10. On the Son of God. Faith 2n the person of Christ, not merely in the fact that Jesus is the Son of God.
God. Also personal. To believe God, is to believe the mes- sage which comes from Him. See on Johni. 12.
Hath made—hath believed (srerolnxev— meriotevxer). The perfect tense marks the two results expressed by the verbs as connected with a past act. The act perpetuates itself in the present condition of the unbeliever.
Believed on the witness (aemlotevxer eis THv paptuplar). The phrase occurs only here. See on John i. 12. In one other case to beléeve on is used with an object not directly personal, muctevere eis TO Pas; but the reference is clearly to the per- sonal Christ as the Light of the World (John viii. 12).
11. Hath given (%wxev). The aorist tense, gave. So Rev. The reference is to the historic fact of the gift. So 1 John iii. 23: “We should love one another as He gave (€wxev) us com- mandment.” Ver. 24: ‘“ We know that He abideth in us by the Spirit which He gave (¢exev) us.” On the other hand, 1 John iii. 1: “Behold what manner of love the Father hath be- stowed (SéS@xev) upon us.” The gift of love abides in the fact that we are now children of God (ver. 2).
Eternal life (Sw? aidviov). Compare the phrase tiv Conv iv aiovov the life, the eternal life (i. 2), and ai@vios fan the eternal life (John xvii. 3). For the distinction between the phrases see on i. 2. The phrase here, without either article, merely defines the character of the life.
12. Hath life (éyee rv Sonv). More strictly, as Rev., the life; i.e., the life which God gave (ver. 11). See on John xvi. 22. Compare Christ who is our life (Col. iii. 4).
The Son of God. Hath the Son, hath not the Son of God, pointing back to God as the giver of life in His Son. Bengel observes: “The verse has two clauses: in the former, of God