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Ver. 5.-1. This is the meffage. Here the common reading is, Tayyedia, the promife. But our tranflators have justly followed the reading of above thirty MSS. and feveral ancient verfions, which have here ayya the message. Or they have fuppofed, that mayya may be tranflated a meage. For it is plain, that the apoftle is not speaking of a promife, but of a message.

2. Which we have received from him, and declare to you. The initiated into the heathen fellowships gloried in their mysteries, or hidden doctrines, as the only effectual means of purifying the foul from ignorance and error, But the real tendency of thefe mysteries was to corrupt the minds of the initiated, with falfe notions of the objects of their worship, and of the duties of morality: for which reason they were always communicated under the feal of the greatest secrefy. See pref. to Ephefians fect. 7. paragr. 4. The Chriftian myfteries, or doctrines, being of a very different nature, and having a real tendency to enlighten the foul, the apoftles publifhed them to all mankind: particularly that great doctrine concerning the nature of God, which was delivered to them by Chrift as a meffage from God himself, namely, That God is light, He is righteoufnefs, goodnefs and truth; and in him is no darkness at all, no ignorance, nor error, nor evil of any kind. See the following note 3. Moreover, he is the fource of all the knowledge, truth, and goodness exifting in the universe. This important doctrine, having been delivered by the living word, as a meffage from God himself to the apoftles, their declaration of it, was thereby rendered more folemn and certain. Thus it appears, that while the minds of the heathens were utterly corrupted by the reprefentations given of their gods in the myfteries, the initiated in the fellowship of Christ, had in their myfteries, that is in the preaching of the word and in the facraments, the highest ideas given them of the holinefs and other perfections of God; and were taught to afpire after the greatest fanctity of manners, by imitating him.

This meffage concerning God, fo folemnly declared by the apostle, may have been defigned likewife as a condemnation of the impure doctrines and practices of the Nicolaitans, and other heretics, who in

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5 Moreover, to fhew you the advantage of being members of our fellowship, this is the message which we apoftles have heard from the living word, and which we declare to you, that God, the Father of the universe and head of our fellowship, is possessed of all moral perfection, and in him is no

evil nor error at all.

6 Wherefore, If we fay, certainly we have fellowship with God, (ver. 3. note 3.) although we practise wickednefs, we lie and do not the truth; we do not act agreeably to the true doctrine of the gofpel, nor to the true nature of the fellowship which we pretend to have with God.

the first age, endeavoured to feduce the faithful to commit idolatry, lewdness, and other impurities.

3. That God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. Light being the pureft of all material substances, and that which, by means of the eye, conveys to the mind pleasures more grateful, and more various, than thofe communicated by the other fenfes, it is fitly used, meta.. phorically, to denote knowledge and virtue. Wherefore, when we are told that God is light, it fignifies not only that he is infinite in knowledge, and poffeffed of all moral perfection, without the leaft mixture of evil, but that the contemplation of his nature and perfections is as pleasant to the minds of his rational creatures, as light is to the eye. On the other hand, darkness admitting all manner of mixtures, and concealing every thing from our view, and being extremely unpleasant as well as hurtful, is used with propriety to denote ignorance, error, and moral evil or vice, which of all things are the most deftructive of our rational nature. Hence the devils, the moft immoral beings in the univerfe, and the greateft promoters of ignorance and wickedness, are styled, Ephef. vi. 12. The rulers of the darkness of this world: and their kingdom is called, Luke xxii. 53. and Col. i. 13. The power of darkness: And the idolatrous heathen their fubjects, who were converted to Chriftianity, are faid Ephef. v. 8. to have been formerly darkness, but now light in the Lord. So likewife the Jews converted to Christ, are called, Col. i. 12. Saints in the light.-Bengelius thinks the apoftle, by calling God light, means to tell us, that God is to the eye of the mind what light is to the eye of the body.-Eftius in his note on this verse says, the Manicheans held that God is a light vifible to the bodily eye and that Chrift is the vifible fun which we behold.

Ver. 6. If we fay. This is an expreffion repeatedly ufed by John;: the meaning of which according to Bengelius is, If we endeavour to perfuade ourselves and others.

Ver. 7.

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Ver. 7. - 1. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light. apostle doth not fay, as he walketh in the light, but as he is in the light, to fhew that God is effentially and perfectly holy.

2. We have fellowship with one another. As the apoftle is fpeaking here, not of the fellowship which Chriftians have with each other, but with the Father and with his Son Jefus Chrift, fellowhip μετ' αλλήλων with one another, must mean fellowship or intercourfe between the head and the members of the community. This fellowship confifts in the Father's beftowing bleffings on us through the mediation of Chrift; and in our receiving thefe bleffings from the Father and the Son with thankfulnes. In fome MSS. the reading here is, μετ' αυτό, with him. But it makes no alteration in the fenfe.

