1_Behold _The second argument is from the dignity and excellency of our calling; for it was not common honor, he says, that the heavenly Father bestowed on us, when he adopted us as his children. This being so great a favor, the desire for purity ought to be kindled in us, so as to be conformed to h... [ Continue Reading ]
2_Now are we the sons of God _He comes now to what every one knows and feels himself; for though the ungodly may not entice us to give up our hope, yet our present condition is very short of the glow of God’s children; for as to our body we are dust and a shadow, and death is always before our eyes;... [ Continue Reading ]
3_And every man that hath this hope _He now draws this inference, that the desire for holiness should not grow cold in us, because our happiness has not as yet appeared, for that hope is sufficient; and we know that what is hoped for is as yet hid. The meaning then is, that though we have not Christ... [ Continue Reading ]
4_Whosoever committeth_, or _doeth, sin_. The Apostle has already shown how ungrateful we must be to God, if we make but little account of the honor of adoption, by which he of his own goodwill anticipates us, and if we do not, at least, render him mutual love. He, at the same time, introduced this... [ Continue Reading ]
5_And ye know that he was manifested, _or, _hath appeared_. He shews by another argument how much sin and faith differ from one another; for it is the office of Christ to take away sins, and for this end was he sent by the Father; and it is by faith we partake of Christ’s virtue. Then he who believe... [ Continue Reading ]
6_Whosoever sinneth hath not seen him. _According to his usual manner he added the opposite clause, that we may know that faith in Christ and knowledge of him are vainly pretended, except there be newness of life. For Christ is never dormant where he reigns, but the Spirit renders effectual his powe... [ Continue Reading ]
7._He that doeth righteousness _The Apostle shews here that newness of life is testified by good works; nor does that likeness of which he has spoken, that is between Christ and his members, appear, except by the fruits they bring forth; as though he had said, “Since it behooves us to be conformed t... [ Continue Reading ]
8_He that committeth sin, _This word, _to commit_, or _to do_, refers also to outward works, so that the meaning is, that there is no life of God and of Christ, where men act perversely and wickedly, but that such are, on the contrary, the slaves of the devil; and by this way of speaking he sets for... [ Continue Reading ]
He says that they _sin not _who are born of God. Now, we must consider, whether God wholly regenerates us at once, or whether the remains of the old man continue in us until death. If regeneration is not as yet full and complete, it does not exempt us from the bondage of sin except in proportion to... [ Continue Reading ]
10_In this the children of God are manifest. _He shortly draws this conclusion, that those in vain claim a place and a name among the children of God, who do not prove themselves to be such by a pious and holy life, since by this evidence they shew that they differ from the children of the devil. Bu... [ Continue Reading ]
10_Whosoever doeth not righteousness. _To do righteousness and to do sin, are here set in opposition the one to the other. Then, to do righteousness is no other thing than to fear God from the heart, and to walk in his commandments as far as human weakness will permit; for though righteousness in a... [ Continue Reading ]
12_Not as Cain _This is another confirmation, taken from what is contrary; for in the reprobate and the children of the devil hatred reigns, and it holds, as it were, the chief place in their life; and he brings forward Cain as an instance. It served in the meantime to give them consolation, as he a... [ Continue Reading ]
14_We know. _He commends love to us by a remarkable eulogy, because it is an evidence of a transition from death to life. It hence follows that if we love the brethren we are blessed, but that we are miserable if we hate them. There is no one who does not wish to be freed and delivered from death. T... [ Continue Reading ]
15_Is a murderer _To stimulate us still more to love, he shews how detestable before God is hatred. There is no one who dreads not a murderer; nay, we all execrate the very name. But the Apostle declares that all who hate their brethren are murderers. He could have said nothing more atrocious; nor i... [ Continue Reading ]
16_Hereby perceive we_, or, _By this we know_. He now shews what true love is; for it would not have been enough to commend it, unless its power is understood. As an instance of perfect love, he sets before us the example of Christ; for he, by not sparing his own life, testified how much he loved us... [ Continue Reading ]
17_But whose hath this world’s good_, or, _If any one has the world’s sustenance_. He now speaks of the common duties of love, which flow from that chief foundation, that is, when we are prepared to serve our neighbors even to death. He, at the same time, seems to reason from the greater to the less... [ Continue Reading ]
18._Let us not love in word _There is a concession in this first clause; for we cannot love in tongue only; but as many falsely pretend this, the Apostle _concedes_, according to what is often done, the name of the thing to their dissimulation, though, in the second clause, he reproves their vanity,... [ Continue Reading ]
19_And hereby we know_, or, _by this we know_. The word _truth_, he takes now in a different sense; but there is a striking similarity in the words, — If we, in truth, love our neighbors, we have an evidence that we are born of God, who is truth, or that the truth of God dwells in us. But we must ev... [ Continue Reading ]
20._For if our heart condemn us _He proves, on the other hand, that they in vain possess the name and appearance of Christians, who have not the testimony of a good conscience. For if any one is conscious of guilt, and is condemned by his own heart, much less can he escape the judgment of God. It he... [ Continue Reading ]
21_If our heart condemns not _I have already explained that this refers not to _hypocrites _nor to the gross despisers of God. For how muchsoever the reprobate may approve of their own lives, yet _the Lord_, as Solomon says, _weigheth their hearts_. (Proverbs 16:2.) This balance of God, by which he... [ Continue Reading ]
22_And whatsoever we ask _These two things are connected, _confidence _and _prayer_. As before he shewed that an evil conscience is inconsistent with confidence, so now he declares that none can really pray to God but those who with a pure heart, fear and rightly worship him. The latter follows from... [ Continue Reading ]
23_And this is his commandment _He again accommodates a general truth to his own purpose. The meaning is, that such is the discord between us and God, that we are kept off from an access to him, except we are united by love to one another. At the same time he does not here commend love alone, as bef... [ Continue Reading ]
24_And he that keepeth his commandments _He confirms what I have already stated, that the union we have with God is evident when we entertain mutual love: not that our union begins thereby, but that it cannot be fruitless or without effect whenever it begins to exist. And he proves this by adding a... [ Continue Reading ]