Exposition on the First Epistle of Saint John

THEOPHYLACT’S COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST EPISTLE OF SAINT JOHN

ARGUMENT OF THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

^A John, who wrote the Gospel, also writes this Epistle, reminding those who have already believed in the Lord. And first, just as in the Gospel, so here too in this Epistle he discourses theologically concerning the Word, proving that He is always in the Father, and teaching that the Father is light, so that by this we may understand the Word to be His radiance. Discoursing theologically, he explains that our mystery is not something new, but that it has existed from the beginning and always; and now it has been manifested in the Lord, who is eternal life and true God. He also sets forth the cause of His coming and manifestation, saying that this was to destroy the works of the devil, and that we might be liberated from death, and that we might know the Father and His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. He writes, therefore, to every age—to children, to young men, to elders—that God has been known, and that the diabolical power is now conquered, death having been rendered ^B inoperative. Then, throughout the rest of the Epistle, he teaches about love, wishing us to love one another, and proving that we ought to love one another because Christ also loved us. He explains, therefore, the difference between fear and love, and between the children of God and the children of the devil, and concerning mortal and non-mortal sin, and the difference of spirits. And then he distinguishes which spirit is from God, and which is of error; and when we are known as children of God, and when as children of the devil; and concerning what sin we ought to pray for those who sin, and concerning what sin we ought not to pray; and that he who does not love his neighbor is not worthy of the calling, nor can he be called Christ’s. He shows also the unity of the Son with the Father, and that he who denies the Son does not have the Father either. In this Epistle he makes a distinction, saying: And this is the mark of the Antichrist, to say that the Son is not Jesus the Christ himself, so that it may be clear that, as if He did not exist, the liar claims that he himself is such. He exhorts, throughout the whole Epistle, those who believe in the Lord not to be disheartened if they are hated in the world, but rather to rejoice, because the hatred of the world shows that the believers have departed from that very world, and belong henceforth to the heavenly commonwealth. And at the end of the Epistle, he again brings to mind, saying that the Son of God is eternal life and true God, and that we should serve Him, and keep ourselves from idols.

CHAPTERS OF THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

2. Of charity, which is without impiety. In which also ^A there is an exhortation concerning grace for everyone according to their age, and concerning turning away from the love of the world. 3. Of false brethren who deny God: and that piety toward Christ is a confession of the Father: for the glorification of the Father is the theology of the Son. In which also concerning a divine and spiritual gift in sanctification, in hope of the knowledge of God: that everyone who is in Christ is without sin; for he who sins is from the devil. 4. Of charity toward one's neighbor, and a generous disposition. In which also concerning a good conscience which is in the faith of Jesus Christ, and of the discernment of spirits through the confession of the incarnation of the Lord. 5. Of brotherly love toward piety toward God. 6. Of the theology of the Son in the glory of the Father: and of victory against the devil through faith in Jesus Christ unto eternal life. 7. Of helping a sinning brother through prayer; and of not sinning: in which also concerning the detestation of the worship of demons.

CAPUT I

^A it—not that we believed rashly in one who merely appeared; but after handling, as it has been said—that is, after the testimonies regarding him which exist in the Law and the prophets had been discussed, we believed in the Word manifest in the flesh. Yet we did not perceive or handle him just as he was (for "who shall declare his generation?" ⁎), but what came to pass, whether by intellectual touches or also by sensory ones, as did Thomas after the resurrection. For he was one and indivisible, the same being both visible and invisible, both grasped and not encompassed, both untouchable and handled, both speaking in a human manner and working miracles as God. We say these things about the same Word because of his intimate union with the flesh.

VERS. 1, 2. That which we have seen, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life. And the life was manifested, and we have seen, and do bear witness, and declare unto you the life eternal, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us.

"That which we have seen and heard, and declare unto you." What is this? That eternal life was manifested ^D unto us, and we have become spectators of him, both before the cross and after the resurrection. For the very same one who was fastened to the cross in the flesh, rose again in the same flesh. And what profit, he says, do we bring you from this proclamation? This: that just as we make you participants through our word in what we have seen and heard, so we have participants of the Father and of his Son Jesus Christ. And having attained this, we might be filled with joy, as being joined to God. "That you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship ⁎ is with the Father"

and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you, that your joy may be full. For while we have fellowship with you, we possess the greatest grace, which the rejoicing Sower will bestow upon the reapers in the reception of their reward, as they too rejoice that they are enjoying the fruits of their labors.

^B Verse 5-8. "And this is the announcement which we have heard from Him, and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all." If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. He repeats the former discourse, clarifying what the announcement is which he heard, and says that it is this: that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. And where did he hear this? From Christ Himself, who says, "I am the light of the world," and, "I have come as a light into the world." He is therefore light, and darkness is not in Him; but He is intellectual light, rousing the eyes of the soul to the perception of Himself, turning them away from all these material things, and urging them with an erotic passion toward the desire of Himself alone. By darkness, he means either ignorance or sin. For in God neither ignorance nor sin is seen; for these have a place only in matters concrete with matter, or things which, like us, are subject to passions. ^C But if it is said somewhere of God, "He made darkness His secret place," but, "He made," it says, it is not, "He is darkness," just as He said, "He is light." For that which is placed is different from that which places. Therefore, the darkness here signifies our ignorance, which is unaware of God; but this is in us, not in God. For something is placed for someone that does not exist within him, and not for his own sake, but for the sake of something else in relation to him. That he also calls sin "darkness" is evident from what he wrote in the Gospel; for he says there: "And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it," darkness signifying our sinful substance, which, on account of being prone to slip, yields to the envious demon who provokes our nature to sin. The light, therefore, having come into our nature, which was so easily taken, has become altogether unassailable by the one who harasses it. "For He has done no sin," and so on. Since, therefore, he says we are being made participants of God, who is light, and in such light darkness cannot exist, as has been shown, let us not, who are participants of the light, receive darkness henceforth within ourselves, lest we be convicted of lying, and furthermore be cast out from the communion of the light itself. ^D Therefore, by closely retaining the communion between us and the light, let us make ourselves unassailable by sin. But what, he says, will become of us, who have long since been bound by many sins? For no

^A one who is truthful and has set his mind on speaking the truth would dare to say that he is without sin. If, therefore, anyone is seized by this fear, let him take courage, he says; for he who has embraced communion with Him has already been cleansed by the blood of His Son Jesus Christ, which was poured out for us. Observe, moreover, how, because of the extreme union, he calls the nature assumed from us the Son of the Father, whose blood, it is absolutely and undoubtedly certain, this is, and not that of the Godhead. How, then, is Nestorius not delirious and impious, dividing the flesh of the Son and refusing to allow His Mother to be called Theotokos? It should be known, however, that the whole point of this passage is a refutation of the blasphemy of the Jews. For they said concerning Christ: "We know that this man is a sinner." He says, therefore, that if we do the works of light, we are His partners; but if we do not do them, we are estranged from Him. How, then, is He not truly light, and how did He not perform any sin, even if He was reckoned among the wicked by you? If, therefore, he says, we, who said "His blood be upon us and upon our children," should impudently say that we are without sin, we deceive ourselves—that is, we cheat ourselves—as if it were no sin to crucify Christ. For this reason he did not say, "We lie," but, "We deceive ourselves," because error is outside of the truth. But if we acknowledge our sin and confess it, He will forgive us. ^B

