The Pulpit Commentary — 1 John — Section 32

"'fhnt it mny be mnde manifost that not all truth" tha.t he addresses them, espccia.lly who are with U8 (µe9' 7Jµwv) ore nf m U! to warn them against antichriHts. \Vo are .;,,.,~v)." 'fhis ~eems proforable. The rene- in doubt whether ,cizl g,., depends upon gaJo and npostnto was all along only nomi- l-ypa,f,cz (" and because") or upon ofliau nally n Christian. Of tho true Christian (" and that"). The former is better; it the declaration remains true, "No one introcluces a second reason for his writin"'. snatoheth them out of his ha.ncl." Some take il,-, in all three places as "thatc;, Ver. 20.-'l'he thought of many nnti• after t-ypa>/,a: "I <lid not write to you and christs suggests tba.t of many Christs; i.e. say that ye know not the truth, but that ye many who havo been anointe,l (xp«r,-a!) by know it, and that no lie is of the truth.'' the Christ himself. "The false teachers Every lie is funrlamentally e.ncl ab origine hnve tho spirit of antichrist; yo have a ( /,c) separate from the truth: and hence his chrism from tho Uhrist." The Johannine reacl8rs will easily recognize lies and liars, 1eczl places the two antithetical groups side for they know the trnth. by side, while the emphatic ~µeis (comp. Ver. 22.-Who is the liar, but he that eh. iv. 4) accentuates the contrast. And ye denieth, etc.? From the lie St. John passes have an anointing from the Holy One. The on to the utterer of it. "Ye readily dis- unction or chrism is the Holy Spirit (John tinguish any lie from the trnth. Who, then, i. 33: eh. iii. 2-l; ii. 27). As Christ was is the Iie.r?" "The liar" docs not mean e.nointed with the Spirit in nil fulness, so the liar ,ci,,,-' l~ax~v, e.s if this dcr..ial con- ench Chrisiiau ia anointed with him in his stituted the very acme of falsehood. To measure (2 Cor. i. 21, 22). The twenty-first deny the very existence of God is sure! y a • Catechetical Lecture' of St. Cyril, "On the worse lie. Still less can we say that "the Holy Chrism," should be 1·ead in illustration context leaves no doubt that 'the lio.r' is of this verse. "In apostolic language, each the same with• the antichrist.'" The article Christian is in due measure himself a (6 ,j,,ocr7'7J<) refers to the preceding ,i,,uoas, CJ'.Jri.st, empowered by the gift of the Holy just as in eh. v. 4, 5 6 v,,cwv refers to the pre- Spirit to announce the truth which he has ceding vl1C1J, The very form of sentence is lea.rot, to npply the atonement which he has the same: .,..[s Ea-Tu, 6 vuc~v . . . EC µ~ d, received, to establish the kingdom which he ,c.,-.A., and there 6 v,,c&v cannot mean the believes to be universal" (Weatcott). The victor, ,ea,-' •!•x~v, who is Christ, o.nd not d..-& depends on lx,,.•, not on xpl,rµcz. The the believer. So that the Authorized Holy One is Jesus Christ (John vi. 69; Acts Version is not so very inaccurate in ren- iii. H; llev. iii. 7; comp. John xiv. 26; xvi. dering 6 ,i,e6<T'T1)s" a. liar." "Who tells lies, 7, 13). It is hard to decide between three if not he who denies (and eays) that Jesllil readings : ( l) Kill atocz-re ..-a.no:, " and ye is not the Christ?" This was the gre:i.t know all things" necessary to so.lvation, Gnostic lie to which St. John's Gospel and i.e. "the truLh" (ver. 21; John xvi. 13): Epistle give the answer. The antichrist is (2) teal otoczTE ..-dvTEs, "o.ncl ye e.U know" this, he who denieth the Father a.nd the Son.. tha.t ye he.ve this anointing; (3) otliaTE "The antichrist" here is not the greo.t ..-dv7'Es," ye nil know-I dicl not wi·ite to you ad verso.ry, but one having similar charac- because ye know not the truth." There is teristics. He denies the Messiahship of evidence of o. fourth Vilriation, ..-dv-rar, "ye Jesus, and thus virtually denies both the know nll" the autichrists. If (1) be right, Father and Son (comp. 2 Thess. ii. 4). it docs not mean that the Christian is 'fhis truth St. John proceeds to restate and omniscient, but tho.t he has the basis of all dovelop. knowledge; he can see things in theii' right Ver. 23.-Every one who denieth the Sen propo1·tions. The apostlo's own disciple, not only does thnt, but (ooo,) doth not !St:. Poly~e.~p,, '!_rites ~o the Philippians possess the Father. To deny that Jesus (xu. 1), ovli•v vµas Aczv8czvei. is the Christ is to deny the Sou of God, for Ver. 21.-The first oim belongs to /fr,, not the C!Jrist is the incarnate Son; nnd to clenv to l-ypo.1/,tr.: I wrote to you, not because ye the Son of God is to deny the Fat!Jer n.lso, know not, etc. It rloes not menu "I omitted for the inco.rna.te Son is tho Reveb tion of to write to you bcc:\Use ye know not." the Father; nnd not only so, but to deny Whatever meaning wo givo to tho norists in the Sou is to cut one's self off from tlm vers. 13, 14 need not bo retained her,:,. Father, for "no one knoweth the Father Thero is here no o.brupt change from but the Son, and he to whom the Son will present to nori,t. l\Ioreover, ver. 26 limits reveal him." To emphasize tbis great truth this f,•pa,j,a. to tho present section. What St. John uses his favourite weti.ocl of in ver. 20 is spoken of as " nll things " stating it both negatively and po8itively. (assuming ..-clV'l'a to be right) is Lero spoken To deuy the Son is not to ha.vo tl:e Father: of as "the truth." St. Jolin writes to well- to confess the Son is to have the Father instructed Christians, to adults in the faith. (comp. eh. i. 5, S: ii. 4, 27; iii. 6 : iv. 2, 3, It is preci'lely because they "knew the 6, 7, S; v. 12). Note the solemn asyndeb.  THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. [ OIi. II, 1-29,