Mark ii. 10; Luke xx. 20). Here, therefore, éfoveia is not merely possibility or ability, but legitimate rzght derived from a competent source—the Word.
To become (yevéoSar). As those who are born (ver. 13. Compare iii. 3, and Matt. v. 45).
Sons (réxva). Rev., more correctly, children. Son is vios. Téxvov, child (tixto, to bring forth), denotes a relation based on community of nature, while vids, Son, may indicate only adop- tion and heirship. See Gal. iv. 7. Except in Apoc. xxi. 7, which is a quotation, John never uses vids to describe the rela- tion of Christians to God, since he regards their position not as a result of adoption, but of a new life. Paul, on the other hand, regards the relation from the legal standpoint, as adop- tion, imparting a new dignity and relation (Rom. viii. 15 ; Gal. iv. 5, 6). See also Jas. i. 18; 1 Pet. i. 3, 23, where the point of view is John’s rather than Paul’s. Téxvov, indicating the relationship of man to God, occurs in John i. 12; xi. 52; 1 John iii. 1, 2, 10; v. 2, and always in the plural.
Believe on (mucrevotvow eis). The present participle, be- lieving, indicates the present and continuous activity of faith. The word is used by John, sometimes with the dative case simply, meaning to believe a person or thing ; z.¢., to believe that they are true or speak the truth. Thus, to believe the Scripture (ii. 22) ; believe me (iv. 21); believe Moses, his writ- ings, my words (v. 46). At other times with a preposition, eis, into, which is rendered believe in, or believe on. So here, vi. 29; viii. 30; 1 John v.10. See the two contrasted in vi. 29, 30; viii. 30, 31; 1 John v.10. To believe én, or on, is more than mere acceptance of a statement. It is so to accept a statement or a person as to rest upon them, to trust them practically ; to draw upon and avail one’s self of all that is offered to him in them. Hence to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is not merely to believe the facts of His historic life or of His saving energy as facts, but to accept Him as Saviour, Teacher, Sym- pathizer, Judge; to rest the soul upon Him for present and
Vou, IL.—4