3. And the blood of Jefus Chrift his Son cleanfeth us from all fin. As the apostle in this paffage reprefents our being cleanfed from all fin as the effect of our walking in the light, it is evident that by our being cleanfed from all fin, he doth not mean our being delivered from the power but from the punishment of fin ; a bleffing which hath been procured by the blood or death of Chriftas a propitiatory facrifice. Accordingly Chritt's blood is faid, Heb. ix. 14. to cleanfe the confcience of Ginners from dead works ; that is, from thofe fears which always accompany the confcioufnefs of having done works which deferve eternal death. Our actual deliverance however from punishment is not accomplished in the prefent life; but it is promifed in the gospel to all who walk in the light; and that is fufficient.-But there is a cleanfing from all fin, in another sense, which is begun in the present

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7 But if ve practise holiness, after the example of God the head of our fellowship, who is infinitely pure, he and we have fellowship with one another; he by beftowing and we by receiving happinefs. And the blood of Jefus Chrift his Son, shed as an atonement, will deliver us from the punishment of all our fins.

8 If ave fay, with the Nicolaitans, that we have no fin to be cleansed from, being allowed under the gofpel to do what we lift, we deceive ourselves, and the true doctrine of God is not in us.

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9 The doctrine of the Nicolaitans that believers have no fin to be doned, doth not afford men. more comfort than the true doctrine of the gofpel; which is, If we confess our fins to God with a firm refolution to forfake them, he is faithful to his promife, and just to his Son whom he fent to fave finners; fo that he can for give fins to us and cleanfe us from all unrighteousness by his Spirit.

life by the blood of Chrift, who having died to procure us the influences of the Spirit for fanctifying our natures, may he truly faid to cleanfe us from all fin by his blood. Of this cleanfing the apoftle does not speak in this verfe, as was observed above: But he speaks

of it ver. 9.

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Ver. 8. If we fay that we have no fin, we deceive ourselves the apoftle declared in oppofition to the Nicolaitans and Simonians, who corruptly fancying that under the gofpel difpenfation no action whatever was forbidden, argued that they did not fin by any thing they were pleafed to do.-As the cleanfing of men from all fin, mentioned in the preceding verfe, doth not mean that believers are pardoned and rendered perfectly holy in the prefent life, but only that the pardon of all their fins is attainable, and that the fanctification of their nature is begun and only gradually carrying on, the apoftle without contradicting himself, might affirm that whofoever faith he hath no fin, deceiveth himself. For, through the infirmity of human nature and the strength of temptation, the holiest sometimes fall into fin; but they quickly recover themselves by repentance: So that they do not continue in fin.-This text with chap. iii. 3. overthrows the Pelagian notion, that good men may live without fin: and that many good men have actually fo lived.

VOL. VI.

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io If we say that we have not finned, we make

him a liar, and his word is

not in us.

1ο Εαν είπωμεν ότι εχ ἡμαρτηκαμεν, ψεύςην ποι μεν αυτόν, και ο λόγο αυ τε εκ εςιν εν ήμιν.

Ver. 9. If we confess our fins, he is faithful and just so that he can for give. Here the apoftle fhews what is neceffary on our part for obtaining pardon through the blood of Christ. We must confefs our fins to God. He mentions confeffion; not as if it were the only thing neceffary; but because it is the first step towards repentance and reformation; and becaufe, if it is fincere, it will be followed with reformation,

CHAP. II.

View and Illuftration of the Doctrines and Precepts contained in this

TH

Chapter.

HE apoftle, in the preceding chapter, having mentioned the honour which believers derive from being members of the fellowship of God and of his Son Jefus Chrift; alfo having fhewed the obligation which lieth on all the members of that honourable fellowship, to imitate God and Chrift in their holinefs; and defcribed the benefits to be obtained by being in that fellowship, particularly the great benefit of being cleanfed from their fins through the blood of Chrift; he, in the beginning of this chapter, declared that he wrote these things to them, not to encourage them to fin, but to prevent them from finning. Yet if any one happened to fin, though furprife, or strong temptation, or weaknefs of understanding, he was not to despair of pardon, provided he repented, and did not continue in his fin; because we have an advocate with the Father, Jefus Chrift the just one, ver. 1.-who is the propitiation appointed of God for the fins of the Jews, and not for theirs only, but for the fins of the whole world; fo that penitents of all ages and nations, may expect pardon through the merit of his death, ver.< 2. Next it appears that the Nicolaitans, who like the Jews, (Rom. ii. 17.-20.) were great admirers of knowledge, not only inferred from Chrift's words, John xvii. 3. This is life eternal, &c. that the only thing neceffary to one's obtaining eternal

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