Notes of a Reading on John's Gospel

Chapter 1:1-5. These verses are abstract-not history. In verse 5 we have a very singular statement. The light shines in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not. Now, naturally, light cannot shine without putting aside the darkness. The light thus shining then is a very out-of-the-way, non-natural thing. As light, it is an immensely deep truth, that while God is light Himself, yet when we look upon it as it is here revealed in the world, it is for men. In the Greek the last clause of verse 4 is a reciprocal proposition. " The life was the light of men." It is not for angels, but for men. God is revealed in a way especially suited to man. It is mercy, grace, patience, &c., with which angels have nothing to do. Here then we see God revealed as the light of men and no one else. Abstract godhead is light for everyone and everything. Here it is God revealed as the light of men, and after Him as thus revealed even angels have to search. " Seen of angels." If they want to learn what God is in the character of life and light, they must learn what Christ was upon earth.
" In Him was life." This was His nature. There never was a created being of which we can say, " in him was life." We have no life in ourselves. As believers, Christ is our life. Life is in Him -ours is derivative, being from Him. Because He lives, we shalt live also.
This life is distinct from the Holy Ghost, which Christ Himself did not get officially until He was baptized, and so life and the Holy Ghost are separate things to the believer. This is seen in the difference between the Epistle to the Ephesians and the Colossians. In the former there is not merely life, but the Holy Ghost pent down as earnest of the inheritance and the power of service; while in Colossians, where life itself in connection with the Head is the subject, we do not get the Holy Ghost once mentioned, but simply the new man.
Verse 9 simply means that Christ being here, the light was not for Jews merely, but for every man-the world. Not that every man would positively see it-we know they did not-but it came for them, with an aspect towards all.
In the first part of this chapter we get what is before Genesis. When Genesis begins we have the word already, for in the beginning the Word was. The divinity and personality of the Word are very carefully spread out. In the beginning was the Word-when everything began it was; for it did not begin-it had not beginning. Then " the Word was with God." There I get, as far as our ideas and language go, personality--." the Word was God." There I get divinity. In verse 2 we get another thing, which the Fathers, as they are termed, did not understand, but were quite wrong as to it; namely, eternal personality. As to the term personality, I do not think much of it; but I know of no better. Human language is defective here.
The force of the term " Word" is that which expresses God's mind. Christ was the only living expression of truth as it is in God. The Word was the expression of God, but it is not language, but a person. The Greek word λογος does not mean merely Word, but the thought also. Word, thought, and expression of thought are all indicated in Greek by the term λογος.
Image and likeness. The term image does not express so much as likeness. Image carries with it more the idea of representative-as the image of Jupiter, which is more that which is representative of him-not his likeness. Whereas likeness may not be representative of a person, but conveys to us the idea of what the original is like. Man stood in Eden both as the image and likeness of God. He was the center of a system-in this sense representing God-for all creation centered up in Adam. Man was the image of God, not of the Word as such, although he is a type of the latter.
In this chapter we get first what the Word is in His nature and person; ( ver. 1, 2;) then we get Him as Creator, (ver. 3,) where we see Him as the maker of everything in the most absolute way.
The anti-nicene fathers were not at all orthodox. Heathen philosophy got amongst them. They were really the corrupters of the simplicity which was in Christ. Their notion was, that the Word only came out to be a person at the creation. Justin Martyr even said, that it was impossible that God should become a man. This was the result of an attempt of man to philosophize on the nature of God, to explain which is impossible.
Verse 4. In Him, was life. That is, in its very nature life was in Him. We have life as given to us by God, but in Him was life, and this was the light of men. This light is not the light which Paul says, in 1 Tim., " No man can approach unto." This was abstract Godhead -which is and must necessarily remain inaccessible light. But in the Word, the Light is seen as the light of men-light shining out for men. It shines out to sinners, and, if they receive it, also in them. Believers ought to exhibit it. In 1 Tim. 6:16, the light spoken of is quite inaccessible (ἀπρόσιτον). It is such that not only no man, but no being, (see Greek) can approach unto. This is quite different from what we have in John 1:4. In the first part of the verse in Timothy the word man is left out. It really means " no being." It is unrevealed divine light-what God is in Himself in the abstract. In the second part of this verse, " man " does come in; but the apostle is simply confirming and applying his statement; bringing it home, as it is called.
