THE WAY OF LIFE (3)
THE WAY OF LIFE (3)
JT It may be remarked that there are really two signs in the sixth chapter, and both fit in with the light vouchsafed there. That is, the Lord feeding the multitude, and walking on the water. And I think Peter’s answer to the Lord as recorded in that chapter serves to indicate the progress made. In chapter 5, the miracle at the pool of Bethesda involved the word of Christ, but Peter speaks about words; “thou hast words of life eternal”. The fifth and sixth chapters involve the mind, or understanding, of the believer; that he takes in the expression of the thing.
RSS What is the distinction between word and words?
JT His word is general; “He that hears my word” John 5:24 — what He said in its general feature. But the Lord said, “Arise, take up thy couch and walk”, John 5:8 and “Sin no more”. Here we have the expression of His authority. The sixth chapter brings forward one who has been attracted by His words. As usual with John, he brings in evidences of what effect is being produced by the ministry, as much as to say, This is a result of what has been effected. So the Lord says, “Will ye also go away?” and the reply is by Peter, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast words of life eternal; and we have believed and known that thou art the Holy One of God”, John 6: 68, 69. Peter says, “We have believed and known” — showing how the disciples were progressing in faith and intelligence.
PL Are the words appreciated in the light of the Person by Peter, while the word is rather taken account of authoritatively in relation to one’s own need?
JT [p. 392] Yes, word is general, but when I use the expression words I indicate that I have been analysing, I have been taking account of things in detail.
AFM That is to say, Peter had been taking into account what the Lord had said in respect to the living bread, eating His flesh and drinking His blood; all connected with the great truth of life of eternal life?
EHT Would you say the first is more a command and the second a communication?
JT Yes, and emphasis is more laid on what is expressed, what is conveyed. I think chapter 5 conveys authority — the word and voice of the Son of God.
FL Word implies the whole range of things more; “words” that which is specifically formulated and taken account of in that way.
JT The Lord is said to be “the Word of life” 1 John 1:1 — that is, the general expression of it. “Words of life eternal” indicate that the thing can be taken account of in detail.
RSS Is there not a sense in which word is used to imply revelation? For instance, in chapter 17 it says, “Sanctify them by thy truth; thy word is truth”. How does that fit in with what you are saying?
JT That would be the Father’s word, the expression of the Father. I think it is revelation, but revelation of His mind, rather; word expresses the mind.
FL Christ Himself is presented as the Word of God. He sets forth the whole scope of the divine mind.
JT Quite. Revelation, however, is a little fuller, because it involves what is seen. “No one has seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” John 1:18; and so, “Have I been so long time with you,
[p. 393] and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father”, John 14:9. That is to say, there is what is seen and heard. The word refers to what is heard.
The two signs, in chapter 6 bring in the thought of food and sympathy. The Lord went up into the mountain alone, it says, and they set out in the boat. The distance they rowed is given. John, as in other instances, not giving it accurately; “about” he says. That is, general account is taken of the distance rowed; and the Lord walks on the sea, “coming near the ship”. He had gone on high, and at the time of need drew near and joined the disciples. First there is food, and then the sympathy and support that flow from His position on high. All this furnishes the counterpart of chapter 5. I am governed by the word and authority of Christ, then I need support. I think the sixth chapter gives the support that sustains me in the light of the fifth.
FL In chapter 5 you get the pool, which is stagnant and without peril, as we may say. What we get in the sixth chapter is very different. When Christ went to the mountain and when the disciples set out we find there is tempestuous water. We find there is keen opposition.
JT An angel disturbed the pool; evidently it was within divine control, but the lake was exposed to satanic control and agitation, which is a very different matter.
PL But there is a Priest to nullify the workings of the anti-priest. The scene of the enemy’s fury becomes the place where the Lord’s service is proved.
JT His sympathy and power. His priestly word is, “It is I: be not afraid”. This is from Him as having gone on high.
FL Having ascended up on high, He has led captivity captive; He shows that captivity is captive [p. 394] here.
JT Quite; He is completely superior to the power of evil. His sympathetic word, “Be not afraid”, allays their apprehensions, and so “they were willing therefore to receive him into the ship; and immediately the ship was at the land to which they went”. We reach our desired haven when the Lord joins us.