VERS. 9, 10. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, so that He may forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. He repeats the statement, applying it more insistently, in order that, by the frequent repetition of rebukes, he might place before their eyes the magnitude of their offence and exhort them to confession. And how great the good is that is born of confession, he signified when he said: "Do you first tell your sins, that you may be justified." It is also the custom of the teacher of the present disciple to say the same things often, more simply at first, then more perfectly, desiring to make the knowledge clearer and firmer. He speaks of God as "faithful" instead of "truthful." For "faithful" is said not only of one who has been entrusted with something, but also of one who is capable of creating belief, and who from his habit of speaking the truth has attained to the ability to make others also participants in truthfulness. Thus, therefore, God is faithful; and He is just, in that He does not drive away those who draw near to Him, ^C whatever sins they may have committed. He forgives sins, therefore, without a doubt, to those who, through repentance, hasten to holy baptism, whether they have sinned against Him or against others. If, therefore, we confess, he says, we shall obtain the appropriate forgiveness; but if, acting shamelessly, we say that we have not sinned, we shall double the evil, and we shall prove ourselves liars and blasphemers against God. For He says Himself through the prophet: "They rewarded me ^D evil for good." And again through Himself: "If I have spoken evil, bear witness"

bears witness to evil; but if well, why do you strike me? If these things being so, we say that we have no sin, we deny His word, which is spirit and life. For the words, He says, which I speak, are spirit and life.

CAPUT II

VERS. 1, 2. *My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the just. And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.* ^B Knowing the instability and weakness of our nature, and that we have an ingrained propensity toward evil, whence it is necessary (especially since the envious demon also lies in wait for our salvation) that even those who have been reconciled to God by confession, if they live carelessly, should fall into sins; for this reason, he adds that even if we sin after obtaining forgiveness, we must not despair: for we can, if we turn back, attain salvation again through the mediation of Jesus Christ. For He, interceding with the Father for us, renders Him propitious for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. He said this, however, because he was writing to the Jews; lest he should restrict the effects of repentance to them only, but might extend them to all nations: or because he meant that this promise regarded not only those who were living at that time, but all who would be in the future as well. ^C He calls Him an advocate, because He pleads our case before the Father and renders Him propitious to us; which is said in a human manner and *dispensatorie* (by way of economy); just as that saying: *The Son can do nothing of himself*: for, lest He should seem contrary to God, He says this: since that the Son also has the power of forgiving sins, He demonstrated in the paralytic. Moreover, when He gave the disciples the power of remitting sins, He showed that He gives this by His own authority. But, as we have said, the Apostle says this by a certain economy: or to show that the Son is of the same nature as the Father, and of equal power, and that whatever one operates is common to all three divine persons.

VERS. 3. *And in this we know that we have known him, if we keep his commandments.* ^D This blessed man is accustomed to use the same words to signify different things. As when he says: *He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.* So, therefore, he now uses the word "to know" in a different sense. For it is said "to know" both for "to have knowledge of" and for "to be perfectly united with someone," according to the sense in which it was said: *The Lord knew who were his*; and that: *Him, who knew no sin, he hath made sin for us.*

VERS. 4, 5. *He who saith that he knoweth him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and in this the truth is not...*

^A But he who keepeth his word, truly in him the charity of God is perfected: and in this we know that we are in him. He also asserts the same from the contrary, using a more abundant demonstration.

VERS. 6. *He who saith he abideth in him, ought himself also to walk, even as he walked.* By works, he says, is perfect love shown. But since it is possible for one to keep the commandments rightly and exactly, and yet be less rightly disposed, being as one who is far from God, for this reason he says that he who is made intimate with God must live worthily according to this union with God.

VERS. 7. *Dearly beloved, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you have heard from the beginning.* He turns the discourse to charity towards one's neighbor, and says that the union, or charity, towards God is chiefly known from love towards one's neighbor. For it is not possible that he who is enlightened by the knowledge of God, and filled with his love, should have the darkness of hatred towards his brother. For light and darkness cannot exist together at the same time and in the same place. Wherefore, whoever is illuminated by love towards God, and has God, has also the light towards his neighbor, which is kindled by love for the brother. But he who says he loves God, yet hates his brother, abides in perpetual darkness, being always blinded in the eyes of his intellect, inasmuch as he has lost the light of the union both with God and with his brother. And he does not know, therefore, how he should behave himself. ^B

VERS. 8-11. *Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which is true both in him and in you: because the darkness is passed, and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother, abideth in the light, and there is no scandal in him. But he that hateth his brother, is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because the darkness hath blinded his eyes.* Since this Epistle is general, and directed equally towards Jews and Gentiles, he makes use of words to the Jews, when he says that he is by no means prescribing a new commandment concerning charity, but an old one; for it is written in the tablets of Moses: *Thou shalt love, after God indeed, also thy neighbor as thyself* (Deut. vi, 6). But to the Gentiles, one might say, what of the old commandment, when it is found nowhere? But we say to them that the law of charity towards one's neighbor is also written for them. And how? It is inscribed in the tablet of the heart by natural ideas. And that those implanted ideas are called the natural law, Paul is sufficient to confirm the argument, saying: *I see another law fighting against the law of my mind, which is in me* (Rom. vii, 23). The Gentiles, therefore, also received the law or commandment, nature itself commanding that we should be kind towards all others who are of the same nature as ourselves: by which ^{C D}

^A man truly is a social animal, something he cannot be without mutual love. But ancient history records that many men have laid down their lives for one another: a fact which our Savior defines as the greatest proof of charity: *Greater love than this*, he says, *no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends*. 26 Thus, since the law of charity toward one's neighbor was established for both Jews and Gentiles, he says: "Besides the old commandment which you heard concerning love for one's neighbor, I am also writing a new commandment to you: one which possesses truth both in Him who has made you familiar with God through communion with Himself, and in yourselves who have communicated with Him." For since He says: *I am come a light into the world*, 27 and "the true light," according to His own word, now shines—and in the light there is no darkness—it remains that the true light of charity should shine in a true and sincere affection toward one's neighbor, and that the darkness of hatred should pass by, that is, be blotted out. For this is what "passes by" signifies when it appears in the blessed Paul, when he says: *The fashion of this world passeth away*. 28

^B **Ver. 12. I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.** Since he said, "I write a new commandment unto you," he declares also the disposition of those who were to receive this Epistle. He declares it by the progression which is found in bodily growth. For he knew that not all would receive his word with equal mind and zeal, but some more weakly and simply, as children, to whom he promises the remission of sins through faith in Jesus Christ; others, however, as those growing into a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, and in such a way that they were able to beget other children also—these, he testifies, have the knowledge of Him who is from the beginning. ^C And who is this, if not the Word of God, who *was in the beginning with God*? 29 Others, again, like young men, to whom he promises the prize of victory, as they contend with youthful strength and spirit against the passions of dishonor. Then, in another way, he repeats the same thing, adapting the discourse of his teaching to the measure of spiritual age. "Since, therefore," he says, "I know that you will receive what is written by me according to the manner of your various ages, it is necessary that I also should measure out my teaching according to the various disposition of your age: and to some of you, indeed, to speak as to little children who have known the Father, that is, God; but to others as to fathers, who have more knowledge than children—for not only do they in some way know the Father, ^D but they have also known Him from the beginning, or from eternity, to be ineffable: for He was in the beginning. And it is fitting for these to have a more perfect discourse before God. But to the young men, as being robust and suited for the struggle and the fight, saying of the victory

^A that makes it renowned, he shows that they have need of more virile and strategic words.