Now this light which has come out, which is revealed, the WORD, is for man; it is not adapted to angels, although they, no doubt, may see it, but it is for, fitted to, and takes its character from man. Grace, mercy, patience, love, is its character. Showing God to be connected with man in a way in which He could not be in connection with angels. This gives man a wonderful place among the creatures of God.
These first five verses in John 1 have a kind of covering character to the whole gospel. Up to the end of the eighth chapter, we find the light manifested, but men unable to use it. In chapter ix. we find Christ giving eyes in order that the light may be seen. Before this the light does not shine so as to dispel the darkness. Power is needed to work upon man and not merely light. We see here the moral effect of the light as revealed among men. God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all: there could not be darkness where He was, but there might be blindness: so here, the darkness comprehended it not. In chapter ix. we find Christ giving eyes to see the light; without this all was of no use. It is a most remarkable fact to see this light shining and the darkness comprehending it not.
Verse 6. It is very noticeable here, how that verse 5 drops from abstract statement into history. " The light shineth" but the "darkness comprehended it not." Hence we get in verse 6 history commenced. God not only sends light but sends a witness to bear testimony to the Light. Here we get the activity of God's goodness still dealing with the responsibility of man, supposing, of course, grace to make it effectual. " There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came to bear witness," &c. Verse 9 should be read, according to the best Greek authorities" That was the true Light which, coming into the world, lighteth every man."
It is a remarkable witness of the great grace of God, that He sent not only the true Light, but a witness to the Light-a witness, as it were, that the sun was shining; not only putting it there to shine, but sent to tell us to look at it. This shows us God's grace and the hardness of man's heart. At the creation, the light that shone needed not a witness to it. It was there, and man saw it; but then man was good.
In verse 10 we find that the world would not have Him. Although the world was made by Him, yet it knew Him not. Hence we get an entirely new thing brought in. " To as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become sons of God," &c. Here I see how I get the power. Through receiving Christ I get life-giving power. It is not in myself at all. John is very absolute in his statements, because he deals with the truth itself. Hence we get absolute Calvinism, or rather absolute grace. Now here man is nothing at all-has nothing to do with it. Man may receive the Word-believe it-but Christ gives life. It is a gift. When we get to the root of the matter God is seen in action, and man is nothing. Still there is man's responsibility. Outwardly, as to man, it is either a good will or a bad will, but secretly and really the life comes from God. We here get another thing-life by receiving the Word: hence it is we are sons. Before Christ was revealed there might be life, but there could not be sonship. This was only brought out when the Son came into the world and was received. The expression, " power to become," is a bad translation: it should be, " right or title to be sons of God."
This verse also goes outside the Jews: it embraces all that believe. Those who are here made sons are so in contrast with the fleshly relationship which was found in the Jew. This gospel generally set things in contrast with Judaism, as may be seen in almost every chapter.
We get in this gospel no allusion to Pentecost amongst the Jewish feasts that are alluded to, because Christ here always gives us things upon earth. The pass-over was on earth, and He will be on earth at the feast of tabernacles. Christ was in heaven at Pentecost.
" Believe on his name." His name expresses what He really is. To us that name is " Jesus," which is not an official name, but a personal one. It is by this name we are saved. In the Gospels " Christ" is always an appellation-" the Christ." It became eventually a personal name and is so used frequently in the Epistles of the New Testament.
(To be continued.)

Notes of a Reading on John's Gospel
Before He rose from the dead, and ascended on high, Christ alone was anointed with the Holy Ghost. After He had died for us, He received it for us; but it could not be for us until He had atoned for sins; but it is important to see that then He received it for us.
As to the Holy Ghost, it was a question discussed between the eastern and western churches whether He proceeded from the Father only, or from the Father and the Son. But the question is simply a theological one, and it is not worth while taking up either side-in one sense, they are both right.