WB-s It has been pointed out that in the first sign we have the natural, in the second the social, and in the third the religious side. Now what is covered in this sixth chapter?
JT It is the food question. That is a most important question. I must understand that I am not to rely on the natural food supply. It has been emphasised, especially of late years; in the world, and is still. But there is more than food supply: there is the victory of Christ on our behalf. All is leading up to the seventh and eighth chapters, which, I think, involve individual testimony. That is, the Spirit here from Christ glorified (John 7), and sonship (John 8). On these hang the great principle of following Christ. He says, “I am the light of the world; he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life”, John 8:12.
AFM Referring again to chapter 6, the Lord evidently approached at the right time. This “twenty-five or thirty stadia”, as the Spirit of God has recorded it, is interesting. It is measured, and so our testings in the conflict are all measured by the Lord, and at the right moment He steps in and grants relief and victory.
JT Quite; and I think that emphasises the thought of His sympathy. He would join them so that they should reach their desired haven.
RSS You spoke about the work of God in the middle of the sixth chapter; then you get the works of God in the beginning of the ninth.
JT The Lord maintains the link. He does [p. 395] not let go the thought of the work of God. “Work not for the food which perishes, but for the food which abides unto life eternal, which the Son of man shall give to you; for him has the Father sealed, even God”. Life was in that. “They said therefore to him, What should we do that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he has sent”. That was the work of God, therefore, if in their souls, it was a question of faith. I have to take account of the believer as taken up so that God might show His works in him.
JMcK The handiwork of God is in the believer.
JT When you come to one believer in John 9 then you have something in which God can manifest His works; “that the works of God should be manifested in him”. He did not sin, nor his parents, his blindness was that the works of God might be manifested in him. That is, in man God works according to what He is in His nature. We do not see this in the material system, wonderful as it is, but the works of God, involving His nature, are seen in man. Divine wisdom and power are seen in the physical creation, but believers are the workmanship of His love.
RSS The works of God have a large place in John. In the fifth chapter the Lord says, when they found fault with Him for healing the man on the sabbath day, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work”, John 5:17 which, I suppose, refers to men’s souls. This work began immediately when sin came in.
JT Yes, the work was finished from the foundation of the world: that is, material things, but the work that brings out what God is Himself in His nature is in man. Indeed it was indicated in the formation of Adam. The detailed account of the formation of Adam and Eve comes after the reference [p. 396] to the sabbath in Genesis 2, but sin having come in (Genesis 3), God began to work again, and first, to make clothes for Adam and Eve.
RSS It is remarkable, all that comes out in connection with the sabbath, showing that the Jews had broken God’s sabbath, although they were professing to keep it.
JT As you remarked, this subject of God’s work is introduced in the fifth chapter. “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work”, and the Lord goes on to show the nature of the work; “For even as the Father raises the dead and quickens them, thus the Son also quickens whom he will”, John 5:21.
WB-s In Psalm 19 we have creation. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handywork”, Psalm 19:1 but in the latter section of the psalm, we have, “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul” Psalm 19:7: this is in regard to man; the first part is the work of God in creation, but the latter is greater than the former.
JT So of man, it is said, “fearfully and wonderfully made”. See Psalm 139: 15, 16.
ST John 3: 21, says, “He that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God”. What is the significance of that — “wrought in God”?
JT It is in line with what we have been saying, only the works of one who doeth truth are in question. These are wrought in, or in relation to God.
AFM Does chapter 9 give us a kind of epitome of the works of God in man, beginning with the clay and ending with his confession of who Jesus was?
JT I think it does. In it the believer is viewed as the subject of the work of God, so that it may be seen; “That the works of God should be manifested in him”. And, as our brother remarks, the works of such an one would be in God. He would not think of his own exploits, like Nebuchadnezzar, who said,
“[p. 397] Is not this great Babylon that I have built?” Daniel 4:30 “He that doeth truth cometh to the light”, John 3:21 not that he may be in display, but “that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God”.
ST God is the source.
JT Yes, quite.
JB Do you not think ofttimes we lose by being occupied more with the results of the miracles than with the Person who works them?
