Jesus was loved by the father

JESUS WAS LOVED BY THE FATHER
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
John 3:35 The Father loves the Son and has placed
everything in his hands.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The FatherLoveth the Son
G. Hutcheson.
John 3:34-36
For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God: for God gives not the
Spirit by measure to him.…
I. CHRIST'S RELATION TO THE FATHER AND TO MAN.
1. The excellencyof Christ above all other ambassadorsis that He is the Son
and they are but servants.
2. Christ is the objectof the Father's love in a peculiar way: as a Son, and not
a servant in respectof His Person;and as Mediator, He is pointed out as the

beloved Son in whom God will be found well pleased(Matthew 3:17); as He
who is beloved, and hath purchased love to others because ofHis death (John
10:17)(so willing was the Father to be reconciled), as He whose being beloved
answerethour being unworthy of love, and is a pledge of the Father's love to
us (John 17:23).
3. In carrying on the redemption of sinners, as the matter is accordedbetwixt
the Fatherand the Son, so the redeemedare not left to themselves, but are put
on Christ's hand, to purchase and be forthcoming for them; and all things are
concreditedto Him that may tend to their good. Under "all things" we are to
comprehend the electthemselves, togetherwith all the gills and graces ofthe
Spirit (ver. 34)needful for their conversionand salvation, which are not
entrusted to ourselves, but to Him who can keepus And them, and let them
out as we need; and a dominion over all things that may contribute to help or
hinder His people's happiness, that He may order them so as may be for their
good. And this power He hath as God with the Father, and as Man and
Mediator, by donation and gift from the Father(Matthew 11:27;Matthew
28:18). And thus the believer's happiness is firm, being transactedbetween
such parties, the Fatherbeing satisfiedin the Mediator, and they entrusted to
Him whose dearpurchase they are, and therefore He will not lose them, who
hath capacityto receive their furniture far above what they could hold, power
to maintain, wisdom to guide and dispense their allowance, dominion to curb
all enemies and opposition, and a commissionand charge to be answerable for
them. All which may invite us to be content that we be nothing, and that we
and all our furniture be in His hand.
(G. Hutcheson.)
COMMENTARIES

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(35) The Fatherloveth the Son.—Comp. Note on Matthew 11:27, which is
remarkable as an instance of what we call distinctly Johannine thought and
diction in the earlier Gospels. We shallmeet the words again in John 5:20.
BensonCommentary
John 3:35-36. The Father loveth the Son — Incomparably, beyond the most
faithful of his servants, and with an affection very different from the regard
which he hath manifested, does, or ever will manifest to any of his other
messengers. Theywere servants, and were treated as such, being endued with
scanty portions of the Spirit, compared to those of which he is possessed;
whereas this is the Son, for which reasonGodhas anointed him with the oil of
gladness above his fellows. And hath given all things into his hand — Hath not
only made him the greatestprophetand priest, but the greatestking also, that
ever was;even king and judge universal, by whose laws men must govern
their lives, and at whose bar they shall all be finally tried. He, therefore, that
believeth on the Son — With a living faith, a faith of the operation of God,
Colossians 2:12;he that receivethhim in all his offices and characters;hath
everlasting life — Hath a title to it, being a child of God, is an heir of it, has an
increasing meetness forit, and an earnestof it by the Holy Spirit in his heart.
And he that believeth not the Son — That does not receive his doctrine in faith
and love, and with an obedient mind; or, who is disobedient to the Son, as the
original expressionseems more properly to signify; and continues in unbelief
and disobedience, shallnot see, or enjoy life — Either spiritual or eternal; but
the wrath of God abideth on him — Being unpardoned and unrenewed, he
remains under the guilt of all his sins, and is continually exposedto that wrath
of God which, if his repentance, faith, and new obedience do not prevent, will
quickly sink him into final condemnation and ruin. It is justly observedhere,
by Dr. Doddridge, that “it is of greatimportance to preserve a difference in
the translationbetweenο πιστευων εις τον υιον, he that believeth on the Son,
and ο απειθων τω υιω, he that is disobedient to the Son; because the latter
phrase explains the former, and shows that the faith, to which the promise of

life is annexed, is an effectualprinciple of sincere and reservedobedience;and
it is impossible to make one part of Scripture consistentwith another, unless
this be takeninto our idea of saving faith.” It must be observed, also, that in
Scripture the word abide has frequently a particular signification, denoting
the adhesionand permanency of the thing that is said to abide. Of this
significationwe have an example here, for the Baptist does not speak of that
momentary wrath, or displeasure of God, whereby he often chastiseshis
people for their offences, oreven cuts them off by a premature death, but of
that abiding wrath which torments and does not kill, and being once inflicted
never comes to an end. “Thus the Baptist bare testimony to Jesus anew,
setting forth his dignity, in the plenitude of his commission, the excellence of
his gifts, the nearness ofhis relationto his heavenly Father, as his only Son,
and the greatness ofhis power, as universal judge:” and thus he concluded
those of his testimonies to Christ, which are recordedin the gospel;and was
quickly after imprisoned by Herod.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
3:22-36 John was fully satisfiedwith the place and work assignedhim; but
Jesus came on a more important work. He also knew that Jesus would
increase in honour and influence, for of his government and peace there
would be no end, while he himself would be less followed. Johnknew that
Jesus came from heaven as the Son of God, while he was a sinful, mortal man,
who could only speak about the more plain subjects of religion. The words of
Jesus were the words of God; he had the Spirit, not by measure, as the
prophets, but in all fulness. Everlasting life could only be had by faith in Him,
and might be thus obtained; whereas allthose, who believe not in the Son of
God, cannotpartake of salvation, but the wrath of God for everrests upon
them.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Loveth the Son - Loves him eminently, above all the prophets and all the other
messengersofGod.
Hath given all things into his hand - See the notes at Matthew 28:18.

Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
35, 36. The Fatherloveth, &c.—See on[1776]Mt11:27, where we have the
"delivering over of all things into the hands of the Son," while here we have
the deep spring of that august actin the Father's ineffable "love of the Son."
Matthew Poole's Commentary
The eternalFather loved the world, John 3:16, but he loved the Son with a
more singular and peculiar love; so that all things were by the Father
delivered to him, Matthew 11:27, all powerin heaven and earth, Matthew
28:18;to give eternallife to as many as the Father had given him, John 17:2;
the keys of hell and of death, Revelation1:18. So as every man hath reasonto
receive and embrace Christ and his testimony, and to believe in him.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Fatherloveth the Son,.... There is such a relation as that of Father and
Son subsisting betweenthe first and secondpersons in the Trinity; which is
not by constitution and appointment: or arbitrary, arising from, and
depending on the will of the first, but is natural and necessary;the second
person being begottenby the first, and is of the same nature, and equally a
divine person: and which relation is the foundation of the distinction of their
persons;and which existed from all eternity, and co-existedwith their being
and essence;and is what no other stand in, angels ormen, in such sense as the
secondpersondoes;and is not to be conceivedof, expressedand explained by
us: and from this relation arises love;hence, the Son of the Father is his dear
Son, the Son of his love; as he must needs be, since he is of the same nature,
has the same perfections he has, and is the brightness of his glory, and the
express image of his person: and hence he continues to love him in every form
and appearance ofhis; in every office he sustains;in every state and condition
into which he comes:he delighted in him as his elect, as chosenand appointed
by him to be the Saviour of his people; he took pleasure in him as the surety of
them, and when he saw him engaging as such, and declaring it was his heart to
do his will, and work out their salvation;he loved him when he appeared in
human nature, the form of a servant; and in his state of humiliation, more
than once he declared, by a voice from heaven, that he was his belovedSon,

and particularly at his baptism: and indeed, as in that, so in every thing else,
he always did the things that pleasedhim; he loved him when he laid down his
life for the sheep:when he was bruised, and his soul made an offering for sin;
he loved him when on the cross, andeven when he hid his face from him;
when lay in the grave he left him not, nor would he suffer him to see
corruption; he raised him front the dead, and gave him glory; exalted him,
and receivedhim into heaven with a welcome, and placedhim at his right
hand; and now looks with pleasure upon him, upon his person, his sacrifice,
blood, and righteousness:and this love is a love of complacencyand delight,
and is from everlasting to everlasting;the evidence of which lows,
and hath given all things into his hand; or "by his hand"; as the doctrines of
the Gospel, the gifts of the Spirit, grace, and glory: or rather, "into his hand";
with which he, being the Son of God, a divine person, is fit to be entrusted,
which otherwise he would not be: "all", includes "allpersons";all the angels,
the goodangels which are chosenin him, and he is the head of; and by whom
they are confirmed in the state they are: and who are at his command and
beck, and minister to him and his. The evil angels, though they have broke
awayfrom God, and rebelled againsthim, yet are, in some sense, in the hands
of Christ, and under his power: as appears by his dispossessing them from the
bodies of men on earth, his spoiling them on the cross, and triumphing over
them in his ascensionto heaven, and by his binding Satana thousand years.
All men are given to him; the electin a specialsense, as his bride and spouse,
as his children, and as his sheep; hence, he died for them, and effectually calls
them, and brings them to himself; and they shall never perish, or be plucked
out of his hands, but shall have eternal life. And wickedmen are, in a sense,
given to him; their wrath he restrains, and makes it to praise him; he rules
then with a rod of iron, and breaks them in pieces as a potter's vessel. And
"all things" also are given into his hands; all temporal things, the things of
nature and providence; the light of nature, and all the gifts and attainments of
it; all the goodthings of the world, and which are wisdom's left hand
blessings;and Christ disposes ofthem to his people in mercy, and as covenant
ones:all spiritual things are in his hands; all the gifts of the Spirit, and the
fulness of all grace, sanctifying, justifying, pardoning, adopting, and
persevering grace;all the promises and blessings of the covenant; the

government of the church, and the judgment of the world; all power, both in
heaven and in earth; the salvationof the elect, and their eternal inheritance,
happiness, and glory. For all which, creature, angels or men, are fit, only the
Son of God.
FIRST-PERSON:Overlooking the Father
by Clara Molina, posted Thursday, May 30, 2019 (4 months ago)
Tags:worshipTrinity
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FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- In driving through some desert roads, I was
praying and praising the Lord Jesus. Fora moment, I startedto think about
the creationof man (Genesis 1:26)and how blessedwe are to be createdby a
trinitarian God.
After a time in prayer and meditating on God's Word, thinking about God the
Father preoccupiedmy heart, mind and soul. I startedto praise the Father.
I searchedfor praise music to help me with my time of praise -- music that
would honor God the Father specifically. I did not have many choices to
choose from because my love, devotion and gratitude for the Lord Jesus had
led me to music that specifically honored Him as my Lord and Savior.

