m Eph. 6. 10-12. n Matt. 6. 24. Rom. 12. 2. Gal. 1. 10. James 4. 4. o Eccl. 5. 11. p Ps. 90. 10. Isa. 40. 6. 1 Cor. 7. 31. James 1. 10. & 4. 14. 1 Pet. 1. 24. q Matt. 24. m 14 Εγραψα ὑμῖν, πατέρες, ὅτι ἐγνώκατε τὸν ἀπ ̓ ἀρχῆς. Εγραψα ὑμῖν, νεανίσκοι, ὅτι ἰσχυροί ἐστε, καὶ ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν μένει, καὶ νενικήκατε τὸν πονηρόν. 15 a Μὴ ἀγαπᾶτε τὸν κόσμον, μηδὲ τὰ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ. Εάν τις ἀγαπᾷ τὸν κόσμον, οὐκ ἔστιν ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐν αὐτῷ· 16 ° ὅτι πᾶν τὸ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ, ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν καὶ ἡ ἀλαζονεία τοῦ βίου, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς, ἀλλὰ ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου ἐστί. 17 » Καὶ ὁ κόσμος παρ 2 7 5, 24. άγεται, καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία αὐτοῦ· ὁ δὲ ποιῶν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. Acts 20. 29. 2 Thess. 2. 3. 2 John 7. 18 4 Παιδία, ἐσχάτη ὥρα ἐστίν· καὶ, καθὼς ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἀντίχριστος ἔρχεται, Elz. has ypávw, I write, here; but eypaya, I wrote, is in A, B, C, G, and in many Cursive MSS., and in the Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, Arabic Versions, and Origen, Cyril, and other Fathers; and so Lach., Tisch. This word ypaya does not imply that any former letter had been written to them by St. John. It is the epistolary aorist used often by the writers of the N. T. (see 1 Cor. ix. 15. Philem. 21. 1 Pet. v. 12), when they would put themselves in the place of the recipients of their Epistles, and look back on the writing of the Epistles as a thing past. By its use St. John condescends to his readers, and he begins with condescension to children. And it is not unworthy of remark, that having used the present tense (I write) seven times in this Epistle, i. 4; ii. 1. 7, 8. 12, 13 twice; he now adopts ypaya (I wrote), and continues to use it to the end of this Epistle, where he employs it six times: see ii. 13, 14 twice, 21. 26; v. 13. 15. undé] no, nor yet— 16. ériovuía Tĥs σapкós] the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the vainglory of life, its self-vaunting and ostentation (see Rom. i. 30. 2 Tim. iii. 2. James iv. 16), are not of the Father. The carnal Appetite, Covetousness, and Pride, these were the things by which the Devil endeavoured to overcome Christ at the Temptation; and these are the things, in which Christ conquered Satan, and has taught us to conquer him. These also were the things, which specially characterized those Gnostic deceivers, the filthy dreamers, against whom the Apostle warns his disciples. See above on 2 Pet. ii. 10. 18; and below, Jude 8. 16. 18. παιδία, ἐσχάτη ὥρα ἐστίν] Children, it is the last time. Do not therefore be deceived by those Teachers who now propound new doctrines. The Son of God has been revealed in the last time (see on Heb. i. 1. Acts ii. 17. 1 Pet. i. 20). The Gospel which he has preached is God's last message to men. You are not to look for any new revelation. Whatever is new, is false. They therefore who now bring to you new doctrine are not followers of Christ, but of Antichrist. See above on Gal. i. 8, 9. We are not to infer, with some Expositors, from this expression (the last time), that the Apostle believed that the end of the World was close at hand. The appearance of Antichrists in considerable number (woλλol) was an evidence-not, that the end is immediate, as those Expositors allege to be St. John's meaningbut that the present dispensation is the last. Satan now musters all his forces for a struggle; for, when that conflict is over, he will have no other opportunity of contending against Christ. - καθὼς ἠκούσατε ὅτι ὁ ἀντίχριστος ἔρχεται] as ye heard that Antichrist cometh (on this use of the present tense, see Matt. ii. 4), even now many Antichrists have arisen, whence we know that it is the last time, or season. The coming of Antichrist is a sign of the last time for the coming of Antichrist is to be followed by the coming of Christ. "Venit Antichristus, et supervenit Christus," S. Cyprian, Ep. 58. But how long "the last time" will be, it is not for us to know (see Acts i. 7). Time, which may seem long to us, is but an hour to God (see 2 Pet. iii. 8). Hence St. John uses the word "pa, hour, here. It may seem long now, but when it is past, it will seem only like a watch in the night (Ps. xc. 4). Elz. has the article & before avτíxpioTos, and so A, G, K; but it is not in X, B, C. (1) St. John alone uses the word Antichrist, and he uses it only in his Epistles, where it occurs five times (ii. 18 twice, 22; iv. 3. 