 
 
 'tri-per- ^^® '"'^ necessarily led to inquire whether Scripture does not help us to 
 sonality.' "se to a thought in which we can see represented from the divine side 
 
THE PIEST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 219 
 
 that which is in the Divine Being the analogue of sole-personahty 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 fulfilled. 
 
 The language in John i. i, where we have opened a unique view of the This fact 
 Divine Being without any regard to a revelation to man, indicates the jndicated 
 same thought. The relation of ' the Word ' to ' God ' is described as a '° . 
 relation of active love : d Xdyor 171/ npos tov 6eov, the personal energy of -words of 
 the Word was directed towards, and (so to speak) regulated by ' God,' the Gos- 
 while the Word Himself 'was God.' In the Epistle the thought is pre- Pel. and 
 sented differently. There it is 'the Life' and not 'the Word' which is Ep^j^g 
 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: ^u npbs rbv iraripa, 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 Himself. And when 
 'the Word' and 'the Life' are brought within the sphere of human 
 existence, this action is characteri-stically 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 ijv ■apis 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 (flfdr and not 6 6(6s as in Sabellian person- 
 teaching), has a personal Being and can make the Father known (i John ii. fr^ opens 
 23 ff.). The Spirit, Who is God, has a personal Being, and can make the for reve- 
 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. i ; 32 f.). 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 
 
220 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 St John preparatory to the account of the historical Gospel by St John, but else- 
 speaks of where, like the other apostolic writers, he deals with the Trinity revealed 
 nomie °° '" ^'^^ ^°'"'^ °^ Redemption (' the Economic Trinity '). The Father is spoken 
 Trinity.' "f in His relation to the Incarnate Son, and through Him to men. The 
 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; i 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 waj", 
 which we have no power to determine adequately, to the very Being of 
 God as He is in Himself. 
 Two errors The maintenance of the supreme Sovereignty of One God (iiovapxia) in 
 ° .^ , . this tri-personality has to be guarded against a twofold tendency to error : 
 Arian.and (') towards a distinction in essence between God and Christ (the Father 
 Sabelliau. and the Son); and (2) towards a confusion of the Persons of the Father 
 and the Son and the Spirit. The first error found its typical expression 
 in Arianism : the second in Sabellianism. The first has aflBnities with 
 Polytheism by introducing the idea of a subordinate Divinity. The second 
 has affinities with Pantheism, as seeing in things transitory manifestations 
 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 these 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 
 
 ^'^^,. TertuU. adv. Prax. cc. xx. xxii.). It must however be noticed that the 
 
 the su™ ^^^^ QrfiQk Fathers understood the first passage of the Personal Subor- 
 
 ordination dination of the Son as Son to the Father in the one equal and absolute 
 
 of the Son Godhead. And this view, which has been obscured in the West by the 
 
 in Person teaching of Augustine, is of the highest importance ; for it leads to the 
 
 gg°g™g 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 con-espond 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. 
 
lOANOY B 
 
IQANOY B 
 
 O nPGCBYTGPOC eKXeKrfj Kupla kui t-oIs tck- 
 
 The structure of the letter is simple 
 and natural. It consists of (i) the 
 salutation (i — 3); (2) the counsel and 
 warning (4 — 11); (3) the conclusion 
 (t2, 13). Whatever may be the 
 interpretation of the individual ad- 
 dress in vv. 5, 13, the main part of 
 the letter is addressed to more read- 
 ers than one {v. 6 rjKova-aTC, rrfprnaT^TC, 
 V, 8 /SXeVeTC eavTovs, ». lO trpos vftat, 
 ^,12 Vfiivj jrpos VfiaSf 7; X^P^ Vfiav). 
 
 I. The Salutation (i — 3). 
 
 The salutation is framed on the usual 
 type: u npea-^vrfpos eKKcKTij Kvpia... 
 ,,.X^p^s TKeos elprjvT] irapa Seov irarpoSj 
 Kai irapa 'I);a"oO Xptirro{/...But 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 Gralatians, where in like manner 
 St Paul expands bis 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 hut also all 
 they that know the truth; 'for the 
 truth's sake which dbideth in us — and 
 it shall he loith us for ever: ^grace, 
 mercy, peace, s/iall he with us from. 
 God the Father, and from Jesus 
 
 Christ the Son of the Fatlier, in truth 
 and love. 
 
 I. o Trpea-^vrepos] 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 ofiicial position. 
 The writer was recognised by the 
 receiver of the Epistle as 'the Elder.' 
 
 The title 'elder' appears to have 
 had special currency in the Asiatic 
 Churches, where it was used of a 
 particular class (Papias ap. Euseb. 
 jff. E. iii. f. ; Iren. v. 33. 3 ; 36. 2) ; 
 yet not without a recognition of the 
 Apostles as 'the eldei-s' in point of 
 time (Papias, I. c). It is easy to see 
 why St Jolm would choose such a title, 
 which, while it described ofiicial posi- 
 tion, suggested also a fatherly relation, 
 and perhaps even pointed to inter- 
 course with Christ (i Pet. v. i). For 
 the history of the word npetr^vTepos 
 see Lightfoot, Philippians, pp. 228 f. 
 
 (KKfKTfi Kvpia\ electcB dominw 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 
 
 I/019 
 
 THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [I 
 
 avrri^, o'u<s iyw dyaTrw ev dXriOe'ia, kul ovk ejw 
 
 ! Kal OVK ^7ii XB vg me the syrhl : ovk iyui Se A. 
 
 The first view has been held in 
 several different forms. The Latin 
 fragments of the Hypoti/poses of 
 Clement of Alexandria represent the 
 letter as written 'to a certiiin Baby- 
 lonian (comp. I Pet. V. 13) Electa by 
 name' (ad quandam Babvlouiam E- 
 lectani nomine); 'it signifies how- 
 ever' (that is, this proper name, 
 Electa), Clement adds, 'the election 
 of the holy Church.' 
 
 Others again (so the [late] Syrian 
 version) have regarded Kvpia as a 
 proper name (' to the elect Kyria'). 
 Such a name is found (see Liicke, 
 444 n.) ; but if Kvpla were so used here 
 it is in the highest degree unlikely 
 that St John would have written «- 
 XfKTfi Kvpia, and not Kvpla rrj c'KXfKTTJ 
 as ». 13 ; 3 John i ; Rom. xvi. 13. 
 
 It has also been supposed that the 
 two words form a coiiipouud proper 
 name ('to Electa Kyria'). This view 
 removes the difficulty of the con- 
 struction ; but the combination is at 
 least very strange. 
 
 On the other hand it is not easy to 
 suppose that the letter was addressed 
 to an unnamed person, a single Chris- 
 tian ' lady ' ('To an elect lady,' so 
 Vulg.) ; though this is the most 
 natural rendering of the text (comp. 
 I Pet. i I). 
 
 All these notions of a personal 
 address moreover are unsupported 
 by such allusions in the letter as 
 might be expected to mark aii indi- 
 vidual relationship. 
 
 Feeling these difficulties many from 
 the time of Jerome (Bp. cxxiii. (xi.) 
 ^ 12 ad Agernchiam) have taken the 
 title, the ' elect lady,' to be applied 
 to some particular Christian society 
 (SchoL ap. Matt, f /cXtxT^i/ Kvplav \iyei 
 Trjv €v Tivl Tomo eKicKr]<TLav cor rf/v tov 
 Kvpiov SiSaaKokiav axpifi^ (j)v\aTrov- 
 a-av...), 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 Kvpia 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 cii-cumstances, 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. 
 
 Tols TfKvois au.] natis eius Y., her 
 children. The pln-ase can be under- 
 stood either literally, i Tim. iii. 4; 
 or spiritually, i Tim. i. 2 ; Gal. iv. 25. 
 Comp. Apoc. ii. 23. The context here 
 and the use of the term in ve. 4, 13 
 (comp. 3 John 4) favour the spiri- 
 tual sense. It has been suggested 
 that the 'children' may have been 
 orphans or the like committed to the 
 'lady's' care, some of whom had gone 
 out into the world while others were 
 still with her. 
 
 o£f eyto ay.] whom, mother alike 
 and children, / loce. 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 {fya> ay.) points 
 to some unknown facts (compare 3 
 John s). 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. 
 
 iv dXridfia] in truth, that is with 
 a feeling which rightly deserves the 
 name; see John xvii. 19 note; Col. 
 i. 6. 
 
 Koi OVK lya ij,6i/os...]and not lalone 
 {solus v.), a single person, but also 
 all that have come to know the truth. 
 The love is directed to a character. 
 
2.3] 
 
 THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 225 
 
 /jLOVOi dWd Kai Trai/res ol iyvwKOTe^ Trjv dXrideiav, ''Sia 
 Trjv d\r)deiav Tr]v fxevovcrav ev rffxiv, Kai /ued' jjjUwj/ ecrTat 
 ets Tov alcoi/a' ^'ecTTai fxed' t^jawv X^P^^ eAeos eiprjur] irapa 
 
 3 ^(T. ixed^ Tjfiwf [i/fiQi* me) : om. A. irapa 
 
 1 /j-^vovaav : ivoiKou(rav A. 
 
 e.: dTrj B. a*. 
 
 Wherever the character exists, the 
 love exists. This is made clear by the 
 words which foUow. The love felt by 
 St John and by those whom he de- 
 scribes is felt 'for the truth's sake...' 
 
 /ioms] Luke xxiv. 18; Hebr. ix. 7. 
 Contrast 2 Tim. iv. 8 ov fiomv cfiot 
 (I John ii. 2); Rom. iii. 29. 
 
 eyvaKores] I John ii. 3 note. John 
 viii. 32. Contrast i John ii. 21 ovk 
 oidare rrjv dX. 
 
 TTfv oX.] the truth, which is identical 
 with Christ's message (John i. 17), 
 and with Christ's Person (John xiv. 7). 
 Oomp. I John i. 6, 8, notes. 
 
 2. The common acknowledgment 
 of the eternal Truth is the certain 
 foundation of love. 
 
 8ia Trjv aX.] The words recal ev aX. 
 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 v, 5 Iva ayatrajxev. I John i. 
 
 4 {w^")- 
 
 Tfiv fievovcrav eVij.] See I John iii. 15 
 note. 
 
 Koi ne6' ?;. fOToi] and with lis it 
 sImU he. The position of ^itff ij. em- 
 phasises the peculiar privileges of 
 those whom St John identifies with 
 himself. The change of construction 
 from the participle to the finite verb 
 [jiivavaav . . .tarai) answers to a pause 
 during Avhich the ivi-iter contemplates 
 the fact which he has afiirmed, and 
 then solemnly confirms the fuhiess of 
 his faith in it. Comijare i John iii. 
 I Kai fiTixtv, i. 2 note. 
 
 Iic6' li/Kai/] with us and not only 
 
 in ns. 'The Truth itself has through 
 
 Christ a personal power. Comp. i 
 
 John iv. 17. The different relations 
 
 W. J. 
 
 of the Paraclete to believei-s are de- 
 scribed in John xiv. 16 £ by ncra, 
 
 irapa, ev. 
 
 els Tov alava] See I John ii. 1 7 note. 
 
 3. earai. fieff ij/icSi/...] Tjiere shall 
 be with us... This unique form of 
 salutation seems to have been deter- 
 mined by the preceding clause Qied' 
 rifiSv ea-rai): 'with US truth shall be 
 ...yes, there shall be with us...' The 
 wish passes into assurance. In the 
 Epistles of St Paul no verb is express- 
 ed in the salutation {e.g. i Thess. i. 
 I, ^apis Vfiiv Kai eipijvT]). In I, 2 
 
 Peter, Jude ir\r;6vvdeirj is added (i 
 
 Pet. i. I x^P'S ^H^" "O' elpTivrj irXtjO.). 
 
 fieff riiiMv'] V. 2. The readers are 
 identified with the writer. 
 
 Xap. e\. elp.] 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 i Tim. i. 2 ; 2 Tim. i. 2 
 (Ign. ad Smyrn. 12). Xapts koi elprivr) 
 is found in Apoe. i. 4 ; i Pet. i. 2 ; 
 
 2 Pet. i. 2, and in all the other 
 Epistles of St Paul. In St Jude 2 
 
 the salutation is tkeos kcu elpijvrj xal 
 aycmr]. (Comp. Mart. Pol. Inscr.) 
 
 Xapi-s fXfos...] The word x^P'f oc- 
 curs elsewhere in St John only in 
 
 3 Jolm 4; John i. 14, i6, 17; Apoc. 
 i. 4; xxii. 21; and the absence of the 
 cognate forms (xapi'fo^at,;(apio-pi)from 
 his writings is worthy of notice. "E\eos 
 is not found elsewhere in his writings 
 nor yet eXeetv. 
 
 In regard to the divine action 
 'grace' points to the absolute free- 
 
 15 
 
226 
 
 THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [3 
 
 deou TTUTpos, Kai Trapa 'Iricov Xpia-ToO tov ulou tou 
 iraTpos, ev d\ri6eia kui dyairrf. 
 
 om. irapa. (2°) N*. 'Itjo-oO AB vg the : +Kvpiov' 'I. rX me syrlil. tou 
 
 TT. : + airov tov t. X* 
 
 ilom of God's love in relation to man's 
 helplessness to win it; and 'mercy' to 
 His tenderness towards man's misery. 
 
 elpjjw]] John xiv. 27; xvi. 33; xx. 
 19, 21, 26. The peace which is the 
 gift of ' the God of peace' (i Thess. v. 
 23; Kom. XV. 33; xvi. 20; PhiL iv. 9; 
 Heb. xiii 20) answers to all the dis- 
 hai-monies 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; Bph. ii. 
 14 ff. 
 
 7rapd...rrapa...] 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 diro : e.g. Rom. 
 i. 7 ; I Cor. i. 3, &c. Comp. 2 Tim. 
 i. 18. 
 
 6eov irarpos] God the Father : more 
 commonly God our Father (6. n. 
 npav), ejg. Rom. i. 7; i Cor. i. 3 &c. 
 Comp. I Tiui. i. 2; 2 Tim. i. 2; Tit. i. 
 4; Eph. vi. 23; Col. iii. 17. Special 
 stress is laid upon the revelation of 
 God in this absolute character. Comp. 
 0.9. 
 
 "1. Xp. TOV vlov Toil TT.] TllB phraso 
 is unique. It seems to have been 
 chosen to connect the revelation of 
 the Father as definitely as possible 
 with the Son. Comp. i John ii. 22 f.; 
 and I John i 3 ; Col. i. 13. 
 
 It may be noticed that the title 
 ' Lord' (icvpiou 'I.), 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. 
 
 (V dX. (cm 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 
 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 warninff {4 — 11). 
 
 The rise of false teachers, who seem 
 to have affected superior knowledge 
 (». 9 irpodyav), and neglected moral 
 duties (comp. i 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 'the Father and the Son' 
 (8-1 1). 
 
 4 — 7. Past faithfulness is made the 
 foundation for the apostle's counsel 
 (». 4). He enjoins practical love be- 
 cause deceivers have arisen who by 
 denying the coming of Jesus Christ 
 in flesh deprive earthly Hfe of its 
 divine significance (5 — 7). 
 
 ■i/ rejoice greatly timt I have 
 found of thy children vxdking in 
 truth, even as we received command- 
 ment from, the Fatlier. sAnd now 
 I pray thee, Lady, not as writing 
 a new commandment to thee, but 
 that which we had from the begin- 
 ning, that we love one anot/ter. « And 
 this is love, that toe should walk ac- 
 cording to His commandments. This 
 is the cotnmandmeni even as ye Jieard 
 from tlie beginning, t/iat ye siwuld 
 walk in it {love). ^ Because many 
 deceivers are gone out (went out) into 
 the world, even t/iey that confess not 
 Jesus Christ coming in flesh: this is 
 the deceiver and t/ie antichrist. 
 
4,5] 
 
 THE SECOND EPISTLE OP ST JOHN. 
 
 227 
 
 ^'G^ccpfju Xiav OTi ehptjKa e/c twv -reKuwu aov Trepi- 
 7raT0vvTa<i ev d\r]de'ia, Kadto's ei/ToXrjv eXd/SojULev Trapa 
 Tou 7raT|0OS, ^Kai vuu epwTw ere, Kvp'ia, ow;^ w's euroXriu 
 ypacpcov croi Kaivtjv ciWa t]u e'l^x^ct/uLev dir dp-)(ri^, 'iva 
 
 4 eXd^OfjLev : ^Xa^ov X. irapa : dird A. tov it, : om. tov B. 
 
 5 yp6.<pwv aoL Kaivqv B the ; Kaivriv yp. <roi X A vg me. dXk6. : + kvToX-qv N 
 
 ( + an old commatidment syr hi). 
 
 4. 'Exapiv-'-oTi cupijKa] I rejoiced 
 ...that I have found... The joy is 
 referred to its initial moment : the 
 ground of it still continues. 
 
 For the precedence given to the 
 expression of joy compare St Paul's 
 thanksgivings : i Thess. i. 2 ; 2 Thess. 
 i. 3; I Cor. i. 4; Rom. i. 8; Phil. i. 
 3 f.; Bph. i. 16; Col. i. 3; Philem. 4. 
 
 evprjKa] Comp. 3 John 3 ; and John 
 i. 44, note. 
 
 €< Twv T. o-.] V. dejiliis ttds. Some 
 of thy children. For €k 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. 
 
 nepnr. ev oK., Kadds...] icalking in 
 truth even as... The phrase {nepm. 
 iv a\. 3 John 3) is not identical with 
 walking in tlis truth (nepLir. iv tt; 
 ok. 3 John 4). Comp. John xvii. 17, 
 19. 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. 
 
 evT. eXa/3.] John X. 18; Acts xvii. 
 15; Col. iv. 10. 
 
 irapa tov jr.] from the Father in 
 the Person of Christ. The preposition 
 (». 3) marks the directness of the 
 divine injunction : Apoc. ii. 27. 
 
 5. Kai vvv] and now, looking back 
 upon that former feeling (». 4) of joy... 
 The words may mark simply a logical 
 connexion : I John ii. 28. 
 
 iptoTai] I pray thee, in the exer- 
 cise of the full privilege of Christian 
 fellowship. Comp. i John v. 16, note. 
 
 The request is directly personal and 
 not a general exhortation {napaKoKS). 
 It is remarkable that the words napa- 
 Kakdv, napaKXrjcrts, do not occur in the 
 writings of St John. The singular 
 address (ere) occurs again in v. 13. 
 In the intermediate verses the plural 
 is used. 
 
 ovx as evT....} not as writing a new 
 commandment... The order is signi- 
 ficant (ei/r. ypaipav (t. k.). The prayer 
 is first distinguished from a command 
 generally : ' I pray thee, not as writing 
 a command to thee'; and then the 
 command is more exactly described, 
 which is indeed the substance of the 
 prayer. Comp. i John ii. 7. 
 
 dxafjLfv] we liad. Contrast i John 
 ii. 7 ye had. Throughout the apostle 
 identifies himself with those to whom 
 he is writing, Christian with Chris- 
 tians. 
 
 Ivaayairmjiev...] that ize love... The 
 words seem to depend upon T pray 
 thee (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.' 
 
 ep(nra<re...ii'a...] Ipraythee...tliat... 
 The infinitive and a final particle are 
 both used by St John after iparav : 
 (1) inf,n. John iv. 40 II Luke v. 3; viii. 
 37; Acts iii. 3; x. 48; xvi. 39; xviii. 
 20; xxiii. 18; I Th. v. 12. (2) 2va 
 John iv. 47; xi.ic. 31, 38 II Mk. vii. 26; 
 Luke vii. 36 (vii. 3 ; xi. 37 ojras) ; xvi. 
 27 (Acts xxiii. 20 oTTas). 
 
 IS— 2 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [6,7 
 
 djaTTWimev dWriXov^. ^Kal aurn earlv ri dyd-rrr], 'Iva 
 Trepnran-aJiuieu Kara ras ei/ToAots auTOu- avrri r\ ivToXij 
 eaTiv, Kudu)^ mova-are air apx*!^, 'iva ev avT^ Trepnra- 
 rfJTe. ''oTL TToWoi TrXdvot e^fjXdav ets toi/ Kocrfxov, ol 
 
 6 aiiTov : + ' iVa Kadiis ' N* (by the omission of a line of the archetype in 
 copying). -^ £.-t. e. AB (vg) syr hi : ^. ^ ei-r. rN me the. i, ivr.: +aOrovii._ 
 
 Ka6iiit..:iva iv ai>7-5...B Syr hi: iVa Ka.eu%...iva. iv outj... NA : 'iva. Ka8ui^...iv airri 
 (vg) (me) (the). ircpnraTiJTe : 7repi7raTij(r);Te N. 7 i^TJ\6av : elariKdov r. 
 
 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 the 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 (i John 
 iii. i). 
 
 Koi avrr] e. if ay.] And this is love... 
 The description of love is simply 
 joined to the request to realise it: 
 I John V. 4, II. 'Love' is left com- 
 pletely undefined. Love to God and 
 
 not finally distin- 
 I John iii. 16; iv. 
 
 love to man are 
 guished. Comp. 
 10, 16 — 18. 
 
 avTri...iva...] See I John v. 3, note. 
 
 TTfpiff. KQTa ras f. au.] walk accord- 
 ing to... Compare Mk. vii. 5 nepar. 
 Kara Trjv 7rapa8o(rLV. . . ; 2 Cor. X. 2 ; 
 Rom. viii. 4 Kara crapKa (jrveO^a) nepvrr. ; 
 Bom. xiv. 15 Kara aycarqv irepm.; I 
 
 Cor. iii. 3 koto avBpmirov Trcpnr. Else- 
 where the construction is nepm. ev {1 
 John i. 6, note). The two construc- 
 tions stand side by side 2 Cor. x. 2 f. 
 avTTj ^ ivT. «'....] this is the command- 
 ment which gathers up in one the 
 many commandments. Compare i 
 John iii. 22, 23. The change of order 
 
 from the first clause is significant 
 (outt; tVr. ij dy., avTi] r) evr. €.). 
 
 i)Voi5traTe...7rfpt7raT^re...] ye heard 
 ...ye walk... The second person is re- 
 quired by the definite reference to the 
 first teaching of the Church : i John 
 ii. 7, note. 
 
 Iva iv avTr) TrepcTr.] t/iat ye Walk ill 
 it, that is in love, which is the main 
 subject of the sentence (comp. Eph. 
 V. 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: I 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 a safeguard against error. On the 
 other hand the failure to realise the 
 Lord's true humanity in the present 
 imperils the love of man for man. 
 There is a passage here from 'love' to 
 
 'truth' (». 3 fv aX. Koi ay.). 
 
 ffXai/oi] seduciores V., seducers, de- 
 ceivers, who lead to wrong action, 
 and not only to wrong opinion. Comp. 
 
 I John ii. 26 01 TrKavavres. 1 TilU. 
 iv. I TTveviiacri irXdvois. 2 Cor. vi. 8 oSs 
 nXavoi ; Matt xxvii. 63. 
 
 i^ijXdav'] went out. The tense (i 
 John ii. 19) appears to mark a parti- 
 cular crisis. They went out from the 
 bosom of the Christian society to fulfil 
 their work. 
 
 jroXXoi...oi iifj ofioX.] The partici- 
 pial clause does not only assert a 
 
8] 
 
 THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 229 
 
 fit) ofxoXoyodvre^ 'lr}(rovv Xpia-rou ipxo/ixeuov ev crapKi- 
 ovTO'5 ea-TLv 6 TrXdvo^ kuI 6 avrixpia-TO's. ^ BXeyrere 
 iauTOv?, 'ii/a ^iri aTroXea-rj-re a npyaa-afxeda, dWci jxi(t66v 
 
 6 anTixp. : om. o S. 8 dTroX^tnjre a ■npya<T6.iieea...aT6\dprrre B the (syrhl) : 
 
 OToWo-TjTt a dpydiraaee ...dTToXi^TjTe (N) A vg me (syrhl): dTroX^o-a/xei' a dpya- 
 o-d/ie9a...d7ro\d/3u/iei/ r. dx6X7)irfl£ N*. 
 
 definite fact as to these deceivers {ovx 
 ofioXoyovvrfs), but marks the character 
 of the class (comp. i John iv. 3): 
 'even they that confess not.' See Mk. 
 XV. 41 uXXat TToXXal al (Tvvava^aaai. 
 
 oL fifi o/i.] tfiei/ 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 
 identical with it. Conip. John i. 20; 
 I John iv. 2, 3. 
 
 'I. Xp. fp■j^. iv o-.] Jesus Christ com- 
 ing in flesh. The thought centres 
 upon the present perfection of the 
 Lord's Manhood which is still, and is 
 to be manifested, and not upon the 
 past fact of His coming, i John iv. 2 
 (eXi/XufloVa) : I John v. 6 (o iKdtiv). 
 Comp. John xiv. 3, note; i. 9 ^v — 
 fpxoy^vov. Apoc. xxii. 20. Cf. 17 
 opyj) 17 ipx. I Thess. i. 10 ; CoL iii. 6. 
 
 ovTos fOTti/...] this is... The general 
 description is individualised. He that 
 offers this character is the deceiver — 
 the typical deceiver — and the anti- 
 christ. We might perhaps look for 
 other marks : these are decisive. 
 Comp. ». 9; I John ii. 22 ; v. 6, 20. 
 
 o avTixp.^ the antichrist, of whom 
 the readers had already heard, i 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 ex- 
 ternal. There must be a careful watch 
 within ; and this necessity is shewn to 
 be more urgent by the consideration 
 
 that what seems and claims to be pro- 
 gress may be fatal error. 
 
 ^Looh to yourselves, tliat ye may 
 not lose (destroy) tlis things which 
 ice wrought, hut may receive a full 
 reward. ^ Every one that goeth for- 
 ward and dbideth not in the teaching 
 of Christ Jvaih not God: he tliat 
 abideth in the teachitig, i/ie same 
 hath both the Father and tliA Son. 
 "If any one cometh unto you, and 
 beareth not this teaching, receive him 
 not into your house, and give him no 
 greeting; "for lie that giveth him 
 greeting ImXh fellowship with his evil 
 works. 
 
 8. BXf'irfT-f four.] Videte vosmet ip- 
 sos v.. Look to yourselves that... Mark 
 xiii. 9 ; I Cor. xvi. 10. 
 
 Iva jiri aTToX....] neperdatis..N .,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 I John iv. 6 ; but the word Tjpya- 
 a-a/ieda appears to refer to the apo- 
 stolic teachers generally. 
 
 aXXd. . .diroX.] occipiamusY .,but may 
 receive, receive back, from the Great 
 Judge... Comp. Luke vi 34; xv. 27; 
 xvi. 25 ; xxiii. 41 ; Eom. i. 27 ; Gal. iv. 
 5 (non accipiamus sed recipiamus, 
 Aug.). 
 
 fwrB. ttX.] mercedem plenam V., a 
 full reward, in which no one element 
 is wanting (Ruth ii. 12, lxx, &c.). 
 Comp. Mk. iv. 28 nX. o-iros; 2 Chron. 
 
 XV. 17 Koph'ia ttX. (d!?B'). For the idea 
 of lucrdos see Apoc. xi. 18; xxii. 12; 
 
230 
 
 THE SECOXD EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [9, 10 
 
 TrXtipri aTToKafiriTe. 'Tras 6 Trpoctywv kui /nrj fxevwv eV 
 Trj BiSa^fj Tou ^picTTOV Qeov ovk ex^'* '^ fxeviov iv rtj 
 ^iSa^fj, oi/TOs Kai TOU iraTspa kuI tov v'lov e^et- '°e' 
 Tts ep^erai Trpos i//ias Krai ravTr]v Trju diBa^tjv ou (pepei, 
 fxri Xa/m/SdveTe avTOu €ts oiKiau kuc ^aipeiv avTw /mtj 
 
 9 Trpodyuv tiAB vg me the : irapa^aivai> S". fiivoiv (2°) : + ' Kai fo] ' ti* (as the 
 
 copyist looked back three lines in the archetype to -rrpodyuv). Stdaxv '■ 
 
 + ToS xP"''Toi' S" me. 10 tok tt, koI rbv vl. NB me the S3'rhl: tov vi. Kal 
 
 rhv V. A vg. 
 
 John iv. 36; Matt. v. 12 and parallels; 
 
 1 Cor. iii. 8. 
 
 9. iras o npoayav Kal p.. /j.] omnis 
 quiprcecedit et non in. 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. True 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 (o irp. 
 
 Koi H^ fl.). 
 
 fjifvaiv ev} abideth iii...Johu viii. 31 ; 
 
 2 Tim. iii. 14. 
 
 ev Tji SiS. ToC xP-\ *" '^ doctrine of 
 Christ, the doctrine which Christ 
 brought, and which He brought first 
 in His o-svn 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 KT. is uniformly in favour of 
 it: Apoa ii. 14, 15 ; John xviii. 19; 
 Acts ii. 42. 'H 5(8. is used absolutely 
 (as below) in Tit. i. 9 (Rom. svi. 17). 
 
 6. OVK ex.^1.] hath not God, Whom he 
 claims to know more perfectly. Conip. 
 I John ii. 23 ipvbe) note. 
 
 o /ifVa»'...ouror...] The pronoun em- 
 phasises the definition given. Comp. 
 John vi. 46; vii. i8; xv. 5. Faithful 
 continuance in 'the doctrine' brings a 
 living possession of God as He is re- 
 vealed in the fulness of His Fatiierly 
 relation in 'the Father and the Son.' 
 The change from the abstract title 
 
 ' God ' in the former clause is signi- 
 ficant. Comp. 1 John ii. 22 f. 
 
 10, II. Not only is there danger 
 within, but false teaching may come 
 from without under a friendly guise. 
 The confession of the revelation in 'the 
 Fatlier and the Son' is the indis- 
 pensable test of fellowship. 
 
 10. et Tis tpxfTai...^ If 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 as 
 possible {eav ris). By 'cometh' is to 
 be understood an ofiicial '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 AiSax^ is a vivid illustra- 
 tion of the scene present to St John's 
 mind (§§ 1 1 f ). 
 
 irpos vp^s] 'the lady and her chil- 
 dren' vv. I, 12. 
 