I askedmyself, "Have I forgottenthe Father?"
My spirit trembled and made me seek the Father in a different way because
He also deserves our love, devotion and adoration.
God told His people, "Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all
your soul, and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:5 CSB). Even though
Jesus said, "The Father and I are one" (John 10:30), I still needed to worship
the Fatherwithin the Godhead. Because Ilove Jesus, this love for Him created
in me a tremendous desire to honor the Father.
After studying Jesus'relationship to the Father, I was encouragedby Jesus'
life to love and honor the Father because Jesus -- being God -- did the
following:
-- Jesus came into the world because the Fathersent Him: "ForGod loved the
world in this way: He gave his one and only son, so that everyone who believes
in Him will not perish but have eternallife" (John 3:16). Jesus, being God,
became a man to die for the sins of the world in obedience to the Father.
God's love has no limits: "He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for
us," the apostle Paul wrote, "so that in him we might become the
righteousness ofGod" (2 Corinthians 5:21).
-- Jesus desiredthat we follow the Father. As children of God based on Jesus'
sacrifice, we are encouragedto follow the one who sentthe Savior. As Jesus
said, "Forwhoeverdoes the will of My Fatherin heaven, that personis my
brother and sisterand mother" (Matthew 12:50).

-- Jesus prayed to the Fatherfor Himself, for the disciples and for all believers
(John 17:6-26), which gives me a desire also to pray to the Father. Praying to
the Fatherencouragedme to bear fruit: Jesus said, "You did not choose me,
but I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce fruit and that your fruit
should remain, so that whateveryou ask the Father in my name, he will give
you" (John 15:16).
-- Jesus was lovedby the Father (John 5:20, 5:24, 3:35, 10:17, 17:24). "This is
why the Father loves me," Jesus said, "becauseI lay down my life so that I
may take it up again" (John 10:17). Jesus was loved by the Fatherand
encouragedus to love and follow His commands so that we canexperience the
love of the Father. "The one who has my commands and keeps them is the one
who loves me. And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father," Jesus
said. "I also will love him and will reveal myself to him" (John 14:21).
-- Jesus wantedto glorify the Father: Jesus wantedto be glorified so that He
could glorify the Father (John 17:1-5). Jesus neverforgot His mission -- to die
for the world to honor the Fatherso that He could bring all the fallen souls
eternally to heaven to be with the Father.
Since that day on those desert roads, I honor the Fatherwith devotion. I
considermyself a child of God and the words of God in Isaiah remind me of
the factthat I need to honor the Father because I am His creation:"...
everyone who bears my name and is createdfor my glory. I have formed
them; indeed, I have made them" (Isaiah 43:7).
Clara Molina, a member of the Southern Baptist Hispanic Leaders Council, is
a conference speakerandauthor of "A Legacyof Wisdom: Wisdom and
Encouragementfrom Women in the Lives of Adam, Abraham,... [Expand Bio]

Jesus frequently claims to have the Father's knowledge (John12:49), power
(John 5:36), and authority (Matthew 28:18). In this way, He claims to be equal
to God. The gospelofJohn clearly says that Jesus is not merely similar to
God—He is God(John 1:1; John 1:14). This is anotheruseful demonstration
of the Trinity, which is the idea that God is three persons in one being: the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus'messageis that of God, which is
why a person cannotrejectChrist without rejecting God (1 John 5:10). If a
person will not acceptJesus, thenthey cannot be saved(John 3:18)—Jesusis
the one and only way to the Father(John 14:6).
The fact that God the Fatherloves Godthe Son makes His willingness to send
Him to us that much more amazing (1 John 4:9–10). Jesus'sacrificeonthe
cross was notjust a gift, it was a very costly one.
https://www.bibleref.com/John/3/John-3-35.html
"The Bible talks often of God’s love for his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and of
the Son’s love for the Father. We read in John 3:35: “The Father loves the
Son and has given all things into his hand.” In John 14:31, Jesus says, “Ido as
the Fatherhas commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the
Father.” Again, in John 17:26, Jesus says he will make known the name of the
Father so “that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I
in them.”
SAM STORMS
* * *

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he
not with him also freely give us all things?
—Romans 8:32
The death of Christ upon the accursedtree is the supreme exhibition of the
love of Christ. Christ loved the church and gave himself for it (Eph 5:25).
Christ laid down his life for the sheepbecause he loved them with such
intensity that no obstacle could quench his love (John 10:15). But as we are
thinking of the death of Christ upon the accursedtree, we must not so focus
attention upon the love of Christ that we overlook the actionof God the
Father. It is not as if the Son of God gave himself to this undertaking while the
Father turned awayhis face until the ordeal was ended and then received
Christ into the bosomof his love again. No, the events of Gethsemane, the
events of the arraignment before the High Priestand before Pilate, and the
events of Golgotha, were events in which God the Father was intensely
involved. Calvary is also the supreme exhibition of the Father’s love.
And it is upon the love of God the Father that the emphasis falls in this
particular text. Only of the Fatheris the Lord Jesus Christ the Son, and thus
only of the Fathercan the apostle be speaking whenhe says, “He that spared
not his own Son.” There are four features of the text upon which we will
dwell: first, the uniqueness of the person; second, the extremity of the
sacrifice;third, the particularity of the provision; and finally, the guarantee of
grace.
So, first, we have the uniqueness of the person. Jesus calledGodhis own
Father (John 5:18), which means that no other but the Father stoodin this
relation to Jesus the Son. Likewise, Paul, in this text, calls Jesus “his own
Son,” meaning that no other stands in this unique relationto the Father.
So, in the agonyof the garden and the abandonment of Calvary’s tree, our
Lord was the unique object of the Father’s love because he was the Father’s
own Son fulfilling the Father’s unparalleled commission.
God the Father, of course, has many sons by adoption, but the revelationthat
God has given us does not permit any confusionto exist betweenthe sonship

of the only begottenand the sonship of the adopted. The highest privilege
bestowedupon men is to be adopted into the family of God, to be heirs of God
and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. God will bring to glory all the sons whom he
has appointed to that destiny. They will be conformed to the image of God’s
own Son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren (Rom 8:29).
But howeverhigh is the privilege bestowedin adoption, there is no confusion
in the Scripture betweenthe uniqueness of the sonship that belongs to the only
begottenand the sonship that belongs to the adopted. No other but the eternal
Son is the Father’s ownSon. His is an ineffable and incomparable sonship, as
we have discoveredin our studies of the lasttwo days. When the Sonof God
came into the world, there was no suspensionof this unique sonship, this
eternal sonship. The glory of the Word made flesh, which the disciples beheld,
was the glory of the only begottenfrom the Father, and the revelationof the
Father dispensedby him was revelation dispensedby the only begotten. How
eloquently John 1:14 and 18 testify to these facts!
Since there was no suspensionof this ineffable fatherhood or sonship, there
was no suspensionof the love that the Father bore to the Son or that the Son
bore to the Father. As incarnate, Jesus said, “The Fatherloveth the Son,” and
he also said, “I love the Father” (John 3:35, 5:20, 14:31). These very simple
statements point to an infinitude of reciprocallove—love not constrainedby
ignorance nor quenched by knowledge, but love that is drawn out by the
exclusive and exhaustive knowledge thatthe persons have of eachother.
The Son came to do the Father’s will. He came because he loved the Father,
and the Father sent him because there was no other who could fulfill such a
mission. And throughout all the stages ofJesus’s messianictask, until his
work reachedits climax in his death upon the cross, the love of God the
Father flowedout to him with increasing satisfactionand delight. That is
Jesus’s ownwitness:“Therefore dothmy Father love me, because Ilay down
my life, that I might take it again” (John 10:17). It is, of course, necessaryto
distinguish betweenthat infinite love that flows out from the Fatherto the Son
because ofthe intrinsic relationship that they sustainto one another and the
love of satisfactionthat flowedout with increasing intensity to the Sonbecause
of his fulfillment of the Father’s commission. So, in the agonyof the garden
and the abandonment of Calvary’s tree, our Lord was the unique objectof the

Father’s love because he was the Father’s ownSon fulfilling the Father’s
unparalleled commission. . . .
by John Murray
Love in the Godhead?
by
JasonDulle
JasonDulle@yahoo.com
The Gospelof John, while containing some of the most powerful attestations
to God’s uni-personal nature, also records some statements which have been
difficult for many Oneness believers to reconcile with their faith. One such
example is John’s recordof statements made by Jesus concerning the Father’s
love for Him (John 3:35; 5:20; 10:17;15:9-10;16:27; 17:23-24, 26 and His
love for the Father (14:31). What did Jesus meanby these statements? If God
is one, and Jesus is that one God incarnate, then how could the Fatherlove the
Son and the Son love the Father and there still be only one God? An exchange
of love seems to imply that God’s being is multi-personal, not uni-personal,
which is what Trinitarians have claimed for centuries (specificallythat God is
tri-personal). Do these Scriptures which speak oflove betweenthe Fatherand
Son support the Trinitarian doctrine? If not, how are we to understand such
Biblical statements?
The first thing to be noted in this discussionis that the Scripture never
mentions love betweenthe Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but only love between
the Fatherand Son. If Jesus’words truly teachan eternal love between