2 John 7). It is never used by St. John in the Book of Revelation. The word 'AvTi-xpioTos signifies one who opposes Christ: évavríos T Xpior (Theophylact); “Christi rebellis" (Tertullian, Præscr. c. 4); "contrarius Christo" (Augustine); see Lücke, p. 190. Huther, p. 105, and Dean Trench, Synonyms N. T. xxx. pp. 120-125. Every one who sets himself against Christ, is an Antichrist: he may, or may not, set himself in the place of Christ. Cp. Wetstein, p. 717, and Suicer on the word 'Avtí-xpɩotos, i. p. 390. It is not necessary that he should do so, in order to be an Antichrist. And indeed the character assigned by St. John in his Epistles to Antichrist properly so called, is one of open hostility to the Divinity and Humanity of Christ; but is not one of assumption of His attributes. The general opinion of the Fathers was that a personal Antichrist would appear a short time before the second Coming of Christ. See Irenæus, v. 25. 30, Stieren; pp. 437-425, Grabe. S. Hippolytus, de Christo et Antichristo, pp. 1-36, ed. Lagarde. Origen c. Cels. vi. p. 499, and in Matt. xvii. S. Chrysostom in Matt. xvii. S. Hilary in Matt. xx. S. Cyril. Hieros. Cat. xi. S. Greg. Nyssen in Eunomium, Orat. xi. S. Jerome in Dan. vii. and xi., and Quæst. xi. ad Algasiam. S. Augustine in Ps. ix.; de Civ. Dei xx. c. 19; c. 20. S. Gregory, Moral. in Job xi. 9; xiv. 11; xx. 25. Homil. vii. and xxix. in Evangelia. This opinion, commended by such authorities, is entitled to respectful attention; but it is our duty to be circumspect in the acceptance of any interpretations of unfulfilled prophecy. See on John xxi. 23, and note on 2 Pet. i. 20, whence it appears that even the inspired Prophets were not able to interpret their own prophecies. See also below, on Rev. xvii. 1. St. John's argument is this, It is the last time (pa), and as ye heard that Antichrist cometh (i. e. in the last time), and as ye see that many Antichrists are already come, therefore we know that this is the last time. St. John therefore recognizes the fulfilment of the prophecy concerning the coming of Antichrist, in the appearance of many Antichrists who are already come. He therefore appears here to represent Antichrist as an incorporation of those who set themselves against Christ. Cp. Ecumen. in iv. 3. Damascen. de Orthod. fide, iv. 27. And this opinion is confirmed by what he says (v. 22), "this man is the Antichrist, he that denieth the Father and the Son." See also iv. 3, and 2 John 7. The same is the doctrine of St. John's scholar, S. Polycarp, in the only passage of the Epistles of the Apostolic Fathers, where the word Antichrist is found. "Whosoever doth not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is Antichrist." Polycarp, Philipp. c. 7. This is also in accordance with St. Paul's prophecy concerning the "Lawless One," or "the Man of Sin," which represents a form of evil, displaying itself in a continuous series of persons, who are, as it were, incorporated and personified in one; see the note above on 2 Thess. ii. 3-12. In like manner, it seems that the word Antichrist represents a succession of persons in different times, animated by a spirit of violent hostility to Christ. So Lange, Baumgarten-Crusius, and Bengel, who says, Where St. John speaks of Antichrist, or the Spirit of Antichrist (iv. 3), he signifies the enemies of the truth united together-"sub singulari numero omnes mendaces et veritatis inimicos innuit "—that is, he comprises in this term all the enemies of the Christian truths which he is inculcating. It is however consistent with such a proposition to believe, that the Spirit of Antichristianism may develope and consummate itself eventually in some extraordinary personal antagonism to Christ. Time, the great Interpreter of Prophecy,-will show. (2) It has been supposed by some, that Antichrist, as described by St. John in his Epistles, is the same Power as that which is delineated by St. Paul as "the Man of Sin." But in interpreting the prophecies of Scripture, care must be taken to adhere to the language of Scripture. The assumption of identity where it does not exist has been a fruitful source of error. St. Paul never uses the word "Antichrist;" and the attributes of Antichrist and those of the Man of Sin, as described by St. John and St. Paul respectively, do not correspond accurately to each other. In the character of Antichrist, St. John describes an Infidel opposition to Christ, an open, impious denial of the Father and of the Son. There is nothing secret, no Mystery, there. But in г Acts 20. 30. 1 s Ps 45. 8. & 133. καὶ νῦν ἀντίχριστοι πολλοὶ γεγόνασιν· ὅθεν γινώσκομεν ὅτι ἐσχάτη ὥρα ἐστίν. τ P. 41. 10. S the description of the Man of Sin, or the Lawless One, St. Paul represents a MYSTERY (2 Thess. ii. 7), something secret and sacred: a spiritual power, working miracles, and sitting in the Church of God. See above, on 2 Thess. ii. 3-12. It is by no means impossible that the two Powers, described by the two Apostles respectively, may eventually coalesce. Time will show. But the Apostolic descriptions of them are definite and distinct; and it is the duty of an Expositor of Scripture not to "be wise above what is written" (1 Cor. iv. 6), and to compare spiritual things with spiritual (1 Cor. ii. 13), and not to confound things which are dissimilar, especially in the interpretation of Prophecy; lest the benefit be lost which might otherwise be derived from its warnings, and from the evidence it affords to the truth of the Gospel. Further, there is reason to believe that St. Paul in his Prophecy (in the second chapter of the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians) is describing the same power as that which is described by St. John in another place, viz., in the Book of Revelation; where the word Antichrist never occurs. There is a remarkable similarity of features and language in those two descriptions: see Rev. xvii. 5. 