Full (srerAnpwpévn). More correctly, fuljilled. Frequent in John. See John iii. 29; vii. 8; xii. 38; xv. 11; 2 John 12; Apoce. vi. 11. “The peace of reconciliation, the blessed con- sciousness of sonship, the happy growth in holiness, the bright prospect of future completion and glory,—all these are but simple details of that which, in all its length and breadth is embraced by one word, Eternal Life, the real possession of which is the immediate source of our joy. We have joy, Christ’s joy, because we are blessed, because we have life itself in Christ” (Diisterdieck, cit. by Alford). And Augustine: ‘“‘For there is a joy which is not given to the ungodly, but to those who love Thee for thine own sake, whose joy Thou thy- self art. And this is the happy life, to rejoice to Thee, of Thee; this is it and there is no other ” (“ Confessions,” x., 22). Alford is right in remarking that this verse gives an epistolary character to what follows, but it can hardly be said with him that it “fills the place of the yatpew greeting, lit., rejoice, so common in the opening of Epistles.” *
5. This then is (al airn éotiv). Rev., correctly and liter- ally, and this. According to the proper reading the verb stands first in order (éorlv air), with emphasis, not merely as a copula, but in the sense “there ewists this as the message.” For a similar use of the substantive verb, see v. 16,17; ii. 15; John viii. 50.
Message (érayyed/a). This word, however, is invariably used in the New Testament in the sense of promise. The best texts read dyyedla, message, which occurs only at iii. 11; and the corresponding verb, a@yyéAA, only at John xx. 18.
We have heard of Him (denxoapev am’ avtod). A form of expression not found elsewhere in John, who commonly uses map avrov. See on John vi. 46. The phrase here points to the ultimate and not necessarily the immediate source of the message. Not only John, but others in earlier times had heard
* But not New Testamentepistles. Xalpew greeting, occurs in no address of sn Apostolic epistle, except in that of James. See on Jas. i. 1.