Persons in a Trinity, one would have to wonder why one member of that
Trinity is never spokenof as giving or receiving love. While this is an
argument from silence, the absence ofthe "the third-Person of the Trinity" in
the exchange oflove should cause us to critically evaluate the impetus for
Jesus’words. Even if the love spokenof is indeed betweenmultiple Persons in
the Godhead, while such would disprove Oneness theology, it would not prove
a Trinitarian conceptionof God because allthree "Persons"are not said to be
involved. At best, such "evidence" wouldgive evidence for a binitarian view
of God.
How could it be, and why would it be that the Father loves the Son, and the
Son the Father? The fact that the love is only spokenof as being betweenthe
Father and Son, coupled with the fact that all such statements are post-
incarnational (spokenonly by Christ), should alert us to considerthat such
statements are due to the incarnation. Any attempt to discoverthe meaning
and nature of the love betweenthe Fatherand Son must incorporate this
monumental work of God, and its ramifications for the discussionat hand.
With the advent of the incarnation God's existence as a genuine human being
became distinct to, but not separate from God's continued existence beyond
the incarnation (God in His transcendence). WhenGod assumeda human
existence in the incarnation, He acquired a consciousnessand identity which
He did not possessbefore the incarnation. He had a human psyche not
overwhelmed or consumedby His deity. The exercise ofJesus' human nature
(such as His consciousness, spirit, will, mind, emotions, and flesh) in such a
way requires that in the incarnation, Jesus be spokenof as possessing an
identity distinct from, but not separate from the Father.1 Just as we find a
distinction, but not a separationof Christ's two natures, we also find a
distinction, but not a separationbetweenGodand Jesus;the Father and the
Son.
Let it not be thought that we are separating Jesus and the Fatherso as to say
that they are two distinct persons in the Godhead. What is being emphasized
is the Biblical distinction betweenthe Fatherand the Son—a distinction
betweenGod's existence as exclusive deity and His existence as deity and
humanity conjoined into the one person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is distinct from

the Fatheras it pertains to His human existence. Although the Father and
Jesus are the same person in regards to deity, the addition of humanity in the
Son makes the Son distinct from the Father; distinct in regards to the
humanity, not in the Godheaditself.
It is because ofthis distinction betweenGod's existence in the incarnation
(Son) and God's continued existence beyond the incarnation (Father) that we
read of love existing betweenthe Father and Son. God createdhuman beings
as relational beings, with the capacityto receive and give love. Because Jesus
was truly human, although fully God simultaneously, He had a need to relate
to the Fatheras do all men, and thus love the Father. The Father, who loves
all men, also loved Jesus, who was as human as us all. In this relationship
betweenFather and Son (as with any relationship), the exchange oflove is to
be expected.
Some have tried to explain this exchange of love as Jesus’human nature
loving Jesus’divine nature, and vice-versa. Trinitarians have particularly
criticized this explanation, pointing out that it reads something into Jesus’
words that He did not say, and makes Jesus’statements meaninglesswhen
interpreted according to the normal use of language. We must agree that
Jesus did not say His divine nature loves His human nature. Also, such an
approachassumes an unbiblical definition of "Son," attributing it strictly to
Jesus’humanity, to the exclusion of His whole person which includes His
deity. The Biblicaluse of the term "Son" certainly originatedwith the
incarnation, but it does not refer only to Jesus'human nature.2 The term
"Son" incorporates Jesus’whole person, both deity and humanity conjoined
into one indivisible person. To say that "Son" only refers to Jesus’human
nature is Nestorianatheart, separating Jesus into two persons in one body. It
presents Christ as two beings in one body, the divine nature loving the human
nature. Such a conceptionwould have Jesus saying, "Ilove myself," or "I love
my other nature" rather than, "The Father loves the Son." The Scripture,
however, presents Christ as one whole person.. Although Christ has a divine
and human nature, natures do not love, people love. Jesus loved the Father,
and the Father loved Jesus.

While the above explanation does justice to Jesus’statements concerning love
betweenthe Fatherand Son after the incarnation, what about Jesus’
statementin John 17:5 where He saidto the Father, “You loved me before the
creationof the world.” This love is pre-incarnational, and thus cannotbe
explained by the incarnation. Does this, then, teachan eternal love between
Persons in the Godhead? To answerthis question we must considerGod’s
foreknowledge, andability to “callthose things which are not as though they
were” (Romans 4:17). Jesus is said to be the lamb slain from the foundation
of the world (I Peter1:19-20;Revelation13:8). Although Jesus qua Jesus did
not exist until the fullness of time—and thus not slain until the fullness of
time—God consideredthe crucifixion to be an accomplishedevent even before
the creationof the world. Believers are even said to have had our names
written in the Book ofLife before the foundation of the world (Revelation
17:8), although our actualsalvationexperience does not occuruntil we exist in
space/time. Clearlywe did not exist before the foundation of the world, and
yet Godconsideredus to have already been savedeven then, calling those
things which were not as though they were. In like manner, Jesus qua Jesus
did not exist until the incarnation, and yet the Father loved Him prior to
creation, calling those things which were not as though they were. The Father
loved the Son in foreknowledge, justas God loved all of us, and savedus
according to His foreknowledge.
Trinitarians are quick to point out that God is love (I John 4:8, 16), and that
true love must have an object for love to have any meaning. Since creationis
not eternal, while God is, and thus His love is eternal, it is arguedthat God
needed an eternal objectof love. Trinitarians see this eternal objectof love as
the Trinity itself. The Fatherhas had the Son and Spirit as eternalobjects of
love, and likewise the other two Persons ofthe Trinity. But as I have
demonstrated above, it is not difficult to conceive ofGod’s love being eternally
directed toward His creation, even before the creationtruly existed in
space/time.
Even if we conclude that God’s eternal love was not basedon His
foreknowledgeand foreordination of the creation, why can it not be conceived
that the Father could love Himself eternally? Godis love, after all, not just the
source of love. We can have a godly love for ourselves (a respectful

recognitionof our dignity because ofwho/whatGod createdus to be). If we
can have a love for our self, who are made in God’s image, then is it not
possible that God, too, could have a love for His self? This is supported by the
fact that Godgave us the command to love others as we love ourselves
(Leviticus 19:18;Matthew 19:19). Our love for others is based, in part, on our
love for self (again, in a godly sense). If God’s image-bearers cando such, then
why cannot Godhave love for His self also? Suchan argument is speculative
and inconclusive, but is an argument nonetheless. I find the argument no
more speculative than the Trinitarian claim that Godhas been eternally love
by being in community with His tri-personal self. This claim to knowledge
assumes something about the nature of God and the nature of His love, based
on our imperfect, human experience of love. Human love needs an object, but
it could very well be that God’s perfectlove does not require an objectto have
a true existence. Whenit comes to the nature of God and His love, then, the
idea that love must have an objectto be true love may be a presupposition we
are making about love basedupon our limited understanding of love. If God
needs no direct objectfor His nature of love to have meaning, the Trinitarian
argument againstthe Oneness positionbecomes completelyinvalid. Again,
this portion of the discussionhas been entirely speculative. While I do not
personally hold to the "self-love" explanation, I postulate such speculation
simply to demonstrate that the Oneness position cannotbe rendered de facto
false basedon the fact that one of God's eternal attributes is love. There are at
leasttwo ways to explain John 17:24 in light of Oneness theology.
In conclusion, Jesus'statements concerning love in the Godhead harmonize
quite well with Oneness theology, being understood in light of the incarnation.
Jesus is distinct from the Fatherbecause of His human existence, and with His
humanity-based distinction from the Fatherthere arises a need for
relationship with God just as there is a need for relationship with God in all
genuine human beings. One element of the Son's relationship with the Father
is the element of love.
https://onenesspentecostal.com/loveingod.htm

Keeping the Trinity Personal
Defending the oneness ofGod shouldn't nullify the Bible's claims about the
mutual love of Father, Son, and Spirit.
PeterJ. Leithart
June 22, 2018
Image: sedmak / Getty Images
“H
oly, Holy, Holy” is one of the most well-knownhymns in the English language.
The famous hymn, inspired by the Nicene Creedand sung in countless
churches eachSunday, ends with the familiar line “Godin three persons,
blessedTrinity!” But as beloved as this song is, how welldo we understand
this familiar line? What do we mean when we sayGod is one God in three
“persons”?Doesthat mean three different personalities? How do these
persons relate to eachother? And how do we square this with the biblical
affirmation from Deuteronomy 6:4 that “the Lord our God, the Lord is one”?
What does it mean to saythat the Trinity is personal?
Don’t Take This Too Personally
Over the past severalyears, evangelicaltheologyhas been rackedby a battle
over the Eternal Subordination of the Son (ESS). On the one side are
theologians arguing that obedience and submission are felicitous ways to
describe the Son’s eternal relationto his Father. Others object that talk of
“functional subordination” flirts with (or, worse, hooks up with) Arianism.

This debate implicates longer-standing disputes about the meaning of person
in Trinitarian theology. For some, a divine Personis, in the words of Stephen
Holmes, professorofsystematic theologyat the University of St Andrews, an
“instantiation of the divine nature.” To say that the triune Persons are
“persons” doesn’timply that they’re personalor have personality in anything
like the common modern sense of the word. Holmes puts it starkly. For
Augustine and the Cappadocianfathers of the Easternchurch, “all that is
truly ‘personal’ (knowledge, volition, action... ) [is located]in the ineffable
divine nature, not severally in the [Persons].”
James Dolezal, theologyprofessorat Cairn University, defends the Thomist
view that the persons are “subsistentrelations,” no more than relations
existing in the essence ofGod. Catholic theologianKarl Rahner drew the
drastic conclusionthat there is “properly no mutual love betweenthe Father
and Son, for this would presuppose two acts.”
Rahner retains the use of person but defines the term as a “distinct manner of
subsisting.” Swiss ReformedtheologianKarl Barth went further, arguing that
person is too contaminated by the modern emphasis on self-consciousness to
be of use in Trinitarian theology:
“Person” as usedin the Church doctrine of the Trinity bears no direct
relation to personality. The meaning of the doctrine is not, then, that there are
three personalities in God. This would be the worstand most extreme
expressionof tritheism, againstwhich we must be on guard at this stage. ...
But in it we are speaking not of three divine I’s, but thrice of the one divine I.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/june-web-only/trinity-what-is-
personal-about-theology-subordination.html
JOHN 15:9-10, "As the Father has lovedme, so have I
lovedyou. Now remain in my love. 10If you keep my

commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have
kept my Father's commands and remain in his love.
As the Father Has Loved Me
John 15:9-17
6th Sunday of Easter - Year B
May 17, 2009
In today's passagefrom John 15 Jesus speaks atsome length; the disciples
were there, in the shadows, listening--orwe hope they were listening--and as
we overhear his words it feels a bit like listening to the radio. We can't see, we
just hear the words--which is how Scripture has happened for most people
through history. Before there were floppy Bibles or PowerPoint, people
heard the Bible, out loud. Radio could be the perfect platform for a true
hearing of what matters.
Since it's baseballseason, I think about my favorite baseballbook by David
Halberstam, who describes whatbaseballwas like 60 years ago and what he
calls the virtues of radio. Mel Allen, who broadcastNew York Yankees games
on radio and then television, lamented the advent of TV, feeling it rendered
his words extraneous. He decidedthat TV was "a medium in which both the
broadcasterand the fan became lazy-- the broadcasterbecausehe had to let
the camera do so much of the work and the fan because he did not have to use
his imagination. Allen felt that he had a less-intimate relationship with
viewers." Allen's "soft, almost silky voice...broughtthe fan into the
Stadium...and projected a sense ofintimacy with the players. He would begin
by painting a word portrait.... Televisionwould be different in many ways,
not leastof all for the athletes. In the beginning it seemedto bring them

