The first chapter 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.
By 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.
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.
[see note #1]
But, in fact, this light shone in the midst of that which was in its own
nature
[see note #2]
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.
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
[see note #3]
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.
Thus 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 (en), but what He became (egeneto).
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;
[see note #4]
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 shews 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 shewn 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.
Two 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
shewn, 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.
But 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 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 shewing
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,
[see note #5]
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 shews 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 hath
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
[see note #6]
into which this chapter is divided-verse 6,
[see note #7]
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.
After 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.
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
[see note #8]
-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.
In 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.
But 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.
Then 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.
Upon this the disciples of John
[see note #9]
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;
[see note #10]
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.
Verse 43.
[see note #11]
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
[see note #12]
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;
[see note #13]
which He already was as born into this world, but which will be realised
when He returns in His glory.
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 chap. 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:
[see note #14]
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.
Observe 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.
The two testimonies to Christ that were to be borne in this world, both
gathering to Him as centre, had been borne; that of John, and that of Jesus
taking His place in Galilee with the remnant-the two days of God's dealings
with Israel here below.
[see note #15]
