PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible — I John
Gill, John, 1697-1771 · 55,618 words · 70 reading sections
1 John 1:1
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible. 1 John 1:1 INTRODUCTION TO 1 JOHN The author of this epistle was John, the son of Zebedee, the disciple whom Jesus loved: he was the youngest of the apostles, and survived them all. He does not indeed put his name to this epistle, as the Apostles Paul, Peter, James, and Ju…
2,027 wordsSECTION 21 John 1:2
1 John 1:2 Ver. 2. For the life was manifested,.... That is, the Word of life, who is life itself, the fountain of life, having it as God, in and of himself, without derivation from, and independent of another, originally and eternally, and who is the cause, author, and giver of life in every sense to others; this liv…
394 wordsSECTION 31 John 1:3
1 John 1:3 Ver. 3. That which we have seen and heard,.... This is repeated, both to confirm and illustrate what had been before said, and to carry on the discourse to what follows: declare we unto you; in the ministry of the word; the person and offices of Christ being the sum and substance of the Gospel ministration…
398 wordsSECTION 41 John 1:4
1 John 1:4 Ver. 4. And these things write we unto you,.... Concerning the deity and eternity of Christ, the Word and concerning the truth of his humanity, and the manifestation of him in the flesh; and concerning that eternal life and salvation which is declared in the Gospel to be in him; and concerning the saints' f…
327 wordsSECTION 51 John 1:5
1 John 1:5 Ver. 5. This then is the message,.... Of God by his Son the Word, or from Christ by his apostles. The Syriac version renders it, "this is the Gospel"; which is good news from a far country, a message sent from the King of kings to sinful men: or this is the annunciation, or declaration; that is, the thing d…
765 wordsSECTION 61 John 1:6
1 John 1:6 Ver. 6. If we say that we have fellowship with him,.... The Alexandrian copy reads, "for if we say": that is, if any profess to be partakers of the divine nature, to be like unto God, and to have communion with him, to have the light of his countenance, and the discoveries of his love: and walk in darkness…
333 wordsSECTION 71 John 1:7
1 John 1:7 Ver. 7. But if we walk in the light,.... Are persons enlightened by the Spirit of God, so as to have a true sight and sense of sin, to know Christ, and the way of salvation by him; and are children of the light, and are going on and increasing in spiritual light and knowledge; walk on in Christ, the light, …
883 wordsSECTION 81 John 1:8
1 John 1:8 Ver. 8. If we say that we have no sin,.... Notwithstanding believers are cleansed from their sins by the blood of Christ, yet they are not without sin; no man is without sin: this is not only true of all men, as they come into the world, being conceived in sin, and shapen in iniquity, and of all that are in…
738 wordsSECTION 91 John 1:9
1 John 1:9 Ver. 9. If we confess our sins,.... Not to one other; for though it is our duty to confess our faults to our fellow creatures and fellow Christians which are committed against them, yet are under no obligation to confess such as are more immediately against God, and which lie between him and ourselves; or a…
577 wordsSECTION 101 John 1:10
1 John 1:10 Ver. 10. If we say that we have not sinned,.... Have never sinned, in time past as well as now; deny original sin, and that men are born in sin, but affirm they come into the world pure and holy; and assert that concupiscence is not sin; and so not regarding internal lusts and desires as sinful, only what …
360 wordsSECTION 111 John 2:1
1 John 2:1 INTRODUCTION TO 1 JOHN 2 In this chapter the apostle comforts the saints under a sense of sin; urges them to an observance of the commandments of God, in imitation of Christ, particularly to the new commandment of brotherly love, and gives his reasons for it; dehorts them from the love of the world, and th…
2,344 wordsSECTION 121 John 2:2
1 John 2:2 Ver. 2. And he is the propitiation for our sins,.... For the sins of us who now believe, and are Jews: and not for ours only; but for the sins of Old Testament saints, and of those who shall hereafter believe in Christ, and of the Gentiles also, signified in the next clause: but also for [the sins] of the…