"I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning." — *Little children*: he says this because they sin due to the immaturity and lack of discernment of infancy. Therefore, he says, you are counted worthy of pardon, since it has come to pass that you have known that "the Lord is sweet to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works." — *Fathers*, as those who, by virtue of their age, have received the knowledge of Him who is from the beginning. *Young men*, as those who have experience, because of their vigor, and are readily prepared to carry off the prize against their adversaries.

"I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." He adapted the names of the ages mentioned to a moral discourse; but here he repeats them out of affection, ^B so as to make the admonition most complete.

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." Having thus divided the discourse according to the ages of the Spirit, he afterwards brings in the word of exhortation, and says: "Love not the world." He says these things as to little children; for children are always struck by the pleasure that appears. Then, having stated the reason why one ought not to love the world and the things that are in the world, he transfers his doctrinal discourse to the fathers and young men, since such as these are of a more perfect disposition. And lest you think that by "world" he means the system of heaven and earth, he explains what the world is, and what the things in the world are. He calls the world the rabble, the mob, ^C which does not even have the love of the Father within itself. But what are the things in the world? Those things which are performed according to the lust of the flesh, which, being mediated through the senses, stir up lust. For through the eyes, the most important of the senses, he has included the rest as well. And under "lust" every evil is contemplated: adultery, drunkenness, base loves, murders—some for greed, others to destroy adversaries. Even deceits, so that by deceit we might make everything that stands in our way subject to us; and, in short, all things hostile to God are accomplished in us through fleshly lust.

"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." We have already said that he calls the rabble, the mob, the world; ^D and for this reason the Lord says to the disciples: "You are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." Of this

^A world, the father is the devil—the father, I say, of worldly pleasure and confusion. Wherefore the Lord also says to the Father concerning His disciples: "I do not ask that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one," in other words, from the world, which He says elsewhere lies in the evil one. Furthermore, if the evil one is opposed to the good Father, and he who serves the desires of the world is not of the Father, but of the world, it is evident that he who is not of the Father, but of the world, is of the devil; just as He also says in the Gospels to the Jews: "You are of your father the devil," which is to say, of those carnal pursuits of which the devil is the sower and cultivator. And these worldly objects of desire have neither permanence nor subsistence; but those things which are according to the will of God endure forever. ^B It is not the act of a prudent man to neglect what is permanent and cling to things that perish; for this is just like wanting to build a house upon a ghost.

Ver. 18. *Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen; whence we know that it is the last hour.* The phrase "It is the last hour" is more easily explained in this way: since this Catholic Epistle is adapted to every man, and there is not one and the same fixed deadline of life for everyone, and the proper end of each person is unknown, it therefore fittingly directs everyone’s mind to their own end, so that, as if the last hour of life were at hand for each one, vigilance and attention might be stirred up, and thus an immaculate way of living and purity of actions might flourish among Christians. Otherwise: No one, however insane, can ridicule these things. ^C For since every thing is divided into three parts—the beginning, the middle, and the last or final—anything that remains from the middle forward can rightly be called "last." Wherefore, if the Lord came into the world around the middle of the ten-century span (for His coming occurred in approximately the five-thousand-five-hundredth year), no one could rightly deny that all the time flowing from that point, since it follows the middle, can be called "last" or "final." Since, therefore, the passage of the millenniums has exceeded the middle point since the Lord's coming, all the time which flows from then on can rightly be called "last." This, then, is most true and agrees with the golden John.

Ver. 19. *They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but that they might be made manifest, that they are not all of us.* ^D He subjoins something about the antichrists and where they come from: he says, "from us." He adds this, however, without first providing anything for the clarity of the discourse. I say, therefore, that it is as if he had first asked himself, "Whence come these antichrists?" and thus spoke that "from us." And so, indeed, he ought to have spoken; yet he did not speak in that way; perhaps, by that confusion of speech, he intends to show the disgust he feels regarding them. But [why] from the Lord's...

^A why did Antichrists go out from among the disciples of Christ the Lord? Clearly, so that they might have wherewith to appear worthy of belief to the multitude of the seduced, as though they were from the number of the disciples and ought to have preached according to the Master’s sentiment. Moreover, they did not in every way bring forth things contrary to evangelical preaching; and for that reason he says: *from us*. But he says they *went out*, because, though they had been disciples, they fell away from the truth and devised their own blasphemies. For they were not *from us*—that is, from the lot of those who are to be saved; for if they had been of this kind, they would surely have remained with their own people. But now, he says, they have done this so that they may be manifest, that is, so that it may be patent to all that they are entirely estranged from us. There are indeed among them also some who are not from us, to whom those who went out from us have joined themselves. On account of whom, he says, I have also said, *All are not from us*.

^B 414 VERS. 20-25. *But you have an unction from the Holy One, and know all things*. I have not written to you as if you were ignorant of the truth, but as if you knew it, and because all lying is not of the truth. *Who is a liar, but he who denieth that Jesus is the Christ? This is Antichrist, who denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father. He that confesseth the Son, hath the Father also. That which you have heard from the beginning, let it abide in you. For if that which you have heard from the beginning shall abide in you, you yourselves also shall abide in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise which he hath promised us, life everlasting*. After he had said the preceding things, lest anyone should think that the knowledge of these things was offered to him alone, and therefore should arrogantly exalt himself above other believers as if he alone possessed it, he fittingly adds this: *And you have an unction*, as if he were saying: But why do I go through these things among you, as though you were ignorant of them? Yet there is no ignorance of these things among you: for you have received the holy unction from holy baptism, and through it the Holy Spirit. ^C Since, therefore, you know this, I have written these things not as to those who are ignorant, but as to those who are aware of the last time and the incursion of Antichrists, and therefore that all things are full of lying. Because, therefore, lying abounds, for that reason I say to you that many are become Antichrists. For if Christ is the truth, whom you also, knowing the truth, have within yourselves, surely anyone who is a liar, being contrary to the truth or to Christ, is an Antichrist. And who is a liar? He who denies that Jesus is the Christ. This the most wicked Simon used to blather—that Jesus was one thing and Christ another: Jesus, indeed, he who was born of the Virgin Mary; but Christ, he who descended from heaven at the Jordan. He, therefore, who favors this lie, ^D this one, he says, is an Antichrist. But also he who denies the Father and the Son, even this one, he says, is a liar and an Antichrist. For other heretics, again, of whom the cursed Valentinus was born, said that the Father, spoken of absolutely, is someone other than the Father of Christ. These men also deny the Son, because they say he is a mere man, and therefore in no way God by nature, and God from God. Therefore he adds: *Whosoever denieth*

the Son, the same hath not the Father*; just as the Jews, while they denied the Son, pretended to know the Father. But let these men know that they have not known the Father either; for if they had known him, they would surely have known the Son as well, since he is the Father of the only-begotten Son. The followers of Simon also used to chatter about the same thing. So much for them. But do you keep among yourselves what you have heard from the beginning, that is, that Christ is God. For this is what he means by the words, *Let it abide in you*. For if that which you heard from the beginning abides in you, you yourselves will abide in the Son and in the Father; that is, you will be partakers of him. For this is the promise which says: *As thou, Father, in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us*; and again, *That they may have eternal life. And this is eternal life, that they may know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent*.