7, compared with St. Paul's words, 2 Thess. ii. 7; and Rev. xiii. 11. 13 with 2 Thess. ii. 9; and Rev. xvii. 8. 11 with 2 Thess. ii. 3; and Rev. xiii. 4 8 with 2 Thess. ii. 4; and see the notes below on Rev. xvii. 7, 8. The resemblances between those two descriptions of St. Paul and St. John strengthen the belief that they refer to the same power; and they also confirm the argument derived from the discrepancies in the other descriptions which have just been mentioned, that the powers delineated by them are not the same. 19. μw λ0av] They went out from us, but they were not of us. St. John here announces the fulfilment of what had been prophesied by St. Paul in his farewell address to the Ephesian Presbyters at Miletus, "that out of their own selves would men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them" (Acts xx. 30). 21 Οὐκ ἡμῶν. Το 1926. ἔγραψα Heb. 1. 9. & 16. 13. by their own choice, not by any fatal necessity. They who re- àλλ' Iva paveрwowow] they went out-i. e., their going out was permitted-in order that they might be manifested that they are not all of us. The emphatic word is φανερωθῶσιν, and the use of x-denoting origin from, and appurtenance to-may be illustrated by 1 Cor. xii. 15, ὅτι οὐκ εἰμὶ χεὶρ, οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐκ τοῦ σώματος, and see below, iii. 12, Κάϊν ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ ἦν. Com. pare the words of St. Paul (1 Cor. xi. 19), "There must also be heresies among you, in order that they, who are approved, may be made manifest among you;" where the conjunction va, as here, marks the design of God in permitting Heresies and Schisms to exist (cp. note above on 2 Cor. iv. 7), and suggests the uses which the faithful ought to make of heresies and schisms. Cp. Tertullian, Præscr. 3, where he cites these words of St. John. The many Antichrists here described are the Heresiarchs of St. John's age. He says that they went out from us; and this was specially applicable to the father of the Gnostics, Simon Magus, who was baptized by St. Philip the Deacon at Samaria (see on Acts viii. 9-18), and who is called an Antichrist by the ancient Fathers; see S. Cyril. Hierosol., Catech. vi. p. 53, and Dr. Hammond here, and Tillemont, Hist. Eccles. ii. p. 19. The same was true of another Heresiarch of the same age, Ebion, to whom Tertullian applies St. John's words. In his Epistle, St. John calls them Antichrists, who deny that Jesus is come in the flesh, and that Jesus is the Son of God. The former proposition is denied by Marcion, the latter by Ebion; see Tertullian, Præscr. Hæret., c. 33. A special benefit accruing from the going out of these St. Jerome affirms that St. John directed this censure also against another Heresiarch of the Apostolic age, Cerinthus, who arose within the Church, and opposed the Apostles (see on Acts IV. 1), and of whom there is an historical record, that he was personally known to St. John at Ephesus; and that when St. John had gone into a bath there, and heard that he was within it, he quitted it immediately, saying, "Let us depart, lest the bath fall on us, now that Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is there." See S. Irenæus iii. 3. Euseb. iii. 20. Theodoret, Hær. Fab. ii. 3. Cerinthus made a distinction between Jesus and Christ. See also the important testimony of S. Irenæus (iii. 18, Grabe), who cites this passage (vv. 18-22), and applies it to the Gnostic Teachers of that age who arose within the Church, viz., Simon, Ebion, and Cerinthus. Cp. Estius here, p. 1217. Dr. Hammond here, p. 828. Bp. Bull, Jud. Eccl. Cathol. ii. 6, p. 44. Dr. Waterland on the Trinity, vol. v. chap. vi. p. 187, and above, Introduction to this Epistle, pp. 98-101. Some expositors suppose that où Távτes here is equivalent to none: cp. Matt. xxiv. 22. But this appears to be an incorrect rendering, and is not authorized by the ancient Interpreters. of us. St. John says that their going out was the proof that they are not all of us: cp. 2 Thess. iii. 2. They all pretend to be of us, and the Heathen confound them with us. But their secession from us, and opposition to us, clearly prove that they are not all Some false teachers there are still, who propagate heresies in the Church. They are Tares in the Field, but as long as they are in the field, it is not easy to distinguish them from the wheat. They are not of us, but they are manifested as such by going out from us. And the going out of those who have left us, and who resist us, is a manifest token to all men, that they and their associates are not all of us, as they profess to be, and as the Heathen suppose them to be; and as even some of the brethren in the Church imagine that they are, and are therefore deceived by them. By their going out they are manifested in their true light; and by their opposition to us, Truth is distinguished from Error, and Error from Truth. μeμEVÝKEIσav av] they would have remained with us. If they had been really of us-living and sound members of the mystical body of Christ-they would have continued in it. Continuance is an essential condition of vitality. He who quits the Church proves himself to be an unsound member of it; "nemo sapiens nisi fidelis; nemo Christianus, nisi qui ad finem perseveraverit." Tertullian, Præscr. 