 TOUT. r. fi. ou <^.] and beareth not 
 as his message, this doctrine of Christ 
 which declares the Father and the 
 Son, the decisive revelation of the 
 Gospel. For <f>epeiv compare John 
 xviii. 29; Acts X.XV. 18; 2 Pet. ii. 11. 
 See also 2 Pet. i. 17, 18, 21 ; i Pet. i. 
 13. The negative is not affected by 
 el, because it goes closely with the 
 
 verb: u ns {epx....Kai ov <j>epei]. 
 
 p^ Xa/ixjS... .] nolite recipere. . .nee ave 
 ei dixerilis V., receive him not. ..and 
 give him nc greeting.... These words 
 
II, 12] 
 
 THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 231 
 
 Xeyere' "6 Xeycav yap avTw ^a'lpeiv Koivaivei toTi 
 epyoi^ avTOv Toh Trourjpoh. 
 
 "/7oAAa ex'*"' ^l^-^v ypdcpeiv ovk €.(iov\ri6r]v Zid 
 XcipTou Kai fxeKavo^, dWd eXTTi^ui yevecrdai vrpo? u/md^ 
 Kai (rTOjJia tTjOOs (TTOfxa XaXfjcrai, 'iva ri x^P'^ vjjlwv 
 
 II bXiyuv yap: oyapX.S". ii Ix'^" '• Ix'^^*^*- ypiipew : ypa\j/aL A.. 
 
 dWa. e\7r(fu XB the syr hi : Att. yap A vg me. yeviffSai : iXdeiv r the. 
 
 o-riyua ( 1°) : +ti N*. ifiSv AB vg rae: ■Sj/i&i' H syihUmy the). 
 
 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 
 tlie privilege of Christian hospitality 
 as a brother; and do not even welcome 
 him with a gi-eeting of sympathy.' In 
 the N. T. ;(ai'peii/ is always used of the 
 greeting of first address (Acts xv. 23 ; 
 xxiii. 26; James i. i); otherwise the 
 context would perhaps suggest that 
 the thought here is of the greeting of 
 farewell : ' Do not entertain such a 
 one : do not send him on his way mth 
 good wishes.' Clement adds: arbi- 
 tror autem quia et orare cum talibus 
 non oportet, quoniam in oratione qua>, 
 fit in domo postquam ab orando sur- 
 gitur salutatio gaudii est et pacis in- 
 dicium (Fragm. Hypotyp. p. loii P.). 
 Whatever may be thought of the ap- 
 plication the picture of family devo- 
 tion is of singular interest. 
 
 II. KOLvavCi T. e....] communicat 
 operibus illius malignis V. Comp. 
 I Tim. V. 22; The word KOLvavtlv 
 implies more than participation in the 
 definite acts. It suggests fellowship 
 with the character of which they are 
 the outcome. 
 
 Tols (....Tols TTOK.] Oomp. I JollU li. 
 
 7 note. John iii. 19; i John iii. 12; 
 Col. i. 21 ; 2 Tim. iv. 18. 
 
 3. The condusimi {12, 1 2\ 
 The main request and the main 
 warning have been spoken. Other 
 subjects St John reserves for a per- 
 
 sonal interview. A general saluta- 
 tion closes the letter. Comp. 3 John 
 
 13—15- 
 
 '"Though I liave 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. 
 
 '3 The children of thine elect sister 
 salute thee. 
 
 12. n. ?. vu'lv yp.] The pronoun {v. 
 10) stands in a position of emphasis 
 (contrast 3 John 13): the special cir- 
 cumstances of those addressed sug- 
 gested topics to the apostle. 
 
 ouK f|3ouX.] nolui v., / wovld not 
 communicate them.... The aorist re- 
 gards the letter as complete : the de- 
 cision is made. Comp. i John ii. 14 
 note. Some general word such as 
 ' communicate' must be supplied from 
 ' write.' 
 
 hui X- Ka\ ^if'X.] per chartam et atra- 
 mentum V. Jer. xxxvi. 18. 
 
 aWa i\ir. y. irp. v.] spero enim me 
 futurum apud vos V., but I hope to 
 be present with you. The delay in 
 the communication was to be but 
 brief For yfv. np. v. see i Cor. ii. 3 ; 
 xvi. 10. 
 
 OTO/iia Trpor aroiia] face to face, 
 
 na'pX ns (Num. xii. 8, Lxx. ordfia 
 
 Kara aroiia). Comp. I Cor. xiii. 12. 
 
 iva J) X- ^- "■f'T^- v] *^* your joy 
 m.ay be fvXfiUed. Comp. i John l 4 
 note. 
 
232 
 
 THE SECOND EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [13 
 
 TreTrXrjpiofxevi] rj. ^^'A<T7rd^eTa'i <re tu -reKua Tr]£ dBe\- 
 (pfj^ (Tou T^s efcAe/cT^s. 
 
 ttcttX. 17 (X) B : y TreirX, A. 
 
 Tjy 
 
 13. 'Ao-tt. o-f] ». 5. The singular 
 pronoun answers to t^s aSe\<p!js. 
 
 Tfjs aS....T!js exX.] I John ii. 7 note. 
 The adj. cxXf/cror is fouud in St John's 
 writings elsewhere only in c. i and 
 Apoc. xvii. 14. The verb tKKiy^rBai 
 occurs in the Gospel: vi. 70; xiii. 18; 
 XV. 16, 19. 
 
 * 13 e/iXcKT^s; + aiiijv S" syxhl. 
 
 No sure argument as to the indi- 
 vidual or corporate interpretation of 
 Kvpla {c. 1) can be drawn from the oc- 
 currence of TO. TfKva Tfjs (iS. without 17 
 aSfX^rj. On the whole however the 
 general tenour of ». 13 seems to favour 
 the corporate view. 
 
IllANOY r 
 
lOANOY r 
 
 o npecBYTepoc raiw 
 
 d'yairw iv dXr]6eia. 
 
 Tw ayuTrriTw, ov eyw 
 
 The letter is marked throughout by 
 personal circumstances, and is broken 
 up into short paragraphs which are 
 severally suggested by these. After 
 the salutation {v. i) St John (i) 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 (s — 8). In contrast with this 
 generosity (3) he condemns the ambi- 
 tious self-assertion of Diotrephes (9, 
 10) ; and then (4) gives his witness in 
 favour of Demetrius (11, 12); and so 
 (5) concludes (13 — 15). 
 
 I. Tlie 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. 
 
 I. 'O Trpeo-^uVfpot] 2 John I note. 
 
 Tola ra ay.] The name 'Gaius' 
 (Gaius) occurs Acts xix. 29 (a ' Mace- 
 donian'); XX. 4 ('of Derbe'); i Cor. 
 i. 14 (a Corinthian); Rom. xvi. 23 (a 
 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 (»». 2, 5, 1 1). 
 It occurs several times in salutations 
 of St Paul : Rom. xvi. 12; Philem. i 
 ('the beloved'); Rom. xvi. 5, 8, 9 ('my 
 beloved'); 2 Tim. i. 2 ('my beloved 
 child'). . 
 
 01/ f'ym ay.] The emphatic personal 
 pronoun (2 John i) seems to point 
 to some gainsayers with whom the 
 apostle contrasts himself. Compare 
 'thou' (ai) in V. 3. 
 
 eV dXijA] Comp. 2 John i note, 
 ev dXijdet'a ayaira 6 Kara Kvpiov ayatrav 
 (CBcumen.). 
 
 2. The teacher's joy (2 — ^4). 
 
 St John, having much ground for 
 soiTow and disappointment, begins 
 with the expression of joy (comp. 2 
 John 4). Some of his own children 
 (comp. 2 John l.c.), 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 ». i. The se- 
 cond verse adds what corresponds to 
 the fuller Christian greeting (2 John 
 
 3)- 
 'Beloved, I pray tliat in ail things 
 
236 
 
 THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [2, 3, 4 
 
 ''' A'yaTrrfTe, Trepi ttcivtmi/ eu^o/mai <re euodoucruai Kai 
 vyiaiveiv, Kadui^ evo^ourai crou t] ^V)(j>U ^ex"!""?" If^P 
 X'lav ip^o/mevoiu cc^e\(pwv kui juapTvpouvrcDi/ crov t>/ aA>j- 
 de'ia, Ka6w£ (Tu ev dXtjdeia TrepnrareT'i. '^ fxei^orepav 
 
 3 ixipv yip ABC me syr: om. yap H vg the. 
 (at the end of a line). Kadibs ai : om. ai A. 
 
 fxapTvpovvTUiv : fiaprvpovv . 
 
 thou mayest prosper and he in good 
 health ecen as thy soul prospereth. 
 ^For I rejoiced [rejoice) greatly when 
 brethren came [come) and bore {bear) 
 witness to thy truth, even as thou 
 wal/cest in truth. ^I liave no greater 
 grace than these tidings, ttiat I may 
 hear of mine own children walking 
 in tlie truth. 
 
 2. 'AyaTTrjre] carissime V. {vv. S , 1 1 ). 
 For the use of tlie plural see i John 
 ii. 7 note. 
 
 TTfpi IT. fvx. <Ti fiJoS....] de omnihus 
 orationem facio prospere te ingredi 
 V. In all things I pray that thou 
 mayest be Tprosperous... The plirase 
 TTfpl TTavTuiv is remarkable. It may 
 go with tiaiovadai or with the sen- 
 tence generally (cotnp. i Cor. xvi. 
 i). The sense 'above all things' is 
 not justified by any parallel in the 
 N. T. or Lxx. ; and the context points 
 to a contrast between 'the soul' and 
 other things. The thought appears 
 to be of the public and social work of 
 Gains as distinguished from his per- 
 sonal progress, though iyialvfiv may 
 point to some illness. 
 
 eu^ofiat] The word is rare in N.T. : 
 2 Cor. siii. 7, 9 ; Acts xxvi. 29 ; xxvii. 
 
 29- _ 
 
 (voh. KOI uyiai'veiv] The elements of 
 progress and vigour are combined. 
 For evohovuGai see i Cor. xvi. 2 ; 
 Rom. i. 10. In St Paul vyialvfiv is 
 always used metaphorically of sound 
 doctrine; but it occurs in the literal 
 sense of sound health in St Luke: v. 
 31, vii. 10, XV. 27. 
 
 (ca^<Jf...^/rvx'i] sicut prospere agit 
 anima tua V. *ux'? expresses here 
 the principle of the higher life {' soul') 
 
 (Hebr. vi. ig, x. 39, xiii. 17; i Pet. ii. 
 II, 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. 
 
 3. ix^^prjv yap...] Comp. 2 John 4. 
 The joy which the apostle felt at the 
 tidings of the action of Gains is given 
 in explanation of his far-reaching wish 
 for his welfare, and not only as an 
 assuraflce of his spiritual well-being. 
 The words evidently point to some 
 difiSculties from false teaching which 
 Gains had boldly met, though as yet 
 the issue of his work was uncertain. 
 
 f'pxofi. dS.] when brethren came not 
 on one occasion only {1\6ovtbjv) but 
 from time to time, though all these . 
 visits belonged definitely to the past 
 (exapriv) when the apostle wi-ote. The 
 words give a vivid picture of con- 
 tinued troubles even in the apostolic 
 church. 
 
 d8fK<l>av] vv. 5, 10. Comp. I John 
 iii. 14 addit. note. 
 
 fiapT. a-. Tjj d\.] testlmoniwm per- 
 hibentibus reritati tuce 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. 
 
 KaOas o-ii...] even as t/wu walkest 
 in truth, truly. Comp. 2 John 4. 
 The emphatic pronoun (o-u) suggests 
 a contrast with others as (for exam- 
 ple) Diotrephes. Gaius walked not 
 only in word but really {iv oK-qO. i 
 John ill 18) according to the standard 
 of the Christian revelation {iv rg dX. 
 'in the Truth'). The clause seems to 
 
S] 
 
 THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 237 
 
 TOVTWv ovK e-)(^ia ■^apiv, iva aKovu) tu e/txa TeKva iv 
 Trj dXr]6eia TrepnraTOvvTa. ^' A'yaTrrjre, TncrTOv 
 
 4 Toiriav ovk ^. x- ^-^B : to6twv x- ovk ^. C. ^x^ • ^X'*'*' B^'"- 
 
 B vg me : x'^P'^" S"NA(J the. rij dX. ABC* : o)ii rfj rX. 
 
 Xapiu 
 
 be one of those personal comments 
 in which St John pausing on what is 
 wi'itten, 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 hvest indeed as thou 
 teachest.' 
 
 4- fi€i^oT€pav,,.^ciptVj iva...'\ VUIJO- 
 rem, Iwrum iion habeo gratimn qivam 
 ut...Y. I have no greater grace 
 — favour from God — tlmn these ti- 
 dings, t/utt I may hear... The plural 
 TovTiov '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 fiei^orepos compare 
 eKa^iaroTtpos Eph. iiL 8. 
 
 ?X<» X^P'"] The use of x"P« is re- 
 markable ; but x^P" makes the 'joy ' 
 (xupa) 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 : i Cor. xvi. 3. 
 ' To have grace' (or 'a grace') here 
 corresponds with 'giving' (Rom. xii. 
 6, &a) and 'receiving' grace (Rom. i. 
 5). "'Exfiv xap'" is used elsewhere in 
 different constructions and senses : 
 ex*'" Je'P"' "■"' Luke xvii. 9 ; i Tim. i. 
 12; €. X- '"'pos ""« Acts ii. 47. 
 
 ra fpa T.] mine own children 
 
 (Philem. 10), not simply ra tckvo pov. 
 Those Christians to whom the apostle 
 had been the human author of spi- 
 ritual life : I Cor. iv. 14, 17; i Tim. i. 
 2, &c. ; 2 John I, 13. TeKvia, the title 
 of aflFection, would be used of all to 
 whom he at present stood in the po- 
 sition of father : 1 John ii. i, note. 
 
 et> TTJ a\. nepm.] The phrase is not 
 found elsewhere in N. T. Comp. iv tw 
 (TK. {ev TTj (TK.) jr. I John i. 6 ; ii. II ; 
 ev ra (piorl w. I John L 7 ; eV avT^ {rfi 
 ayaiTjj) ir. 2 John 6. For the image 
 see I John i. 6, note. 
 
 3. T/ie duty 0/ 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 
 sketch of the work and of the difficul- 
 ties of the first 'Evangelists': Eph. 
 iv. II. Compare 2)ocir.o/-i4^;^. II ff. 
 
 'BeloMd, 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 foricard 
 on their journey worthily of God ; 
 ifor they went out for the Name's 
 sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles. 
 « We therefore ought to welcome such 
 tliat we may be fellow workers with 
 the truth. 
 
 5. TTi(rTov7r.]JideliterfacisY. The 
 phrase is commonly interpreted: 'thou 
 doest a faithful work,' a work which 
 answers to thy faith : so CEcuin. a^iov 
 rruTTov dvSpos. No parallel is quoted 
 in support of such a sense of ttiotoi. 
 The more natural rendering is rather 
 
238 
 
 THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 [6,7 
 
 TTOieFs o eav ipydcrr] eis toi)s dSe\(j)ov? kui tovto ^evovs, 
 ^OL i/ixapTvprja-dv crou rn d-ydirn evwiriov eKKXricria's, obi 
 KoXw's TTOina-efi TrpOTrejuylra^ a'^i'ws tou 6eov' ''urrep yap 
 
 5 epydffv '■ ^pjain A. Kal touto SABC vg me the syrr : khI eis toOs T. 
 
 6 oCs: ou B*. TTOL-naeLi irpoiriiiAJ/a!: iroLTjaas Trpoiri^^j/eis G (laX). 
 
 'thou makest sure'; tliat is, such an 
 act will not be lost, will not fail of its 
 due issue and reward (Apoo. xxi. s). 
 This sense falls in well mth the context 
 (comp. Apoc. xiv. 13), and explains 
 the use of the two verbs, n-oielK, c'pya- 
 (ca-dai, which are combined also in 
 Col. iii. 23. 
 
 o iav fpy.] The indefinite form (o 
 edv as contrasted with o) marks the 
 variety of service. For ipya^ofiat see 
 John vi. 28, ix. 4; and for ipy. els, 
 Matt. xxvi. 10. 
 
 Koi TOVTO |.] et hoc in. ..v., and 
 strangers withal. The fact that this 
 detail is emphasised in the commenda- 
 tion of the hospitality of Gains seems 
 to imply that it had been made the 
 occasion of unjust blame. For koi 
 ToiiTo compare i Cor. vi. 6; Phil. i. 
 28; Eph. ii. 8. Viewed rightly the 
 fact that these brethren were stran- 
 gers gave them a more pressing claim 
 upon the common ties of brotherhood. 
 Comp. Hebr. xiii. 2 note. 
 
 6. ot e/iopr.. . .] Those who in one par- 
 ticular case experienced the habitual 
 hospitality of Gaius bore open testi- 
 mony to his character in a public as- 
 sembly of the church where the writer 
 was, gathered together, as it may seem, 
 to receive their report: comp. Acts 
 xiv. 26 S. For evaTTiov eKK\. (not Trjs 
 
 ckkX.) compare ev (kkX. 1 Cor. xiv. 19, 
 35 '■ «'" (Tvvayay!] John vi. 59, xviii. 
 20; 2 Mace. xiv. 5 npo<rK\ridf\f els 
 
 (Tvvebpwv i.e. a meeting of the Council. 
 
 Doctr. Ap. iv. 14 ev eiiKhjala e^OfioKo- 
 yr}<rri Ta TrapaTrTtSfiaTCL <rov. 
 
 oils K. TT. TTpoirefi-^as} quos ben^a- 
 ciens deduces {ben^acies ducens)_Y. 
 Those who ha!d before found help 
 from Gaius now again required it for 
 a special work. The future implies a 
 
 wish which, it is assumed, will at once 
 be fulfilled. Comp. Rom. vi. 14. For 
 Ttponifi^as see Acts xv. 3 ; Tit. iii. 1 3. 
 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 in its completeness (n-pojre'/i- 
 ilras) and not in process {nponefmaiv). 
 This makes the combination of the 
 aor. and fut. natural. For npo-. 
 compare Polyc. Phil, i o-m/fxapv 
 
 vplv...irpoTreii^ao-Lv oj? ene^aXev vfuv 
 Toils eveiKi]fj.p.evovs tols ayioirpeTrefji 
 SetTfio'ls. 
 
 KoKas not.] Acts X. 33; James iL 8 
 (19); 2 Pet. i. 19; I Cor. vii. 37 f.; 
 Phil. iv. 14. 
 
 Compare Ign. Smyrn. 10 ^CKoiva 
 Kol *F€0v ^Ayadoirovvj ot eTnjKoXovdrjo-av 
 [101 els \6yov deoii, KaXas eiroi^aare 
 vnode^apLevoi qjs diaKovovs \ptaTov Oeoii. 
 
 d|. T. 6.] worthily of their dedica- 
 tion to the service of God : John xiii. 
 20. Comp. I Thess. ii. 12; CoL i. 10 
 
 a^. Tov KvpLov, 
 
 7. virep yap t. 6v.] pro nomine 
 enim Y.,/or tlve Name's sake, that is, 
 to make the Name better known: 
 Rom. i. 5. 
 
 'The name' is used absolutely Acts 
 
 V. 41 (comp. V. 40 €7r» Tm ov. 'Irjcrov). 
 
 Comp. James ii. 7. It is also found 
 in the letters of Ignatius : ad Eph. 7 to 
 
 ovopM nepi(f)epeu/ : adPhilad. loSo^aa-ai 
 TO ovojm. Comp. ad Eph I Sc'Sefim 
 vTvep TOV Koivov ovofuxros KoX eXwiSos : 
 td. 3 el...SeSefiai iv tw ovo/iaTt oujrto 
 airi]pTia-fiai iv 'lijtroC Xpurrd. From 
 the contexts it is evident that 'the 
 Name' is 'Jesus Christ' ('the Lord 
 Jesus'), or, as it is written at lengtli, 
 'Jesus Christ, the Son of God' (John 
 XX. 31; I John iv. 15). This 'Name' 
 
8] 
 
 THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 239 
 
 TOu ovofxaTO'i e^riXdav jj.t]Zev XafxfictvovTe's otTro Twi' 
 eOviKwv. ^rifxei^ ovv ofpeiXofxev viroXaix^dveiv rovs toi- 
 ouTOu^, 'iva (Twepyol yiuwjueda Trj dXrjdela, 
 
 7 Of 6juaros : + aiiroG EI2. dird rCbv : om. jdv C. iOviKdv : edvu}v S". 8 
 
 v7ro\a/ji,^dv€LV : airoXafi^dveiv 5". yivujfisda : yivbtieda C. aKriddq. KBC vg : 
 
 is in essence the sum of the Christian 
 Creed (comp. i Cor. xii. 3; Roni.s. 9). 
 When analysed it reveals the tiiune 
 'Name' into which the Christian is 
 baptized, Matt, sxviii. 19. Compare 
 
 also I Pet. iv. 16 €V 7-tS oi/o/xan TOVTa^ 
 i.e. Christian. 
 
 AVith 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. 
 
 i^fj\.6av\ pru/ecii sunt Y., they went 
 forth from some Church, well known 
 to the apostle and Gaius, on a mission 
 of Truth, as others went forth ou a 
 mission of en-or (2 John 7 ; i John ii. 
 19). Comp. Acts XV. 40. 
 
 jiT/hev \a/i0....] taking nothhig as 
 their habitual rule. This trait is given 
 not as a simple fact [ovbev \afL^.), but 
 as a mark of character. These teachers 
 refused to receive hospitality from 
 Gentiles who were unconverted. Many 
 reasons may have recommended such 
 a rule. St Paul alludes frequently to 
 difiBculties which arose even from that 
 reasonable provision by the Church 
 which St John here claims : i Thess. 
 ii. 6 ff. ; I Cor. ix. 14 f.; 2 Cor. xiL 16 ff. 
 For Xa/ij3. diTo see Matt. xvii. 25. 
 
 OTTO Twv idviK.'] a gentilibus {genti- 
 bus) v., from the Gentiles to whom 
 they carried the Gospel. The form 
 used {idviKos) describes character ra- 
 ther than mere position : Matt. v. 47, 
 vi. 7, xviii. 17. It does not seem to 
 be found in the lxx. 
 
 8. j^ixeis ovv...] We therefore, as 
 fellow Christians, ought (are bound, 
 I John ii. 6 note) to receive (support) 
 such. The word uTroXa/i/Sai/eii/ (sus- 
 cipere V.) gives the notion of wel- 
 
 coming with hospitable support. 
 
 Iva uvv. yiv. rrj dX.] ut COOJjerato- 
 res simtis 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 (better) with 
 the truth, the substance of their teach- 
 ing : 'that we may help the truth which 
 is effective through them'; comp. 
 Phil. i. 27 (Tvva&KovvTSi Tji Triaret rov 
 evayye\tov and Bp Lightfoot's note. 
 The word a-wfpyos is not used else- 
 where in the N. T. or lxx with the 
 dat. It is used with the gen. of the 
 person with whom the worker coope- 
 rates (e.g. Rom. xvi. 21 aw. /iou, i 
 Cor. iii. 9 deov (rwepyoi), and with the 
 gen. of the object, i Cor. iii. g a-wepyoi 
 TTis x^P"^! I Mace. xiv. 5. It is also 
 used with eh (Col. iv. 11 aw. its ttjv 
 ^aa-iKelav) and jrpos (2 Macc. viii. 7 
 irpbs Tas...€m^ov\as aw.) of the ob- 
 ject. The verb is used with the dat. 
 of that which is helped, James ii. 22 
 avvrjpyei Tols epyois, I Macc xii. I ; and 
 this construction is sufficient to sup- 
 port the connexion of a-w. with rrj dX. 
 
 4. The temporary triumph of 
 ambition (9, 10). 
 
 As yet St John had not succeeded in 
 removing the opposition from which 
 Gaius suffered ; but he makes it clear 
 that the issue cannot be doubtful. 
 
 9/ wrote a few words to the 
 Church; but he that loveth to have 
 the preeminence among them,, Dio- 
 trephes, doth not receive its. "For 
 this 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. 
 
 [9, 10 
 
 ^''€ypa\j/-d Ti TV eKKXncTLa' dW 6 (piXoTrpoi-revwv 
 auTwu AiOTpecpn^ ovk iTTidex^Tai riixd<s. ^°Zid tovto, 
 edv eXQw, uTTOjuLV^cru) aurou rd epja d TroieT, \ojol9 
 TTOvrjpoh (pXuaptSi/ r]ixd<i, kul fxn dpKOVfievo^ eiri tovtoi^ 
 
 9 iypa^a. S*AC : lypa^a av N' vg syrr : iypa^as B. 
 syrr. 10 ■^^aSs: e/s ^/iSs C. 
 
 lyp. Ti : om. Ti rX' vg 
 
 neiUier doth lie receice the brethren 
 himself and t/iem that would he 
 hindereth and casteth out of the 
 Church. 
 
 9. 'Eypa\j/-a Ti] scripsissetnforsitan 
 v., I wrote a feio words. The use of 
 TL to express ' something of import- 
 ance' is foreign to tlie N. T. and un- 
 suitable to the coiitext. St John 
 treats 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 av (as v.). 
 
 Tfl eKicXijo-ia] to t/w 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 (». 6 is different) 
 in which St John speaks of 'a Church.' 
 The word fKKkrja-ia 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 eVl Tois 
 iKK\7)a-iais) ; so that St John nowhere 
 gives a distinct expression to the 
 thought worked out in Bph. i. 22, v. 
 23 ff. ; though he records the gift of 
 its new life, John xx. 21 ff. 
 
 o (j)i\o7Tp....A.] is qui amat 2}rima- 
 tum gerere in iis D. V., lie tliat Uyeeth 
 to have tlie preeminence among (or 
 over) tliem.... The word t^iKim-pmros 
 occurs in late Greek (Polyb. Pint), but 
 <j}i\o7rpa>T(ieiv is not quoted from any 
 other passage. The idea of irpaTevfiv 
 governs the gen. avTHv, which answers 
 
 to 1] cKKKr]a-ia (couip. I Cor. i. 2 TJJ 
 e'/cicX., riyiacriiivois). It is of interest 
 to compare the two sources of failure 
 noticed in the two Epistles, Trpoayav 
 (2 John 9) and (f)iK<mpa>Tfveiv, the un- 
 due claims to intellectual progi-ess 
 and to personal authority. There is 
 nothing to indicate that Diotrephes 
 held false opinions : his ambition only 
 is blamed. Comp. Harm. Tim. viii. 
 
 7, 4 e^ovTes ^^Xoi/ Tiva iv aXXrjXois irepl 
 TTpmTf iiBv (cat nfpi So^s Tivos : id. y. 
 
 OVK fTTibix- ^l I" '"■ 1° ths word is 
 used of the literal welcome of risitors : 
 here it is naturally understood of the 
 recognition of the apostle's msh as 
 authoritative. Comp. i Mace. x. i 
 (TreSe^avTo avTov (as sovereign); xii. 
 
 8, 43; X. 46 cjTfS. Xiyovs; Ecclus. vi. 
 26 incS. naiSfiav. By the use of v/iar 
 (contrast (ypa^a r. I eyd) St John 
 removes the question from a personal 
 issue. He identifies himself with the 
 society {vv. 8, 12 ^p.(U, i John iv. 6 ; v. 
 14 f.). 
 
 10. 8ta TOVTO...] St Jolin implies 
 that his pei-sonal presence will be de- 
 cisive. By using the form eav (\8a> 
 there is no doubt thrown on the main 
 fact of his coming (r. 14). Comp. i 
 John ii. 28. 
 
 vTTonv. avT. T. €.] commMfieam ejus 
 opera V., / will call to reinmnbrance 
 his works, I will bring them to his 
 notice and to the notice of others. 
 'Ynofup.i^a-Kdv is used with the ace. 
 of the person (2 Pet. i. 12) and of the 
 thing (2 Tim. ii. 14), and of both 
 (John xiv. 26). 
 
 X. irov. (jA. r].] verbis malignis gar- 
 riens in nos V., prating of us with 
 
II, 12] 
 
 THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 241 
 
 ovre auTos eTnZe-)(eTai 'rov's aZeXipov^ kuI tov'5 (iovXo- 
 fA€uov^ KioKuei Kai e/c t»js eKKXtjcria^ e/c/Sa'AAet. 
 
 "'AyavrriTe, jmrj juiinov to kukou dWd to dyadov. 
 6 dyadoTTOLwv etc tov deov ea-Tiv 6 KaKoiroioav ov-y 
 eiopaKeu rov Qeov. "ArifxriTpiu) fxe/uapTuprirai vtto ttuv- 
 
 ix T^s ex/cX. : om. ix N. 
 
 ^oxiKoijAvovi : iTn&exoiiivovs C the. 
 6 Sk KaKoir. S" me. 
 
 evil words (Matt. v. 11 ; Acts xxviii. 
 21). The adj. (j>\iiafios occiu's i Tim. 
 V. 13. 
 
 Ij.f1 apK. fVi T.] quasi non ei ista 
 sufficiant V., and since lie does not 
 rest content therewith... 'ApKe'icrdm is 
 used with the simple dat. Luke iii. 
 14; Hebr. xiii. 5; i Tim. vi. 8. 
 
 oijTf...Kai...]nec...et... V. John iv. 
 II. 
 
 KaiXvfi...e'KlidXXfi] The verbs do not 
 necessarily express more than the 
 purpose and effort: comp. John x. 
 32 (Matt. iii. 14). It is diflacult to 
 realise the circumstances of the case. 
 It may perhaps be reasonably con- 
 jectured from 6 4)iX<mpa)Tevaii that 
 Diotrephes regarded the reception of 
 the brethren as an invasion of his 
 authority. 
 
 eVjSaXXei] Luke vL 22; John ix. 34 f. 
 
 5. T/ie 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. 
 
 "Beloved, imitate not tltat which 
 is evil hut tliat which is good. He 
 that doeth good is of God; he that 
 doeth evil hath not seen God. "De- 
 metrius hath witness borne to him 
 hy all and hy the truth itself: yea 
 we also bear witness; and thou 
 knowest that our witness is true. 
 ■ II. 'AyaTTTjTe...] The transition lies 
 in the thought of the power which 
 Diotrephes had won by wrong means. 
 
 p.}) lufiov] noli imitari V. Comp. 
 2 Thess. Iii. 7, 9; Hebr. xiii. 7. The 
 
 W. J. 
 
 1 1 KaKoir. : 
 
 noun /ii/iijnjy occurs several times : e.g. 
 I Cor. iv. 16; Eph. v. i. 
 
