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Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 |
The eternal existence, divine nature, and distinct personality of the WordJohn 1 asserts what He was before all things, and the different characters in which He is a blessing to man, being made flesh. He is, and He is the expression of, the whole mind that subsists in God, the Logos. In the beginning He was. If we go back as far as is possible to the mind of men, how far soever beyond all that has had a beginning, He is. This is the most perfect idea we can form historically, if I may use such an expression, of the existence of God or of eternity. "In the beginning was the Word." Was there nothing beside Him? Impossible! Of what would He have been the Word? "The Word was with God." That is to say, a personal existence is ascribed to Him. But, lest it may be thought that He was something which eternity implies but which the Holy Ghost comes to reveal, it is said that He "was God." In His existence eternal — in His nature divine — in His Person distinct, He might have been spoken of as an emanation in time, as though His personality were of time, although eternal in His nature: the Spirit therefore adds, "In the beginning he was with God." It is the revelation of the eternal Logos before all creation. This Gospel therefore really begins before Genesis. The Book of Genesis gives us the history of the world in time: John gives us that of the Word, who existed in eternity before the world was; who — when man can speak of beginning — was; and, consequently, did not begin to exist. The language of the Gospel is as plain as possible, and, like the sword of paradise, turns every way, in opposition to the thoughts and reasonings of man, to defend the divinity and personality of the Son of God. The creator of all thingsBy Him also were all things created. There are things which had a beginning; they all had their origin from Him: "All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made." Precise, positive, and absolute distinction between all that has been made and Jesus. If anything has been made, it is not the Word; for all that has been made was made by that Word. "In Him was light … the life of men": shining in darkness
But there is another thing, besides the supreme act of creating
all things (an act that characterises the Word) — there is that
which was in Him. All creation was made by Him; but it does not
exist in Him. But in Him was life. In this He was in relation with
an especial part of creation — a part which was the object of the
thoughts and intentions of God. This "life was the light of men,"
revealed itself as a testimony to the divine nature, in immediate
connection with them, as it did not with respect to any others at
all.* But, in fact, this light shone in the midst of that which was
in its own nature** contrary to it, and evil beyond any natural
image, for where light comes, darkness is no longer: but here the
light came, and the darkness had no perception of it — remained
darkness, which therefore neither comprehended nor received
it. These are the relations of the Word with creation and with man,
seen abstractedly in His nature. The Spirit pursues this subject,
giving us details, historically, of the latter part. The manifestation of the Word made flesh: a true light and its reception
We may remark here — and the point is of importance — how the
Spirit passes from the divine and eternal nature of the Word who
was before all things, to the manifestation, in this world, of the
Word made flesh in the Person of Jesus. All the ways of God, the
dispensations, His government of the world, are passed over in
silence. In beholding Jesus on the earth we are in immediate
connection with Him as existing before the world was. Only He is
introduced by John, and that which is found in the world is
recognised as created. John is come to bear witness of the
Light. The true Light was that which, coming into the world, shone
for all men, and not for the Jews only. He is come into the world;
and the world, in darkness and blind, has not known Him. He is come
unto His own, and His own (the Jews) have not received Him. But
there were some who received Him. Of them two things are said: they
have received authority to become the children* of God, to take
their place as such; and, secondly, they are, in fact, born of
God. Natural descent, and the will of man, went for nothing here. What the Word became on earthThus we have seen the Word, in His nature, abstractedly (v. 1-3); and, as life, the manifestation of divine light in man, with the consequences of that manifestation (v. 4, 5); and how He was received where it was so (v. 10-13). This general part, in regard to His nature, ends here. The Spirit carries on the history of what the Lord is, manifested as man on earth. So that, as it were, we begin again here (v. 14) with Jesus on the earth — what the Word became, not what He was. As light in the world, there was the unanswered claim of what He was on man. Not knowing Him, or rejecting Him where He was dispensationally in relationship was the only difference. Grace in life-giving power then comes in to lead men to receive Him. The world did not know its Creator come into it as light, His own rejected their Lord. Those who were born not of man's will but of God received Him. Thus we have not what the Word was, but what He became. The Word was made flesh: glory of an only Son with the Father
