Lecture 3 — Purpose of the Incarnation

^3:16^ For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son; so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [n. 477]

^3:17^ For God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. [n. 482]

^3:18^ He who believes in him is not judged; but whoever does not believe is already judged, because he does not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God. [n. 485]

^3:19^ And this is the judgment: that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness more than the light: for their works were evil. [n. 491]

^3:20^ For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his works may not be reproved. [n. 493]

^3:21^ But he who practices truth comes to the light, so that his works may be made manifest, because they are done in God. [n. 495]

476. Above, the Lord assigned as the cause of spiritual regeneration the coming down of the Son and the lifting up of the Son of man; and he set forth its fruit, which is eternal life (John 3:13–15; C. 3, L. 2). But this fruit seemed unbelievable to men laboring under the necessity of dying. And so now the Lord explains this.

First, he proves the greatness of the fruit from the greatness of God’s love.

Second, he rejects a certain reply, at for God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world.

477. Here we should note that the cause of all our good is the Lord and divine love. For to love is, properly speaking, to will good to someone. Therefore, since the will of God is the cause of things, good comes to us because God loves us. And God’s love is the cause of the good of nature: you love everything which exists (Wis 11:25). It is also the cause of the good which is grace: I have loved you with an everlasting love, and so I have drawn you, i.e., through grace (Jer 31:3). But it is because of his great love that he gives us the good of glory.

So he shows us here, from four standpoints, that this love of God is the greatest. First, from the person of the one loving, because it is God who loves, and immeasurably. So he says, for God so loved; he has loved the people; all the holy ones are in his hand (Deut 33:3). Second, from the condition of the one who is loved, because it is man, a bodily creature of the world, i.e., existing in sin: God shows his love for us, because while we were still his enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son (Rom 5:8). Thus he says, the world. Third, from the greatness of his gifts, for love is shown by a gift; as Gregory says: the proof of love is given by action. (Gregory, Forty Gospel Homilies (CPL 1711), hom. 30, par. 1.) But God has given us the greatest of gifts, his only begotten Son, and so he says, that he gave his only begotten Son. God did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for all of us (Rom 8:32).

He says his Son, i.e., his natural Son, consubstantial, not an adopted son, i.e., not those sons of which the Psalmist says: I said: you are gods (Ps 81:6). This shows that the opinion of Arius is false: for if the Son of God were a creature, as he said, the immensity of God’s love through the taking on of infinite goodness, which no creature can receive, could not have been revealed in him. He further says only begotten, to show that God does not have a love divided among many sons, but all of it is for that Son whom he gave to prove the immensity of his love: for the Father loves the Son and shows him all things that he himself does (John 5:20). Fourth, from the greatness of its fruit, because through him we have eternal life. Hence he says, so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life, which he obtained for us through the death of the cross.

478. But did God give his Son with the intention that he should die on the cross? He did indeed give him for the death of the cross inasmuch as he gave him the will to suffer on it. And he did this in two ways. First, because as the Son of God he willed from eternity to assume flesh and to suffer for us; and this will he had from the Father. Second, because the will to suffer was infused into the soul of Christ by God.

479. Note that above, when the Lord was speaking about the coming down which belongs to Christ according to his divinity, he called him the Son of God; and this because of the one suppositum of the two natures, as was explained above. And so divine things can be said about the suppositum of the human nature, and human things can be said about the suppositum of the divine nature, but not with reference to the same nature. Rather, divine things are said with reference to the divine nature, and human things with reference to the human nature. Now the specific reason why he here calls him the Son of God is that he set forth that gift as a sign of the divine love, through which the fruit of eternal life comes to us. And so, he should have been called by that name which indicates the power that produces eternal life; and this power is not in Christ as Son of man but as Son of God: this is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20); in him was life (John 1:4).

480. Note also that he says, should not perish. Someone is said to be perishing when he is hindered from arriving at the end to which he is ordained. But the end to which man is ordained is eternal life, and as long as he sins, he turns himself from that end. And although while he is living he cannot entirely perish in the sense that he cannot be restored, yet when he dies in sin, then he entirely perishes: the way of the wicked will perish (Ps 1:7).

He indicates the immensity of God’s love in saying, have eternal life: for by giving eternal life, he gives himself. For eternal life is nothing else than enjoying God. But to give oneself is a sign of great love: but God, who is rich in mercy, has brought us to life in Christ (Eph 2:5), i.e., he gave us eternal life.

481. Here the Lord excludes an objection that might be made. For in the old law it was promised that the Lord would come to judge: the Lord will come to judge (Isa 3:14). So someone might say that the Son of God had not come to give eternal life but in order to judge the world. The Lord rejects this.

First, he shows that he has not come to judge.

Second, he proves it, at he who believes in him is not judged.

482. So he says: the Son of God has not come to judge, because God did not send his Son, referring to his first coming, into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. The same thing is is said later: I came not to judge the world, but to save the world (John 12:47).

Now man’s salvation is to attain to God: my salvation is in God (Ps 61:8). And to attain to God is to obtain eternal life; hence to be saved is the same as to have eternal life. However, because the Lord says, I came not to judge the world (John 12:47), men should not be lazy or abuse God’s mercy, or give themselves over to sin, because although in his first coming he did not come to judge but to forgive, yet in his second coming, as Chrysostom says, he will come to judge but not to forgive. At the appointed time I will judge with rigor (Ps 74:3). (John Chrysostom, Commentary on Saint John, hom. 28, ch. 1.)

483. However, this seems to conflict with what is said: for judgment I came into the world (John 9:39).

I answer that there are two kinds of judgment. One is the judgment of distinction, and the Son has come for this in his first coming; because with his coming men are distinguished, some by blindness and some by the light of grace. The other is the judgment of condemnation; and he did not come for this as such.

484. Now he proves what he had said, as though by a process of elimination, in the following way: whoever will be judged will be either a believer or an unbeliever. But I have not come to judge unbelievers, because they are already judged. Therefore, from the outset, for God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world.

So first he shows that believers are not judged.

Second, that unbelievers are not judged, at whoever does not believe is already judged.

485. He says therefore: **I came not to judge the world **(John 12:47): because he did not come to judge believers, for he who believes in him is not judged, with the judgment of condemnation, with which no one who believes in him with faith informed by love is judged: he will not come into judgment but passes from death to life (John 5:24). But he is judged with the judgment of reward and approval, of which the Apostle says: it is the Lord who judges me (1 Cor 4:4).

486. But will there be many believing sinners who will not be damned?

I reply that some heretics have said that no believer, however great a sinner he may be, will be damned, but he will be saved by reason of his foundation of salvation, namely, his faith, although he may be allowed to suffer some punishment. They take as the basis of their error the statement of the Apostle: no one can lay a foundation other that the one that has been laid, that is, Jesus Christ (1 Cor 3:11); and further on: if a man’s building burns . . . he himself will be saved as one fleeing through fire (1 Cor 3:15).

But this view is clearly contrary to what the Apostle says: it is obvious what proceeds from the flesh: lewd conduct, impurity, licentiousness . . . those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Gal 5:1).

Therefore we must say that the foundation of salvation is not faith unformed, but formed, which operates through charity. Significantly therefore the Lord did not say: he who believes in him, but whoever believes in him, that is, whoever by believing tends toward him through love, is not judged, because he does not sin mortally, through which the foundation is removed. Or one could say, following Chrysostom, that everyone who acts sinfully does not believe: (John Chrysostom, Commentary on Saint John, hom. 28, par. 1.) they profess to know God, but they deny him by their actions (Titus 1:16); but he who acts worthily: show me your faith by your works (Jas 2:18); such a one who is not judged and not condemned for unbelief.

487. Here he shows that unbelievers are not judged.

First he makes the statement;

second, he explains it at: and this is the judgment.

488. Concerning the first we should note, according to Augustine, that Christ does not say, that he that doth not believe is judged, but rather is not judged. (Augustine, Tractates on the Gospel of John (CPL 0278), tract. 12, par. 12.) This can be explained in three ways. For, according to Augustine, whoever does not believe is not judged, because he is already judged, not in fact, but in God’s foreknowledge, that is, it is already known to God that he will be condemned: the Lord knows who are his (2 Tim 2:19).

In another way: according to Chrysostom, whoever does not believe is already judged, that is, the very fact that he does not believe is for him a condemnation. (John Chrysostom, Commentary on Saint John hom. 28, par. 2.) For not to believe is not to adhere to the light—which is to live in darkness, and this is a momentous condemnation: all were bound with one chain of darkness (Wis 17:17). What kind of joy can I have, I who sit in darkness and do not see the light of heaven? (Tob 5:12).

In a third way: also according to Chrysostom, whoever does not believe, that is, being already condemned, he displays the obvious reason for his condemnation. (John Chrysostom, Commentary on Saint John, hom. 28, par. 2.) This is like saying that a person who is proven guilty of death is already dead, even before the sentence of death has been passed on him, because he is as good as dead.

Hence Gregory says that in passing judgments there is a twofold order. (Gregory, Moralia in Job (CCSL 143B), bk. 26, par. 27.) Some will be sentenced by a trial; such are the ones who have something not deserving of condemnation, namely, the good of faith, that is, sinners who believe. But unbelievers, whose reason for condemnation is manifest, are sentenced without trial; and of these it is said, whoever does not believe is already judged. In judgment the wicked will not stand (Ps 1:6), that is, stand in trial.

489. It should be noted that to be judged is the same as to be condemned; and to be condemned is to be shut out from salvation, to which only one road leads, that is, the name of the Son of God: there is no other name under heaven given to men, by which we are saved (Acts 4:12); O God, save me by your name (Ps 53:3). Therefore, those who do not believe in the Son of God are cut off from salvation, and the cause of their damnation is evident.

490. Here the Lord explains his statement that unbelievers have an evident cause for their condemnation.

First, he sets forth the sign which shows this.

Second, the fittingness of this sign: for everyone who does evil hates the light.

491. In the sign he sets forth he does three things. First, he mentions the gift of God. Second, the perversity of mind in unbelievers. Third, the cause of this perversity.

So he says: it is abundantly clear that whoever does not believe is already judged, which is apparent from the kindness of God, because the light has come into the world. For men were in the darkness of ignorance, and God destroyed this darkness, sending a light into the world in order that men might know the truth: I am the light of the world: he who follows me does not walk in darkness but will have the light of life (John 8:12); to enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death (Luke 1:78). Now the light came into the world because men could not come to it: for he dwells in inaccessible light, whom no man has seen or is able to see (1 Tim 6:16).

It is also clear from the perversity of mind in unbelievers who loved darkness more than the light, i.e., they preferred to remain in the darkness of ignorance rather than be instructed by Christ: they have rebelled against the light (Job 24:13); woe to you who substitute darkness for light, and light for darkness (Isa 5:20).

And the cause of this perversity is that their works were evil: and such works do not conform to the light but seek the darkness: let us cast off the works of darkness (Rom 13:12), i.e., sins, which seek the darkness; those who sleep, sleep at night (1 Thess 5:7); the eye of the adulterer watches for the darkness (Job 24:15). Now it is by withdrawing from the light, which is unpleasant to him, that one does not believe the light.

492. But do all unbelievers produce evil works? It seems not: for many gentiles have acted with virtue; for example, Cato, and many others.

I answer, with Chrysostom, that it is one thing to work by reason of virtue, and another by reason of a natural aptitude or disposition. (John Chrysostom, Commentary on Saint John hom. 28, ch. 2.) For some act well because of their natural disposition, because their temperament is not inclined in a contrary way. And even unbelievers can act well in this way. For example, one may live chastely because he is not assailed by concupiscence; and the same for the other virtues. But those who act well by reason of virtue do not depart from virtue, in spite of inclinations to the contrary vice, because of the rightness of their reason and the goodness of their will; and this is proper to believers.

Or, one might answer that although unbelievers may have done good things, they do not do them for love of virtue but out of vainglory. Further, they did not do all things well; for they failed to render to God the worship due him.

493. Then when he says, for everyone who does evil hates the light, he shows the appropriateness of the sign he used.

First, with respect to those who are evil.

Second, with respect to the good, at but he who practices truth comes to the light.

494. So he says: they did not love the light because their works were evil. And this is plain because for everyone who does evil hates the light. He does not say: did, but rather does: because if someone has acted in an evil way, but has repented and is sorry, seeing that he has done wrong, such a person does not hate the light but comes to the light. But everyone who does evil, i.e., persists in evil, is not sorry, nor does he come to the light, but he hates it; not because it reveals truth, but because it reveals a person’s sins.

For an evil person still wants to know the light and the truth; but he hates to be unmasked by it. If the dawn suddenly appears, they regard it as the shadow of death (Job 24:17). And so he does not come to the light; and this so that his works may not be reproved. For no one who is unwilling to desert evil wants to be rebuked; this is fled from and hated. They hate the one who rebukes at the city gate (Amos 5:10); a corrupt man does not love the one who rebukes him (Prov 15:12).

495. Now he shows the same things with respect to the good, who practice the truth, i.e., perform good works. For truth is found not only in thought and words, but also in deeds. Everyone of these comes to the light.

But did anyone practice the truth before Christ? It seems not, for to practice the truth is not to sin; and before Christ all have sinned (Rom 3:23).

I answer, according to Augustine, that he practices the truth in himself who is displeased at the evil he has done; (Augustine, Tractates on the Gospel of John (CPL 0278), tract. 12, par. 13.) and after leaving the darkness, keeps himself from sin, and repenting of the past, comes to the light, with the special intention so that his works may be made manifest.

496. But this conflicts with the teaching that no one should make public the good he has done; and this was a reason why the Lord rebuked the Pharisees.

I answer that it is lawful to want one’s works to be seen by God so that they may be approved: it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom God commends (2 Cor 10:18); my witness is in heaven (Job 16:20). It is also lawful to want them to be seen by one’s own conscience, so that one may rejoice: our glory is this: the testimony of our conscience (2 Cor 1:12). But it is reprehensible to want them to be seen by men in order to be praised or for one’s own glory. Yet, holy persons desire that their good works be known to men for the sake of God’s glory and for the good of the faith: let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven (Matt 5:16). Such a person comes to the light, so that his works may be made manifest, because they are done in God, that is, according to God’s commandment or through the grace of God. For whatever good we do, whether it be avoiding sin, repenting of what has been done, or doing good works, it is all from God: you have accomplished all our works (Isa 26:12).