JT Yes, the testimony, however, is to the works of God; “that the works of God should be manifested”. We cannot detract from the Lord by making much of what He does. Our knowledge of Him is enhanced thereby.
RLC Is there not a holy intelligence on the part of this man? “Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind?” He is intelligent; he recognises God’s work.
EHT I was wondering why these people should introduce sin here; the Lord does not connect the man’s blindness with sin, does He?
JT No. God orders all things in wisdom, and what He orders is to unfold what He is Himself. In this chapter it is no question of man’s responsibility at all, but God allowing things to happen so that He might manifest His works. His eternal power and divinity are seen in the material things that are made. He wrought by weight and measure, but the work in men involves a moral process. The result is a wholly new creation, but it is, save as to his body, through a moral process in the believer. Through this the believer is brought into accord with Christ, who is the pattern God has before Him.
FL The man is a sample of all the divine work in connection with us, and the ultimate end reached, which is really the full-grown man in the knowledge of the Son of God. What should exercise us all is,
[p. 398] that we are brought along the same line in order that the works of God might be manifested in us. It is set out in this way; it is isolated, so to speak, as being true in principle, of every one in whom there is a work of God.
JT He is just a sample man. This gospel is constructive in what it presents, and here we arrive at the believer as the subject in which God manifests His works. There is nothing to be compared with man. That is the top-stone of God’s workmanship. It was on the last day (creation was finished in him) that God said, “Let us make man in our image”, Genesis 1:26. That was a great proposal. God Himself says “in our image, after our likeness”. Well, there you have the original workmanship; but here, alas!, that is all a wreck. No doubt the original outline remained, but the work had to be done all over again; the result desired was to be effected by the introduction and application of moral features, which had already been expressed in Christ. First, Christ incarnate is presented to the man in John 9, and then obedience — “sent”. The end in view was wonderful: here is a lonely man outwardly, and he is taken as he was. This man did not sin and his parents did not sin to cause his blindness. He is blind because God would exhibit His works in him.
RSS And it is not only moral, but you might say beyond that. It would speak of our house that is from heaven, being, as we may say, physical. So whether it is spirit, soul or body it has all to be remade.
JMcK God has examples of His handiwork all around us here in that way. Take Saul of Tarsus, he was a great example of it.
JT We often speak of the millennium: the best way to arrive at it is to take account of the ways and work of God with yourself, as a Christian. The principle on which the millennium will be established [p. 399] is the same as that on which I am brought in and set up for God.
JB He will carry out universally in the millennium the work He is now carrying out in us.
JT Take a believer; take Saul, who became the model Christian, as our brother remarked: he is subdued. Subjection is the principle of the kingdom now and, of course, it will also mark the millennium. Then he is baptised and gets the Holy Spirit. The washing of regeneration, as applied to the millennial scene, is just the same as baptism. Saul is told, “Be baptised, and wash away thy sins”. There is the public washing away; his whole past is wiped out in that sense. Further, he receives the Holy Spirit, and he is thus set up here for God. Well, there is the millennium, that is, in the principle of it — subjugation, washing away of sins, and the Holy Spirit in (or upon, in the coming day) the man, so that he is now for God. And all that is in the vessel in which he did his own will, in the flesh-and-blood condition. In the world to come, it is true, death will be removed, but this is also true, in a sense, of the believer now. Those on the earth during the millennium will be in the flesh-and-blood condition. The heavenly side of the millennium is also true of the Christian, for in the power of the Spirit he has an outlet from time limitations in eternal heavenly blessedness.
FL So, “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”, Romans 14:17 which are really the elements of the coming age made effectual now.
JT The body of the believer is still liable to death and decay, but in as far as the principle is concerned it is the same thing — the will of God and the glory of God maintained in vessels here in flesh and blood. That is what God brings about while death and Satan’s power still exist outwardly in this world. It is a great triumph.
ST The man here had become “of age”; he could answer for himself.
JT Yes, that is in keeping with John. He gives examples of maturity, as the fruit of the work of God.
WB-s What is the difference between “the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit”, as in Titus (Titus 3:5)?
JT One for us is baptism and the other is the gift of the Spirit. Of course, the word ‘renewing’ is to be noted; not simply the gift of the Spirit but the renewing, “which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour”, Titus 3:6.