 TO H.....TO dy....] malum. ..quod bo- 
 num est V. Rom. xii. 21. 
 
 dyad....KaK0ir....'\ Mk. iii. 4; Luke 
 vi. 9; I Pet. iii. 17. 
 
 eV TOV 6. i,...ovx «o>p. T. 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 {dvm ex T. 6. Addit. Note on 
 I John iii. i) : he who does evil has not 
 made the first step towards partici- 
 pation in the Divine Nature (i 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. Aij^ijT-pio) ;iE/iapr.] From the 
 unfaithful St John turns to the faith- 
 ful : from the 'evil' to the 'good.' It is 
 likely from the context that Demetrius 
 was the bearer of the letter. For i^apr. 
 Tivi see John iii. 26 ; Luke iv. 22 ; 
 Acts XV. 8; and in pass. Acts vi. 3 ; x. 
 22; xvL 2; xxiL 12; I Tim. v. 10, &c. 
 
 St John appeals to a threefold wit- 
 ness given in favour of Demetrius (i) 
 wo TT. by all, that is the general wit- 
 ness of men arising out of the ex- 
 perience of life; (2) -in ovt. t. aiK. 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. 
 
 [13—15 
 
 T03V Kai VTTO ai/TJjs TJjs d\t]6eLa<s' kul iifxeT^ Se fxapru- 
 povfJLev, Kal otha^ on t) /napTvpia tj/mwu d\t]6m ea-Tiv. 
 
 ^^iloWd elxov 'ypdy}/-ai aoi, dW ou 6e\o) Sia /xe- 
 Aai/os Kai KaXdfjLOU (Tol jpdcpeiu- ''*eX7ri^u) Be eudew^ ere 
 IBeiv, Kal a-TOfxa ttjOOS a-rofia XaXncroixev. '^Giprivr] <roi. 
 dcnrdtovTai ere ol (p'lXoi. d(nrd(^ou toi)9 <plXou<s kut 
 ovo/uLa. 
 
 12 TTJs oKrjBeia!: rijj ^/ocXi;ffi'as Kal TJjs d\. C: rrjs iKK\r]<rias A.* (?). oiSos: otdare 
 r. -h liafyr. tj. dX. eiTT.: dX. ij. i<TT. i) fiapr. C. 13 ypd-^ai aoi : ypi^av r. 
 
 oi> ei\u : oiK i^ovX-qB-qv A (2'Johu 12). <roi yp. NBC : yp. aoi A vg me the syrr. 
 
 ypa.(fi(i.v: ypi^ai f. 14 ire iSetv ABC vg: ideiv as S'ti me. irpos: irpo B*- 
 
 15 oltplXoi: oi dSeX^oi A. dirTrdfou: ainracrai N. 
 
 salute tJiee: salute the friends by 
 name. 
 
 1 3. f tx""] The writer goes back to 
 the time when the letter was begun. 
 See 2 John 12. The variations in 
 form are worth notice : txav ovk 
 e^ovXijOrjVj fi.)(^ov dW ov 0e\o> — Vfiiv 
 ypdcfieiv, ypw\rai <toi — Sia xopTou Kal pi€- 
 XavoSj dia pieXavos Kal Ka\apLOv — yeve- 
 <rdaL TTpbs V.J ev6. (re Idelv^XdXrjfrat., 
 XaXTjVo/ici/. 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. Elpiqiir) <roi] Peace be to thee: 
 
 1 Pet. V. 14. As a formula of greeting!: 
 Luke X. 5; xxiv. 36; John xx. 19, 21, 
 26. And so (in combination with 
 other words) in epistolai-y salutations: 
 
 2 John 3 note. 
 o( <j)CKot] our friends. The word 
 
 does not occur again in the Epistles in 
 this connexion. Gomp. Acts xxvii. 3. 
 It gives a faint glimpse of personal 
 relationships. Comp. John xv. 13 ff. 
 (tar oi/o/io] per nonun V. Comp. 
 John X. 3 (XX. 1 6). Polyc. Phil. 13 
 a(7rrafo/iai...7raiTar Kar ovofia. 
 
 him ; (3) Kai rip.. Se p.apT. yea and we 
 also hear tcitness: St John and those 
 with him spoke with the authority of 
 the Church. 
 
 For the combination p.ep.apT., p-ap- 
 Tvpoiifiev 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. 
 
 vno IT.] by all. It is possible that 
 these words are to be taken quite 
 generally: i Tim. iii. 7; though it is 
 not necessary to extend them beyond 
 the circle of Christians. 
 
 KOI... 8c'...] See I John i. 3. 
 
 Kal oiSay] The words in John xxL 
 24 sound like an echo of this sentence. 
 
 This verse serves the purpose of ' a 
 commendatory letter' (truoT-arnt^ iiri- 
 o-ToXiJ 2 Cor. iii. i). 
 
 6. The concliision (13 — 15). 
 
 '3/ had many things to write to 
 thee, hoicbeit I will not write to thee 
 with ink and pen; '*but I hope to 
 see thee shortly, and we will speak 
 face to face. 
 
 '^Peace be to thee : the friends 
 
THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 243 
 
 Additional Note on v. 7. The Divine Name. 
 
 The idea of the 'Name' (DK*, Svoiia) has a far deeper significance in The 
 Biblical language than in our own. As applied to God it expresses that Divine 
 which has been made known of Him; or, more exactly to distinguish the fj^'^Q ^^ 
 two factors in the revelation, that which he has made kno^vn of Himself, 
 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 authorises man to address Him (comp. Gen. xvi. 13, xxxii. 29 ; Ex. vL 3). 
 And as applied to men the new name symbolises a new state, a new work 
 and new powers for its fulfilment (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 {M- 
 Shaddai, Jehotah, Father), or the wliole sum of these manifold revelations 
 taken together as one supreme revelation (6 6e6s, 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, i.e. 
 the Angel of the Covenant); i K. viii. 29 (the place of which Thou hast 
 said : My Name shall be there) ; Is. xxx. 27 (Behold the Name of the Lord 
 conieth 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 
 (iii. 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). 
 
 It follows as a natural consequence that the Divine Names in the Bible 
 give in a broad outline the course of revelation. 
 
 There is first the general name El, Elohim, which expresses man's 
 feeling after God, apart from any special revelation. 
 
 Then follows the patriarchal title ElrShaddai, 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: o irarrip fiov koI irarrip 
 vjiSiv Kcu. 6e6s iiov Koi deos vfiaii' (John XX. I j). 
 
 Two names present the two main views of God in the 0. T., Elohim 
 and Jeliovah. The former, the generic name, gathers up what St Paul 
 speaks of as to yvaarov Tov flfoC.ij dtSios avTov Siva/us Kat BdOTrjs (Rom. 1. 
 19 f.), 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 N. T. 
 
 244 THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 
 
 Elolbim describes the God of Nature, Jeliavah the God of rcvelatiou. The 
 former includes the ideas of the creation, preservation, and general fixed 
 government of finite things : the latter, the idea of living, progi-essive 
 hitercourse with men, of whom Israel were for the time the representa- 
 tives. The gi-eat confession of the chosen people was to declare that the 
 God of revelation is the God for Whom man's soul craves, One in His 
 infinite perfections: Deut. vi. 4 ' Jeliomh our Hlohim {or is our Elohim), 
 Jehovah is One' (comp. i John v. 20). For the use of 'the Name' abso- 
 lutely see 2 Sam. vi. 2 (R. V.). 
 The Not to dwell in detail here upon the Divine Names in the O. T. it must 
 
 Divine be noticed that the idea of 'the Name' is no less prominent in the N. T. 
 ^.^.™? m 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 o irifi^jrei 6 ira-r^p iv ra ovofuiTc iwv). He glorified 
 His Father and manifested His Fatlier'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 shewn : 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 to ovo^jm tov jrarpos Kai rov vlov koX tov ayiov TTfeu/iaros, 
 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 : Sv. 'I. Xp. (Acts ii 38, iiL 6, iv. 10, viii. 
 12, X. 48, xvi. 18; Sv. TOV Kvpiov 'I. Acts viii. 16 (ix. 14) (xv. 26), xix. 5, 13, 
 17, xxi. 13; ov. 'I. Acts iv. 18 (30), V. 40, ix. 27, xxvi. 9). 
 
 In the Epistles the Name of revelation, the Lord's Name, occurs in 
 severjil forms: 'the Name of Christ': 1 Pet. iv. 14(16); 'the Name of the 
 Lord': James v. 14 (? contrast v. 10); 'the Name of our Lord Jesus'- 2 
 Thess. i. 12; 'the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ': 1 Cor. L 2, 10; (v. 4, 
 vi. II;) Rom. i. j; Eph. v. 20; (Col. iii. 17;) 'the Name of Jesus': 
 PhiL ii. 10. Compare Additional Note on i John iii. 23. 
 
 The phrase 'the Name of God' is found in the Epistles only in i Tim. 
 vi. I, besides quotations from the lxx. (Hebr. vi. 10, xiu. 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). 
 
 Prom what has been said the full force of the phrases 'to believe in the 
 name' {iriareveiv eij to Sv. I 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 wliich is 
 realised by faith in each action of the spiritual life. 
 
 In close connexion with the idea of the Divine Name 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 Gloiy expresses rather the manifestation of the 
 
THE THIRD EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. 245 
 
 Divine as Divine, as a partial disclosure of the Divine Majesty not directly 
 intelligible by man (conip. Ex. xxxiii. 18 flf.). 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. Tliis 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. 
 
d KOCMOC nApAfeTAi, KAi hi eTriQfMid. aytoy. 
 
THE TWO EMPIRES. 
 
 I. The foundation of the two Empirea contemporaneous. 
 The idea of the kingdom of God in the New Testament, 
 
 „ „ in the subapostolio age. 
 
 The contrast of the two Empires. 
 
 II. The Christian Church a necessary object of persecution. 
 
 The necessity, though not realised at first, lies in the claims of Christianity. 
 
 1 . Christianity universal. 
 
 Soman religion national. 
 Eoman religious policy. 
 
 View of Celsus. 
 
 Corresponding idea of toleration. 
 No toleration for personal conviction. 
 Ancient idea of a national religion. 
 
 2. Christianity absolute. 
 
 Contrast with polytheism. 
 No compromise possible. 
 
 3. Christianity aggressive. 
 
 Patristic view of idolatry. 
 
 Idolatry to he met in social and domestic life. 
 
 4. Christianity spiritual. 
 
 Heathen confusion of temporal and spiritual powers. 
 
 III. 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. 
 
 Bites of consecration. 
 Worship of Augustus at Home. 
 
 „ „ in the Provinces. 
 
 Later consecrations. 
 
 I. The effect of the Apotheosis. 
 
 ■i. The effect of the worship of the Genius. 
 
 3. The law of treason. 
 
THE TWO EMPIRES: THE CHURCH AND THE 
 WORLD. 
 
 I. 
 
 The two The coincidence of the establishment of the Roman Empire with 
 
 Empires ■ r j 
 
 founded at the rise of Christianity has always attracted the attention or modern 
 
 trip ^fl-TTlP -^^ * * - /> • 
 
 epoch. historians. Even the early apologists saw a certam signiticance in 
 the fact. Melito addressing Marcus Aurelius describes the Christian 
 faith as a blessing of good omen (a'criov ayaSoV) 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 (<^tXoo-o^ui) which like a 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 less 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 univei-se 
 together in a sovereign unity. Peace won by arms ushered in Hmi 
 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 its development. Then at last the Empire was seen to have 
 
 ' Melito, ap. Euseb., H. E. iv. •26, 8. 
 
THE TWO EMPIRES: THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 251 
 
 failed ; and the Church was seen to contain the forces 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 p^o. 
 
 message of the Gospel was essentially the proclamation of a Kingdom, ^ i"™^ 
 
 'a Kingdom of heaven,' 'a Kingdom of God,' 'a Kingdom of the Son Kingdom. 
 
 'of Man.' The coming of the Kingdom was the keynote of the preach- Matt. iii. 
 
 ing of John the Baptist and of Christ Himself. The disciples were Matt. xiii. 
 
 the ' sons of the Kingdom.' As a King Christ died. During the 38- . 
 
 great forty days He spoke of 'the things pertaining to the Kingdom.' Acts viii. 
 
 12. 
 When the faith was first carried beyond the limits of Judsea Philip 
 
 announced in Samaria ' the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.' The Acts xvii. 
 
 burden of St Paul's first teaching in Europe was that there was '' 
 
 ' another King than Caesar, even Jesus.' The same apostle when he Acts xx. 
 
 sums up his work describes himself as having gone about ' preaching 
 
 ' the Kingdom of God ' ; and the last glimpse which is given of his 
 
 labours at Rome shews him there still preaching the Kingdom. Acts 
 
 xxviii. 31. 
 Everywhere the same idea is prominent in the history of the This idea 
 
 DSTVSidfiS 
 
 Acts and in the Apostolic letters. At one time it excites the jjjg jj^^ 
 hostility of unbelievers ; at another time it gives occasion to mis- Testa- 
 taken hopes in Christians. But however the truth was misrepre- though 
 
 less 
 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. Eiich 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 
 lUustra- need of the transfiguration of every power of man is forgotten. So 
 the belief !*■ ^^^.s that the early millenarian extravagancies gained currency. 
 i!lJt ! „ But not to notice these, one or two illustrations will shew how the 
 faith in Christ'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 zealots 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 should 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 
 'dieV 
 
 ' Hegesippus, ap. Euseb., H. E., ■' Hegesippus,fl^.Euseb.,H.i;.iii.32. 
 
 '"■ ^°- ■> Just. M. Jpo2. i. 11. 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 253 
 
 Even in this latest expression of the beUef, the faith in ' Christ a Chiis- 
 ' King' — the terms are practically synonymous — is still retained, and ^^^t have 
 so it must always be. The Christian creed cannot stop short of a ^ ^b'^'d 
 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 with- 
 out peril to the dignity and essence of the Paith. 
 
 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 q-^^ two 
 first century. The one appeared in the completeness of its form : the ™P"'^^- 
 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 claLm 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 j 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. 
 
 II. 
 
 It is in the reality of this contrast, though it was but seldom Chiistian- 
 
 itv n6C6S- 
 
 consciously apprehended, that the final necessity of the persecution sarily per- 
 which was directed by the Empire against the Church must be 
 
254 THE TWO EMPIRES: 
 
 found. For a time the waxing power might not seem sufficiently 
 "reat 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. 
 The ne- -'^t S'st, however, the nature of the contrast was not fully under- 
 
 cessity not ^^^^ Tjjg apologists constantly ask why a freedom of life and 
 first, 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'.' 
 and dis- 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 univei-sal 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 Christians suffered 
 they were themselves to blame. 
 ' Justin M. Apol. i. ^24. ' Athenagoras, Leg. pro Christ. 0. i. ^ id. c 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 i^^y ^^^ the 
 
 an antagonistic and not with a co-ordinate belief. The martyrs might ""'.l"^ 
 
 ° JO claims of 
 
 have escaped tortures and death by the affectation or semblance of Chris- 
 conformity to popular customs, but such conformity would have 
 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 aggres- 
 sive ; and once more it is spiritual and not only temporal. On all 
 these grounds it necessarily came into collision with the Roman laws. 
 
 I. Christianity is universal. This characteristic places it at i. Chris- 
 once in opposition with every form of polytheism. Polytheism is universal, 
 distinctively national. The gods which receive the honour of any 
 state are connected with it by special ties. Among the Eomans this Natioua- 
 belief was bound up with the whole history of their empire. The ^,^^11 
 pledge of their dominion was the venerable monument of their "^^l^sion- 
 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 Ufe. '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 Cic. de Legg. ii. 9. 2 Serv. Aen. iii. 104. 
 
2S6 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 have 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, locusts, mice and 
 ' hail and other noxious pests by which the conduct of life is plagued'.' 
 A hundred and fiity years of Christian supremacy could not eradi- 
 cate the feeling which survived the faith out of which it had grown ; 
 and in the last and, in some respects, 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 ^ 
 Eoman The conviction which was thus inwrought into the popular mind 
 
 IDOllCV ELS 
 
 to religion. ^^'*^ adopted and used by statesmen. The language which Maecenas 
 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 Eoman would feel on the claims of religion : 
 ' Everywhere and in every way shew reverence for the divine power 
 ' (t6 Oiiov) yourself according to the rites of your fathers (koto to. 
 ' Trdrpia) and compel all others to honour it. Those who introduce 
 ' any strange opinion on the subject (tous ^evi^ovrds [cf. Acts xvii. 20] 
 ' Ti Tr€pl avTo) ^dsit at once with hatred and chastisement, not only 
 ' for the sake of the gods, though he who despises them would not 
 ' regard anything else, but because such men by introducing strange 
 ' divinities (Katm rtva Sai/xovLo) 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 
 ' expedient for a monarchy. Do not tolerate then anyone who dis- 
 ' believes in the gods {aOw} or practises superstitious arts (yo'ijs)'.' 
 
 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- 
 
 For example, after enumerating ret? Et tamen diis euis non ista tri- 
 
 Bome of the disastera of the Empire buimt; quorum idee oultum requirunt 
 
 m pro- Christmn.times, Augustine asks: ne ista vel minora patiantur oum ea 
 
 Talis itaque vanitas qualem ferimus majora pertulerint a quibus antea oole- 
 
 eique respondere compellimur, quid bantur (Aug. dc Cit> iii ,j) 
 
 horum non Christianae relligioni tri- 8 Dion Cass Iii 36 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 257 
 
 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' 'Eeligious 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 The same 
 
 feeling 
 they wei-e not peculiar to it. The same thoughts were emphatically expressed 
 
 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 
 ' (iiroTTTat.) 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 {ovx ocrtoi') to abrogate what has 
 ' been originally instituted in each particular placed' 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 Corre- 
 sponding 
 idea of toleration. It was toleration based upon the mutual recog- idea of 
 
 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 
 
 ' Minuo. Fel. Oct. 6. ' Celsus ap. Orig. c. Cels. v. 25. 
 
 5 Id. ap. Orig. 1. c. viii. 72. 
 
 w. J. 17 
 
2S8 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, jtfo 
 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).' 
 Xor 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 pomoerium, 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 Je^vish 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 pi-oselytising. ' If any 
 'one,' it was enacted, 'introduces new rites (relligiones) unknown in 
 
 ^ Minuc. Fel. Oct. c. 6. MaoroWus » Liv. iv. 30; xxv. ,; xxxix. 18. 
 
 (m. 9) gives the formula of invocation Comp. Val. Max. i. 3 
 addressed to the deities of a besieged < Dion Cass, liii! 2; liv. 6. 
 
 ''*7'p. ^ r ■■ ° ^"■''- ^""- "• 85' Comp. Suet. 
 
 - Cio. de Legg. n. 9. m. 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 strange 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 
 second 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. 
 
 It is obvious that Christianity could not under any circumstances No tole- 
 claim protection from toleration, if it can be so called, based on recent 
 such principles as these. It came forward as a universal religion. „'I?™fi^ 
 It could not take a place as one among many ; and this was the convic- 
 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 
 
 1 Jul. Paul. Sent. Bee. v. 21, § 2. Lamprid. Commodus, 9. 
 
 ^ Spartian. Caracalla, 9. Compare * Euseb. H. E. ii. 2. 
 
 17 — 2 
 
26o THE TWO EMPIRES: 
 
 currency '. As time went on, however, the Christian Faith was gra- 
 dually delivered from this accusation of novelty, though the rise of 
 various foiTns of heresy frequently exposed the orthodox to the charge 
 of innovation and fresh unsettling of the minds of men. The argu- 
 ments 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 it : that the divine counsels are one and fixed, mani- 
 fested 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 condemned without a heai'ing for the fatal 
 defect of recent origin, it stood none the less necessarily in antago- 
 nism 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 reach- 
 ing, if we consider a little more in detail what the Roman theory of 
 a national religion was. 
 
 The an- According to this the national religion was a part of the his- 
 
 cient idea 
 
 of national 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 : gene- 
 rals 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 Dioclet. ed. adv. Mauioh. : Dii im- debet. Maximi enim oriminis est re- 
 
 mortales providentia sua ordiuare.et tiaotare qua semel ab antiquis statuta 
 
 disponere dignati sunt, quse bona et et definita suum statum et cursum 
 
 vera sunt, ut multorum et bonorum tenent ac possideat [God. Greg. Lib. 
 
 et egregiorum virorum et sapieutissi- xiv. [rubr. iv.]; Haenel, pp. 45 ff.). 
 
 morum consilio et traotatu illibata ' Arnob. adv. gentes, ii. 75. 
 
 probarentur et statuerentur : quibus ' Cio. de Dii;. il. 33. 
 
 neo obviam ire neo resistere fas est, * Cic. de Nat. Dear. iii. 2, 5. 
 neque reprehend! a nova vetus reh'gio 
 
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 follow- 
 ing 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- 
 ' elude, 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 
 ' mannei's 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 pagan- 5. Chris- 
 tianity 
 ism and Christianity which made persecution inevitable. Christianity absolute. 
 
 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 difierence 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 not recon- 
 cile such license and sarcasm with resolute devotion. But to the 
 
 ^ Varro ap. Aug. de Civ. iv. 31, i. ' Just. M. Apol. i. 4; Theoph. ad 
 
 ° Aug. de Civ. vi. 10, 3. Autol. iii. 3, 8; TertuU. Apol. 46. 
 
262 THE TWO EMPIRES: 
 
 polytheist of the empire — and to all later polytheists — the ortices 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 a 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 Csesar' and to 
 "sacrifice and be saved," was the well-meant expostulation which 
 was addressed to Poly carp on his way to trial'. When Dionysius 
 of Alexandria was brought before the magistrate he was urgently 
 pressed 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 Gal- 
 ' lienus ; 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 obsti- 
 nacy. But the concession which seemed reasonable to the polytheist 
 was impossible to the Christian, because his faith was personal. To 
 ' Euseb. H. E. iv. 15, 13. = Id. vii. n, 6. 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 263 
 
 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 V ' 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 devo- 
 tion of the whole soul : it was directed to one who was known to be 
 a loving Lord. ' Do you suppose,' said the prsefect Rusticus to 
 Justin, 'that you will ascend up to heaven to receive some reconi- 
 ' pense there V ' I do not suppose,' was the martyr's ready correction, 
 'but I know it (ov)( v-irovoia aW hri(rTaixai koX ■7reirXiQpo<f>6pii][j,aL)'.' 
 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 Christ, ' 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,' TertuUian 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 sufiicient simply 
 
 ' Acta SS. Perpet. et Felic. § i. ■2. v. 15, 16. 
 
 2 Acta S. Justini, § 5. * Acta S. Felic. § 3. 
 
 3 Mart. Polyc. § 6. Euseb. H. E. » Tertull. Apol. 18. 
 
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. Chris- 3- Since Christianity claimed in this way to be a universal and 
 
 tianity ag- 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 (Satyu-ovas) 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,' TertuUian 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^' 
 Idolatry But, as we have already seen, while the Christian affirmed that 
 
 ^^e^ the heathen gods were no gods, he attributed to them and to their 
 spirits. 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. 5 : for /xi, dpdois read s TertuU. Apol. lo. Comp. Athenag. 
 /xi] «foiJs. Comp. § 13. Leg. pro Christ. 4 ff. 
 
 2 Mart. Polyc. § 9. Euseb. H. E. * Just. M. Apol. i. 14, 12; Apol. ii. 
 iv. 15. '5- 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,' Lac- 
 
 tantius writes, ' for they have no cause of anger against the inno- 
 
 ' cent ; but those stained and lost spirits, who know the truth and 
 
 ' hate it, introduce themselves into their minds and goad them unwit- 
 
 ' tingly to madness seeking either to diminish through suffering 
 
 ' the faith of those who believe, or to remove them wholly from the 
 
 'earth ". 
 
 This conviction gave a stern reality to the conflicts of the The 
 
 martyrs 
 martyrs. Their struggle was not against mere phantoms and contended 
 
 names, but against actual powers of darkness. ' Who art thou,' personal 
 
 Trajan is reported to have said to Ignatius, ' that strivest to trans- P°.^®'^^ °' 
 
 ' gress our ordinances, thou man of an evil spirit (/caKoSaijituv) V ' 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 I 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 
 
 antago- 
 all the details of Ufe. The pagan temples were to Christians like nism 
 
 . in social 
 unclean sepulchres, of which they were tempted to shew their ^nd 
 
 loathing openly*. ' How long,' said a bishop when he passed by 
 
 a temple erected to the Genius of the Emperor whom he had just 
 
 left, ' how long shall this tomb stand" ?' 'A Christian,' Celstis 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 
 
 ' Lactant. JTuttt. V. 22. Comp. ii. 17. Oct. 8. 
 
 2 Mart. Ign. § 2. * Amm. Marcell. xxii. 11. 
 
 ' Acta S. Symphor. § 2. ^ Orig. c. Gels. viii. 38. 
 •* TertuU. de idol. 13. Minuc. Fel. 
 
266 THE TWO EMPIRES: 
 
 i-ude, it is easy 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 lieliever 
 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 disclaimer of 
 the superstition on which it was framed', 
 in domes- 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 cei-tainly 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,' lie continues 
 addressing the woman, ' when you sign [i. e. 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 he 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'?' 
 
 ' TertuW. dcidol. 11. ^Id.ii. ' TertuU. ad «,roi-. ii. 4, j. 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 267 
 
 Under such circumstances the Christian could not but be The 
 brought frequently into direct opiDOsition to the popular faith, how- i;eVt"alive 
 ever carefully he might avoid positions of danger, and however •^' ^?" , 
 liberally he might interpret the law of charity. The cases might '"^'s- 
 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 oft' the symbol of his profession' ; but 
 these kept the idea of the conflict present to the minds of men, 
 and invested the smaller divergences in thought and conduct with 
 their real importance. 
 
 4. In this way Christianity challenged persecution. It was 4. Chris- 
 tianity 
 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 Christian 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- and tenT-^^ 
 poral powers, the ideas of worship and law, of progress and order, P""^^ . 
 
 were completely confused : in Christianity they are distinctly se- the 
 
 Empire, 
 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 
 from the affairs and thoughts of men, the state became the symbol 
 
 ' Acta S. Maximiliani, Buinart, p. ^ TertuU. de cor. mil. i. 
 
 300. ' Acta S. Marcelli, Ruinart, p. 302. 
 
268 THE TWO EMPIRES: 
 
 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-.' 
 
 III. 
 
 The World The claim of Domitian is a startling illustration of a fact which 
 
 embodied 
 
 in the has an important bearing on apostolic thought and language. The 
 
 position assumed by the Roman Emperor gave a distinctness to the 
 
 conception 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 earthliness. In 
 
 the Emperor ' the world ' found a personal embodiment and claimed 
 
 divine honour. 
 
 Emperor- The growth of the worship of earthly sovereignty is a singular 
 
 worship . o ./ o 
 
 the climax episode in the history of the Empire, or rather it is the essential 
 
 imperial moral of it. As the faith which was founded upon sacrifice 
 sys em. gj,g^^ ^^ jjg ^ supreme power, so on the other side men found in 
 triumphant force that which could command their immediate 
 homage. On a selfish ^dew 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 
 
 ' Suet. Oct. 53. been struck during the lifetime of the 
 2 Suet. Domit. 13. There are two Emperors. Eckhel, J.c. There is a con- 
 coins of Aurelian which bear the in- secration coin of the latter Emperor 
 scriptions: Deo et domino nato (comp. with the inscription : eeco Kd^pto ceB 
 Bullet, di Arch. Christ, n. s. 1883 pp. and on the reverse Acjxepcocic : Eck- 
 61 f.) and Deo et domino nostra. The hel, vii. 500. 
 
 head of the Emperor is rayed and on On the use of the titles Dominus 
 
 the reverse is the msoriptiou: Restitut. and Deits on coins see Spanheim, De 
 
 oiMs. Eckhel, vii. 482. There are three prcest. et urn nummorum, ii. 482' ff • 
 
 types of corns of Carus with the inscrip- 489 ff. Compare also Tert. Jjjoi J 
 
 tion : Deo et domino Caro. Eckhel, and on the other hand Dion Cass. Iv 
 
 vii. ,io8. These coins seem to have 12 (Seo-jtotijs). 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 269 
 
 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 i,ero- 
 conception of gods to the conception of divine men, whose divinity "'^'°''^'^'l'- 
 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*. The old beliefs 
 had died out. Euhemerus had laboured to shew that the persons 
 of the popular mythology were mortal heroes, and there was no 
 
 ^ It is said that Darius the father of 'iTjie HaiaV, a lire aSiTep. 
 
 Xerxes first received from the Egyp- Plut. Titw, 0. 16. 
 
 tians the title of 'God' in his life- Suetonius speaks of the erection of 
 
 time. Diod. Sic. i. 95. temples in honour of proconsuls as 
 
 ■•' Thucyd. V. 12. So the Syracusans an ordinary honour : Templa quamvis 
 gave to Dion ' the honours of a hero : ' sciret [Augustus] etiam prooonsulibus 
 Diod. Sic. xvi. 10. Herodotus gives decerni solere, in nulla tamen provin- 
 an earlier example of hero-worship, cia nisi communi suo Eomseque no- 
 which he says was unprecedented, in mine recepit (Oct: c. 52). So Cicero 
 the case of Philippus of Crotona, a takes credit to himself for having de- 
 victor at Olympia, and the hand-' Slined the compliment : Ep. ad Att. x. 
 somest man of his time. After his 21. 7 ; ad Quint, fr. i. i , 26. But in 
 death, he says, the Egestaeans, Sia such cases the temple was not erected 
 t6 euiJToi! KdWos-.-irl tov rd^ov avroC to the officer, but in honour of him, 
 rip(}oi' lSpv<7aiievoL Bvalriai. avrbv VKaaKov- though the transition from the one 
 Toi (Herod, v. 47). thought to the other became easy a- 
 
 ' Plut. Lysander, 18. Comp. Athe- mong degenerate races, 
 
 nag. Leg. 1 4, who gives other examples. The worship of the Eoman Emperors 
 
 Honours similar to those paid to Ly- has been treated exhaustively by L' Abbd 
 
 sander were paid to T. Quinct. Flami- E. Beurlier in his Essay Le culte im- 
 
 ninus at Chalcis in the time of Plutarch perial, son histoire et son organisation, 
 
 (Irt Kal Ka6' TjiMs). This was the close depuis Augusts jusqu'a Justinien,Va.xis, 
 
 of the Psean sung at the sacrifice in his 1891. 
 
 honour: ixiKirere, Kovpiu, * For the worship of the Ptolemies 
 
 Tirjiia ixiyav 'Pii/xax re IItov 9' a/m see Theoor. Id. xvii. 
 