greaterfame, but in time it became clearthat the fame was not so much
greateras quicker. More often than not, it evaporatedsooner. As radio was
an instrument that could heighten the mystique of a player, television
eventually demythologized the famous."
Now, thinking about Mel Allen, I wish I had a soft, silky voice, but I do want
to take you into a room, a flickerof a few candles battling the dark. It's small,
stone, chilly; Jesus and some guys, not chosenfor their stellarspiritual
resumes, but just some guys, a few fishermen, a tax collector, almostas if
Jesus wantedto make the point that anybody would do, anybody could be a
disciple, anybody who could listen. It's the hearing that matters: you can't
see me, and I can't see you, but words matter. Have you ever been told "I love
you" for the first time? Or after the carnage ofhurt, have you everbeen told,
"I forgive you"? Or have you ever satin a waiting room and the doctor
enters and says, "It's malignant" or "It's benign"? It's what we hear, words
that pass, not the chance ofhow we or anybody else looks, evenJesus. Martin
Luther said that the organof faith is the ear; we walk by faith not by sight,
because whatwe see misleads. "Show me the money," we say! We fawn over
what is big, or shiny--but wise old Gandalf told Frodo in The Lord of the
Rings, "All that is gold does not glitter."
So here's the gold for our ears. Jesus, who's just washedtheir feet, sharedthe
Passoversupper, with the profound poignancy of one who knows they won't
ever be togetherfor an evening ever again, opens his mouth, and we hear him
say, "As the Fatherhas loved me, so have I loved you." At first it's so lovely,
warm, fuzzy--God is love, Jesus loves me, Love one another. But if I think
about these words, I lift my finger and punch the button on the radio to get
another station; we skid to a halt right here. "As the Fatherhas loved me, so
have I loved you." They had seenthe way the Father loved Jesus. Ohyeah,
they were dumbfounded by his passionate intimacywith God, and they
wanted in on that. But they had seenwhat issuedfrom that intimacy. How
did the Father love Jesus? He had pushed him out of the comfortable confines

of heaven down onto earth where, as a baby, Herod tried to kill him, the
Father sends him into the wilderness for 40 days under assaultby the devil
trying to gethis claws into him, the Fatherloved him by pressing him into
conflict with the super pious and with violent bureaucrats who plotted to put
an end to him, and the Father loved him by encircling him with friends who
were total knuckleheads. Theynever"got" what he was about, and they ran
for the exits when he could have used a few friends. How did the Fatherlove
Jesus? Perilatevery turn, demons to be castout, the sick pulling on him,
crowds pressing, a woman yanking the hem of his garment, no roofover his
head, and then the worstconceivable end....
We might wish Jesus had said something else, like: "As the Father has loved
me...well, I will spare you all of that; I will love you differently; I will let you
live on an island of ease and weave a spell of protection around you."
But, no, it seems that Jesus'words of love are the same as the Father's;and if
we abide in his love, we may lose the roofover our heads, we will battle devils,
people will wrinkle their brow and be totally puzzled by our weirdness, we
won't get aheadin the world, we will be catapultedinto serving in daunting
places--andthat is why being loved by Jesus is so good. It's hard,
unfathomable, something you have no ability to pull off--but you go, and you
know the one loving you has been there, and it's so hard, which is why it's
meaningful.
Love is intriguing, isn't it? Jesus'friends seemto be massive failures as
friends--but when our minds recoup from hearing Jesus say, "As the Father
has loved me so have I loved you," we pick back up and hear him say, "You
are my friends; no longer do I call you servants, but I have calledyou
friends." I'm glad he said "called." I have "called" youfriends. He doesn't
say, "You have proven yourselves to be great friends." No, he simply by

divine fiat, the way God createdthe whole universe out of absolutelynothing,
dubs them "friends." Our only reactioncanbe to stifle a confusedchuckle....
But don't stifle it, let it out, let it rumble, especiallyif you're not alone
listening to this radio. C.S. Lewis once said, "There's no sound I like better
than adult male laughter." For most of us, friends are virtually better off
than lovers. He said, "Lovers are always talking to one anotherabout their
love; friends hardly ever talk about their friendship. Lovers are normally
face to face, absorbedin eachother; but friends are side by side, absorbedin
some common interest." Nowadays,for us, "friends" are people with whom
you share interests, you have fun, you enjoy the same diversions, you probably
look a lot alike. But in the ancient world where Jesus saidwhat he said, they
had a coolnotion of friendship. Aristotle saidthat a friend is somebodywho
helps you to be wise or to be good, and a few hundred years after Jesus said
what he said, Kierkegaardsaidthat to love another person is to help that
person to love God and to be loved is to be helped in loving God. We are
absorbedin a common interest! We need some help in loving God, and Jesus
was our ultimate friend, helping his knuckleheads to be wise and good,
helping them, side by side, to love God. And how presumptuous of us! What
a friend we have in Jesus--oras a very large church in my neighborhood loves
to sing, "I am a friend of God." We may prefer to think of ourselves as loyal,
groveling subjects or recipients of gifts from a Santa Claus God who swoops
in on occasion, filling our wish lists--but a friend? What more generous,
startling, wonderful offer could there be in all of Scripture?
Friendship can be hard: Aristotle said, "The opposite of a friend is a
flatterer," and Jesus would not flatter us or inflate our egos. Buthe does offer
friendship. No, that's not right. He simply declares youare his friend, like it
or not, and irrespective of whether you've been a goodfriend in return or not.
I'm unsure how to picture this in my imagination, the way fans listening to
Mel Allen conceivedof Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig shaking hands at home plate
or a Joe Dimaggio slide into second. I do think of a few, a very few old
friends--which I cancount on one hand with a leftover finger or two--historic
friends, guys who knew me before I knew myself, who could care less if I am

speaking on Day1 or on a ham radio, who have stuck with me and always
will, who would saywords to me if I grew blind and could not see them, or if I
had a stroke and could not speak in return. They have loved me and stuck
with me and we are friends; and there really is nothing better than adult
laughter.
I think there must be one other thing too. Jesus said, "Greaterlove has no
one than this--to lay down his life for his friends." And we are hearing this
program during the seasonofEaster;we know how the story ends, we know
Jesus sufferedterribly, but God could not leave his son, the one he'd loved, his
friend, in the grave. How did the Fatherlove Jesus? Onthe third day God
raisedhim up--which really tells us less about some automatic destiny we
might have after we die than about how magnificent God really is; and if we
think about it, we fall down on our faces and we laugh, then we pick each
other up and begin to sing some greatchorus of praise to a Godwho loves like
that. It's odd, but so hopeful, to hear what Jesus saidthe night before he was
crucified and to hear it after Easter. Jesus'future invades that night, and the
flicker of the candle really does banish the darkness. The disciples were not
dying the next day--although they might have if they had been required to
prove their friendship to Jesus. Theyare simply deemed friends; they have
some number of years left on them, and the question Jesus knew they would
harbor in their souls was, "So whatdo we do now that he's gone?"
Remember that lastnight he said, "As the Fatherhas loved me so I love you,"
and that he calledus--us!--friends? What do we do now?"
Well, the answeris probably lots of things, and they are probably all really
hard and scary. But to these friends, Jesus said, "Go and bear fruit." Go
bear fruit. Where does one go to bear fruit? I mean, trees bear fruit, but they
can't go anywhere at all. Paul, who is anothervery pious guy who didn't
"get" Jesus but was simply knighted as Jesus'friend, spoke ofthe "fruit of the
Spirit." Not "the fruit of my good intentions" or "the fruit of my gritting my
teeth and trying really hard." No, the fruit of the Spirit: "love, joy, peace,

patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against
such there is no law."
Not only are these not againstthe law. Theyare not the law! Paul doesn't
say, "You must be patient or joyful." It's so American to feellike being good
is up to us; I do it! I'm good. And then God is pleased. But Christians wiser
than you and I, our friends who were brave and suffered for their faith and
kept the Church alive through history, believed in what theologians call
"Sanctification." I do not bear fruit, as I have no clue how to do such a thing.
It is the Spirit who works in me. Yes, Jesus commandedthings Jesus knew I
was incapable of. But he commanded love and fruit, knowing that I'd never
pull it off--but he did callme his friend knowing this about me. And so he
must have had some strategyto make fruit happen in me, and in us; and it is
the work of the Spirit, in Jesus'lingering, elusive, powerful presence
surprising me, surprising us, surprising the world with a wobbly but very
definite image of Jesus in the world after all these years. We are the Body of
Christ, we are the friends of God, and then we discover the joy of that prayer
we sing at Christmas: "Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay, close by me
forever, and love me, I pray; bless all the dear children in thy tender care, and
fit us for heaven to live with thee there."
Fit us for heaven. I am not fit; we are not fit. So fit us for heaven. We will go
and bear fruit, although if we go five inches from you, O Lord, the tree will
die; so we will just be still and know that you are God and we aren't; and as
we raise our arms in prayer and thanksgiving we notice, pulsating through us,
some fruit, the love, the friendship, and it's happening, and nobody's more
surprised than you and me, listening now, and our imaginations getdizzy with
what is happening, or not happening, and it is all good, because it is all of
God, and somebody out there who didn't care about God five minutes ago
notices, and she raises her arms, and the fruit forms, she is loved as Jesus was
loved, she's a friend, and together, side by side, absorbed in our common
interest, we laugh, we sing, we sigh. We love. Amen.

STUDYLIGHT RESOURCES
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible
As the Father hath loved me - The love of the Father toward his only-
begotten Son is the highest affection of which we can conceive.
Compare Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5. It is the love of God toward his
coequal Son. who is like him in all things, who always pleased him, and
who was willing to endure the greatest sacrifices and toils to accomplish
his purpose of mercy. Yet this love is adduced to illustrate the tender
affection which the Lord Jesus has for all his friends.
So have I loved you - Not to the same degree, for this was impossible,
but with the same kind of love - deep, tender. unchanging; love
prompting to self-denials, toils, and sacrifices to secure their welfare.
Continue ye - The reason which he gives for their doing this is the
strength of the love which he had shown for them. His love was so great
for them that he was about to lay down his life. This constitutes a strong
reason why we should continue in his love:
1.Because the love which he shows for us is unchanging.
2.It is the love of our best friend - love whose strength was expressed by
toils, and groans, and blood.
3.As he is unchanging in the character and strength of his affection, so
should we be. Thus only can we properly express our gratitude; thus
only show that we are his true friends.

