Notes on the Old and New Testaments

passage before, and in the next verse, he again addresses children, fathers, and young men, and in relation to the two latter he says zypa\!/a (I have written). The connection,' therefore, seems to demand that, the same word should be employed here also. Some persons have supposed that the whole passage is spurious, but of that there is no evidence, and, as we have elsewhere seen, it is not uncommon for John to repeat a sentiment, and to place it in a variety of lights, in order that he might make it certain that he was not misapprehended. Some have supposed, also, that the expression "I have written" refers to some former epistle which is now lost, or to the Gospel by the same author, which had been sent to them (Hug), and that he means here to remind them that he had written to them on some former occasion, inculcating the same sentiments which he now expressed. But there is no evidence of this, and this supposition is not necessary in order to a correct understanding of the passage. In the former expression, "/ write" the state of mind would be that of one who fixed his attention on what he was then doing, and the particular reason why he did it— and the apostle states these reasons in vs. 12, 13. Yet it would not be unnatural for him immediately to throw his mind into the past, and to state the reasons why he had resolved to write to them at all, and then to look at what he had purposed to say as already done, and to state the reasons why that was done. Thus one who sat down to write a letter to a friend might appropriately state in any part of the letter the reasons which had induced him to write at all on the subject. If he fixed his attention on the fact that he was actually writing, and on the reasons why he wrote, he would express himself in the present tense— / write; if on the previous purpose, or the reasons which induced him to write at all, he would use the past tense — Ihave written for such and such reasons. So John seems here, in order to make what he says emphatic, to refer to two states of his own mind, the one when he resolved to write, and the reasons which occurred to him then, and the other when he was actually writing, and the reasons which oc- cause ye have known the Father.0

14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have

written unto you, young men, because ye are strong,6 and the word of God abideth e in you, and ye have overcome d the wicked one. 15 Love « not the world, neither

currcd to him then. The reasons are, indeed, substantially the same, but they are contemplated from different points of view, and that fact shows that what he did was done with deliberation, and from a deep sense of duty. 1[ Because ye have known the Father. In verse 12 the reason assigned for writing to this class is that their sins were forgiven. The reason assigned here is that in early life they had become acquainted with God as a Father. He desires that they would show themselves dutiful and faithful children in this relation which they sustained to him. Even children may learn to regard God as their Father, and may have toward him all the affectionate interest which grows out of this relation.

14. I have written unto you, fathers, because, etc. The reason assigned here for writing to fathers is the same which is given in the previous verse. It would seem that in respect to them the apostle regarded this as a sufficient reason for writing to them, and only meant to enforce it by repeating it. The fact that they had through many years been acquainted with the doctrines and duties of the true religion seemed to him a sufficient reason for writing to them, and for exhorting them to a steadfast adherence to those principles and duties. 1 1 have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, etc. The two additional circumetances which he here mentions as reasons for writing to young men are that they are strong, and that the word of God abides in them. The first of these reasons is that they were strong; that is, that they were qualified for active and useful service in the cause of the Redeemer. Children were yet too young and feeble to appeal to them by this motive, and the powers of the aged were exhausted; but those who were in the vigor of life might be called upon for active service in the cause of the Lord Jesus. The same appeal may be made now to the same class, and TST 2 the fact that they are thus vigorous is a proper ground of exhortation, for the Church needs their active services, and they are bound to devote their powers to the cause of truth. The other additional ground of appeal is that the word of God abode in them; that is, that those of this class to whom he wrote had showed, perhaps in time of temptation, that they adhered firmly to the principles of religion. They had not flinched from an open defense of the truths of religion when assailed; they had not been seduced by the plausible arts of the advocates of error, but they had had strength to overcome the wicked one. The reason here for appealing to this class is that in fact they had showed that they could be relied on, and it was proper to depend on them to advocate the great principles of Christianity.

15. Love not the world. The term world is used in the Scriptures in three senses: (1.) As denoting the physical universe; the world as it appears to the eye; the world considered as the work of God, as a material creation. (2.) The world as applied to the people that reside in it — uthe world of mankind." (3.) As the dwellers on the earth are by nature without religion, and act under a set of maxims, aims, and principles that have reference only to this life, the term comes to be used with reference to that community; that is, to the objects which they peculiarly seek, and the principles by which they are actuated. Considered with reference to the first sense of the word, it is not improper to love the world as the work of God, and as illustrating his perfections; for we must suppose that God loves his own works, and it is not wrong that we also should find pleasure in their contemplation. Considered with reference to the second sense of the word, it is not wrong to love the people of the world with a love of benevolence, and to be warmly attached to our kindred and friends, who constitute a part of it, though they are not Christians. It is only with reference to the things that are in the world. If * any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh,5 and the lust of the c eyes, and the pride d of life, is not of the Father, but is of the the word as used in the third sense that the command here can be understood to be applicable, or that the love of the world is forbidden; with reference to the objects sought, the maxims that prevail, the principles that reign in that com munrty that lives for this world as contradistinguished from the world to come. The meaning is that we are not to fix our affections on worldly objects— on what the world can furnish — as our portion, with the spirit with which they do who live only for this world, regardless of the life to come. We are not to make this world the object of our chief affection; we are not to be influenced by the maxims and feelings which prevail among those who do. Comp. Notes on Rom. xii. 2, and James iv. 4. See also Matt. xvi. 26; Luke ix. 25; 1 Cor. i. 20; iii. 19; Gal. iv. 3; Col. ii. 8. If Neither the things that are in the world. Referred to in the next verse as "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." This explanation shows what John meant by " the things that are in the world." He does not say that we are in no sense to love any thing that is in the material world; that we are to feel no interest in flowers and streams and forests and fountains; that we are to have no admiration for what God has done as the Creator of all things; that we are to cherish no love for any of the inhabitants of the world, our friends and kindred; or that we are to pursue none of the objects of this life in making provision for our families; but that we are not to love the things which are sought merely to pamper the appetite, to please the eye, or to promote pride in living. These are the objects sought by the people of the world; these are not the objects to be sought by the Christian. If If any man love the ivorld, etc. If, in this sense, a man love the world, it shows that he has no true religion; that is, if, characteristically, he love the world as his portion, and live for that, if it is the ruling principle of his life to gain and enjoy that, it shows that his heart has never been renewed, and that he has no part with the children of God. See Notes on James iv. 4; Matt. vi. 24. 16. For all that is in the world. That is, all that really constitutes the world, or that enters into the aims and purposes of those who live for this life only, may be comprised under the following things. H The lust ofthejlesh. The word lust is used here in the general sense of desire, or that which is the object of desire, not in the narrow sense in which it is now commonly used to denote libidinous passion. See Notes on James i. 14. The phrase "the lust ofthejlesh''1 here denotes that which pampers the appetites, or that which is connected with the indulgence of the mere animal propensities. A large part of the world lives for little more than this. This is the lowest form of worldly indulgence, those which are immediately specified being of a higher order, though still merely worldly. If And the lust of the eyes. That which is designed merely to gratify the sight. This would include, of course, costly raiment, jewels, gorgeous furniture, splendid palaces, pleasure-grounds, etc. The object is to refer to the gay vanities of this world, the things on which the eye delights to rest where there is no higher object of life. It does not, of course, mean that the eye is never to be gratified, or that we can find as much pleasure in an ugly as in a handsome object, or that it is sinful to find pleasure in beholding objects of real beauty— for the world, as formed by its Creator, is full of such things, and he could not but have intended that pleasure should enter the soul through the eye, or that the beauties which he has shed so lavishly over his works should contribute to the happiness of his creatures; but the apostle refers to this when it is the great and leading object of life, when it is sought without any connection with religion or reference to the world to come. TI And the pride of life. The word here used means properly ostentation or boasting, and then arrogance or pride. Rob., Lex. It refers to whatever there

17 And a the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.

18 Little children, it is the last6

time: and as ye have heard e that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

is that tends to promote pride, or that is an index of pride, such as the ostentatious display of dress, equipage, furniture, etc. 1 Is not of the latin r. Docs not proceed from God, or meet with his approbation. It is not of the nature of true religion to seek these things, nor can their pursuit he reconciled with the existence of real piety in the heart. The sincere Christian has nobler ends, and he who has not any higher ends, and whose conduct and feelings can all be accounted for by a desire for these things, can not be a true Christian. Tf But is of the world. Is originated solely by the objects and purposes of this life, where religion and the life to come are excluded.

17. And the world passeth away. Every thing properly constituting this world where religion is excluded. The reference here does not seem to be so much to the material world as to the scenes of show and vanity which make up the world. These things are passing away like the shifting scenes of the "stage. See Notes on 1 Cor. vii. 31. If And the lust thereof. All that is here so much the object of desire. These things are like a pageant, which only amuses the eye for a moment, and then disappears forever. H But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. | This can not mean that he will never die, but it means that he has built his happiness on a basis which is secure, and which can never pass away. Comp. Notes on Matt. vii. 34-27.