FL We get a perfect moral order which has to be followed in the souls of all of us in this sample man here. His first apprehension is of Jesus, then it is of Christ, and then it is Lord, and then it is Son of God. It is a perfect moral order that we should apprehend if we are to come to the unity of the faith, the knowledge of the Son of God; the full-grown man. Do you not think all that is set out in him?
JT Yes, and the one sent to Siloam shows, I think, that the works of God are in connection with obedience, which is a moral feature. In the works of God in the material world this is not seen, although everything responded to His word. “He spake and it was done; he commanded and it stood fast”, Psalm 33:9. In man there is an intelligent response, in correspondence with the work of God.
RSS As the sent One of God?
JT Yes, the works of God are in that connection. He comes into the world as sent — “whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world”, John 10:36.
WB-s Would you say a little on the way the man got his sight?
JT I think the next thing is the Lord coming [p. 401] in in that way. It made man darker. His humanity was a veil; it was His flesh; but He made clay out of spittle (that is the expression of it) and put it on the man’s eyes. That, as I said, would make him more blind, but the work of God was there and so the man obeys the Lord’s word and goes to Siloam, “which is interpreted Sent”. Thus recovery is through obedience. That is the principle on which God works. The Lord says to the blind man, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam”, and then the Spirit says, “which is interpreted, Sent”. Going down to the pool, he is in accord with Christ. That is the thing to get hold of. The work of God is not manifest in us while our own wills are active. We are sanctified unto the obedience of Jesus Christ; 1 Peter 1: 2.
FL We have touched on a very important point, well worthy of our consideration, that the moral universe is based on obedience, which the physical universe could not be, and I was thinking how the Lord Himself strikes the keynote of that when He comes in and says: “Lo, I come (in the roll of the book it is written of me) to do, O God, thy will”, Hebrews 10:7. That is, He supplies the motive which underlies the moral universe. That is a great thought you brought out.
JT The effect of the work of God in a man’s soul is to bring him into accord with Christ. Christ is the Pattern for the moral system, in which the works of God are seen.
RSS In line with what you are saying, I believe the Lord either speaks of Himself, or is spoken of, in the gospel of John as the sent One over forty times.
JT That indicates a leading feature of it. The Spirit says, He went therefore. That is the point. “Therefore” refers to the Lord’s words; “and washed, and came seeing”. He went and came. Then it says, “The neighbours therefore, and those who used to see him before, that he was a beggar,
[p. 402] said, Is not this he that was sitting and begging? Some said, It is he; others said, No, but he is like him: he said, It is I”. There you have a man able to speak for himself. That is the next thing with a man who has had his eyes opened. He had been to Siloam; he is, so far, in accord with Christ.
EHT You get obedience and worship in this man. He obeys the Lord and then in the end he worships Him.
JT Then it says, “They said therefore to him, How have thine eyes been opened?” The man now is questioned. He has to give an account of things, and that is what the Lord intended. “How have thine eyes been opened? He answered and said, A man called Jesus” (he could say that much) “made mud and anointed mine eyes, and said to me, Go to Siloam and wash: and having gone and washed, I saw”. He goes over the thing, showing that he took in at least what the Lord meant to that extent. Then it says, “They said therefore to him, Where is he? He says, I do not know. They bring him who was before blind to the Pharisees”. Now he has to go through more searching inquiry. “Now it was sabbath when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. The Pharisees, therefore, also again asked him how he received his sight. And he said to them, He put mud upon mine eyes, and I washed, and I see. Some of the Pharisees therefore said, This man is not of God, for he does not keep the sabbath. Others said, How can a sinful man perform such signs? And there was a division among them. They said therefore again to the blind man, What dost thou say of him, that he has opened thine eyes? And he said, He is a prophet”. He had come to that. He had progressed.
FL The great majority of believers about us reach only as far as, “A Man called Jesus”: when the question comes, “Where is he?” they cannot [p. 403] tell. It is a great service to enlighten them as to where He is.
JT But the Lord allows the man to be knocked about with this kind of questioning. It is often so with believers, but presently light comes in. The work of God answers for itself. God knows the extent of it in each of us, and so allows circumstances to bring it out according to its measure.
RSS It was the best thing that could have happened to this man.