4.Our happiness here and forever depends altogether on our continuing
in the love of Christ. We have no source of permanent joy but in that
love.
In my love - In love to me. Thus it is expressed in the Greek in the next
verse. The connection also demands that we understand it of our love to
him, and not of his love to us. The latter cannot be the subject of a
command; the former may. See also Luke 11:42; 1 John 2:5; Jude 1:21.
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you: abide ye in my
love.
Regarding the strange use of the perfect tense here, Westcott noted that:
It is simpler to regard the tense as chosen with regard to a work now
looked upon as completed, according to the usage which is not
infrequent in these discourses. The love of Christ, as it were, is looked
upon as the atmosphere in which the disciple lives.[5]
Abide ye in my love ... again presupposes the ability of the believer
either to abide, or not abide, depending upon his own will, and not upon
any capricious election from all eternity. Westcott stressed that "This
enjoyment depends upon the human side upon the will of man, for it can
be made the subject of a command."[6]

[5] B. F. Westcott, The Gospel according to St. John (Grand Rapids,
Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1971), p. 219.
[6] Ibid.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
As the Father hath loved me,.... As his own Son, and as Mediator, from
everlasting; and in time, in his state of humiliation, throughout the
course of his obedience, and under all his sufferings; which he testified
more than once by a voice from heaven; which he showed by concealing
nothing from him as Mediator, by giving all things into his hands, by
showing him all that he himself did, by appointing him the Saviour of
the body, and making him the head of the church, by exalting him at his
right hand, and ordaining him to be judge of quick and dead.
So have I loved you: Christ loves his as his spouse and bride, as his dear
children, as members of his body, as branches in him the vine, as
believers in him, and followers of him; which he has shown by
espousing both their persons and cause, by assuming their nature, by
suffering and dying in their room and stead, and making all suitable
provision for them, both for time and eternity. And there is a likeness
between the Father's love to him, and his love to his disciples and
followers: as his Father loved him from everlasting, so did he love them;
as his Father loved him with a love of complacency and delight, so did
he, and so does he love them; and as his Father loved him with a special
and peculiar affection, with an unchangeable, invariable, constant love,
which will last for ever, in like manner does Christ love his people; and
with this he enforces the following exhortation.

Continue ye in my love: meaning either in his love to them, which, as he
always continues in it without any variableness or shadow of turning, so
he would have them continue in believing their interest in it, prizing and
valuing it, in imitating and remembering it; or else in their love to him,
to his person, to his people, to his Gospel, to his ordinances, ways, and
worship, which he knew was liable to wax cold, though it could not be
lost.
Geneva Study Bible
3 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: b continue ye in my
love.
(3) The love of the Father towards the Son, and of the Son towards us,
and of us toward God and our neighbour, are joined together with an
inseparable knot: and there is nothing more sweet and pleasant than it is.
Now this love shows itself by its effects, a most perfect example of
which Christ himself exhibits to us.
(b) That is, in that love with which I love you, which love is the
responsibility of both parties.
Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament
Abide (μεινατε — meinate). Constative first aorist active imperative of
μενω — menō summing up the whole.

In my love (εν τηι αγαπηι τηι εμηι — en tēi agapēi tēi emēi).
Subjunctive possessive pronoun, “in the love that I have for you.” Our
love for Christ is the result of Christ‘s love for us and is grounded at
bottom in the Father‘s love for the world (John 3:16). John has εμος —
emos 37 times and always in the words of Jesus (Bernard). But he uses
μου — mou also (John 15:10).
Vincent's Word Studies
In my love ( ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ τῇ ἐμῇ )
Literally, in the love, that which is mine. Not only the love of the
disciple for Christ, nor the love of Christ for the disciple, but the Christ-
principle of love which includes both. See the same form of expression
in the joy that is mine, John 15:11; John 3:29; John 17:13; the judgment
(John 5:30; John 8:16); the commandments (John 14:15); peace (John
14:27).
Wesley's Explanatory Notes
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my
love.
Abide ye in my love — Keep your place in my affection. See that ye do
not forfeit that invaluable blessing. How needless a caution, if it were
impossible for them not to abide therein?
The Fourfold Gospel
Even as the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you: abide ye in my
love1.

Even as the Father hath loved me, I also have loved you: abide ye in my
love. From the "outward" evidence of union with Christ, shown by the
fruit, Jesus now turns to that "inward" bond of union which is the cause
of fruitfulness. That bond is love.
Calvin's Commentary on the Bible
9.As the Father hath loved me. He intended to express something far
greater than is commonly supposed; for they who think that he now
speaks of the sacred love of God the Father, which he always had
towards the Son, philosophize away from the subject; for it was rather
the design of Christ to lay, as it were, in our bosom a sure pledge of
God’s love towards us. That abstruse inquiry, as to the manner in which
the Father always loved himself in the Son, has nothing to do with the
present passage. But thelove which is here mentioned must be
understood as referring to us, because Christ testifies that the Father
loves him, as he is the Head of the Church. And this is highly necessary
for us; for he who without a Mediator, inquires how he is loved by God,
involves him in a labyrinth, in which he will neither discover the
entrance, nor the means of extricating himself. We ought therefore to
cast our eyes on Christ, in whom will be found the testimony and pledge
of the love of God; for the love of God was fully poured out on him, that
from him it might flow to his members. He is distinguished by this title,
that he is the beloved Son, in whom the will of the Father is satisfied,
(Matthew 3:17.) But we ought to observe the end, which is, that God

may accept us in him. So, then, we may contemplate in him, as in a
mirror, God’s paternal love towards us all; because he is not loved apart,
or for his own private advantage, but that he may unite us with him to
the Father.
Abide in my love. Some explain this to mean, that Christ demands from
his disciples mutual love; but others explain it better, who understand it
to mean the love of Christ towards us. He means that we should
continually enjoy that love with which he once loved us, and, therefore,
that we ought to take care not to deprive ourselves of it; for many reject
the grace which is offered to them, and many throw away what they
once had in their hands. So, then, since we have been once received into
the grace of Christ, we must see that we do not fall from it through our
own fault.
The conclusion which some draw from these words, that there is no
efficacy in the grace of God. unless it be aided by our steadfastness, is
frivolous. For I do not admit that the Spirit demands from us no more
than what is in our own power, but he shows us what we ought to do,
that, if our strength be deficient, we may seek it from some other
quarter. In like manner, when Christ exhorts us, in this passage, to
perseverance, we must; not rely on our own strength and industry, but
we ought to pray to him who commands us, that he would confirm us in
his love.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my
love.

Ver. 9. Continue ye in my love] In the love wherewith I do dearly love
you. As who should say, Suffer yourselves to be loved by me. Lo, the
Lord Christ even makes love to the good soul, and woos entertainment.
Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible
John 15:9. Continue ye in my love.— Or, "Keep your place in my
affection: continue to deserve my love." So again in the next verse, As
long as ye keep my commandments, ye shall continue in my love; that is
"I shall continue to love you."
Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Lord, what a comparison is here! As the Father hath loved me, so have I
loved you: he doth not say, As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved
him; but so have I loved you: nor doth he say, As God hath loved me, so
have I loved you; but, As the Father! It is verbum dilectionis, a word
importing dearness of affection: nor doth he say, The Father hath loved
me, and I love you; but, As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved
you: nor doth he say, As the Father hath loved me, so will I love you;
but, So have I loved you.
This shews the priority of Christ's love, that he loved us first, and also
denotes the invincible constancy of his love, and the indubitable
certainty thereof: I have loved you: follow me from heaven to earth, and
from earth to heaven again, and you will find that every step I have
taken hath been in love.

Learn, 1. That the Lord Jesus Christ hath given full and ample
demonstration of his great and wonderful love unto his church and
people.
2. That it is the duty, and ought to be the singular care, of every
Christian, to preserve the sweet sense and inward diffusions of Christ's
love in their own souls: Continue ye in my love.
Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary
9.] The Love between the Father and Christ is compared with that
between Christ and His disciples. The sense is best served by placing a
colon (as in E. V.) after ὑμᾶς ἠγάπησα, making μείνατε κ. τ. λ. a
separate injunction, and κἀγώ = οὕτως. With only a comma at ἠγάπησα,
that which is the great assertion of the sentence, is suffered to slip by
unnoticed; viz. that ‘as the Father hath loved the Son, so the Son His
disciples.’
τῇ ἀγ. τῇ ἐμῇ may be rendered the love of Me, as in Luke 22:19 (211) 1
Cor.,—but the sense is not good, and the expression is not parallel with
τῇ ἀγ. μου in John 15:10; so that I prefer my love, the love which I have
towards you; remain in it: do not cast yourselves out of it. The other
sense is implied in this, but not expressed.
Charles Simeon's Horae Homileticae
DISCOURSE: 1693
THE FATHER’S LOVE TO CHRIST, AND CHRIST’S TO US
John 15:9. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye
in my love.
REASON could never suggest motives sufficient to counteract the
passions: the law of God itself, with all its sanctions, could not change

the heart. The Gospel alone can make sin odious, and holiness
delightful. It effects this by revealing to us the love of Christ [Note: 2
Corinthians 5:14.]. Hence our Lord reminds us of his love in order to
confirm our love to him.
I. The nature and extent of Christ’s love to us—
The comparison in the text denotes not equality, but resemblance [Note:
Matthew 5:48.]. The love of Christ to us, like that of his Father to him,
is,
1. Without beginning—
There never was a period when the Father first began to love his Son—
[He loved him before his entrance on his ministry [Note: Matthew
3:17.], before his existence in the world [Note: John 1:18.], before
Isaiah’s time [Note: Isaiah 42:1.], from all eternity [Note: In this sense
many commentators explain Proverbs 8:22-23; Proverbs 8:30 : and if
that interpretation be admitted, the eternity of Christ’s love may be
confirmed by ver. 9. But, however this passage be interpreted, the fact
itself stands on the most unquestionable authority. John 17:24.].]
There never was a period when Christ first began to love us—
[His love is first manifested when we believe in him. But our faith in
him is the effect, not the cause, of his love to us. This is affirmed by the
prophets [Note: Jeremiah 31:3. Ezekiel 16:6.], and by Christ himself
[Note: John 15:16.].]
2. Without measure—
The Father’s love to Christ was unbounded—
[He is one with Christ in nature, and therefore in affection [Note: John
10:30.]. He has shewn the greatness of his love to him, in the gifts

bestowed upon him [Note: John 3:35. Colossians 1:19.], and in his
constant co-operation with him [Note: John 5:19-20.].]
Christ’s love to us is also boundless—
[It produces most astonishing acts of kindness towards us [Note:
Ephesians 5:25. Revelation 1:5-6.]. Human affections fall far short of it
[Note: Isaiah 49:15-16.]. It “passess all knowledge,” whether of men or
angels.]
3. Without variation—
The Father’s love to Christ was unchangeable—
[His love seems to have been withdrawn for a season [Note: Matthew
27:46.]: he seemed not to answer his prayers [Note: Luke 22:42; Luke
22:44.]: but he heard him always [Note: John 11:42.], and loved him
always. The apparent suspensions of his love were the necessary means
of accomplishing the purposes of his love even towards Christ himself
[Note: Hebrews 2:10.].]
Christ’s love to us also is unchangeable—
[There are seasons when he seems to withdraw his love. But his
chastisements are tokens of his love [Note: Hebrews 12:6.]. He hates sin
indeed, and will correct his people till they put it away: but he will not
withdraw his love from them [Note: Psalms 89:31-33.]. Wherever he
fixes his love, he rests unalterably in it [Note: Zephaniah 3:17.].]
4. Without end—
The Father’s love to Christ shall endure for ever—
[He has given him a pledge of this in his exaltation to heaven.]
Christ’s love to us shall also be everlasting—

