John 6:46

Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. NOT THAT ANY MAN HATH SEEN THE FATHER, EXCEPT HE WHICH IS OF GOD, [ para (G3844) tou (G3588) Theou (G2316)] - or 'from God;' but in the sense of John 1:14, "the Only begotten [forth] from the Father." Lest they should confound that "hearing and learning of the Father," to which believers are admitted by divine teaching, with His own immediate access to Him, He here throws in a parenthetical explanation; stating, as explicitly as words could do it, how totally different the two cases were, and that only He who is "from God" hath this naked, immedi...

46._Not that any man hath seen the Father. _As he has hitherto magnified the grace of his Father, so now he earnestly directs believers to himself alone. For both must be joined together; that no knowledge of Christ can be obtained, until the Father enlighten by his Spirit those who are by nature blind; and yet that it is in vain to seek God, unless Christ go before; for the majesty of God is so lofty, that the senses of men cannot reach him. Nay, more, all that knowledge of God which men may think that they have attained out of Christ will be a deadly abyss. When he says that he alone hath known the Father, he means that it is an office which belongs peculiarly to himself, to manifest God to men, who would otherwise have been concealed....

36-46 The discovery of their guilt, danger, and remedy, by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, makes men willing and glad to come, and to give up every thing which hinders applying to him for salvation. The Father's will is, that not one of those who were given to the Son, should be rejected or lost by him. No one will come, till Divine grace has subdued, and in part changed his heart; therefore no one who comes will ever be cast out. The gospel finds none willing to be saved in the humbling, holy manner, made known therein; but God draws with his word and the Holy Ghost; and man's duty is to hear and learn; that is to say, to receive the grace offered, and consent to the promise. None had seen the Father but his beloved Son; and the Jews must expect to be taught by his inward power upon their minds, and by his word, and the ministers whom he sent among them....

Verse 46. _NOT THAT ANY MAN HATH SEEN THE FATHER_] He does not teach men by appearing _personally_ before them, or by any other outward voice than that of his word and messengers; but he teaches by his _Spirit_. This teaching from God implies: 1. That they shall have _proper_ instruction. 2. That they shall _comprehend_ it; for, when God teaches, there is no delay in learning. And, 3. That this teaching should be by the _influence_ of the _Holy Ghost_ upon their minds. _HE WHICH IS OF GOD_] That is, Christ alone: neither Moses nor any of the prophets had ever seen God: Jesus, who lay in the bosom of the Father, HE saw and revealed him, John 1:18....

NOT THAT ANY MAN HATH SEEN THE FATHER - Jesus added this, evidently, to guard against mistake. He had said that all who came to him were taught of God. The teacher was commonly seen and heard by the pupil; but, lest it should be supposed that he meant to say that a man to come to him must see and hear God, visibly and audibly, he adds that he did not intend to affirm this. It was still true that no man had seen God at any time. They were not, therefore, to expect to see God, and his words were not to be perverted as if he meant to teach that. SAVE HE WHICH IS OF GOD - Jesus here evidently refers to himself as the Son of God. He had just said that no man had seen the Father. When he affirms that he has seen the Father, it implies that he is more than man. He is the only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, John 1:18

EXPOSITION JOHN 6:1 2. _Christ declares himself to be the Sustainer and Protector of the life of which he is the Source_. JOHN 6:1 (1) _The supply of human wants illustrated by a well known _"_sign_" _of power_. Chronological difficulties beset our treatment of this miraculous narrative with its varied consequences and results. Many curious and even violent measures have been resorted to with a view to solve them. Some have supposed that John 5:1. and 6. have been inverted in order, and that thus the presence of our Lord in Galilee, mentioned in...

NOT THAT ANY MAN HATH SEEN THE FATHER,.... This is said, lest it should be thought from the above words, that our Lord meant that men should be so taught of God, as that they should visibly see the Father, and vocally hear his voice, and be personally instructed by him; for his voice is not heard, nor his shape seen; see John 1:18; SAVE HE WHICH IS OF GOD; who is begotten of him, and of the same nature and perfections with him, though a distinct person from him, and who was always with him, and lay in his bosom: HE HATH SEEN THE FATHER; has perfect knowledge of him, personal communion with him; has seen the perfections and glory of his person, and the thoughts, purposes, and counsels of his heart, his whole mind, and will, and all the grace, goodness, and mercy which is in him, and has declared it; see...

John 6:22. _The day following, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat, but that the disciples were gone away alone: (Howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks:) When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, neither the disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seeking for Jesus._ Everything looked very favorable, did it not? These people put themselves to considerable trouble in order to get where the Saviour was; they were not satisfied to be away from him; they were «seeking for Jesus.» John 6:25. And when th

CHAPTER 6 _ 1. The Feeding of the Five Thousand Men. (John 6:1 .)_ 2. The Attempt to Make Him King, (John 6:15 .) 3. The Stormy Sea. “It is I, be not afraid.” (John 6:16 .) 4. The Discourse on the Bread of Life. The Food of the Believer. (John 6:22 .) 5. The Falling Away of Disciples. (John 6:60) 6. Peter's Confession. (John 6:67 .) The events which are recorded in this chapter happened at the Sea of Galilee, the sea of Tiberias. John exclusively uses t

THE MURMURING OF THE JEWS. The changes of persons here (_cf._ John 6:22, the multitude), and of place in John 6:59, show that this chapter is not intended to record a continuous conversation, but to give specimens of Christ's teaching as the author has come to see its meaning, of objections raised and how they were answered. Jesus-' claims are challenged on the ground of His lowly origin (_cf._ Luke 4:22; Mark 6:3). The answer takes up the thought of John 6:37. Those alone will accept such an one to whom the Father gives the grace to hear the teaching promised in the prophets ...