18. Little children. See ver. 1. If It is the last time. The closing period or dispensation; that dispensation in which the affairs of the world are ultimately to be wound up. The apostle does not, however, say that the end of the world would soon occur, nor does he intimate how long this dispensation would be. That period might continue through'many ages or centuries, and still be the last dispensation, or that in which the affairs of the world would be finally closed. See Notes on Isa, ii. 2; Acts ii. 17; lleb. i. 2- Some have supposed that the " last time" here refers to the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the Jewish economy; but the more natural interpretation is to refer it to the last dispensation of the world, and to suppose that the apostle meant to say that there were clear evidences that that period had arrived. IT And as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come. The word Antichrist occurs in the New Testament only in these Epistles of John: 1 John ii. 18, 22; iv. 3; 2 John 7. The proper meaning of anli (avTi) in composition is (1) over against, as Arrrramiv; (2) contrary to, as avTiktyuv; (3) reciprocity, as avTairohiouifxi; (4) substitution, as awi- /3ao-tXfu5, in the place of the king, or av^viraTo^—proconstd. The word Antichrist, therefore, might denote any one who either was or claimed to be in the place of Christ, or one who, for any cause, was in opposition to him. The word would apply to one opposed to him on whatever ground the opposition might be, whether it were open and avowed, or whether it were tfnly in fact, as resulting from certain claims which were adverse to his, or which were inconsistent with his. A vice- functionary, or an opposing functionary, would be the idea which the word would naturally suggest. If the word stood alone, and there were nothing said further to explain its meaning, we should think, when the word Antichrist was used, either of one who claimed to be the Christ, and who thus was a rival, or of one who stood in opposition to him on some other ground. That which constituted the characteristics of Antichrist,according to John, who only has used the word, he has himself stated: ver. 22, " Who is a liar, but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son;" chap. iv. 3, "And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is not of God; and this is that spirit of Antichrist;" 2 John 7, "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an Antichrist." From this it is clear that John understood by the word all those that denied that Jesus was the Messiah, or that the Messiah had come in the flesh. If they held that Jesus was a deceiver, and that he was not the Christ; or if they maintained that, though Christ had come, he had not come in the flesh, that is, with a proper human nature, this showed that such persons had the spirit of Antichrist. They arrayed themselves against him, and held doctrines which were in fact in entire opposition to the Son of God. It would appear, then, that John does not use the word in the sense which it would bear as denoting one who set up a rival claim, or who came in the place of Christ, but in the sense of those who were opposed to him by denying essential doctrines in regard to his person and advent. It is not certainly known to what persons he refers, but it would seem not improbable to Jewish adversaries (see Suicer's Thesaur s. voc), or to some forms of the Gnostic belief. See Notes on chap. iv. 2. The doctrine respecting Antichrist, as stated in the New Testament, may be summed up in the following particulars: (1.) That there would be those, perhaps in considerable numbers, who wTould openly claim to be the Christ, or the true Messiah. Matt. xxiv. Sr, 24. (2.) That there would be a spirit, which would manifest itself early in the Church, that would strongly tend to some great apostasy under some one head or leader, or to a concentration on an individual, or a succession of individuals, who would have eminently the spirit of Antichrist, though for a time the development of that spirit would be hindered or restrained. See Notes on 2 Thess. ii. 1-7. (3.) That this would be ultimately concentrated on a single leader — "the man of sin" — and embodied under some great apostasy, at the head of which would be that " man of sin." 2 Thess. ii. 3, 4, 8, 9, 10. It is to this that Paul particularly refers, or this is the view which he took of this apostasy, and it is this which he particularly describes. (4.) That, in the mean time, and before the elements of the great apostasy should be concentrated and embodied, there might not be a few who would partake of the same general spirit, and who would be equally opposed to Christ in their doctrines and aims; that is, who would embody in themselves the essential spirit of Antichrist, and by whose appearing it might be known that the last dispensation had come. It is to these that John refers, and these he found in his own age. Paul fixed the eye on future times, when the spirit of Antichrist would be cmbodied under a distinct and mighty organization; John on his own time, and found then essentially what it had been predicted would occur in the Church. He here says that they had been taught to expect that Antichrist would come under the last dispensation, and it is implied that it could be ascertained that it was the last time, from the fact that the predicted opposer of Christ had come. The reference is probably to the language of the Saviour, that before the end should be, and as a sign that it was coming, many would arise claiming to be Christ, and, of course, practically denying that he was the Christ. Matt, xxiv. 5: " Many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." Ver. 24: "And there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets; and they shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." This prediction, it is probable, the apostles had referred to wherever they had preached, so that there was a general expectation that one or more persons would appear claiming to be the Christ, or maintaining such opinions as to be inconsistent with the true doctrine that Jesus was the Messiah. Such persons, John says, had then in fact appeared, by which it could be known that they were living under the closing dispensation of the world referred to by the Saviour. Comp. Notes on 2 Thess. ii. 2-5. If Even now are there many Antichrists. There are many who have the characteristics which it was predicted that Antichrist would have; that is, as explained above, there are many who deny that Jesus is the Messiah, or who deny that he has come in the flesh. If they maintained that Jesus was an impostor, and not the true Messiah, or if, though they admitted that the Messiah had come, they affirmed, as the Docetse did (see Notes on chap. iv. 2), that he had come in appearance only, and not really

19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for a if they

had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us; but they come in the flesh, this was the spirit of Antichrist. John says that there were many such persons in fact in his time. It would seem from this that John did not refer to a single individual, or to a succession of individuals, who should come previous to the winding up of the affairs of the world,, as Paul did (2 Thess. ii. 2, seq.), but that he understood that there might be many at the same time who would evince the spirit of Antichrist. Both he and Paul, however, refer to the expectation that before the coming of the Saviour to judge the world there would be prominent adversaries of the Christian religion, and that the end would not come until such adversaries appeared. Paul goes more into detail, and describes the characteristics of the great apostasy more at length (2 Thess. ii. 2, seq.; 1 Tim. iv. 1, seq.; 2 Tim. iii. 1, seq.)-, John says, not that the appearing of these persons indicated that the end of the world was near, but that they had such characteristics as to show that they were living in the last dispensation. Paul so describes therri as to show that the end of the world was not to be immediately expected (see Notes on 2 Thess. ii. 1, seq.); John, without referring to that point, says that there were enough of that character then to prove that the last dispensation had come, though he does not say how long it would continue. U Whereby we know it is the last time. They have the characteristics which it was predicted many would have before the end of the world should come. The evidence that it was " the last time," or the closing dispensation of the world, derived from the appearing of these persons, consisted simply in the fact that it was predicted that such persons would appear under the Christian, or the last dispensation. Matt. xxiv. 5, 24-27. Their appearance was to precede the coming of the Saviour, though it is not said hoio long it would precede that; but at any time the appearing of such persons would be an evidence that it was the closing dispensation of the world, for the Saviour, in his predictions respecting them, had said that they would appear before he should i return to judgment. It can not now be determined precisely to what classes of persons there is allusion here, because we know too little of the religious state of the times to which the apostle refers. No one can prove, however, that there were not persons at that time who so fully corresponded to the predictions of the Saviour as to be a complete fulfillment of what he said, and to demonstrate that the last age had truly come. It would seem probable that there may have been reference to some Jewish adversaries who denied that Jesus was the Messiah (Rob., Lex.), or to some persons who had already broached the doctrine of the JDocetce that, though Jesus was the Messiah, yet that he was a man in appearance only, and had not really come in the flesh. Classes of persons of each description abounded in the early ages of the Church.

19. They went out from us. From the Church. That is, they had once been professors of the religion of the Saviour, though their apostasy showed that they never had any true piety. John refers to the fact that they had once been in the Church, perhaps to remind those to whom he wrote that they knew them well, and could readily appreciate their character. It was a humiliating statement that those who showed themselves to be so utterly opposed to religion had once been members of the Christian Church; but this is a statement which we are often compelled to make. H But they were not of us. That is, they did not really belong to us, or were not true Christians. See Notes on Matt. vii. 23. This passage proves that these persons, whatever their pretensions and professions may have been, were never sincere Christians. The same remark may be made of all who apostatize from the faith and become teachers of error. They never were truly converted; never belonged really to the spiritual Church of Christ. 1[ For if they had been of us. If they had been sincere and true Christians. If They would no doubt have continued with us. The words " no doubt " are supplied by our translators, but the affirmation is equally went out, that they might be made manifest a that they were not all of us.