The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us in the fulness of
grace and truth. This is the great fact, the source of all blessing
to us;* that which is the full expression of God, adapted, by
taking man's own nature, to all that is in man, to meet every human
need, and all the capacity of the new nature in man to enjoy the
expression of all in which God is suited to him. It is more than
light, which is pure and shows all things; it is the expression of
what God is, and God in grace, and as a source of blessing. And
note, God could not be to angels what He is to man — grace,
patience, mercy, love, as shown to sinners. And all this He is, as
well as the blessedness of God, to the new man. The glory in which
Christ was seen, thus manifested (by those who had eyes to see),
was that of an only Son with His Father, the one concentrating
object of His delight as Father. These are the two parts of this great truth. The Word, who was with God and who was God, was made flesh; and He who was beheld on the earth had the glory of an only Son with the Father. Grace and truth come in Jesus Christ: God revealed by the only SonTwo things are the result. Grace (what greater grace? It is love itself that is revealed, and towards sinners) and truth, that are not declared, but come, in Jesus Christ The true relation of all things with God is shown, and their departure from it. This is the groundwork of truth. Everything takes its true place, its true character, in every respect; and the centre to which all refers is God. What God is, what perfect man, what sinful man, what the world, what its prince, Christ's presence brings all out. Grace then and truth are come. The second thing is, that the only Son in the bosom of the Father reveals God, and reveals Him consequently as known by Himself in that position. And this is largely connected with the character and revelation of grace in John: first, fulness, with which we are in communication, and from which we have all received; then relationship. The fulness of grace and truth receivedBut there are yet other important instructions in these verses. The Person of Jesus, the Word made flesh, dwelling among us, was full of grace and truth. Of this fulness we have all received: not truth upon truth (truth is simple, and puts everything exactly in its place, morally and in its nature); but we have received that which we needed — grace upon grace, the favour of God abundantly, divine blessings (the fruit of His love) heaped one upon another. Truth shines — everything is perfectly manifested; grace is given. The witness of John the Baptist to the character and position of the Word made flesh
The connection of this manifestation of the grace of God in the
Word made flesh (in which perfect truth also displays itself) with
other testimonies of God is then taught us. John bore witness to
Him; the service of Moses had quite another character. John
preceded Him in his service on earth; but Jesus must be preferred
before him; for (humble as He might be) God above all, blessed for
ever, He was before John, although coming after him. Moses gave the
law, perfect in its place — requiring from man, on God's part,
that which man ought to be. Then God was hidden, and God sent out a
law showing what man ought to be; but now God has revealed Himself
by Christ, and the truth (as to everything) and grace are come. The
law was neither the truth, full and entire,* in every respect, as
in Jesus, nor grace; it was no transcript of God, but a perfect
rule for man. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, not by
Moses. Nothing can be more essentially important than this
statement. Law requires from man what he ought to be before God,
and, if he fulfils it, it is his righteousness. Truth in Christ
shows what man is (not ought to be), and what God is, and, as
inseparable from grace, does not require but brings to man what he
needs. If thou knewest the gift of God, says the Saviour to the
Samaritan woman. So at the end of the wilderness journey Balaam has
to say: "according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of
Israel, What has God wrought?" The verb "came" is in the singular
after grace and truth. Christ is both at once; indeed, if grace
were not there He would not be the truth as to God. To require from
man what he ought to be was righteous requirement. But to give
grace and glory, to give His Son was another thing in every
respect; only sanctioning the law as perfect in its place. We have thus the character and the position of the Word made flesh — that which Jesus was here below, the Word made flesh; His glory as seen by faith, that of an only Son with His Father. He was full of grace and truth. He revealed God as He knew Him, as the only-begotten Son in the bosom of the Father. It was not only the character of His glory here below; it is what He was (what He had been, what He ever is) in the Father's own bosom in the Godhead: and it is thus that He declared Him. He was before John the Baptist, although coming after him; and He brought, in His own Person, that which was in its nature entirely different from the law given by Moses.
