and reef mmended Himself to our faith and love, by manifesting His glory in the face of Jesus Christ."
Lightfoot remarks, "■ He doth most properly centre the ultimate fixing and resting of belief in God the Father. For as from Him, as from a fountain, do flow all those things that are the object of faith, — namely free grace^ the gift of Christ, the way of redemp- tion, the gracious promises, — so unto Him as to that fountain doth faith betake itself in its final resting and repose, — namely to God in Chri^.'
Chemnitius i^emarks, that the expression " believe on Him who sent me," shows " that true faith embraces the word of the Gos- pel, not as something thought out by Christ alone, but as some- thing decreed in the secret counsel of the whole Trinity."
[Hdth everlasting life.'] This means that he possesses a com- plete title to an everlasting life of glory hereafter, and is reckoned pardoned, forgiven, justified, and an heir of heaven, even now upon earth. His soul is delivered from the second death. — The *' presentness " of the expression should be carefully noticed. Everlasting life is the present possession of every true believer, from the moment he believes. It is Hot a thing he shall have at last. He has it at once, even in this world. " All that believe are justified." — " Being justified by faith we have peace with God." (Acts xiii. 39 ; Rom. v. 1.)
[ShaU not come into condemnation.] The Greek word for " come " is in the present tense, and it would be more literally rendered " does not come." The meaning is, there is no con- demnation for him. His guilt is removed even now. He has nothing to fear in looking forward to the judgment of the last day. " There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." — "He that believeth on Him is not con- demned." (Rom. viii. 1 ; John iii. 18.)
I cannot see in these words any warrant for the notion held by some, that the saints of God shall not be judged at the last day in any way at aU. The notion itself is so utterly contra- dictory to some plain texts of Scripture (2 Cor. v. 10 ; Rom. xiv. 10; Matt. XXV. 31), that I cannct understand any one holding it. But even in the text before u-, it seeos to me a violent straining of the words to apply them to the judgment-day. The thing our Lord is speaking of is the present privilege of a believer. The tense He uses, as Chemnitius bids us specially observe, is the present and not the future. And even supposing that the words do apply to the judgment-day, the utmost that can be fairly made of them is, that a believer has no condem- iLation to fiar at the last da}^ Judged according to his works he shall be. Condemned he may certainly feel assured he shall
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not be. From the day he beUeves, all his condemnation is taken away.
Ecolampadius remarks how irreconcileable this verse is with the Romish doctrine of purgatory.
[But is passed from death to Ufe.] This means that a believer has passed from a state of spiritual death to a state of spiritual life. Before he believed, he was dead legally, — dead as a guilty criminal condemned to die. In the day that he beheved he received a free and full pardon. His sentence was reversed and put away. Instead of being legally dead, be became legally alive. — But this is not all. His heart, which was dead in sins, is now renewed, and alive unto Grod. There is a change in his character as well as in his position toward Grod. Like the prodigal son, he " was dead and is alive." (Luke xv. 24.)
We should mark carefully the strong language of Scrip- ture in describing the immense difference between the posi- tion of a man who believes, and the man who does not believe. It is nothing else than the difference between hfe and death, — between being dead and being alive. Whatever some may think fit to say about the privileges of baptism, we must never shrink from maintaining, that so long as men do not hear Christ's voice and believe, — so long they are dead, whether baptized or not, and have no life in them. Faith, not baptism, is the turning- point. He that has not yet believed is dead, and must be born again. When he believes, and not till then, he will pass from death to life.
Ferus remarks, " Although it seems very easy to believe, and many think they do believe when they have only heard the name of believing, — supposing that to believe is the same as to understand, to remember, to know, to think, — yet this beheving is in truth a hard and difficult thing. It is easy to fast, to say prayers, to go on pilgrimage, to give alms and the like ; but to believe is a thing impossible to our strength. Let superstitious people learn that God requires of us a far higher and more difi&cult kind of worship than they imagine. Let pious people learn to seek faith more than anything, saying, — Lord, increase our faith."
25. — [Verily, verily, I say unto you] This emphatic - preface here
begins a prophecy of the wonderful things that should yet be done by the Son of G-od. Did the Jews of Jerusalem desire to know what proofs of Divine power and authority the Son of God would give ? Let them hear what he would do.
[The hour is coming and now is.] This meant that a time was coming, and in fact had already begun.
iThe dtad shall hear His voice and live.] It is thought by some