11 (Kas, 204.) Now this is the witness, that God hath given to us eternal life: and this life is (ev, 167.) through his Son.1 (See chap. iv. 9.) 12 ('O xwv) He who acknowledgeth1 the Son hath this life. He who acknowledgeth not the Son of God, hath not (TM, 71.) this life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life; and that ye may CONTINUE To believe1 on the name of the Son of God. 14 And this is the boldness which we have (wgos) with him, that if we ask any thing according to his will, (ax8, 45.) he hearkeneth to us.1 11 Now this is the thing which God hath witnessed, by the three in heaven and the three on earth; namely, that God will give to us who believe eternal life, and that this life is to be bestowed on us through his Son. 12 He who acknowledgeth the Son, hath this life begun in him, and made sure to him, by the virtues which his faith produceth in him: He who acknowledgeth not the Son of God, hath no reason to expect this eternal life which is through Christ. 13 These things concerning the water and the blood, and concerning the witnesses in heaven and on earth, and concerning the things which they have witnessed, I have written to you who believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may be certain ye shall have eternal life through his Son; and that ye may continue to believe on the name of the Son of God. 14 And this is the boldness which we have with the Father through our believing on his Son, that if we ask any miracle according to his will, for his glory and the good of our sick brethren, he lendeth a favourable ear to us. stead of the future God will give to us eternal life, to shew the certainty of our obtaining that great blessing through his Son. See Ess. iv. 10. Ver. 12.-1. 'O xov, He who acknowledgeth the Son bath this life. As the word x is used in the sense of acknowledging by our apostle, chap. ii. 23. note, I am of opinion the scope of the passage directs us to take it in that sense here. For notwithstanding su in the last clause of this verse is used in its ordinary signification, it is no uncommon thing in scripture, to find the same word used in different senses in the same passage. Ver. 13.-1. And that ye may 15eunte continue to believe. This is the true translation of the clause: For in John's style is often signifies, continuing to believe. John ii. 11. xi. 15. xx. 31. 15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. 16 If any man see his brother sin a sin which is Ver. 14.-1. Now this is 15 Και εαν οιδαμεν, ότι ακουει ἡμων, ὁ αν αιτωμεθα, οιδαμεν, ότι εχομεν τα αιτη ματα å ητηκαμεν παρ αυτου. 16 Εαν τις ίδη τον αδελφον αυτου ἁμαρτανοντα ἁμαρτιαν approx the boldness which we have with him, that if we ask any thing according to his will, he hearkenetb to us. It is commonly thought that this and the following verse, is spoken of Christians in general, to assure them, that if they ask any thing necessary to their own salvation, God will grant it to them. In this sense Estius understood the apostle. See his note on these verses, where he describes the qualifications of a prayer according to the will of God. Nevertheless, from verses 16, 17. it is plain that the apostle is speaking, not of our asking spiritual blessings for ourselves, but of our asking life for a brother who bath sinned a sin not unto death. Others, therefore, think John, in these verses, directs Christians in general to pray for the eternal pardon of each others sins. But as no person's sins will be pardoned at the request of another, a better interpretation will be suggested, by observing that in this direction, there is an allusion to the promise which our Lord made to his apostles, and which John himself hath recorded in his gospel, chap. xiv. 12. Verily, verily, I say unte you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall be do also, and greater works shall be do, because I go unto my Father. 13. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14. If ye shall ask any thing in my name I will do it.-Also chap. xvi. 23. Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever, ye shall ask the Father in my name, be will give it you. 24. Hitherto ye have asked nothing in my name; ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.-Now, since in the first mentioned passage, Christ promised that his apostles should do greater miracles than he himself had done, and, that whatsoever they should ask in his name, he would do it, the meaning plainly is, that whatever miracle they should ask for the confirmation of their mission as his apostles, he would do it.-In like manner, when he promised, in the second mentioned passage, that whatsoever they should ask the Father in his name, he would give it them: and then said to them, Ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full; it cannot be doubted that the things he directed them to ask of the Father, were miracles for the manifestation of his character as the Son of God, and for the successful propagation of the gospel, whereby their joy as his apostles would be rendered complete.-These declarations and promises were the foundations of the boldness which the persons, of whom John speaks, bac with the Father, that if they asked any thing according to his will, he would hearken to them. That John is speaking of their boldness in asking mira '15"And if we know that he hearkeneth to us CONCERNING whatever we ask, we know that we shall have the petitions which we have asked from him. 16 If any one see his brother sinning1 a sin not 15 And if we are assured that he lendeth a favourable ear to us concerning what we ask, because we are the disciples of his Son, we have reason to believe that we shall have the petitions granted, which we have asked from him. 16 Having this boldness with the Father through our believing on his cles, is evident from ver. 16. where he saith, Let him ask God, and he will grant to him life for those who sin not unto death.—Tillotson being sensible that the boldness in asking of which John speaks, was boldness in asking miracles, supposes that this is to be understood of the apostles alone. But, that this boldness belonged also to such of the disciples as, in the first age, were endowed with the gift of healing diseases miraculously, is evident from Mark xvi. 17. These signs shall follow them that believe, &c. 18. They shall lay their hands on the sick, and they shall recover. Ver. 16.-1. If any one see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, let him ask God, and he will grant to him life for those who sin not unto death. According to Benson, the sin not unto death of which John speaks, is any single sin which a good man commits through infirmity, or surprise. According to Doddridge, it is any sin whatever, except that which Christ himself declared unpardonable. But as no sin will be pardoned which is not sincerely repented of, the circumstance by which the sinner for whom life might be asked, is distinguished from those for whom life might not be asked of God, namely that his sin is not a sin unto death, implies that he hath repented of his sin. In this persuasion, the learned persons above mentioned give it as their opinion, that John here authorizes any pious person whatever, to ask of God eternal life far all penitent sinners, excepting those who have sinned against the Holy Ghost; and assures him, that in answer to his prayer, God will grant to him eternal life for such sinners.