Here then is the
Lord manifested on earth. His relations with men follow, the
positions He took, the characters He assumed, according to the
purposes of God, and the testimony of His word among men. First of
all, John the Baptist gives place to Him. It will be remarked that
he bears testimony in each of the parts* into which this chapter is
divided — verse 6,** in the effect of the abstract revelation of
the nature of the Word; as light verse 15, with regard to His
manifestation in the flesh; verse 19, the glory of His Person,
although coming after John; verse 29, respecting His work and the
result; and verse 36, the testimony for the time being, in order
that He might be followed, as having come to seek the Jewish
remnant. John's formal testimony to His own officeAfter the abstract revelation of the nature of the Word, and that of His manifestation in the flesh, the testimony actually borne in the world is given. Verses 19-28 form a kind of introduction, in which, on the inquiry of the scribes and Pharisees, John gives account of himself, and takes occasion to speak of the difference between himself and the Lord. So that, whatever the characters may be that Christ takes in connection with His work, the glory of His Person is ever first in view. The witness is occupied naturally, so to speak, with this, before bearing his formal testimony to the office which he fulfilled. John is neither Elias nor that prophet (that is, the one of whom Moses spoke) nor the Christ. He is the voice mentioned by Isaiah, who was to prepare the way of the Lord before Him. It is not precisely before the Messiah, although He was that; neither is it Elias before the day of Jehovah, but the voice in the wilderness before the Lord (Jehovah) Himself. Jehovah was coming. It is this consequently of which he speaks. John baptised indeed unto repentance; but there was already One, unknown, among them, who, coming after him, was yet his superior, whose shoe's latchet he was not worthy to unloose. The glorious work of Christ and its result
We have next the direct testimony of John, when he sees Jesus
coming to him. He points Him out, not as the Messiah, but according
to the whole extent of His work as enjoyed by us in the everlasting
salvation He has accomplished, and the full result of the glorious
work by which it was accomplished. He is the Lamb of God, one whom
God alone could furnish, and was for God, and according to His
mind, who takes away the sin (not the sins) of the world. That is
to say, He restores (not all the wicked, but) the foundations of
the world's relations with God. Since the fall, it is indeed sin — whatever may be His dealings* — that God had to consider in His
relations with the world. The result of Christ's work shall be,
that this will no longer be the case; His work shall be the eternal
basis of these relations in the new heavens and the new earth, sin
being entirely put aside as such. We know this by faith before the
public result in the world. Although a Lamb for the sacrifice, He is preferred before John the Baptist, for He was before him. The Lamb to be slain was Jehovah Himself. The place and subject of the testimonyIn the administration of the ways of God, this testimony was to be borne in Israel, although its subject was the Lamb whose sacrifice reached to the sin of the world, and the Lord, Jehovah. John had not known Him personally; but He was the one and only object of his mission. Jesus sealed by the Holy Spirit, recognised and proclaimed as the Son of GodBut this was not all. He had made Himself man, and as man had received the fulness of the Holy Ghost, who had descended upon Him and abode upon Him; and the man thus pointed out, and sealed on the part of the Father, was Himself to baptise with the Holy Ghost. At the same time He was pointed out by the descent of the Holy Ghost in another character, to which John therefore bears testimony. Thus subsisting and seen and sealed on the earth, He was the Son of God. John recognises Him and proclaims Him as such. The effect of John's testimony to attach the remnant to Jesus, the one centre of gatheringThen comes what may be called the direct exercise and effect of his ministry at that time. But it is always the Lamb of whom he speaks; for that was the object, the design of God, and it is that which we have in this Gospel, although Israel is recognised in its place; for the nation held that place from God. The naming of Simon, an act of authority
Upon this the disciples of John* follow Christ to His abode. The
effect of John's testimony is to attach the remnant to Jesus, the
centre of their gathering. Jesus does not refuse it, and they
accompany Him. Nevertheless this remnant — how far soever the
testimony of John might extend — do not, in fact, go beyond the
recognition of Jesus as the Messiah. This was the case,
historically;** it but Jesus knew them thoroughly, and declares the
character of Simon as soon as he comes to Him, and gives him his