20 But ye have an unction b from the Holy One, and ye c know all things.

strong without them: "they would have remained with us." This affirms, without any ambiguity or qualification, that if they had been true Christians they would have remained in the Church; that is, they would not have apostatized. There could not be a more positive affirmation than that which is implied here, that those who are true Christians will continue to be such, or that the saints will not fall away from grace. John affirms it of these persons that if they had been true Christians they would never have departed from the Church. He makes the declaration so general that it may be regarded as a universal truth, that if any are truly "of us" — that is, if they are true Christians— they will continue in the Church, or will never fall away. The statement is so made, also, as to teach that if any do fall away from the Church, the fact is full proof that they never had any religion, for if they had had they would have remained steadfast in the Church. ^ Hut they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. It was suffered or permitted in the providence of God that this should occur, in order that it might be seen and known that they were not true Christians, or in order that their real character might be developed. It wras desirable that this should be done (a) in order that the Church might be purified from their influence (comp. Notes on John xv. 2); (b) in order that it might not be responsible for their conduct, or reproached on account of it; (c) in order that their real character might be developed, and they might themselves see that they were not true Christians; (d) in order that, being seen and known as apostates, their opinions and conduct might have less influence than if they were connected with the Church; (<?) in order that they might themselves understand their own true character, and no longer live under the delusive opinion that they were Christians and were safe, but that, seeing themselves in their true light, they might be brought to repentance; for there is only a most slender prospect that any who are deceived in the Church will ever be brought to true repentance there; and slight as is the hope that one who apostatizes will be, such an event is much more probable than it would be if he remained in the Church. Men are more likely to be converted when their character is known and understood than they are when playing a game of deception, or are themselves deceived. What is here affirmed of these persons often occurs now, and those who have no true religion are often suffered to apostatize from their profession for the same purpose. It is better that they should cease to have any connection with the Church than that they should remain in it; and God often suffers them to fall away even from the profession of religion, in order that they may not do injury as professing Christians. This very important passage, then, teaches the following things: (1.) That when men apostatize from the profession of religion, and embrace fatal error, or live in sin, it proves that they never had any true piety. (2.) The fact that such persons fall away can not be adduced to prove that Christians ever fall from grace, for it demonstrates nothing on that point, but proves only that these persons never had any real piety. They may have had much that seemed to be religion; they may have been zealous, and apparently devoted to God, and may even have had much comfort and peace in what they took to be piety; they may have been eminently "gifted" in prayer, or may even have been successful preachers of the Gospel, but all this does not prove that they ever had any piety, nor does the fact that such persons apostatize from their profession throw any light on a question quite foreign to this — whether true Christians ever fall from grace. Comp. Matt. vii. 22, 23. (3.) The passage before us proves that if any are true Christians they will remain in the Church, or will certainly persevere and be saved. They may indeed backslide grievously; they may wander far away, and pain the hearts of their brethren, and give occasion to the enemies of religion to speak reproachfully, but the "apostle says, "If they had been of us, they would have continued with us." (4.) One of the best evidences of true piety is found in the fact of continuing with the Church. I do not mean nominally and formally, but really and spiritually, having the heart with the Church; loving its peace and promoting its welfare; identifying ourselves with real Christians, and showing that we are ready to co-operate with those who love the Lord Jesus and his cause. (5.) The main reason why professing Christians are suffered to apostatize is to show that they had no true religion. It is desirable that they should see it themselves; desirable that others should see it also. It is better that it should be known that they had no true religion than that they should remain in the Church, to be a burden on its movements and a reproach to the cause. By being allowed thus to separate themselves from the Church, they may be brought to remember their violated vows, and the Church will be free from the reproach of having those in its bosom who are a dishonor to the Christian name. We are not to wonder, then, if persons apostatize who have been professors of true religion; and we are not to suppose that the greatest injury is done to the cause when they do it. A greater injury by far is done when such persons remain in the Church.

20. But ye have an unction from the Holy One. The apostle in this verse evidently intends to say that he had no apprehension in regard to those to whom he wrote that they would thus apostatize and bring dishonor on their religion. They had been so anointed by the Holy Spirit that they understood the true nature of religion, and it might be contidently expected that they would persevere. The word unction or anointing (xpi<r/ia) means properly " something rubbed in or ointed;" oil for anointing, ointment; then it means an anointing. The allusion is to the anointing of kings and priests, or their inauguration or coronation (1 Sam. x.l; xvi. 13; Expd. xxviii. 41; xl. 15; compare Notes on Matt. i. 1), and the idea seems to have been that the oil thus used was emblematic of the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit as qualifying them for the discharge of the duties of their office.

Christians, in the New Testament, are described as "kings and priests" (Rev. i. 6; v. 10), and as a "royal priesthood" (1 Pet. ii. 5, 9), and hence they are represented as anointed, or as endowed with those graces of the Spirit of which anointing was the emblem. The phrase "the Holy One" refers here doubtless to the Holy Spirit — that Spirit whose influences are imparted to the people of God, to enlighten, to sanctify, and to comfort them in their trials. The particular reference here is to the influences of that Spirit as imparting to them clear and just views of the nature of religion, and as thus securing thenx from error and apostasy. If And yw know all things. That is, all things which it is essential that you should know on the subject of religion. See Notes on John xvi. 13; 1 Cor. ii. 15. The meaning can not be that they knew all things pertaining to history, to science, to literature, and to the arts; but that, under the influences of the Holy Spirit, they had been made so thoroughly acquainted with the truths and duties of the Christian religion that they might be regarded as safe from the danger of fatal error. The same may be said of all true Christians now, that they are so taught by the Spirit of God that they have a practical acquaintance with what religion is, and with what it requires, and are secure from falling into fatal error. In regard to the general meaning of this verse, then, it may be observed: I. That it does not mean any one of the following things: (1.) That Christians are literally instructed by the Holy Spirit in all things, or that they literally understand all subjects. The teaching, whatever it may be, refers only to religion. (2.) It is not meant that any new faculties of mind are conferred on them, or any increased intellectual endowments, by their religion. It is not a fact that Christians, as such, are superior in mental endowments to others; nor that by their religion they have any mental traits which they had not before their conversion. Paul, Peter, and John had essentially the same mental characteristics after thej.r conversion which they had before; and the same is true of all Christians. (3.) It is not meant that any new truth is revealed to the mind by the Holy Spirit. All the truth that is

21 I have not written unto you because ve know not the truth.

but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

"brought before the mind of the Christian is to be found in the Word of God, and revelation, as such, was completed when the Bible was finished. (4.) It is not meant that any thing is perceived by Christians which they had not the natural faculty for perceiving before their conversion, or which other men have not also the natural faculty for perceiving. The difficulty with men is not in a. defect of natural faculties; it is in the blindness of the heart. II. The statement -here made by John does imply, it is supposed, the following things: (1.) That the minds of Christians are so enlightened that they have a new perception of the truth. They see it in a light in which they did not before. They see it as truth. They see its beauty, its force, its adaptedness to their condition and wants. They understand the subject of religion better than they once did, and better than others do. What was once dark appears now plain; what once had no beauty to their minds now appears beautiful; what was once repellant is now attractive. (2.) They see this to be true; that is, they see it in such a light that they can not doubt that it is true. They have such views of the doctrines of religion that they have no doubt that they are true, and are willing, on the belief of their truth, to lay down their lives, and to stake their eternal interests on those truths. (3.) Their knowledge of truth is enlarged. They become acquainted with more truths than they would have known if they had not been under the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Their range of thought is greater; their vision more extended, as well as more clear. III. The evidence that this is so is found in the following things: (1.) The express statements of Scripture. See 1 Cor. ii. 14, 15, and the Notes on that passage. Comp. John xvi. 13, 14. (2.) It is a matter of fact that it is so. (a) Men by nature do not perceive any beauty in the truths of religion. Those truths are distastefjjd, repulsive, and offensive to them. " To the Jew the doctrine of the cross is a stumbling-block, and to the Greek foolishness." They may see, indeed, the force of an argument, but they do not see the beauty of the plan of salvation. (&) When they are converted they do. These things appear to them to be changed; they see them in a new light, and they perceive a beauty in them which they never did before, (c) There is often a surprising development of religious knowledge when people are converted. They seem to understand the way of salvation, and the whole subject of religion, in a manner and to an extent which can not be accounted for except on the supposition of a teaching from above, (d) This is manifest also in the knowledge which persons otherwise ignorant exhibit on the subject of religion. With few advantages for education, and with no remarkable talents, they show an acquaintance with the truth, a knowledge of religion, an ability to defend the doctrines of Christianity and to instruct others in the way of salvation, which could have been derived only from some source superior to themselves. Comp. John vii. 15; Acts iv. 13. (e) The same thing is shown by their adherence to truth in the midst of persecution, and simply because they perceive that for which they die to be the truth. And is there any thing incredible in this? May not the mind see what truth is? How do we judge of an axiom in mathematics, or of a proposition that is demonstrated, but by the fact that the mind perceives it to be true, and can not doubt it? And maj7 it not be so in regard to religious truth — especially when that truth is seen to accord with what we know of ourselves, with our lost condition as sinners, and with our need of a Saviour, and when we see that the truths revealed in the Scriptures are exactly adapted to our wants?

21.1 have not written unto you because ye know not the truth. You are not to regard my writing to you in this earnest manner as any evidence that I do not suppose you to be acquainted with religion and its duties. Some, perhaps, might have been disposed to put this construction on what he had said, but he assures them that that was not the reason why he had thus addressed them. The very fact that they did understand the subject of religion, he says, was rather the rea-

