Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint John

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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT.

Commentary on the Gospel According to Saint John

Preface

An eminent ecclesiastical authority * has said concerning Holiness as found in the Word of God, "It breathes in the prophecy, thunders in the law, murmurs in the narrative, whispers in the promises, supplicates in the prayers, sparkles in the poetry, resounds in the songs, speaks in the types, glows in the imagery, voices in the language and burns in the spirit of the whole scheme, from its Alpha to Omega, from its beginning to its end. Holiness! Holiness needed! Holiness required! Holiness offered! Holiness attainable ! Holiness a present duty, a present privilege, a present enjoyment, is the progress and completeness of its wondrous theme! It is the truth glowing all over, webbing all through revelation; the glorious truth which sparkles and whispers and sings and shouts in all its history and biography and poetry and prophecy and precept and promise and prayer; the great central truth of the system. The wonder is, that all do not see, that any rise up to question a truth so conspicuous, so glorious, so full of comfort." Another authority f has written a book to show that Holiness is "the central idea of Christianity." This fact, however, is not generally recognized or admitted among the commentators. Holiness seems to many to be a matter of incidental mention in the Scriptures, and many commentators succeed very well in concealing it, or in those marked passages that teach it, treat it so indefinitely as to make it intangible and misty. Hence this commentary, which attempts to reveal Holiness (either in theory or practice) in every verse, claims the right of existence. Most of the early commentaries were written from a Calvinistic standpoint, which denied the possibility of living free, either from original sin or actual transgression; asserting that Christ cannot cleanse and keep from sin, but that this friendly work must be performed by our enemy, Death; or, if

* Bishop Foster, t Bishop Peck.

iii some have admitted tkat Christ can perform the work, they have denied that the Great Physician could or would cure until we were removed from the baneful atmosphere of this sinful world. Arminian commentators have been affected, with but few exceptions, with this unscriptural, dogmatic taint. As we study both Calvinistic and Arminian authorities, we many times notice passages where, to be true to the Scripture, they unconsciously drop their theology, and clearly 1 and explicitly declare the possibility of being cleansed from all sin. If any reader shall say, as we quote from these authorities, that we do not represent their thoughts as they themselves intended, we reply, that we represent at least Adam Clarke, John Wesley and some others correctly, and that other writers were obliged to state their opinions as they did or be unfaithful to Scripture, and we quote some of them to show the inconsistency of any system that represents Jesus Christ as a perfect Saviour, and at the same time theoretically denies his power to heal the malady of sin at the very time of the sickness. In the treatment of the miracles of Christ, commentators have been obliged to consider the healing of the body as a type of the healing of the soul, or get no spiritual lessons from these events. But in so doing, complete, instantaneous faith-cures of the body have been represented as symbols of the same cures wrought upon the souls of men. It is impossible to find a commentator who seeks to convey spiritual teaching from the cure of lepers, who does not state the antitype of soul-healing as clearly and unequivocally as we could wish. "VTe call especial attention to the treatment of the healing of leprosy by nearly all the commentators, who state clearly and positively that Jesus can cleanse from the leprosy of sin. As leprosy is universally accepted as a type of sin, its cure must therefore be accepted as a type of the cure of sin. A large part of the cures of Christ must have a spiritual interpretation, or none at all, that shall be of any spiritual profit to us. Happily we are not left in doubt as to this question. Jesus interpreted to us many of his miracles, and thus gave us the principle of interpreting miracles spiritually. (See John 6:27-64; 9:39-41; Luke 5:1-10.) Our new of the great and underlying thought of the Scriptures is further substantiated by all or nearly all those grand passages which tell us the end and aim of the Bible. (See Psalms 119:

IV

It may be objected that the author sees Holiness everywhere in the Scriptures because he is determined to see it there. In reply we would say that doubtless the objector may not see it there, because he does not wish to see it. The scribes and Pharisees, who were certainly as well acquainted with the text of the Old Testament as any of the modern divines or scholars, did not recognize the portraits of Jesus of Nazareth in those writings at all. We would say still further that the great proof of the inspiration of the Scriptures is in the power and privilege of proving them true by experience, if we come candidly to Jesus seeking to know and do his will. The doctrines of the new birth and the witness of the Spirit, as taught in the Scriptures, have been proved true again and again in human lives. And the testimonies to this effect are accepted in the Church to-day. The doctrine of the baptism with the Holy Spirit, a work subsequent to conversion, whereby the heart is cleansed from all sin, is just as clearly testified to by the saints from all the denominations, men and women of sober judgment, scholarly wisdom and consistent lives.