JT Yes, it brought out what was inside. He says, “He is a Prophet”. Well, that was a fine result. It was the effect of the work of God. The more you knock it about the more it is manifest.
PL And the expression of those works comes to light in the appreciation of the Person, does it not? The designations employed as to the Lord in this gospel indicate how He was appreciated by believers. This is the effect of the work of God.
JT This man is taken up specially in regard to the works of God. Opposition is allowed to develop, and this only brings out increasing light and moral power and courage in the man. No outward aid or protection are afforded him; the point was to allow the work of God in him to show itself.
AFM When does he become of age?
JT It says “He is of age”. I do not think God would allow a believer to be in such circumstances not qualified for them. According to the epistle of John the work of God gives an account of itself. “He that has been begotten of God keeps himself”, 1 John 5:18. If the Lord had kept this man under His wing the work of God would not have come out in the same way, but the Lord does not intervene. They can question, rebuke, revile him, but this only brings out all the more the greatness of the work in him. The greater the pressure the more the effect of the work of God is seen.
AFM [p. 404] I thought as you were emphasising obedience a little earlier, the thought of the sent One, that, possibly, as obedient to the word of Christ, he would receive the Spirit (although, of course, it is not found here), and in virtue of having received the Spirit he would be “of age” and so competent to meet every difficulty and answer every question.
FL Do you not think we get set out in this sample man the full way in which he is transformed? He starts out as a babe, becomes a young man, and finally is a father, for he reached the Son of God. So, while in the epistle of John we would expect the steps to take considerable time, here in this sample man it is worked out without any relevancy to time.
HG In connection with the millennium you were saying the question is being worked out now individually in our souls, and I was wondering if the result is that this man reaches the full light of the Son of God — “the perfect day”, Proverbs 4:18.
JT What is presented is the perfect result, normally, of the light as far as the man had gone. It suggests to me what I think most important, that we should take account of the work of God in each other abstractly. Much might have intervened in the way of fleshly feeling in the man, but it is not recorded. The Spirit of God is occupying us with the works of God, and it is peculiar to John that believers can be trusted. They can be “let go”; they may be buffeted about, but the work of God is sure to be true to itself, and the more it is placed under pressure the more it shines.
JMcK They use all kinds of tactics with this man.
JT The Lord says, “Ye shall have tribulation ten days”, Revelation 2:10. He knew what they were capable of. We wonder why the Lord does not protect us in [p. 405] this and that. We do not realise what is in us; believers are the subjects of the work of God and the works of God are to be manifest in them. If I see that, I can understand why God allows many extraordinary things to happen. “We who live are always delivered unto death on account of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus, may be manifest in our mortal flesh”, 2 Corinthians 4:11.
JB You have here the evidences of vitality, which cannot be overthrown.
JMcK In connection with what you were remarking, that the works of God may be manifest, there is no request on the part of the man that he might see. The Lord simply anoints his eyes and says, “Go to the pool”. The man is unquestioning, and in the hands of the Son of God, to work out the works of God.
JT He says, “I see”. He does not deny anything. “They say therefore again to the blind man, What dost thou say of him, that he has opened thine eyes? And he said, He is a prophet. The Jews therefore did not believe concerning him that he was blind and had received sight, until they had called the parents of him that had received sight”. It would not do for John that the parents should answer. They could answer for the natural relationship; they did not hide that, but “how he now sees we do not know, or who has opened his eyes we do not know”. Ask him. “He” is emphasised, and “him” is emphasised. That is, the mind is focused on the person that is to be the manifestation of the works of God. “He is of age; ask him; he will speak concerning himself”. Some say, Well, you must never speak about yourself, but that is not true. Like the apostle, one can say, “By the grace of God I am what I am”, 1 Corinthians 15:10.
Ques What is involved in the works of God being manifested?
[p. 406] JT Testimony to the works of God. This man, who is the subject of the work of God, “will speak concerning himself”.
FL This man individually provides witness of the intent of the gospel. The signs were written, “that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life in his name”, John 20:31. The principle is worked out in him individually so you cannot mistake it.
JT Quite; the further result is: “They called therefore a second time the man who had been blind, and said to him, Give glory to God: we know that this Man is sinful. He answered therefore, If he is sinful I know not. One thing I know, that, being blind, before, now I see. And they said to him again, What did he do to thee? How opened he thine eyes? He answered them, I told you already and ye did not hear”.
