The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 342

man, thle glory of nntare and chamcter e.e irlentifio,l with Christ tho.t the infinite lovo Lhe lnce.rnnte Head of e. new humanity, I of God to CIJl'ist flows over in its IJivi110 have given to them, in order that they me.y superabundance npon those who e.re gathcr,,d be one, living In and for ea.oh other, even &11 togother into him. H is imposHible to c:{- we are one. The contra.at between his own clude from these verses the idea of the rolo.tion to tho Fnthor o.n,l theirs is most visibility of the union a.nd life of the Church, wonderfully m11intainml. The union be- and of t\e DiviD!l love to it. Nothing is tween the Fo.ther o.nd Bon is once more s1tid or h.ntod, however, about the ,wtnre c,f me.de the type, in hie own unique oonsoious• the.t visibility_ Christians ,,re not, by rens0n nese, of the union o.mong mon who ho.ve of their differences, to exclude from this received o.e hie gm the eternal life and pe.ssage the promise tha.t tlrn whole assembly glory of a euperne.ture.l love. Thie is more of the Firstborn would make this gracious evident from whe.t follows. and convincing impression ou the world. Ver. 23.-I in them, and thou in me. He They are fe.r enough, in days of mutm,l does not ee.y, "Thou in them, e.e thou in recrimination,from ree.lizing the Divine ide:,I, me," nor "They in thee, e.nd I in thee;" and should set themselves to remedy the but he includes in the 11µ.ii, of the previoue crying evil; but they have no right to import veree, 'E'l'rl, 1tcd %6, and distinctly rego.rds into the words, by reason of their predilection himself o.e the media.ting link of relation for particular forms of Chnrcb organization, between the Father e.nd the disciples. The an identification of the body of Christ with 'E'l'rl, is the.t of the Bon of God, manifested e.ny specific form. The spiritual union of in Christ's consciousness of the God-me.u- Christendom in its one faith, hope, and hood; the 16 is the eteme.1 e.nd non-incarnate chare.cter, is, notwithstanding the divergence God. God is in him, o.s he is in them. of some of its forms of expression, the most They ore in him, o.s he is in the Fe.tber. stupendous fact in the history of the world. That they may be perfeoted, completely 'fhe elite of e.11 Churches o.re dro.wing more rea.hzing the end of their being o.n.d the e.nd more into e. visible unity. mee.ning of the gift of eteme.l life, fully Ver. 2!.-Now passing from this glorifi- ripened in their gmces until they reach up cation of his people in the convictions and into one, into the fulness of the stature of knowledge of the world, our Lord offers ·' o.8 the perfect Man, until they become the one a Bon to a Fe.ther," and therefore with pro- new e.nd immortal body of the living Christ, found no.ture.lness, the prayer of the inco.r- ( •I• ¥11 indice.tes the sublime result so far e.s nate Logos to the eterna.l Father, o.nd they are concerned). Ee.eh individua.l be- therefore an address induliite.bly supemo.tural liever reaohing the highest perfection of his and lifted above all humo.n consciousness. being,-e.s e.ccording to his own cape.city and It is e. prayer, too, wLich ri;;es from the high function he fills his place in the one Ii ving o.nd unique term lpwTw (oue which he never body of the Lord The end ie not here, puts into the lips of his disciples) to e. yet however, so far as otbe1·s a.re concerned; for higher one, 8b,.,, e.s one who spee.ks with this unity, when consummated, is to bring l{ouula; which God ho.d given him over e.11 a.bout a yet further result on this eo.rth, e.nd flesh, tho.t he shonld give eternal life to in order that the world may oome to know those whom God he.d given him. elA., ( ')'W@u,q,) that thou didst send me, and lovedst means less than "I will," and more the.n "I them as thou lovedst me. Our Lord has desire," and is destitute of that element of adve.uce<l upon the e.ssertion of ver. 21, (1) "counsel" or deliberation that is involved by diecrimine.ting between" believing" o.nd in {Jou>..6µ.a,. Vei:y soon after tllli!, when the "coming to know " by personal experiences, fall forco of his human consciousnes3 presoe,1 overwhelming conviction, o.nd processes upon him, he so.id (Me.rk xiv. 36), "Not who.t which lee.d to invincible e.ssent. Fe.ith in ( ,.,,r:, 8i>..w) I will, but whe.t thou willest." its highest form melts into knowledge, full But here he is so conscious of the Father·, o.ssure.nce, complete oertitude. (2) There is will concerning others that he cries, F~ch.:r, supernd<led to the conviction concerning the as for them whom---0r, as som,; a.nc:ent Divine miesion of the Christ yet e.nother, codices reo.d, that' which-thou hast givsl! viz. e. conviction of the wonderful love me, rego.rded o.s e. mystic unity, as the BriJo which thou ho.st shown to them in thus which he he.s redeemed, I will that they lifting them out of the world into the unity also be with me where I am. Ka1<•ivo, of the spiritual life, iuto the fellowship of resolves the & into thEI elements of which it the Bou of God. This bus twofold beuring. Bo fe.r o.s the wol'ld ie concerned they will 1 Tischendorf (8th edit.), Westcolt e.ud 1100 tho.t the love shown to the believers in Hort, Alford, Tregelles, e.nd R'l'., eveu Christ will be compatible with the same Godet and Meyer, on the e.uthority of ~. ll, kind of treatment ns Christ himself received, D, rend t,; but Lachmanu, on the o.utborit. 1• nud so fat· as tho Divine r~ality is concerned, of A, C, L, X, Y, etc., numerous versious it will bo s~ou tlmt thoy e.ro so clolltlly aud quote.tious, rot11ls o~,.  362 THE GOSPEL AOOORDING TO ST. JOHN. [oa. xvn. 1-26,