S. JOHN.

CHAPTER I.

The Divinity and Incarnation of Christ. John bears witness of him. He begins to call his disciples.

1. In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud DEUM, et DEUS erat Verbum.

2. Hoc erat in principio apud DEUM.

I. 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word 'was 'with God, and the Word was God. 2. The same was in the beginning with God.

God the Father from eternity understood and knew Himself, this knowledge, conception, or Word was equal to Himself, it was not outside but it was distinct from Himself, whose understanding was distinct from the same thing understood. Both equal, and seeing and knowing the beauty and glory possessed in common, loved each other with a mutual love equal to their worth; this was distinct again from the loving principle in each, and a person. This process must have been always; but we, on account of our limited understanding, are obliged to make our own order. This is some notion of the Holy Trinity.

S. John begins where the other Evangelists stopped. They frequently gave hints and showed works, and wrote words in all which we could come to the knowledge of His Divinity, but S. John starts with it and then goes on to show the work of the Incarnation and Redemption.

The Word was eternal, was distinct from the Father and was God. From eternity Father and Son were distinct and One.

This is a summary of the two verses.

In the beginning.-In the beginning form the first words of the Book of Genesis. They have the same meaning here. Beginning with the

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creation, our knowledge of things lets us know that Jesus Christ was existing before anything was created, therefore He is uncreated.

The Word.-Many say that Aoyoc was borrowed from the Platonic philosophy, or Philo, the Jew. Their word is a created thing distinct from, but inferior to God. It is the VERBUM ÆTERNUM VERBO Domini cæli firmati sunt. The divine person to whom creation is attributed.

Was.-The erat here is very appropriate. It is against the bare est of the Arians, and the fuit of other heretics.

4With God. This shows a distinction between the Two Persons. No one would be said to be with himself, except in French, and then it means he is at home, chez lui.

The Word was God.-This is the grand assertion of Our Lord's Divinity. S. John points out that He has all the attributes of God. He is eternal, uncreated, and in the verses following he points out His Omnipotence.

Otoç is here without the article; but, as P. Corluy observes, "hic supponit pro natura divina . . . . articulum congrue ponere non poterat." Besides the coç here is put in the place of the subject, although it is the real predicate in the proposition Θέος ἦν ἤ Λόγος.

The same. There is more than a mere repetition of the assertion already made here: It is suggestive of that mutual society of the Persons which formed what we understand by love and happiness.

S. John, having briefly given us the Generation of the Divine Word, proceeds at once to Creation and Sanctification. Everything, visible and invisible, was created by God, the Trinity, but through the Son, i.e., He created absolutely, not as a principium but a principiatum.

The Universe-Omnia-was the first thing. It had to be beautified with living things then, and after that other living things were to be created capable of knowing and loving God. Angels were created and the light given them was not received. Man was created then and the light was not received.

The light then was the grace or power of knowing what would help one in the time of trial to secure life eternal by being faithful. Angels had fallen, and so had man.

The Son of God then is the light of the world. In Him is the grace and power to sanctify us and make us worthy of that life which is ever happy. He was a Redeemer by his foreseen merits even before the Incarnation. For this was in the Council of the Trinity: "Let us make man to our image and likeness," (Gen. i., 26.) That bright image had become obscured; where light shone out once darkness now prevailed. The Son of God then said, behold I come to remove the darkness of sin.

1All things.-There is no exception whatever. The highest angel as well as the meanest zoophyte, the largest sphere as well as the minutest atom. Created would be a more correct rendering of the Greek than made, except we take make to include both.

By Him.-Through Him might be more correct, only that by may show Him to have absolute power to make as He will.

3Without Him.-To none of the other Divine persons is the creative power attributed. The Holy Ghost sanctifies as His attribute.

Nothing.-Nihil is not a good translation of the Greek word hereovò 'ev-no thing, in English, is pretty near it. This nihil made the Manicheans think God created a bad principle, and S. Augustine was led into including there the permission to sin. It is simply showing the dependence of all created or contingent things upon God's creative power.

"Life. What was this life? Many opinions were given, but the sanctifying principle is the one chiefly adopted. Some of the Fathers adopt natural life, but this is not received.

"Light.-Man was created not for this natural life but for life eternal. The light to see this comes from faith.