GAT He was now exposing them.
JT They were cavilling. The work of God is proving itself before their eyes, and they are too proud and hardened to discern the great testimony God had given them.
GWH He is moving rapidly now, even applying the truth to his questioners.
JMcK They were trying to extinguish his testimony.
JT But the more they did that the more the truth comes out. He is bold now. “Thou art his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses”. The man answered and said to them, “Now in this is a wonderful thing, that ye do not know whence he is, and he has opened mine eyes”. They are now being put in a tight place. He had opened his eyes and they did not know where He came from. That was a serious matter for them, and so he says, “But we know that God does not hear sinners; but if any one be God-fearing and do his will, him he hears. Since [p. 407] time was, it has not been heard that any one opened the eyes of one born blind. If this Man were not of God he would be able to do nothing”. There is a remarkable speech!
JMcK A new follower in the world.
JT And all that is as an outcome of the work of God. He is able to speak logically now, and he condemns them in it, so there is nothing left for them. They must admit what he says or persecute him, and they resort to persecution. It says, “They answered and said to him, Thou hast been wholly born in sins, and thou teachest us? And they cast him out”. He has won the day and that is always true of the work of God. They can cast him out; that is mere physical power; but the man is supreme morally; he has won the day.
JB Is it not greater to be cast out than to go out?
JT It is morally. Now the Lord says, as it were, He has come to the point where I can lead him into the full light of the moment. “Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him, he said to him, Thou, dost thou believe on the Son of God?” There is a new chapter now opening up for the man. The Lord takes him up and says, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” This is new light for him, and the man says, “Who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him?” And Jesus said to him, “Thou hast both seen him, and he that speaks with thee is he”. What a moment for that man! There is the Son of God and an outcast, but an outcast as a victor. Wonderful meeting!
GWH He reached life here.
JT That is the point.
AFM “The way of life is above to the wise”, Proverbs 15:24 as already quoted: it is illustrated in this chapter.
GAT I have always thought the man should have gone out of [p. 408] himself.
JT The next chapter says, that the Lord putteth forth His own sheep and goeth before them. It would be apostasy for him to go out of Judaism at that time. You cannot move out of a position until the Lord moves first, but when they cast him out that was another matter.
GAT I was taking it morally. No one encouraged me to stay in the system.
JT No; because the thing had already been proved to be evil.
PL I was thinking of the expression “with thee”, in verse 37. He had been for the Lord in testimony, and now he comes to all that is involved in the “with”. There is company in life.
JT “An only-begotten with a father” John 1:14 it is a feature of the gospel of John. “There was a man sent from God”, John 1:6 involving that he was with God.
HG In reaching the Son of God is it as the expression of life or as the expression of sonship?
JT I should say both. The epistle of John connects life with the Son of God. Paul, it seems, was the first to announce that Jesus was the Son of God. This incident, I suppose, would link on with that. Now that the Son is known there is a new thing introduced in the next chapter. That is the flock.
HG I thought sonship connected you more with the heavenly position, whereas life I thought was more brought in to meet conditions here.
JT In John the Son of God is here from God, to effect His will — “the Son of God has come”, 1 John 5:20. He is a divine Person, overcoming all opposition and effectuating the will of God; in Him is life; He introduces what is wholly new, as the flock in chapter 10. With Paul the Son of God is the pattern of the heavenly family; we are to be conformed to His image; many sons are being brought to glory [p. 409] through Him.
RSS Does it not involve a Man of another order? “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” When the Lord puts such a question to him, he says, “Who is he, Lord?” Evidently there was a desire in his heart to know such a Man; he knew the sons of men, but now if there is a Man of another order he would like to know Him.
HG Would not verse 33 suggest that ? “If this Man were not of God”.
ST It does not go as far as what Paul said, “When it pleased God to reveal his Son in me”, Galatians 1:16. The Son is not revealed in the man here, is He?
JT No, he is asked to believe on Him. This is the great end desired in this gospel, so that we should have life. In apprehending the Son of God I see that Satan’s power in death has been broken and I have life in His name; John 20: 31.