^B Verse 26. *These things have I written to you concerning them that seduce you*. Having finished the preceding discourse, he adds something further about those who were seducing them, specifically through the heresies that had flooded in. Then he adds again what we said before, in order to remove their distress, *And you, the unction which you have received*. (What this refers to has already been stated, namely, that he means the Holy Spirit.) Since, therefore, the Holy Spirit whom you received is firm among you, you have no need that anyone should teach you, but as the Holy Spirit himself teaches you concerning all things; as, therefore, he has taught you, abide in him: for that which he has taught you is true, and in no way a lie.

Verse 27. *And the unction which you have received from him, let it abide in you. And you have no need that any man teach you; but as his unction teacheth you of all things, and is true and is no lie. And as it hath taught you, abide in him*. The order of the words is as follows: Since the unction which you received from him abides in you, you have no need that any man should teach you; but as he has taught you, you ought to abide in him.

Verse 28, 29. *And now, little children, abide in him, that when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be confounded by him at his coming. If you know that he is just, know you that every one also who doth justice, is born of him*.

CHAPTER III

Verse 1. *See what manner of charity the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called, and should be the sons of God*. After having spoken ^C of the incursion of the Antichrists and of their entire perverse doctrine, and having sufficiently confirmed the faithful that they might hold unchangeably to those things in which they had been instructed from the first, he then sets before them the reward that is laid up for these things, as if to strengthen them further through the brilliance of these prizes, and he says: *Abide in him*. Through

[CHAPTER III]

^A it? That we may have confidence in him when he shall appear. For what is more glorious or more to be desired than confidence, so that when we are about to display our labors in this life to the One to whom we must show them, we may do so with confidence, being in no way put to shame at his advent? And since it is likely that some might ask what [deeds] they must have accomplished to become acceptable to him, he teaches this too, and says: "If you know that he is righteous, you know also that everyone who does righteousness is born of him." For the righteous one begets the righteous. No one is ignorant of how much this contributes to your glory and confidence, any more than they are of how great and of what kind is the love and kindness which he himself has shown to you. For you know that he has granted to you to be called and to be considered his children. But if this is unknown to those in the world, he says—that is, that you are children of God—do not marvel at this. For this reason it does not know you, because it did not know the one who adopted you; ^B by "world" he means the unrefined crowd. Then, since he has established the matter of adoption, he explains even more clearly for these reasons the glory and confidence laid up for those who have been adopted, and says: "Beloved, now we are children of God. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know him." By the name "world" he here understands the unrefined multitude and the dregs of the people, who, in fact, seek after only this sensual life and wallow in it, as a swine in a mud-puddle.

^C VERS. 2, 3. "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be. But we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope in him sanctifies himself, just as he also is holy." This is just as if he were saying: "You know entirely from what has preceded that we have been adopted as children of God. But if this has not yet appeared, do not be troubled; for what is now hidden will become clear when he is revealed. For having been made like him, we shall obtain the splendor of adoption. For sons are entirely like their father. But having confidence toward him as sons, we shall see him as he is; ^D not indeed according to nature—for this cannot be obtained by a created nature. But what, then? As the pure [see] the pure, and the just the just; for like things cling to their likes. Therefore he also said a little while ago that we shall be like him, not according to nature; for he would not have said 'like,' but 'the same.' But since this will not be, he said 'like,' namely, according to the quality of glory. It must be noted, however, that above he did not say, 'Everyone who has done,' or 'who is about to do righteousness,' but, 'who does.' For virtues are active, and have their being in the doing. But when they cease, or are merely future, they do not even have being."

VERS. 4, 5. "Everyone who does sin, commits also lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. And you know that he appeared to take away our sins; and sin is not in him." After having in the preceding [verses] established the discourse...

regarding justice ^A by means of the goods of justice, he now proceeds to his proof from the opposite and from the things that are inherent in him, and says: "Everyone who commits sin" — saying something like this: "You who have been adopted as children, work justice, and do not show yourselves to be idle in it." For just as even in the case of sin, it is not the [mere] one who has done it, or who will do it, who is the sinner or the lawless one, but rather the one who is possessed by evil and puts it into action, so too [one is] righteous, not the one who does nothing, but the one who is active. Furthermore, he says, you should have no room to sin; for since Christ has arrived for the destruction of sin, in that he was free from sin, there is no longer any remainder for you to sin, you who have become in him and have been confirmed by faith in him; this is what is signified by the phrase, "Everyone who abides in him." It should be understood, however, that sin is a falling away from the good, whereas lawlessness is a transgression concerning the established law. And each of these has its own beginning: the former is the deviation from the good, the latter is the transgression regarding the established law. Yet these agree in the same thing; for he who sins has failed in the aim that is according to nature and in nature (for the aim of human nature is to live according to reason, dwelling far from the city of irrationality); likewise, he who acts lawlessly transgresses concerning the law given in nature, being carried along uncontrollably. "Everyone who abides in him does not sin." ^B [This means] one who pursues virtues without yielding and never ceases from the work of them. "And everyone who sins has not seen him, nor has he known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does justice is righteous, just as He is righteous." Having said that he was manifested, and having explained the reason for which he was manifested—that is, so that, as one who did not commit sin, he might take away, that is, might destroy, our sin—he adds: "Everyone who sins has not seen him." For if you, he says, you who have seen him when he was manifested, and have received the sign of having seen him in the fact of not easily yielding to sin, as being perfectly grounded in him—then certainly those who sin have not seen him; therefore they have not even known him. By "seeing," however, he does not mean the contact by simple vision, nor the having formed for oneself through mere imagination an image of what is known, but rather an approaching towards him with a certain judgment and knowledge, as we said above. ^C Having said these things, he proceeds confirmingly, saying: "Let no one deceive you." For it is not otherwise than this: he who does justice has known the Righteous One, and is righteous even as He—that is, God—is; just as the opposite is also true: "He who does sin is of the sinner, who is the devil, who sins from the beginning." Therefore, also, God, being concerned for his own handiwork, manifested himself—that is, appeared into the world—in order that he might destroy the works of the devil. "He who does sin is of the devil, because the devil sins from the beginning." For this [reason], the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil.

^A Since the devil is perverse in sinning, everyone who sins takes his name from him; for he first enters the sinner through the suggestion of evil thoughts, as in the case of Judas. But some may ask: "How does the devil enter into those who sin, when they have already sinned by giving him place?" To this it must be answered that doing sin is the same thing as sinning by giving place to the devil; for he who sins gives place to him, being subject to desire, and after receiving him, performs the sin in deed. For this is what it signifies to "do" it. And well did he also say, "he who does," and not "he who has done," ^B since he who has repented is no longer of the devil, but only he who still works it. For thus also of sin, he who does it is a servant—but not he who has done it [in the past]. For "everyone who does sin is a servant of sin."