[He knows no change of mind with respect to what He has bestowed
[Note: Romans 11:29.]. Whomsoever he loves he continues to love
[Note: John 13:1.]. This truth is a just ground of joy and confidence
[Note: Romans 8:35; Romans 8:38-39.].]
What returns can we ever make to Christ for such amazing love?
II. The duty resulting from it—
This part of the text requires application rather than discussion—
It sets before us, not merely our privilege (which is, to continue in a
sense of Christ’s love to us) but our duty;
1. To love Christ—
[This would have been our duty, though he had not so loved us. But the
obligation to it is greatly increased by his love. Let him then he
exceeding precious to us. Let us despise every thing in comparison of
him [Note: Philippians 3:8.].]
2. To continue in love to him—
[We are too apt to decline in our love [Note: Matthew 24:12.]. But
declensions, however secret, are very offensive [Note: Revelation 2:4.].
They will, if continued in, disqualify us for heaven [Note: Luke 9:62.]:
they will reduce us to a worse situation than ever [Note: 2 Peter 2:22.].
Let us therefore cleave to the Lord with full purpose of heart [Note: Acts
11:23.].]
3. To abound in all acts and offices of love to him—
[In secret, let us contemplate, admire, and adore his excellencies: in
public, let us confess, honour, and obey him [Note: Matthew 10:32. John
14:21.].]

It commends to us that duty as resulting from the declaration that
precedes it—
[The love of Christ towards us is the strongest of all motives to the love
of him. Was Christ’s love to us so unmerited, unbounded, invariable,
and lasting? and shall ours to him be weak and transient? Let it operate
then suitably on all our hearts. Let us not rest satisfied with what we
have attained [Note: Philippians 3:12-13.]. Let us meditate on his love as
the means of increasing ours [Note: Ephesians 3:18-19.].]
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible
What our Saviour before called an abiding in him, and his words abiding
in us, and a bearing and bringing forth much fruit, he here calleth a
continuing in his love; though indeed this phrase also may be interpreted
by a continuance in the favour of God and Christ, in that state of love
into which God bath put the souls of those who are his true disciples: but
I had rather interpret it of that love wherewith they loved Christ, than
that wherewith Christ loved them. So the former words are an argument
to persuade perseverance, or a continuance in those acts of holiness by
which men alone can show their true love to Jesus Christ, from Christ’s
love to them, which he there expresses,
As the father hath loved me, so have I loved you; where the particle as is
only a note of comparison, but doth not denote an equality; only
signifieth truth and greatness; as truly and sincerely as the Father loveth
me: or, I have loved you with a great love, bearing some proportion to
the love wherewith my Father loveth me. The Father’s love to Christ is
eternal immutable, constant, full and perfect, wise and just, free: in all
these respects Christ loveth his people as the Father loveth him: this
ought: to engage them again to love him, and so to walk as they may

continue in that state of favour into which his goodness hath advanced
them.
Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges
9. καθὼς ἠγ. Authorities differ as to whether we should place a comma
or a colon at ἠγάπησα: either, Even as the Father hath loved Me and I
have loved you, abide in My love; or, Even as the Father hath loved Me,
I also have loved you (John 17:18, John 20:21): abide in My love. The
latter is better as keeping in due prominence the main statement, that the
love of Christ for His disciples is analogous to that of the Father for the
Son. The aorists may be translated as such, the love being regarded as a
completed whole, always perfect in itself. But perhaps this is just one of
those cases where the Greek aorist is best translated by the English
perfect: see on John 8:29. Ἐν τ. ἀγ. τ. ἐμῇ may mean either My love or
the love of Me. The former is more natural and better suited to the
context, which speaks of His love to them as similar to the Father’s
towards Him; but the latter need not be excluded. see on John 8:31.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
9. Father hath loved me, so… I… you—The third advancement is the
attainment of a love from Christ so ineffable, and so perfect, as to be
paralleled only by the love of the Father to the Son. The union of Christ
with his persevering follower is modelled upon the ineffable unity of the
Trinity itself. It is, therefore, perfect and eternal.
Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament

John 15:9. Even as the Father loved me, I also loved you: abide in my
love. By keeping in view what has been said on John 15:8 we shall
understand the transition here to the thought of love. The main thought
of that verse was, as we have seen, that of union and communion with
the Father and the Son; but the main element of that communion is
love,—love which flows forth from the Father to the Son, and then from
the Son to the members of His body, thus forming that community of
love so often spoken of in these chapters. In this love, then (it follows as
a necessary consequence), we must ‘abide’ if we would experience its
fruits. It is hardly necessary to say that ‘My love’ is the Lord’s love to
His people, not theirs to Him.
The Expositor's Greek Testament
John 15:9. καθὼς ἠγάπησε … ἐμῇ. Love is the true bond which gives
unity to the moral world, and inspires discipleship. All that Christ
experiences is the result of the Father’s love: all that the disciples are
called to be and to do is the outcome of Christ’s love. This love of Christ
was to be retained as their possession by their conforming themselves to
it: μείνατε ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ τῇ ἐμῇ, “abide in my love,” no longer “abide in
me,” but specifically “in my love”. Abide in it, for there is a possibility
of your falling away from its enjoyment and possession.
John 5:20 The Father loves the Son and shows Him
all He does. And to your amazement, He will show
Him even greater works than these.

BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The FatherAnd The Son
John 5:19, 20
J.R. Thomson
Mostof our Lord's discourses concernman and his spiritual life, are moral
and practical. But this passageis, in the true and proper sense ofthe term,
theological, informing us of the relations betweenthe persons of the Godhead,
and revealing, so to speak, the inner springs of our Saviour's ministry, by
giving us a glimpse into the Divine nature and purposes.
I. THE FATHER IS EVER CARRYING ON BENEFICENT OPERATIONS
IN HUMAN SOCIETY. The whole discussionoriginated in the cure of the
infirm man at Bethesda;this being wrought on the sabbath occasionedthe
murmurings of the Jews, and elicitedthe defence of Jesus. Now, anordinary
physician, had he effectedsuch a cure, would have been rightly satisfiedto fall
back upon the fact that the man's sufferings were relieved, and that human
strength and comfort are an abundant justification for any measures not
morally wrong. But the Divine Physicianfell back upon the working of God in
the world and among men. What he says does not remove all mystery, for he
tells us nothing to explain the existence ofsin and of suffering. But he does
give us to understand that God is ever working among men in the very way in
which he - Jesus himself - had been working, when he had healed the
infirmities of the sick.
II. THE FATHER, LOVING THE SON, SHOWS HIM WHAT THINGS HE
IS EVER DOING. This language is, of course, accommodatedto our powers
of comprehension. Howeverthe world, or the Jews in particular, might hate
Christ, he was the beloved of the Divine Father, and as such was admitted to

the Father's intimate and affectionate confidence. Whata qualification for
him who came to this earth as Prophet, Priest, and King of humanity! How
wise a provision was thus made for our salvation! A perfect sympathy exists
betweenthe PersonalPowerofbeneficence in the universe and the Teacher,
Saviour, Lord of man.
III. THE SON, SEEING THE FATHER'S WORKS, DOES THE SAME IN
HIS EARTHLY MINISTRYAND IN THE EXERCISE OF HIS
MEDIATORIAL SOVEREIGNTY. Here was the all-sufficient vindication of
our Lord's miracles themselves, and also of their manner and circumstances.
The Fatheris everworking for man's welfare, on the sabbath as on other
days. Every day of the week his sun shines, his air passes gentlyover the
earth, his streams flow, his flowers bloom, his birds sing, his creatures rejoice
in his bounty and kindness. He is all day long and every day promoting not
only the bodily, but the intellectual and spiritual welfare of his dependent
children. And what the Father does, that the Son does, moving amongstmen,
seenor unseen, a Presenceofgrace and comfort, of inspiration and of peace.
Thus he everworks his Father's works, and forwards the cause which is dear
to the Father's heart. Where we see the triumphs of the Gospelin individual
hearts, in human society, let us recognize the tokens of the Saviour's holy and
benevolent ministry, and be assuredthat this is the work of God himself.
IV. THE PAST OPERATIONSOF DIVINE MERCY ARE A PLEDGE OF
GREATER AND MORE MARVELLOUS WORKS IN THE FUTURE. Our
Lord, unlike a human teacheror leader, always representedwhat he did as
only the promise of greaterand better things to come. This assurance ofhis
foreknowledgewas verified in the marvels of Pentecost, andin the fruits
which have been yielded throughout the long centuries of the spiritual
dispensation. - T.

Biblical Illustrator
The Son cando nothing of Himself, but what He seeththe Father do.
John 5:19-23
The unity of the Fatherand the Son
A. Beith, D. D.
The Jews soughtto kill Jesus in obedience to the law(1) because He wrought a
miracle on the Sabbath;(2) because He vindicated Himself on the ground of
His equality with God, who constantly works suchmiracles in His providence
on the Sabbath. So far from disclaiming the Jewishinference He here
confirms it. Note —
I. CHRIST'S RELATION TO THE FATHER IN ALL HE DOES (ver. 19).
1. Unity of operation. These words assertthat as it is impossible for the Sonto
do anything of Himself, so it is impossible that the Father cando anything
without the Son. The cure of the impotent man, therefore, was by both.
2. Distinction of persons. The Father shows, the Son sees;the Fatherpurposes,
the Sonexecutes.
3. Identity of works. Theydo the same, not similar things. The same Jesus
stands in the midst of us and says, "Wilt thou be made whole?" If we despise
Him speaking in His word we despise the greatGod with whom we have to do.