In answer to a question on John 14, as to the Holy Ghost, " He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you," it was remarked that there was one very unhappy thing in our translation of the New Testament--the pains-taking change of words in English to represent the same word in the Greek. The passage quoted is an instance of the evil of this; for its force seems to be that the Holy Ghost was already with them, but would soon be in them; but the true meaning is, " He shall abide with you, and be in _ you," i.e., " He shall not leave you as I do now, but remain with you; and more even than that-He shall be in you." It is really descriptive of what the Holy Ghost would be when He came. He would abide with them, and not leave them.
We have an instance of the same thing in our translators in John 5, as to the word " damnation."
Ver. 13. Those who are said to be sons are further said to be born of the will of God-the will of man and of the flesh having no place.
Ver. 14, &c. In this verse Christ is seen in His own proper revelation, but as the fullness to us. " The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth: and of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace." The other parts of this passage are parentheses. Verse 17 continues what John the Evangelist says. The expression "grace for grace" is cumulative, meaning grace upon grace.
The verse should be, " We beheld His glory, the glory as of an only-begotten from a Father," &c. Here it is the kind of glory that the apostles saw that is mentioned. It was the glory of an only-begotten from His Father-it is the character of the glory which they saw. s They saw Him in sonship-glory, and in only-begotten sonship-glory. This glory is His; in it He is entirely alone. None but Himself can be only-begotten: it is personally His alone. It is not here " the glory which thou halt given me I have given them." In John 17 we get both ends, so to speak, of His glory; for in one sense He takes His glory again as man. But there is an aspect of His glory in which none can partake with Him.
He dwelt among us full of grace and truth, and of. His fullness have we received. I cannot say I am full of grace and truth; I have received of Him. We get the same thing that is in Him, but in a derived way. He is the source and center, and we shall always see something in Him far above us, and which will give the heart delight. The nearer we get to Christ the more shall we see this. There is, however, something more for us than even sharing His glory-we shall be like Him when we see Him as He is. I see then the glory and blessedness in which I am found in Him. What I have is His, and therefore I value and bless Him.
We are partakers of the divine nature, but we are not divinity. There are two Greek words used for the divine nature, θεότης and θειότης. The former really means divinity, and applies to Christ alone; the latter is such as may be used of us-godlike, divine. I could not say that in me dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead (θεὀτης) bodily, it would be blasphemy; but Christ could, because He was 0€07719, I can, however, say I have the divine nature (θεία φύσις) by faith. But this is very different from Godhead. As Son He was divine (θεὀτης). This is seen in the transfiguration where we see the two glorified ones in the same glory as Christ, but directly there is a thought of classing them essentially together, then there is a testimony to His divine nature, and the other two disappear. It is a very important thing to see clearly the difference between the divine nature in us and in Christ; we shall find the word of God very clear and exact on this point. I must have the nature of Christ to understand divine things, and to partake of His glory; but I must distinguish between His nature and His person, for when I get to His person He stands essentially and entirely alone. " We beheld," i.e., they apprehended that Christ was before them as a Son from His Father. This does not so much refer to what the apostles apprehended in His lifetime on earth, when they were dull; but is their apprehension of what they saw as they looked back upon it by the help of the Holy Ghost, and understood what it was they really did see. Before the Holy Ghost came they had not true apprehensions of it. The whole' life of Christ was a moral manifestation of His glory. Even the miracles in John are presented as manifesting His glory, and this glory was the glory of the only-begotten of the Father. The miracles of Christ have a very deep character, there are heaps of things to be noticed of them. There was in them something more than the outward act of power-even divine grace and love to man in his lost and ruined condition. There are also Christ's character and spirit to be seen in them. This is most remarkably seen in His raising the son of the widow of Nain, and still more at the grave of Lazarus..