 "Suip-aluv re vianv. It was with better reason that Deme- 
 
270 THE TWO EMPIRES: 
 
 longer any faith behind, which such beings could embody and repre- 
 sent. It was then only a step to substitute a power present at 
 least and real for that which was not different in kind and obscured 
 by time. 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 countrpnen 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 him- 
 ' self. . .you would sooner forswear yourselves by all the gods than by 
 'the single genius of Cassar'.' 
 
 Extends to The general unbelief in spiritual powers which thus grew up in 
 
 Kome. _ 
 
 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 
 a connexion ^vith an unseen order. ' Roma' was already worshipped 
 as a goddess, and assumed before long the figure and attributes of 
 Pallas ^ If the belief in the ancient divinities was gone, some con- 
 
 trins obtained divine honours at Si- first who erected a temple to Eome 
 
 cyon: Tip.uv Icoeiav Irvxe Trapa toU eu B.C. 195 (Tac. Ann. iv. 56). The wor- 
 
 TraffoiVi (Diod. Sic. xx. 103). ship spread even to Britain. In the 
 
 TertuU. Apol. 38. Minuc. Fel. Oct. Library of Trinity CoUege there is an 
 
 29. Compare the song in Athen. vi. 63. inscription on an altar found at ' Eo- 
 
 " Comp. BeurUer, De divinis hono- 'Chester in Bhedesdaile' which bears 
 
 nbus quos Mceperunt Alexander et sue- at the head the letters d n s (Dfeffil 
 
 cmoi-e«e/us,Paris, 1891. He combats E[om£e] S[acrum]). Comp. Mommsen 
 
 Mr Hogarth's view {English Hist. Rev. Insm. Latt. vii. 1 79, No. 1037. 
 
 PP- 317 ff-) that 'the deification of Some interesting representations of 
 
 'Alexander was wholly posterior to his Eome on coins are given in the Tlie- 
 
 ' decease ' on pp. no ft. saurus Morellianus : see Haveroamp's 
 
 3 Cic. dc Nat. Dear. i. 42, i .9. Inde.x s. v. (ed. 1734). How soon Eome 
 
 • The Smyrnffians claimed to be the appeared as Pallas is disputed. 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 27 1 
 
 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 
 'juvare mortaleni), 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'.' 
 
 Thus in the consecration of the Emperors^ two distinct elements Two ele- 
 
 . , r^ ■ ments in 
 
 were combined, the national faith in the Genius and the eastern the idea of 
 
 adoration of power. The homage which one citizen might yield ^yoJship 
 
 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 The con- 
 secration 
 that the first assumption of divine prerogatives by Csesar justified of Julius 
 
 his death*. But Csesar had himself measured more accurately the 
 
 ' Plin. Hist. Nat. ii. 7. The same as at Mylasa : 6 dTJfios airoKpcLTopi Kai- 
 
 kind of feeling runs through the frag- <rapi Beoi vlif Sf(3a(rT(J dpx'^P" iieylarip 
 
 ment of Cicero's treatise Be consola- xai Seg. "Pii^?? (Boeckh, Inscr. Gr. No. 
 
 tione (ap. Lactant. Instit. i. 15) in 3696); at Cyme in Mysia: M tep^ws 
 
 which he proposes to render divine tSs 'Vtlinas koX aiTOKpdropos Kal^apos 
 
 honours to TuUia: te omnium opti- Siu via, 8iw ^€pd<rTa...Ild\diuiivos (id. 
 
 mam doctissimamque, approbantibus No. 3524); and at Athens: 8ef 'Fio/iri 
 
 diis immortalibus ipsis, in eorum coetu Kal SeiSao-TiJ) Kal<rapt (id. No. 478). 
 locatam ad opinionem omnium mor- Elsewhere the name of Augustus 
 
 talinm consecrabo. stands alone, as at Malta; afi^iiroXei- 
 
 ^ The subject of Apotlieosis has been o-as 6(^ AiyoinTTif (id. No. 5754) ; and 
 
 treated at length by J. D. Schoepf- Ilium: airo/cpdropa Kala-apa 6£ov vldu, 
 
 lin in a special dissertation (De apo- 6shv XePacrrSv... (id. No. 3604). Comp. 
 
 theosi... Argentor. 1729). Keferences id. No. 4474, xj/ii^ia/m ttjs ir6\eoit ire/x- 
 
 to later literature are given in Pauly, ipBiy 8e<fi Aiyovarifi (Syria). See also 
 
 Beal-Encykl. s. v. Nos. 2087, 3285, 4238 ; and Appian, 
 
 Boissier discusses the Apotheosis of Bell. Civ. v. 132, Kal rjv 6 Ka!<rap iruv 
 
 the Boman Emperors with special re- is rdre dKrOi Kal etKoai, Kal aiiTiu al irb- 
 
 ference to that of Julius Csesar and Xeis toFs (rtperipois Beats trwlSpvov. 
 Augustus in considerable detail [La * Suet. Jul. GcBsar, o. 76. Non enim 
 
 Religion Eomaine, i. 122 — 208). honorcs modo nimios recepit...sed et 
 
 3 Inscriptions of this form are found ampliora etiam humano fastigio de- 
 
2/2 
 
 THE TWO EMPIRES: 
 
 true 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 succession at the first celebration of the games which Augustus 
 ' exhibited in his honour, and it was believed that it was the soul of 
 'Caesar admitted into heaven ^' 
 Worship of When the beginning was once made the descent was rapid ^ 
 at Rome, Augustus resolutely refused to receive divine honours publicly at 
 
 cerni sibi passus est : sedem auream in 
 curia et pro tribunal!, thensam et fer- 
 culum Circensi, pompa, templa, aras, 
 simulacra juxta decs, pulvinar, flami- 
 nem, lupercos, appellationem mensis e 
 suo nomine. Comp. c. 88 in deorum 
 numerum relatus est non ore modo 
 decernentium sed et persuasione vulgi. 
 ' Id. u. 84. Comp. Dion Cass, xlvii. 
 19. 
 
 ^ Id. c. 88. The language of the 
 poets is well known and not without 
 deep significance, before it had become 
 conventional. Comp. Ovid, 3Iet. xv. 
 840 ff., and Burmann's note ; Fasti 
 iU. 701 fE.; Lucan, Phars. i. 45 ff. 
 
 The language used in an inscrip- 
 tion at Ephesus in honour of Jul. 
 Csesar (a. n. c. 706 — 7), which St John 
 may have read, is worth quoting: 
 ...Vdiov 'louXiOv, Tatov vlbv Kafcapa, 
 Toy dpx^epia Kal airoKpiropa ko! to Seii- 
 repov uirOTOK, Thv dirA 'Apem koI 'A0po- 
 SetTijs dehv iTri^avij Kal Kotvov rod dv- 
 dpioirlvov ^lov ffojTTJpa... Boeckh, Ijiscr. 
 Gr. No. 2957. 
 
 ' The rite was variously described 
 by Latin writers as dicari calo, con- 
 secrari, inter divos referri, in deoruvi 
 numerum referri (Suet. ), divusappellari. 
 Thus Eutropius says of Claudius : 
 post mortem consecratus 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 nuUi 
 post natos homines, ut cum privatus 
 obisset inter divos tamen referretur. 
 
 The Greek historians use the terms 
 diroBiaini (TertuU. Apol. 34) and iK- 
 deid^eiv. 
 
 Herodian has given a, detailed de- 
 scription of the ceremony in connexion 
 with the consecration of Septimius 
 Severus (Herodian, iv. 2). The last 
 sentence is worth quoting. The struc- 
 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 smallest, 'as from a 
 ' battlement, to ascend with the fire 
 ' to the sky. This is believed by the 
 'Eomans to carry the soul of the Em- 
 ' peror from earth to heaven ; and from 
 ' that time he is worshipped [Bpr/a-Keie- 
 ' Toi) with the rest of the gods. ' How- 
 ever diflicult 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 : ^ iih> [irvpi.] 
 dvTJKlaKeTO, diris S4 tls 4( ai^r^s d<peOds 
 dvliTTaro dis koX Stj ttji* ypv)(riv airrov ^s 
 t6v oipavhv dvatp^pwv (Ivi. 42); and Sue- 
 tonius relates that one was found, a 
 man of prtetorian rank, who swore 
 that he saw his form (efSgiem) ascend 
 from the pyre to heaven : Oct. 100. 
 Compare also Dion Cass. (Xiphil.) 
 Ixxiv. 5 (an eagle rose from the pyre 
 of Pertiuax). 
 
 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. 273 
 
 Rome' though he accepted the title {Augustus, SEjSao-To's) which 
 seemed to challenge them ' ; but at his death his feeling, at least, was 
 sufficiently notorious to be made n 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 : 
 
 ' Nee pietas ignota mea est : videt hospita tellus 
 
 In nostra sacrum Csesaris esse domo. 
 Stant pariter natusque pius, 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 rites (cselestes 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 religi- 
 ous honours which he had received and which were yet due to him'- 
 
 In the provinces the enthusiasm of the devotees of the Empire "u the 
 
 provinces, 
 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 Pola' to Rome and 
 
 are good outlines on a small scale and and nimbus : Montfauoon, I. c. p. i6t : 
 
 descriptions of both in Millin's Galerie Schoepflin, Tab. ii. 
 
 Mythologique, pU. clxxix, clxxx, and 1 Suet. Oct. 52. 
 
 also in Schoepflin, Tab. r. A large ^ See below, p. 280, n. i. 
 
 engraving of the sculpture on the base ^ Tac. Ann. i. 10. 
 
 of the column of Antoninus is given * Ovid, Ep. ex Pont. iv. 9, 105 ff. 
 
 in the Miiseo Pio Clement. V., tav. Other passages of the Augustan poets 
 
 xxix; and of the ' Tiberian Agate ' in are worth study: Virg. Eel. i. 6 ff. ; 
 
 Montfauoon, L'Antiquite expUqu4e, v. id. Georg. i. 24 ff. ; iii. 16 ff. ; Hor. Od. 
 
 153. The Apotheosis of Faustina is iii. 25; iv. 5, 32. 
 
 representedonabas-relief from theArch ^ Tac. Ann. i. 1 1 ; Dion Cass. Ivi. 46. 
 
 of M. Aurelius. Parker, Pliot. 1686. ' Tac. Ann. i. 54; Hist. ii. 95. 
 
 To these works may be added a ' Dion Cass. Ivi. 34, 42. 
 
 group at Madrid symbolising the Apo- * Comp. Suet. Oct. 60. Boeekh, 
 
 theosis of Claudius, in which an eagle Inscr. Gr. No. 478. 
 
 is represented bearing the bust of the ^ Stuart and Eevett, Athens... iv. 
 
 Emperor, who has a rayed crown (ed. 1816). 
 
 W. J. 18 
 
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 Cajsarea'. The 
 
 cities of Asia Blinor vied with one another in paying him the same 
 
 kind of honour. He was celebrated in temples at Pergamum^, at 
 
 Nicomedia, at Mylasa^, at Gyrene, in his lifetime. At Sparta he 
 
 seems to have had a temple alone like Julius Csesar which was seen 
 
 by Pausanias''. There were temples to him also at Cyzicus, Nysa, 
 
 ApoUonia 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'. 
 
 Later eon- It is unnecessary to trace at length the repetition of similar 
 seorations. 
 
 honours 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. lo (13); id. B. J. i. Culte Imperial, 19 ft. 
 
 21 (16). He placed in it a statue of » Philo, I. c. ii. pp. 567 f. 
 
 Augustus ' as large as that of Zeus at At Tentyra he was called Zeus Aeu- 
 
 Olympia, of which it was an imitation, flfpios. Boeckh, Inscr. Gr. No. 4715. 
 
 and another of Eome equal to that of Ephesus claimed to be j-eumpos of 
 
 Hero at Aigos' (Jos. loc. post.). the August! and of Artemis: Inscrr. 
 
 Augustus, under the form of Jupiter Nos. 3, 7, 13, 15 from the Great Theatre, 
 
 and Livia, with the attributes of Rome, No. 15 from the site of the Temple, 
 
 are represented on a famous cameo at No. 12, 15 from the city and suburbs, 
 
 Vienna: Milliu, Galerie Mythologique, inWood's Discoveries at Ephesus, iSy;. 
 
 clxxxi. 676; compare id. clxxviii. 661. On the Temples of Augustus see 
 
 = Tac. Ann. iv. 38, 55. Guillaume, I. c. 
 
 ^ Boeckh, Inscr. Gr. No. 2696. On Eoman consecration coins he is 
 
 * Pausan. iii. n, 4. This may have styled generally Divus, but once on a 
 been erected after his death, like that coin of Gallienus Dem; and this title 
 at Nola: Suet. 2't6. 40. is found on provincial pieces (deo 
 
 ° On this Augusteum compare E. avovsto) : Eckhel, vi. 125. 
 
 Guillaume, Revue Archeologique, 1,87 1 , The following inscriptions are taken 
 
 PP- 347 fi- almost at random: at Perugia, nvmini 
 
 « Philo, Leg. ad Cai. ii. p. 567. avovsti saor. (Orelli, 608) : at Verona, 
 
 7 Tac. Ann. i. 78. Comp. Spartian. deo AVG...(td. 609): at Heroulaneum, 
 
 Traj. 0. 12. Divo avgvsto avgvstales (id. 6ro): at 
 
 * Suet. Claud. 2. Guillaume, Bev. Fano, divo avovsto.,.pio patei doihi- 
 ArcMol. 1871, p. 348. Beurlier, he nobvm. 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 2/5 
 
 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 Caius 
 \vhen 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 such 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, tUl 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 
 
 1 Tac. Ann. iv. 15, 55 f. ; 37 f. Caius: Suet. Calig. 24. 
 
 ^ Suet. Gal. 21. Nero gave divine honours to his 
 
 ^ Tac. jirai. xiv. 31. Gomp. id. Ann. daughter Claudia Poppaea who died 
 
 xii. 69; xiii. i. an infant: Tac. Ann. xv. 23'. 
 
 ■* Tao. Ann. xv. 74. Comp. Tert. Those who had been consecrated 
 
 Apol. 34. were often represented under the form 
 
 On contemporary coins he bears the of the old deities, Livia, for example, 
 
 titles of Zeus, Apollo and Hercules; as Juno, Julia as Ceres, Faustina as 
 
 and one coin in his honour is inscribed Cybele (Sohoepflin, pp. 90 f.). 
 
 Tu ffUT^pi T^s oIkov/Uvtis : Eckhel, vi. In the Mus. Pio Clement. V., Tav. 
 
 2^8 f. xxvi. there is a striking representa- 
 
 5 Thusthe wives of Augustus (Livia), tion of Hadrian in the character of 
 
 Vespasian (Domitilla), Trajan (Plo- Jupiter, 
 
 tina), Hadrian (Sabina), Antoninus " Comp. Suet. Galig. 24. 
 
 Pius (Faustina), M. Aurehus (Faustina ' Plin. Faneg. 10 f. 
 
 Pia), Septimius Severus (Julia Au- Beurlier has given, App. A. pp. 
 
 gusta), Maximinus (Paulina), Valerian 325 ff., a full list of those to whom 
 
 (Mariniana), received divine honours. the title Divus (Diva) was applied. 
 
 See Schoepflin, pp. 54 fE. The first lady He reckons 56 up to Coustautine 
 
 of the imperial family who was con- (inclusive) ; and 22 afterwards up to 
 
 secrated was Drusilla, the sister of Anastasius. 
 
 18—2 
 
276 THE TWO EMPIRES: 
 
 or Pan, for the adoration of the world. ' And all men,' in the in- 
 dignant words of Justin, ' were eager to reverence him as a god 
 through fear, though they knew who he was and whence he sprung'.' 
 
 Two These details, a few only out of many which are preserved on 
 
 elements 1 - /. 1 
 
 in the coins and inscriptions as well as in the scattered notices of historians, 
 
 meut of ^^^'^ indicate how deeply the belief in the superhuman character of 
 ™P^T°'^' 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 distinguish 
 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 con- 
 nected. 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 
 
 ^^ Just. M. Apol. i. ig. Oiig. c.Cels. iakxw and N6to nyeito (Tarsus), 
 
 iii. c. 36. ocTiAioc MApKeAAoc lepevc toy 
 
 Eokhel (Doctr. Numm. viii. 463) gives antinooy (Corinth), antinoon GeON 
 
 a list of members of the imperial (Hierapolis, Nioopolis), h n^rpic an- 
 
 family whose consecration is witnessed tinoon eeoN (Bithynium), hani an- 
 
 bycoins, 48 in all, including 1 5 females. tinoco (Arcadia?). One inscription 
 
 Compare also Schoepflin, pp. 15—57. may be added: antinocoi CYNepo- 
 
 The divine worship paid to Anti- ^coi tcon cn ArrynTcoi eea>N m. 
 
 nous may serve as a striking example oyAVtioc mtoAAion.oc npo<(,HTHC 
 
 of popular fanaticism or profanity. (Gruter p 86 i) r^H-"'"^ 
 
 Among the inscriptions on coins struck Thes^ examples ai-e taken from 
 
 in his honom: by Greek cities-' none Eokhel, Doctr. Nvmm. vi. „8 ff. 
 
 were struck at Rome or in Roman The worship of Antinous was still 
 
 'colonies— are the following: anti- continued in Egypt in the time of 
 
 NOOC lAKXOC (Adramyttium), New Clement (Protr. iv. p. 14 P.). 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 277 
 
 many of the acts of daily life. The apotheosis once accomplished 
 only added one more to the list of deities who had no strong hold 
 even upon the thoughts of the heathen. 
 
 I. The essential divinity of the sovereign power was the The wide 
 main religious thought of the Empire, but at the same time the the'llpo- 
 ceremony of the apotheosis gave distinctness to the conception *''«°*'«- 
 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 
 rite 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 I' 
 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 
 
 ^ Plin. Pajic^. II. prffiterquam conseerationis honore dig- 
 
 " Comp. Spart. Hadi: 27. Suet. natus...carpsit...edictis. 
 Domit. 2 [Titum] defunctum...nullo ' Capitol. M. Aiir. 15. 
 
V8 
 
 THE TWO EMPIRES : 
 
 than a pageant. No one thought that he should be himented as one 
 who was lost. Death had simply restored liim to the gods who had 
 lent him for a time to men. Not to have his statue in the house, if 
 a 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. i8 parum .sane 
 fuit quod illi honoies divinos omnis 
 ffitas omnis sexus omnis conditio ac 
 dignitas dedit, nisi quod etiam saori- 
 legus judioatus est qui eius imaginem 
 in sua domo non habuit, qui per for- 
 tunam vel potuit habere vel debuit. 
 Comp. id. Ant. P. 13. 
 
 - Suet. Vesp. 23. 
 
 It is said by Butropius (x. 15, 17) 
 that Constantius and Jovian were con- 
 secrated {inter divos relati) ; and the 
 title Divm was given to the deceased 
 Emperors in formal documents to the 
 close of the Western Empire (Schoepf- 
 lin, pp. 50 f.). The title was trans- 
 ferred to later sovereigns even during 
 their lifetime ; and John of Salisbury, 
 in a passage referred to by Schoepflin, 
 remarks on the misuse of the word in 
 his time : Suos quoque imperatores 
 quos de more Bomanus populus fide- 
 liter jugulabat, deificavit fidelius inani 
 solatio.-.eosque mentiebantur in sor- 
 tem transiisse numinum ac si cselo 
 suo mundoque regendo, nisi tyrannis 
 ascitis, omnipotentis non sufficiat ma- 
 nus. Facti sunt ergo divi indigetes 
 aut, ut aliis placet, heroes, quos neo 
 etiam humana sorte dignos Bomano- 
 rum perfidia reputavit. Traotum est 
 hinc nomeu quo principes virtutum 
 tituUs et verfE fidei luoe proesignes se 
 divos audeant nedum gaudeant appel- 
 lari, veteri quidem consuetudine etiam 
 in vitio et adversus fidem catholicam 
 obtiuente (Polycr. iii. ro; Migne, Pa- 
 trol. Lat. cxcix. 496). Charles the 
 Great had already condemned the cus- 
 tom. After reproving Constantine and 
 
 Irene for their assumption of the title 
 and for the use of the corresponding 
 word dlvalia in regard to their decrees, 
 he .says : Cesset igitur. cesset falsi 
 nominis ambitio, destituatur antiqui 
 erroris vestigium, facessat cascaj super- 
 stitionis vocabulum, abdicatur proca- 
 cis nominis supercilium, pellatur a 
 fidelibus in divos trausferendorum 
 hominum gentile mendacimn (Lihr. 
 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- 
 lical form in the consecration coin 
 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- 
 stretched 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 avgvst . in p.\ce. 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 a Christian, and that the coin 
 was struck by the Emperor in memory 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 279 
 
 2. The apotheosis gave definiteness to the idea of the imperial Thegenius 
 divinity by the consequent array of priests and sacrifices and tern- Emperor, 
 pies ; 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'. He 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 
 supposed 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 
 TertuUian^, '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 
 ' whatever 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. Julian : genio .istiocheni. 
 
 King, Early Christian Numismatics, Inscriptions in honour of the Genius 
 
 pp. 44 ff. ; and on the whole subject of of a particular place, or society or 
 
 Consecration Coins Eckhel, Doctr. person are very frequent. Among the 
 
 Niimm. viii. 456 ff. Eoman inscriptions Mommsen gives 
 
 1 The representation of the Genius examples of dedications: genio cen- 
 
 is found sparingly on the coins of the xurue, a. tuem.e, g. sancto oastko- 
 
 early Emperors : e.g. genio acgusti hum, g. hoekeobum, g. DEonBi^, u. 
 
 (Nero : Eckhel, vi. 272); genio r. ». exekcittjs, &c. (Inscrr. Latt. vi. 1, 
 
 (Augustus: id. vi. 97 f.); genius p. e. 208 £E.). In Britain inscriptions are 
 
 (Vitellius: id. vi. 317). Towards the found genio loci, g. cenxdbi^, g. 
 
 close of the third century the Genius oohoetis, g. v.alli, g. teke^ beitan- 
 
 appears much more commonly and in nice, &c. id. vii. The corresponding 
 
 different forms. It is significantly cha- phrases tyXH ceB&CTOY ani tyXH 
 
 ra«teristic of the reign of Diocletian. rroAecoc are found on Greek coins: 
 
 The following types of inscription are Eckhel, iv. 60; ii. 455. It would be of 
 
 given in Bandurius : genids augusti, deep interest to compare the ideas of 
 
 G. AUGUSTOBUM, G. AHGG. ET COSS., G. TYXH and GENIUS. 
 
 CjEsabis, and genius exeeoitos, g. There is an impressive figure of the 
 
 EXEECiTus iLLYEioiANi, G. iLLYEici, G. Geuius of Augustus in the Mus. Pio 
 iMPEEATOEis, G. popOLi EOMANi. The Clement, iii. Tav. 11. 
 
 GENIUS AUGUSTI, G. IMPEEATOEIS, G. ^ Qrig. C. Ccls. viii. 65. 
 
 popuLi EOJiANi appears on coins of ' Tert. ad Scap. i. Comp. Theoph. 
 Constantine. The only later example ad Autol. i. ii. 
 which I have observed is on a coin of 
 
28o THE TWO EMPIRES: 
 
 the pretensions may appear which TertuUian here sets aside they 
 were a 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 eai-th^ So Ovid rightly contrasts the name 
 with the most glorious titles which the heroes of Roman history had 
 won, and adds : 
 
 ' Sed tamen humauis celetrantur honoribus omnes : 
 
 Hie sooium summo cum Jove nomeu habet. 
 Sancta vocant augusta patres : augusta vocantur 
 Templa, sacerdotum 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 
 
 a similar point of convergence for hope. If unity could be gained 
 
 under polytheism 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. 
 
 Essential- In such a view of humanity the Christian found the complete 
 ly opposed . _ '^ 
 
 to the idea antithesis to that which had been revealed to him. He held indeed 
 of Chris- . /. 1 , 
 
 tianity. "lost tirmly 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 oompareEckliel,Doc«)-. aiiroi' Kai i\Xrii>lJ:ovTh ttws u<nrep two. 
 
 Numm. viii. pp. 355 ff. The words of o-eTrrtx ottA toO o-e/Sdfeo-eoi irpoaeixov. 
 
 Dion Cassius (liii. 16) state the case 2 Ovid, Fasti, i.Gojn. Comp. Suet, 
 
 plainly: AOyovc-Tos lis Kal TrXeiov ij Octou. 7; Florus, ii. 34. OntheEphe- 
 
 Kara iveptlnrovt uv CTreicXrieTj, Trivra ykp sine inscriptions 0t\off^/3ooTos occurs 
 
 7-d evniilyra.Ta Kal to. lepdrrara aByomTo. not unfrequently as a regular official 
 
 Trpoffayopcierai.- ej oSirep Kal 2cj3airTii' epithet. 
 
THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD. 281 
 
 stood forth as a 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 
 
 of the 
 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 
 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 
 (majesias, da-i/Sna). 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'. Caius, it is said, put men to death because 
 they expressed a poor opinion of his shows, or never swore by his 
 genius'*. 
 
 1 Tac. Hist. i. 77. ^ Tac. Ann. i. 73 ; ii. ?o ; iii. 70; iv. 34. 
 
 ' Plin. Paneg. 42. Comp. Tac. Ann. * Suet. Calig. 27. Comp. id. Claud. 
 
 iii. 38. n. 
 
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 alle- 
 giance 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 «., 32. 
 
THE GOSPEL OF CEEATION. 
 
6 eeOC AfMlH eCTIN. 
 O HN d.TJ ApXHC.nepi TOY AOrOY THC ZOiHC. 
 
THE GOSPEL OF CREATIOlSr. 
 
 I. Humanity created for union with God. 
 
 Conception of the normal progress towards union, apart from sin. 
 
 II. The subject belongs to a late period in the history of Theology 
 prominent in scholastic discussions. 
 Illustrations of its treatment 
 
 Eupert of Deutz. 
 
 Movements in the xiith Cent. 
 
 Alexander of Hales. 
 
 Albert the Great. 
 
 Thomas Aquinas. 
 
 Bonaventura. 
 
 Duns Scotus. 
 
 Gabriel Biel. 
 
 John Wessel. 
 
 Picus of Mirandola. 
 
 Naclantus. 
 
 Andr. Osiander. 
 
 Servetus. 
 
 F. Socinus. 
 
 Calvin. 
 
 Later Calvinists. 
 
 III. Bight 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. 
 
 (b) The race. 
 Need of unity, 
 
 Eelation of Christ to the Church. 
 
 ii. The representative of Creation. 
 Differentiation the law of progress. 
 Beunion. 
 
 ■J. The necessities of man and men independent of the Fall. 
 
 Consummation answers to Creation. 
 
 The Gospel of Creation not an arbitrary speculation. 
 
 The general silence of Scripture natural. 
 
 The trutii practical, and helpful for our needs. 
 
THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 
 
 Condi- TiS" cattempting to speak of such a mystery as the Gospel of Creation, 
 
 under ^ that is of the promise of the Incarnation which was included in 
 
 which the J Creation of man, it is evident that we have need of watchful and 
 inquiry is .... 
 
 permis- 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 
 ' unf requently profit the weaker members of the Church'.' 
 
 ' Et si Divinse mentis arcana in nostris, mirum non est si nobis, dum 
 
 patria pertingemus illustrius, ubi in hio agimus, magna sunt ex parte recon- 
 
 lumine gloriaj lumen nostrse videbimus dita; attamen cum sine prajsumptione 
 
 felicitatis ; immo cum cogitationes Dei subque oensura, prout faoimus, sacro- 
 
 louge diversffi sunt a cogitationibus sanctse eoolesiffl aliquid attentamus et 
 
THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 287 
 
 In this spirit then we must attempt to define our meaning when Concep- 
 we express the belief that the true Protevangelium is to be found in p °o'^ess of 
 
 the revelation of Creation, or in other words that the Incarnation was f °l«ss 
 
 numamty 
 
 independent of the Fall. All our present ideas of human life neces- towards 
 
 unionwith 
 
 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 predestmed in the eternal and absolute 
 counsel of Gfod 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 per- 
 fect 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 into 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 All idea of 
 
 . humilia- 
 shame connected with the Incarnation was due to the Fall : there is tion ex- 
 no question that in our imagination the voluntary endurance of these ^^^^ g^^jj^ 
 by the Son of God makes His love appear greater. But indeed ^ "nion. 
 
 luce Divinl verbi sufEulti illud pro veneramur et ecclesise imbeoUlioribus 
 nostro captu humiliter balbutimus, membris non raro profioimus (Naclan- 
 non solum Deum non oftendimus sed tus, Opera, p. 37). 
 
! 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. 
 
 11. 
 
 The idea The subject as it is thus presented belongs properly to the later 
 
 df Crea^-^ ages of the Church. It may perhaps be truly said that the thought 
 
 tion not ^£ ^^ Incarnation independent of the Pall harmonizes with the 
 
 in the first general tenor of Greek Theology '. Some patristic phrases seem to 
 
 ages of the ° oj r r 
 
 Church. imply that the thought was distinctly realised here and there, and 
 
 perhaps discussed. But the question was not formally raised, at 
 
 least not so as to come into prominence, till the xith or xilth 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 efforts 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. 
 
 Stages in There is indeed a divine order in the progressive apprehension of 
 
 of the *^® fulness of truth by the Christian consciousness. So the first work 
 
 question. ^^ 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 
 
 ' See below, pp. 319 S. 
 
THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 289 
 
 the conquest of the northern nations (590 — 1050). Then at length 
 a 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 re- 
 ceived 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 ' whe- 
 ' ther 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 an inte- 
 great teachers, afford a most instructive study in theology, the more gJ^j? ^f 
 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 Ineam. ii. 17, yff. There is a slight 
 
 derived great assistance from the re- review of the history in Domer's Doc- 
 
 ferences in Gerhard (Joh.) Uberior ex- trine of the Person of Christ, ii. vol. i. 
 
 plicatio,loe. iv. cap. vii.§§i42 ff.; Quen- pp. 361 ff. (Eng. Transl.). 
 stedt (J. A.) Syst. Theol. in. 109 ft. ; 
 
 w. J. 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, 
 
 Edpeet of The first writer however whom we have to notice, Rupert of 
 
 Dedtz. 
 
