Expositor's Bible: The Epistles of St. John Part 32

"... They are not empty-hearted whose low sound Reverbs no hollowness."

In religion, as in everything else, we are earnest, not by aiming at earnestness, but by aiming at an object. Religious language should be deep and real, rather than demonstrative. It is not safe to play with sacred names. To p.r.o.nounce them at random for the purpose of being effective and impressive is to take them in vain. What a wealth of reverential love there is in that--"for the sake of the Name!"[393]

Old copyists sometimes thought to improve upon the impressiveness of Apostles by cramming in sacred names. They only maimed what they touched with clumsy hand. A deeper sense of the Sacramental Presence is in the hushed, awful, reverence of "not discerning the Body," than in the interpolated "not discerning of the Lord's Body." Even so "The Name," perhaps, speaks more to the heart, and implies more than "His Name." It is, indeed, the "beautiful Name," by the which we are called. And sometimes in sermons, or in Eucharistic "Gloria in Excelsis," or in hymns that have come from such as St. Bernard, or in sick rooms, it shall go up with our sweetest music, and waken our tenderest thoughts, and be "as ointment poured forth." But what an underlying Gospel, what an intense suppressed flame there is behind these quiet words! This letter says nothing of rapture, of prophecy, of miracle. It lies in the atmosphere of the Church, as we find it even now. It has a word for _friendship_. It seeks to _individualise_ its benediction.[394] A hush of evening rests upon the note. May such an evening close upon our old age!

NOTES.

Ver. 2 ... _thy soul._] Strange difficulty seems to be felt in some quarters about the word ????, as used by our Lord and the Apostles.

The difficulty arises from a singular argument advanced by M. Renan.

He maintains that Christ and His first followers knew nothing of "the soul" as the immortal principle in man--that in him which is capable of being saved or lost. It was simply, according to him, _either_ the animal natural life[395] (Matt. ii. 20; John xii. 25); _or_ at most the vague Greek immortality of the shadows, as opposed to the later Hebrew Resurrection-life. But there are very numerous pa.s.sages in the New Testament where "soul" _can_ only be used for "life as created by G.o.d;" for the thinking substance, different from the body and indestructible by death, created with possibilities of eternal happiness or misery. (The following pa.s.sages are decisive--Matt. x.

28, xi. 29; Acts ii. 27; 2 Cor. xii. 13; Heb. xiii. 17; 1 Pet. i. 9, 22, ii. 11, 25; Jas. i. 21, v. 20; 3 John 2; Apoc. vi. 9, xx. 4).

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FOOTNOTES:

[372] Caius, a Macedonian (Acts xix. 29); Caius of Derbe (Acts xx. 4); Caius of Corinth (Rom. xvi. 23; 1 Cor. i. 14).

[373] Rom. xvi. 23.

[374] No doubt ver. 10 presents some difficulty. Voyages between Corinth were regularly and easily performed. Still it is scarcely probable that the aged Apostle should have contemplated such a voyage.

But the form (ea? e???) purposely expresses possibility rather than probability--the smallest amount of presumption--if I shall come, which is not quite impossible. (Donaldson, _Gr. Gr._, "Conditional Propositions." 501.) The hope of seeing Caius "face to face" (ver. 14) contains no objection, as it may refer to a visit of Caius to Ephesus.

[375] "Synopsis S.S." '76. (S. Athanas., _Opp_., iv. 433. Edit. Migne.)

[376] Read together 3 John 12, and John xxi. 24.

[377] The writer had worked out his conclusions about Caius independently before he happened to read Bengel's note. "Caius _Corinthi_ de quo Rom. xvi. 23, vel huic Caio, Johannis amico, fuit _simillimus_ in hospitalite--vel _idem_;--si idem, ex Achaia in Asiam migravit, vel Corinthum Johannes hanc epistolam misit."

[378] Acts xix. 23-41.

[379] "Almost throughout all Asia this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying, that they be no G.o.ds, which are made with hands."--Acts xix. 26.

[380] vii. 46.

[381] Apoc. iii. 7, 8, 12.

[382] "All men."

[383] ?a? ?p' a?t?? t?? a???e?a? _i.e._, Jesus (Apoc. iii. 7, 12).

This type of expression marks the "Asiatic school." So Papias; ap'

a?t?? t?? a???e?a? (Ap. Euseb. _H. E._, iii. 39). Cf. John xiv. 6.

[384] "And we also bear witness." 3 John 12.

[385] 3 John 5, 6, 7.

[386] 2 John 9.

[387] 3 John 9, 10.

[388] See authorities quoted by Archdeacon Lee (_Speaker's Commentary_, Tom. ii., N.T., p. 512).

[389] ??? ... t? a?a???, 3 John 11.

[390] 3 John 13.

[391] The verb a?a??p??e?? is found in a few places in the LXX and New Testament. "Amongst profane writers, astrologers only used this verb.

They signified by it, _I offer a good omen_. So in Proclus and others." See Bretsch. and Grimm, s. v. a?a??p??e?.

[392] "Worthily of G.o.d" ver. 6; "is of G.o.d--hath not seen G.o.d" ver. 11.

[393] Ver. 7.

[394] "The friends salute thee: salute the friends by name," ver. 14 The mention of friendship is not common in the New Testament.

Beautiful exceptions will be found in Luke xii. 4; John xi. 11, xv.

14, 15; cf. Acts xxvii. 3.

[395] As indicated by breathing--from ????

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