3. This saying of the Apostle gives no countenance to the predestinarian notions of final perseverance. The terms here used, viz., going out, and abiding, are significant of free will. See Didymus here, who observes that they who went out, went out VOL. II.-PART IV. 20. ὑμεῖς χρίσμα ἔχετε] ye have an unction from the Holy One, Who is anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows. See Heb. i. 9. Cp. Bp. Pearson on the Creed, Art. ii. p. 178. His unction flows down on you His members, and therefore, when a name was to be given to the disciples to distinguish them from all others, they were called Christians. Acts xi. 26. Ye have a chrism from the Christ. They, the heretical teachers, are members of Antichrist. Ye are anointed in Him Who has consecrated you with His unction, and made you kings and priests to God. Rev. i. 6. This language of St. John is the more remarkable, because it is addressed to raidía, pueruli, children. Children have an unction from the Holy One, in their Baptism, when they were made members of Christ. "Eam unctionem spiritualem habent pueruli, namque cum baptismo conjunctum erat donum Spiritûs Sancti" (Bengel), and in their Confirmation, called xpiois TeλewTIKh. See Bp. Wilson here. kal oldaтe Távтa] and ye know all things. Ye, even though children in age, are the true Gnostics, for ye know Christ; whereas they who pretend to know every thing are mere babes. Cp. John xiv. 26. They, the so-called Gnostics, pretend to knowledge and to teach you; but they know nothing, and walk in darkness, v. 11. See above, 1 John ii. 3, and below, vv. 21. 27 of this chapter, and on Jude 5. This language is adopted by St. John's scholars, S. Ignatius 1 t ch. 4. 3. 2 John 7. u Luke 12. 9 John 15. 23. 2 Tim. 2. 12. ch. 4. 15. John 14. 26. & 16. 13. t ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ἀλλ ̓ ὅτι οἴδατε αὐτὴν, καὶ ὅτι πᾶν ψεῦδος ἐκ τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ ἔστι. 22 Τίς ἐστιν ὁ ψεύστης, εἰ μὴ ὁ ἀρνούμενος ὅτι Ἰησοῦς οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ Χριστός; οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἀντίχριστος, ὁ ἀρνούμενος τὸν Πατέρα καὶ τὸν Υἱόν. 23 " Πᾶς ὁ ἀρνούμενος τὸν Υἱὸν οὐδὲ τὸν Πατέρα ἔχει· ὁ ὁμολογῶν τὸν Υἱὸν καὶ τὸν Πατέρα ἔχει. 24 Ὑμεῖς οὖν ὃ ἠκούσατε ἀπ ̓ ἀρχῆς ἐν ὑμῖν μενέτω. ̓Εὰν ἐν ὑμῖν μείνῃ ὁ ἀπ ̓ ἀρχῆς ἠκούσατε, καὶ ὑμεῖς ἐν τῷ Υἱῷ καὶ ἐν τῷ Πατρὶ μενεῖτε. 25 Καὶ αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἐπαγγελία ἣν αὐτὸς ἐπηγγείλατο ἡμῖν, τὴν ζωὴν 1 Jer. 31, 33, 34. τὴν αἰώνιον. 26 Ταῦτα ἔγραψα ὑμῖν περὶ τῶν πλανώντων ὑμᾶς. 27 * Καὶ ὑμεῖς τὸ χρίσμα ὃ ἐλάβετε ἀπ' αὐτοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν μένει, καὶ οὐ χρείαν ἔχετε ἵνα τὶς διδάσκῃ ὑμᾶς· ἀλλ ̓, ὡς τὸ αὐτὸ χρῖσμα διδάσκει ὑμᾶς περὶ πάντων, καὶ ἀληθές ἐστι, καὶ οὐκ ἔστι ψεῦδος, καὶ καθὼς ἐδίδαξεν ὑμᾶς, μένετε ἐν αὐτῷ. y Mark 8. 38. ch. 3. 2. z ch. 3. 7. 10. 2 John 1. 12. & 16. 3. & 17. 25. b Isa. 56. 5. 2 28 * Καὶ νῦν, τεκνία, μένετε ἐν αὐτῷ· ἵνα ὅταν φανερωθῇ ἔχωμεν παῤῥησίαν, καὶ μὴ αἰσχυνθῶμεν ἀπ ̓ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ αὐτοῦ. 29 Εὰν εἰδῆτε ὅτι δίκαιός ἐστι, γινώσκετε ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν δικαιοσύνην ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεγέννηται. ΙΙΙ. 1 "Ιδετε, ποταπὴν ἀγάπην δέδωκεν ἡμῖν ὁ Πατὴρ, ἵνα τέκνα Θεοῦ κλη32. & 4. 6. θῶμεν· διὰ τοῦτο ὁ κόσμος οὐ γινώσκει ἡμᾶς, ὅτι οὐκ ἔγνω αὐτόν. John 1. 12. Rom. 8. 15, 18, 29. 1 Cor. 13. 12. & 15. 49. Phil. 3. 21. 2 κ’Αγαπητοὶ, νῦν τέκνα Θεοῦ ἐσμεν· καὶ οὔπω ἐφανερώθη τί ἐσόμεθα. and S. Polycarp, in their Epistles. ὦ νοὐδὲν λανθάνει ὑμᾶς, Ye who are true Christians have an unction from the Holy One; ye are God's anointed ones; ye are even called χριστοί, by virtue of your union with Christ (see Ps. cv. 15); ye make up one body in Christ, see on Gal. iv. 19; and Rev. xii. 5. They are ἀντίχριστοι, they make up one body of Antichrist. Cp. Bp. Pearson, Art. ii. pp. 190-196. - οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἀντίχριστος] This (i. e. he who denieth that Jesus is the Christ) is the antichrist, who denieth the Father and the Son. Cerinthus and his followers denied that Jesus was the Christ, dividing Jesus from Christ; and they denied the Son, because they did not acknowledge that Jesus was personally united with the Word, the Eternal Son of God; nor that the Word was the only-begotten of the Father; and so they disowned the divine Sonship of Jesus and Christ, and thus they denied the Father and the Son. See S. Irenæus, iii. 18, Grabe, and Dr. Waterland, v. p. 188, and above, Introduction, p. 100. Ebion denied the divinity of Jesus. Simon Magus affirmed that he himself was the Father and the Son in different manifestations, and he denied the reality of Christ's humanity. See above on 2 Pet. ii. 1, and Bp. Pearson on the Creed, Art. iii. p. 301, note. Thus they were Antichrists, denying the Father and the Son. Ye are members of Christ, ye are one body in Him. Ye are one man in Him (see John xvii. 11. 