1,143 wordsSECTION 131 John 2:3
1 John 2:3 Ver. 3. And hereby we do know that we know him,.... Either the Father, with whom Christ is an advocate; not as the God of nature, and by the light of it, nor as the lawgiver and Judge of the whole earth, and by the law of Moses; but as the God of all grace, as a God pardoning iniquity, transgression, and si…
602 wordsSECTION 141 John 2:4
1 John 2:4 Ver. 4. He that saith I know him,.... God or Christ, as the Gnostics did, who pretended to great, even perfect, knowledge of divine things: and keepeth not his commandments; which the above persons had no regard to, and as many who profess great light and knowledge in our days show no concern for: is a li…
163 wordsSECTION 151 John 2:5
1 John 2:5 Ver. 5. But whoso keepeth his word,.... Either the word of the Gospel, and the truths of it, who receives it in love, cordially embraces and retains it, and will by no means part with it, but holds it fast, and stands fast in it; or the precepts and ordinances of the word, who loves these, and esteems them …
472 wordsSECTION 161 John 2:6
1 John 2:6 Ver. 6. He that saith he abideth in him,.... As all do that are in him; once in Christ, and always in Christ; they are set as a seal on his arm and heart, which can never be removed; they are in his arms, and can never be plucked from thence; and are members of him, and can never be disunited from him: or d…
368 wordsSECTION 171 John 2:7
1 John 2:7 Ver. 7. Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you,.... Some understand this of faith, which this apostle calls a commandment, 1Jo 3:23; but it rather intends the commandment of love, especially to the brethren, of which the apostle says the same things as here in his second epistle, 1Jo 2:5; and this se…
460 wordsSECTION 181 John 2:8
1 John 2:8 Ver. 8. Again, a new commandment I write unto you,.... Which is the same with the former, considered in different respects. The command of brotherly love is a new one; that is, it is an excellent one, as a new name is an excellent name, and a new song is an excellent one; it is renewed by Christ under the G…
1,018 wordsSECTION 191 John 2:9
1 John 2:9 Ver. 9. He that saith he is in the light,.... Is in Christ the light, or has the true knowledge of the light of the Gospel, or is illuminated by the Spirit of God; for persons may profess to be enlightened ones, and not be so: wherefore the apostle does not say, he that is in the light, but he that says he …
320 wordsSECTION 201 John 2:10
1 John 2:10 Ver. 10. He that loveth his brother,.... As such, and because he is his brother in Christ, and that cordially and sincerely, without hypocrisy and dissimulation, and by love serves him, both in things temporal and spiritual, and so observes the new, and yet old commandment, abideth in the light: it is a p…
409 wordsSECTION 211 John 2:11
1 John 2:11 Ver. 11. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness,.... As is before expressed in 1Jo 2:9, to which is added, and walketh in darkness; he goes on in it, and takes delight in it, as dangerous and uncomfortable as it is: and knoweth not whither he goeth; he cannot discern between good and evil; he puts…
9,693 wordsSECTION 221 John 3:1
1 John 3:1 INTRODUCTION TO 1 JOHN 3 In this chapter the apostle exhorts to a holy life and conversation in general, and to the exercise of brotherly love in particular. The former of these is urged from the consideration of the great blessing of adoption, which springs from the free love and favour of God, is unknown…
1,176 wordsSECTION 231 John 3:2
1 John 3:2 Ver. 2. Beloved, now are we the sons of God,.... By adoption, secretly in God's predestination, and in the covenant of grace; and openly in regeneration, through faith in Christ, and by the testimony of the Spirit: and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; though they are sons, they do not appear now as…
700 wordsSECTION 241 John 3:3
1 John 3:3 Ver. 3. And every man that hath this hope in him,.... Or on him, Jesus Christ; for a true hope of that eternal happiness, which lies in likeness to Christ, and in the vision of him, is only founded on his person, blood, righteousness, and sacrifice: and this hope every man has not, only he who is born again…
