The Pulpit Commentary — 1 John — Section 76

We are children of Gorl; Father or Christ, and so also with reu;i,-,l Therefore tho world knows us not; to it<,ivos. 'l'h<, best way is to tnke ;&7,;; For the world knows not Got!. o.s God, and '"''""' as Christ: this n!rree·s But we must beware of supposing that every with ah7&v in ver. 2, with IKE'i11oi in v~r. 5, one who foils to recognize owr form of Chris- anti with th_e common use of the two pro- tio.nity is necessarily of the worltl. St. !l-ouns. It 1s doubtless possible, especially John invo.riably (but comp. Rev. xxi. 7) !n St. John, to take l,cewos as merely recall- speo.ks of "children of God" (-rl""" 0,ov), mg the person already indicated hy au..-&s or St. Paul generally of '' sons of God " ( viol otherwise, and make both pronouua here 0eov). The la_tter expression can apply to refer to God. At first sight this seems to adopted sons; the former, strictly speaking, make a better sequence between .era. 2 and implies actual parentage. In saying 1<J..11 0w- 3: hereafter we shall be like God; therefore µ,v, t<e&l irrµ,11, St. John appeals to the con- here we must strive to become pure as he is. scious nobility of Christio.ns: we have this Moreover, it is of the Father that it is magnificent title with its corresponding w_ritten, "Be ye_ holy; for I am holy" (Lev. dignity. x1. 44; 1 Pet. 1. 15, 16); and again, "Ye Ver. 2.-Beloved, now are we ohildren of shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is God, and it is not yet me.de manifest (or, perfoct" (Matt. v. 48). But the other is it never yet was manifested) what we shall simpler g1:ammatically, and preserves the be. Tho emphatic ,:,ij,, is in opposition to logical sequence equally well. Hereafter ol/,ro,: our present state is known; our we shall be like God. Every one who has future remains still unrevealed. Age.in (eh.ii. such a hope as this will aim at becoming 27, 29), we ai-e in doubt a.bout the construc- like God here; even as Jesus Christ has set tion. WLe.t is the nominative to" shall be '1.18 an example, a perfect realization of human manifested " ( ,pa11,p010fi), " he" or "it" ? conformity to God. The context is strongly in favour of '' it," Vera. 4---::,12.-Sin is absolutely incom- i.e. "if it shall be manifested what we shall patible with Christ's work of redemption be ; " eh. ii. 28 seems to fo vour " he," i.e. and ot~r uni~n with him (vers. 4-8), and "if Christ shall be manifested." '.l'he con- also with bemg born of God, as is shown text must prevail. "Our futuxe state is by 1be presence or absence of brothe1:ly love not yet made manifest. We kuow that on (vers. 9-12). its manifestation we shall find ouxselves Ver. 4.-Once more the apostle turns from like God." The two thiugs will be con- the positive to the negative. Havino- shown temporaneous. The 'Speaker's Commen- what birth from God involves, he goes on tary' quotes the following anecdote : " When to show what it excludes. "Every one that some heathen converts to Clu·istianity were doeth sin" evidently balances "every one translating a Catechism into their own lan- that bath this hope" ( ver. 3), and "to do guage, they came upon 1 John iii. 2. They sin" is the exact opposite of '' to do rio-h- stopped. 'No; it is too much,' they said; teousness" (eh. ii. 29). Sin is Ie.wlessn':iss 'let us write that we shall be permitted to (11 a.µ.e&pTia. ..,,..,1,, 11 ,,.,,oµ.l<1). Both words kiss hie feet.'" Beware of inverting the having the article, the two terms are exactly meaning of the last cluuse, 3"' lnj,&µ,Oa, equivalent-all sin is lawle8sn~ss, and all "·"·"-· It does not mean that the seeing lawlessness is sin. 'Avoµ(a., like " law less- God is a proof or sign of our being like him ness," expresses the ig1101-ing of the law (Matt. v. 8), but the cause of our b1;ing like rather than the absence of it. "The law" him : " We shall be like him, beoause we means the law of God in the fullest sense, shall see him." God is light (oh. i. 5), and not the Mosaic Law. In short, sin is defined light is seen. In this life (>'vv) we cannot as the transgression of God's will. see the light of the Divine nature "as it Ver. 5.-Two additional reasons for the is," but only ns it is reflected; and tho re- absolute separation of the children of God flected light cannot transmit to us the nature from sin. (1) They know well that the Son of the Divine original, though it prepares of Goel was manifested in the flesh to put us to receive it. Hereafte1· the sight," face away the sins (of the world, John L 2~); to face" (l Cor. xiii. 12), of the Light itself not mere "sins," one here and one there, will illuminate us through and throuo-h but "the sins" (-ras "f'ap-rias), whatever e.nd we shall become like it. Rothe take~ sins exist. 'Hµwv, though strongly sup. "liko him" to mean like Christ (Rom. viii. ported, is probably not genuine. Atp<111 in 16; 17, 29; 2 Cor. iii. 18; comp. John xvii. itsolf means not" to take on h-imself, or bear," 2-:1; Col. iii. 18); comp. Rev. xxii. 4; i. 7. but" to tnko away;" it expresses the removal Ver. 3.-Suoh being our hope, based upon rather than the manner of remove.I. But God's promises ( ,,,., au-rqi), of becoming like it may l'epresent tho Hebrew nasa, which him, we must keep this prospect ever in combines the two meanings (Lev. x. 17; view, e.nd live up to. it. Commentl\tors xx.iv. 15; Isa. liii. 12). (2) Tlle Son of differ as to whether a~-rrji refers to the God was absolutely sepnrnted from sin.  'i'2 THE PIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JORN. [en. m. 1-24.