Ver. 17. We get contrast here. The law was given by Moses: it was not sent-it was given. A person comes. When God did not come, He gave a law. Law is not a revelation of God's character: it is absurd to apply it thus to God. It is not a transcript of God's character, but of the creature's character. How can " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" apply to God? He has no neighbor. Law expresses the perfection of the creature-not God. If it were fulfilled on earth, we should have a heaven upon earth. Christ even was not simply perfect according to the law, but a great deal more-He loved sinners. Giving oneself up for others is not loving my neighbor as myself merely, but better than myself. I am bound as a creature to love my neighbor as myself; but Christ was not bound to die for sinners. As a Christian I have to act as He acted. What He did went much further than the law. Still He came to do God's will. " Lo I come to do thy will, Ο God." Hence all that will became duty to Him. So with us. We are creatures, and as creatures we owe it to God to do all that His love requires of us. It is quite wrong to be afraid of the word commandments. God has His commandments for His children to keep, so also has Christ. It is not law in the scriptural sense, but still it is commandment. Love is the fulfilling of the law; and therefore if I love I do not want law, but I do want commandment, the expression of God's will. Christ was not a lawgiver, although He gave commandments. Moses was the lawgiver-law came by him. We have to do with obedience, but not with law. I do not call my Father a lawgiver, although He gives me commandments and I obey them. I am subject to Him. So the saints are under subjection to Christ.
Grace and truth came by a person-Jesus Christ. Here we get a perfect contrast. Law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ-by a person. In fact, God Himself came and brought grace and truth. The law is given to me to pre scribe a line of conduct by which I learn what my duty is, and it claims judgment; but Christ comes when law has been broken, and judgment must be condemnation, and He brings with Him grace and truth. Truth is not judgment, although it leads us to judge ourselves. The truth comes about something. So in this case. The devil and man looked very amiable until Christ came and put matters in the right light-brought in the truth. I must not forget this, the truth is about something. Now when the truth comes it is with grace, otherwise it would upset us; and it is an immensely important fact that truth and grace are come. If I have Christ I have everything needed for the knowledge of God, of Satan, of man, and of the state of my own soul, and I have perfect grace with it. The truth itself is not here the question, as that is abstract, still Christ was the truth. Yet the truth is something about another thing. God is not the truth, but the One from whom the truth comes.
(Continued from page 247)
(To be continued.)
Notes of a Reading on John's Gospel
When the Word came-Christ-He brought the truth about everything with Him-it was in Himself-He was the Truth, what He said thoroughly made known what He was. In Him I get the truth about God, about man, about myself, and about Satan. The error with which Professor Maurice set out was confounding the truth with God.
There is another thing-rectitude of heart and the truth always go together.
This is seen in Christ, who was Himself the Truth-it was in Him-and He was it; but we must always know in part. In Christ alone was there perfect reality, sincerity; and we have sincerity in so far as we have Him. Where Christ is not there is no sincerity-that is reality. There may be what men call sincerity, where the heart is dark, and has been badly taught; but in this case there cannot be reality, for the truth only is real. There may be ignorance, but ignorance may be culpable, for it. might have been prevented. It was the case with the Jews: they remained ignorant of Christ, because of the state they were in; hence He said, " They bad both seen and hated him and his Father." Yet in grace he prayed, " Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." So Peter says, " Brethren, I wet that through ignorance ye did it, as also did your rulers;" but surely this ignorance was highly culpable, however sincere they may have been in it. Paul also said that what he did against Christ was done in ignorance and unbelief; but he does not palliate, but himself confesses that he was the chief of sinners. Yet in his natural state he was sincere as men speak-following his conscience.
It is impossible that the truth can be separated from the grace in this verse, because it was God revealing Himself in Christ. God is love; therefore, if God revealed Himself there must be grace. Truth given without Christ coming personally would be judgment. God may give a law without revealing Himself, but directly He says " Came," then grace and truth must come out. The evangelist puts grace first, because doubtless he felt it was what really suited his own case. After the death of Christ grace reigns.
Ver. 18. Here we get Christ as the only-begotten Son. it is not, He was in the bosom of the Father, as though He had left it, but, " is in the bosom of the Father." There He is even when upon earth, and even upon the cross it was true. He was always in the nearness of intimacy indicated by the expression, " in the bosom a the Father."
On the cross He was, of course, not enjoying this relationship, but bearing wrath. The expression, " from the bosom of the Father," is rather inexact, for Christ never left the bosom of the Father. The passage, " Son of man which is in heaven" connects the manhood with the divinity; the Son was in heaven, and that Son was a man upon the earth, therefore might it be said, " Son of man in heaven."