460 wordsSECTION 251 John 3:4
1 John 3:4 Ver. 4. Whosoever committeth sin,.... This, in connection with what follows, is true of any sin, great or small, but here designs a course of sinning, a wilful, obstinate, persisting in sin: transgresseth also the law; not of man, unless the law of men is founded on, and agrees with the law of God, for som…
383 wordsSECTION 261 John 3:5
1 John 3:5 Ver. 5. And ye know that he was manifested,.... This is a truth of the Gospel the saints were well instructed in and acquainted with; that Jesus Christ, the Word and Son of God, who is here meant, who was with the Father, and lay in his bosom from all eternity, was in the fulness of time made manifest in th…
504 wordsSECTION 271 John 3:6
1 John 3:6 Ver. 6. Whosoever abideth in him,.... As the branch in the vine, deriving all light, life, grace, holiness, wisdom, strength, joy, peace, and comfort from Christ; or dwells in him by faith, enjoys communion with him as a fruit of union to him; and stands fast in him, being rooted and grounded in him, and ab…
246 wordsSECTION 281 John 3:7
1 John 3:7 Ver. 7. Little children, let no man deceive you,.... Neither by these doctrines, nor by wicked practices, drawing into the belief of the one, or into the performance of the other; suggesting, as the Gnostics did, that knowledge without practice was enough, and that it was no matter how a man lived, provided…
494 wordsSECTION 291 John 3:8
1 John 3:8 Ver. 8. He that committeth sin is of the devil,.... Not everyone that sins, or commits acts of sin, then every man is of the devil, because no man lives without the commission of sin; but he who makes sin his constant business, and the employment of his life, whose life is a continued series of sinning, he …
486 wordsSECTION 301 John 3:9
1 John 3:9 Ver. 9. Whosoever is born of God,.... In a figurative and spiritual sense; who are regenerated, or born from above; who are quickened by the grace of God, and have Christ formed in them; who are made partakers of the divine nature, and new creatures in Christ; which spiritual birth is not owing to men, to t…
1,030 wordsSECTION 311 John 3:10
1 John 3:10 Ver. 10. In this the children of God are manifest,.... By regenerating grace, and not sinning, in the sense before explained, in consequence of it: adoption is an act of God's grace and sovereign will; it is secret in his own heart, and is secured in divine predestination, and in the covenant of grace, and…
356 wordsSECTION 321 John 3:11
1 John 3:11 Ver. 11. For this is the message,.... Sent from God by Christ, or what he in his ministry declared, and is the commandment which was so frequently urged by him, Joh 13:34; that ye have heard from the beginning; of the preaching of the Gospel to them, and of their conversion; see 1Jo 2:7; that we should l…
87 wordsSECTION 331 John 3:12
1 John 3:12 Ver. 12. Not as Cain,.... That is, let us not be like him, or do as he did, hate the brethren. The apostle illustrates brotherly love by its contrary, in the instance of Cain, who was the first instance and example of hatred of the brethren, and of fratricide, and a very detestable one, by which he would d…
723 wordsSECTION 341 John 3:13
1 John 3:13 Ver. 13. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. By "the world" is meant the inhabitants of the world, the wicked part of them; these hate the saints, though without a cause, any just cause, and for no other reason, but because they are chosen and called out of the world, and do not live the wicked…
230 wordsSECTION 351 John 3:14
1 John 3:14 Ver. 14. We know that we have passed from death to life,.... From a death in sin, a moral or spiritual death; which lies in a separation from God, Father, Son, and Spirit; in an alienation from the life of God; in a loss of the image of God, of righteousness, holiness, and knowledge, in which man was creat…
660 wordsSECTION 361 John 3:15
1 John 3:15 Ver. 15. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer,.... A soul murderer, as the Ethiopic version renders it; not only of himself, for every sinner, by sinning, wrongs and destroys his own soul; but of his brother whom he hates: he is a murderer of him in his heart, even as he that lusts after a woman hath…
259 wordsSECTION 371 John 3:16