 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 Lifege. 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. ro. This he quotes with 
 the passive constrnimari for consummare^ , 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 
 
 1 Decebat enim eum propter quern Matt. Lib. xiii. p. 696 (Migne, Patrol. 
 
 omnia et per quern omnia, qui multos Lat. olxviii. p. 1628). The Oomment- 
 
 filios In gloriam adduxerat, auotorem ary is referred to the year 11 26. In 
 
 salutis eorum per passionem consum- the treatise De glorif. Trin. i. § 6 the 
 
 mari. So also Ambrose, Eufinus, text gives cowsumnmre, but the line of 
 
 Sedulius, Vigilius Tapsensis. Comp. argument requires conmmmari. 
 Sabatier ad loc. Rupert, Gomm. in 
 
THE GOSPEL OF OEEATION. 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 a form limited 
 according to human nature in the midst of angels and men ; ' nay, 
 'then came to pass the saying... Wlwre 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 say not that man was 
 ' made for the sake of angels, but that the angels, as every thing 
 ' else, were made for a particular man, accordingto the witness of the 
 ' Apostle : For it became Him [i.e. Christ, the Son of man]_/br Wlwm 
 are all things and through Whom a/re all things.' And after referring 
 to John i. 3 f . (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 Dem) should become flesh, 
 " and dwell among men with great love and great humility, which 
 "are true delights." ' Therefore we say that it is not so likely that 
 ' man was made to fill up the number of angels as that both angels 
 1 De glorif. Trin. iii. §§ 10 t. (Migne, Patrol. Lat. clxix. pp. 71 H.). 
 
 19 — 2 
 
292 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 
 
 ' and men were made for the sake of one man Jesus Christ ; that as 
 ' He, one and the same, was both God, bom 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 hothfor Him and through Him.' 
 
 Thus Rupert regards the Incarnation 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 loith 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 godH- 
 ' 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, " De tnedit. mortis ii. -p. 249 (Migne, 
 
 Patrol. Lat. olxviii.). Patrol. Lat. clxx. p. 387). 
 
THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 293 
 
 ' slaves 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 care- 
 ful 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 cen- The 
 tury which followed the death of Rupert. It does not appear to have Soliolasti- 
 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 (t 1141) and Richard of St Victor (t 1173) seems to 
 connect the Incarnation exclusively with the Fall'. Meanwhile the 
 system of scholastic theology was being reduced to a definite shape. 
 Anselm (t 1109) had proved in controversy and in original specula- 
 tion the power of a logical method. Attention was again turned to 
 Boetius' direct translation of the Organon of Aristotle which stimu- 
 lated and guided independent thought. The translation of the 
 treatise of John of Damascus, On the Orthodox Faith into Latin 
 (c. 1 146), gave a model to the West for the construction of a general 
 view of Christian doctrine. Several ' Systems' (Summce Theohgice) 
 were compiled, one by our own Stephen Langton (c. 1205), and 
 Books of Sentences. But supreme among these by its masterly com- 
 
 ' Eeelesia fidelium cum omni fiduoia ac tantum meruit habere redemptorem. 
 
 canat : eerte necessarium Adse pec- Eio. a S. Yictore, de Verba I?ic. 8 (Migne, 
 
 catnm et nostrum quod morte Christi Patrol. Lot. cxcvi. p. 1003). 
 deletum est. felix culpa qu£e talem 
 
294 
 
 Outline of 
 the Books 
 of Sen- 
 tences of 
 Petee 
 
 LOMBAKD. 
 
 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 
 
 pleteiiess of form and lasting influence was the great work of Peter 
 Lombard of Xovara, the scholar of Abelard, and afterwards Bishop 
 of Paris (t 1164), Sententiarum Libri iv., which practically deter- 
 mined once for all the outlines of the various mediajval systems of 
 doctrine, and through them has influenced the direction of the cur- 
 rents of thought over to the present day. 
 
 Th^ first 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 crea- 
 tures : 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". 
 
 Alexan- 
 der OF 
 Hales. 
 
 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 Irm.ocent IV. commissioned Alexander of Hales 
 (Alexander Alensis, Alesius), a Franciscan, who had won for himself 
 the titles of 'Fountain of Life' and ' Doctor irre/ragabilis,' to com- 
 pose 'a Body of Theology ^' This he did on the general lines of the 
 
 1 The history of scholastioism is 
 commonly divided into three periods. 
 The first extends to about 1250; the 
 second to about 1330; the third to the 
 close of the 15th century. I have 
 taken Alexan-der or Haies as the re- 
 presentative of the first : Albert the 
 Great, Thomas Aquisas, Bonaventdra, 
 
 and Duns Scotus, as the representa- 
 tives of the second, the heroic age of 
 the schoolmen ; and Gabriel Biel, as 
 the representative of the last age, the 
 age of the decline and dissolution of 
 their system. 
 
 ^ Alexander cannot have been edu- 
 cated as is universally stated in the 
 
THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 29S 
 
 Sentences in four parts ; and the work, which was approved by a 
 Bull of Alexander IV. in accordance with the solemn 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 tlie Incarnation.' The last topic (rnemhrum) 
 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 stUl have 
 ' been reason and fitness for the Incarnation of Christ ? {an si huma7ia 
 ' natura per peccatum lajjsa non esset adhuc fuisset ratio et conve- 
 'nientia ad Ghristi Incarnationem ?)' 
 
 This Alexander aifirms {sine prcejudicio concedendum est) ; and 
 he brings forward four reasons in support of his view : 
 
 1. The highest good is necessarily diflfusive 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 intellecfum). 
 
 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. 
 
 Cistercian [not Franciscan] Abbey of stratensian Monks founded in the reign 
 
 Hailes in Gloucestershire. This was of John. It is said that Alexander 
 
 not founded till 1246, the year after reckoned among his pupils Bonaven- 
 
 his death. Rudder, in his History of tura and Thomas Aq^uinas. Zealous 
 
 Gloucestershire, suggests that he was Dominicans deny that Thomas heard 
 
 educated at Hales Owen in Shropshire, him, but the tradition is supported 
 
 which was commonly called Hales, with strong evidence by Wadding, An- 
 
 where there was a convent of Prsemou- 7iales, ui. pp. 133 S. 
 
296 
 
 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'. 
 
 ' Alex. Alensis Summce Theol. Pars 
 
 iii., Qacest. iii., Membr. xiii dioit 
 
 Dionysius Bonum est diffusivuvi sui 
 
 esse Ergo si summum bonum exist- 
 
 ente creatura non se diffundit in orea- 
 turam, adhuc erat cogitare majorem 
 
 difiusionem Sed hsec diffusio non 
 
 potest intelligi summa nisi ipse [Deus] 
 uniatur creaturse ; ergo eonvenit quod 
 Deus uniatur creativrae, et maxime 
 humanaB.-.Ergo poslto quod ipsa non 
 esset lapsa, adhuc el uniretiir sum- 
 mum bonum. 
 
 Item, non est beatitude nisi in Deo ; 
 et creatura rationalis tota est beatifi- 
 cabilis...ergo et secundum sensum et 
 secundum inteUectum ; ergo oporteret 
 quod in Deo beatificaretur quantum 
 ad ntrumque...Sed In Deo secundum 
 se conslderando et in propria natura 
 non potest beatificari sensus sed solum 
 latellectus...Si ergo totus homo debet 
 beatificari In Deo, oportet Deum esse 
 corporalem et sensibilem. Sed non 
 est conveniens, ut assumat quamlibet 
 corporalem naturam, sed solum huma- 
 nam, ut dictum est. 
 
 Item, contingit intelligere tres per- 
 sonas in unitate substantiie ; et ex 
 opposito tres substantias in unitate 
 personte ; et inter hsec duo tres per- 
 sonas in tribus substantiis. Si ergo 
 unum extremorum est in rerum natura 
 
 ...et medium... contingit ponere ter- 
 tium, videlicet unam personam in 
 tribus substantiis ; sed hoc non po- 
 test fieri nisi per unionem divinse 
 naturae ad humanam, quia in nulla 
 alia creatura est ponere duas substan- 
 tias quam in homine, scilicet spiritu- 
 alem et corporalem... Convenit ergo 
 quod sit unio divine natuise ad huma- 
 nam in unitate persouse; ut sit in 
 rerum universitate perfectio; ut sicut 
 tres persome in una natura, et tres 
 personse in tribus naturis, ita tres 
 nature in una persona, scilicet divini- 
 tas, corpus, et anima. 
 
 Item, nos invenimus unitatem na- 
 turse in pluribus personis...ut in Deo : 
 Item... unitatem personae in pluribus 
 naturis, ut in homine. Si ergo de 
 perfectione naturse est quod est in 
 pluribus personis ergo et de perfectione 
 erit quod potest esse in pluribus na- 
 turis. Si ergo semper quod est per- 
 fectius Deo tribuendum quantum ad 
 naturam et quantum ad personam... 
 convenit. ..quod uniatur divina na- 
 tura naturse creatse in persona divina, 
 
 sed non ouilibet sed solum hu- 
 
 manee ; neo etiam cuilibet personse in 
 Trinitate nisi filio...Eelinquitur ergo 
 quod circumscripto lapsu humanse 
 naturae adhuo est convenientia nnionis 
 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 with- 
 ' out 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 pro/uit 
 nisi redimi prqfuisset). This objection he removes by shewing that 
 the words refer to man as fallen, and not to man absolutely. 
 
 Albert the Great, who was a Dominican, of a noble German Albebi 
 
 family and at last Bishop of Batisbon, approached the question from Gkeat, 
 
 a different side. In commenting upon the section of the Sentences /' ^°^ i__ 
 
 in which Peter Lombard' shews 'that God could have freed man 1^80. 
 
 ' 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 djdng.' 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 : 
 
 O culpa nimium beata 
 Qua redempta est natura : 
 Deus qui creavit omnia 
 Nascitur ex femina*: 
 
 ' The passage is referred to Ham. Alcher, a monk of Clairvaux. The 
 
 super Jon. i, and it is probably a free passage in De Civ. x. 27 is quite dif- 
 
 adaptation of part of it. ferent in tone. 
 
 = Be an. et spir. § g (quoted freely). ^ gent iii. Dist. xx. Art. 4. 
 
 The treatise was probably written by * Daniel, Thesaurus Mymnol. 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, 
 felix culiJa quce ta/nlum ac talem meruit habere redempiorem,^, 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 togetlierfor 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, had been wanting, the order of 
 production would not have been perfect. 
 
 3. 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, I. c. 303, and notes. The est ' is omitted generaUy in German 
 
 clause, together with the words which and French mss, while it is found in 
 
 precede '0 certe necessarium Adaj pec Italian mss. See p. 203, n. 
 catum, quod Christi morte deletum 
 
THE GOSPEL OP 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 improprice), in the end reaffirms his judgment. 
 
 The great pupU of Albert, Thomas, Count of Aquinum {Doctor Thom.^s 
 angelicas), who declined the Archbishopric of Kaples, himself 132^— 
 also of noble birth, treats the question with singular reverence '*' 
 and moderatioru In his early commentary on the Sentences 
 (c. 1255) he proposes four questions on the Incarnation (Sent. 
 iii. Dist. i. Quest, i) : (i) Whether it was possible for God to be 
 incarnate ; (2) Whether it was suitable {congruum) ; (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 
 'reason (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 consiunmation 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' ; 
 
 ' In his commentary on i Tim. i. 15 Glossa : ToUe morbum, et medicinse 
 
 {Lect. iv.) he says : Sed si nullus fuis- non opus erit. 
 
 set peceator numquid incamatus non Bespondeo. Dioendum est quod ex 
 
 fuisset? Videtur quod non : quia venit verbis sanctorum satis (?) hoc patet. 
 
 peccatores salvos faeere. Non ergo Sed haec quaestio non est magna auc- 
 
 fuisset uecessaria inoamatio. Item toritatis: quia Deus ordinavit fienda 
 
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 Summa is on ' the 
 ' Fitness {convenientid) of the Incarnation.' The first three Arti- 
 cles, under which it is discussed, deal with the following topics : (i) 
 Whether it was fitting {conveni&ns) 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 Ln 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 ' Althouffh 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 fiend® erant. Et casset, Christus ante peccatum fuisset 
 
 nescimus quid ordinasset si non prse- caput ecolesise secundum divinam na- 
 
 scivisset peccatum. Nihilominus tamen turam solum ; sed post peccatum opor- 
 
 auctoritates videntur expresse sonare tet quod sit ecolesis caput etiam 
 
 quod non fuisset iuoarnatus si non secundum humanam. Nam per pec- 
 
 peccasset homo in quam partem ego catum natura humana vulnerata est 
 
 magis deolino. et ad sensibilia demersa, ut ad invisi- 
 
 Compare Qumst. de Ver. xxix. 3, 4. bilem Verbi gubernationem non sit 
 
 (If we admit that Christ would not sufficienter idonea. Unde oportuit 
 
 have been Incarnate if man had not medioinam vulneri adhiberi per huma- 
 
 siuned, He would have been Head of nitatem Christi per quam Christus 
 
 the Church in His Divine Nature only.) satisfeoit, et oportuit quod visibilem 
 
 The passage is characteristic : Sup- naturam assumeret ut per visibilem 
 
 posita ilia opinione quod Christus non gubernationem ad invisibilia homo 
 
 fuisset incarnatus si homo non pec- 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 peccMto...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, 
 ' Ofelix culpa.' 
 
 Giovanni di Fidenza, who is known by the name of Bonaven- Bonavek- 
 
 TTTBA. 122 I 
 
 TURA from the exclamation of Francis of Assisi on the occasion of u^,. 
 
 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 
 
 ^ Compare : Non itaque absque causa pere professus est qnicquid vel legerct 
 
 tantam admiratus est in operibus ejus vel sentiret (Wadding, Annales, rr. 
 
 doctrinam et eruditionem S. Thomas 139)- 
 
 Aquinas ut petierit a Bonaventura sibi " in. Dist. i. Qiusst. 1.. There are 
 
 ostendi libros ex quibus tam multipU- considerable variations in the texts 
 
 cem atque adeo magnam eruditionis of Bonaventura which I have used, 
 
 ubertatem hauriret. Is vero Christi but they do not affect the general scope 
 
 Domini Cruci affixi imaginem demon- of his arguments, 
 stravit, e quo fonte uberrimo se acci- 
 
302 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 
 
 union. Under the latter head he raises four points. ' i. Whether 
 ' it was suitable that God should become incarnate. 2. Whether 
 ' the cause of tlie Son of God coming into the world was the restora- 
 ' tion ireparatio) 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; Hebr. ii. 14; Ps. Ixix. (Ixviii.) 2). 
 
 Further, 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 has 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 (Uberalitas) if man had stood as if he 
 'had fallen...' 
 
 4. ' It is a work of as great difiiculty 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 coni- 
 'mitted against God, neither could he by himself earn the posses- 
 ' sion of God (inereri 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 (principalifer) for 
 'the expiation of sin, then the soul of Christ' was made not of 
 'primary purpose {principali intentione) but contingently {qtmdam 
 ' 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 (reparatio^iem) 
 ' 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 unfaUen, either the 
 'sacrament of marriage would have been a false sign (Eph. v. 32) 
 ' or the Son of God would have been Incarnate. But the first sup- 
 ' position is impossible.' 
 
 9. There are four ways in which we can conceive of man being 
 produced: (i) of man and woman, (2) without man or woman 
 
 ' Comp. p. igi. 
 
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. 
 
 10. Yet further Bonaventura goes on to consider the assump- 
 tion of human nature, as distinguished from the assumption of mor- 
 tality 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 be- 
 ' cause 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. 305 
 
 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 Church 
 of men, as He is the Head of the Church of angels. 
 
 8. The sign of marriage would still have marked the union of 
 Christ with the Church by love. 
 
 9. 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 gint) without prejudice. Por 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- Ddns Sco- 
 ventura to the stem roughness of Duns Scotus 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 Pall, 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 prcevisa), 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...\' 
 
 * Opus Oxonieme, iii. Dist. xix. ; Deo ab seterno, ita Chriatus in natura 
 
 Wadding, vii. i, p. 415. Incamatio humana, cum sit propinquior fini, 
 
 Christl non fuit occasionaliter pravisa ceteris prlus prsedestinabatur loquendo 
 
 sed sicut finis immediate videbatur a de his qu88 praadestinantur... 
 
 w. J. 20 
 
3o6 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 
 
 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 
 ' 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 {dimi- 
 ' sissel) 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 %%'ills 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 (tarn 
 ' summum bonum in entihus) was only contingent, that is dependent 
 'on a less good...^' 
 Gabriel No fresh arguments appear to have been added on either side 
 
 after Duns Scotus. Gabriel Biel, ' the last of the schoolmen ' who 
 assisted in the foundation of the Gymnasium at Tubingen (1477), 
 
 ' Opiis Parisiense, iii. Bist. vii. Quast. 3 ; Wadding, vii. i, p. 202 
 
 QiuEst. 4; Wadding, xi. p. 451 : Si ...[Deus] prius cuilibet alteri vult 
 
 lapsus esset causa prsedestinationis gratiam et gloriam quam praevideat 
 
 Christi sequeretur quod summum opus opposita istorum habituum... scilicet 
 
 Dei esset occasionatum tantum, quia peccatum et damnationem. Ergo a 
 
 gloria omnium non erit tanta intensive primo prius vult animse Christi glo- 
 
 quanta erit Christi ; et quod tantum riam quam praevideat Adam casurum 
 
 opus dimisisset Deus per bonum fac- ...Sed neo redemptio fuisset faoienda 
 
 tum Ad£e, puta, si non peccasset, vide- nisi homo peccasset. Sed non propter 
 
 tur valde irrationabile. solam istam causam videtur Deus 
 
 Dico igitur sic: Primo Deus diligit pradestinavisse illam animam ad tan- 
 
 se : seoundo diligit se aliis (?), et iste tam gloriam. Cum ilia redemptio sive 
 
 amor est castus; tertio vult se diligi gloria animaj redimendss non sit tan- 
 
 ab alio qui potest eum summe dili- turn bonum quantum est ilia gloria 
 
 gere, loquendo de amore alioujus ex- animse Christi ; nee est verisimile tam 
 
 trinseoi: et quarto prsevidit unionem summum bonum in entibus esse tan- 
 
 illius naturae quae debet eum summe tum occasionatum, scilicet propter 
 
 diligere etsi nuUus ceoidisset. minus bonum... 
 
 ^ Opus Oxonienae, iii. Diat. vii. 
 
THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 307 
 
 in his lectures on ' the Sentences ' which were delivered there gives 
 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 
 predestination of Christ to glory in relation to the Pall, 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'.' 
 
 StiU one other writer, John Wessel, must be noticed before Johx 
 
 Wessel, 
 we leave the isth century. Wessel was born at Grbningen about 1419 — 
 
 1419 and died in the same place in 1489. In spirit and pursuits and ''* ^' 
 doctrine he belongs to a period of transition. Like Rupert of Deutz, 
 the first mediaeval 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 stni closer than that of a kindred character. Hardenberg, liis 
 early biographer, relates that while studying at Cologne 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 
 Fassionis Domini, with which we are chiefly concerned, are said to 
 have been derived in great part from it ; and it is not difficult to 
 
 1 iii. Dist. ii. Qucest. i. 
 
 20 — 2 
 
3o8 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 
 
 see how the speculations of Rupert have influenced the views which 
 Wessel maintains in them. 
 
 Wessel approaches the subject of the Incarnation characteristic- 
 ally from a comparison of two passages of the Old Testament', 
 'I am God, I change not' (Mai. iii. 6), and '/ 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 lxx and Jerome 
 preserved the present tense. The true rendering, he maintains, is : 
 ^I mil he the man I will he' (ero homo qui era). 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 Bom. ix. 28, as represented in the 
 Vulgate, furnishes Wessel with his next illustration^. ' Verbum 
 ahbreviatum et consum,matum,' he says, 'fecit Deus super terrain.' 
 And this was done in three ways. The divine Word, remaining in 
 Himself unchangeable, was brought within limits (ahbreviatum,) at 
 the Creation, but not consummated. He was also brought within 
 limits in Holy Scripture, as it is said ' day unto 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 consummated 
 by the Incarnation. 
 
 Here then, he continues', is a fitting place to inquire why God 
 was made man : Cur Deus homo ? Again and again he repeats 
 Anselm's famous question, and answers it by paraphrases of pas- 
 sages of Scripture which he quotes. The whole section is so full of 
 thought, and offers so vivid a picture of Wessel's mode of interpret- 
 ing 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. 10. 
 
 'Why was God made man? That the building of the Holy 
 Temple might have its corner-stone in which the two walls of men 
 ' Be cavsis Incam. c. iv. 2 Id. c. v. ^ j^ g_ yj_ 
 
THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 309 
 
 and angels might meet and find their foundation. Ps. cxviii. 22 ; 
 Acts iv. II [referred to St Stephen]; i Cor. iii. 11, i Cor. x. 4. 
 
 ' Why was God made man ? That all creation (creatura) might 
 have a Mediator common to God and creation. Gal. iii. 19; i Tim. 
 ii. s- 
 
 ' Why was God made man 1 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 justitice as mg. A.V.). 
 
 ' Why was God m,ade man ? That the city of Jerusalem might 
 have its Temple. Apoc. xxi. 22. 
 
 ' Why was God made mxin ? That the temple of the heavenly 
 Jerusalem might have its High Priest. Ps. ex. 4 ; Hebr. v. 4. 
 
 ' Why was God made man? That all the daughters of God might 
 find their Bridegroom and the pattern (loaradigmxi) 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 Qiostia). Hebr. ix. 13 f. And if 
 all do not offer sacrifices or viptims for the present, still part do for 
 the past, and all for preservation (de praeservato) 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 m/in I 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 (prcevisus et invisus) by Lucifer who pursues the Lamb. 
 
 ' Why was God made mxin ? That all the sons of God and all 
 creation might have their first-born brother. Rom. viii. 29; Col. 
 
 i.iS-' 
 
 It is easy to anticipate the answer which Wessel gives to the 
 next question which he asks : 'Whether God the Word would have 
 
3IO THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 
 
 ' assumed flesh even if man had not sinned 1 ' His answer however 
 rests mainly upon another form of argument akin to that of Duns 
 Scotus. He regards the humanity assumed by Christ (creaiuram 
 illam heatam a Verbo adsumpiam 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 mew...,' 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 1 ' 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 ai-m or not°?' 
 
 This figure presents an impressive view of W^essel'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 (intendit) 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 cauMs Incam. c. vii. - Id. c. vii. s Id. c. xiv. ■■ Id. c. 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 (iion penitus non prorsus) 
 ' made man for our salvation. 
 
 ' For our salvation wholly He suffered, died, was buried, being 
 ' made a sacrifice and ^dctim. 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 'forms.' 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 
 wiU 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 f.)'. 
 
 Thus wrote the Dutch mystic from his northern home. About Pions or 
 the same time Picus, count of Mirandola, the most brilliant type of ^a^ ti4Q4. 
 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-bom of all 
 ' creation, in Whom all things {universa) were created, should be 
 ' united in an ineffable union to him {i.e. man) who was made after 
 ^ De causis Incarn. c. xvii. 
 
312 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'.' i 
 
 Naclan- In the age of the Reformation the question was still debated. 
 
 '^^^' Amons the Romanist divines who maintained that the Incarnation 
 
 was independent of the Fall, Giacomo Nachianti, bishop of Ohiozza 
 (Jacobus Naclantus, J>J. Clodiemis, or Clugiemis), 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 necessaiy 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 Ire Hept. V. 7. oiplantur et eorum mentio in decreto 
 
 I do not observe among the theses of fiat nullo modo probare possum, cum 
 Pious any one on this subject, as there tot indiotiones jejuniorum, tot cere- 
 is commonly said to be. monisB, quse plerumque frustratorise 
 
 WicLiF appears to regard the In- sunt, nimis Christianum populum 
 
 carnation as lying in some sense gravant (Theiner, Acta Cone. Trident. 
 
 eternally in the Nature of the Word : i. 58 f.). And again : Non possum 
 
 assumpsit [Verbum] in unitatem per- pati ut ssepe dixi, s. synodum pari 
 
 sons humanitatem integram, faoiendo pietatis affeotu susoipere traditiones et 
 
 se esse illam personam hominis quse libros sanctos ; hoc enim, ut vere 
 
 ffitemaliter prius fuit, quia secundum dicam quod sentio, impium est. Neque 
 
 naturam Verbi setemaliter prius fuit placet quod ponatur anathema in ipsis 
 
 {Trialogtis, iii. 27, p. 224). traditionibus... A lively scene followed 
 
 " The glimpses which are gained of these bold words, which ended in an 
 
 Nachianti at the Council of Trent are explanation and an apology {id. 85). 
 
 full of interest. He spoke warmly Comp. pp. 76, 82. The words of Na- 
 
 against placing traditions on the same chianti were condemned by the Council, 
 
 footing as Scripture : Nemo enim and Card. Pole joined in the condem- 
 
 ignorat contineri in sacris libris ea nation: 'sed posset, inquit, defendi, 
 
 omniaqucBadsalutempertiuent...Quod quia dixit, "mihi videtur"' (id. p. 85). 
 vero etiam eoclesiasticie traditiones re- 
 
THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 313 
 
 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, lovrered (dejici), 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 same general conclusion that ' the Son of God would have Andb. Osi- 
 
 ASDER, 
 
 'been Incarnate if sin had not entered into the world,' was main- tissi. 
 tained in the Lutheran Church by Andr. Osiander\ This singularly 
 
 ^ Bodem constitutum est deoreto ut bilem camem induto mortem exe- 
 
 per eundem Deum et hominem Chris- crabilem passo, impensa tanti sacri- 
 
 TUM (hoe est) verbum definitione Dei ad fioii crimen expiaretur Isesse majestatis 
 
 indnendnm hominem determinatum, Dei.i.p. 39. 
 
 et ob id hominem vere apud Deum ' Qua de re, si non fallor, facile ex 
 
 effeotum non solum quaelibet eondere- prtemissis habetur : non modo con- 
 
 tur, servaretur, ac promoveretur crea- sonum esse rationi sed et Scripturis 
 
 tura...sed...in longe feliciorem statum Sanctis: quod etsi deoretum assump- 
 
 ...certo transferretiir tempore.. .p. 38. tionis oarnis decretum subsequitur 
 
 ^ Decretum Unigenitum summi permissionis culpse, propter quod si 
 
 Patris, jam quidem hominem sed non Adam non peocasset Christo medico 
 
 passibilem definitum, Opificem orbis opus non fuisset : decretum tamen 
 
 ordjnatum, Hseredem universorum assumendi hominem non tantum prse- 
 
 institutum, in Begem omnium rerum cedit permissionem peccati sed et defi- 
 
 selectum, Peculio Dei patris donatum, nitionem creationis Mundi (t6. 39 t.). 
 et eidem uti caput ascriptum; tandem * The title of the work in which he 
 
 (sed opportuno tempore) eousque de- discusses the question is : An Filius 
 
 mitti, dejici, exinaniri: ut eo passi- Dei fuerit incamandus si peccatum 
 
314 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 
 
 vigorous and original thinker ' brought the doctrine into connexion 
 with his peculiar views on justification. Man, he taught, is justified 
 by the indwelling in hini 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 us^' 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 (i 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\' 
 
 rum introivisset in mundum. Item de nientatio... scr. B. F. Grau, Marb. 
 imagine Dei quid sit ex certis et eviden- i860). There is a good and sympa- 
 tibus sacra Scriptura testimoniis et thetio account of Osiander's views in 
 non ex philosophicis et humance rationis MoUer's life {Andreas Osiander... von 
 cogitationibus deprompta explicatio. Dr W. MoUer, Elberfeld, 1870). 
 Monteregio Prussiffl 1550. I have been ' 'HomoaiT-oSWam-osnulliusqueAca- 
 unable to obtain axjcess to a copy of demia disoipulus,' as Quenstedt dis- 
 the book which is not, as tar as I can paragingly remarks (p. 1 10). 
 find, in any of our great libraries. I 2 (jrau, p. 37. 
 can therefore quote it only from Grau's s Grau, I. c. p. 5. 
 Essay {de And. Osiandri doctrina com- * Osiander ap. Grau, p. 7. 
 
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 Christ 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 Christ 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 f.; comp. Matt. xix. 4 f.; Eph. v. 31 f.). 
 
 In a word all things were created for the Son, Who was to be 
 incarnate (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 sin^ 
 
 Among those who had wandered far from the Catholic faith Servettjs, 
 Servetus and F. SociNus maintained that the coming of Christ in 
 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 Dei descenderit de cselis et homo factas 
 
 length by Grau, pp. 12 ff., and MoUer, sit? Quarum prior est quia nos ho- 
 
 pp. 394 ff. mines eramus homines propter ipsum 
 
 ^ Si filius Dei non fuisset incaman- et imagine elus conditi, qui conditi 
 
 dus nisi Adam peceasset, sequeretur nunquam fuissemus nisi ipse quoque 
 
 aliud absurdum, nempe quod Adam voluisset homo fieri et inter nos ver- 
 
 nou Imagine Christi sed Christus sari (Prov. viii.). Posterior causa est 
 
 Imagine Adami esset factns (Osiander, quia per peccatum corrueramus in mor- 
 
 ap. Grau, p. 13). tern, unde nos eruere et salutem nobis 
 
 " Quis non videat Spiritum Sanctum restituere dignatus est (ap. Grau, p. 
 
 hie duas inter sese longe diversissimas 15). 
 causas ostendere propter quas FUius 
 
3l6 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 Christ 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".' 
 P. Soci- F. SociNUS, on the other hand, held that man was created 
 
 +1604.. without the gift of immortality. Hence in discussing i 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...".' 
 Calvis, Calvin attacked the doctrine and arguments of Osiander with 
 
 1564. considerable severity in the remodelled edition of his Institutes 
 
 (1559). He characterises the opinion 'that Christ would 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.' ' I 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. liii. 4 f. ; John i. 9 f., 14, 
 iii. 16, V. 25; Matt, xviii. 11, ix. 12, &c. ; and continues: 'If any 
 ' object that some of these considerations are not opposed to the belief 
 
 ^ Christianismi Restitutio, 1553. Dfi Ceterum quia certum est Deum ante 
 
 Trin. in. p. 104: Ad exemplar igitnr, mundum oonditum de mittendo Christo 
 
 formam, figuram, et imaginem Christi deorevisse, ne quis ex eo hominum pec- 
 
 est factuB Adam, secundum corpus et cata priBvisa fuisae coUigat, sciendum 
 
 animum. est Christum quideni postquam homi- 
 
 ^ Id, De orb. perdit. i. p. 382: nes peceaverant ad ipsorum peooata 
 
 Christus ipse antequam Adam peo- delenda venisse sed venturum tamen 
 
 caret jam in verbo erat apud Deum, fuisse etiamsi homines non peccassent. 
 
 futurus verua homo. Si Adam non Venturas enim erat ad immortalitatem 
 
 peceasset oitra mortem fuiaset Christus nobis dandam, qua...ab ipso creationis 
 
 incarnatus, nos ad gloriam Cffilestem initio primus homo caruit... Comp. 
 
