Would someone please check the Psalm number in sentence formatted in blue in the 3rd note of ver. 18. CHAPTER 4 1. _Most dearly beloved_, &c. By the word _spirit_ he means suggestion, inspiration, impulse, teaching or rather the person himself who suggests, inspires, teaches, &c. He means, do not g... [ Continue Reading ]
_And every spirit which dissolves_ (_solvit_) _Jesus, is not of God._ (Vulg.) It means that Jesus is composed of the Godhead and the manhood by the bond of the hypostatic union. He therefore who loosens this bond, by denying that Christ is God, as do the Arians, or that He is man, as other heretics,... [ Continue Reading ]
_We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us_, &c. Even as Christ saith, "He that heareth you, heareth Me: he that despiseth you, despiseth Me," _We, i.e._, all the faithful, who have been born again in baptism, and are endued with charity. _We_, viz. the predestinated. 3d. And last: _We, i.e._, t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Dearly beloved, let us love one another._ These words are rightly connected with what preceded. He means that the spirit of error is the spirit of cupidity, but the Spirit of truth is the Spirit of love and charity. Erroneous and heretical doctrine teaches men to love honours, wealth, gluttony; but... [ Continue Reading ]
_He that loveth not knoweth not God._ S. John having said just above, _Every one that loveth is born of God_, now proves the same thing from the contrary. He means, he who loveth not God and his neighbour, although he may know God speculatively, does not know Him practically, that is, experimentally... [ Continue Reading ]
_In this love appeared:_ He now declares why he said, _God is Love._ It is because God hath declared His infinite love towards us by sending Christ in the flesh for our salvation, that by this means He might invite us to love Him back. There is an allusion to the words in 8. John's Gospel (Joh 3:19)... [ Continue Reading ]
_Dearly beloved, if God so loved us_, &c. _If_ here is not a particle expressive of doubtfulness. It is not conditional, but causal, and is equivalent to _because_. It means, _Because God so loves us._ Christ uses a similar construction, when He says, "If I, your Lord and Master, have washed your fe... [ Continue Reading ]
_No man hath seen God at any time._ Why does S. John here introduce these words? It is because these words partly give the reason why from the antecedent, _if God so loved us_ the inference is drawn _we also ought to love one another, not God_ (as might seem to be the conclusion that should be drawn... [ Continue Reading ]
_In this we know that we abide in Him_... _by His Spirit_, &c. _By His Spirit_, i.e., the participation of the Spirit, the communication of grace and charity, which are the gifts of the Spirit. In the preceding verse S. John said that God abides in us, and consequently we in God by charity. For so l... [ Continue Reading ]
_Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God_, &c. He here maintains the Divinity of Christ because Ebion, Cerinthus, and many others at that time impugned it. This is as it were a conclusion drawn from the preceding verse. As though he said, Christ is the Saviour of the world. Whosoever th... [ Continue Reading ]
_And we know and have believed the love which God hath in us._ In these words S. John confirms and inculcates what he has said in the two preceding verses. His meaning is, "We have seen and do testify of Christ incarnate, who is the Love of God, because we know Him by experience and conversation to... [ Continue Reading ]
_In this is the love of God perfected, that we should have confidence_, &c. _Conf_. Greek _παζζησίαν_, i.e., _liberty, boldness in speaking._ 1st. _In this_, i.e., with this end and fruit. Perfect charity produces this result, viz., confidence in the day of judgment both the particular and the gener... [ Continue Reading ]