1 John 3:16 Ver. 16. Hereby perceive we the love [of God],.... The phrase "of God" is not in the Oriental versions, nor in the Greek copies, but is in the Complutensian edition, and in the Vulgate Latin version, and is favoured by the Syriac version, which reads, "by this we know his love to us"; and so the Ethiopic v…
410 wordsSECTION 381 John 3:17
1 John 3:17 Ver. 17. But whoso hath this world's good,.... The possessions of this world, worldly substance, the temporal good things of it; for there are some things in it, which are honestly, pleasantly, and profitably good, when used lawfully, and not abused, otherwise they are to the owner's hurt: or "the living o…
3,343 wordsSECTION 391 John 4:1
1 John 4:1 INTRODUCTION TO 1 JOHN 4 In this chapter the apostle cautions against seducing spirits; advises to try them, and gives rules by which they may be known, and by which they are distinguished from others; and then returns to his favourite subject, brotherly love. He exhorts the saints not to believe every man…
1,473 wordsSECTION 401 John 4:2
1 John 4:2 Ver. 2. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God,.... This is a rule by which believers may know whether a man professing to have the Spirit of God, and to be called and sent by him, and whether the, doctrine he preaches, is of him or not: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of …
384 wordsSECTION 411 John 4:3
1 John 4:3 Ver. 3. And every spirit that confesseth not,.... The proper deity and sonship of Christ, his true and real humanity, and his Messiahship; or any of his offices, doctrines, and ordinances; or his satisfaction and righteousness; or that peace, pardon, justification, life, and salvation, are by him; all which…
289 wordsSECTION 421 John 4:4
1 John 4:4 Ver. 4. Ye are of God, little children,.... This, with what follows, is said for the comfort of the saints, and to deliver them from the fears of being drawn aside by the delusions of the false prophets, and antichrists; since they belonged to God, were his elect, and therefore could not be finally and tota…
584 wordsSECTION 431 John 4:5
1 John 4:5 Ver. 5. They are of the world,.... That is, the false prophets and teachers that were gone into the world, and had the spirit of antichrist in them; these were as they were when they came into the world, under the pollution, guilt, and dominion of sin, in a state of unregeneracy, carnality, and darkness; th…
471 wordsSECTION 441 John 4:6
1 John 4:6 Ver. 6. We are of God,.... Not only as the chosen of God, the children of God, regenerated ones, and believers, but as ministers of the Gospel; they were chosen, and called, and sent of God to preach the Gospel, and were qualified for it, by gifts received from him, and had their doctrine from him, as well …
596 wordsSECTION 451 John 4:7
1 John 4:7 Ver. 7. Beloved, let its love one another,.... The apostle having finished what he proposed to say concerning the trying of spirits, returns to his former exhortation to brotherly love, and which comes with fresh force and strength; for since worldly men follow, hear, embrace, and cleave to the false teache…
249 wordsSECTION 461 John 4:8
1 John 4:8 Ver. 8. He that loveth not, knoweth not God,.... If a man loves not the children of God, those that are born of him, he does not know, so as to love God, the Father of them; for to pretend love to God, the begetter of them, whom he sees not, and not love those who are begotten by him, and are visible object…
281 wordsSECTION 471 John 4:9
1 John 4:9 Ver. 9. In this was manifested the love of God towards us,.... The love of God here spoken of, and instanced in, is not his general love to all his creatures, which is shown in the make of them, and in the support of them in their beings, and in his providential care of them, and kindness to them; but his s…
543 wordsSECTION 481 John 4:10
1 John 4:10 Ver. 10. Herein is love,.... The love of God, free love, love that cannot be matched: herein it is manifested, as before; this is a clear evidence of it, an undoubted proof, and puts it out of all question: not that we loved God: the love of God is antecedent to the love of his people; it was when theirs …
490 wordsSECTION 491 John 4:11