22 Who is a liar but he that" denieth that Jesus is the Christ 1

He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

son why he wrote to them. If But because ye know it. This was the ground of his hope that his appeal would be effectual. If they had never known what religion was, if they were Ignorant of its nature and its chums, he would have had much less hope of being able to guard them against error, and of securing their steady walk in the path of piety. We may always make a strong and confident appeal to those who really understand what the nature of religion is, and what are the evidences of its truth. TI A ud that no lie is of the truth. No form of error, however plausible it may appear, however ingeniously it may be defended, and however much it may seem to be favorable to human virtue and happiness, can be founded in truth. What the apostle says here has somewhat the aspect of a truism, but it contains a real truth of vital importance, and one which should have great influence in determining our minds in regard to any proposed opinion or doctrine. Error often appears plausible. It seems to be adapted to relieve the mind of many difficulties which perplex and embarrass it on the subject of religion. It seems to be fitted to promote religion. It seems to make those who embrace it happy, and for a time they apparently enjoy religion. But John says that however plausible all this may be, however much it may seem to prove that the doctrines thus embraced arc of God, it is a great and vital maxim that no error can have its foundation in truth, and, of course, that it must be worthless. The grand question is, what is truth? and when that is determined we can easily settle the inquiries which come up about the various doctrines that are abroad in the world. Mere plausible appearances, or temporary good results that may grow out ofadoctrine,do not prove thai it is based on truth; for whatever those results may be, it is impossible that any error, however plausible, should have its origin in the truth. 22. Who is a liar? That is, who is false; who maintains an erroneous doctrine; who is an impostor, if he is not? The object of the apostle is to specify one of the prevailing forms of error, and to show that, however plausible the arguments might be by which it was defended, it was impossible that it should be true. Their own knowledge of the nature of religion must convince them at once that this ox>inion was false. II That denieth that Jesus is the Christ. It would seem that the apostle referred to a class who admitted that Jesus lived, but who denied that he was the true Messiah. On what grounds they did this is unknown; but to maintain this was, of course, the same as to maintain that he was an impostor. The ground taken may have been that he had not the characteristics ascribed to the Messiah in the prophets; or that he did not furnish evidence that he was sent from God; or that he was an enthusiast. Or perhaps some peculiar form of error may be referred to, like that which is said to have been held by Cerinthus, who in his doctrine separated Jesus from Christ, maintaining them to be two distinct persons. — Doddridge. If He is Antichrist. See Notes on ver. 18. He has all the characteristics and attributes of Antichrist; or, a doctrine which practically involves the denial of both the Father and the Son must be that of Antichrist. Tf That denieth the Father and the Son. That denies the peculiar truths pertaining to God the Father and to the Son of God. The charge here is not that they entertained incorrect views of God as sucJi — as almighty, eternal, most wise, and good— but that they denied the doctrines which religion taught respecting God as Father and Son. Their opinions tended to a denial of what was revealed respecting God as a Father— not in the general'sense of being the Father of the universe, but in the particular sense of his relation to the Son. It can not be supposed that they denied the existence and perfections of God as such, nor that they denied that God is a Father in the relation which he sustains to the universe; but the meaning must be that what they held went to a practical denial of that which is peculiar to the true God, considered as sustaining the relation of a Father to his Son Jesus Christ. Correct views of

23 Whosoever a denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [but] he that acknowledgeih tlie Son hath the Father also.

24 Let b that therefore abide in you which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye

have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal c life.

the Father could not be held without correct views of the Son; correct views of the Son could not be held without correct views of the Father. The doctrines respecting the Father and the Son were so connected that one could not be held without holding the other, and one could not be denied without denying the other. Comp. Notes on Matt. xi. 27; John v. 23. No man can have just views of God the Father who has not right apprehensions of the Son. As a matter of fact, in the world men have right apprehensions of God only when they have correct views of the character of the Lord Jesus Christ.

23. Whosoever- denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father. That is, has no just views of the Father, and has no evidence of his friendship. It is only by the Son of God that the Father is made known to men (Matt. xi. 27; Heb. i. 2, 3), and it is only through him that we can become reconciled to God, and obtain evidence of his favor. See Notes on John v. 23. ^ But he that acknowledgeih the Son hath the Father also. This passage, in the common version of the New Testament, is printed in italics, as if it were not in the original. It is true that it is not found in all the MSS. and versions; but it is found in a large number of MSS., and in the Vulgate, the Syriac, the JEthiopic, the Coptic, the Armenian, and the Arabic versions, and in the critical editions of Griesbach, Tittman, and Hahn. It is probable, therefore, that it should be regarded as a genuine portion of the sacred text. It is much in the style of John, and though not necessary to complete the sense, yet it well suits the connection. As it was true that if one denied the Son of God he could have no pretensions to any proper acquaintance with the Father, so it seemed to follow that if any one had any proper knowledge of the Son of God, and made a suitable confession of him, he had evidence that he was acquainted with the Father. Comp. John xvii. 3; Rom. x. 9. Though, therefore, this passage was wanting in many of the MSS. consulted by the translators of the Bible, and though in printing it in the manner in which they have they showed the great caution with which they acted in admitting any thing doubtful into their translation, yet the passage should be restored to the text, and be regarded as a genuine portion. of the Word of God. The great truth can never be too clearly stated, or too often inculcated, that it is only by a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ that we can have any true acquaintance with God, and that all who have just views of the Saviour are in fact acquainted with the true God, and are heirs of eternal life.

24. Let that therefore abide in you. Adhere steadfastly to it; let the truth obtain a permanent lodgment in the soul. In view of its great importance, and its influence on your happiness here and hereafter,let it never depart from you. 1 Which ye have heard from the beginning. That is, the same doctrines which you have always been taught respecting the Son of God and the way of salvation. See Notes on ver. 7. H Ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. Truly united to the Son and to the Father; or having evidence of the favor and friendship of the Son and the Father.

25. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life. This is evidently added to encourage them in adhering to the truths which they had embraced respecting the Son of God. In maintaining these truths they had the promise of eternal life; in departing from them they had none, for the promise of heaven in our world is made only to those who embrace one class of doctrines or opinions. No one can show that any promise of heaven is made to the mere possessor of beauty or wealth or talent; to the accomplished or the

26 These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.

27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you: and ye need not that any

man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth a you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in ' him. 28 And now, little children, abide

pay; to those who are distinguished for science or for skill in the arts; to rank or birth or blood; to courage or strength. Whatever expectation of heaven any one may entertain on account of any of these things must be traced to something else than a 2))'omisey for there is none in the Bible to that effect. The promise of heaven to men is limited to those who repent of their sins, who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and who lead a holy life; and if any one will base his hope of heaven on a promise, it must be limited to these things. And yet what well-founded hope of heaven can there be except that which is based on a promise? How does any one know that he can be saved unless he have some assurance from God that it may and shall be so? Is not heaven his home? How does any one know that he may dwell there without some assurance from him that he may? Is not the crown of life his gift? How can any one know that he will possess it unless he have some promise from him? However men may reason or conjecture or hope, the only promise of eternal life is found in the Bible, and the fact that we have such a promise should surely be a sufficient inducement to us to hold fast the truth. On the promise of life in the Gospel, see John xvii. 2; Rom. ii. C, 7; Mark xvi. 16; Matt. xxv. 46.

26. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. Respecting their character, and in order to guard you against their arts. The word seduce means to lead astray; and it here refers to those who would seduce them from the truth, or lead them into flange ro us error. The apostle docs not mean that they had actually seduced them, for he states in the following verse that they were yet safe; but he refers to the fact that there was danger that they might be led into error.

27. But the anointing which ye have received of Jam. See Notes on vcr. 20. TI Abideth in you. The meaning is that the influence on your heart and life which results from the fact that you are anointed of God permanently abides with you, and will keep you from dangerous error. The apostle evidently meant to say that he felt assured that they would not be seduced from the truth, and that his confidence in regard to this was founded on the fact that they had been truly anointed unto God as kings and priests. Thus understood, what he here says is equivalent to the expression of a firm conviction that those who are true Christians will not fall away. Comp.Notesonvs. 19, 20. Tj And ye need not that any man teach you. That is, what are the things essential to true religion. See Notes on ver. 20. U But as the same anointing teacheth you of all tilings. This can not mean that the mere act of anointing, if that had been performed in their case, would teach them; but it refers to what John includes in what he calls the anointing — that is, in the solemn consecration to the duties of religion under the influences of the Holy Spirit. U And is truth, and is no lie. Leads to truth, and not to error. No man was ever led into error by those influences which result from the fact that he has been consecrated to the service of God. U Ye shall abide in him. Marg., " or, &" The Greek will bear either construction. The connection, however, seems to demand that it should be understood as referring to him; that is, to the Saviour.

28. And now, Utile children. See Notes on ver. 1. ^[ Abide in him; that, when he shall appear. At the end of the world, to receive his people to himself. See Notes on John xiv. 2, 3. 1 We may have confidence. Gr., boldness (irappnaiav). This word is commonly used to denote openness, plain- Bess, or boldness in speaking. Mark viii. 32; John vii. 4, 13, 26; Acts ii. 29; iv. 13, 29; 2 Cor. iii. 12; vii. 4. Here it means the kind of boldness, or calm assurance, which arises from evidence of piety and of preparation in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know l that a every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

for heaven. It means that they would not be overwhelmed and confounded at the coming of the Saviour by its being then found that their hopes were fallacious. If And not be ashamed before him at his coming. By having all our hopes taken away; by being held up to the universe as guilty and condemned. We feel ashamed when our hopes are disappointed; when it is shown that we have a character different from what we professed to have; when our pretensions to goodness are stripped off, and the heart is made bare. Many will thus be ashamed in the last day (Matt, vii. 21-23), but it is one of the promises made to those who truly believe on the Saviour that they shall never be ashamed or confounded. See Notes on 1 Pet. ii. 6. Comp. Isa. xlv. 17; Rom. v. 5; 1 Pet. iv. 16; Mark viii. 38. 29. If ye know that lie is righteous. This is not said as if there could be any doubt on the subject; but merely to call their attention to it as a wellknown truth, and to state what followed from it. Every one who has any true acquaintance with God must have the fullest conviction that he is a righteous being. But if this be so, John says, then it must follow that only those who are truly righteous can regard themselves as begotten of him. 1 Ye know. Marg., know ye. The Greek will bear either construction, and either would make good sense. Assuming that God is righteous, it would be proper to state, as in the text, that it follows from this that they must know that only those who are righteous can be regarded as begotten of him; or, assuming this to be true, it was proper to exhort them to be righteous, as in the margin. Whichever interpretation is adopted, the great truth is taught that only those who are truly righteous can regard themselves as the children of God. T[ That every one that doeth righteousness is born of him. Or, rather, is begotten of him; is truly a child of God. This truth is every where taught in the Bible, and is worthy of being often repeated. No one who is not, in the proper sense of the term, a righteous man, can have any wellfounded pretensions to being regarded as a child of God. If this be so, then it is not difficult to determine whether we are the children of God. (1.) If we are unjust, false, dishonest, we can not be his children. (2.) If we are indulging in any known sin, we can not be. (3.) If we are not truly righteous, all visions and raptures, all zeal and ardor, though in the cause of religion— all that we may pride ourselves on in being fervent in prayer, or eloquent in preaching, is vain. (4.) If we are righteous, in" the true and proper sense, doing that which is right toward God and toward men — to ourselves, to our families, to our neighbors, to the world at large, to the Saviour who died for us— then we are true Christians; and then, no matter how soon he may appear, or how solemn and overwhelming may be the scenes that shall close the world, we shall not be ashamed or confounded, for we shall hail him as our Saviour, and rejoice that the time has come that we may go and dwell with him forever.

