Be ashamed before Him (aicyuvIapev am’ avtod). The expression is peculiar. Lit., “be ashamed from Him.” The fundamental thought is that of separation and shrinking from God through the shame of conscious guilt. The same con- struction is found in the Septuagint. Isa. i. 29, ‘“‘ They shall be ashamed from their idols.” Jer. ii. 36, ‘‘ Thou shalt be ashamed of (from) Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of (from) Assyria.” Jer. xii. 13.
Coming (mapovela). Lit., presence. So 2 Cor. x. 10. Hence, the presence of one coming, and so coming, especially in the New Testament, of the future, visible return of our Lord to raise the dead, judge the world, and finally establish the king- dom of God. The word does not occur elsewhere in John, nor does he use émrudveva, which is Paul’s word for the same event.
29. If ye know—ye know (éay eidjre—ywooxerte). If ye know absolutely that He is righteous, ye percewe that every one, etc. See on John ii. 24. Ye percewe may be taken as imperative: percewe or know ye.
Is born of Him (€& avrod yeyévynrar). The interpreters dif- fer as to the reference of Him ; some referring it to God, and others to Christ. Against the latter is the fact that men are not said to be born of Christ, but of God, and that to be born of God is a characteristic phrase of John, while to be born of Christ is a phrase which occurs nowhere. On the other hand, the undoubted reference to Christ in ver. 28, would seem to demand a similar reference here. Men are said to abide in Christ as well as in God, and to be born of the Spirit. West- cott’s remark is pertinent. ‘When John thinks of God in re- lation to men, he never thinks of Him apart from Christ (see 1 John v. 20); and again, he never thinks of Christ in His hu- man nature without adding the thought of His divine nature. Thus a rapid transition is possible from the one aspect of the Lord’s divine-human person to the other.”
Righteous (8/cavos). Used by John both of God and of Christ. Of God, 1 John i. 9; John xvii. 25; Apoc. xvi. 5; of