In the Fourth Gospel the references to the love of the Father and the Son to one another are more frequent and more express. Christ is the only- begotten Son (3'®), loved by the Father before the foundation of the world (17-''), and now returned to the lx)som of the Father (P*). He and the Fatiier know one another intimately (10^-''). The Father loves Him, and has given all tilings into His hand (3*'''). As in the Synoptic account of the announcement at tlie Baptism, Clirist is called the beloved Son in whom God is well pleased (^Ik 1"), so in Jn. the love of the Father is occasionally represented as being based upon the Son's obedi- ence to the Father's commandment (15"^") and will- ing sacrifice of Himself (10^'). The Father never leaves Him alone (16^-), for He does always those things that please Him (8^). Because He keeps His Father's commandments He abides in His love (15^"). No higlier estimate can l>e given of the Saviour's love for His disciples than to say that He has loved them as His Father has loved Him (15^), nor of the love of God for believers than to com- pare it to that of the Father for the Son (17^). Sometimes the love of God for believers is repre- sented as based upon that of the Father for the Son (14-i---» 16-').
And as the Father loves the Son, so the Son loves the Father. He alone has seen and known tlie Father (3"- ^- 6^ 7^ S'^^ 10"). He does notiiing of Himself, but only what He seeth the Fatiier do (5^^). He speaks only as His Father hath taus^ht Him (8-« 12^"). His meat is to do the will of Him that sent Him (4**). It is love to the Father (14^1) no less than love to His brethren (13^ 15'^) tliat is tlie motive tiiat animates Him in the fulfilment of His vocation. In ^•irtue of the love which unites them one to the other, each may be said to be in the other, the Son in the Father and the Father in the Son (lO** 14'»- -^ 17-^-^). They have no separate interests. Whatever belongs to the one
(1-
The Fatiier and the
belongs to the other Son are one (10^^' 17-
i. The loYe of man for God. — Tliere is com- paratively little under this heading to be found in the Gospels. It is true that Christ has Himself given as the first commandment of all, tliat which enjoins the love of God with the whole heart and soul and mind and strength (Mk 12"-*^-), and in the same spirit in tlie Fourth Gospel He finds tlie final explanation of the unbelief of the Jews in their lack of this love of God (5^'). But so far as the former of these passages is concerned, it is evident that Christ's answer to tiie scribe is purposely couched in language borrowed from the Old Testa- ment ; and it is a noteworthy fact that at other times, when He has no occasion to conform to OT
modes of expression, Christ does not give pro- minence to tlie duty of love towards God.
Kitsch! has drawn attention to the fact of how small a part the love of man towards God plays throughout the NT as a whole. ' Love is reserved as the characteristic of God and Grod's Son in the foundation and guidance of the congregation, while of its members faith or trust in God and His Son is demanded' {Rechtf. u. Vers. ii. 100 f.), S. Weiss thinks that Christ keeps the commandment of love to God in the back- ground, because where the love of God does not awaken such love in return it would be of no avail to demand it {Bib. Theol. of NT, § 2ob). Wendt, while recognizing that the idea of love corresponds well, on the whole, to the filial I'elationship, believes that it is too general, and does not give sufficient prominence to the relation of subordination and complete dependence in which man stands to God. To express the feel- ing of wholehearted devotion to God suggested by the idea of love, while at the same time giving full recognition to His infinite love and power, Christ selected the term ' trust' {tktti;) as the one most suitable to describe the disposition man should display {Lehre Jesu, ii. 227).
Whatever the reason, Ave must recognize the fact that neither in the Syno])tics nor in the Fourth Gospel, with tlie exception of the passages referred to, do we find Christ dwelling on the love which man should cherish toAvards God. But though He speaks of man's trust in God rather than of his love towards Him, we must not overlook the fact that this trust which Christ seeks to insjnre is but love under a slightly different form. It is the response of the human heart to the infinite love of God, — love on the part of man awakened by the love of God, yet humbling itself in the presence of One who. though the Father, is yet Lord of heaven and earth. Without love there can be no such trust as Christ seeks to inspire. The prayer in which this trust finds expression must be the outpouring of a heart full of love to God and of zeal for the establishment of His Kingdom. The righteousness which becomes the members of the Kingdom must be righteousness not of outward conduct alone, but of a heart which takes delight in the performance of the Divine will. The be- liever is to seek first the Kingdom and the right- eousness of God (Mt 6^), to have his heart fixed on the heavenly treasure (6^^), to be filled with whole-hearted devotion to the service of God (6-^), and to renounce, no matter at what cost, whatever may hinder him in the attainment of the great end set before him (Mk 9«-«, cf. Mt 13«"'-)- Though there may be little explicit reference in the teach- ing of Christ to the love for God which man is required to cherish, we feel that in the case of the believer no less than in that of Christ Himself, it is the source from which springs all the strength for the performance of duty and the endurance of sufi'ering, and that, just as Christ accounted for the unbelief of the Jews by the utter lack in them of this love of God (Jn 5'*^), so, if we trace back to its beginnings the faith which the gospel inspires, it will be found to issue from the love to the Father who has revealed Him.self in Christ.