Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

John 3:18

ὁ πιστεύων … τοῦ θεοῦ. Expansion of previous verse. God sent His Son not to judge but to save; and whoso accepts the son and His revelation is not judged. It is no longer “every Jew,” nor “every one chosen by God,” but every one that believeth. All here is spiritual. Although judgment was not the object it is the necessary result of Christ's presence in the world. But it is a judgment very different from that which the Jews expected. It is determined by the attitude towards Christ, and this again, as afterwards shown, is determined by the moral condition of the individual. ὁ μὴ πιστεύων ἤδη κέκριται, “he that believeth not is already judged”: not only is left under the curse of his own evil actions; but, as the next clause shows, lies under the condemnation of not believing. ἤδη κέκριται, he is already judged: it is not some future assize he doubtfully awaits and which may or may not convict. He is judged, and on a ground which to John seems to indicate monstrous depravity, ὅτι μὴ πεπίστευκεν … τοῦ θεοῦ. Not to perceive the glory of this august Being whom John so adored, not to receive the revelation made by the Only Begotten, is proof not merely of human infirmity and passion, but of wickedness chosen and preferred in presence of revealed goodness.

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Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

John 3:18

Old Testament

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