John 3:21

But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. BUT HE THAT DOETH [`THE'] TRUTH, [ teen (G3588) aleetheian (G225)] - whose one object in life is to be, and to do what will bear the light, "cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God" COMETH TO THE LIGHT, THAT HIS DEEDS MAY BE MADE MANIFEST, THAT THEY ARE WROUGHT IN GOD - that all he is and does, being thus thoroughly tested, may be seen to have nothing in it but what is divinely performed and divinely approved. This is the "Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile." Remarks: (1) What an air of naturalness is there in the first part of this section, regarding the "many" who believed in Jes...

21._But he who doeth truth _This appears to be an improper and absurd statement, unless you choose to admit that some are upright and true, before they have been renewed by the Spirit of God, which does not at all agree with the uniform doctrine of Scripture; for we know that faith is the root from which the fruits of good works spring. To solve this difficulty, _Augustine _says, that _to do truth _means “to acknowledge that we are miserable and destitute of all power of doing good;” and, certainly, it is a true preparation for faith, when a conviction of our poverty compels us to flee to the grace of God. But all this is widely removed from Christ’s meaning, for he intended simply to say that those who act sincerely desire nothing more earnestly than _light_, _that their works may be tried_; because, when such a trial has been made, it becomes more evident that, in the sight of God, the...

1-8 Nicodemus was afraid, or ashamed to be seen with Christ, therefore came in the night. When religion is out of fashion, there are many Nicodemites. But though he came by night, Jesus bid him welcome, and hereby taught us to encourage good beginnings, although weak. And though now he came by night, yet afterward he owned Christ publicly. He did not talk with Christ about state affairs, though he was a ruler, but about the concerns of his own soul and its salvation, and went at once to them. Our Saviour spoke of the necessity and nature of regeneration or the new birth, and at once directed Nicodemus to the source of holiness of the heart. Birth is the beginning of life; to be born again, is to begin to live anew, as those who have lived much amiss, or to little purpose. We must have a new nature, new principles, new affections, new aims. By our first birth we were corrupt, shapen in s...

Verse John 3:21. _WROUGHT IN GOD._] In his presence, and through his assistance. This is the end of our Lord's discourse to Nicodemus; and though we are not informed here of any good effects produced by it, yet we learn from other scriptures that it had produced the most blessed effects in his mind, and that from this time he became a disciple of Christ. He publicly defended our Lord in the Sanhedrin, of which he was probably a member, John 7:50, and, with Joseph of Arimathea, gave him an honourable funeral, John 19:39, when all his bosom friends had deserted him. See _Dodd_....

ARE THAT DOETH TRUTH - He who does right, or he that obeys the truth. Truth here is opposed to error and to evil. The sinner acts from falsehood and error. The good man acts according to truth. The sinner believes a lie - that God will not punish, or that there is no God, or that there is no eternity and no hell. The Christian believes all these, and acts as if they were true. This is the difference between a Christian and a sinner. COMETH TO THE LIGHT - Loves the truth, and seeks it more and more. By prayer and searching the Scriptures he endeavors to ascertain the truth, and yield his mind to it. MAY BE MADE MANIFEST - May be made clear or plain; or that it may be made plain that his deeds are performed in God. He searches for truth and light that he may have evidence that his actions are right. WROUGHT IN GOD - Th

EXPOSITION This is the first of the eleven discourses recorded by this evangelist, and for the most part addressed to the cultivated, hierarcical party in Jerusalem, who questioned him in an unfriendly spirit. On the sources of these records, and the degree to which John's subjectivity coloured his record of them, see Introduction. JOHN 3:1 BUT THERE WAS A MAN OF THE PHARISEES. Is this narrative introduced, as Baur thinks, to give a specimen of wrongly directed faith, to which Christ did _not _entrust himself? and was the evangelist busy at once on his great mission of undervaluing the Jewish parties and nation? Certainly not. We have a clear proof that, in the case of the genuine inquirer, Christ did open His very heart; and to a "ruler of Jews," to a "Pharisee," to a "teacher of Israel," he deigne

BUT HE THAT DOTH TRUTH,.... That which is true, right and good: "he whose work is just", as the Ethiopic version renders it; or, "he that does that which is right", so the Persic; that which is according to the will of God, and from a principle of love to him, and with a view to his glory: COMETH TO THE LIGHT; to Christ, and to his word, and ordinances: THAT HIS DEEDS MAY BE MADE MANIFEST; being brought to the light, to the test, and standard, whether they, are right, or wrong; and that it may appear, THAT THEY ARE WROUGHT IN GOD; or "by God"; by his assistance, and gracious influence, without which men can do nothing; for it is God that works in them both to will and to do: or, "according to God", as others render it; according to the will of God, both for matter and manner: or "for God", as the Ethiopic version renders it; for the glory of God, which ought to be the aim, and end of...

Let us once more read together part of this blessed soul-saving chapter. I suppose that more souls have been saved through the reading of this chapter than through almost any other portion of Holy Writ. John 3:1. _There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: the same came to Jesus by night,_ He could not have come at a better time; the business of the day was over, and all was quiet. John 3:2. _And said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him._ It is always well to go as far as you can in your avowal of belief in Christ. Nicodemus confessed what he knew to be true, and he drew from it the thoroughly accurate conclusion that Christ must be a teacher

II. ETERNAL LIFE IMPARTED: What it is and What it Includes Chapter 2:23-17 The second part of this Gospel contains the blessed teachings the Son of God gave concerning eternal life, how it is imparted and what it includes. Everything in these Chapter s is new. The story of Nicodemus, the woman at Sychar's well, the healing of the impotent man, the discourses of our Lord, etc., are not reported by the synoptic Gospels. There is not a word of the Sermon on the Mount reported by John; the many miracles, so significantly arranged in Matthew, are omitted (except the feeding of the 5000); nor do we find a single parable concerning the Kingdom of Heaven. The progressive revelation concerning eternal life will be brought out in the annotations. As already stated the teachings begin with the new birth, in which eternal life is imparted, and end with the destiny of those who are born again. This...

THE CONVERSATION WITH NICODEMUS. Nicodemus is an example of those to whom the Lord could not trust Himself. The story shows how He tried to bring those whom His teaching had impressed to a truer conception of the Messianic kingdom. Here as in all the Johannine speeches the conversation is recorded in terms which reflect later thought, and it passes out into more general thoughts and ideas Nicodemus disappears, and before the end the author is teaching the men of his own time. We cannot satisfactorily separate speech from comment. And yet throughout the subjects and thoughts have naturally grown out of the historical situation. The author is not simply developing, in the light of later Jewish controversy, his views on the necessity of Christian baptism, and the spiritual character of Christian Messianic expectation. A leader of the Jewish party, favourably disposed by what he has seen and...