 \riiTentes immutatiirus absque aliqua De statu primi liominis ante lapsum, ii. 
 
 morte. 263 ff. 
 
 ' Prmlect. Theol. x. 8 (Opera, 1. 549) : 
 
THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 317 
 
 ' that Christ Who redeemed men under condemnation might have 
 ' shewn His love to them while still safe and unfallen 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 assaUs, who at the present time has again unhappily 
 ' discussed this question which was before slightly mooted by a 
 '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. Polanus 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 blessedness, that is communion with and 
 ' fruition of God as the highest good^' 
 
 III. 
 
 The long Une of authorities which we have examined shews The Gos- 
 
 . , . J. pel of 
 
 beyond question that 'the Gospel of Creation' is a just subject for Creation a 
 
 discussion. The belief that the Incarnation was in essence inde- j^^j^ ^j 
 
 pendent of the Fall has been held by men of the most different inquiry. 
 
 schools, in different ways and on different grounds. All however in 
 
 ^ Instit. ii. 12, ^ — 7. He concludes: x. 3, p. 106) uses almost the same 
 
 Quas hactenns refutavi nsenias, pro words. I have not seen that the En- 
 
 firmissimis oracnlis ducit Osiander, glish Beformers touched upon the ques- 
 
 nempe ut suarum speculationnm dnl- tion ; and I cannot find Willett's book 
 
 cedine iuebriatus ridiculos paeanas de de statu hominis, to which Gerhard 
 
 nihilo efflare solet. refers {Loc. Theol. iii. p. 444), in the 
 
 2 Syntagma, n. 27. Comp. Zan- Library of the British Museum or in 
 
 chius in Hexaem. iii. Lib. iii. c. 1. the Cambridge University Library. 
 Docemus etiam in statu ante lapsum Bp Bull's Discourse on 'The State 
 
 [Adamum] opus habnisse Christo me- of Man before the Fall ' (Works -ii. 
 
 diatore, non per quem reconciliaretur 52 fi-)> contains many suggestive 
 
 Patri...sed per quem prseservaretur a thoughts which illustrate some aspects 
 
 peccato... Bucanus (Instit. Theol. Art. of the problem. 
 
3i8 
 
 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 
 
 The sense 
 of theo- 
 logical 
 formulas 
 must 
 change. 
 
 Two 
 
 questions : 
 I. The 
 relation of 
 man to 
 God and 
 the world ; 
 •2. The 
 conse- 
 quent 
 aspect of 
 the Incar- 
 nation. 
 
 the main agree in this, that they find in the belief a crowning 
 promise of the unity of the divine order ; a fulfilment, a consum- 
 mation, of the original purpose of creation ; a more complete and 
 harmonious view of the relation of finite being to God than can be 
 gained otherwise. 
 
 In every age the theory of the divine economy, if we may so 
 speak, will present itself under an aspect corresponding with the 
 general aspect under which the whole finite order, so far as it comes 
 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 Consumma- 
 tion of man, not in essence but in the mode of apprehension. 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 
 the position in which we are placed in regard to the teaching of 
 Scripture, we shall be led (i) to examine what Scripture teaches or 
 indicates as to the essential relations of man to God and to the 
 world, so far as we can now apprehend the revelation which is 
 made of them ; and then (2), looking at the whole revelation of the 
 divine purpose recorded in the Bible, to determine, as far as may 
 be, the motives, if such a word may be used, to which the Incarna- 
 tion is to be assigned. 
 
THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 319 
 
 I. The relations of man to God and to the world, as laid down i. Man, 
 CI • i 1 1 . , . ,. -^ (i) made in 
 
 in bcripture, may be expressed in two brief propositions. In the image 
 
 relation to God, man was made in His image (i). In relation to fjji ^^ ' 
 
 the world, man is the representative of the visible creation (ii). represen- 
 
 ■' ^ ' tation of 
 
 (i) The truth that man was ' made in the image of God ' admits the visible 
 
 creation. 
 of two distinct developments. It may be viewed (a) in regard to /ji jjg^^ ^^ 
 
 the individual, or (6) in regard to the race. In both respects man t^e image 
 
 was created to gain a divine ideal. It is true indeed that neither to be 
 
 regarded 
 the race nor the individual can be properly considered apart : each (a) indi- 
 
 is dependent upon the other for the attainment of its perfection, ^nd (6) 
 
 But much is gained both in clearness and fulness of view by con- socially. 
 
 sidering them separately. 
 
 (a) It is wholly unnecessary to inquire in what exact sense ("■) The 
 
 individual 
 man was ' made in the image of God.' "We have no faculties for man. 
 
 the 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 his being, he would still, so Man as 
 
 created 
 far as we can see, have stood in need of a Mediator through whom needed a 
 
 1 Irrationabiles igitur omni mode Athanasius: de Inc. Verld §51, p. 75 
 
 qui non exspectant tempus augmenti, aurjs yap [6 tov 8eov X47os] iirrjvffpdirri- 
 
 et SUEE naturae infirmitatem adscribunt crev iva rineii Beoirot.i\BSiiJ.ev koL airr&s 
 
 Dec. .Jam volunt similes esse faotori i(j)av4poi<Tcv eavrbv dih aii/MTos tva ijp^LS 
 
 Deo, et nullam esse differentiam infecti toO aopirov Uarpbs (vvoi-av 'Xipa/isv Kal 
 
 Dei, et nunc facti hominis, qui plus airrbs iirip.en'e rijv irap &vBpiiTruv S^piv 
 
 irrationabiles sunt quam muta ani- tva juieh aBavaHav K\iipovoiJL-/itr<jifuv. De 
 
 maUa. Hsec enim non imputant Deo, deer. Syn. Nic. § 14, p. 173 6 X670S 
 
 quoniam non homines faoit ea...No3 akp^ iyivsro iva...Ka.l rjiiels iK tov -irvev- 
 
 enim imputamus ei, quoniam non ab /kotos airov /xeraXapbuTes BeoToi.Ti8T;vai 
 
 initio Dii facti sumus, sed primo qui- SuvriBQix,a>, oXXws ovk dv tovtov rvxifres 
 
 dem homines, tone demum Dii... (Iren. el p.ii rb Knarbv ■ip.SiK airbs iveSia-aro 
 
 i^' 38, 4 : the whole passage is worthy a-a/ia. Compare Newman, Note on tlie 
 
 of careful study: comp. iii. 10, 1; iii. Second Discourse against the Arians 
 
 19, i). § 21, p. 380, for other references; and 
 
 The thought, which is startling at the Index under SeoiroJijo-is; andSuicer 
 
 first to us, finds frequent expression in s. v. BcowoUa. 
 
320 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 
 
 the relation of fellowship with God might have been sustained, and 
 deepened, and perfected. Nor is it easy to suppose that this fellow- 
 ship 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'. 
 
 Irenseus 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 man I' 
 
 ' This thought is clearly expressed yap rbv nea-lrrii/ Beou re Kal avepdiriav. Sib. 
 by many Calvinistio theologians, Ti\^ tdlas irpbs haripovs olKeibr-riTos, ek 
 though they do hot follow it out to <pi.\iav Kal oii&voiav rois d/jupoTipovs 
 its full breadth. Hominum integro- ffwayayttf kcH detfi fiev irapaffrrjaaL tov 
 rum Mediator [fuit Christus] respectu ai/$pairov, avSpiSnToa 5^ yvapiaai rbv Sebv. 
 primse ilUus unionis ante lapsum, Compare v. i6, 2'EJ'To«1rp4o■9£I'xP*■ 
 quia homines integri non per seipsos vois A^eTo ijiv Kar' eUSva 6eoS 7E70- 
 sed per Filium Dei erant Deo uniti v4vai rbv avBpaTov, ote ibelKvuro Si- In 
 et conjuneti, quamdiu ipsi visum fuit yap d6paros ^v 6 X670S, oS Kar' tUbva 6 
 largiri illis gratiam persistendi in ami- inepairos iyfybvei. SA toOto Si) xai 
 citia cum Deo...Inde ab initio mundi -riju ifu>tu(ra' ^fSlus awi^dXtp. birbre 
 fuit atque est inter Deum et fiUos Dei, Si <ripf iyh>ero 6 Xiyos toB SeoS, ri 
 sen creaturas rationales ad imaginem d/i^irepo iTreKipwae- koI yap Kal riiv 
 Dei conditas, Mediator per quern solum eUbva (Sei^^v iX-qeHs, ourAs toCto yo'b- 
 lUffi statum mitio habuerunt et habent ^e„os «7rcp J,v i, (Ikwp airoS- Kal t1,i/ 
 beatitudinem, hoc est, commuuionem bp^olwiny /Se/3a(ws Kar4<TTT,a-€, o-wefoMotii- 
 ct fruitionem Dei tanquam summi aa, rbv &vepwTrov t<? aopdrif iraTpl [per 
 bom (Polanus Syntagma, vi. 27). Com- visibile Verbum]. 
 
 ^^l\^' 3'V; „ _, , , i^- 33' 4 ™s avepioiros xt^M"^" e's 
 
 Iren m 18, 7 E/ yap ^v Mpi^To, e^bv, ,1 p.-!, b Oebf ix'^piBr, d, aVffpoHro. ; 
 
 MKv<r€ jbv i.inli^a\ov roB 6.vepixov, o6k The form ^xM^I iu this connexion is 
 
 &p S,Kato,s hiKiSr, b ixBpbs. UdXiy re, strajige (comp. iv. 38. 2). The Latin 
 
 el M b ecb, iSapiisaro Tr,v aa-niplav, translation has nothing to correspond 
 
 oiK &y pepalos laxo/^o air^y. Kal el to it. The Greek is preserved by Theo- 
 
 fiil <ruyriyd,er, b Mpwirm T<? fleip, oiK hv doret, Dial. ii. p. no (Migne Patr Gr 
 
 ■qSvviB-ri p.cTaaxfu' t^s AipBaptrlas. "BStt Ixxxiii. 171). 
 
THE GOSPEL OP CREATION. 321 
 
 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 intel- The rela- 
 
 Hgible how Christ could fitly (if we may so speak) take man's nature t^ig iijga 
 
 upon Him, and suffer for man, inasmuch as He took upon Himself ' ^ '?*' 
 
 a nature which was not alien in its idea, but one which in some Atone- 
 ment. 
 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. 
 
 (5) These considerations which apply to the individual man (b) The 
 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 foUow out the 
 normal development of the human race leads us to look for that 
 
 1 Compare Tertull. de Resurr. Cam. Christi futuri in came non tantum 
 
 6 Quodounque enim limus exprime- Dei opus erat sed et pignus. Id. adv. 
 
 batur Christus cogitabatur homo futu- Prax. 1 2 Denique sequens soriptura 
 
 rus, quod et limus, et sermo oaro, distinguit inter personas : et fecit Deus 
 
 quod et terra tunc. Sio enim prasfatio hominem, ad imaginem Dei fecit ilium. 
 
 patris ad filium : Faciamus hominem Cur non siiam si unus qui faoiebat et 
 
 ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram: non erat ad oujus faoiebat? Erat au- 
 
 et fecit hominem Deiis. Id utique tern ad cujus imaginem faoiebat, ad 
 
 quod finxit ad imaginem Dei fecit filii scilicet ; qui homo futurus oertior 
 
 ilium, scilicet Christi. Et Sermo enim et verior imaginem suam fecerat dioi 
 
 Deus qui in effigie Dei constitutus non hominem qui tunc de Umo formari 
 
 rapinam existimavit pariari Deo. Ita habebat, imago veri et similitudo. 
 limus ille jam tunc imaginem induens 
 
 W. J. 21 
 
;22 
 
 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 For Christ, as we are taught, supplies that which gives a common 
 
 varieties 
 
 of the Ufe to all the members. He is the Head of the Body. All the dif- 
 
 YSiCQ to 
 
 be brought ferences of men, so far as they correspond with a true growtli, are 
 to a unity, rgconciigd jn Him, and shewn to be contributory to the manifesta- 
 tion of His perfection ^ 
 The In this respect the argument which was drawn from Eph. v. 3 1 f. 
 
 of Christ ^y several early writers deserves more consideration than we are at 
 ^ ^, 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 inter- 
 vened, is related to a Head, just as in the typical record of Creation 
 woman is related to man. The Church and woman are severally re- 
 garded 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 ; Christ, 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 
 true 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 I 
 
 ' Eph. 1. 12 f. airiv Iduxe Ke<j>a\TJi' 
 inrip irivTO. rg iKKXriirlg., rJTU iffrl t6 
 (ru/xa aiiTOVy t6 wX-^piafui tov rd irdvTa iv 
 TTotTiv irXtipovfi^vov. I cannot but be- 
 lieve that in the last clause Tr\7jpov)j.i- 
 vov is (as elsewhere) passive, so that 
 everything which is is represented as 
 serving for the manifestation of the 
 
 glory of God (Col. ii. 19), Who is 'ful- 
 filled in all things in all.' 
 
 ^ 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, 
 
THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 323 
 
 (ii) So far we have regarded man only, the individual and the (ii) Man 
 
 the repre- 
 race. We venture to go yet further, and to look upon man as the sentative 
 
 representative of Creation. This thought appears to be distinctly t\nn^ 
 
 suggested in the records of the Creation, and of the Fall, and of the 
 
 new Creation. 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 its 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 ff. '). 
 
 It will at once be obvious how this ^vider view of the relations of For Crea- 
 
 tion as 
 man to Creation tends to confirm what has been already said of the for man, 
 
 inherent fitness of the Incarnation in relation to the plan of Crea- yatjojj jjie 
 
 tion, as we are enabled to look upon it. In all parts of the natural ^^^ " 
 
 r r progress. 
 
 order, 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, 
 
 and of an earthly Church correspond- ipsum recapitulans est, invisibilis visi- 
 
 ing -nith the earthly Christ ; and he bills factus, et incomprehensibilis fac- 
 
 finds in this relation the fulfilment of tus comprehensibiUs, et impassibUis 
 
 the words of Genesis: iTrolriiTei> 6 ffebi passibilis, et Verbum homo, universa 
 
 TOT wepairov iptrev koX 6tj\v to S.p(rev in semetipsum recapitulans : uti sicut 
 
 iffriv 6 Xpiards, rb eijKv i) iKK\-n(rla in supercoelestibus et spiritalibus et 
 
 (2 Clem. xiv.). inviaibilibus princeps est Verbum Dei, 
 
 Compare Hennas i. Vis. ii. 4 T^c sic et in visibilibus et corporalibus prin- 
 
 ■Kpea^uripav vap" ri% ?Xaj3es to ptpXlov, eipatum habeat, in semetipsum prima- 
 
 Hva SoKeis ehai ; ^li (jnifu T^k Xl^vWav. turn assumens, et apponens semetip- 
 
 TJXat/affai, tpTiffiv, oiiK laTi. T£s oSk ^ori; sum caput ecclesisB universa attrahat 
 
 (fniiu, 'H iKKX-qa-La, t/rrifflv. tTirov oiv airif ad semetipsiun apto tempore. 
 ^a.Tio\ivTrpe(T^\rTipa;''OTi.,<p-naLv,Tri.vTav Comp. Theod. Mops, fragm. Lib. 
 
 irpan) im-'uxBi), Sia toSto Tpea^vT^pa, xiv. de Incarn. (Migne Patr. Gr. Ixvi. 
 
 Kal dw. TdiT-nv 6 Kdffnos KaTriprlaeii. p. 990) oiSi yip ok 6 Seos outmj dirXus 
 
 ' Iren. iii. 16, 6 TJnus igitur Deus /cai Srev two! xPVI-I^" \6yov diiBptoirov 
 
 Pater quemadmodum ostendimus, et liin iXd/iPave koI ^vov irpis eouTo;' vpoir- 
 
 unus Christus Jesus Dominus noster, KwaaBai. wapa. t^s icrlffeas irapajTKcva,^iov 
 
 veniens per universam dispositionem aTrdffvs, tos 5^ ye vorp-as ipiffeis irpoir- 
 
 et omnia in semetipsum recapitulans. Kwav, iSiKcdov, el fiij ri nepl airbv 
 
 In omnibus autem est et homo, plas- yeyopbra koiitj Trocrijs ^v eiepyeala Trjs 
 
 matio Dei; et hominem ergo in semet- xHaeiiis. 
 
 21 — 2 
 
324 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 
 
 it is not due to it. The idea of the Incarnation therefore satisfies 
 the aspiration towards the vaster unity to which the full develop- 
 ment of Creation points. The restoration of unity to man carries 
 with it the promise of the restoration of unity to all finite being. 
 
 2. Mo- 2. If we regard the subject from the opposite point of sight 
 
 tliTlncar ^^^ obtain the same general result. Reasons have been alleged for 
 nation. thinking that man's constitution as unfalleu, 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 itself 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 
 
 the Fall — ^^^ ^^ *^^^ "^^^^ ^^'® 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 ex- 
 cept those of satisfaction and atonement. These thoughts naturally 
 rise at once to our minds in connexion with it from the conditions of 
 sufiering 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 
 love 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 
 
THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 325 
 
 suppose that they could have been brought about in any other way 
 
 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 action of 
 
 force in this argument it extends not only to the perfection of tjj'jg °-^^ 
 
 creation but to creation itself. The very act of Creation is a self- °°* i"- . 
 
 •' eluded 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 creation 
 but speculate : that we are so made that we must strive after some °°u;f™rv 
 view of the relations and end of the system in which we are placed : theory. 
 
 ' Hippolytus, regarding the Inearna- x"" "'^'"' Vf-^" ^i rif ScwaTip vpaBh 
 
 tion in its actual effects, points out \vTpii<niTai y^-os, ajra^Ei Si BedrTiTi 
 
 how it wrought not only the redemp- Sia (rapaiis BaviiaTOvpyup irpbs tjjx ok^- 
 
 tion of fallen beings, but the sure paTov ai^roS xal luixapiap iiravayayri 
 
 estabhshment of unfalleu beings. t^V" V' iwiircffcv rlf dtap6\ip weM/j^vor 
 
 Man even if unfallen wouid have koX to. /car' o&pavods ayta rdyfiara twv 
 
 needed this divine confirmation. Hipp. voepwv oiffiCisi <rTo/iui<Tii irpos irpe^iav 
 
 c. Ber, et HeL ii. (Migue Patr. Gr. x. t<^ fiva-njpitfj ttjs aiiroO (ru/toTtiffews, 57s 
 
 p. 833) 5i4 TOVTo yiyovev avBpunrm 6 ipyov i) rm SXuv iiTrlv els ainov AnaKC- 
 
 Tuii S\ai> dedt 'iva aapKl /ih iradrjT-S it&a- (paKaloins. 
 
326 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 
 
 that the advance of partial knowledge forces upon us more and more 
 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 1 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. 
 The Nor is the general silence of Scripture, at least so far as direct 
 
 silence of statements are concerned, on this absolute view of the Incarnation 
 r^al"^* in any way surprising. The view belongs properly to an order 
 which has ceased to be. The Gospel is a message to mail 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 
 
 ' See p. 315. 
 
THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 327 
 
 which truly belongs to the saved ; to the fulness of human nature as 
 well as to the condition of fallen nature. There is 'a makinff 
 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 if. he presents a view of the 
 work of 'the Son of God's love' in the creation, preservation 
 (eKTurrai: iv avrta avv€<rTr]K€v, 16), redemption, consummation (v. 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 is in His Divine Nature. But 
 at the same time His human nature is taken into account (v. 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 fthe firstborn from the dead.' 
 
 Doubts however may still remain as to the interpretation of this The idea 
 
 . of the 
 mysterious passage. But at least it cannot be said that a belief in Gospel of 
 
 the absolute purpose of the Incarnation is at variance with Scripture, gj^gg ^ 
 
 Nor does it in any way derogate from the infinite love of God. If ■'^^ , 
 
 it is 'most consonant to the iudgment of reason' it seems to be also for man's 
 
 •' " gratitude, 
 
 'most consonant to the piety of faith.' It adds to every motive of 
 
 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 
 less 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- 
 
 1 The thought of TeXeloKru is charac- the Hebrews. Comp. John xvii. 23 ; 
 teristic of St John and the Epistle to Hebr. vii. 1 1 and notes. 
 
328 THE GOSPEL OF CREATION. 
 
 dictions, the earnest expectation, as we are encouraged to call it, of 
 
 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'. 
 
 Apiactical The subject on which we have touched is not, I believe, a mere 
 doctrine. 
 
 matter of speculation, or a 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- 
 pected 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 parts, 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 Christ's 'power to subdue all things to Himself'.' 
 
 1 Comp. Eph. iii. 9 £f.; iv. lo. "- Phil. iii. 21. 
 
THE KELATION OF CHRISTIANITY 
 TO AET. 
 
6K M€re9oYC kaAAonhc kticmatcon ANAAorooc 
 6 reNeciorproc aytowm GeoopeTT*.!. 
 
 Wisd. xiii. 5. 
 
THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 The relation of Christianity to Art a practical question for the student of 
 
 the New Testament. 
 Apparent contrast. 
 
 r. Man made to seek beauty. 
 Nature needs interpretation. 
 Moral importance of the interpretation. 
 Sense needs discipline. 
 ■L. Art not directly recognised in the New Testament. 
 
 The use of Art in the Old Testament not a sufficient sanction. 
 The principle of reconciliation. 
 
 I. Contrast of Shemitic and Hellenic tendencies. 
 
 1 . No free pursuit of imitative Art among the Jews. 
 
 Art consecrated. 
 ■L. Imitative Art treated as absolute by the Greeks. 
 
 Necessary decline of Greek Art. 
 
 Christianity necessarily antagonistic to classical Art in the Apostolic 
 age. 
 
 II. The task of Christian Art. 
 
 Early literary evidence as to Christian Art. 
 Tertullian : Clement Alex. : Origen. 
 
 I. Painting. 
 
 Cemeteries at Eome. 
 Naples. 
 The Synod of Elvira. 
 The judgment of Eusebius Caes. 
 Change of feeling in the Fifth Century. 
 Paulinus of Nola. 
 
 Gregory of Nyssa : Asterius : Nilus : Augustine. 
 
 ■z. Sculpture. 
 
 Scanty remains. 
 
 3. Architecture. 
 
 The Church of Paulinus at Tyre. 
 
 of Constantine at Jerusalem. 
 Mosaics. 
 
332 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 Domestic Ai-t : gems. 
 Characteristics of early Christian Art. 
 Conventional in subject. 
 
 treatment. 
 Symbolic. 
 Eeserved. 
 
 Treatment of the Passion. 
 Examples. 
 
 Slab at Wirksworth. 
 Joyful. 
 
 III. 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 advances of different Arts. 
 
 Disturbing effect of the Eenaissance. 
 
 The Evangelic sign. 
 
 IV. Love the guide of Art. 
 
 Browning's analysis of the grounds of failure in Art. 
 
 Fra Lippo LippL 
 
 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 a necessary expression of Christian Faith. 
 
THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 No student of the apostolic writings can fail to find himself Tioes 
 
 Christian- 
 sometimes confronted by the question Does the teaching of the New ity leave 
 
 Testament cover all the interests of human life? and more particu- ^j-j? 
 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 
 
 contrast. 
 detail. 
 
 On the one side it is certain that Art corresponds with essential i. Man so 
 
 constitu- 
 parts of our nature. Men universally seek particular combinations ted as to 
 
 of form, colour, sound, and the pleasure which these give can be beauty. 
 
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 «. 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 
 
 nature 
 
 needs requires to be revealed to us. We are not at once able to enter into 
 
 tatfon'^^ 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 
 
 of nature moral and spiritual influence upon character. It is unnecessary to 
 
 a powerful attempt to make any comparison of the relative power of external 
 Sect 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 
 
 specially -i- u ■ • • 
 
 needs the manifold activities of eye and hand, of the power of seeing 
 
 isoipme. ^jga^y^y a,nd 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. 
 
 not'di- ^* ^^^^ reflections, indicated in the briefest summary, serve to shew 
 
 reotly that Art justly claims a permanent place in the highest training of 
 reoognised o t, 
 
 in N. T. men ; but on the other hand it may be urged that, with the excep- 
 
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. i) 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- 
 rently 
 distinctly condemned. It is difficult to give any sense to ' the desire excluded. 
 
 of the eyes,' which St John declares to be ' not of the Father but of 
 the world' (i John ii. 16), which shall not include works of sculp- 
 ture and painting ; and at first sight the rev^elation 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 
 
 Art in 
 service of Art in the Old Testament. The system of the old Cove- O.T. not 
 
 . T 1 T> i -J. a sufficient 
 
 nant was essentially external. It spoke through symbols. Jtsut it recog- 
 
 might be argued, not unreasonably, that, as Christianity is essentially "^ '°°' 
 
 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- 
 ciple of 
 ciled. The reconciliation, to anticipate the result of our inquiry, reoon- 
 
 lies in the central message of Christianity ' the Word became flesh.' 
 
 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 we first consider the position of Art in relation to 
 
 Christianity in the apostolic age (l), and the character of Christian 
 
 Art in the first four centuries (11), and then attempt to determine 
 
 the relation of Christianity to Art (in), and the peculiar office of 
 
 Art (IV). 
 
336 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 Contrast The position of the early Christian teachers towards Art was 
 
 itic an™' determined under two powerful and conflicting influences. In no 
 Hellenic ^^j^g^ region of human activity were the Sliemitic and Hellenic 
 <='6s- tendencies more directly at variance. Each bore witness to a partial 
 
 truth ; and in the apostolic age each had reached its complete 
 
 development. 
 
 I. No free For the Jews imitative Art had practically no public existence. 
 
 Siltative ^^ the absence of satisfactory evidence it is impossible to say how 
 
 ^^^ ., far Architecture and Music found free and characteristic expression, 
 among the '• 
 
 Jews. But in spite of the very narrow range within which Jewish Art was 
 
 confined it embodied a 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 ofiering 
 
 of the best which he could command simply for the divine glory 
 
 Solomon declared to his people for all time the conseci-ation 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 f ruitfulness 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 
 
 a manifested Presence of God or the glow of the kindled incense 
 
 (Apoc. 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 exception in the civil use of Art : comp. 
 
 the Molten Sea in Solomon's Temple Jos. Antt. viii. 7. 5. The Brazen Ser- 
 
 (i K. vii. 25; 3 Chron. iv. 4 f.; Jer. pent was a work of a wholly different 
 
 lii. 20) are a perplexing exception to order; as also was ' the Teraphim' of 
 
 the law. The twelve lions on the steps David (i Sam. xix. 13). 
 
 of the royal throne (i K. x. 18 ff. ; ^ According to 1 Chron. iii. 14, 
 
 2 Chron. ix. 18 f.) form a corresponding cherubim were wrought on the veil. 
 
 W. J. 22 
 
338 
 
 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 2. Imita- 
 tive Art 
 treated as 
 absolute 
 by the 
 Greeks. 
 
 The neces- 
 sary 
 
 decline of 
 Greek Art 
 
 The Jewish repression of imitative Art, which the Law still hal- 
 lowed for the highest service, corresponded with the spiritual con- 
 ception of God which was the endowment of His ' people'. Spiritual 
 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 tlie 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 
 tinder 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 aU 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'- 
 
 It would be difficult to overrate the skill ^vith which Greek 
 sculpture of the best period represents strength in majestic repose, 
 ■ and feeling under sovereign control ; but all, so to speak, lies within 
 the figure before us. ' 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 tliis truth which the 
 
 general law that man cannot find Book illustrates from many sides, 
 
 rest in the finite. The key to the Comp. Ecoles. iii. ii. 
 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 is 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 cor- 
 rupt life. 
 
 This being so the antagonism of early Christians to contemporary Christian- 
 
 itv 6SS6I1' 
 
 Art was necessarily essential and absolute. Before Art could be tially au- 
 placed in its true position there was need of a complete change of to^j^"t as" 
 centre. For this the stern discipline of Judaism had made provision, i' ^^s. 
 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. 
 
 II. 
 
 It will be seen from what has been already said that Christianity The task 
 
 J , fOi Chris- 
 
 had to recognise and reconcile the partial and contrasted aspects 01 jjan j^t, 
 
 imitative Art which had found expression in Judaism and Hellenism. 
 
 Christian Art embodies the twofold conception of the spiritual destiny 
 
 ' Kraus (P. X.), Die ChristUche Kunst, ti. 22. 
 
 22 — 2 
 
340 
 
 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 fulfilled 
 slowly. 
 
 of the visible, and of a spiritual revelation through the visible. The 
 central fact of the Christian Faith give.s *■, 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 
 Tertulliaii. 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 
 
 Scant}- 
 literary 
 evidence. 
 
 ' TeriuU. de idol. 3 ff., adleguntur 
 in ordinem ecclesiasticum artifices 
 idoloriun. Comp. de spectac. 2^. A 
 Christian sculptor is represented at 
 his work on a sarcophagus assigned by 
 De' Bossi to the third century. See 
 Northcote and Brownlow, ii. p. 1^6. 
 
 The subject was first engraved by 
 Fabretti Imcr. Ant. N. oil. p. 587, who 
 describes the sarcophagus as 'ex cie- 
 meterio Helense.' 
 
 ^ TertuU. adv. Hermog. i. pingit illi- 
 cite, that is, by painting pagan subjects. 
 
 ' de Pudic. c. 7 picturoe 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 
 
 of Alex- 
 character as those in Tertullian. The language of Clement shews andria. 
 
 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 Arf. 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 
 
 Italian 
 seems to have been somewhat different. Among the earliest Italian Churches. 
 
 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 ; so 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 Oata- i. Paint- 
 
 mg. 
 
 ^ id. c. 10 pastor quern in calice de- Hppi which was supposed to represent 
 pingis. the healing of the woman with the issue 
 
 '^ Clem. Alex. Feed. iii. 11, § 59, p. of blood is interesting. Itwasnotsur- 
 ■2S9 P. prising, he remarks, that men of Gentile 
 
 ' Orig. adv. Celt. yiii. 17 ff. Comp. origin should shew their respect in 
 de Oral. 1 7. this way for the benefits they had re- 
 
 ^ Clem. Alex. Protr. i. § 62, p. 54 P. ceived; and he adds that they had also 
 
 5 In this connexion the comment of pictures 'of Paul and Peter and in fact 
 Ensebius on the group at Csosarea Phi- of Christ Himself (H. E. vii. 18, 3). 
 