Lastly. This commentary is not written polemically, or with any desire to reflect on anybody or anything but sin. It is written to assist that large and growing body of believers whose understanding, through experience of these truths has been opened to see these things; who have found, since their baptism of love, that the Bible is a new book who have the new version by the latest and best of the revisers — the Holy Spirit.

CONCERNING THE GOSPEL BY ST. JOHN.

St. John was the disciple most intimate with Jesus, and hence was best adapted through divine inspiration to write this Gospel. This Gospel differs from the others in that it specifically treats the deity of Jesus. Luke wrote the most complete biography of Jesus from the human standpoint, but John writes more of his divine life. So conclusive is this Gospel in establishing forever the fact of the deity of Jesus, that infidelity has made its severest attacks upon it. But it has sustained its claims; it has survived the most searching criticism. It may v be well called a volume of the sermons of Jesus, the greatest Preacher. Here we have discourses on the new birth (chap. 3) ; the relation of Jesus in sustaining the divine life in the believer, illustrated by the water and bread of life (chaps. 4, 6) ; the deity of Jesus Christ (chap. 5); the fulness of the Spirit (chap. 7); Christ as light, liberty, and life (chap. 8); Jesus the light of the world (chap. 9); Jesus the good shepherd (chap. 10); Jesus the resurrection and the life (chap. 11) ; the necessity of the atonement (chap. 12) ; the necessity of entire cleansing (chap. 13) ; a sermon of comfort and promise of the Comforter (chap. 14); the intimate relation of Christ and his disciples, and its fruits (chap. 15) ; the office and work of the Holy Spirit (chap. 16) ; the marvellous prayer sermon for the sanctifieation of believers (chap. 17); the discourse before Pilate (chap. 19); the farewell discourses (chaps. 20, 21). A gradual unfolding of the theme of holiness may also be clearly seen, beginning with the new birth then the sustenance of that new life by an indwelling Jesus as the bread, water, life, and light of the soul; and in his later discourses the treatment of sanctifieation, which removes inward sin and enables us to have life more abundantly. Here is a volume of sermons that can never be exhausted; here is a book on homile'tics that is not enough studied; here preachers and teachers may get more instruction on the matter and manner of preaching than from any other book in the world. We are convinced that if it were studied as such, as a help to effective sermonizing, it would be of greater service than any test-book upon the subject that has ever been written. The author of this commentary has endeavored to point out some of the spiritual teachings that he has found in this exhaustless treasurehouse. He makes no apology for spiritualizing whenever it is possible, for the author declares (John 20:31,) "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." We have spent no time proving the divinity of this book. Believing that the best defence of this book is saved souls, "living epistles," who are the real Christian evidences, our only aim is to show that believers are encouraged here to obtain cleansing from all sin; and holy souls are the best proofs of the inspiration of the Scriptures.

vi

Chapter I. Holiness Dates Back To Eternity

Holiness has Always Existed. Vs. 1-3. The Mission of God's Servants is to Reflect Holiness. Vs. 4-9. The Attitude of Depravity Towards Holiness. Vs. 10-11. Initial Holiness is Received by Faith. Vs. 12-14. Complete Holiness Obtained at the Reception of the Second Grace. Vs. 15-18. John's Baptism a Symbol of Initial Holiness. Vs. 19-28. Jesus's Baptism Takes Away Sin. It is the Negative Side of Entire Sanctification. Vs. 29-34. The Preacher Who Reiterates the Truth Concerning Jesus Will Make an Impression for Good on Some One. Vs. 35-42. God Had Holy People on Earth When Jesus Came. Vs. 43-49. Purity Opens the Eyes of Its Possessor to Behold Increasingly Greater Things. Vs. 50-51.

HOLINESS HAS ALWAYS EXISTED. Vs. 1-3.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him ; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

The history of Jesus Christ on earth is the history of holiness, for he was holiness incarnate. And every thing occurring in his life was a reflection of holiness, and every attitude of men towards him illustrated the attitude of the world towards holiness. So when we trace the ancestry of Jesus, way back before the foundation of the world, we are tracing holiness back to its source, which is eternal.