21. I Cor. x. 17); they are members of Antichrist, and make one body in him: they are the Antichrist. See on v. 18. They are called Antichrists, who fall away from the Church of Christ, and teach what is false concerning Christ, in order to be leaders in Heresy. Didymus. 23. πᾶς ὁ ἀρνούμενος τὸν Υἱόν] Every one who denieth the Son hath not even the Father, because the essence of a Father is to have a Son; and if the filial relation of Jesus Christ to God is denied as it is denied by these Antichristian teachers-the paternity of the Father is denied also. See above, Introduction, p. 100. The words of the Apostle here manifestly refer to the dogmas of Cerinthus and Ebion. Bp. Bull, Jud. Eccl. ii. sect. 5. ὁ ὁμολογῶνἔχει] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. These words are printed in italics in the Authorized English Version; but they are found in the text of the oldest Greek MSS., e. g. A, B, C. and in many Cursives, and in Clement, Origen, Athanasius, Cyril, in the Syriae, Vulgate (many MSS.), and Arabic Versions; and are received by Griesh, Scholz, Lach., Tisch. 25. τὴν ζωὴν τὴν αἰώνιον] On the apposition, see Phil. ii. 18. 2 Cor. x. 13. Winer, § 59, p. 469, note on John viii. 25. 27. οὐ χρείαν ἔχετε] ye have not need that any one should teach you. This is said against the false Teachers (v. 26). They profess to teach you some new thing, but ye know already all that is necessary for life eternal; their knowledge (γνώσις) is folly, and their new doctrine leads to destruction (see above, v. 20); but your knowledge and faith will bring you to glory. μένετε ἐν αὐτῷ] ye are abiding in Him. Elz. has μενεῖτε, but μένετε is in the best MSS. Some Expositors take μένετε 3 an imperative, but the indicative seems preferable here; he exhorts them further to abide, in v. 28. 28. καὶ νῦν, τεκνία] and now, my little children, abide in Him. He returns to the general term of address, little children (see ii. 12), and assures all his spiritual children that they have no need of learning any new doctrine (see vv. 21-27), but it is their duty to abide stedfast in the old. See Jude 3, and Rev. ii. 24. ἵνα μὴ αἰσχυνθῶμεν ἀπ' αὐτοῦ] in order that we may not be driven to shame from Him, and by Him, at His Coming; as He Himself says in the Gospel that the wicked will be. Mark viii. 38. On this force of anò, see Winer, § 47, p. 332. Cp. the use of ἀπὸ in Ecclus. xxi. 22, and of ἐκ in Rev. xv. 2. 29. ἐὰν εἰδῆτε] if ye know that He is righteous, ye know that every one who hath been born of Him is righteous. If ye know (είδητε), as a doctrine of the Christian faith, that He is righteous, ye are sure by analogical inference, from your own personal experience and cognizance (γινώσκετε), that whoever has been really born of Him, whosoever is His genuine offspring, is also righteous; and consequently ye are sure, that the Gnostic teachers and their votaries, who profess to be children of Christ, and yet live ungodly lives, assert what is false. See below, iii. 7-9, ὁ ποιῶν δικαιοσύνην δίκαιός ἐστι, καθὼς ἐκεῖνος δίκαιός | ἐστιν, κ.τ.λ. On the distinction between the words εἰδέναι and γινώσκειν, see above, ii. 3. Some Expositors render γινώσκετε by know ye, in the imperative mood; but this seems to be inconsistent with St. John's declaration above, vv. 20, 21. CH. III. 1. ποταπὴν ἀγάπην δέδωκεν] what kind of love hath the Father given to us; to us, who were enemies to Him, Rom. v. 10. Col. i. 20, 21. 1 John iv. 10. By. Pearson, Art. i. p. 51. His love to us was a free gift, Rom. v. 16; in order that we should be called sons of God. He sent His Son to take our Flesh, in order that, by faith in Him, we might become sons of God, τέκνα Θεοῦ, John i. 12. On ποταπός, see Matt. viii. 27. Luke i. 29. 2 Pet. iii. 11. Cp. Clemens R. c. 35. κληθῶμεν] Some MSS. (A, B, C) add καί ἐσμεν, but perhaps this is a gloss from v. 2. ὁ κόσμος οὐ γινώσκει ἡμᾶς] the world knoweth us not. Do not therefore be surprised and dismayed, that you are hated and persecuted by it, see v. 13, and ep. our Lord's words, John xv. 19 ; χνί. 33. 2. νῦν τέκνα Θεοῦ ἐσμεν] now are we children of God, being Οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἐὰν φανερωθῇ, ὅμοιοι αὐτῷ ἐσόμεθα· ὅτι ὀψόμεθα αὐτὸν καθὼς ἔστι. 3 Καὶ πᾶς ὁ ἔχων τὴν ἐλπίδα ταύτην ἐπ' αὐτῷ ἁγνίζει ἑαυτὸν, καθὼς ἐκεῖνος ἁγνός ἐστι. с 4 Πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν καὶ τὴν ἀνομίαν ποιεῖ· καὶ ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐστὶν ἡ d ἀνομία· 5 4 καὶ οἴδατε ὅτι ἐκεῖνος ἐφανερώθη, ἵνα τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν ἄρῃ· ἁμαρτία ἐν αὐτῷ οὐκ ἔστι. e c ch. 5. 