VERS. 9-10. "Everyone who has been born of God does not do sin, because his seed remains in him, and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil. Everyone who does not do righteousness is not of God, and he who does not love his brother." Since everyone who does sin is of the devil according to the very act of sinning, and is also called a son of the devil, as the blessed Paul says to Elymas: "Son of the devil, will you not cease to subvert the straight ways of the Lord?", it is evident ^C that he who has been born of God, as a son of God, does not sin, because the seed of God itself is in him—that is, the Spirit whom we received through the grace of which we were deemed worthy. This [Spirit], remaining in us, makes our mind incapable of receiving sin; or [it is] Christ himself, who, dwelling in the faithful, makes them sons of God, just as Christ himself is the son of Abraham in the seed of Abraham; and in the seed of Abraham, namely in Christ, all nations are blessed.

Chrysostom: As often as we sin, we are born of the devil; and again, of God, as often as we practice virtue. "For his seed remains in him." He calls the seed the Holy Spirit whom we receive through baptism; who, remaining in us, makes our mind incapable of receiving sin. But if anyone has not been born of God, he does not receive the Holy Spirit.

From another: Divine seed is Christ, who, dwelling in the faithful, ^D makes them to be sons of God. Thus in the seed of Abraham, who is Christ, all nations are blessed.

Otherwise: By "seed" he means the first lineage of the progenitor, which is from an abundance of virtues, saying that this progenitor, as if bestowing a certain irrigation of praiseworthy actions upon his own progeny, causes those to whom he himself has provided clarity to be able to glory also in their successors, if they most especially preserve those paternal prerogatives undiminished, which are not [the]

^A in any way inferior, just as the Jews, even if in vain, nevertheless used to say to Christ: "We are Abraham's seed."

Verses 11-14. For this is the proclamation that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain was of the evil one and slaughtered his brother. And for what reason did he slaughter him? Because his works were evil, but those of his brother were righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brothers.

He makes clear the evil of hatred toward one's brother by an example. Look, he says, how Cain, even hating his own brother, killed him, even though he was his brother; yet since he had the works of his father, the devil, while Abel, doing righteous works, was proclaimed a son of God. Furthermore, the devil is opposed to God, and evil works are opposed to good ones. For this reason, Cain, being opposed to his brother, killed him. Such is the orderly progression of the discourse. But the blessed John altered the order, always attending to what is most pressing. For it was pressing for him, since he had made mention of the devil and of those ^B who are adopted by him through evil actions, to propose as an example him who, from the beginning of the world, through evil works, ran off to become a child of the Evil One. But having been freed from [speaking of] Cain, and of those who, emulating him, will have his inheritance, he again returns to love.

Verses 14-18. He who does not love the brother abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer. And we know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. In this we know the love, that he laid down his soul for us; and we ought to lay down our souls for the brothers. But whoever has the livelihood of the world and sees his brother having need, and shuts his bowels from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word, nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

Having finished the discourse concerning Cain and the evil works in accordance with him, he again returns to love and says that love [for us] persuaded the Lord to lay down His soul/life for us, and that from this example we also ought to lay down our soul for the brothers. And because this is rare and among the few, as if putting them to shame, he begins the exhortation of brotherly love from the more moderate things, thus managing his discourse: What [is this I] say about laying down one's soul for a brother, when we see [that they do not even] fulfill the need of the brethren for the necessities [of life]? And I do not speak of those who are lacking in livelihood, but even of those who have the whole world in their possession of wealth. Therefore, let them be ashamed, because if they shut their bowels for these small matters, they have rendered themselves unworthy of the love of God; what would they have done regarding the greater thing, that is, dying for one's brother, [if they] showed [themselves able]...

To this he adds another thing that could put them to shame, for those who accept charity in word and practice it only with the tongue, and says: Let us not love in word, nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

And in this we know that we are of the truth. And from this, in what? In not loving the brother by word, but in deed and in truth. And what do we know? That we are of the truth. How? For he who says one thing and does another, not having his action in harmony with his word, he is a liar and not true.

And before him we shall persuade ^B our hearts. Because if our heart condemn us, for God is greater than our heart and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do those things which are pleasing in his sight. He says this, because by being truthful (and we shall be truthful when our things proceed according to words and deeds), we shall persuade our conscience. For this is what he wants to signify by the heart. And how shall we persuade? Placing this before ourselves, that we make our words as with God as a witness. For "before him" signifies this. For if, he says, we do not act in this way, but our conscience, that is, our heart, condemns us, we do not escape notice when we sin. For if even our conscience, which is small, as [coming] from a small animal, we do not escape notice when we sin; by much more shall we not escape God, who is infinite and present everywhere. The meaning of the discourse is therefore such: Little children, let us not lie to one another, loving only with the tongue, but let us also demonstrate love in deed; for in this we shall know ^C that we are of the truth, that is, of God; and let us say what we say as though God were observing us; for no one, even if he were more shameless than the demons, could endure to lie with God as a witness. For if we do not act in this way, but while we say we love, our heart condemns us of falsehood, we are sinning. How? By thinking we escape the notice of God, who is present everywhere. Therefore, beloved, he says, by so preparing ourselves, so that we are not condemned by our own selves, in that we are truthful to one another, we shall possess confidence toward God, from which confidence we shall surely receive whatever we ask from Him. Why? Because we keep His commandments. For the great thing to summon toward obedience is the obedience of those who ask, when the request is made without doubt toward Him. Since, therefore, we also keep His commandments, and do what is pleasing to Him, let us be confident that we shall not be deprived of our requests, since the sincere affection that exists between two [parties] is accustomed to repay ^D that which is toward the need of the other.

43 THEOPHYLACTI BULGARIAE ARCHIEP. 44

commodity. And what is His commandment ^A that we keep? The one that says: "Love one another."

VERS. 23. *And this is His commandment, that we should believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ.* This "and this" is to be understood causally, as if it were: "Because His commandment is that we believe." Since, he says, we have the commandment that by faith in the name of His Son Jesus Christ we should love one another, and we have already done this: thence we know that the grace from His Spirit, which He gave us, is confirmed in us. But it must be known that in many places of holy Scripture it is found: "to believe in the name of our Lord." But what does "name" mean? Certainly nothing else than will, glory, and honor. Glory and honor, as in that place: "How admirable is Thy name in all the earth." Will, however, ^B as here, and where it is said: "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus," that is, in His will. And what is such a will? Namely, that all nations be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

VERS. 24. *And let us love one another, as He gave commandment to us. And he who keeps His commandments abides in Him and He in him: and in this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He gave us.* That is, He commanded that we should love one another with sincere affection. But where did He command this? Namely, where He said: "As you wish that men should do to you, do you also likewise to them." If, therefore, it is agreeable to us that others should be disposed kindly and sincerely toward us, in the very same way we also ought to be disposed toward them. But if such is the commandment of the Lord, much more, as we abide in Him, will He also manifest Himself to us; for He cannot deny Himself—that is, He cannot be found to have given us His commandments in vain, since He Himself fulfilled them first. Which if this be so, certainly if we do what He commands, we shall also have Him obedient to us in those things which we shall ask of Him, and His gift will be firm in us. ^C But the entire sense is as follows: That we should believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and that we should sincerely love one another, as He commanded. For he who obeys His commandments abides in Him and He in him. And we know that He abides in us by the Spirit, or the gift, which He gave to us. For while this remains inviolate, His gift can in no way be taken from us. But how will it remain inviolate? If we neglect nothing of those things which He commanded us concerning love.