J ohn begins his Gospel with the sentence, ' ' In the Beginning, ' ' the same words that Moses employed in the beginning of the book of Genesis. He refers to the same, " Beginning, ' ' which was before creation. This shows that our holy religion was before all other religions, because its author has always existed. How long that " beginning' ' was no one can tell. Notice it is not

''From the beginning" but "In the beginning." Had it been the former it might mean that Christ was created after other things were created; but he was in not from, fhat period, which was eternal as far as we know.

John begins his Gospel farther back than either of the other evangelists, because his chief motive was to convince the Unitarians of his day that Jesus was God. The Pharisees and Jews generally were Unitarians. We read (Chapter 20:31) that the object of this Gospel is ' ' That ye might believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life in His name. ' 1

He calls Jesus Christ, The Word. In other places the same term is used to denote the Bible. Christ and the Bible are the two great "Words" by which God has spoken his truth to the world. They are both called the "Word" because a word is a means of communicating the thoughts of one person to another. Christ revealed the message of God to the world.

By referring to Psalm 33:6, we shall see that this term had been used to describe the Creator of the World in Old Testament times. God delights to speak his will to men, and has been doing so all through the ages. But now he speaks so clearly through Jesus Christ that the latter is called The Word, in comparison with whom all other revelations were but inferences. The Word did not come into being in the Beginning. He already was, when the Beginning began to be.

This Word was with God, and was God. He is often called the Logos by theologians because Logos is the Greek for Word. Here we have stated the great mystery of the Father and Son, so stated as to have us understand that the Word and Father are two distinct persons of the Godhead, in the most intimate relations. Argument is useless, with any one who refuses to believe this plain statement, "The Word was God."

John emphasizes the two previous statements of verse 1 and combines them into one statement by saying, "The same was in the beginning with God." Thus he shows us that The Word was God and at the same time distinct in personality from God the Father.

Having shown the relation of the Word to Deity, he now proeedes to show his relations to humanity by saying "All things were made by him. ' '

Up to this time the world generally (except the Jews) had believed that matter had always existed. John, by inspiration launches another truth, which was new, that God created all things. The last part of verse 3 is simply a repetition of the first part of the same verse, stated in different language.

THE MISSION OF GOD'S SERVANTS IS TO REFLECT HOLINESS. Vs. 4-9.

4 In him was life ; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness ; and the darkness comprehended it not.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9 Tbat ^-s? the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

He (the Word) is the source of all life, (Vs. 4) both physical and spiritual, and this life is more than the light possessed by the brute creation. It is that moral illumination which God gives to all the world, both Christian and heathen. It is the voice of God speaking to the consciences of all men. It is in Christian lands, the historical revelation, it is in heathen lands the essential revelation of the Christ. It is absolute holiness shining out of the bosom of the Father, through the Word and giving all men the knowledge that they are sinners, just as a light in a dark night, reveals the surrounding darkness and makes it more vivid. This revelation with the heathen is called conscience or susceptibility to becoming religious; hence it is found everywhere that man seeks to have some kind of religion. "And this highest consciousness of the human spirit is the basis of the operation of the divine Spirit in and upon man, by which he is able to be in himself a responsible and holy being." (Whedon.) This is the basis of all our holiness; it is the power to discern our need of it and to receive it. This light he says, is the light of men.

It shone tlirough Judaism. It shines through nature upon the consciences of the heathen.

In verse 5 we have light and darkness — sin and holiness — personified. This is a statement of the contest going on between depravity and holiness all through the centuries since the fall of man. It is still going on everywhere except where the light has been expelled by the darkness, or the darkness has been expelled by the light. Notice "shineth" in verse 5 is present tense ; not only has God been shining on the race, but he continues to do so.

1 1 The darkness comprehendeth it not. ' ' This is a remarkable passage and gives two qualities of depravity; amounting virtually to a definition. 1. Darkness or spiritual ignorance of the holy nature of God. This is the negative side of the definition of depravity. Darkness is often used in the Bible to denote depravity. Dr. Strong says, ' ' The darkness is of course the opposite of light, that is, moral ignorance and consequent depravity." 2. A positive quality — hostility to the light. The word ' ' comprehendeth ' ' means literally, ' ' to take down. ' ' The depraved human heart refuses to take down the light from heaven. It is opposed to holiness. Therefore wherever there is antagonism to holiness, the real reason (no matter how many subterfuges men may offer) is that dark depravity opposes the light of holiness. Having found out that there is an enemy within us, who opposes holiness, we need all the more to push the battle. The tendency of light is not merely to be seen but to attack and chase away darkness. The reason darkness does not readily yield to light is because it hates it (John 3:19-20; Matt. 13:15).