II. THE GROUND OF THIS RELATION (ver. 20).
1. Love is the expressionof the Father's feeling towardthe Son.
2. He communicates Himself to the Sonand makes Him His counsellor.
3. This relation Christ made known that they might marvel — admire God's
glorious manifestation of Himself and give Him glory.
III. INSTANCES OF THE WORKS ILLUSTRATIVE OF THIS RELATION.
1. (ver. 21). Resurrectionand quickening, including no doubt the physical, but
referring mainly to the spiritual process.(1)Raising up. Sin, as a frightful
incubus, rests on the soulexerting its paralysing influence. This spiritual
death is chasedaway.(2)Quickening. New life is imparted. Deathimplies
previous life. A tree cut down and withered is different from a stone. In Adam
the souldied; when the Son quickens a new and more glorious life is
communicated.(3)There canbe no considerationmore alarming than our
continuance in this death. How dreadful to pass away without having the
experience of this raising up and quickening, and to lie for ever in
condemnation as self-destroyed.
2. (vers. 22-23). Judgment.(1) To Him is committed the whole administration
of the gospel;and when His supreme government is assertedas here, it means
that the Father judgeth no man alone — both judge.(2) He will preside at the
eternal awards.
IV. IMPORTANT INFERENCESDEDUCEDFROM THIS RELATION.
1. If Christ is not worshipped God is not (ver. 23). Godmust be approached
according to the revelation He has made of Himself: we cannot do so unless
we know Him as the Father who sent the Son.
2. Salvationcomes by the word of Christ (ver. 24).(1)This hearing, no doubt,
includes listening with the outward ear; a greatand necessaryduty. But it is
also (ver. 25) of a kind which awakens to life, with the mind and spirit,
therefore, prompting to action, so that we become not hearers only, but
"doers."(2)Salvationis by resting on the true objectof faith — in God as

sending the Son not as the Creator, etc.(3)This salvationis everlasting life —
a greatsalvationtherefore. "How shall we escape if we neglectit."
(A. Beith, D. D.)
The Father's love to the Son
P. B. Power, M. A.
I. THE FATHER LOVETH THE SON. What has this to do with us What
have we to do with the Son? The answerto the latter will answerthe former.
If we are one with Christ the fact that God loves Him —
1. Will solve a number of curious and doubtful questions. Satanis always
trying to draw believers awayfrom what is simple. The Fatherloveth the Son.
Can Satandeny that? If not, then if I be the Son's, all the outgoings and
principles of God concerning me must be of love. Everything must be
consistentwith that.
2. Will lift us up above a number of depressions.
(1)Are we tried?
(2)lonely;
(3)poor;
(4)wearyand worn. Whoeverwas so tried as the beloved Son?
II. CHRIST RESTED IN THE FATHER'S LOVE, AND IN THE DEEP
CONSCIOUSNESS OF IT PUT FORTH IMMENSE POWER.
1. Whereverlove attains its highest form there is rest. It puts awayall ifs and
speculations, and goes downinto the oceandepths of certainties which are
beyond the reach of surface storms.
2. This should give us great power
(1)in prayer, passing into God's mind through an inlet of love; its answer
coming forth through the outlet of love;

(2)in faith;
(3)in hope.
III. CHRIST'S RELATION TO THE FATHER DETERMINESHIS
ADMINISTRATION OF THE FUTURE, AND OUR RELATION TO HIM
DETERMINES OUR PART IN IT. In present and future resurrectionand
judgment.
(P. B. Power, M. A.)
Christ's reply
F. Godet, D. D.
resembles Luther's: "I cannot do otherwise";or, to take a nearer example,
Jesus puts His work under the guarantee of the Father's, as the impotent man
had just put his under the shelterof Jesus.
(F. Godet, D. D.)
Christ's limitations
R. Besser, D. D.
Neither the man nor the angelexists who could dare to say of himself: "I can
do nothing of myself;" because no man's and no angel's selfis essentiallyand
inseparably one with the self of God. The creature cantear itself awayfrom
its Creator, and place its I in opposition to Him; it canseek its life in itself,
instead of in Him, and it canact "in its own name" (John 8:44); the Sonof
God, on the contrary, has nothing of His own, no self, which does not eternally
contain the same life which the Father has.
(R. Besser, D. D.)
The Fatherjudgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son. —

The delegationof judicial authority to Christ
J. Donne, D. D.
I. JUDGMENTAPPERTAINSTO GOD. It is His in criminal causes (Romans
12:19)and in civil things (Psalm82:1). No function of God is so often
reiterated. And He is the Judge of judges themselves. Judgment is so essential
to God that it is co-eternalwith Him.
1. He knows, and therefore naturally detests evil. We are blind, and need the
assistanceofthe law to know what is evil. And if a man be a judge what an
exactknowledge ofthe law is required of him — for some things are sins to
one nation which are not to another, and some things are sin at one time
which are not at another. Only Godhas a universal knowledge, and therefore
detestationof evil.
2. He discerns when thou committest evil. Hence you have to supply defects in
laws so that things done in one country may be tried in another. But God has
the powerof discerning all actions in all places. Earthly judges have their
distinctions and so their restrictions;some things they cannotknow — what
mortal can, and some things they cannot take knowledge of, for they are
bound by evidence. But nothing keeps God from discerning and judging
everything.
3. He knows how to punish evil. The office of a judge being not to contractor
extend the law, but to declare its true meaning. God hath this judgment in
perfection, for He made the law by which He judges. Who then can dispute
His interpretation? As, then, God is judge in all these three respects, so He is a
judge(1) without appeal;(2) without needing any evidence (Proverbs 24:12;
Proverbs 16:2; 1 Corinthians 4:4); and if so, not only I, but not the most
righteous man, nor the Church He hath washedin His own blood, shall
appear righteous in His sight.
II. How then, seeing that judgment is an inseparable characterofGod, can it
be said that THE FATHER JUDGETHNO MAN? Not certainly because
weary. He judges as God, not as Father. In the three greatjudgments of God
the whole Trinity judges.

1. Before all times in our election.
2. Now in separating of servants from enemies.
3. At the lastjudgment in separating the sheep from the goats.ConsiderGod
altogether, and so in all outward works, all the Trinity concurs, because all
are one God; but considerGod in relation, in distinct persons, and so the
severalpersons do something in which the other persons are not interested. So
the Sonjudgeth, the Father judgeth not, for that judgment He hath
committed.
III. TO THE SON HE HATH COMMITTED ALL JUDGMENT, the image of
the invisible God, and so more proportional unto us, more apprehensible by
us.
1. But doth He judge as Son of God or as Son of Man. Upon this the Fathers
and Reformers are divided. But take this rule, God hath given Christ this
commissionas Man, but Christ had not been capable of it had He not been
God too. The ability is in Him eternally, but the powerof actualexecutionwas
given Him as Man.
2. All judgment —(1) Of our election. If I were under the condemnation of the
law, and going to execution, and the king's pardon were presented to me, I
should ask no question as to motives and circumstances, but thankfully
attribute it to his goodness andacceptit; so when I considermyself as under
God's consideration, and yet by the working of God's Spirit I find I am
delivered from it I inquire not what God did in His cabinet council. I know
that He hath electedme in Christ. And, therefore, that I may know whether I
do not deceive myself I examine myself whether I cantruly tell my conscience
that Christ died for me, which I cannot do if I have not a desire to conform
myself to Him; and if I do that then I find my predestination.(2) Of our
justification, "for there is none other name," etc. Do I then remember what I
contractedwith Christ when I took His name at baptism? Have I fulfilled
those conditions? Do I find a remorse when I have not? Do I feel remissionof
those sins when I hear the gracious promises ofthe gospelto repentant
sinners? Have I a true and solid consolationwhenI receive the sealof pardon
at the Sacrament? Therefore this judgment is His also.(3)Of our glorification

(Revelation1:7). Then He shall come as Man and give judgment for things
done or omitted towards Him as Man, "for not feeding," etc. Conclusion:
Such is the goodnessofGod that He deals with man by the Sonof Man.
1. If you would be tried by the first judgment; are you electedor no? Do you
believe in Christ?
2. If by the second, are you justified or no? Do you find comfortin the Word
and sacraments ofChrist?
3. If by the third, do you expecta glorification? Are you so reconciledto Jesus
Christ now that you durst say now, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus"?then you
are partakers ofall that blessedness whichthe Father intended for you when,
for your sake,He committed all judgment to the Son.
(J. Donne, D. D.)
The Redeemerour Judge
H. Melvill, B. D.
That our Saviour was perfectGod and perfectman is a truth which cannot be
denied and Christianity not fall to the ground. But this very combination will
cause apparent inconsistenciesin the way in which He is spokenof. And it
should be remembered that what holds goodof Him in one capacitymay be
inapplicable to Him in another. As God judgment could not be committed to
Him. He had it by Divine necessityand right. But it is as Mediator, a Being in
which the two natures combine, that He is entrusted with the authority as
Judge.
I. HE WILL JUDGE AT THE LAST DAY. What are the qualifications
requisite for such an office?
1. Obviously no mere creature can fulfil that function. There must be
acquaintance with secreciesofcharacteras wellas open actions. Hypocrisy
must not pass undetected, nor unobtrusive merit fail of recompense. Angels

cannot be judges of human character, nor possessthemselves ofall the
necessaryevidence. Omniscience alone willsuffice.
2. But if we cannot approachan angelic judge with confidence, how approach
omniscient Deity? A createdjudge is immeasurably nearer than the Creator,
though of a different nature.
3. You ask, therefore, forone who shall have a thorough fellow feeling with
those brought to his bar, i.e., a man. But how canyou hope to have a man
who, qualified by sympathy, should yet possess the qualification of
omniscience?
4. This combination, however, does exist. A man sits on that "greatwhite
throne," "bone of our bone," but God to whom all things are nakedand open.
II. HE JUDGES NOW, forall judgment is committed to Him.
1. To this we are indebted for that tenderness which characterizesGod's
present judgments. Afflictions are not allowedto come together; "the rough
wind" is restrainedtill "the eastwind" has passedaway. Chastisementis very
different conceivedas inflicted by God and inflicted by the Mediator.
2. If this be so how heavy will be the final judgment! There will be no pleading
that our case wasnot thoroughly understood. All along we have been drawn
by the cords of a man; then the impenitent will be judged by the Man who
died for them and tried by every possible means to turn them from enemies
into friends. His presence itselfwill condemn, and they will call to the rocks,
etc., to hide them from not the thunderbolts of avenging Deity, but from the
face of Him who became man for their salvation. Anything might be better
borne than the glance of this face so eloquent of rejectedmercies.
(H. Melvill, B. D.)
The judgment
W. H. Van Doren, D. D.
Men will have views very different from what they now have.

