faith in Him who came not by water only, but by water and blood (1 John v. 4-6).
15. Believeth in Him (aicrevwv eis adrov). The best texts read ev avr@, construing with have eternal life, and rendering may in Him have eternal life. So Rev.
Should not perish, but. The best texts omit.
Have eternal life. A characteristic phrase of John for live JSorever. See vv. 16, 36; v. 243; vi. 40, 47, 54; 1 John iii. 153 Vv, 12:
The interview with Nicodemus closes with ver. 15; and the succeeding words are John’s. This appears from the following facts: 1. The past tenses loved and gave, in ver. 16, better suit the later point of view from which John writes, after the aton- ing death of Christ was an accomplished historic fact, than the drift of the present discourse of Jesus before the full revelation of that work. 2. It isin John’s manner to throw in explan- atory comments of his own (i. 16-18 ; xii. 37-41), and to do so abruptly. Seei. 15, 16, and on and,i. 16. 3. Ver. 19 isin the same line of thought with i. 9-11 in the Prologue; and the tone of that verse is historic, carrying the sense of past rejection, as loved darkness; were evil. 4. The phrase believe on the name is not used elsewhere by our Lord, but by John (i. 12; ii. 23; 1 John v.13). 5. The phrase only-begotten son is not elsewhere used by Jesus of himself, but in every case by the Evangelist (i. 14,18; 1 John iv. 9). 6. The phrase to do truth (ver. 21) occurs elsewhere only in 1 John i. 6.*
16. The world (xécpov). See oni. 9. Gave. Rather than sent; emphasizing the idea of sacrifice. Only-begotten Son. See oni. 14.
Have. See on ver. 15.
* This view, however, is opposed by Meyer, Lange, De Wette, Alford, and Godet.