CHAPTER IV

VERS. 1, 2. *Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. In this ^D*

^A know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God.* Having finished his discourse regarding love to one’s neighbor, and having declared this to be a sure token of the indwelling of the Spirit which we have received, he now adds the distinguishing mark of those who are truly brothers and neighbors, so that, by possessing this, we might not, by reason of the commandment concerning love, fall in among false brothers, false apostles, and false prophets, and thereby bring great harm upon ourselves. For by cleaving to them as if they were of the same character as we, first of all we would injure ourselves by holding communion in the word of the faith with the ungodly, and by casting holy things to dogs; and next, we would also cause damage to others who associate with us. For our love directed toward these men would persuade many to take them as their teachers, and, having been seduced by the conversation they have with us, they would incautiously believe all that is said by them. But what is the token of these men? What is it, if not this? He says: ^B "Every spirit"—that is, every claim to prophecy or apostleship—"that confesseth the Lord Jesus to have come in the flesh is of God; but he that does not confess this is not of God, but his claim is from the Antichrist of whom you have heard." When? Since a little before he said that there are many Antichrists in the world, that is, the precursors of the Antichrist. But he says that the confession of Christ’s advent in the flesh is not to be made with the tongue, but with works, as the blessed Paul says: "Always bearing about the dying of Jesus in our body, that the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our body." Whoever, therefore, has Jesus working in him, and has died to the world, and no longer lives to the world, but to Christ, and bears Him about—not only in the flesh of Christ, but even in his own flesh—this man is of God. But he who does not live to Christ, but to himself and to the world, that is, to the pleasures of the world, such a one is not of God. Therefore also Paul ^C says again: "For whereas there is among you envying and strife, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" But he who walks as a man does not possess the Spirit of Christ; and he who does not have the Spirit of Christ, which is to say, he who does not live according to Christ, this man is not of Christ.

"And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of Antichrist, whereof you have heard that it cometh, and even now ^D is already in the world." He says that the Antichrist is already in the world, not personally, but through the false prophets, false apostles, and heretics who prepare the way for his coming. Now this Antichrist will be a man carrying Satan about everywhere, who will exalt himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped. Therefore he will even desist from worshipping idols (which the apostle indicated by "gods so called"; and as for what is meant by "that which is worshipped," he means Christ).

^A

Verses 4-5. *You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world. They are of the world, therefore they speak of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God, hears us; he who is not of God, does not hear us.* After he made known the true prophets and apostles, he adds: *But you, being of God, little children, have overcome them*, namely the false prophets. How? Because God who is in you is greater than he who is in the world, according to whom the false prophets chose to live. Then he adds to these another sign of the false prophets, which especially grieved the simpler faithful. For it is likely that some of them took it poorly to see those others held in high regard by the masses, while they themselves were held in contempt. ^B Hence he says: Do not be grieved if the common people despise you and look up to them; for like tends toward like. For they, speaking of the world—that is, teaching according to the desires of the flesh—have the worldly as their followers; the perverse, that is, have the perverse. But we, as those who are of God and are alienated from the concupiscences of the world, cannot be acceptable or pleasing to them. But he who lives temperately, and through this knows God, hears us and is ready to afford his hearing; which is what Christ also says: *He who has ears to hear, let him hear*, testifying that he who is prepared for obedience is one who possesses ears to hear.

Verses 6-10. *In this we know the Spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God. And everyone who loves is born of God, and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested in us, that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love: not that we loved God, but because He first loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.* ^C Having hitherto distinguished whom we ought to embrace and whom we ought to reject, he subjoins henceforth, as a seal of the things he has said, that by this we know those who have the Spirit of truth, and those who have the spirit of seduction—that is, of false prophecy. And after this he again takes up the discourse concerning love. For having shown whom one ought to love—namely, those who correspond in character—he attaches himself henceforth to the beginning, saying that both love itself and the one who loves are of God, and that only the one who loves is born of God and knows God, while the one who does not have love does not know God. ^D But he establishes in this way how he who does not love does not know God:

^A God is love. Whence is this manifest? From the fact that He sent His only-begotten Son into the world, that He might bestow upon us true life, and that we might live through Him. For just as He is called Goodness, because out of goodness He established the intellectual and sensible world; so also, since through love for us He gave His only-begotten Son into the world, He showed thereby that He is love. Thus, he himself adds: *In this is love* (that is, in this it is shown, that God is love). Then, exalting the excellence of God's love, he says: *Not that we loved him* did God do this, giving His own Son for us, but, taking the initiative in the beneficence toward us through love, He sent His Son; and He not only sent Him, but sent Him in order to expiate our sins by His own blood. If, therefore, he says, God so loved us, though we are in no way of the same nature as He—much more are we bound to love those who are of the same nature as we, and, recognizing the excellence of love, to exercise it toward others. For just as he is guilty who does not choose what is to be chosen, so much praise is achieved by those who are worthy of love, and because they are beloved. We, being thus disposed, have both: both the being beloved, because we are loved by God and accepted by Him, and the being lovers, through love toward our neighbor.

^B Dearly beloved, *if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No man has seen God at any time. For if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. In this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and bear witness that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.* As we have said before, it is the custom of this blessed apostle to repeat the same things about the same subjects. Following this manner even now, as he continues the discourse, he says: *No man has seen God at any time.* For since, while speaking of love for the brethren, he brought forward God as an example, who gave His only-begotten Son to death because of the love with which He loved us, it was natural for someone to ask: "Whence do you say this regarding things that are invisible?" ^C Hence, that he might encounter those saying such things, he says: I myself agree that no man has ever seen God; but through the love for one another, he says, we know that God is in us. And he says this rightly: for many things that are invisible to us we grasp through their operations. Indeed, just as no one has seen a soul, yet through its operations and movements it is understood that it is in us and subsists, so we recognize His love for us as if through some movement and operation. And if this is not beyond what is reasonable, then neither is it unreasonable that this holy man should demonstrate that God is in us through this operation. And what is this operation? Pure love toward our neighbor: this is a sure sign and ^D

^A evidence of our remaining in Him, and His in us; and that, he says, because He has given us of His Spirit. For the Pure One dispenses pure and clean things. Since, therefore, we are made partakers of Him through pure love, hence we, too, he says, who have seen Him in the flesh, have known and testify that the Father sent His Son as the Savior of the world. But beyond our knowledge, He Himself also narrated it, supplying us with a more perfect knowledge of this matter, saying in one place: I went out from the Father, and I have come into the world (John xvi, 28); because, indeed, the Father, on account of His love for us, sent His only-begotten Son from heaven into the world. In another place, however, he speaks more clearly (John iii, 16): For God, He says, so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that everyone who believes in Him should not perish; and (John iii, 17), God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. We have, therefore, he says, both from our own sight, and from the narration of the Only-Begotten who is in the bosom of the Father (John i, 18), as it is said in the Gospel, and from the operation of mutual love, evidence that God is in us, and that He has given of His Spirit to us, and that we are participants in Him. ^B