This chapter embraces the following subjects:

I. The fact that Christians are now the sons of God. Ver. 1-3. (1.) We are the sons of God, and this will explain the reason why the world does not appreciate our character or understand the reasons of our conduct. Ver. 1. (2.) The consequences of sustaining that relation to God, or of being regarded as his sohs. (a) We shall be like him when he appears. Ver. 2. (&) We shall purify ourselves under the influence of this hope. Ver. 3.

II. The fact that he who is an adopted child of God does not commit sin. Ver. 4-10. (1.) All sin is the transgression of the law. Ver. 4. (2.) Christ was manifested to take away our sins. Ver. 5. (3.) He that commits sin is of the devil. Ver. 8. (4.) As a matter of fact, he who is of

BEHOLD, what manner of love a the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons b of God! therefore the world c knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are we the sons d

III. True religion will be manifested by love to the Christian brotherhood. Ver. 10-18. (1.) As a man who is not righteous can not be a true Christian, neither can he who does not love his brother. Ver. 10. (3.) It is the solemn command of the Saviour that his followers should love one another. Ver. 11. (3.) The importance of this is seen by the opposite conduct of Cain. Ver. 12. (4.) Love to the brethren furnishes the most certain evidence that we have passed from death unto life. Ver. 14. (5.) A man who hates another is in fact a murderer, and, of course, can not be a true child of -God. Ver. 15. (6.) We should be stimulated to the love of the brethren by the example of the Saviour, who laid down his life for us. Ver. 16. (7.) If we see a brother in want, and have the means of aiding him, and do not do it, we can not

* have the love of God dwelling in us. Vs. 17, 18.

IV. We may have evidence that we love God by our conscious feelings toward him, as well as by outward acts toward his friends. Ver. 19-21.

V. If we keep his commandments, our prayers will be answered. Vs. 22, 23. (1.) There is an assurance that we shall receive what we need if we ask it and keep his commandments. Ver. 22. (2.) The particular commandments on which the efficacy of prayer so much depends are (a) that we believe on the name of the Saviour, and (b) that we love the Christian brotherhood. Ver. 23.

VI. We may know that we abide in God by the spirit which he has given us, as well as by keeping his 'commandments. Ver. 24.

This chapter, therefore, is occupied mainly with stating what are the evidences of true piety, and, in order to determine this question, there is perhaps no part of the Bible that may be studied with more profit than this portion of the writings of John.

1. Behold, what manner of love. What love, in kind and in degree. In kind the most tender and the most ennobling, in adopting us into his family, and in permitting us to address him as our Father. In degree the most exalted, since there is no higher love that can be shown than in adopting a poor and friendless orphan, and giving him a parent and a home. Even God could bestow upon us no more valuable token of affection than that we should be adopted into his family, and permitted to regard him as our Far ther. When we remember how insignificant we are as creatures, and how ungrateful, rebellious, and vile we have been as sinners, we may well be amazed at the love which adopts us into the holy family of God, so that we are regarded and treated as the children of the Most High. A prince could manifest no higher love for a wandering, ragged, vicious orphan boy found in the streets than by adopting him into his own family, and admitting him to the same privileges and honors as his own sons; and yet this would be a trifle compared with the honor which God has bestowed on us. II The Father hath bestowed upon us. God, regarded as a Father, or as at the head of the universe considered as one family. Tf That we should be called the sons of God. That is, that we should be the sons of God — the word called being often used in the sense of to be. On the nature and privileges of adoption, see Notes on Rom. viii. 15-17, and 2 Cor. vi. 18, and practical remarks on that chapter, vs. 19, 20. 1T Therefore the world knoweth us not. Does not understand our principles, the reasons of our conduct, the sources of our comforts and joys. The people of the world regard us as fanatics or enthusiasts ^ as foolish in abandoning the pleasures and pursuits which they engage in; as renouncing certain happiness for that which is uncertain; as cherishing false and delusive hopes in regard to the future, and as practicing needless austerities, with nothing to compensate for the pleasures which are abandoned. There is nothing which the gay, the ambitious, and the selfish less understand than of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; a for we shall see * him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this they do the elements which go into the Christian's character, and the nature and source of the Christian's joys. 1[ Because it knew him not. Did not know the Lord Jesus Christ. That is, the world had no right views of the real character of the Lord Jesus when he was on the earth. Thqy mistook him for an enthusiast or an impostor; and it is no wonder that, having wholly mistaken his character, they should mistake ours. On the fact that the world did not know him, see Notes on 1 Cor. ii. 8; Acts in. 17. Comp. John xvii. 25. On the fact that Christians may be expected to be regarded and treated as their Saviour was, see Notes on John xv. 18-20. Comp. Matt, x 24,25.

2. Beloved, now are we the sons of God. We now in fact sustain this rank and dignity, and on that we may reflect with pleasure and gratitude. It is in itself an exalted honor, and may be contemplated as such, whatever may be true in regard to what is to come. In the dignity and the privileges which we now enjoy we may find a grateful subject of reflection and a cause of thankfulness, even if we should Took to nothing beyond, or when we contemplate the fact by itself. IF And it doth not yet appear what we shall be. It is not fully revealed what we shall be hereafter; what will be the full result of being regarded as the children of God. There are, indeed, certain things which may be inferred as following from this; there is enough to animate us with hope, and to sustain us in the trials of life; there is one thing which is clear, that we shall be like the Son of God, but what is fully involved in this is not made known. Perhaps (1) it could not be so revealed that \ve could understand it, for that state may be so unlike the present that no words would fully convey the conception to our minds. Perhaps (2) it may be necessary to our condition here, as on probation, that no more light should be furnished in regard to the future than to stimulate us to make efforts to reach a world where all is light. For an illustration of the sentiment expressed here by the apostle, comp. Notes on 2 Pet. i. 4.

IF But we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him. It is revealed to us that we shall be made like Christ; that is, in the bodies with which we shall be raised up, in character, in happiness, in glory. Comp. Notes on Phil. iii. 21; 2 Cor. iii. 18. This is enough to satisfy the Christian in his prospects for the future world. To be like Christ is the object of his supreme aim. For that he lives, and all his aspirations in regard to the coming world may be summed up in this — that he wishes to be like the glorified Son of God, and to share his honors and his joys. See Notes on Phil. iii. 10. 1 For we shall see him as he is. It is clearly implied here that there will be an influence in beholding the Saviour as he is which will tend to make us like him, or to transform us into his likeness. See the nature of this influence explained in the Notes on 2 Cor. iii. 18.

3. And every man that hath this hope in him. This hope of seeing the Saviour, and of being made like him; that is, every true Christian. On the nature and influence of hope, see Notes on Rom. viii. 24, 25. % Purifieth himself. Makes himself holy. That is, under the influence of this hope of being like the Saviour, he puts forth those efforts in struggling against sin, and in overcoming his evil propensities, which are necessary to make him pure. The apostle would not deny that for the success of these efforts we arc dependent on divine aid, but he brings into view, as is often done in the sacred writings, the agency of man himself as essentially connected with success. Comp. Phil. ii. 12. The

E articular thought here is that the ope of being like Christ, and of being permitted to dwell with him, will lead a man to earnest efforts to become holy, and will be actually followed by such a result. IF Even as he is pure. The same kind of purity here, the same degree hereafter. That is, the tendency of such a hope is to make him holy now, though he may be imperfect; the effect will be to make Mm perfectly holy in the world to come. It can not be shown from this passage that the apostle meant to hope in him,purifieth himself even as he is pure. 4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth sin is law.

also the law: for transgression of the teach that any one actually becomes as pure iu the present life as the Saviour is — that is, becomes perfectly holy; for all ihat is fairly implied in it is that those who have this hope in them aim at the same purity, and will ultimately obtain it. But the apostle does not say that it is attained in this world. If the passage did teach this, it would teach it respecting every one who has this hope, and then the doctrine would be that no one can be a Christian who does not become absolutely perfect on earth; that is, not that some Christians may become perfect here, but that all actually do. But none, it is presumed, will hold this to be a true doctrine. A true Christian does not, indeed, habitually and willfully sin; but no one can preteud that all Christians attain to a state of sinless perfection on earth, or are, in fact, as pure as the Saviour was. But unless the passage prove that every Christian becomes absolutely perfect in the present life, it does not prove that in fact any do. It proves (1) that the tendency or the fair influence of this hope is to make the Christian pure; (2) that all who cherish it will, in fact, aim to become:ts holy as the Saviour was; and (3) that this object will, at some future period, be accomplished. There is a world where all who are redeemed will be perfectly holy.

4. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law. The law of God given to man as a rule of life. The object of the apostle here is to excite them to holiness, and to deter them from committing sin, perhaps in view of the fact stated in ver. 3, that every one who has the hope of heaven will aim to be holy like the Saviour. To confirm this, he shows them that, as a matter of fact, those who are born of God do lead lives of obedience (ver. 5- 10), and this he introduces by showing what is the nature of sin in the verse before us. The considerations by which he would deter them from indulging in sin are the following: (a) AH sin is a violation of the law of God (ver. 4); (b) the very object of the ei lining of Christ was to deliver men from sin (ver. 5); (<•) those who are true Christians do not habitually sin (ver. 6); (d) those who sin can not be true Christians, but are of the devil (ver. 8); and (e) he who is born of God has a germ or principle of true piety in him, and can not sin (ver. 9). It seems evident that the apostle is here combating an opinion which then existed that men might sin and yet be true Christians (ver. 7), and he apprehended that there was danger that this opinion would become prevalent. On what ground this opinion was held is unknown. Perhaps it was maintained that all that was necessary to constitute religion was to embrace the doctrines of Christianity, or to be orthodox in the faith; perhaps that it was not expected that men would become holy in this life, and therefore they might indulge in acts of sin; perhaps that Christ came to modify and relax the law, and that the freedom which he procured for them was freedom to indulge in whatever men chose; perhaps that, since Christians were heirs of all things, they had a right to enjoy all things; perhaps that the passions of men were so strong that they could not be restrained, and that therefore it was not wrong to give indulgence to the propensities with which our Creator has formed us. All these opinions have been held under various forms of Antinomianism, and it is not at all improbable that some or all of them prevailed in the time of John. The argument which he urges would be applicable to any of them. The consideration which he here states is that all sin is a transgression of law, and that he who commits it, under whatever pretense, is to be held as a transgressor of the law. The literal rendering of this passage is, "He who doeth sin (d/uLapTiav) doeth also transgression " (avofxiav). Sin is the generic term embracing all that would be wrong. The word transgression (avo/JLta) is a specific term showing where the wrong lay, to wit, in violating the law. ^ For sin is the transgression of the law. That is, all sin involves this as a consequence, that it is a violation of the law. The object of the apostle is not so much to define sin as to deter from its commission by stating what is its essential nature — though he has in fact given the best definition of it that could be given. The essential idea is that God has given a law to men to regulate their conduct, and that whatever is a departure from that law in any way is held to be sin. The law measures our duty, and measures therefore the degree of guilt when it is not obeyed. The law determines what is right in all cases, and, of course, what is wrong when it is not complied with. The law is the expression of what is the will of God as to what we shall do, and when that is not done there is sin. The law determines what we shall love or not love; when our passions and appetites shall be bounded and restrained, and to what extent they may be indulged; what shall be our motives and aims in living; how we shall act toward God and toward men; and whenever, in any of these respects, its requirements are not complied with, there is sin. This will include every thing in relation to which the law is given, and will embrace what we omit to do when the law has commanded a thing to be done, as well as a positive act of transgression where the law has forbidden a thing. This idea is properly found in the original word, rendered transgression of the law (avofxia). This word occurs in the New Testament only in the following places: Matt. vii. 23; xiii. 41; xxiii. 28; xxiv. 12; Rom. iv. 7; vi. 19; 2 These, ii. 7; Titus ii. 14; Heb. i. 9; viii. 12; x. 17, in all which places it is rendered iniquity and iniquities; in 2 Cor. vi. 14, where it is rendered unrighteousness; and in the verse before us twice. It properly means lawlessness, \x\. the sense that the requirements of the law are not conformed to, or complied with; that is, either by not obeying it, or by positively violating it. When a parent commands a child to do a thing, and he does not do it, he is as really guilty of violating the law as when he does a thing which is positively forbidden. This important verse, therefore, may be considered in two aspects — as a definition of the nature of sin, and as an argument against indulgence in it, or against committing it. I. As a definition of the nature of sin. It teaches (a) that there is a rule of law by which the conduct of mankind is to be regulated and governed, and to which that conduct is to be conformed. (6) That there is sin in all cases where that law is not complied with, and that all who do not comply with it are guilty before God. (c) That the particular thing which determines the guilt of sin, and which measures it, is that it is a departure from law, and consequently that there is no sin where there is no departure from law. The essential thing is that the law has not been respected and obeyed, and that sin derives its character and aggravation from that fact. No one can reasonably doubt as to the accuracy of this definition of sin. It is founded on the fact (a) that God has an absolute right to prescribe what we may and may not do; (&) that it is to be presumed that what he prescribes will be in accordance with what is right; and (c) that nothing else in fact constitutes sin. Sin can • consist iu nothing else. It does not consist of a particular height of stature, or a particular complexion; of a feeble intellect, or an intellect made feeble, as the result of any former apostasy; of any constitutional propensity, or any disposition founded in our nature as creatures. For none of these things do our consciences condemn us, and however we may lament them, we have, in regard to them, no consciousness of wrong. II. As an argument against the commission of sin. This argument may be considered as consisting of two things — the wrong that is done by the violation of law, and the exposure to the penalty. (1.) The wrong itself. This wrong, as an argument to deter from sin, arises mainly from two things: (a) because sin is a violation of the will of God, and it is in itself wrong to disregard that will, and (b) because it is to be presumed that when God has given a law there is a good reason why he has done it. (2.) The fact that the law has a penalty is an argument for not violating the law. All law has a penalty; that is, there is some suffering, disadvantage, forfeit of privileges, etc., which the violation of law draws in its train, and which is to be regarded as an expression of the sense which the lawgiver entertains of the value of his law, and of the evil of disobeying it. Many of these penalties of the violation of the divine law are seen in this life, and all will be certain to occur sooner or later, in this

5 And ye know a that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

G Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever6 sinneth, hath not seen him, neither known him.

world or in the world to come. With such views of the law, and of sin — of his obligations, and of the evils of disobedience, a Christian should not, and will not, deliberately and habitually violate the law of God.

5. And ye knoiv that he was manifested. The Lord Jesus, the Son of God. " You know that he became incarnate, or appeared among men for the very purpose of putting an end to sin." Matt. i. 21. Cornp. Notes on 1 Tim. iii. 16. This is the second argument in this paragraph (ver. 4-10) by which the apostle would deter us from sin. The argument is a clear one, and is perhaps the strongest that can be made to bear on the mind of a true Christian — that the Lord Jesus saw sin to be so great an evil that he came into our world, and gave himself to the bitter pains of death on the cross, to redeem us from it. IT To take away our sins. The essential argument here is that the whole work of Christ was designed to deliver us from the dominion of sin, not to furnish us the means of indulgence in it; and that, therefore, we should be deterred from it by all that Christ has done and suffered. He perverts the whole design of the coming of the Saviour who supposes that his work was in any degree designed to procure for his followers the indulgence of sin, or who so interprets the methods of his grace as to suppose that it is now lawful for him to indulge his guilty passions. The argument essentially is this: (1) That we profess to be the followers of Christ, and should carry out his views in coming into the world; (2) that the great and leading purpose of his coming was to set us free from the bondage of transgression; (3) that in doing this he gave himself up to a life of poverty, shame, and sorrow, and to a most bitter death on the cross; and (4) that we should not indulge in that from which he came to deliver us, and which cost him so much toil and such a death. How can we indulge In that which has brought heavy calamity on the head of a father, or which has pierced a sister's heart with many sorrows? Still more, how can we be so ungrate- O ful and hard-hearted as to indulge in that which crushed our Redeemer in death? If And in him is no sin. An additional consideration to show that we should be holy. As he was perfectly pure and spotless, so should all his followers aim to be; and none can truly pretend to be his who do not desire and design to become like him. On the personal holiness of the Lord Jesus, see Notes on Heb. vii. 26, and 1 Pet. ii. 23.