17. καὶ ο Tsa. 53. 4. 9. 2 Cor. 5. 21. 1 Pet. 2. 22, 24. e 6 • Πᾶς ὁ ἐν αὐτῷ μένων οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει· πᾶς ὁ ἁμαρτάνων οὐχ ἑώρακεν αὐτὸν, ο ch. 2. 4. & 4. 8. οὐδὲ ἔγνωκεν αὐτόν. 3 John 11. 7' Τεκνία, μηδεὶς πλανάτω ὑμᾶς· ὁ ποιῶν τὴν δικαιοσύνην δίκαιός ἐστι, καθὼς f ch. 2. 29. ἐκεῖνος δίκαιός ἐστιν. & ver. 10. John 8. 44. 8 5 Ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκ τοῦ Διαβόλου ἐστίν· ὅτι ἀπ ̓ ἀρχῆς ὁ Διάβολος κ Gen. 3. 15. ἁμαρτάνει. Εἰς τοῦτο ἐφανερώθη ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἵνα λύσῃ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ Διαβόλου. ch. 5. 18. 9 * Πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ, ὅτι σπέρμα αὐτοῦ ἐν 1 1 Pet. 1. 23. αὐτῷ μένει, καὶ οὐ δύναται ἁμαρτάνειν, ὅτι ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ γεγέννηται. ¿yóμeða avτóv] we shall see Him appearing. On the sense of Toμal, see note on John xvi. 16. Rev. i. 7. We shall then see Him as He is; that is, as God as well as Man, in all His glorious attributes of perfect holiness and love. We shall see His face (see Rev. xxii. 4), and therefore we know that we shall be like Him; for only they who are like Him will have the beatific vision of God. Matt. v. 8. 1 Cor. xiii. 12; xv. 49. 2 Cor. iii. 18. Col. iii. 4. Let us therefore so live, that when He shall come again, we may be able to behold Him, as He is, in all the fulness of His grace and glory. Cassiodor. The editions generally have ori; but eori, he is, or exists, in His own essence, seems preferable, as more emphatic. 3. T'avτ] upon Him, Christ Jesus, Who is our hope (1 Tim. i. 1). He only is the foundation, upon which our hope is built. Cp. Rom. xv. 12, and Heb. vi. 18, and the words of one of St. John's disciples, "Let us cleave continually to our hope, which is Christ Jesus." S. Polycarp, Ep. ad Phil. 8. ȧyvíce čavтóv] halloweth Himself, as Christ is holy. Cp. John xvii. 19 (ayid(w éμavтdv), 24, and Rom. xii. 1. 1 Pet. i. 16. Every one who hath the hope of beholding Him sanctifieth himself, by separation from the world and by self-dedication to God; halloweth himself, as He is holy; for "without holiness no man shall see (overai) the Lord," Heb. xii. 14. 4. àvouíar] lawlessness; for where there is no law, there is no sin. See Rom. iv. 15, and cp. Bp. Pearson, Art. x. pp. 670, 671. Bp. Sanderson, iv. 74. 94. 190. 44 commission of sin, and denied Him by their evil lives. Cp. Titus Every one who worketh sin, worketh also lawlessness." This assertion is directed against the Ebionites (see Irenæus, p. 103, Grabe) and Cerinthian Gnostics, who professed a reverence for the Law of God. St. John argues, that it is vain for them to allege that they revere the Law, when they commit sin. Therefore, let them not deceive you by this allegation, see v. 7. 7. TEKvía] my little children, let no one deceive you; as these 5, 6. Kal oldaтe] and ye know that He was manifested in order to take away our sins (see John i. 29), and in Him sin doth not exist. Every one that abideth in Him sinneth not; does not live in sin; does not allow himself in the wilful and habitual practice of sin. See below, v. 9, and above, 1 Tim. v. 20, and Bp. Wilson here: every one that sinneth hath not seen Him, nor known Him. St. John's meaning here is illustrated by the language of his disciple, S. Ignatius. "No one who professeth faith, sinneth; and no one who hath love, hateth. They, who profess themselves Christians, will be manifested by what they do." S. Ignatius, ad Ephes. 14; and this is the sense assigned to St. John's words by S. Jerome in Jovinian. ii. c. 1, and contra Pelagianos, i. c. 3. 8. ὁ ποιῶν τ. ἁμαρτίαν] he that worketh, or maketh sin ; ποιῶν, a strong word describing habitual design and actual habit of life, not an occasional lapse on the road, but a wilful and presumptuous self-surrender to sin, as a trade or profession; like that of Ahab, "who sold himself to work wickedness." 1 Kings xxi. 25. Here then is another caution against the Gnostic Teachers, who professed to believe in Christ, and pretended to superior knowledge of divine things, and yet indulged themselves in the εἰς τοῦτο ἐφανερώθη] for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the Devil. A third argument against these Gnostic deceivers, who are doing the work of the Devil (v. 8), and opposing the purpose of the Advent of Christ, and thus proving themselves to be Antichrists. This use of the word Ave, applied to the destruction of what is evil, is found in the Epistle of St. John's scholar, S. Ignatius, to St. John's Church of Ephesus (ad Eph. i. 3), λúeтaι õλe@pos, ἐλύετο πᾶσα μαγεία (ibid. c. 19). 