342 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITV TO ART. 
 
 combs appeal' 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 
 very few, from the l^eginning of the second century onwards, and 
 include works of the greatest rudeness and of high artistic merit. 
 Cemetery The earliest Roman example which is known, the decorations of 
 
 tilla. 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". 
 G^ta- 'r^^® decorations of the Catacombs of St Januarius at Naples 
 
 '^f'Sj^ and of chambers in the cemetery of St Callixtus at Rome are even 
 
 Januarius more completely classical in treatment. The artist acting under 
 at Naples. 
 
 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 introducing 
 
 subjects which marked the faith of those for whom he worked'. 
 
 1 Mommsen, Cont. Sev. May 1871, S. Callixtus, North, and Br. PI. 
 
 p. 170. xviii. 2 (as Good Shepherd). 
 
 ^ Northcote and Brownlow, ii. r '!o ff. Bottari, Ixxi. 
 
 Garrucci, Storia dell' Arte Gristiana The figure occurs also on a Lamp. 
 
 I. 19. D.C.A. 922. 
 
 3 Schultze, Die Katalcoviben, 90 ff. ; Psyche. 
 
 Garruoei, Tavy. 90—98. S. DomitiUa, North and Br. 33 ; 
 
 Northoote and Brownlow, ii. pp. Schnltze, Die KataltODiben, 98. 
 
 18 ft. Garrucci, Tav. 26. Compare Gar- S. Gennaro, Naples. Schultze, Tafc. 
 
 rucoi. Taw. 13, 20, 37, 38, 88 for other v. ; id. Die Kat. s. 93. 
 
 examples of a classical type, and the Compare North, and Br. p. 239 (sar- 
 
 beautiful pagan decorations of the cophagus). 
 
 tomb in the Via Latina (Parker, Dioscuki. 
 
 Tomfis, pi. xiv. ff.). Aries; sarcophagus. Le Blant, Les 
 
 The following classical subjects may sarc. chrit. d' Aries xxiii. 
 
 be specially noticed : Ulysses and the Sireks. 
 
 Obpheus. Crypt of Lucina: sarcophagus: North. 
 
 S. Domitilla, Northcote and Brown- and Br. p. 240. 
 
 low, p. 31. A very remarkable series of scenes 
 
THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 343 
 
 The other examples of painting in the Roman Catacombs are of Other 
 . „ . . . - , • examples. 
 
 interior artistic ment, being provided by poorer converts. But the 
 
 same general features are preserved throughout. Cliristians 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 beainnino; of the fourth century, when the Christian The canon 
 , , ° , •' ofElvh-a. 
 
 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 lield 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 
 
 from the Gospel History is fouBd in donna in the Cemetery of Priscilla as 
 the Catacomb of Prffitextatus. They interpreted in Northeote and Brown- 
 are unfortunately only imperfectly low, ii. pi. -vii. ; yet contrast the photo- 
 known. From the drawings published graph in Parker's Catacombs, pi. ii. 
 by Garrucci, they appear to represent The marvellously beautiful group of 
 (i) Christ and the woman of Samaria ; the Shepherd and Sheep in the tomb 
 (2) The healing of the woman with the of Statilius Taurus (b.o. 30) is wholly 
 Issue; (3) The Baptism. The last sub- unapproaohed by any Christian work, 
 ject is debated, but De' Eossi's idea Parker, Tomhs in and near Rome, pi. 
 that it represents the striking of the xix. 
 
 Lord with the reed is whoUy at vari- There are examples of decorations 
 
 ance with the cycle of subjects in early in Jewish and Mithraic tombs closely 
 
 Art, and with the appearance of the analogous to those of the Christian 
 
 Dove in the picture. tombs : Garrucci, Taw. 493 ff. 
 
 The drawing seems to be singularly ^ Comp. Thackeray, Prudentius, pp. 
 
 good; and the figure of the Lord is of Ui. ff. It is interesting to notice the 
 
 a youthful classical type. Sohultze.Die feeling for Art in Italy (Imola, Bome, 
 
 Kat. 145; North, and Br. 143 ff. Milan). 
 
 Schultze points out that Christian ' Cone. Illib. Can. 36. Ne pictuiy 
 
 artists borrowed ornamental figures in ecclesia fiant. Placuit pioturas in 
 
 from classical myths which embodied ecclesia esse non debere, ne quod coU- 
 
 beUefs about the dead : a. a. 0. 98 ff . tur et adoratur in parietibus depinga- 
 
 1 E.g. Garrucci, Taw. 8, 12. None of tur. Comp. Dale, Synod of Elvira, p. 
 
 the groups of figures seem to shew real 289 n. 
 
 artistic merit, unless it be the Ma- The Canon is most strangely quoted 
 
344 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. 
 
 The There was perhaps something of the sternness of African Ohris- 
 
 ofEuse" tianity in the Canon of Elvii-a. 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 Csesarea to the Empress Con- 
 
 stantia, which was brought forward at the second Council of Nicsea. 
 
 In this Eusebius seems to speak according to the general feeling of 
 
 the time. The empress had requested a likeness (etKojv) 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 («is cTepovs oXus «K<^€petv), 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 j>ure in lieart because iliey 
 
 by Northcote and Brownlow (ii. p. 4) worshipped and adored to be painted 
 as 'one which forbad "pictures to be on the walls." 
 placed in a church, or that which is 
 
 , )) I 
 
THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 345 
 
 ' shall see God. And if in addition to this hope (Ik irepLovaM^) before 
 
 ' that vision which shall be " face to face" you set high value on the 
 
 'images of the Saviour, what better artist can there be than the 
 
 'God-Word Himself'?' 
 
 Such judgments were however unable to stem the tide of popular A revolu- 
 . tion of 
 
 feeling which soon set in. The revolution in the Empire, which was feeling. 
 
 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 less than 
 a century the representations of sacred scenes obtained for good and 
 evil a recognised place in Christian sanctuaries. The iiuiovation 
 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 Patdinus. 
 Ausonius and of consular rank, devoted himself and his fortune to 
 the service of the Church. He took for his special hero Eelix, a 
 martyr of Nola, whose grave he decorated with noble buildings 
 whUe he celebrated his praises in a long series of poems. In one of 
 
 1 Euseb. Ep. ad Const. Migne, Pa- - Epiph. EpUt. ad Joann. Hier. § ix. 
 
 trol. Gr. XX. 1515 ff. Comp. H. E. vii. (iii. 390 ed. Migue). 
 18, 3 quoted above p. 341. 
 
346 
 
 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 these he describes in some detail the pictures witli which he h<ad 
 adorned the cloister of the church'. The series included the events 
 of the 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 anj' 
 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'. 
 
 ' xxvii. {De S. Felice carm. natal. 
 ix.) 511 ff. 
 Nunc volo pieturas fucatis agmine 
 
 longo 
 Portioibus videas, paulumque supina 
 
 fatiges 
 Colla, reclinato dum perlegis omnia 
 
 vultu. 
 - Qui videt hseo vaouis agnosoens vera 
 
 figuris 
 Non vacua fidam sibi pascet imagine 
 
 mentem. 
 Omnia namque tenet serie piotura 
 
 fideli 
 Quffi senior soripsit per quinque vo- 
 
 lumina Moses, 
 Quffi gessit Domini signatus nomine 
 
 lesus... 
 Jam distingueutem modico Euth 
 
 tempora libro, 
 Tempora Judioibus finita et Eegibus 
 
 orta, 
 Inteutistransourreooulis: brevis ista 
 
 videtur 
 Historia, et magui siguat mysteria 
 
 belU... id. ^t^S. 
 
 ' Propterea visum nobis opus utile, 
 
 totis 
 Feliois domibus pictura illudere 
 
 sancta ; 
 Si forte attonitaa hsso per speotaoula 
 
 mentes 
 
 Agrestum caperet fucata eoloribus 
 
 umbra, 
 Qua3 super exprimitur titulis ut lit- 
 
 tera monstret 
 Quod manus explicuit... 
 
 id. 580 ff. 
 '' De genesi, precor, liunc orandi col- 
 
 lige sensum, 
 Ne maneam terrenus Adam... 
 Hostia viva Deo tanquam puer of- 
 
 ferar Isac... 
 Sit mihi castus amor, sit et horror 
 
 amoris iniqui... 
 Sit mihi ab Aegypto bonus exitus... 
 id. 607 S. 
 ^ Nonne, precor, toto manet hsec dis- 
 
 oordia mundo. 
 Parte sequente Deum, vel parte 
 
 ruente per orbem? id. 537 f. 
 ^ Forte requiratur quanam ratione 
 
 gerendi 
 Sederit hajc nobis sententia piugere 
 
 sanctas 
 Baro more domos animantibus ad- 
 
 simulatis. id. 542 fi. 
 
 ' Ha30 tibi, Christe Deus, tenui faoi- 
 
 lique paratu 
 Pro nobis faoimus; nee enim te, 
 
 summe Creator, 
 Facta mauu capiunt, toto quern cor- 
 
 pore mundus 
 Non oapit. ■ 
 
|THE RELATION OP CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 347 
 
 The contemporary evidence of Gregory of Nyssa (f c. 400) shews Gregory of 
 that in some places at least the range of subjects had been already 
 enlarged. In commemorating Theodorus he has given a description 
 of a 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 blessed 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 (i/oijtus) the 
 ' incorporeal Word^.' 
 
 Not long afterwards there is evidence that still more remarkable Nilus. 
 freedom was used in ecclesiastical ornament. Olympiodorus con- 
 In his restoration of the old Basilica as It is found on sarcophagi : 
 Paulinus introduced 'the two Testa- Sanctorum labor et merces sibi rite 
 
 ments,' but his language is very ob- cohasrent, 
 
 scnre: Ardua crux pretiumque cruois sub- 
 
 tribus in spatiis duo Testamenta lime corona, 
 
 legamus ; Ipse Deus, nobis princeps crucis at- 
 
 Hanc quoque cernentes rationem que corona, 
 
 lumine recto. Inter gloriferi cseleste nemus para- 
 
 Quod nova in antiquis tectis, antiqua disi, 
 
 novis lex Sub cruce sanguinea niveo stat Chris- 
 
 Pingitur ; est etenim pariter deous tus in agno, 
 
 utile nobis Agnus ut innooua injusto datus 
 
 In veteri novitas, atque in novitate hostia leto. (JSp. xxxii. 17.) 
 
 vetustas. ' Greg. Nyss. de S. Theod. Mart. iii. 
 
 Compare also xxviii. ii—i-,. p. 7.^3 (ed. Migne). 
 
 In the apse of the Basilica at Funda ^ Hom. de div. et Laz. p. 167, 
 
 he represented the idea of the Passion Migne [Patrol. Gr. xl.). 
 
348 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 suited Nilus (t 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 i-epresent on both sides of the Sanctuary (tepareiov) 
 scenes of hunting and fishing, with representations of various animals 
 and fish ; and to erect in ' the common house ' ' a thousand crosses, 
 and histories (to-Toptas) 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 faith- 
 ' f ul 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 (tou OeiOTdrov T£/x,eVous)...and to fill the holy sanctuary (toV 
 ' vaov TOV ayiov) 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 paintings call to mind the courage of men who have served the 
 ' true God and be stirred to emulation of their heroic exploits'.' 
 Auous- In the time of Augustine the African Church had yielded to the 
 
 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 ^' 
 Sculp- The remains of early Christian Sculpture are singularly few. 
 
 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 paints 
 
 ' Nilus, Epp. iv. 61. The letter was bowls, and chamber walls.' 
 
 brought forward at the Second Couu- ^ c. Famt. xxii. 73. Compare also 
 
 cil of Niesea. In the following letter de com. evv. i.x. 16, Sic omnino errare 
 
 Nilus speaks of a young monk who meruerunt qui Christum et apostolos 
 
 recognised a martyr who appeared to ejus non in Sanctis codicibus sed in 
 
 him from having seen him often repre- piotis parietibus queesierunt ; nee 
 
 sented 'in the paintings' (iK toC ttoX- mirum si a piugentibus fingentes de- 
 
 Xa/cis TOf x'^pO'KTripa toO dylov iirl tuv cepti sunt. 
 
 (iiivav TcBcaaeai). The phrase sounds " de Mor. Eccles. Catlu i. 34 (75) 
 
 like one of a later time. But Chryso- novi multos esse sepulororum et pic- 
 
 stom bears witness to the custom in his turarum adoratores. The famous phrase 
 
 Homily on Meletius (ii. i, p. 516, ed. 'pioturie (imagines) sunt idiotarum 
 
 Migne); he says that the portrait of libri' is often referred to Augustine 
 
 that Saint was drawn on ' rings, seals, but, as far as I know, wrongly. 
 
 ture. 
 
THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 349 
 
 ing was identified with idolatry. The aversion from 'the graven Statues. 
 image' has perpetuated itself in the Greek Church', and even to the 
 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 perhaps the famous bronze statue 
 of St Peter ; and the list of the extant Christian statues of the first 
 five centuries is complete'. The other early works of sculpture 
 are sarcophagi, one of which belongs to the third century*. 
 
 1 I am 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 
 given a considerable amount of study 
 to the monuments of early Celtic 
 hagiology, especially of the Scoto- 
 Irish 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 
 ' Eildare, 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 decorattis et imagi- 
 ' nibus depicttis, 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.' 
 
 " 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 (ra tov 
 KtxKov iroifi^vos (Xvfi^oXaj rots airS tuv 
 
 dcLwv Xoyltaif bpiMWjjAvois yvuptfj.a), and a 
 gilded bronze figure of Daniel with the 
 lions.' 
 
 ' The two other figures of the Good 
 Shepherd which remain (Appell, I. c. 
 p. 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. See Le Blant, 
 Etude sur les SarcopJiages ChrUiens de 
 la ville d' Aries, p. iv; and compare id. 
 pi. xxxiv. Le Blant assigns to the 
 same age the sarcophagus of Livia 
 Primitiva, which bears a rude represen- 
 tation of the Good Shepherd between 
 two sheep, a fish and an anchor: I.e. 
 Bottari, T. xxxv. i. 
 
 Garrucci's fifth volume contains the 
 sarcophagi. A very careful and valu- 
 able list and description is given by 
 Dr Appell, Mommtents of Christian Art 
 ...1872. 
 
 Prof. Eamsay has shewn me a draw- 
 ing of a most interesting relief which 
 is probably the oldest remaining 
 specimen of Christian sculpture. It is 
 found on a monument erected by 
 'Abercius a deacon, to himself, his 
 wife, and his children,' and represents a 
 small figure with one arm laid across 
 the breast standing between two profiles 
 of a man and a woman executed on a 
 larger scale. These profiles are evi- 
 
350 
 
 The cha- 
 racter of 
 the sepul- 
 chral 
 subjects. 
 
 3. Archi- 
 tecture. 
 
 Paulinus. 
 
 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 In spite of the limited scope which sarcophagi offered to the 
 artist the sculptures which they present are of great interest as 
 confirming the general impressions conveyed by the remains of early 
 Christian painting. The sarcophagi of Helena and Constantia, 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. 
 When the persecution of Diocletian broke out at Nicomedia (a.d. 
 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 erected at Tyre not many years afterwards (a.d. 313) pro- 
 bably only reproduced the type of earlier works of which no detailed 
 
 dently portraits, and that of the woman 
 has considerable artistic merit. Prof. 
 Bamsay places the work c. 200. [He 
 now, for reasons which do not appear 
 to me to be conclusive, inclines to a, 
 much later date.] 
 
 ^ E.g. The figures of the Dioscuri 
 on a sarcophagus at Aries. Le Blant, 
 pi. zxiii. pp. 38 ff. On the use of clas- 
 sical details see Le Blant, I. c. Intro- 
 duction, pp. X. f.; 19. 
 
 2 Some examples shew considerable 
 artistic merit. For example a sarco- 
 phagus in the Lateran Museum given 
 in Northcote and Brownlow, ii. 255 ; 
 Parker, pi. xvii. ; Bottari, T. xxxiii. 
 The sarcophagus of Junius Bassus 
 (a.d. 359) shews thoughtful work. It is 
 hard to understand how other en- 
 gravings come to represent Daniel as 
 nude, according to all but univer- 
 
 sal custom, while Parker's engraving 
 'taken from n. photograph' (pi. xiii.) 
 represents him as fuUy clothed. Dr 
 Appell says that the figure is modern. 
 (Monuments of Christian Art, p. 10.) 
 
 A decree of Theodosius (a.d. 382) 
 recognises the claim of statues of the 
 Gods to be preserved for their interest 
 as works of art in spite of their past 
 misuse for purposes of idolatry: iEdem 
 [in the province of Osdroene] olim 
 frequentise [?Deum] dedicatam,...in 
 qua simulacra feruntur posita, artis 
 pretio quam divinitate metienda, iu- 
 giter patere publioi consilii auetoritate 
 decemimus. At the same time the 
 caution is added : ne illic prohibitorum 
 usus sacrificiorum huius occasione 
 aditus permissus esse credatur (God. 
 Theodos. svi. 10, 8). 
 
THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 351 
 
 description has been preserved. Eusebiiis 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' 
 (Tapainjyfi.acri t€ )(o.\kov o-tSTjpoSerots kol Tcomikiiaa-iv dvayXv(f>OL';).' 
 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 
 magnificence was indeed designed, if we may believe him, to attract 
 passers by and lead them to enter the saci-ed precincts ^ 
 
 The church of Paulinus was a genuine expression of Christian Constan- 
 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' ^vith 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 difiicult 
 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 
 
 ' H. E. X. 4. avT^s TTJs o^cws iirl tV efcoSox irpoTpa- 
 
 ^ Euseb. I. c. i>s av /it] Traparpixv "' 7r77<rco-flai iJXxtffej'. 
 OTi liT) TT)i> ^vxv" KaTtwvyels irpoTepov ' Vit. Const, ii. 33. 
 
 /wrinri rrjs re irply ipr)ijda.i koX ttjs vOv * Id. 34 — 40. Bingham [Antiqui- 
 
 irapadS^ov davfi-aTovpylas, i(p' ^s Ti^a ties, viii. § 5) has given an interesting 
 
 Kal eKKva-e-fyreaBai. Karavvyivra Kal TTpbs early inventory of Church vessels. 
 
Art. 
 
 352 THE EELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 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 
 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'. 
 Domestic 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 
 
 1 There is a drawing of this Mosaic 3. A fish and anchor, with the word 
 
 in D. C. A. ii. 6, is'jS, and a large eniryNXANOY (D. C. A. p. 714). 
 coloured drawing at South Kensington. 4. A cross, fish and dove (D. C. A. 
 
 It is excellently described in Wolt- p. 713). 
 
 mann and Woermann, i?ist. 0/ PatnS- 5. Two fish (ascending and descend- 
 ing, London, 1880, i. 167 f. ing) and a bowl. 
 
 =* There are valuable representations 6. An anchor between two dolphins 
 
 of early Mosaics in the South Kensing- with the letters a. p. l. 
 ton Museum. See Christian Mosaic 7. An anchor between two fish. 
 
 Pictures by J. W. Appell, Ph.D., 1877. 8. ixOyc enclosed between two olive 
 
 Garrucci devotes his fourth volume branches (sard), 
 to Mosaics. 9. An anchor-cross with two doves 
 
 ' For the history and remains of resting on the arms, two fish (ascend- 
 early Christian glyptic. Art see C. "W. ing and descending), and two palms. 
 King, Antique Gems and Rings, ii. § vii. 10. Good Shepherd under an olive 
 pp. 24 S. London, 1872 ; and Dr Ba- with two doves (hasmatite). 
 bington's article Grais in D. C. A. 11. Good Shepherd between two 
 
 A simple enumeration of the subjects sheep : very rude, 
 of the smaU collection of eai-ly Chris- n. Good Shepherd with m xc : 
 
 tian gems in the British Museum will very rude. 
 
 give a fair idea of the general character 13. Good Shepherd, with sheep and 
 
 of these works. two lambs, under a tree with a dove : 
 
 1. A dove, olive branch and star very rude, 
 (ruby)- 14. Good Shepherd and Jonah east 
 
 ■I. A fish, olive, pastoral staff. out by the monster : a dove with olive 
 
THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 353 
 
 works of considerable merit'. And one of the gold coins of Constan- 
 tine offers a unique and most beautiful embodiment of a Christian 
 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- 
 
 ic4-|/*e Or 
 
 tian Art in different directions will be sufficient to indicate the christian 
 circumstances under which it gained finally a recognised place in ^ ' 
 Christian life, and especially in Christian worship. It was, as we 
 have seen, fashioned on classical models; it inherited the use of classi- 
 cal methods ; it incorporated some of the familiar subjects of classical 
 use^ ; but at the same time it embodied, even if only in an elementary 
 
 branch : a palm and gourd with a star 
 between: in 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 a 
 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 
 
 ig. Four sheep with collars. 
 
 20. The temptation. 
 
 ■21. Cross with the Chrisma (sap- 
 phire). 
 
 22. Palm between two branches. 
 
 •23. Palm tree, two branches and 
 two birds with inscription : very rude. 
 
 ^ See Dr Bahington's article in 
 D. C. A. 
 
 ^ Vit. Const, iv. 15. An engraving 
 ot the coin, which does not do it jus- 
 tice, is given in D. 0. A. Money, 
 Fig. 23. Dr Babington (D. C. A. i. p. 
 720) refers to an agate in which the 
 Emperor is represented in the same 
 way. 
 
 Some other coins of Christian em- 
 perors deserve mention as illustrating 
 
 W. J. 
 
 the symbolism of Christian Art. Most 
 conspicuous among these is the small 
 ' third brass ' coin of Constantine, 
 bearing on the reverse the words spes 
 puilica with the labarum, the spiked 
 end of which pierces the serpent 
 (D. C. A. s.v. Labarum and Money, 
 fig. 16). 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 
 phoenix with the legend Felix tem- 
 porum reparatio occurs on coins of 
 Constans and Coustantius. On coins 
 of the two Eudoxias Victory is repre- 
 sented inscribing the letters of the 
 sacred monogram on a shield. On a 
 coin of Valentinian III., 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 
 a singularly dignified type, appears on 
 a gold coin of Justinian 11. Compare 
 C. W. King, Early Christian Numis- 
 matics, pp. 35 ff. 
 
 A very complete account of the in- 
 teresting Christian glass work is given 
 by Dr Babington in D. C. A. (Glass). 
 See also Garrucci, Tom. iii. 
 
 [I should have been glad to add some 
 account of early Christian Ivories, but 
 that is now impossible. 1891.] 
 
 » Seep. 343, n. i. 
 
 23 
 
354 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 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 spiritual idea over the external appearance, of advancing from 
 within outwards, from the thought to the expression. The means 
 adopted for securing 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 
 any 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. 
 Early Early Christian Art is conventional. This is true both as to the 
 
 Art con- choice and as to the treatment of subjects. It is indeed necessary to 
 ventional j.gj„ember 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. 
 
 in subject; Thus it is that a few subjects from the Old Testament and a few 
 and in 
 
 from the New Testament are repeated both in painting and sculpture 
 
 with almost wearisome monotony. Among these three scenes from 
 the history of Jonah ((as) 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 Abra- 
 ham, the ascension of Elijah, the adoration of the Magi, the miracle 
 
THE RELATION OF CHUISTIANITY TO ART. 355 
 
 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 treatment, 
 always represented nude, and the sea-monster seems to have been 
 modelled on the type of that found in representations of Andromeda. 
 Daniel, nearly always nude, stands in the attitude of prayer between 
 two lions placed syinmetrically. 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 a 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 Crarrucci will feel the truth of 
 the words used at the second Council of Nicasa, ' the making 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- 
 tian Art 
 Church was necessarily fatal to Art. The conventionalism of early symbolic. 
 
 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. 
 
 ' Lists of examples of these dif- xxiv.) and the other at Aries (Le 
 
 ferent subjects are given in various Blant, ix.). 
 
 writers. It is sufficient to refer to ' See p. 358, n. 1. 
 
 Canon Venables' articles Fresco, and ' Compare Northcote and Brownlow, 
 
 Old Testament in D. C. A., and Mr ii. p. ■24. Bottari, Ixxviii., Ixxx., 
 
 Tyrwhitt's article in the same work on xovii., ciii., cv., cxiii., cxvi., cxviii., 
 
 the different subjects. See also C. J. cxliii., exlv., elv., clxxii., clxxix. 
 
 Hemans, The Church in the Gata- * Bottari, clxiii. 
 
 com6s, Cont. Eev. Oct. 1866. ° Oi) fuypd^ui' ^^EupeTis 17 t-uk ckoKwi" 
 
 How great was the tendency of the TroiT/o-is dXXa tti^ khOoXiktis eK/cXTjirias 
 
 subjects to become fixed is shewn by eyKpiro! BeaiMdeala Kal wapidons. Cone, 
 
 the identity of the decorations of two Nio. 11. Act. vi. (Coucil. viii. 1085 cd. 
 
 sarcophagi, one at Rome (Bottari, Colet.) 
 
 23—2 
 
3S6 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 We are thus brought to the secoiid characteristic of early Chris- 
 tian Art : it was symbolic. There is no doubt some exaggeration in 
 the theorj-, 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 truths of the Gospel and illustrated the reality 
 of the one purpose underlying all life. By repeating these it was not 
 difficult to suggest the thought of the correspondence between differ- 
 ent stages in the fulfilment of the divine will, of the iniier 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 imagei-y 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 a restored order of 
 creation; and the Christian artist gladly accepted the pictured parable 
 of which his faith gave the meaning. 
 
 The sym- The reality of this symbolic meaning is placed beyond all ques- 
 
 bolism of 
 
 figures tion by the direct testimony of the monuments themselves. In 
 
 inThe''^'' several cases St Peter, 'the leader of the New Israel,' is represented 
 works. 
 
 1 On the relation of the Good Shep- Northcote and Brownlow, ii. pp. 26 ff. 
 herd to the Hermes Kriophoros see 
 
THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 3S7 
 
 under the figure of Moses striking the rock. Not only 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 Noah in the ark, the lessons 
 taught by the experience of the old saints are brought down into 
 actual life*. 
 
 An illustration of a difiJerent 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 Symbo- 
 possible to overlook the combination of thoughts which is indicated gi-oupg. 
 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 
 
 ' Compare Northcote and Brownlow, (Sarc. Chret. Intr. § 5) has pointed out 
 
 ii. frontispiece, and p. 180 ; Le Slant, the remarkable correspondence be- 
 
 Sarc. Chret. p. xxii. ; pp. 36 f. tween the subjects on sarcophagi 
 
 ' Garmcci, Iv. 2; xliii. i. and the historical references in the 
 
 ^ Garmcci, T. xliii. i. Offices for the dead. His last words 
 
 ^ It is enough simply to refer to the are well worth quoting : Mais, je le 
 
 unquestioned symbohsm of ' the Fish ' r^pete, ce qui me semble dominer dans 
 
 ( I X0 YC). Except in scenes of ' fish- le cycle des reprfeentations figur^es sur 
 
 ing' this figure hardly comes within les tombes, c'est I'idfie m§me dont s'in- 
 
 the proper scope of Art, though it U- Spirent les liturgies fun^raires et qui 
 
 lustrates the attitude of the artist. fit mettre aux ISvres du preux Roland 
 
 Compare D. 0. A. s.v. The most re- ce cri suprSme: notre vrai Pere, toi 
 
 markable use of ' the Pish ' which I qui ressuscitas saint Lazare d'entre les 
 
 have seen is in a picture from Cyren- morts et qui d6fendis Daniel centre 
 
 aica where several distinct kinds of les lions, sauve mon ame et protfige- 
 
 fish are combined with a figure of the la centre tons perils (p. xxxix). 
 Good Shepherd (Garrucci, tav. 105 c). ^ Compare Northcote and Brownlow, 
 
 Fishing and Baptism are combined : ii. p. 260. 
 Garrucci, viL 2. Figures of some very « Bottari, T. cxxis. 
 
 curious gems with the ' Fish ' are ' Le Blant, xv. 
 
 given in D. C. A. i. p. 713. Le Blant 
 
3S8 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 three children ' ; and agcain, Oi-jsheus 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 
 continuous picture^ 
 The re- The symbolism of Christian Art is one expression of another 
 
 early Art. 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 a pure classical form 
 with no attempt at realistic portraiture*. It is no doubt due to the 
 
 ' Bottari, T. lix. ; Garr. xxiv. reproduced by Mr Heaphy in his work 
 ' Bottari says that this is the single ou The Likeness of Christ (edited by W. 
 representation of David %vitlr which he Bayliss, London, 1880), from the origi- 
 is acquainted in early art (p. 32). May nals at St Peter's at Eome, and St 
 not the figure really be that of the Bartholomew's at Genoa, are most re- 
 Sower? markable works. I know nothing in 
 ' Bottari, Ixiii. ; Garr. xxv. early Christian Art at all resembling 
 " Bottari, xci., Garr. xl. Other ex- the former in style. Those who have 
 amples are given Garrucci xliii. ; xlviii.; seen ' the Holy Pace ' at Lncca speak 
 li. (Bottari, cxviii. ). of it as being no less impressive. 
 ° Bottari, T. olxx. * A very fine example is foimd on the 
 " Iren. i. 24, 25. Compare D. C. A. sarcophagus of Junius Bassus. Appell, 
 GcMis, i. p. 721. P- 9 ; Bottari, xv. ; Parker, xvii. See 
 ' Compare Northoote and Brownlow, also Bottari, xxxiii. Another remark- 
 ii. 216 ft.; Pearson On the Creed, p. 88 able example is given in Bottari liv. 
 note ; and the articles by Mr Tyrwhitt With these may be compared the cor- 
 and Arohd. Cheetham in D. C. A. i. responding figures of the bearded 
 pp. 874 ff. Christ: Le Slant, pi. iv.; Bottari, xxi.. 
 The famous statue at Csesarea (Eu- xxii., xxiii., xxv., xxviii. The distinc- 
 seb. vii. 1 8) cannot in any case be tion which has been drawn between the 
 regarded as contravening the general beardless and bearded figures as ex- 
 statement, pressing the human and divine aspects 
 I do not enter on the question of the of Christ's Person (see Le Blant, p. 25) 
 date of the legendary portraits of the does not seem to hold good. 
 Lord. The two specimens on 'cloth' 
 
THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 359 
 
 reverent shrinking from all representations of the Lord in His 
 human Presence that scenes from the Gospel history were with very 
 few exceptions carefully avoided. 
 