Having given us a description of the eternal Word, John now makes mention of a man, John the Baptist. The writer began in the far off recesses of eternity, and tells of the introduction of the light into the world, and now he speaks of a man whom God employed to bring the knowledge of this light to men. Here we have shown the part, that man has, in saving the human race. God might have employed angels but he saw fit to employ men and make them ' 'laborers together with God." Here we see the great business of men in spreading the gospel is to be witnesses. The whole business of John the Baptist and of us is to call men's attention to the Light of The Word — Jesus. John was more than a prohpet. He was a witness. He had seen the Word of whom the prophets had only foretold. (See our commentary on Luke 1:15-17; and 7:24^35.) A witness is one who tells what he knows. So we see that holy men (for John was a holy man. (Mark 6:20) get their light, like the planets, from the Sun of Righteousness and reflect it upon darkened souls about them. Every holy man is a forerunner or herald of Jesus to those who do not know him. No unholy man, no matter what his intellectual attainments may be, 1 1 can make a ready a people prepared for the Lord." (Luke 1:17.) John's theme and the testimony of all holy men is, walking in the light which leads to the fountain of cleansing (1 John 1:7). John met opposition from the darkness of sinful hearts, as did his Master. All witnesses to the light have to meet the opposition of the powers of darkness.

John was not merely to persuade men by his example, but by his voice. He was ' ' the voice of one crying in the wilderness. " (Mark 1:3.) The modern idea of "Let it shine but say nothing about it," had not at that time been invented.

In later times some people believed that John the Baptist was the Messiah. So John the Evangelist, who writes this, takes pains to set men right on this point. John the Baptist and all preachers are but servants of Christ, and can not save men.

Jesus was the "true light," and all his servants are reflectors of that light.

This light lightens every man that comes into the world. (See Rom. 2:12-15.) Bishop Taylor says the heathen, having the essential Christ in the light of natural religion, are in God's primary school. So was Cornelius — saved up to his light. He who lives as well as he knows in heathen lands will be saved, and no one can do better than that in Christian lands, or in heaven. Everybody has light enough to be saved if they will. There are but two classes in the world — those who are determined to do right and those who are not. The only condemnation in the world is, that men will not live up to what light they have. (John 3:19.)

THE ATTITUDE OF DEPRAVITY TOWARDS HOLINESS. Vs. 10-11.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not

11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

In verse 10 occurs a repetition of what is taught in verse 5. It shows the attitude of depravity (or the depraved heart of man) towards holiness. By the term world is meant virtually unconverted, depraved humanity. Jesus had a claim upon it because he made it, but it is hostile to him because ignorant of spiritual things. Hence the depraved world did not recognize the character and merits of the only absolutely pure man that ever walked the earth. So Paul says of their ignorance, "Which none of the princes of this world knew, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory." While on earth inanimate nature — winds and waves — obeyed him better than his professed church.

His own church received him not. The bitterest opposition to spirituality has come from an apostate church in all ages. What is it to receive Christ? "To receive Christ is to acknowledge him as the promised Messiah; to believe in him as the victim that bears away the sin of the world, to obey his gospel; and to become a partaker of his holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." (Clarke.)

INITIAL HOLINESS IS RECEIVED BY FAITH. Ys. 12-14.

12 But as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name :

13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his g^ry, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Here we have a definition of saving faith whereby we receive initial holiness, or regeneration. Saving faith according to this is the reception of Jesus. We learn from this, 1. That intellectual faith and saving faith are not the same. 2. That saving faith depends on our will; hence all can believe who will to believe. After all the elaborate definitions, saving faith is simply receiving Christ. While on the other hand, unbelief is a refusal to accept Christ. Unbelief is manifest in the attitude of the heart against God. The depraved heart is "an evil heart of unbelief." (Heb. 3:12.) The essence of depravity then is unbelief.

To those who thus received him, he gave the power to become the sons of God. They did not purchase it with any gift, or good works or merit. He gave it — a gift of grace.

The term power means in the Greek, right and privilege. Every son and daughter of Adam, under the charter of the gospel has the right to become a partaker of the divine holiness, if he will comply with the conditions.

