5 This then is the mes

sage which we have heard

of him, and declare unto

you, that God is light, and

in him is no darkness at all.

6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

5 Και αύτη εςιν ή επαγ γελια ην ακηκόαμεν απ' αυ του, και αναγγελλομεν υμιν, ότι ο Θεος φως εςι, και σκο

τια εν αυτῷ ουκ εςιν ουδεμια.

6 Εαν ειπωμεν ὅτι κοινωνιαν εχομεν μετ' αυτού, και εν τῷ σκοτει περιπατώμεν, ψευδόμεθα, και ου ποιούμεν την αληθειαν.

Ver. 5-1. This is the message. Here the common reading is, enaygana, the promise. But our translators have justly followed the reading of above thirty MSS. and several ancient versions, which have here ag the message. Or they have supposed, that swagger may be translated a message. For it is plain, that the apostle is not speaking of a promise, 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 soul from ignorance and error. But the real tendency of these mysteries was to corrupt the minds of the initiated, with false notions of the objects of their worship, and of the duties of morality for which reason they were always communicated under the seal of the greatest secresy. See pref. to Ephesians, sect. 7. paragr. 4. The Christian mysteries, or doctrines, being of a very different nature, and having a real tendency to enlighten the soul, the apostles published them to all mankind: particularly that great doctrine concerning the nature of God, which was delivered to them by Christ as a message from God himself, namely, That God is light, He is righteousness, goodness, and truth; and in him is no darkness at all, no ignorance, nor error, nor evil of any kind. See the following note 3. Morcover, he is the source of all the knowledge, truth, and goodness existing in the universe. This important doctrine, having been delivered by the living word, as a message from God himself to the apostles, their declaration of it, was thereby rendered more solemn and certain. Thus it appears, that while the minds of the heathens were utterly corrupted by the representations given of their gods in the mysteries, the initiated in the foilowship of Christ, had in their mysteries, that is in the preaching of the word and in the sacraments, the highest ideas given them of the holiness and other perfections of God; and were taught to aspire after the greatest sanctity of manners, by imitating him.

This message concerning God, so solemnly declared by the apostle, may have been designed likewise as a condemnation of the impure doctrines and practices of the Nicolaitans, and other heretics, who in the first age,

5 Moreover, to shew you the advantage of being members of our fellowship, this is the message which we apostles 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 errour at all.

6 Wherefore, If we say, certainly we have fellowship with God, (ver. 3. note 3.) although we practise wickedness, we lie and do not the truth; we do not act agreeably to the true doc-. trine of the gospel, nor to the true nature of the fellowship which we pretend to have with God.

endeavoured to seduce 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 purest of all material substances, and that which, by means of the eye, conveys to the mind pleasures more grateful, and more various, than those communicated by the other senses, it is fitly used, metaphorically, to denote knowledge and virtue. Wherefore, when we are told that God is light, it signifies not only that he is infinite in knowledge, and possessed of all moral perfection, without the least 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 destructive of our rational nature. Hence the devils, the most immoral beings in the universe, and the greatest promoters of ignorance and wickedness, are styled, Ephes. 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 subjects, who were converted to Christianity, are said Ephes. v. 8. to have been formerly darkness, but now light in the Lord. So likewise the Jews converted to Christ, are called, Col. i. 12. Saints in the light-Bengelius thinks the apostle, 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.-Estius in his note on this verse says, the Manicheans held that God is a light visible to the bodily eye and that Christ is the visible sun which we behold.

:

Ver. 6.-1. If we say. This is an expression repeatedly used by John;

7 Εαν δε εν τῷ φωτι πε ριπατωμεν, ὡς αυτός εςιν εν τῷ φωτι, κοινωνιαν εχομεν

μετ' αλλήλων, και το αἷμα Ιησου Χριςου του διου αυτου καθαρίζει ήμας απο πασης ἁμαρτίας

8 Εαν ειπωμεν ότι ἁμαρτ τιαν ουκ ἔχομεν, ἑαυτους πλανωμεν, και η αληθεια ουκ εςιν εν ημιν.

9 Εαν ὁμολογωμεν τας ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, πιςος εςι και δικαιος, ἵνα αφῃ ἡμιν τας ἁμαρτίας, και καθαρισῃ ἡμας απο πασης αδικίας.

the meaning of which according to Bengelius is, If we endeavour to persuade ourselves and others.

Ver. 7.-1. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light. The apostle doth not say, as he walketh in the light, but as he is in the light, to shew that God is essentially and perfectly holy.