-But their opinion is liable to two great objections. 1. No ordinary Christian, however pious, can know certainly whether the person, for whom he asketh life, hath sincerely repented of his sins: and yet unless he certainly knows this, he is not warranted to ask life for him; far less to ask it with the boldness mentioned in the 14th verse.-2. Although any pious person, as an exercise of his own benevolence, may pray for eternal life to his brother, the scripture gives no one ground to think, that his asking eternal life for his brother, hath any influence in procuring that blessing for him. As little doth right reason warrant such an expectation. Nevertheless in this verse, according to Benson and Doddridge, it is expressly promised, that any one who seeth his brother sinning a sin not unto death, and asketh of God eternal life for him, shall certainly have it granted to him; as if, without such a prayer, the sinner's own repentance would not procure him that favour from the και δώσει θανατον, αιτησει, αυτῷ ζωην, τοις not unto death, he shall μη προς ask, and he shall give him mercy of God. See note 3.-We may therefore believe that in this passage, John speaks of persons and things, very different from those which the authors now mentioned had in their eye. What these were will appear, if we attend to the following particulars. Because it was necessary to the successful propagation of the gospel, that its professors should in the first age be remarkably holy, God so ordered it, that the open miscarriages of individuals were often punished with visible temporal judgments. So Paul told the Corinthians, who had been guilty of great irregularities in the celebration of the Lord's supper. 1 Cor. xi. 30. For this cause many of you are sick, and some are dead. These judgments being public, had no doubt a great influence in restraining the first Christians from sin.—On the other hand, to encourage those to repent who by their sins had brought on themselves mortal diseases, there were in the first age persons, who being endowed with the gift of healing diseases miracuously, (1 Cor. xii. 9.) were moved by the Holy Ghost to heal the sick, who had repented of the sins which had brought on them the diseases under which they were labouring. We may therefore believe, that when John directed any one, who saw his brother sinning a sin not unto death, to ask God to give him life, he did not mean any ordinary Christian, but any spiritual man who was endowed with the gift of healing diseases: And that the brother for whom the spiritual man was to ask life, was not every brother who had sinned, but the brother only who had been punished for his sin with some mortal disease, but who having repented of his sin, it was not a sin unto death: And that the life to be asked for such a brother, was not eternal life, but a miraculous recovery from the mortal disease under which he was labouring. According to this view of matters, John, in the passage before us, is treating briefly of the subject concerning which James hath treated more at large, chap. v. 14. Is any one sick among you? Let him send for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, baving anointed him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15. And the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up, (xaι Ess. iv. 212.) And so, although he hath committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16. Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another that ye may be healed. The inwrought prayer of the righteous man availeth much.-Now if John, in the passage before us, is treating of the subject which James hath handled in the above verses, The any one, who seeth his brother sinning a sin not unto death, of whom John speaks, was any elder of the church endowed with the gift of healing dis. eases miraculously; and the asking, prescribed by John, is what James calls the prayer of faith: See note 2, and the life to be obtained by such asking, was a miraculous recovery of the sick sinner from the mortal disease under which he was labouring; called also, the raising him up, namely to health, as is plain from James v. 16. unto death, let him ask? GOD, and he will grant to him life for those who Son, If any one endowed with spiritual gifts, is sensible that his brother hath committed a sin which is not to be 2. Let him ask of God. In the original, it is He shall ask. But the future of the indicative is often put in scripture for the imperative.—This asking James hath termed, the inwrought prayer of the righteous man, because the elder was inwardly moved by the holy Ghost to pray for the miraculous recovery of the sick person: Also he termed it, the prayer of faith, because the elder feeling himself moved by the holy Ghost to pray, prayed in the full assurance that the Lord would raise the sick person up to health, See note 3.-In this passage therefore, St. John directed the spiritual men, who had the gift of healing diseases miraculously, to exercise that gift, only in behalf of those who had sincerely repented of the sins which had brought on them the diseases under which they were labouring. For the spiritual men could know with certainty the truth of the sick sinner's repentance, either by the gift of discerning spirits with which they were endowed; or if any spiritual man had not that gift, he must have known it by feeling himself inwardly moved to pray for the sick sinner's recovery.-The anointing of the sick with oil, though not mentioned by John, was fitly prescribed by James; not however on account of any efficacy which it had, as a natural remedy, to procure health for the sick, but merely as an outward sign to the sick person himself, and to those who were present, that a miracle of healing was to be wrought. For the same purpose the twelve, when sent forth by Christ to heal diseases miraculously, anointed the sick persons with oil whom they were to recover. For, although that rite is not mentioned by any of the evangelists who have given an account of their commission, Mark who hath described the success with which they executed their commission, tells us, chap. vi. 13. They anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them. 3. He will grant to him life.-The life which was to be asked for those who sinned not unto death, and which God was to grant, could not be eternal life, because no where in scripture is eternal life promised to be given to any sinner, at the asking of another. Besides, right reason teaches, that eternal life should not be granted to any sinner merely because another asks it for him: nay that the prayers of the whole world united, will not procure eternal life for an impenitent sinner.-On the other hand, if a sinner truly repents of his sin, he will assuredly obtain eternal life through the intercession of Christ, whether any of his fellow men ask it for him or not. Since then, one person's asking God to grant eternal life to another, hath no influence to procure that favour, the life which was to be asked for the person who had not sinned unto death, and which God promised to grant, must have been temporal life only; consequently, John's direction, Let him ask God, and he will grant to him life, is equivalent to that of James, Let them pray over them, and the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord |