Bede — Commentary on Scripture | TrulyRandomVerse

On 1 John

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1 John 2:19
For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. Therefore, it must be seen that many who are not of us receive the sacraments of Christ with us. But temptation proves that they are not of us, for when temptation comes to them, like the wind they fly away, because they were not the grain. However, they will all fly away when the Lord's threshing floor begins to be winnowed on the day of judgment. If some indeed go out by sinning but return through repentance, they are not Antichrists, but are proven to be in Christ, if the end of this present life finds them remaining in the Church.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles
1 John 2:19
"They went out from us, but they were not of us. It seemed to be mourned as a loss when we heard: 'They went out from us'; but soon consolation is added, when it is said: 'But they were not of us.' For it is evident that only Antichrists can go out from us, but those who are not opposed to Christ cannot in any way go out; for he who is not opposed to Christ, remains in His body. But there are those who are within the body of the Lord, while the body is still being healed, and perfect health will not be until the resurrection of the dead. They are in the body of Christ as evil humors; when they are vomited out, the body is relieved. So too the wicked, when they go out, the Church is relieved. 'They went out from us,' it says, but, 'do not be sad, they were not of us.' How do you prove it?

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles
1 John 2:19
But so that it may be evident, because not all who are within us are of us. Therefore, by the permission of the Lord, some go out from the Church even before the final winnowing, showing that they were not members of the Church, nor did they belong to the body of Christ, so that it may be clearly manifest that not all who are placed inside with us and receive the sacraments of Christ are of us, but only those who do works worthy of those same sacraments in the unity of the Church of Christ."

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles
1 John 2:20
But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. The spiritual anointing is the Holy Spirit, whose sacrament is in the visible anointing. He says that all who have this anointing of Christ have the ability to discern the good and the evil, and that there is no need for them to be taught those things which the anointing itself teaches. And fittingly, when speaking about the heretics, suddenly turning towards his own listeners, he says that they have the anointing from the Holy One, to show them, by contrast, that the heretics and all Antichrists are deprived of the gift of spiritual grace, and do not pertain to the Lord, who has been accustomed to be called Holy by the prophets, but rather they hold a place among the ministers of Satan, who have nothing of holiness and hold a position of perdition.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles
1 John 2:21
And because every lie is not of the truth. This verse depends on the above, and the sense is: We have not written to you as if you do not know the truth, but as though you know it: and also knowing this, that every lie is not of the truth. Behold, therefore, we are warned how to recognize the Antichrist. Christ says: I am the truth (John 14). But every lie is not from the truth. Therefore, all who lie are not from Christ. He does not say, some lie is from the truth. No one should deceive themselves, let no one delude themselves: every lie is not from the truth.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles
1 John 2:21
I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, etc. For you know the truth of faith and life taught by the anointing of the Spirit, and you do not need to be taught, except that you should persist in what you have begun.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles
1 John 2:22
This is the Antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. With this sentence, he strikes both heretics and especially the Jews, who denying that Jesus is the Son of God, nonetheless claimed to have God as the Father, showing them to confess the Father in vain if they deny the Son. Hence, the Lord himself, cursing them, said: If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here (John 8).

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles
1 John 2:22

Who is the liar, if not he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He had foretold that every lie is not from the truth, but since there are many kinds of lies that are not at all similar, now he sets forth the lie of denial of Christ as singular because this is such a heinous and abominable lie that in comparison to it, other lies either seem small or nonexistent. According to what was said to the sinning Jerusalem: Sodom was justified because of you (Ezekiel 16). This denial is proper to the Jews, that they say Jesus is not the Christ. But even heretics who wrongly believe about Christ deny Jesus is the Christ, because they do not think rightly about Christ; nor do they confess him as such as divine truth teaches, but as their vanity invents. Wicked Catholics also who despise obeying the commands of Christ deny Jesus is the Christ, to whom they do not render the due service of fear or love as to the Son of God but dare to contradict at their will as to a man of no power. Therefore, all these are proved to be liars and Antichrists, that is, contrary to Christ, as the Apostle attests wh…

Who is the liar, if not he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He had foretold that every lie is not from the truth, but since there are many kinds of lies that are not at all similar, now he sets forth the lie of denial of Christ as singular because this is such a heinous and abominable lie that in comparison to it, other lies either seem small or nonexistent. According to what was said to the sinning Jerusalem: Sodom was justified because of you (Ezekiel 16). This denial is proper to the Jews, that they say Jesus is not the Christ. But even heretics who wrongly believe about Christ deny Jesus is the Christ, because they do not think rightly about Christ; nor do they confess him as such as divine truth teaches, but as their vanity invents. Wicked Catholics also who despise obeying the commands of Christ deny Jesus is the Christ, to whom they do not render the due service of fear or love as to the Son of God but dare to contradict at their will as to a man of no power. Therefore, all these are proved to be liars and Antichrists, that is, contrary to Christ, as the Apostle attests who says: They profess to know God, but they deny him by their deeds (Titus 1).

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles
1 John 2:23
Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either, etc. Here he seeks the confession of the heart, the voice, and the work, as Paul sought when he said: And no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit; which is openly to say: No one can, unless by the grace of the Holy Spirit granted, serve the Lord Christ with perfect profession and action.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles
1 John 2:24
That which you have heard from the beginning, let it remain in you, etc. He says, follow with all your heart that faith, those doctrines which you have received from the voice of the apostles from the earliest times of the nascent Church. For these alone are what make you partakers of divine grace. And if anyone says to you, "Behold, here is Christ, behold, there he is," do not believe it. For false prophets will arise, as the Lord foretold (Mark XIII). And you, he says, will remain in the Son and in the Father. He places the Son first, because as the Son himself says: "No one comes to the Father except through the Son" (John XIV); no one will see the glory of divine exaltation except he who is reborn through the sacraments of the humanity which the Son assumed. Or surely he named the Son first and then the Father for the reason that the Arians may not say that the Son should be believed to be lesser than the Father because he has never found to be named before the Father.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles
1 John 2:25
And this is the promise which He Himself promised us, eternal life. As if you were asking for a reward, and you were saying: "Behold me, I keep what I have heard from the beginning, I obey; I endure dangers, labors, temptations, for maintaining this. What will be the fruit, what the reward? What will be given to me afterward?" And this, he says, is the promise which He Himself promised us, eternal life. Let the remembrance of the promised reward make you perseverant in your work.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles
1 John 2:26
These things I have written to you about those who deceive you. By deceivers whom he names, not only are heretics to be understood, who seek to turn away from the faith by wicked doctrine, but also those who, by allurements or by adversities of the world, detract the minds of the weak from the promise of eternal life, either by enticing them evilly or by frightening them.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles
1 John 2:27
But as His anointing teaches you about all things. Deservedly, he added ‘about all things,’ just as in the Gospel the Lord, speaking of the same Spirit to the disciples, says: He will teach you all things (John 14). Because unless the same Spirit is present in the heart of the listener, the speech of the teacher is idle. Therefore, let no one attribute to the human teacher what he understands from the teacher’s mouth, for unless there is One who teaches within, the teacher’s tongue labors in vain externally. Yet, the teacher should not cease to do what he can, according to what Paul says: I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase (1 Corinthians 3).

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles
1 John 2:27
And it is true, and it is not a lie. By frequent repetition, he keenly emphasizes that what he preaches is true and free from all stain of falsehood, in order to restrain those who presume to preach otherwise, and diligently remind us that eternal life cannot be found otherwise than by following that purity of faith and work given by the apostles to the early Church, and by remaining steadfast in following and keeping it until the end of this life. This is similar to what the Apostle Paul says: Let no one deceive you with empty words, because of these the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 5). What is said in another translation: And it is true, and it is not a lie, refers to the previous verse, where it is said: But as His anointing teaches us about all things, signifying that the same anointing is true, that is, the Spirit Himself who teaches humans cannot lie.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles
1 John 2:27
And as he taught you, abide in him. Do not be carried away by various and strange doctrines. In the faith and the tradition which he himself taught, abide in him. For whoever perseveres to the end, he shall be saved (Matt. XXIV).

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles
1 John 2:27
And the anointing which you received from Him, etc. This, he says, with the Lord’s help, strive to ensure that the grace of the Holy Spirit, which you received in baptism, remains whole in your heart and body, according to what the Apostle Paul says: Do not extinguish the Spirit (1 Thess. 5). So it happens that with the Spirit teaching you inwardly, you need less to be taught by the instruction of men from outside. The anointing of which he speaks can be understood as the very love of God, which is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Romans 5), which most swiftly inflames the heart it fills to observe God's commandments.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles
1 John 2:28
And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears, etc. Whoever remains in the Lord amidst the persecutions of the unbelievers, amidst the mockeries of carnal neighbors, has confidence in his coming, knowing that the patience of the poor will not perish at the end. But whoever is ashamed to either offer the other cheek to the one who strikes him or to patiently endure the reproach inflicted by a neighbor, or indeed other such things which the Lord commanded to observe, or certainly fears to publicly profess himself as a Christian in time of persecution, this one, undoubtedly, cannot have confidence at the coming of the Lord, for he has neglected to maintain the confidence of his profession in this life. Rather, he will be ashamed by Him at His coming. Hence it says: Whoever shall be ashamed of me and my words, him the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his glory and that of His Father and of the holy angels (Luke IX).

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles
1 John 2:29

If you know that he is righteous, know that our righteousness is now by faith. Perfect righteousness is found only in angels, and scarcely in angels if compared to God. However, if any perfect righteousness exists in the souls and spirits that God created among the angels and saints, the righteous and the good, who fell by no lapse, were not brought down by pride, but always remained in the contemplation of God's word and found nothing else sweet except the one from whom they were created, in them is perfect righteousness. But in us, it began to be according to the Spirit through faith. Whence the Psalmist says: Begin to the Lord in confession (Psalm 146). He says, begin. The beginning of our righteousness is the confession of sins. You have begun not to defend your sin; you have already started righteousness. It will be perfected in you when you will be pleased to do nothing else. When death is swallowed up in victory, when no desire will titillate, when there will be no struggle with flesh and blood, when there will be the crown of victory, and triumph over the enemy, then there wi…

If you know that he is righteous, know that our righteousness is now by faith. Perfect righteousness is found only in angels, and scarcely in angels if compared to God. However, if any perfect righteousness exists in the souls and spirits that God created among the angels and saints, the righteous and the good, who fell by no lapse, were not brought down by pride, but always remained in the contemplation of God's word and found nothing else sweet except the one from whom they were created, in them is perfect righteousness. But in us, it began to be according to the Spirit through faith. Whence the Psalmist says: Begin to the Lord in confession (Psalm 146). He says, begin. The beginning of our righteousness is the confession of sins. You have begun not to defend your sin; you have already started righteousness. It will be perfected in you when you will be pleased to do nothing else. When death is swallowed up in victory, when no desire will titillate, when there will be no struggle with flesh and blood, when there will be the crown of victory, and triumph over the enemy, then there will be perfect righteousness. Therefore, if you know that he is righteous, he says, know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of him; that is, of Christ. And because he has said, he is born of him, he encourages us now that we are born of him, so that we may be perfect. Listen of course to what follows.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles
1 John 3:1
For this reason, the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. In this place, he calls the lovers of the world. And this is what the same will say in judgment, seeing the glory of the saints whose faith they despised, they will say within themselves, groaning and repenting: These are they whom we once had in derision, and in a likeness of a reproach. We fools considered their life to be madness, and their end without honor. How are they counted among the children of God, and their lot among the saints (Wisdom V)?

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles
1 John 3:2
Dearest, now we are children of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be. And Paul says: For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians III). A faithful one is dead through the extinguishing of the old life which was in sins, and has a new life in Christ through faith, the height of which is not yet visibly apparent to us.

Commentary on the Catholic Epistles