9. πᾶς ὁ γεγεννημένος ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἁμαρτίαν οὐ ποιεῖ] Every one who hath been born of God doth not work sin, doth not work it, as his habitual work, où roleî, see v. 8; "doth not knowingly live in sin" (Bp. Wilson), because His seed (God's) abideth in him a sentence directed against the deceivers who called themselves an elect seed, and incapable of sin. Cp. Irenæus, i. 12; Grabe, p. 31, and note above, i. 7; below on Jude 19. Observe the perfect yeyevvnuévos, indicating that the filial state, which commenced when he was first regenerate, continues ; cp. Winer, § 40, p. 243; above, 1 Cor. xv. 4. 2 Cor. i. 15; v. 17. Col. i. 16. 1 Tim. ii. 15; v. 5; and see the next note; and below, v. 18. καὶ οὐ δύναται ἁμαρτάνειν] and he cannot be a sinner, because he hath been born of God. The supposed difficulty in this passage is to be removed by due attention to the tenses used. Such attention would have preserved the Church from much erroneous teaching and profitless controversy. St. John uses the perfect tense here: he does not say yevhên, he was born; but yeyévvnтai, he hath been born, and the i i ch. 4. 8. k John 13. 34. & 15. 12. 10 1'Εν τούτῳ φανερά ἐστι τὰ τέκνα τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τὰ τέκνα τοῦ Διαβόλου. Π Πᾶς ὁ μὴ ποιῶν δικαιοσύνην οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ· 11 κ ὅτι αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγγελία ἣν ἠκούσατε ἀπ ̓ ἀρχῆς, ἵνα ch 1, 5 & 27. ἀγαπῶμεν ἀλλήλους· 12' οὐ καθὼς Κάϊν ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ ἦν, καὶ ἔσφαξε τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ. Καὶ χάριν τίνος ἔσφαξεν αὐτόν ; ὅτι τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ πονηρὰ ἦν, τὰ δὲ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ δίκαια. 1. 5. ver. 23. 1 Gen. 4, 8. Heb. 11. 4. m John 15. 18, 19. & 17. 14. n Lev. 19. 17. ch. 2. 9-11. o Matt. 5. 21, 22. Gal. 5. 21. p John 3. 16. & 15. 13. Rom. 5. 8. Eph. 5. 2, 25. ch. 4. 9. « Deut. 15. 7. Luke 3. 11. James 2. 15. ch. 4. 20. & 5. 1. 13 m Μὴ θαυμάζετε, ἀδελφοὶ, εἰ μισεῖ ὑμᾶς ὁ κόσμος. 14 η‘Ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν ὅτι μεταβεβήκαμεν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου εἰς τὴν ζωὴν, ὅτι ἀγαπῶμεν τοὺς ἀδελφούς· ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν μένει ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ. 15 ° Πᾶς ὁ μισῶν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ ἀνθρωποκτόνος ἐστί· καὶ οἴδατε ὅτι πᾶς ἀνθρωποκτόνος οὐκ ἔχει ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἐν αὐτῷ μένουσαν. 16 PἘν τούτῳ ἐγνώκαμεν τὴν ἀγάπην, ὅτι ἐκεῖνος ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἔθηκε· καὶ ἡμεῖς ὀφείλομεν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν τὰς ψυχὰς θεῖναι. 17 Ὃς δ ̓ ἂν ἔχῃ τὸν βίον τοῦ κόσμου, καὶ θεωρῇ τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ χρείαν Εν life given him at his birth abides in him. See the preceding note. Observe also he uses here the present infinitive, not the aorist. He says, οὐ δύναται ἁμαρτάνειν, i. e. he cannot be a sinner. He does not say, οὐ δύναται ἁμαρτεῖν, he cannot fall into sin, by ignorance, error, and infirmity. Such an assertion would be inconsistent with the whole tenor of Scripture, for in many things we offend all (James iii. 2), and with St. John's own doctrine in this Epistle, where he says, If we say that we have not sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us ; but if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just in order to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," i. 8, 9. On this difference of the present infinitive and aorist infinitive, see Winer, § 44, pp. 296, 297, and Stallbaum there quoted, p. 295. Thus, for example, πιστεῦσαι is to make a profession of faith, or to do an act of faith at a particular time; but πιστεύειν is to believe, to be a believer ; δουλεῦσαι is to do an act of service ; δουλεύειν, to be a slave; οὐδεὶς οἰκέτης δύναται δυσὶ Κυρίοις δουλεύειν, no servant can be a slave to two masters: 30 ἁμαρτεῖν is to commit a sin, but ἁμαρτάνειν is much more than this, it is to be a sinner. not count their sin to be sin." Compare Epiphanius, hær, xxi. and xxvi. 10. καὶ ὁ μὴ ἀγαπῶν] and he who loveth not his brother. This lack of love was noted by the earliest Christian writers as a distinguishing characteristic of these deceivers to whom St. John refers. Thus S. Ignatius says of them, "Observe those who are heterodox with regard to the grace of Christ, how contrary they are to the mind of God. They have no regard for love,—περὶ ἀγάπης οὐ μέλει αὐτοῖς, they do not care for the widow, or the orphan, or the hungry, or the thirsty.” And he adds as a remark. able characteristic, that they abstain from the Feast of love, the holy Eucharist, because they did not believe in the reality of Christ's flesh which was the heresy of Simon Magus and his followers. S. Ignatius ad Smyrn. 6. See also S. Irenæus, i. 20, Grabe, and cp. Dr. Waterland, viii. p. 31, ed. 1823. 