The Pulpit Commentary — 1 John — Section 146

0 fdurr inclicl\tive, and in I These. iii. 8 withand veni11l, hovirtua.llyoondemne the mRldng, th<' p1wient. Here the rellding is undisputed. Wh1.t neither be nor St. Paul ventured to do Of cour~e, ol'15aµ,v ill virtually preeent; but we may well shrink from doing. 'fhe same e1·en the past tenses ef the indicative are overt 11ct may be mortal sin in one 011ec and snmetimce found after ,d.v (eee Winer, pp. not iu another. It is the nttitude of mind 36!1, 370; Bl'e also Trenoh,' On the Autherized with which the sinner oontemplates hie net Yereion of ihc New Teetnment,' p. 61). before 11nd nfter commission that makes all Ver. 16.-How doos this positien respect- the difference; Rnd how seldom can this be ing Gorl's h<'aring our prayers affect the known to his fellow-men I 'l'hc change from qm•stin11 vf intercession for the 81\lvation of ,./.,.,,~ to t pt.1T{iv ie noteworthy. The former othns, ,,nd especially of an erring brother? is used in vcrs. H, 15, o.nd tho beginning of If nny prayer can be mRde with confidence ver. 16; the latter at the end of ver. 16. of success, eurelv it ie this. It is an unselfish The latter is the less humble word of the prayer; a pr-,1yer of love. It is alse a pmyer two, being often used of equals or superiors in hnrmony with God's will; a prayer for requestin;;: complinnce with their wishes. the extension of his ldngdom. St. John Perhaps t:it. John uses it here te indicate points out th:it !hie rea.eonable- expectation that a prayer of this kind is not a humble has limits. 'The prayer of one human being one. """ 11euer cancel another'8 free-will. If God's Ver. 17. - All unrighteousness is Bin. will rloee not override man's will, neither can "Among the faithful this ought to be o.n a fellow-man's prayer. When a human will indubitable truth, that wh11tever ie contrary has been fumly and persistently set in oppo- to God's Law is sin, and in its nature mortal; sition to the Divine wiJ1, our intercession for where there is a transgression of the Law, will be of no M'ail. And this seems to be there is sin ond death" (Calvin). But this the meaning of "sin unto death; "wilful terrifying truth brings with it a word of and obstinate rejection of God's grace and encouragement. For if e.11 un1·ighteousness porsistence in unrepent.ed sin. "Death" without exception ie sin, it follows that not corresponds to the life spoken of above; and every sin ie unto death. It is incredible if the one is eternal (ver. 13), so is the other. that the slightest departure from righteous- Sine punished with lose of life in this world, ness should involve eternal damnation (see whether Ly bnman law or by Divine retri- notes on eh. i. 7). bution, cannot be meant. Christiane have Vers. 18-21.-With three solemn asseve- before now suffered agonies of mind, fearing rations 1md one equally solemn charge the that they have committed wl,e.t they suppose Epistle is brought to ii close. " Can we be to be the '' sin unto death." Their fear is certain of any principles in ethics? St. evidence that they have not committed any John declares that we can. He says that ho such sin. But if they despair of pardon, has not been makingprobable guesses about they me.y come near to it. There are the grounds of huma11 actions, the relations certain statements made respecting this of man to God, the nature of God himself. mysterious paeeage against which we must These are things that he Tcnou,s. Nay, he is be on our guard. It ie le.id down as a canon not content with claiming this knowledge of interpretation that the sin unto death ie himself. He ueee the pl11ral pronoun; he one ichich can be 1mo1D1l, which can be recog- declares that his disciples, his little children, nized as such by the intercessor. St. John know that which be knows" (Maurice). neither says nor implies tllis. He implies Ver. 18.-We know; ofBaµev, as in eh. iii. that some sins may be known to be not unto 2, 14, e.nd John xxi. 24, which should be death. Again, it ie asserted that be forbids compared with this passage. These ex- us to pray concerning sin which is unto pressions of Christian certitude explain death. The apostle ie much more reserved. the undialectical clie.racter of St. J ohn'e He encourages ue to intercede for a sinning Epistles ae compared with those of St. Paul. brother with full confidence of enccese. But What need to argue and prove when both there ill a limit to this. The sinner may be he and hie readers already knew and sinning unto death; and in thst case St. believed? We must have "begotten" in John cannot encourage us to pray. Casuis- both clauses, as in the Revised Version, not tieal clBBsifieations of sins under the bee.de of " born " in one and "begotten" in the other, mortal 8lld venial have been based upon this as in the Authorized Version. In the Greek passage. It lends no authority to such there is e. change of tense (cl 'Y•'Y•.,~11µ.lvos attempts: and they have worked untold and 6 'Y•vV1J8•ls), but no change of verb. mischief in the Church. The apostle tells The whole should run, "We know that us that the distinction between mortal and whosoever is begotten of God sinneth not, venial exist.a ; but he enpplies us with no but the Begotten of God keepeth ~-" test by vhich one m8ll can judge another in For the perfect participle, comp. eh. iii. 9: this respect. By pointedly ab:rtaining from v. 1, 4; John iii. 6, 8: it expresses him who me.king e.ny cla@stiice.tion of Bins into mortal has come to be, ,nd Etill continues to be, ,_ au. v. 1-21.] 'l'HE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF ,JOHN. U.'3