I. THE MISER will see a life spent in gathering gold with terror.
II. THE AMBITIOUS will wonder that he could barter his soulfor office.
III. THE SENSUALIST will dread to review his luxury and lewdness.
IV. THE SOPHIST will argue no more againstDivine truth.
V. THE IMPENITENTwill be amazed at his madness in clinging to his sins.
VI. THE MOCKER will jestno more about sacredthings,
VII. THE PROFANE will howl over the folly that resulted God.
(W. H. Van Doren, D. D.)
The judgment will be searching
Thomas Larkham.
I will tell you a dream of one of quality, related to myself by the dreamer
himself. Said he, "I dreamed the day of judgment was come, and all men
appearedbefore Christ. Some were white, others spotted. Methought," said
he, "I was all white, saving that I had one black spot upon my breast, which I
coveredwith my hand. Upon the separationof these two sorts I gotamong the
white on the right band. Glad was I; but at last a narrow searchwas made,
and one came and plucked away my hand from my breast; then appearedmy
spot, and I was thrust away among the spotted ones."
(Thomas Larkham.)
That all men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father. —
Equal honour to be paid to the Fatherand to the Son
J. W. Burn.
I. WHY?

1. Becausethe perfections of the Fatherare those of the Son (ver. 26).
Omnipotence, Omnipresence, Omniscience, Holiness, Love, etc.
2. Becausethe works of the Father are those of the Son(ver. 19). Creation,
Providence, Redemption, Resurrection.
3. Becausethe administration of the Father is that of the Son (ver. 22).(1)Now
over kingdoms, cities, families, individuals.(2) At the greatday.
4. Becauseit is the specialdesire of both the Father and the Son.(1)Of the
Father, because on the honour of the Son the whole blessedness ofthe
universe is centred.(2)Of the Son, because the Father is only honoured
through the Son. God was not honoured in Judaism, witness its lapses into
idolatry and its ultimate formalism; nor by Mohammedanism, witness its
cruelty and licentiousness;nor in heathenism, where He is not known at all;
nor by Deism, as proved by its development into agnosticismand atheism.
Only in Christendom is God honoured, because Christis honoured.
II. How?
1. By admiring the perfections of the Divine Son. "The chiefestamong ten
thousand," etc.
2. By acknowledgingthe services ofthe Divine Son. We are His because He
made, preserved, and redeemedus; therefore we should glorify Him as our
Master, Friend, Saviour.
3. By co-operating with the rule of the Divine Son.
(1)By obeying it ourselves.
(2)By securing its recognitionin others.
4. By making the Supreme desire in the universe the masterpassionand
motive of our souls;doing all things with the one aim of securing the honour
of the Son and of the Father through Him.
III. Where?
1. At home.

(1)In secretprayer. This will test the purity and constancyof our motive.
(2)In our families, bringing them up to honour Christ by reverencing His
name, word, and ordinances.
2. In the sanctuary.
(1)By attentively listening to the Word.
(2)By regular attendance at His table.
(3)By heartiness in His worship.
3. In the world eschewing allbusiness, amusements, etc., likely to bring
dishonour on Him.
(J. W. Burn.)
He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father
W. H. Van Doren, D. D.
Amphilochus, Bishop of Iconium, entered the palace of Theodosius, and
bowed to the Emperor, but not to Arcadius his son. The Emperor reminding
him of his neglect, the good man still refused, and on his showing great
displeasure, Amphilochus replied, "O king, how much more will Jehovah
abhor those rejecting His Son!"
(W. H. Van Doren, D. D.)
Christ's demand of a man
NapoleonI.
Across a chasmof eighteenhundred years Jesus Christ makes a demand
which is beyond all others difficult to satisfy. He asks that for which a
philosopher may often seek in vain at the hands of his friends, or a father of
his children, or a bride of her spouse, ora man of his brother. He asks forthe

human heart; He will have it entirely to Himself; He demands it
unconditionally; and forthwith His demand is granted.
(NapoleonI.)
Christ claims Divine honours
H. W. Beecher.
"And they worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalemwith greatjoy." Did
they sin in worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ? After their long careerof
intimacy, did love to such a being, who had exhausted the symbolism of life to
express His life-giving relations to them; with every conceivable incitement,
reverence, and worship; with love, wonder, joy, and gratitude kindling their
imaginations towards Him; without a solitary word of caution lestthey should
be snared by their en- thusiasm, and bestow upon Him the worship that
belongedonly to God — did they sin in worshipping Him? If they did, was not
Christ Himself the tempter? If they did not, may not every living soul worship
Him?
(H. W. Beecher.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(20) Forthe Father loveth the Son.—Do mendeny His divinity? God is His
Father. There is, therefore, oneness of essence.The unity of His work with
God’s work has for its basis the Eternal Love, which showethto the Sonall
that the Father doeth. As the relation of Son implies moral inability to do
anything apart from the Father, so the relation of Father implies moral
necessityto impart all to the Son.

Greaterworks than these.—The works whichHe had done could only be
explained by the unity of His work with that of the Father; but in the
development of His own human nature and His mediatorial work, there will
be shown to Him, and He will show to man by doing them in their midst,
works of which these are but as the first signs. The “ye” is emphatic, and the
word “marvel” should also be noticed. “Ye who seek to kill Me shall
yourselves see works which, againstyour will, shall be wonders to you; but
againstyour will they cannot be signs. Ye will marvel, but ye will not believe!”
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
5:17-23 The Divine power of the miracle proved Jesus to be the Son of God,
and he declaredthat he workedwith, and like unto his Father, as he saw good.
These ancientenemies of Christ understood him, and became more violent,
charging him not only with sabbath-breaking, but blasphemy, in calling God
his ownFather, and making himself equal with God. But all things now, and
at the final judgment, are committed to the Son, purposely that all men might
honour the Son, as they honour the Father; and every one who does not thus
honour the Son, whateverhe may think or pretend, does not honour the
Father who sent him.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
The Fatherloveth the Son - This authority he traces to the love which the
Father has for him - that special, ineffable, infinite love which God has for his
only-begotten Son, feebly and dimly illustrated by the love which an earthly
parent has for an only child.
Showethhim - Makes him acquainted with. Concealsnothing from him. From
apostles, prophets, and philosophers no small part of the doings of God are
concealed. Fromthe "Son" nothing is. And as God shows him "all" that he
does, he must be possessedofomniscience, forto no finite mind could be
imparted a knowledge of"all" the works of God.
Will show him - Will appoint and direct him to do greaterworks than these.

Greaterworks than these - Than healing the impotent man, and commanding
him to carry his bed on the Sabbath day. The greaterworks to which he refers
are those which he proceeds to specify - he will raise the dead and judge the
world, etc.
May marvel - May wonder, or be amazed.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
20. Father loveth … and showethhim all, &c.—As love has no concealments,
so it results from the perfectfellowship and mutual endearment of the Father
and the Son (see on [1782]Joh1:1; [1783]Joh1:18), whose interests are one,
even as their nature, that the Father communicates to the Son all His counsels,
and what has been thus shown to the Son is by Him executedin His
mediatorial character. "With the Father, doing is willing; it is only the Son
who acts in Time" [Alford]. Three things here are clear: (1) The personal
distinctions in the Godhead. (2) Unity of actionamong the Persons results
from unity of nature. (3) Their oneness of interestis no unconscious or
involuntary thing, but a thing of glorious consciousness, will, and love, of
which the Persons themselves are the proper Objects.
show him greaterthings, &c.—referring to what He goes onto mention (Joh
5:21-31), comprisedin two greatwords, Life and Judgment, which Stier
beautifully calls God's Regalia. Yetthese, Christ says, the Fatherand He do in
common.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
For the Father loveth the Son; both as his Sonby eternalgeneration, Matthew
3:17, and also as the Messiahsentby him into the world, to finish the work the
Father had given him to do: and look, as a father will make his sonacquainted
with all that he doth; and not only so, but communicates all his power and
skill to his son, so far as he can: so the Father communicates all his power to
the Son, working all things in him, and by him; and he will in and by him
work greaterthings than this, healing this poor man; he will by him raise the
dead, &c.

That ye may marvel: Christ knew that they would not believe, and all the
effectthat his miracles had upon the generality of the Jews, was but causing in
them a stupefaction, amazement, and admiration, as John 11:47; whereas it
was their duty, not only to marvel, but to have believed also, without which
their admiration did but cause that they had no cloak for their sin.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
For the Father loveth the Son,.... As being his Son, his image, the brightness of
his glory, and the express image of his person;as being of the same nature,
and having the same perfections, and so equal to him; See Gill on John 3:35;
and showethhim all things that himself doth; not as if he was ignorant of
them, since he lies in the bosomof his Father, is the wisdom of God, is the
omniscient God, that knows all things; not only all things in men, but all
things in God, even the deep things of God: but this is said of the Father, as
consulting with him, communicating his designs to him, as his equal; doing
nothing without him, as he never did in the works ofnature, or of grace:he
drew the plan of peace, reconciliation, and salvationin him; he made the
worlds by him; and he does nothing in the government of the world without
him; and indeed he shows him all things he does, by doing all things; and by
him he shows himself, and his works, to men:
and he will show him greaterworks than these, or he will do greaterworks by
him than these:either than the works of creation;namely, the redemption of
the elect, the justification of their persons by his righteousness, andpardon of
their sins through his blood, and the regenerationand conversionof them by
his Spirit and grace;either of which is a greaterwork than the making of the
world: or greaterthan he has done under the Old Testamentdispensation;
than the redeeming of Israel out of Egypt, leading them through the
wilderness, and settling them in the land of Canaan;giving them the law, the
statutes, and ordinances of God, and working miracles among them: for the
redemption of God's people, by Christ, from sin, Satan, the world, the law,
death, and hell, the publishing of the Gospel, the effusion of the Spirit, and
setting up of the Gospeldispensation, are greaterworks than these; and more
and greatermiracles were wrought by Christ than by Moses,orany prophet

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