6. Whosoever abideth in him. See chap. ii. 6. The word here employed (/xti/w) properly means to remain, to continue, to abide. It is used of persons remaining or dwelling in a place, in the sense of abiding there permanently, or lodging there, and this is the common meaning of the word. Matt. x. 11; xxvi. 38; Mark vi. 10; Luke i. 56, ct scepe. In the writings' of John, however, it is quite a favorite word to denote the relation which one sustains to another, in the sense of being united to him, or remaining with him in affection and love; being with him in heart and mind and will, as one makes his home in a dwelling. The sense seems to be that we have some sort of relation to him similar to that which we have to our home; that is, some fixed and permanent attachment to him. We live in him; we remain steadfast in our attachment to him as we do to our own home. For the use of the word in John, in whose writings it so frequently occurs, see John v. 38; vi. 56; xiv. 10, 17; xv. 4, 5, 6, 7, 9; 1 John ii. 6,10,14,17,27,28; iii. 6,24; iv. 12, 13, 15, 16. In the passage before us, as in his writings generally, it refers to one who lives the life of a Christian, as if he were always with Christ, and abode with him. It refers to the Christian considered as adhering steadfastly to the Saviour, and not as following him witHJ^ransitory feelings, emotions, and raptures. It does not of itself necessarily mean that he will always do this; that is, it does not prove the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, but it refers to the adherence to the Saviour as a continuous state of mind, or as haying pcrmanenev; meaning that there is a life of continued faith in him. It is of a person thus attached to the Saviour that the apostle makes the important declaration in the passage before us, that he does not sin. This is the third argument to show that the child of God should be pure, and the substance of the argument is that as a matter of fact the child of God is not a sinner. 1 Simieth not. There has been much difference of opinion in regard to this expression and the similar declaration in ver. 9. Not a few have maintained that it teaches the "doctrine of perfection," or that Christians may live entirely without sin; and some have held that the apostle meant to teach that this is always the characteristic of the true Christian. Against the interpretation, however, which supposes that it teaches that the Christian is absolutely perfect, and lives wholly without sin, there are three insuperable objections i (1.) If it teach that doctrine at all, it teaches that all Christians are perfect: " whosoever abideth in him," "ivhosoever is born of God," uhe can not sin" (ver. 9). (2.) This is not true, and can not be held to be true by those who have any just views of what the children of God have been and are. Who can maintain that Abraham or Isaac or Jacob; that Moses, David, or Job; that Peter, John, or Paul,were absolutely perfect, and were never, after their regeneration, guilty of an act of sin? Certainly they never affirmed it of themselves; nor does the sacred record attribute to them any such perfection. And who can affirm this of all who give evidence of true piety in the world? Who can of themselves? Are we to come to the painful conclusion that all who are not absolutely perfect in thought, word, and deed are destitute of any religion, and are to be set ^wn as hypocrites or self-deceivers? And yet, unless this passage prove that all who have been born again are absolutely perfect, it will not prove it of any one; for the affirmation is not made of a part, or of what any faired individual may be, but of what every one is in fact whovis born of God. (3.) This interpretation is not necessary to a fair exposition of the passage. The language used is such as would be employed" by any writer if he designed to say of one that he is not characteristically a sinner, that he is a good man, that he does not commit habitual and willful transgression. Such language is common throughout the Bible, when it is said of one man that he is a saint, and of another that he is a sinner; of one that he is righteous, and of another that he is wicked; of one that he obeys the law of God, and of another that he does not. John expresses it strongly, but he affirms no more in fact than is affirmed elsewhere. The passage teaches, indeed, most important truths in regard to true Christians, and the fair and proper meaning may be summed up in the following particulars: (a) He who is born again does not sin habitually, or is not habitually a sinner. If he do wrong, it is when he is overtaken by temptation, and the act is against the habitual inclination and purpose of his soul. If a man sin habitually, it proves that he has never been renewed. (&) That he who is born again does not do wrong deliberately and of design. He means to do right. He is not willfully and deliberately a sinner. If a man deliberately and intentionally do wrong, he shows that he is not actuated by the spirit of religion. It is true that when one does wrong, or commits sin, there is a momentary assent of the will; but it is under the influence of passion or excitement or temptation or provocation, and not as the result of a deliberate plan or purpose of the soul. A man who deliberately and intentionally does a wrong thing shows that he is not a true Christian; and if this were all that is understood by perfection, then there would be many who are perfect; for there are many, very many Christians, who can not recollect an instance for many years in which they have intentionally and deliberately done a wrong thing. Yet these very Christians see much corruption in their own hearts over which to mourn, and against which they earnestly strive; in comparing themselves with the holy law of God, and with the perfect example of the Saviour, they see much in which they come short, (c) He who is born again will not sin finally, or will not fall away. "His seed remaineth in him." Ver. 9. See Notes on that verse. There is a principle of grace by which he will ultimately be restrained and recovered. This, it seems to me, is fairly implied in the language used by

7 Little children, let no man elect Ave you: he a that doeth righteousness, is righteous, even as he is righteous.

8 He b that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was mani-

John; for if a man may be a Christian, and yet wholly fall away and perish, how could it be said with any truth that such a man " sinneth not f" how that M he doth not commit sin?" how that "his seed remaineth in him, and he can not sin-?" Just the contrary would be true if this were so. 1 Whosoever sinneth. That is, as explained above, habitually, deliberately, characteristically, and finally. Doddridge: " Who habitually and avowedly sinneth." M Hath not seen him, nor known him. Has had no just views of the Saviour, or of the nature of true religion. In other words, he can not be a true Christian.

7. Little children. See Notes on chap, ii. 1. H Let no man deceive you. That is, in the matter under consideration; to wit, by persuading you that a man may live in sinful practices, and yet be a true child of God. From this it is clear that the apostle supposed there were some who would attempt to do this, and it was to counteract their arts that he made these positive statements in respect to the nature of true religion. % Re that doeth righteousness is righteous. This is laid down as a great and undeniable principle in religion — a maxim which none could dispute, and as important as it is plain. It is worthy of all the emphasis which the apostle lays on it. The man who does righteousness, or leads an upright life, is a righteous man, and no other one is. No matter how any one may claim that he is justified by faith; no matter how he may conform to the external duties and rites of religion; no matter how zealous he may be for orthodoxy, or for the order of the Church; no matter what visions and raptures he may have, or of what peace and joy in his soul he may boast; no matter how little he may fear death, or hope for heaven, unless he is in fact a righteous man in the proper sense of the term he can not be a child of God. Comp. Matt. vii. 16-23. If he is, in the proper sense of the word, a man who keeps the law of God, and leads a holy life, he is righteous, for that is religion. Such a man, however, will always feel that his claim to be regarded as a righteous man is not to be traced to what he is in himself, but to what he owes to the grace of God. If Even as he is righteous. See Notes on ver. 3. Not necessarily in this world to the same degree, but with the same kind of righteousness. Hereafter he will become wholly free from all sin like his God and Saviour. Ver. 2.

8. He that committeth sin. Habitually, willfully, characteristically. H Is of the devil. This can not mean that no one who commits any sin, or who is not absolutely perfect, can be a Christian, for this would cut off the great mass, even according to the belief of those who hold that the Christian may be perfectly holy, from all claim to the Christian character. But what the apostle here says is true in two senses: (1) That all who commit sin, even true believers, so far as they are imperfect, in this respect resemble Satan, and are under his influence, since sin, just so far as it exists at all,.makes us resemble him; (2) all who habitually and characteristically sin are of the devil. This latter was evidently the principal idea in the mind of the apostle. His object here is to show that those who sinned, in the sense in which it would seem some maintained that the children of God might sin, could have no real evidence of piety, but really belonged to Satan. If For the devil sinneth from the beginning. The beginning of the world, or from the first account we have of him. It does not mean that he sinned from the beginning of his existence, for he was made holy like the other angels. See Notes on Jude 6. The meaning is that he introduced sin into the universe, and that he has continued to practice it ever since. The word sinneth here implies continued and habitual sin. He did not commit one act of sin, and then reform; but he has continued, and still continues, his course of sin. This may confirm what has been already said about the kind of sin that John

fested, that ° he might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whosoever6 is born of God doth

refers to. He speaks of sinning habitually, continuously, willfully, and any one who does this shows that he is under the influence of him whose characteristic it has been and is to sin. If For this purpose the Son of God was manifested. Became incarnate and appeared among men. Ver. 5. Comp. Notes on 1 Tim. iii. 16. If That he might destroy the works of the devil. All his plans of wickedness, and his control over the hearts of men. Comp. Notes on Matt. viii. 39; Mark i. 24; Heb. ii. 14. The argument here is that as the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil, he can not be his true follower who lives in sin.

9. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. This passage must either mean that they who are born of Godthat is, who are true Christians— do not sin habitually and characteristically, or that every one who is a true Christian is absolutely perfect, and never commits any sin. If it can be used as referring to the doctrine of absolute perfection at all, it proves, not that Christians may be perfect, or that a portion of them are, but that all are. But who can maintain this? Who can believe that John meant to affirm this? Nothing can be clearer than that the passage has not this meaning, and that John did not teach a doctrine so contrary to the current strain of the Scriptures and to fact; and if he did not teach this, then in this whole passage he refers to those who are habitually and characteristically righteous. If For his seed rernaineth in him. There is much obscurity in this expression, though the general sense is clear— which is, that there is something abiding in the heart of the true Christian, which the apostle here calls seed, which will prevent his sinning. The word " Ais" in this phrase, "7iis seed," may refer either to the individual himself— in the sense that this can now be properly called 7iis, inasmuch as it is a part of himself, or a principle abiding in him; or it may refer to God — in the sense that what is here called "seed" is his— that is, he has implanted it, or it is a germ of divine origin. Robinson (Lex.) understands it in the latter sense, and so

not commit sin; for his seed « reniaineth in him: and he can not sin, because he is born of God.

also do Macknight, Doddridge, Liicke, and others, and this is probably the true interpretation. The word seed (oTrtp/na) means properly seed sown, as of grain, plants, trees; then any thing that resembles it, any thing which germinates, or which springs up, or is produced. It is sometimes applied in the New Testament to the Word of God, or the Gospel, as that which produces effects in the heart and life similar to what seed that is sown does. Comp. Matt. xiii. 26, 37, 38. Augustine, Clemens (Alex.), Grotius, Rosenmuller, Benson, and Bloomfield suppose that this is the signification of the word here. The proper idea, according to this, is that the seed referred to is truth which God has implanted or sown in the heart, from which it may be expected that the fruits of righteousness will grow. But that which abides in the heart of the Christian is not the naked Word of God — the mere Gospel, or mere truth; it is rather that Word as made vital and efficacious by the influences of his Spirit— the germ of the divine life-rthe principles of true piety in the soul. Compare the words of Virgil: " Igneus est illi vigor et coelestis origo semini." But the exact idea here, as it seems to me, is not that the "seed" refers to the Word of God, as Augustine and others suppose, or to the Spirit of God, but to the germ of piety which has been produced in the heart by the Word and Spirit of God, and wrhich may be regarded as having been implanted there by God himself, and which may be expected to produce holiness in the life. There is, probably, as Liicke supposes, an allusion in the word to the fact that we are begotten (6 ytysi/ij/xtvo?) of God. The word remaineth (fMivm) (comp. Notes on ver. 6) is a favorite expression of John. The expression here used by John, thus explained, would seem to imply two things: (1) That the germ or seed of religion implanted in the soul abides there as a constant, vital principle, so that he who is born of God can not become habitually a sinner; and (2) that it will so continue to live there that he will not fall away and perish. The

10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of

the devil ■ whosoever doeth not righteousness, is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

11 For this is the ' message that ye heard from the "beginning, that awe should love one another.

12 Not as Cain, bicho was of that wicked one, and slew his brother.

idea is clearly that the germ or principle of piety so permanently abides in the soul that he who is renewed never can become again characteristically a sinner. If And he can not sin. Not merely he will not, but he can not; that is, in the sense referred to. This does not mean that one who is renewed has not physical ability to do wrong, for every moral agent has; nor does it mean that no one who is a true Christian never does, in fact, do wrong in thought, word, or deed, for no one could seriously maintain that; but it must mean that there is somehow a certainty, as absolute as if it were physically impossible, that those who are born of God will not be characteristically and habitually sinners; that they will not sin in such a sense as to lose all true religion and be numbered with transgressors; that they will not fall away and perish. Unless this passage teach that no one who is renewed ever can sin in any seuse, or that every one who becomes a Christian is, and must be, absolutely and always perfect, no wrords could more clearly prove that true Christians will never fall from grace. How can what the apostle here says be true if a real Christian can fall away and become again a sinner? If Because he is born of God. Or begotten of God. God has given him' by the new birth real, spiritual life, and that life can never become extinct.