12. οὐ καθὼς Κάϊν] not as Cain was of the wicked one, and slew his brother. Let it not be so with you. Be not ye imitators of Cain, whom some of these false Teachers extolled. See on Jude 11, and Theodoret, hæret. fab. i. 15, who testifes of some heresiarchs of sub-Apostolic times, that they asserted that Cain had been freed from subjection to the higher power; and they asserted the same of Esau, Korah, and even the Sodomites, and Judas: and he says that in their practice of sins they invoked the names of Angels, to whom those sins were dedicated by them. Cp. Epiphan. har. xxxviii. 14. μεταβεβήκαμεν] we have passed from death unto life ; and abide in life. On this use of the perfect, see v. 9, and compare John v. 24, "He that heareth my word and believeth on Him that sent Me hath everlasting life, and hath passed from death into life." Elz. has τὸν ἀδελφὸν after ἀγαπῶν, but this A, B, nor in N, and is rejected by Lach., Tisch. not in He that hath been born of God, and liveth as a son of God, cannot be a sinner. It is inconsistent with the essential conditions of his spiritual birth, by which he is dead to sin. It is contrary to the nature which he has as a child of God. This is well expressed by Didymus here, who says, "St. John does not assert that the man who has been born of God will never commit sin; but he asserts that he does not work sin-Non scriptum est non peccabit, sed non peccatum facit; non idem est peccare et peccatum facere; a child of two days old, by reason of his natural childhood, cannot sin, but a child of God cannot be a sinner." Whoever is born of God doth not allow himself in any wilful sin. Dr. Waterland, Serm. xxvii. on 1 John iv. 1. Therefore, they who commit sin, on the plea, that being electable saying on the duty of Christian Martyrdom. It was probably children of God, they must be saved, whatever they do, contravene the fundamental law of their existence, and disinherit themselves. See this plea handled by St. Paul, Rom. vi. 1-4, and cp. Waterland, Serm. xxvii. The word dúvauai here, as often, does not signify a physical, but a moral, impossibility. They that are evil cannot speak good things. (Matt. xii. 34.) Christ could not do any miracle at Nazareth because of their unbelief. (Mark vi. 5.) How can ye believe, who receive honour one of another? John v. 44. Cp. John vii. 7; viii. 43; xii. 39; xiv. 17. Gen. xix. 22 ; note on Luke xvii. 1 ; and on Heb. vi. 4. Compare also what St. John himself says below, v. 18, “ We know that every one who bath been born of God sinneth not; but he that was born of God keepeth himself, and the Wicked One toucheth him not." St. John's meaning here, which is of a controversial and polemical character, and must be viewed in reference to the errors which he is refuting, is well illustrated by the words of his disciple, S. Ignatius, speaking to St. John's Church, "Let no one deceive you. They who are carnal cannot do the things which are spiritual; nor can they who are spiritual do the things which are carnal. Faith cannot do the works of Unbelief, nor can Unbelief do the works of Faith. The works which ye do in the flesh are spiritual, because ye work all your works in Jesus Christ.” S. Ignatius, ad Eph. 8. The notions of the Gnostic Teachers and their Votaries are thus described by Justin Martyr (c. Tryph. p. 370), "Ye deceive yourselves and such souls as are like you, who say, that although they are sinners, and if they have knowledge of God, God will 16. καὶ ἡμεῖς ὀφείλομεν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν τὰς ψυχὰς θεῖναι] and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren: a remark suggested by the seductive tenets of the false teachers (οἱ πλανῶντες, mentioned by St. John ii. 26; iii. 7), who courted popularity in times of Persecution, by alleging that provided a man had knowledge of the doctrines of Christianity as delivered by them, and adopted their theories, it was not necessary for him to expose himself to any danger in the maintenance of the faith, much less to endure martyrdom, and to lay down his life for the brethren; but that he might freely associate with the heathen in their worship, and eat things offered to idols. This was particularly the doctrine of the Simonians (see Origen c. Cels. vi. p. 282. Euseb. ii. 13), and of the Nicolaitans (see Rev. ii. 15. S. Irenæus, i. 23), and of the Cerinthians; see Philastr. hær. c. 36. Tertullian wrote his book called Scorpiace against these notions, and he refers to this passage in St. John's Epistle, in proof of the duty of Martyrdom, c. 12. Deival] So A, B, C, and Lach., Tisch. The aorist is on other accounts preferable to the present, τιθέναι, the reading of Elz.; see on v. 9. The words seem to be imitated in the Epistle of the Church of Vienne and Lyons in Euseb. v. 1, speaking of a Christian Martyr, εὐδοκήσας ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἀπολογίας καὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ θεῖναι ψυχήν. 17. τὸν βίον τοῦ κόσμου] the world's good things. See Mark xii. 44. Luke xv. 12. Remark the contrast between Blos and ζωή, and this world and the other. He who is not ready to bestow a part of the βίος τοῦ κόσμου in love to his brethren, has no reasonable hope of the ζωὴ αἰώνιος, mentioned v. 15. καὶ θεωρῇ] and beholdeth-looketh quietly upon-some |