VERS. 15, 16. Whoever shall have confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has in us. God is love. And he who abides in love, abides in God, and God in him. This refers to what was said a little before, namely: Every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. For since he has sufficiently demonstrated that they are both sons of God and that God abides in them (and he demonstrated this from the love that is toward one another, because the Holy Spirit was given to them), he turns the argument back to those things again, and says: Whoever shall have confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, just as he said above: Every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, is of God. But this discourse also declares another thing, namely, that those who confess these things and have the Holy Spirit, or God, abiding in them, even they themselves abide in God. But how is this? Through love toward one another. And having made mention of love, he subjoins all the things he has said about love, confirming the discourse on love with many things. ^C

VERS. 17, 18. In this is love perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love: but perfect love casts out fear. God is light, and His saints are light in the world (Matth. v, 14), according to the Gospel; and fear of punishment is not in them, because they abound in love. I wish, he says, for you to be perfect in love, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment toward God; since He Himself is the judge, according to His own sentence, ^D

seeing that “The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son” [John 5:22]. And that our confidence will be toward Him who became man for our sake, He clarified through what follows, saying: “As He is, so are we in this world” [1 John 4:17]. By this he means: since it was previously demonstrated that God is in us, and we in Him, we bear witness to the perfection of love in ourselves as well. Therefore, as He was stainless and pure in the world (for which reason He also said, “The prince of this world comes, and in me he has nothing” [John 14:30]), so too shall we be in God, and God in us. If it is so, then He is for us the teacher and bestower of purity. Thus we also carry Him about in this world, acting holily and purely, always bearing His mortification in our body [2 Cor. 4:10]. Living in this way, we shall have confidence toward Him and will be free from all fear at that time. For being perfected in love through good works, we shall be far from fear. And He confirms this to them by adding: “Perfect love casts out fear” [1 John 4:18]. But what kind of fear? He Himself says, fear of punishment. For it is possible for one to love even from fear of being punished; but this fear is not perfecting, that is, it does not belong to perfect ^B love. Having said these things about perfect love, he proves by force of logic that we ought to love God, “because He himself,” he says, “first loved us.” We ought, therefore, to strive more earnestly to requite Him who took the initiative in doing good toward us. But some have inquired: How is it that, when David says, “Fear the Lord, all His saints; for there is no want to those who fear Him” [Ps. 33:10], he now asserts that “perfect love casts out fear”? Are not God's saints perfect in love, even though they are commanded to fear? We answer that fear is twofold. One is initial, which has affliction as its companion; it belongs to him who, fearing on account of the evils he has committed, approaches God, and for this reason approaches, so that he may not be punished. And such is the initial fear. ^C But the perfect fear is free from such dread. Wherefore it is called “holy and abiding forever and ever” [Ps. 18:10]. What, then, is this perfect fear, and why does it exist? It is indeed that fear by which one who possesses perfect love is anxious lest anything be lacking to him of those things which it is fitting for one who loves intensely to perform for the beloved.

VERS. 18, 19. Quoniam timor habet poenam. Qui autem timet, non est perfectus in charitate. Nos ergo diligamus Deum, quoniam Deus prior dilexit nos.

By "fear" here, he means the initial fear. Therefore, the one who genuinely loves God does not do things pleasing to God because of the threat of punishments, but rather from the allure of virtue and from the love toward God. He does not, however, secure himself through the genuine fear which is the desire for the good. Or again, fear of not falling into punishment

which is what one does, is the same as the former; wherefore he adds: "Fear hath torment." ^A

VERSE 20. *If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?* After he has demonstrated that charity is of such a nature that it passes from God to us, and from us toward Him, and further adding that if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another—referring the discourse back to this again, he says that the debt lies upon us to love our brothers, by the example of God’s charity toward us, which, if we offer it to God, we shall satisfy this debt. It is necessary, therefore, he says, by all means to love one's brother as the most perfect proof of our charity toward God; otherwise, our charity toward God will not be secure, as the debt we owe to one another, which we have derived from our charity toward God, will have failed. He further adds a most effective argument to convict those who attempt to falsify divine charity, reasoning almost as follows: Charity arises entirely from mutual acquaintance or conversation. From conversation it follows that we see our brother, and from there are captivated by love for him. For there is great power in sight to conciliate love. If this is so, how can he who makes nothing of the greatest incentive to love, not loving his brother whom he sees, truthfully say that he loves God, whom he does not see, nor converses with Him, nor can perceive Him by any sense? If, therefore, anyone, he says, should rashly say that he loves God, but hates his brother, he, beyond the fact that he corrupts divine charity, is also found a transgressor of His commandment which says: "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." Whoever, therefore, loves God and contends to be His disciple, loves also his brother according to His commandment. ^B

VERSE 21. *And this commandment have we from God: That he who loveth God, love his brother also.*

CAPUT V

VERSES 1, 2. *Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.* This also confirms what was said above, as if he were to say: If we have received a commandment from our Teacher that we should love one another, undoubtedly, if we believe that our Teacher Jesus is the Christ (who for this reason is Christ, because He is God and man), let us keep His commandments as those of a Teacher and of God. Truly believing Him to be God, we become His children; even

^A is, as it is written in the Gospels: "as many as received Him, to them He gave the power to become children of God." That is, as many as believed in Him, these were also made children by Him. But if we are born of Him, we shall certainly also show what is owed to the One who begot us. ^B What is this? To love the One who begot us. Since, he says, we have all who have believed been born of Him, and if we are born of Him, we are debtors to love one another, both as brothers and as those born of the same One. And he provides proof of this, as "He who loves the One who begot, also loves the one born of Him." Then he says again that love toward the brothers, that is, the children of God, confirms the love toward the One who gave birth. For he had said above: "He who loves God also loves his brother." Now, however, he says: "He who loves the children of God also loves God." And he makes love toward the brother a proof of love toward God.

Verse 3

Verses 3, 4

Having said these things on this matter, he adds another thing concerning love. What is that? Victory. For he says that through love toward the brother, by constituting yourselves children of God, you already have also the consequence of this noble achievement, namely, to overcome the world. "For everything that is born of God overcomes the world." Then he sets forth the victory itself, and by what means that victory is, saying that both are faith in God, which, having been born of God, overcame and cast out all unbelief; and neither Jew, nor Greek, nor heretic can stand against it. And since faith does not overcome alone, but with the one who possesses it, for this reason he adds: "And who is he who overcomes the world, if not he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" ^D And

^A *who is this Jesus? He who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ.*