appropriate name. This was an act of authority which proclaimed Him
the head and centre of the whole system. God can bestow names; He
knows all things. He gave this right to Adam, who exercised it
according to God with regard to all that was put under him as well
as in the case of his wife. Great kings, who claim this power,
have done the same. Eve sought to do it, but she was mistaken;
although God can give an understanding heart which, under His
influence, speaks aright in this respect. Now Christ does so here,
with authority and with all knowledge, the moment the case presents
itself. Nathanael
Verse 43.* We have next the immediate testimony of Christ
Himself and of His followers. In the first place, on repairing to
the scene of His earthly pilgrimage, according to the prophets, He
calls others to follow Him. Nathanael, who begins by rejecting one
who came from Nazareth, sets before us, I doubt not, the remnant of
the last days (the testimony to which the gospel of grace belongs
came first, verses 29-34). We see him at first rejecting the
despised of the people, and under the fig-tree, which represents
the nation of Israel; as the fig-tree which was to bear no more
fruit, represents Israel under the old covenant. But Nathanael is
the figure of a remnant, seen and known by the Lord, in connection
with Israel. The Lord who thus manifested Himself to his heart and
conscience is confessed as Son of God and King of Israel. This is
formally the faith of the spared remnant of Israel in the last days
according to Psalm 2. But those who thus received Jesus when He was
on earth should see yet greater things than those which had
convinced them. Moreover thenceforth** they should see the angels
of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. He who by His
birth had taken His place among the children of men would, by that
title, be the object of service to the most excellent of God's
creatures. The expression is emphatic. The angels of God Himself
should be in the service of the Son of man. So that the remnant of
Israel without guile acknowledges Him to be the Son of God and King
of Israel; and the Lord declares Himself also to be the Son of man
— in humiliation indeed, but the object of service to the angels
of God. Thus we have the Person and the titles of Jesus, from His
eternal and divine existence as the Word, to His millennial place
as King of Israel and Son of man;*** which He already was as born
into this world, but which will be realised when He returns in His
glory. Review of chapter 1
Before going farther, let us review some points in this chapter.
The Lord is revealed as the Word — as God and with God — as light
— as life: secondly, as the Word made flesh, having the glory of
an only Son with His Father — as such He is full of grace and
truth come by Him, of His fulness we have all received, and He has
declared the Father (compare John 14) — the Lamb of God — the
One on whom the Holy Ghost could descend, and who baptised with the
Holy Ghost — the Son of God:* thirdly, His work what He does, Lamb
of God taking away sin, and Son of God and King of Israel. This
closes the revelation of His Person and work. Then verses 35-42
John's ministry, but where Jesus, as He alone could, becomes the
gathering centre. Verse 43, Christ's ministry, in which He calls to
follow Him, which, with verses 38, 39, give His double character as
the one attractive point in the world; with this His entire
humiliation, but owned through a divine testimony reaching the
remnant as according to Psalm 2, but the taking His title of Son of
man according to Psalm 8 — the Son of man: we may say, all His
personal titles. His relationship to the assembly is not here, nor
His function as Priest; but that which belongs to His Person, and
the connection of man with God in this world. Thus, besides His
divine nature, it is all that He was and will be in this world: His
heavenly place and its consequences to faith are taught elsewhere,
and barely alluded to, when necessary, in this Gospel. The character and effect of the heart-testimony to ChristObserve that, in preaching Christ, in a way to a certain degree complete, the heart of the hearer may truly believe and attach itself to Him, though investing Him with a character which the condition of soul cannot yet go beyond, and while ignorant of the fulness in which He has been revealed. Indeed where it is real, the testimony, however exalted in character, meets the heart where it is. John says, "Behold the Lamb of God!" "We have found the Messiah," say the disciples who followed Jesus on John's testimony. Note also, that the expression of what was in John's heart had greater effect than a more formal, more doctrinal testimony. He beheld Jesus, and exclaims, "Behold the Lamb of God!" The disciples heard him, and followed Jesus. It was, no doubt, his proper testimony on God's part, Jesus being there; but it was not a doctrinal explanation like that of the preceding verses. |
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