The right and privilege to become the sons of God. We are sons of God because God adopts us into his family. Jesus is the only begotten Son. John tells us of the great honor bestowed upon us thus, "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God." This comes from receiving Jesus. Godet says of this, "The man fixes his gaze on Christ, and, discerning in him the divine stamp of holiness, he surrenders personally to him. This is faith." ij

Believing on the name of Christ according to this verse is receiving Jesus. Thus we fulfill the prayer, "Hallowed be thy name. ' '

He goes on to say that those who thus receive Jesus are born of God. He does not use the term, regeneration, but an equivalent, and no one takes any exception to this. But when it comes to the doctrine of sanctification, objection is sometimes made if any term is used that is not exactly mentioned in the Bible. Regeneration means a new life in the soul, as new as a birth. It is a spiritual birth, and can be obtained no other way. Many people unconsciously state an error when they say they are trying to be Christians. It is a birth and cannot be arrived at by striving. He goes on still further and defines the new birth negatively and positively. (A hint to teachers and preachers.) Negative and positive statements are necessary to guard and fully state definitions.

Negatively. 1. 1 ' Not of blood. " "We do not become children of God by natural birth. This text strikes at Universalism which asserts that we are all the dear children of God and he will not punish his dear children forever. This is the foundation of Universalism. But Johu strikes this error by saying, the sons of God are "not born of blood. " They are born by the new birth. "By nature we are the children of wrath even as others." (Eph. 2:3.)

2. "Nor of the will of the flesh." Sonship with God does not come through the efforts of a strong will against sin. Here, he strikes a blow at the great effort, of our carnal nature, to be religious by a scheme of morality — human righteousness. Morality is not true religion although we can not have true religion without morality, for true morality is the fruit of true religion.

3. "Nor of the will of man." Sonship is not acquired by culture inculcated by human teachers. This strikes • at Unitarianism which proposes to culture sin out of us, and holiness into us.

Positively. Eegeneration is wrought in the soul by divine power. He says, "But of God." Many formalists overlook entirely this definition and tell us a Christian is one who does this or that. Doing is the phenomena of the Christian life, but is not the life, any more than breathing is the life of the natural man. As soon think of defining a horse as an animal that walks and trots. The proper way to define a horse is to tell to what order of beings he belongs — the species, genus, etc. A true Christian is born of God; is a partaker of the divine nature. It is not what we do, but what we are, that constitutes us the children of God.

The thirteen preceding verses were written to lead up to verse 14, which declares that this Almighty eternal word was made flesh and dwelt among us. This is the theme of the whole Bible — the Son of God taking upon him human nature. This was done that the sons of men might become the sons of God (Vs. 13) because their faith receives him, who was God manifest in the flesh.

No finite mind has power sufficient to grasp this great mystery — the union of God and man in Jesus Christ. But we may believe mysteries although we can not understand them. If not then we could not believe many things which are unexplainable. The remaining chapters of this Gospel are simply the unfolding and illustrating of this verse, and describe the way Jesus lived a holy life among men, as our example of holiness. Had he come as a spirit or phantom, without a body, he would not have been a pattern of holiness to us.

Verse 14 says he 1 ' dwelt among us. ' ' The Greek signifies, he tabernacled among us. A tabernacle is a temporary structure, easily put up and easily removed, like the ancient tabernacle in the wilderness. Jesus came to this world in human form only temporarily. His body was the tabernacle in which he dwelt over thirty years. God has always desired to dwell among men; with unf alien Adam in the Garden; in the pillar of cloud and of fire among the children of Israel; in the Shechinah in the temple at Jerusalem; in the body of Jesus; and in believers in this last dispensation. "Ye are the temples of the Holy Ghost." In verse 16 John testifies that this fullness was his own experience.

John says "We beheld his glory." This glory was spiritual. It was not only that blaze of divine glory which John the writer saw on the Mount of Transfiguration, but a moral and spiritual glory, coming from him who was full of grace and truth. It was the glory of holy character, the richest, divinest glory of the universe. It was inherent in Jesus in his relation to his Father (John 17:22). "Such a relation with God is the most complete glory which can irradiate the face of a human being. It comprehends of course, all the manifestation of such a relation; thus, works of power, words of wisdom, the life of charity and holiness, all of divine gTandeur and beauty, that the disciples beheld in Jesus." (Godet.)