2. We have fellowship with one another. As the apostle is speaking here, not of the fellowship which Christians have with each other, but with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ, fellowship μετ' αλλήλων with one ano other, must mean fellowship or intercourse between the head and the members of the community. This fellowship consists in the Father's bestowing blessings on us through the mediation of Christ; and in our receiving these blessings from the Father and the Son with thankfulness.-In some MSS. the reading here is, μετ' αυτ8, with him. But it makes no alteration in the

sense.

3. And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. As the apostle in this passage represents our being cleansed from all sin as the ef fect of our walking in the light, it is evident that by our being cleansed from all sin, he doth not mean our being delivered from the power but from the punishment of sin; a blessing which hath been procured by the blood or death of Christ as a propitiatory sacrifice. Accordingly Christ's blood is said, Heb. ix. 14. to cleanse the conscience of sinners from dead works; that is, from those fears which always accompany the consciousness of having done works which deserve eternal death. Our actual deliverance however from punishment is not accomplished in the present life; but it is promised in the gospel to all who walk in the light; and that is sufficient.-But there is a cleansing from all sin, in another sense, which is begun in the pre

7 But if we 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 bestowing and we by receiving happiness. And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son, shed as an atonement, will deliver us from the punishment of all our sins.

8 If we say, with the Nicolaitans, that we have no sin to be cleansed from, being allowed under the gospel to do what we list, we deceive ourselves, and the true doctrine of God is not in us.

9 The doctrine of the Nicolaitans that believers have no sin to be pardoned, doth not afford men more comfort than the true doctrine of the gospel; which is, If we confess our sins to God with a firm resolution to forsake them, he is faithful to his promise, and just to his Son whom he sent to save sinners; so that he can forgive sins to us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness by his Spirit.

sent life by the blood of Christ, who having died to procure us the influences of the Spirit for sanctifying our natures, may be truly said to cleanse us from all sin by his blood. Of this cleansing the apostle does not speak in this verse, as was observed above: But he speaks of it ver. 9.

Ver. 8.-1. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves. This the apostle declared in opposition to the Nicolaitans and Simonians, who corruptly fancying that under the gospel dispensation no action whatever was forbidden, argued that they did not sin by any thing they were pleased to do. As the cleansing of men from all sin, mentioned in the preceding verse, doth not mean that believers are pardoned and rendered perfectly holy in the present life, but only that the pardon of all their sins is attainable, and that the sanctification of their nature is begun and only gradually carrying on, the apostle, without contradicting himself, might affirm that whosoever saith he hath no sin, deceiveth himself. For, through the infirmity of human nature and the strength of temptation, the holiest sometimes fall into sin; but they quickly recover themselves by repentance: So that they do not continue in sin.-This text with chap. iii. 3. overthrows the Pelagian notion, that good men may live without sin: and that many good men have actually so lived,

10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make

him a liar, and his word is not in us.

10 Εαν ειπωμεν ότι ουχ ἡμαρτηκαμεν, ψεύςην ποιουμεν αυτον, και ὁ λογος αυτου ουκ εςιν εν ἡμιν.

Ver. 9.-1. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just so that he can forgive. Here the apostle shews what is necessary on our part for obtaining pardon through the blood of Christ. We must confess our sins to God. He mentions confession; not as if it were the only thing necessary; but because it is the first step towards repentance and reformation; and because, if it is

CHAPTER IL

View and Illustration of the Doctrines and Precepts contained in this Chapter.

THE apostle, in the preceding chapter, having mentioned the

honour which believers derive from being members of the fellowship of God and of his Son Jesus Christ; also having shewed the obligation which lieth on all the members of that honourable fellowship, to imitate God and Christ in their holiness; and described the benefits to be obtained by being in that fellowship, particularly the great benefit of being cleansed from their sins through the blood of Christ; he, in the beginning of this chapter, declared that he wrote these things to them, not to encourage them to sin, but to prevent them from sinning. Yet if any one happened to sin, through surprise, or strong temptation, or weakness of understanding, he was not to despair of pardon, provided he repented, and did not continue in his sin; because we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the just one, ver. 1.-who is the propitiation appointed of God for the sins of the Jews, and not for theirs only, but for the sins of the whole world; so 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 Christ's words, John xvii. 3. This is life eternal, &c. that the only thing necessary to one's obtaining eternal life, was to possess the knowledge of the true God and of Jesus Christ, but affirmed, that the person who possessed this knowledge, was under no obligation to obey God's commandments. For, in opposition to these impious tenets, John declared, that it is only by the keep