Verse 5, 6. *But who is he who overcomes the world, if not he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ.* Since he mentioned the procreation and birth of the children of God, saying that "everything that is begotten of God"—which is accomplished at once through holy baptism—he therefore says, "This is he who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ," who regenerates us and makes us children of God. For this is understood as following upon the discourse, so that it might be: "And everything that is begotten of God overcomes the world." And how was he begotten? By water, he says, and blood. For Jesus Christ, who came by water and blood, regenerates us. He adds, however, by repeating the expression: "not in water only, but in water and blood." For he wishes first to indicate the declaration of Christ, who made us children: since the man who is in Him was first declared by God to be the Son, and it was not through his own adoption that he conferred such a dignity upon us as well. For he was declared to be the Son of God on three occasions: ^B truly when he was baptized in the Jordan, with the Father bearing witness from above to him who was being baptized, that he was His beloved Son. But who is this? He who was entering the water, or the man assumed together with the God-Word, who appeared in the hidden one: for it was fitting that witness be borne to him. Therefore through the water—that is, in the baptism which takes place through water—Jesus was declared to be the Son of God by the Father's testimony. And through the blood, when, about to be affixed to the cross, he said: "Father, glorify me"; and a voice came from heaven: "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again"; which voice those who heard thought to be thunder. And through the Spirit, because, as God, he rose from the dead: for it belongs to God alone to raise himself from the dead. That God is signified by the voice of the Spirit, that passage sufficiently demonstrates: "God is Spirit." ^C Since, therefore, the baptism, the cross, and the resurrection bear witness that our Lord is the Son of God, it can in no way be called into doubt. Furthermore, through His own filiation, He, as the first-fruits of the entire human mass, conferred upon us by His grace that we should be children of God. "And these three are in the one Christ." For this is what is signified by the words: "These three are one"; that is, regarding the testimony concerning Christ. It should be known, however, that some of the Fathers have understood the "Spirit" not as the resurrection of Christ, but as God the Father, who cried out above the Jordan: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," inasmuch as God is Spirit, as we have already said.

Having said these things, he confirms them with an argument from the lesser, in this way: If we accept the testimony of men regarding anything at all, is it not much more just that we should accept the greater testimony, namely, that of God? For what then? Is not the testimony concerning His Son, namely, concerning

from Christ, is from God Himself. He, therefore, who believes in the Son of God, that He is God, as the Son of God, has the testimony in him, that is, in himself, believing that he also is adopted as a son through Jesus, who was assumed by God as ^A Son. But he who does not believe this, renders himself liable to two evils: namely, to the sin of unbelief, making God a liar, and furthermore depriving himself of adoption, and because of this, of eternal life, which Christ Himself has in Himself, just as it is written in the Gospel: "In Him was life." Hence, he who possesses the Son through baptism, possesses also the life; for as many of us as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. But whoever does not have the Son of God through baptism, does not have the life either, and is dead. For He takes us who are dead in our trespasses, and raises us up through holy baptism. How? Because he who has been buried with Christ through the immersion that takes place in baptism, he is dead to the world, that is, to the desires of the world, and no longer lives in himself, but in Christ.

"Not in water only, but in water and blood. And the Spirit is He who testifies that Christ is the truth." For "there are three that bear testimony, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood." It must be understood that "He came," so that it reads: He did not come by water only, that is to say, He did not provide the demonstration through water alone.

^B "And those three are for one." If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; and this is the testimony of God, which He has testified concerning His Son. He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. He who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony which God has testified concerning His Son. And this is the testimony, that God has given us eternal life. And this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. And these three are for one, that is to say, for the testimony regarding Christ: that He was adopted by God the Father, and that He imparted that name which He Himself possessed to those worthy who have believed in His name.

"These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe in the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence which we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked of Him." He summarizes these things as if in an epilogue, and says,

^A that we have written to you as inheritors of eternal life; for these things would not be written to those who do not live in the hope of eternal life, since it is not fitting to give what is holy to the dogs, nor to cast pearls before swine. He repeats the discourse, as we have said, reminding them of those things already spoken: first, that one must believe without doubting in the name of the Son of God, that is, in the God-worship handed down to us by Him (for this is what "the name of the Son of God" signifies, as we have said); next, that there is no other sign of this undoubted faith than the confidence which we find toward Him through a blameless faith, as we have also said above; and that ^B he has posited that the sign of such confidence is never to fail in any of the things we ask. But because not all attain all the things they ask, nor are they heard in what they seek, he adds the phrase, "according to His will," implying that he who asks contrary to the will of God will not be heard at all. In this matter he agrees with the blessed James, since he, too, says, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss." But by turning such a sign into a clearer indicator, he says: "And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of Him." He is saying something like this: If we ask according to His will, He hears us; and if He hears us in what we ask, we know that we are offering our petitions according to His will, and we have within ourselves the petitions ^C which we have asked. These are His kingdom and His righteousness, which He Himself commanded us to seek in the Gospels.

VERS. 16, 17. *If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and He will give him life for those who sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death; I do not say that he should pray for that. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.*

Having explained the things we have already set forth, he now clearly puts forward one of those things which he wishes us to ask for according to the will of God. And because he has been much occupied, almost throughout the whole Epistle, with extolling charity and confirming that it is God's will that we should keep our love toward our brothers unblemished, he now says that this is the greatest of His commandments: "If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and He will give ^D him life." But what will He give? Eternal life. To whom? To those who do not sin unto death. For as if from the genus of sin, he makes a division and says: "All unrighteousness is sin," and refers to both the sin unto death, and that which is not unto death. But concerning that which is unto death, he says, let no one pray, that is, let no one ask; for he will not be heard, because he asks amiss—speaking of the man who exhibits no conversion. For this alone is the sin unto death, that which does not look toward repentance, from which Judas suffered and was subjected to eternal death. But truly even those who keep the memory of injuries, unto death

^A they sin. For Solomon says: The ways of those mindful of injuries lead unto death. For neither do these repent and turn back, but rather, clinging to the memory of injuries and preserving their anger against their neighbor, they sin in an unrepentant manner.

We know that everyone who has been born of God does not sin; but the one who has been born of God keeps himself, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, so that we may know the true God; and we are in the true One, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and life eternal.

Having instructed us as to what sin is unto death, and what is not unto death, he indicates thereafter whose it is to sin unto death, saying that he who has been adopted by God will never, at any time, fall ill with a sin unto death, nor even with a sin not unto death. For having once handed himself over to Christ, who dwells in him through adoption, he remains untouched by sin. ^B However, lest anyone should think that such a person has undergone an absolute transformation of nature, so as to be henceforth unassailable by sin, he adds: "He keeps himself"—as if to say that if he does not keep and guard himself from the evil one, he is bound to sin. He does not progress to sinlessness by nature, he says, but by the great gift of God, who, in adopting us, has deigned to grant this grace, so that if we carefully guard and keep the gift bestowed upon us by Him, we may have the power not to sin. For otherwise, he says, since the world lies in the evil one (and by "world" he refers to those who have not, through good works, translated themselves into the adoption of God), ^C nothing would prevent us from being numbered along with those who are perishing; inasmuch as the intent of the human heart is bent diligently toward evil from his youth, just as God revealed at the time of the flood. But since, he says, the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding to know the true God, and to be in His true Son Jesus Christ, we have come to know through this great gift that this is the true God and eternal life; and, having known this, we remain protected from the evil one and his snares.

Little children, guard yourselves from idols. Amen. ^D Some have asked: why, if he is writing these things to perfect believers, does he enjoin them to guard themselves from idols? We reply that, since he was writing these things to the entire Church, which was not composed entirely of an elect people, but in which there were some who were more sluggishly disposed, he exhorts such as these, taking into account their frailty.

The End of the Catholic Epistle of John.