10. In thte the children of God are manifest, etc. That is, this furnishes a test of their true character. The test is found in doing righteousness, and in the love of the brethren. The former he had illustrated; the latter he now proceeds to illustrate. The general idea is that if a man is not truly a righteous man, and does not love the. brethren, he cannot be a child of God. Perhaps by the phrase "m this" using a pronoun in the singular number, he means to intimate that an important part of righteousness consists in brotherly love. 1 ^Yhosoevcr doeth not rightcous?><ss, is not of God. In ver. 7 he had said that

"he that doeth righteousness is of God." If that is true, then what he here affirms must be true also, that a man who does not righteousness is not of God. The general idea is the same, that no one can be a true Christian who is not in fact a righteous man. 1 Neither he that loveth not his brother. The illustration of this point continues to ver. 18. The general sense is that brotherly love is essential to the Christian character, and that he who does not possess it can not* be a Christian. On the nature and importance of brotherly love as an evidence of piety, see Notes on John xiii. 34, 35.

11. For this is the message. Marg., commandment. In the received text this is dyytkia (a message brought); in several MSS., and in later editions, it is iTrayyiXia {annunciation, announcement); an order given, or a confmandment. Acts xxiii. 21. It is not very material which reading is followed. The word command or rule would express the sense with sufficient clearness. The reference is to the law given by the Saviour as a permanent direction to his disciples. If That ye heard from the beginning, that we shoidd love one another. See Notes on John xiii. 34, 35; 1 John ii. 7.

12. Not as Cain. Not manifesting the spirit which Cain did. His was a most remarkable and striking instance of a want of love to a brother, and the case is well adapted to illustrate the propriety of the duty which the apostle is enjoining. See Gen. iv. 4-8. If Who was of that wicked one. Of the devil; that is, he was under his influence, and acted from his instigation. If And wherefore slew he him? Because his own wo7'ks were evil, and his brother's righteous. He acted under the influence of envy. He was dissatisfied that his own offering was not accepted, and that his brother's was. The apostle seems desirous to guard those to whom he wrote against the indulgence of any feelings that were the opposite of love— from anything like envy toward more highly favored

And wherefore slew he him? Because his own* works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world a hate you.

14 We know that we have passed

from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He h that loveth not Ms brother, abideth in death.

15 Whosoever c hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know

brethren— by showing to what this would lead if fairly acted out, as in the case of Cain. A large part of the crimes of the earth have been caused, as in the murder of Abel, by the want of brotherly love. Nothing but love would be necessary to put an end to the crimes, and consequently to a large part of the misery of the world.

13. Marvel not. Do not think it so unusual, or so little to be expected, as to excite astonishment. If If the world hate you. The emphasis here is to be placed on the word you. The apostle had just adverted to the fact that Cain hated Abel, his brother, without cause, and he here says that they were not to deem it strange if the world hated them in like manner. The Saviour (John xv. 17, 18). introduced these subjects in the same connection. In enjoining the duty of brotherly love on his disciples, he adverts to the fact that they must expect to be hated by the world, and tells them to remember that the world hated him before it hated them. The object of all this was to show more clearly the necessity of strong and tender mutual affection among Christians, since' they could hope for none from the world. See Notes on John xv. 18, 19.

14. We know that we have passed from death unto life. From spiritual death (see Notes on Eph. ii. 1) to spiritual life; that is, that we are true Christians. ^Because we love the brethren. The sentiment here is that it is an infallible evidence of true piety if we love the followers of Christ as such. See this illustrated in the Notes on John xiii. 35. But how easy it would seem to be to apply such a test of piety as this! Who can not judge accurately of his own feelings, and determine whether he love a Christian because he bears the name and image of the Saviour— loves him the more just in proportion as he bears that image? Who can not, if he choose, look beyond the narrow bounds of his own sect, and determine whether he is pleased with the true Christian character wherever it may be found, and whether he would prefer to find his friends among those who bear the name and the image of the Son of God than among the people of the world? The Saviour meant that his followers should be known by this badge of discipleship over all the world (John xiii. 34, 35); John says, in carrying out the sentiment, that Christians, by this test, may know among themselves whether they have any true religion. H He that loveth not his brother, abideth in death. Remains dead in sins; that is, he has never been converted. Comp. Notes on ver. 6. As love to the Christian brotherhood is essential to true piety, it follows that he who has not that remains unconverted, or is in a state of spiritual death. He is by nature dead in sin, and unless he have evidence that he is brought out of that state he remains or abides in it.

15. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, etc. That is, he has the spirit of a murderer; he has that which, if it were acted out, would lead him to commit murder, as did Cain. The private malice, the secret grudge, the envy which is cherished in the heart, is murderous in its tendency, and were it not for the outward restraints of human laws, and the dread of punishment, it would often lead to the act of murder. The apostle does not say that he who hates his brother, though he does not in fact commit murder, is guilty to the same degree as if he had actually done it; but he evidently means to say that the spirit which would lead to murder is there, and that God will hold him responsible for it. Nothing is wanting but the removal »of outward restraints to lead to the commission of the open deed, and God judges men as he sees them to be in their hearts. What a fearful declaration, then, is this! How many real murderers there are on the earth besides those who are detected and pun-

that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. 16 Hereby a perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

ished, and besides those open violators of the laws of God and man who go at large! And who is there that should not feel humbled and penitent In view of his own heart, and grateful for that sovereign mercy which has restrained him from open acts of guilt? — for who is there who has not at some period of his life, and perhaps often, indulged in feelings of hatred, envy, and malice toward others, which, if acted out, would have led to the commission of the awful crime of taking human life? Any man may well shudder at the remembrance of the secret sins of his own heart, and at the thought of what he would have been but for the restraining grace of God. And how wonderful is that grace which, in the case of the true Christian, not only restrains and checks, but which effectually subdues all these feelings, and implants in their place the principles of love!

16. Hereby perceive we the love of God. The words "qf OotV are not in the original, and should not have been introduced into the translation, though they are found in the Latin Vulgate, and in the Genevan versions, and in one manuscript. They would naturally convey the idea that God laid down his life for us; or that God himself, in his divine nature, suffered. But this idea is not expressed In this passage in the original, and of course no argument can be derived from it cither to prove that Christ is God or that the divine nature is capable of suffering. The original is much more expressive and emphatic than it is with this addition: "By this we know love;" that is, we know what true love is; we see a most affecting and striking illustration of its nature. Love itself— its real nature, its power, its sacrifices, its influences — was seen in its highest form when the Son of God gave himself to die on a cross. For an illustration of the sentiment, see Notes on John hi. 16, and xv. 13. TT Because he laid down his life for us. There can be no doubt that the Saviour is here referred to, though his name is not mentioned particularly. There are several instances in the New

Testament where he is mentioned under the general appellation "/«?," as one who was well known, and about whom the writers were accustomed to speak. 1 And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. For the good of our fellow-Christians, if it be necessary. That is, circumstances may occur where it!%ould be proper to do it, and we ought always to be ready to do it. The spirit which led the Saviour to sacrifice his life for the good cf the Church should lead us to do the same thing for our brethren if circumstances require it. That this is a correct principle no one can doubt; for (1) the Saviour did it, and we are bound to imitate his example, and to possess his spirit; (2) the prophets, apostles, and martyrs did it, laying down their lives in the cause of truth, and for the good of the Church and the world; and (3) it has always been held that it is right and proper, in certain circumstances, for a man to lay down his life for the good of others. So we speak of the patriot who sacrifices his life for the good of his country; so we feel in the case of a shipwreck, that it may be the duty of a captain to sacrifice his life for the good of his passengers and crew; so in case of a pestilential disease, a physician should not regard his own life if he may save others; and so we always hold the man up to honor who is willing to jeopard his own life on noble principles of self-denial for the good of his fellowmen. In what cases this should be done the apostle does not state; but the general principle would seem to be that it is to be done when a greater good would result from our selfsacrifice than from carefully guarding our own lives. Thus, in the case of a patriot, his death, in the circumstances, might be of greater value to his country than his life would be, or his exposing himself to death a greater service to his country than it would be if that should not be done. Thus the Saviour laid down his life for the good of mankind; thus the apostles exposed their lives to constant peril in extending the principles of religion; and thus the mar-