On the cross, Christ was under wrath, and therefore-although He was then doing something on account of which the Father would in a very especial sense love Him-yet then. He could not be enjoying the relationship between Him and His Father. In one sense, the Father never loved the Son so much as when He was upon the cross. This was ' what was in the Father's mind, not what was in Christ's, who could not be enjoying His relationship and drinking the cup of wrath at the same time. He gave Himself up to drink this cup. On the cross He was entirely occupied in bearing the wrath: it. required a divine person really to apprehend infinitely what the wrath of God was. I apprehend that at that time Christ was fully occupied with what He was bearing-infinite pain-which He infinitely realized. God was to be glorified on account of sin, and only such a One as He could do it. Still it is a very deep mystery, and it becomes us to be very careful in speaking about it. We find, however, that the time Christ was upon the cross was most distinctly clouded. There is a period before the three hours of darkness and a period afterward, when Christ on the cross uses the term " Father." He does not use it during the three hours of darkness: during this time He appears to be entirely occupied with God-bearing wrath; everything is shut out but what was passing between Him and God. It is exceedingly terrible this three hours of darkness. It is this terrible character of bearing wrath which makes it so dreadful to think, that in His life Christ was bearing wrath. Christ sympathizes with the judgment He was bearing, feeling
that it was right. See Psa. 22 Christ really bore this wrath before His death, and when it was all done He gave up His life. After the bitter cry-My God, why hast thou forsaken me!---we see Him calmly giving up His spirit to His Father. The depth of death, looked at as the wages of sin, had been gone through during the hours of darkness. We see first, all man's wickedness in His crucifixion fully brought out; then darkness-darkness and wrath-God forsaking Him. Afterward, having borne this wrath, He comes out and occupies Himself in fulfilling the rest of the scripture which had to be fulfilled in His death. The expression, " It is finished," shows us that just then He was departing because everything was done. It was a most blessed time for Him, for the bitterness of death was past-He was going to Paradise. He must actually die in order that the blood and water might come out for us. We never could enter into what Christ entered into upon the cross, therefore it was that He went through it for us.
We have no revelation of what He passed through during the three hours of darkness: we could not understand it, it was between Him and God alone.
In John's Gospel we never get Jesus dying, as it were, but simply His going out of the world to His Father. In John we get a divine person acting for us; in the other gospels, a man suffering for us.
His dying bodily was the giving effect to all that He did, in order to make it accessible to us.
He hath declared Him-not revealed. The word here used ἐξηγέομαι implies rather more detail. It is the same word which occurs in Luke for relations, and means to tell, narrate, recount, make known. It is a different word to that used in chapter 27:26, " I have declared unto them thy name and will declare it." In verse 18 of our chapter the word is used in the sense of relating what He knew of the Father. It would, perhaps, be better here to say, " Of the bosom of the Father," than " In the bosom of the Father." This verse closes the revelation of what Christ was. Now in verse 19 we get into history. Verse 15 is a parenthesis concerning the Baptist's testimony to Christ, who comes after John as to His appearance in the flesh, but is preferred before him, has the precedence of him, because He was before him. John distinctly apprehends this. Verse 16 should be read in connection with verse 14.
Ver. 19-28. We have here the Baptist's testimony as to his own position) and as to what Christ was. This carries us up to end of verse 28.
Ver. 29-34. The Baptist here says, " Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." He does not say has taken away. The expression is abstract, and represents the entire bearing of Christ's work before God. Everything that God does now, it is in respect of sin; whether it be grace or judgment, it is in respect of sin. Well, the result of Christ's work will be that all will be totally changed, sin will be gone, and there will be a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness; that is, Christ will be found to have taken away the sin of the world; for as the result of His work all God's dealings will be founded upon righteousness. The full effect of this will not be seen in the millennium, for then there will he sin to be dealt with, but not in the new heavens and earth. " Taketh away" has not in this verse the sense given in the margin of our Bibles-" Beareth away." It is not a sacrificial term. It has been said, by some that on account of what Christ has done no man will be condemned for sin as such, but because he did not believe in Christ. This is totally false, for God will judge men for sins. Christ said, " If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." The other doctrine is the result of trying to make God agreeable to sinners instead of sinners agreeable to God.
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(To be continued.)