ject.

The doctrine concerning the antichrist was an essential part of a complete system of instruction respecting the Christian is, s. 2 Thess. ii. 1, sqq.

Ver. 4. True Christians are born of God. But all that is born of God overcomes the world, nay, through the faith in Jesus the Christ, the antichristian world is already overcome, cfr. ii. 13, 14; v. 4, 5. But those who are sure of the victory, those who already have it, as it were, in their hands, fight more courageously, and more readily obtain the victory. It is not, therefore, because the readers had already before overcome heretics, as Grotius supposes, but because, as faithful, and born of God, even through the faith in Jesus Christ, they already had overcome the antichristian principle, the world in general, and because this total victory conditions and secures the victory in detail, over the separate powers of the antichristian world, that St. John, comforting and encouraging them to constancy, and to an exercise of their right of conquest over the world, says: zai νενικήκατε αὐτοὺς (viz. the antichristians, τὸν ἀντίχριστον, ver. 3, taken as a collective, cfr. ii. 18). By way of explanation he adds: For he who is in you, ¿ ¿v ùμîv, viz. God (the Spirit of God), of whom you are born, and who remains in you, iii. 24, is greater, i. e. mightier, than he who is in the world, i άgxwv TOU κόσμου, ὁ πονηρὸς, whose τέκνα the antichrists are, cfr. 1 Cor. xv. 57, but more specially, Ephes. vi. 10—17.

Ver. 5 and 6 are again founded on the absolute zgios betwixt the world and God, between infidel antichristianity and genuine Christianity. By the worldly principle, only worldly things are produced,

i. e. antichristian doctrine and the world's approbation, cfr. John iii. 31; viii. 23, "But we," St. John adds, communicatively, ver. 6, "We are of God, and we do therefore not listen to worldly doctrine." But whosoever knows God, and consequently belongs to the godly race, (cfr. John viii. 43, 47,) hears us, (follows us,) us, who believe in Jesus the Messiah the Son of God, and propagate this faith, cfr. ii. 23. But whosoever is not of God, hears us (follows us) not, (denies that Jesus the Christ has appeared in the flesh,) see ver. 3. By this then, (i. e. by the confessing or denying of Jesus the Christ, in the true sense of the word,) by this we know, (i. e. distinguish) the prophetic spirits, whether they be of God or not, whether they are the instruments of the Spirit of truth, (John xv. 26; xvi. 13,) or of the spirit of error and seduction, rãs λás, cfr. 1 Tim. iv. 1, (roữ ψεύδους.)

The Ex rou sou εiva, is, according to St. John, both universal, and also special, or Christian, cfr. John viii. 47, the birth of God in its general sense, is the basis of the filial relation to God in Christ. But, considered in the light of the divine xgías, as here, the universal consciousness in God, or life in God, coincides with that which is more special or Christian, and St. John does not conceive as possible the existence of a godly man, in the universal sense of the word, who, at the same time, either is not a Christian, or, when the word of God comes to him, would not immediately become a Christian.

SECTION EIGHTH.

CHAPTER IV. 7—CHAPTER V. 5.

AFTER this digression concerning the δοκιμασία τῶν Tveuμátwv, iv. 1-6, St. John resumes the subject of iii. 23, 24, cfr. ver. 18, in order to enforce the paraclesis to brotherly-love with still stronger motives, and more specially in order to place in its true light the relation betwixt brotherly-love, and love to God, and faith in Jesus the Messiah. Chap. iii. ver. 23, 24, may be considered as a short summary of this whole section.

Ver. 7 and 8. The filial relation to God, (ix TOŨ Deo en Java) consists in a resemblance to God effected by the knowledge of the divine character. Now, since with regard to the redemption, God's most essential attribute is love, ver. 8, and love has no earthly origin, but has its source in God, ver. 7, it naturally follows, that whoever rightly knows God, and is born of God, loves the brethren, and vice versa, he who practices love, is born of God, and knows him.

Ver. 7 and 8 are founded on this reasoning. St. John places the last first, because the connection with ver. 6 naturally led him to such an arrangement. This is St. John's meaning: ver. 7, "Let us love one another, as those who truly are of God, and rightly know him, (ver. 6,) for love (brotherly-love) is not ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου, but ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ, (it belongs to that

life which is of God,) it is an essential criterion of a filial relation to God, and of right knowledge of him. The Alexandr. MS. reads rov 9sov after dyan. But both here and in ver. 8, as is clearly seen, both from the context and from comparison with ver. 11, 20, and 21, i åɣ¤ã is absolutely used, and denotes brotherly-love. Thus, St. Paul too uses ¿yάŋ absolutely in the sense of brotherly-love, cfr. 1 Cor. xiii. 1. Philipp. ii. 2.

The filial relation to God, and the knowledge of God condition each other according to St. John, ver. 6. For this reason, St. John puts the one instead of the other, and always considers the one as implied in the other. Accordingly, the reading iz roũ Iɛoũ OÙx soTiv after ȧyαπv, ver. 8, in Cod. 9 of Griesbach, is evidently spurious. Since God is love, cfr. ver. 16, i. e. entirely love, (love itself) no man who has obtained a right knowledge of God (and accordingly is born of God), can do otherwise than, in imitation of him, love the brethren. St. John puts the attribute of love as God's essence, (in a similar manner as in the Gospel iv. 24, πveũμa ỏ Deòs), because God, in the redemption through Christ, is more specially and most perfectly recognized and felt to be love essentially.135 To this ver. 9 and 10, (in which God's love in the redemption of the world, through Christ, is more accurately described,) are beautifully subjoined. The closer connection betwixt ver. 8 and 9, is as follows: God can be recognized by us as love,

135 A more copious scientific explanation of this sentence of St. John's is to be found in Schleiermacher's "Glaubenslehre," (Doctrine of the Faith,) Vol. II. p. 672.

becausels6 ἐν τούτῳ ἐφανερώθη ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν (this being put instead of , is to be referred το ἐφανερώθη), ὅτι τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ137 ἀπέσταλ κεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον (efr. Gosp. iii. 17), ἵνα ζήσωμεν (instead of ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἔχωμεν) δι' αὐτοῦ, (i. e. πιστεύοντες eis rò dvoma aùtoũ, v. 13), cfr. Gosp. iii. 16; Rom. viii. 32, sqq.

In ver. 10, the Apostle makes the greatness of God's love in the sending of Christ, more specially apparent, by shewing that this love was not God's return for our love to him, or, as it were, love of the second rank; but rather a pure love of mercy. In this, he says, God's love consists, (v roúry otiv in ἀγάπη, νίκ. τοῦ Θεοῦ), not in this (οὐκ ἐν τούτῳ138 ὅτι), that we had (previously) loved God, but (in this [av rory] ön), that he loved us (first139 cfr. v. 19), and from love hath sent his Son as a propitiation, (an atoner, or on purpose to atone, cfr. ii. 2), for our sins, cfr. John iii. 16; Rom. v. 6, sqq,; viii. 32, sqq. Even without considering the redemption through Christ, man's love to God, is only love in return, and God is always the first in his love; in this respect too, the ἀγάπη is always ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ν. 7.

136 Some of Griesbach's authorities have or or naì or before Tour, but this clearly is a gloss.

157 See the Author's Commentary on the Gospel, i. 14. Vol. I. p 420.

158 Thus I think oux - ' or is to be resolved. Grotius's and Lange's transposition, roux-appears to me less

correct.

135 The Vulgate has here" prior," which is borrowed from ver. 19.