 A rude sketch of the Nativity is found' upon a fragment of a 
 sarcophagus dated A.D. 343'. There are representations of the visit 
 of the Magi of as early a date^. Other scenes, except the Raising of 
 Lazarus, are very rare and of isolated occurrence. 
 
 In this connexion the early treatment of the Passion is of the The treat- 
 
 j • /^ i- 1 1 nil ment of 
 
 deepest interest. One of the earliest representations of the subject the Pas- 
 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 
 
 1 Northcote and Brownlow, ii. 23^. smaller size and dress of the figure 
 
 2 The occurrence of the Star in the bearing the Cross leave no doubt as to 
 group noticed above, p. 343, n. 3, seems the artist's meaning. 
 
 to shew that that really represents the Le Blant observes that this is the 
 
 visit of the Magi. single example in which any incident 
 
 * Appell.p. 11 ; Parker, xv. ; North- of the Passion subsequent to the ap- 
 cote and Brownlow, ii. 153. Compare pearance before Pilate is represented 
 Paulinus Ep. xxxii. 17, quoted above, in early art (I. c). 
 
 p. 346 n. ' Examples are given by Garrucci, 
 
 * This is well pointed out by Le Taw. 349 — 353 ; 403. 
 
 Blant, Sarc. Ghret. p. 18. His en- e gottari, T. xxx.; Garrucci, T. cccl. 
 graving p. xxxiii. 3 is admirable. The 
 
360 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 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 
 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 a cruciform nimbus which stands upon a mound from which 
 issue the four rivers'; and less distinctly by a Cross or the Chrisma 
 between two lambs ^. 
 
 Yet more signi fi cant 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 viith century. 
 
 The larger portion of the slab which remains is in good preserva- 
 
 '■ Le Slant, pi. xiv. A small en- pi. xxvii. 
 graving of this work is given in D. C. ^ Garruoci, T. coclvi. ; T. 355. 
 
 -^ '■ P- '°^- " Garrucci, Taw. 10, 303, 337, 345, 
 
 ^ Bottari, T. xvi. A similar group 389, 393, 422, 426. 
 with the addition of two palm trees is On the cover of an Evangelarium at 
 
 found in another sai-cophagus : Bot- Milan are several typical scenes from 
 
 tan, T. XXXV. the Lord's Life; but there is no Cruci- 
 
 J Bottari, Taw. xxi., xxii., 1. With fixion. In place of this there is a 
 
 this may be compared the rude, almost Lamb in the centre with a wreath ■ 
 
 startling, figure of Christ throned mth Labarte, HiH. des Arts industneU 
 
 the Chnsma upon His head: Le Blaut, ,864; pi. vi.; Garruoci, T. 454. 
 
THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 361 
 
 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 
 
 aspect it is perhaps allowable to present for contemplation the Dead 
 
 Christ''. No one, I think, can regard it without feeling that we 
 
 have lost greatly by substituting a literal representation for such a 
 
 symbol ^ 
 
 The same spirit of reserve which led Christian artists to shrink Eepre- 
 . . I. 1 T 1 sentations 
 
 from direct representations of the Lord s sufferings, kept them also of martyr- 
 
 from representing the sufferings of His martyrs. A single painting ayoj^ed. 
 in the Cemetery of St Callixtus is supposed to portray the trial of 
 Christian confessors^ And a single gem, a new-year's gift, of 
 unusually good execution, which is referred to the age of Constantino, 
 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 Joyfulness 
 
 of Chris- 
 may also notice its joyousness. The reserve was a natural conse- tian Art. 
 
 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 
 
 ' The image of the Living Lamb is century, 
 found on the centre of the Vatican ' This is not the place to enter on 
 Cross (D. 0. A. 1,513) and elsewhere. the history of the direct representa- 
 A very striking example occurs in a tions of the Crucifixion first ideal and 
 bas-reliefon the Ciborium at St Mark's then realistic. The subject is of deep 
 Venice : Grim, de St Laurent, Icono- theological importance, but it belongs 
 graphie de la Croix... in Didron's An- wholly to a later period than that with 
 naUs Archeologiques xxvi. p. 2 1 3 (Paris, which we are concerned here. The essay 
 1869). It is said that the Face of the of M. Grimouard de St Laurent re- 
 Lord is represented as the intersection ferred to in note i , is a valuable contri- 
 of the arms of the Cross in the Trans- bution to the history, but by no means 
 figuration at Eavenna: D. C. A. p. 494. exhaustive. 
 
 ■^ I feel unable to believe that a gem * Northcote and Brownlow, i. pi. 8, 
 
 representing the Dead Christ (D. C. A. ii. 173. 
 
 i. p. 718) can be as early as the ivth ' D. C. A. i. p. 719. 
 
362 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 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 TertuUian drew of the sufferings of persecutors, and 
 the scarcely less terrible descriptions by Augustine of the sufferings 
 of the wicked were not as yet embodied by Art. No attempt was 
 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, 
 tUl a later date. 
 
 By that time the work of early Christian Art was ended. 
 
 III. 
 
 General Prom 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 to Art. g^ fresh 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 (ra dp^oLo) 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 
 
 reaUsed, impossible that the facts of the Incarnation and Resurrection can 
 leave Art in the same position as before. The interpretation of 
 
THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 363 
 
 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 
 ' very 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 a revelation enables the student to see in the phe- 
 nomena of the visible order Sacraments, so to speak, of the spiritual 
 and unseen, and fi-ee 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 
 by the self-assertion and fall of its temporal sovereign : the New 
 Testament teaches us to see it brought again potentially to harmony 
 ^vith God through the Blood of Him who is its Eternal Author and 
 Head (Col. i. 14 — 23). 
 
 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 lUustra- 
 
 illustrates this twofold truths Some argued from the description of the con- 
 
 'the servant of the Lord' that the Son of man had 'no form or „?f Jf f „ . 
 
 views as to 
 
 comeliness,' ' no beauty that we should desire Hjm.' And others ^^^ Lord's 
 
 appear- 
 repHed that it could not but be that perfect holiness should become anoe. 
 
 visible in perfect beauty. To the spiritual eye, we feel, there would 
 
 ^ A remarkable and somewhat ob- dTrd twv Ipyuv (so. iilipa), 6\jin twv 
 
 scure passage of Athenagoras points dS'qXwv vowv ri, <pa.w6/x€va dipos, aWipos, 
 
 to cue aspect of this truth in the dis- yjs (Legat. pro Christ, c. 5). To the 
 
 cussion of the objects of worship in true spiritual eye natural phenomena 
 
 prse-Christian times. After quoting reveal something of the divine eharae- 
 
 the famous lines from the Melanippe ter more really than any creation of 
 
 of Euripides (6p?s rbv i/yj/ov t6vS' airapov the imagination of man. 
 
 aWipa...) he says tQv /uv yap oBre ras ^ On the appearance of the Lord 
 
 oiJo-ias, aU hn.Karqyopaa6a(. rb ovoim compare the Oxford translation of 
 
 <rvppi^r)Ka', inroKaiUvai ki!ipa...Tbv Sk TertulUan, note F, pp. 252 ff. 
 
364 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 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. 
 
 Art reveals Or, to present the same thought from the opposite side, as all 
 
 end. "'"^ -^^^ brings the ideal, in some sense, before us in a material form, 
 
 and preserves for earth a definite place in the present order, so 
 
 Christian Art is charactei-ised 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. 1 9). In other words Christian Art treats 
 
 its subject as that which has partly lost and is partly striving 
 
 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. 
 
 Christian- Such an effort is obviously of universal application. Christian 
 
 not alter Art, like Christianity itself, embraces all life. The inspiration of the 
 
 of Art°^^ 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 fulfils 
 
 its high office of spiritual interpretation in classical works, but 
 
 Christian Art exists by and for this. And there is nothing to which 
 
 the ofiice 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 aU 
 
 their applications a religious power. This Christianity affirms as its 
 
 postulate, and by affirming determines its relation to Art. 
 
 Opposing The fulfilment of this universal claim, as has been already said, 
 
 influences. 
 
 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 
 
THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 365 
 
 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 Unequal 
 been unequal in different branches. The social Arts, if I may so of cfhiis-^ 
 describe them, Music and Architecture, were soon welcomed by the *^^° ^'^*- 
 Church and pursued in characteristic forms. It is not too much to 
 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 itself 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 xiiith 
 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 objects, 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 Mending. 
 
 The forces of the Renaissance have not yet been completely Disturb- 
 
 . ' ing effect 
 
 assimilated. The wealth of ancient material then poured at once of the Ee- 
 
 before Christian Artists hindered their normal progress ; but they 
 
 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 
 
366 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 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. 
 The Evan- When Mary lavished the precious spikenard over the Head and 
 oS 1 ign. -p^g^ ^^ j^g^ Master, ' the house,' St John tells us, ' was filled with 
 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 1 ' 
 ' To what purpose was this waste ? ' And the judgment was given : 
 ' Verily I say unto you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in 
 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. 
 
 love the Christianity, it has been seen, claims the ministry of Art in the 
 
 Art. 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 ai-e evidently dis- 
 ordered. The representation of all the phenomena of life would not 
 be the representation of their divine truth. Love therefore, a look- 
 
 ^ This is the lesson of the soul in that are 
 
 The Palace of Art : So lightly, heautifuUy built : 
 
 "Makemeaoottageinthevale,"shesaid, Perchance I may return with others 
 
 "Where I may mourn and pray. there 
 
 Yet pull not down my palace towers, \Vlien I have purged my guilt." 
 
THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 367 
 
 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 The pecu- 
 
 visible the truth of God in man and in nature is immediate and of Art 
 
 direct. In the creative arts, music and architecture, the effort is to oierrlWn 
 
 find an expression, an embodiment, harmonious with the truth of '^^ imita- 
 tive Arts. 
 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 
 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 Brown- 
 
 luff's rcv6- 
 Browning has marked with decisive power the mission of Art, and lation of 
 
 the grounds of its failure. He has not crowned the series by a por- •^'^'? 
 traiture of the ideal artist, but it is not difficult to gather his linea- 
 ments from the sketches of the other three. In ' Era 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 Pra Lippo 
 than in Lippi's words : 
 
 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 
 
368 THE EELATIOX OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 The beauty and the wonder and the power, 
 
 The shapes of things, their colours, lights and shades. 
 
 Changes, surprises — and God made them all... 
 
 ... paint any one, and count it crime 
 
 To let a truth 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 so that we love 
 First when we see them painted, things we have passed 
 Perhaps a hundred times nor cared to see;... 
 
 . . . Art was given for that : 
 God uses us to help each other so, 
 Lending our minds out. 
 
 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 Grod thanks.' 
 
 These pregnant words describe the manifold field of Art, its pecu- 
 liar interpretative power, and its moral effect, but in connexion with 
 a 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.' 
 Andrea 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 RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 369 
 
 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 : 
 
 a 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 ! 
 
 He has said of the ^Madonna, which was but the image of his wife. 
 It 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 
 
 coiild paint 
 One picture, just one more — the Virgin's face, 
 Not yours this time ! 
 
 The artist has need of discipline : he has need of devotion to an Pictor 
 unattainable ideal : he has need also of un-self regarding courage. The 
 pathos of earthly passion in the confession of Andrea is less touching 
 than the self-efiFacement 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 
 
 ...the 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 
 
 W. J. 24 
 
370 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 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. 
 
 Beauty All nature, all life, so far as it can be presented under the form 
 
 toTdJ^irfe of beauty, is the field of Art. But the beauty which is the aim of 
 
 olTect'of Christian Art is referred to a divine ideal. It is not ' of the world,' 
 
 ^'''- as finding its source or its final measure there, but ' of the Father,' as 
 
 corresponding to an unseen truth. The visible to the Christian eye 
 
 is in every part a revelation of the invisible. The artist, like the 
 
 poet, sees the infinite in things, and, under the conditions of his 
 
 works, suggests it. 
 
 Positive So far the artist's pursuit of beauty is limited. The boundaries 
 
 V8ilu.6 of 
 
 artistic within which he is confined will not always be the same, but they 
 diaciphne. ^^j^ 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 asceticism 
 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 Natura All that was at 
 first referred to limited divinities is shewn to be essentially an ex- 
 pression of one Divine Will. The spiritual signs 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. 
 
THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 371 
 
 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 truth. 
 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 The Artist 
 .,,,,. , . interprets 
 
 gain the ideal of his subject and then he has to present it in an and em- 
 intelligible shape. He has to give the right effect and to call out 
 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 a truth 
 Obliquely, do the thing shall breed the thought, 
 Nor wrong the thought. 
 
 This consideration places in a true light the danger of the Peril of 
 
 rsflilistiic 
 popular realism in Art. There is a charm, no doubt, in being ^^j 
 
 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 pr'oportion to the grandeur of the subject such a superficial 
 
 ^ 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 
 I 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. 
 
 24 — 2 
 
3/2 
 
 THE RELATIOK OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 in scrip- 
 tural 
 subjects. 
 
 Illustra- 
 tions from 
 the treat- 
 ment of 
 the Ma- 
 donna. 
 
 The Cruci- 
 fixion. 
 
 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 Iiad before is lost and not assisted by the 
 external details M'hich 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 
 early Church by a right instinct refrained from seeking any direct 
 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 Church had learnt to recognise. By no effort 
 could the spectator in a later age place himself in the position of the 
 disciples before the Passion and the Ascension. The exact repro- 
 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- 
 sei-ved. 
 
 A great artist can alone determine what the law of interpreta- 
 tion must be, and even then he will not himself always obey it. 
 Two illustrations taken from the commonest of sacred subjects, the 
 Madonna and the Crucifixion, may serve to bring out the thought 
 which I wish to einphasise. In the Madonna della Seggidla Raffaelle 
 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 forms. 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 
 double communion. It may well be doubted whether the Crucifixion 
 
THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 373 
 
 is in any immediate shape a proper subject for Art. The image of 
 the Dead Christ is foreign to Scriptui-e. 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 Jehu 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 
 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- 
 terial, and 
 destination is public and not private, and it culminates in worship, not an end. 
 
 Neither a great picture nor a 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 
 
 a teacher, 
 covery: he must make evident new thoughts or illuminate thoughts 
 
 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 
 
 tioae. 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, 
 
 'A small engraving is given in flict as over before the physical Death : 
 
 Mrs Jameson's History of the Lord, ii. i'xa H tie iyKaTiXnres ; 
 
 205. * Mis Jameson's History of tlie Lord, 
 
 2 The Lord's words in the Gospel ii. 330. It is, I fear, doubtful whether 
 
 narrative speak of the uttermost con- the youthful figure is correctly given. 
 
374 THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 
 
 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 lesolute purpose 
 which bears temporary failure. 
 Decorative I have touched only upon the highest iovmfi of creative Art. The 
 ^^'^' 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 a 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 
 Greek Art was greatest it was consecrated to public use; and one 
 chief danger of modern society i§ 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. 
 Summary. 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 
 
THE RELATION OF CHRISTIANITY TO ART. 375 
 
 still, shew how constantly foreign elements, fragments of the old life, 
 not wholly transfigured, intrude 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 true, 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 most Christian. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abstract forms, v. 4 
 
 Albertus Magnus, 197 
 
 Alexander of Hales, 294 
 
 Antichrist, ii. 18; 92 fi. 
 
 Aorist, ii. 7, 11; iii. 2; iv. 10; 57 f.; 
 
 aor. and pres. ii. i, 7 ; aor. and perf. 
 
 ''• 3> 9< i.^f-; V. 9, 11; aor. imp. 
 
 V. 21 
 Architecture, Early Christian Church 
 
 at Tyre, Jerusalem, 350 
 Art, in relation to Christianity, 333 ff. ; 
 
 characteristics of Christian, 333 ; 
 
 Greek, 338 ; Jewish, 336 
 Article, i. .1, 3 ; ii. 7 ; iii. 10; 2 J. 11 ; 
 
 -with predicate, iii. 4 ; absence of, i. 
 
 I ; iii. 9, 10, 14 
 Se\4>is, ii. 9; iii. 13; 128 
 aSiKia, i. 9 
 dydin] [i] iy. roO 8eoS), ii. 5; iii. 16; 
 
 130 ff. 
 iyairrrrds, ii. 7 ; iv. 7 ; 3 J. i 
 d77eMo, i. 5 
 
 dTvAXav and compounds, i. 5 
 atpem, iii. 5 
 al<rx,i''€(r8ai, diri, ii. 28 
 atrelv, ahciffOai, v. 14 
 aliliv, eh riv aluva, ii. 1 7 
 aKoitiv iird, dicoiieti', i. 5 ; v. 15 
 iXa^iiv, iwep-^^MVos, ii. 16 
 i] dXiideta, i. 6, 8 ; 2 J. i 
 dXijffiv^s, 6fis i\ri$tv6s, v. 20; 218 ff. 
 dXXd, S4, iv. 18; 3 J. I3f. 
 dXX' tva, ii. 19 
 dFa77AX«>', i. vi 
 
 dTrar^f &C., i. 8 
 
 itfiiivai, &^e<n5, i. 9 
 
 diri, irapd, i. 5 ; ii. 27 ; iv. 21 
 
 dTToffT^XXcic, Tri/xireLVf 1 24 f . 
 
 airreffSai, V. 18 
 
 apxi?, djr' apxvs, iv dpxS, i- t ; "• 7 ; "i- 8 
 
 aiJriy, ai5To(, i. 7 ; ii. 2, 25 ; iv. 5, 10 
 
 ' Believers, '129 
 
 Biel, Gabr., 306 
 
 Blood, The, of Christ, 34 fi. 
 
 Bona Ventura, 301 
 
 ' Brethren,' 1 29 
 
 Bro^vning, on the failure of the artist, 
 
 367 
 pios, fui), ii. 16 ; iii. 17 
 
 Cain's sin, iii. 12, 15 
 
 Calvin, 316 
 
 Calvinists, Later, 317 
 
 Catholic (Epistles), xxviii 
 
 Celsus on national religion, 257 
 
 Children of God, 122 ff. 
 
 Christ, Messiah, 198 ff. ; Christ and 
 
 Christians, ii. 20 ; iv. 9 ; Christ and 
 
 the Church, 322 
 Christianity, unique classes of, 255 ; 
 
 universal, 2422.; absolute, 261 ff . ; 
 
 aggressive, 2648.; spiritual, 267 f. 
 'Christians,' 128 
 
 Church, Belation of the, to Christ, 322 
 Coming, The, of Christ, 126 f. See 
 
 (pXf<rOai 
 Consecration of the Emperors, 271 f. 
 
378 INDEX. 
 
 Creation, Idea of, in St John, 90 
 Creation, Gospel of, i86 
 
 Kai, i. 2, 5 
 
 Kal — di, i. 3 
 
 i] KapSia, iii. 20 
 
 KaTayLvihffKeiv, KaraKpiveiVj iii. 20 
 
 Ka6api^€LVt i. 7 
 
 Kadihs^ ii. 27 
 
 KOiViijvIa, ^x^^^ '^•' ^' 3 
 
 /c6(T/xos, ii. 15 
 
 Kvpia^ 2 J. 1 
 
 Xapd, 2 J. 12 
 
 xip"', iii. 12 
 
 Xapis, 2 J. 3 ; 3 J. 4 
 
 Xpetai/ ^x^'-^i i^- ^7 » ^^* '7 
 
 Xpiff/ia, ii. 20 ; xlv. 
 
 Days, The last, ii. 18 
 
 Death, v. 16 ; sin unto, 209 ff. 
 
 Desires, 62 
 
 •Disciples,' 129 
 
 Divus, use of, 278 
 
 Domimis used of the Emperors, 268 
 
 ])uns Scotus, 305 
 
 5^, V. 20 
 
 Set, 90 
 
 did, gen. ace., ii. 12 
 
 StayoLa, v. 20 
 
 diKat-oSt i. 9 ; ii. 29 
 
 rj diKaLOffdvTjj iii. 7, 10 
 
 SoKifuit^eLV, iv. I 
 
 Empires, The two, 250 ff. 
 
 Eternal Life, v. 20, add. note 
 
 Evil, Powers of, 89 f. 
 
 Example, Christ as our, ii. 6 
 
 idvt ii. 29; iav oiSafiev, v. 15 
 
 iKcivm, ii. 6 ; iii. 3 
 
 iKK\7j(ria, i] ^KKkt^aia, 3 J. 6, 9 
 
 ^/fXf/CTis, 2 J. 1, 13 
 
 ^X"" n, i. 3, 8 ; iii. 3 
 
 ^Xcti' a7r6, ^K, Trapa, ii. 27 
 
 elSivai, iii. .^ ; v. 13, 18 
 
 £l5ijj\a, V. 21 
 
 eixoi (K, ii. 16, 21 ; iii. 19 j iv. 5 ; 123; 
 
 iv, ii. 5 ; 7rp6s, i. 2 ; ijii, i. 2 ; ^orti', 
 
 standing first, i. 5 
 elpifiiTt, 2 J. 3 ; 3 J. 15 
 
 iirayyeKla, ii. 25 
 
 iviSixeaBat, 3 J. 9 
 
 iindufiia, ii. 16 
 
 lpX£cr9ai, ii. 18 ; iv. 2 ; v. 6 ; 2 J. 7 
 
 ipuTqv, V. 6 ; 2 J. 5 
 
 effXO'Ti] (wpa), ii. 18 
 
 idviKo^, 3 J. 7 
 
 eiJo5ou(r^ai, 3 J- 2 
 
 iiekdew ii, ii. 19 
 
 Faith, iii. 23 
 
 Faith and Confession, v. i ; and Know- 
 ledge, iv. 16 
 Fellowship, v. 16; Divine, iv. 15 
 Forgiveness, ii. 12 
 
 Genius, The, of the Emperor, 279 
 God, The kingdom of, 251 f.; the love 
 
 of, iv. II ; the Bevelation of, r66f. 
 Greek Art, 338 
 ■yap, OTi, ii. 19 
 yevvriBijvai iK, iii. g; 111 
 yiypiffdai, ii. 18 
 ylyveffdoi irpos, 2 J. 12 
 yivibdKciv, ii. 3, 13; iii. 6, 20; v. i, 18; 
 
 iyvuv, iv. 8 ; lyviaKa, ii. 3 ; rdv SeoV,. 
 
 iv. 6 f. 
 
 Hero-worship, Growth of, 269 
 
 Hope, iii. 3 
 
 Humanity destined for union with God, 
 
 287 
 ayios, aTj/os, KaSapos, iii. 3 
 6 dytos, ii. 20 
 aypifetc, Kadapl^etv, iii. 3 
 dfiaprdveiVf iii. 6 
 ^ afiapria, dfiapriai, i. 7 ; iii. 4 
 dfiaprlav ^X"^i ^* 8 
 couToiis (of first and second persons),. 
 
 i. 8 
 IXairpos, ii. 2 
 
 Vxa, iii. I, II ; iv. 21 ; v. 3 
 otuiXoyeiv, i. 9 ; ii. 23 ; iv. 2 
 bjpa, 91 
 
 dp^v, ioipajcivai, i. i 
 OS &v, ii. 5 
 offns, i. 2 
 Srai', ^ay, v. 2 
 SflcK, ii. 18 
 
INDEX. 
 
 379 
 
 on (6' Ti) iav, iii. 20; Sti, yap, ii. 19; 
 
 Sti (recitative), i. 6 
 ovToSy V. 20 ; ^v ToijTCjif ii. 3 ; eK to6tov, 
 
 ii. 3 ; iv. 6 ; /col toSto, 3 J. j 
 uio's, ii. 22 f. ; 6 uios ToB SeoO, iii. 8 
 uTT^p, iii. 16 
 
 Idolatry, Early Christian view of, 264 
 
 ff. 
 Imitation of Clirist, ii. 6 
 Incarnation, Aspects of the, 124 £f. 
 Incarnation and Manifestation, i. 2 
 r6eT6, iii. i 
 'Iijo-oOs XpirrTos, Jesus, Christ, Jesus 
 
 Christ, i. 3 ; iv. 3 ; 1 36 
 
 Jewish Art, 336 
 
 Last, The, days, hour, ii. 18 
 Law, the Law, iii. 4 
 Light, i. 5 
 
 Xafi^aveiv ajro, irapa, ii. 27 
 Xiyecv, with inf., ii. 6 
 Xi/eii/, iii. 8 
 
 Man, State of, 87 fE. ; nature of, 134 fi. ; 
 made in the image of God, 319 ; the 
 representative of Creation, 319 
 
 Mosaics, Christian, 351 
 
 fiafyrvpeTvy i. 2 
 
 /ihtiv, ii. J, to, 17 ; iii. 6 
 
 fi'^, iv. 3 ; V. 10 
 
 /t^ (forbidding), iii. 13 
 
 fuireiv, ii, 9 
 
 ixovoy evils, 169 ff. 
 
 Naclantus, 312 
 
 Name, Idea of, ii. 1 2 ; iii. 23 ; 3 J. 7 ; 
 
 136 ff.; 243 ff. 
 Names of the Lord, 136 ff. 
 National Eeligion, 260 
 Negative and positive statements, i. 5 ; 
 
 V. 12 
 viK^v, ii. 13 
 vUri, V. 4 
 
 Order of words, ii. 24, 28 ; iii. 4; v. -i, 19 
 Osiander, Andr., 313 
 alSare, offia/teK, iii. 5; V. c8 
 
 6^ei\eiv, ii. 6 ; iii. 16 
 
 oO with iras, ii. 19 ; after apveiffBat,, ii. 22 
 
 oiSi, ii. 23 
 
 oiSih, added to a negative sentence, 
 
 Painting, Early Christian, at Eome,^ 
 
 342 ; Naples, 342 
 Parentheses, St John's use of, i. 2, 7 ; 
 
 iii. I ; 2 J. i 
 Passion, Treatment of the, in Christian 
 
 Art, 359 
 Persecution of Christians inevitable, 
 
 ^54 
 Peter Lombard, 294 
 Picus of Mirandola, 3 1 1 
 Plural, Use of, i. 4 
 Polanus, 317 
 Positive and negative statements, i. 5 ; 
 
 V. 12 
 Prayer, iii. 22 ; v. 15 ff. 
 iraiSla, reKvla, ii. 14 
 TTciXti', ii. 8 
 Trapdye<r6at, ii. 8, 17 
 TrapdKKTjros, ii. i 
 T] TrapovaLa, ii. 28 
 TrappTjffiav ^x^'-^i ^- '^^ ' ^^^- ^^ 
 irSs, use of, i. 7 ; iii. 3 ; v. 19 ; TrS.s...oi, 
 
 ii. 19 
 TTttT^pes, ii. 13 
 6 irarrip, i. 2 ; ii. 22 ; 27 ff. 
 ■jrepLiraTelv ev, i.6; 3 J. 4 ; /caret, 2 J. 6 ; 
 
 abs., ii. 6 ; 3 J. 3 
 TTLaTeuecv, iii. 23 
 irtffTeiciv efs n, V. lO ; Twl, iii. 23 ; Sn, 
 
 V. I ; TreTrl(rr€VKa, V. 10 
 irlffTi^, V. 4 
 iruTTOs, i. 9 ; 3 J- 5 
 irXrjpovv, TeXetow, 91 n. ; i. 4 
 ■trmuixa., 135 
 
 TO TTPev/xa TTJs TrXaxi;!, tt)s dXijfleias, iv. 6 
 TToteiv Ti, i. 6, 10 ; iii. 4, 7 
 6 Trovrip6s, ii. 13 
 irorairos, iii. I 
 irpeff^&repos, 2 J. [ 
 TrpodyGiv, 2 J. 9 
 tjtalveLv, ii. 8 
 ipavepoSffBai, i. 2 ; ii. 28 ; iii. 5 ; iv. 9 ; 
 
 127 f. 
 
38o 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 <pL\cil', 131 f. 
 
 <^iKoTrpfjjTe6€LV, 3 J. 9 
 
 (/>IXot, 3 J. 15 
 
 <p(!is, i. 5 
 
 ypcv5oivpo(p7jT7ji^ iy. i 
 
 *^i;Xa0$i', i. I 
 
 i'lXVt 3 J- '^ ; 135; '■!'• TLBivai, iii. 16 
 
 Bighteousness, i. 9; ii. i, 29; iii. 7, 10 
 Rupert of Deutz, a8g 
 
 ' Saints,' 1:29 
 
 ' Seeing ' and ' knowing,' iii. 6 
 
 Sculpture, Early Cliristian, 348 
 
 Servetus, 315 
 
 Sin, iii. 4; v. 17; 38 ff.; unto death, 
 
 209 ff. 
 Socinus, F., 315 
 Son, The, 137 
 
 Son of God, The, iii. 8 ; 137 
 Sonship, Tests of, ii. ig 
 Style of St John, i. 2, 5; ii. 6; v. i, 
 
 1 2 ; xxxiz 
 aapi, I34f. 
 VKovbakov^ ii. 10 
 
 (TKoWa, ffKOTOS, i. 6 
 
 ctariip, iv. 14 
 
 ffffm^ea/, iii. 12 
 
 ri ffirXayxvo. KKeUiv, iii. 17 
 
 awepyoi, 3 J. 8 
 
 Thomas Aquinas, 299 
 
 Toleration, Roman idea of, 257 f. 
 
 Treason, Roman law of, 282 
 
 Truth, The, i. 8 
 
 T^Kva fleoO, 123 ; tov SiojSoXou, iii. 10 
 
 TCKvla, TTOiSla, ii. 12, 14 ; v. 21 
 
 T^Kvov^ vloi, iii. I 
 
 TcXfioOx, iTnTeXeiv, ii. 5 ; 91 n. 
 
 T-qpetVy V. 18 
 
 TijpetVj ^vXaffffeiv, ii, 3 
 
 6 SdvaTOS, iii. 14 
 
 Bav/iil'etv el, iii. 13 
 
 deaadai, Beapeiv, i. r ", iii. 1 7 
 
 t6 d0^7)pta TOV 0eoUf ii. 17 
 
 flfos, 6 ffeo's, 172 ff. 
 
 Beapeip, iii. 17 
 
 Water, v. 6 
 Wessel, J., 307 
 Witness, i. 2 ; v. 7, 9 
 Word, The, i. 1, 10 
 
 World, The, embodied in the Emperor, 
 268 
 
 ii", iv. 9 
 
 Jioi}, i. 2 ; 2148.; i\ i.i) aiiivLOi, ij aiilii'. 
 f., id. ; TTJs iwrjs, i. i ; ^ fw^, iii. 14 
 ^(aij aliltvios, V. 1 1 
 
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