and the believer's soul, as there is between a man's food and it man's body.
57. — [As the living Father, etc.] This verse explains the intimate union between Christ and the true believer, by a far higher and more mysterious figure than that of the union of our food and our body. The illustration used, is drawn from that unspeak- able and inexplicable union which exists between the Two First Persons in the Trinity — Grod the Father and God the Son. — It is as though our Lord said, " Just as the Father sent me into the world, to be born of a woman, and take the manhood into God, and yet, though I am among you as man, I live in the closest union and communion with God, — even so the man that by faith feeds his soul on my sacrifice for sin, shall live in the closest union and communion with me." — In a word, the union between Christ and the true Christian, is as real and true and close and inseparable as the union between God the Father and God the Son. — While the Son was in the world, the carnal eye discerned little or nothing of His union with the Father. Yet it was a true thing and existed. Just so the carnal eye may see little or nothing of the union between Christ and tlie man who feeds by faith on Christ. Yet it is a real true union, — Just aa the Son, though equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, does live, in an ineffable and inscrutable way, through and by the Father, the Son never being without the Father nor the Father without the Son, — so in like manner the man that feeds on Christ enjoys spiritual life, only through and by Christ. Is not this St. Paul's thought: — "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me."—" To me to live is Christ." (Gal. ii. 20. Phil. i. 21.)
Whether our Lord is here speaking of His human nature or of His Divine nature, is not quite clear. I incline to think with Cyril and Chrysostom, that it is the Divine nature.
RoUock" remarks, that we have three hving Ones spoken of here. (1.) The living Father. (2.) The hving Son. (3.) The living believer. As we are sure of the life of the Father, so we may be sure of the life of the believer. The three lives are linked together.
Hutchcson remarks, " Christ's living by the Father, is not only a pledge of our life, but our life holds also some proportion cr similitude to His. For as He hath life communicated by eternal generation, so by regeneration we are made partakers of the Divine nature."
Winer remarks, that the Greek preposition rend(.'red " by " in this verse, means literally " on account of; " and that the sen- tence m^ans, strictly and properly, *'I live owing to the Father: "