1 John 4:11 Ver. 11. Beloved, if God so loved us,.... As to send his Son to be a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins, and to obtain eternal life for us through his sufferings and death: the apostle uses the same language his Lord and master did, Joh 3:16; we ought also to love one another; for those who are the objec…
261 wordsSECTION 501 John 4:12
1 John 4:12 Ver. 12. No man hath seen God at any time,.... The same is said by the Evangelist John, Joh 1:18; but here it is observed with a different view, and upon another account; there it signifies that no man has seen and looked into the counsels and designs of God, and been able to make a discovery and declarati…
660 wordsSECTION 511 John 4:13
1 John 4:13 Ver. 13. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us,.... That there is a communion between God and us, and a communication of his love and grace to us, and an exercise of grace upon him; for God dwells in his people by his Spirit and grace, and they dwell in him by the exercise of faith and love upo…
200 wordsSECTION 521 John 4:14
1 John 4:14 Ver. 14. And we have seen, and do testify,.... This seems to be particularly said of the apostles, who had a clear discerning of the love and grace of God, manifested in the mission of Christ into the world; for though no man had seen his nature and his person, yet they had seen his love, and the exceeding…
354 wordsSECTION 531 John 4:15
1 John 4:15 Ver. 15. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God,.... The only begotten of the Father; that he is not a mere man, as the Jews, and Ebion and Cerinthus said, but a divine person, equal with the Father; which contains all that relates to the dignity of his person, and his fitness for his office …
238 wordsSECTION 541 John 4:16
1 John 4:16 Ver. 16. And we have known and believed,.... Or have a full assurance and knowledge of, and faith in, the love that God hath to us; shown as in many instances, so more especially in sending his Son to be the propitiation for our sins, to be the Saviour of us, and that we might live through him.God is love;…
2,316 wordsSECTION 551 John 5:1
1 John 5:1 INTRODUCTION TO 1 JOHN 5 In this chapter the apostle treats of the nature of faith and love; of Christ the object of both, and of the witness that is bore to him; of the necessity of believing the testimony concerning him; of the confidence of prayer being heard, and concerning whom it should be made; of t…
1,416 wordsSECTION 561 John 5:2
1 John 5:2 Ver. 2. By this we know that we are the children God,.... The Ethiopic version reads, "by this know that we love God"; which, in connection with what follows, makes a tautology, and is a proving "idem per idem": whereas the apostle's view is to show when love to the saints is right; and that is, when we lo…
213 wordsSECTION 571 John 5:3
1 John 5:3 Ver. 3. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments,.... Keeping of the commandments of God is an evidence of love to God; this shows that love is not in word and tongue, in profession only, but in deed and in truth; and that such persons have a sense of the love of God upon their souls, unde…
294 wordsSECTION 581 John 5:4
1 John 5:4 Ver. 4. For whatsoever is born of God,.... Which may be understood either of persons born; of God; or of the new creature, or principle of grace wrought in them, particularly faith hereafter mentioned, which is an heaven born grace, the gift of God, and the operation of his Spirit: this overcometh the worl…
205 wordsSECTION 591 John 5:5
1 John 5:5 Ver. 5. Who is he that overcometh the world,.... This question carries in it a strong affirmation, that no other person is the conqueror of the world: but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? and this points out what that faith is which obtains the victory over the world; and shows that it is no…
199 wordsSECTION 601 John 5:6
1 John 5:6 Ver. 6. This is he that came by water and blood, [even] Jesus Christ,.... By "water" is not meant the ablutions or washings of the ceremonial law; Christ came not by these, but to make an end of them; his blood, which cleanseth from all sin, being the antitype, and so the fulfilling end of them: nor the pur…
671 wordsSource & rights
Public domain; John Gill (1697–1771). Source item is marked Public Domain on Internet Archive.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.