John 3:33

Joh 3:33. Ὁ λαβών, he that hath received) as John did.—ἐσφάγισεν) hath set his seal to, and as it were subscribes his name to that very fact, he acknowledges for himself and hath avowed to others, that God, in whose word he puts his faith, is truthful; and to Him he assigns the glory: Rom 4:20, Abraham “staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God:” comp. 1Jn 5:10, “He that believeth on the Son of God, hath the witness in himself; he that believeth not God, hath made Him a liar, because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son.” See as to sealing, Nehem. Joh 9:38, “Because of all this, we make a sure covenant and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.” It is called ὁμολογία, profession, in the Epistle to the Hebrews [ch. Joh 3:1, Joh 4:14, Joh 10:23]. A metaphor from contracts.—ὁ Θεός, God) whose word is the word of Messiah: see the following verse: ch. Joh 12:44, “Jesus cried, He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me.”

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh_3:33. Αὐτοῦ] placed before for emphasis: His witness, correlative with the following ὁ θεός.

ἐσθράγισεν] has, by this receiving, sealed, i.e. confirmed, ratified as an act. For this figurative usage, see Joh_6:27; Rom_4:11; Rom_15:28; 1Co_9:2; 2Co_1:22; Eph_1:13; Jacobs, ad Anthol. ix. pp. 22, 144, 172.

ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ἀληθ. ἐστιν] In the reception of the witness of Jesus there is manifested on mans part the practical ratification of the truthfulness of God, the human yea verily in answer to the proposition God is true, because Jesus (see Joh_3:34) is the ambassador and interpreter of God. The non-reception of that witness, whereby it is declared untrue, would be a rejection of the divine truthfulness, the nay to that proposition. Comp. 1Jn_5:10. Reference to O. T. promises (Luthardt) is remote from the context.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

hath set to His seal, &c.--gives glory to God whose words Christ speaks, not as prophets and apostles by a partial communication of the Spirit to them.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 33. Hath set to his seal] That is hath hereby confirmed the truth of the testimony which he has borne; as a testator sets his seal to an instrument in order to confirm it, and such instrument is considered as fully confirmed by having the testator's seal affixed to it, so I, by taking up this testimony of Christ, and proclaiming it to the Jews, have fully confirmed it, as I know it to be a truth; which knowledge I have from the immediate inspiration of the Holy Spirit. See Joh 1:33-34.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

33. But he who receiveth his testimony. Here he exhorts and encourages the godly to embrace boldly the doctrine of the Gospel, as if he had said that there was no reason why they should be ashamed or uneasy on account of their small number, since they have God as the Author of their faith, who alone abundantly supplies to us the place of all the rest. And, therefore, though the whole world should refuse or withhold faith in the Gospel, this ought not to prevent good men from giving their assent to God. They have something on which they may safely rest, when they know that to believe the Gospel is nothing else than to assent to the truths which God has revealed. Meanwhile, we learn that it is peculiar to faith to rely on God, and to be confirmed by his words; for there can be no assent, unless God have, first of all, come forward and spoken. By this doctrine faith is not only distinguished from all human inventions, but likewise from doubtful and wavering opinions; for it must correspond to the truth of God, which is free from all doubt, and therefore, as God cannot lie, it would be absurd that faith should waver. Fortified by this defense, whatever contrivances Satan may employ in his attempts to disturb and shake us, we shall always remain victorious.

Hence, too, we are reminded how acceptable and precious a sacrifice in the sight of God faith is. As nothing is more dear to him than his truth, so we cannot render to him more acceptable worship than when we acknowledge by our faith that He is true, for then we ascribe that honor which truly belongs to him. On the other hand, we cannot offer to him a greater insult than not to believe the Gospel; for he cannot be deprived of his truth without taking away all his glory and majesty. His truth is in some sort closely linked with the Gospel, and it is his will that there it should be recognized. Unbelievers, therefore, as far as lies in their power, leave to God nothing whatever; not that their wickedness overthrows the faithfulness of God, but because they do not hesitate to charge God with falsehood. If we are not harder than stones, this lofty title by which faith is adorned ought to kindle in our minds the most ardent love of it; for how great is the honor which God confers on poor worthless men, when they, who by nature are nothing else than falsehood and vanity, are thought worthy of attesting by their signature the sacred truth of God?

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(33) He that hath received.—Better, he that received. “Hath set to his seal,” better, set his seal. It had been so. Earlier disciples, as Andrew and John (Joh_1:40), had passed from the Forerunner to the Great Teacher, and had heard in His words that which went to the divine in their own spirits, and had come from the short first meeting with the conviction, “We have found the Messias.” They received the witness, and, as they heard it, they too became witnesses. Just as a man sets his private seal—here, probably, the common Eastern stamp that affixed the name is thought of—and by it attests the truth of a document, so they attested, in the power which that witness had over their lives, their recognition of it as truth. It has always been so. The moral fitness of Christianity to meet the spiritual needs of men, and its moral power over the lives of men in all the varying circumstances of culture, race, and creed, has raised up in every age an holy army of witnesses, who have set their seal to its divine truth. (Comp. for the thought of sealing, Joh_6:27; Rom_4:11; Rom_15:28; 1Co_9:2; &c.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33. The Baptist shews at once that ‘no man’ is hyperbolical; there are some who received the testimony.

hath received … hath set to his seal] Better, received … set his seal.

his testimony] his witness. ‘His’ is emphatic, balancing ‘God.’ ‘He that received Christ’s witness, set his seal that God is true.’ To believe the Messiah is to believe God, for the Messiah is God’s interpreter, Joh_1:18. The metaphor is from sealing a document to express one’s trust in it and adherence to it. Comp. Joh_6:27; 1Co_9:2, On ‘true’ see note on Joh_1:9; ‘true’ here is opposed to ‘lying’ not to ‘spurious.’

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For he whom God hath sent,.... Still meaning Christ, who was sent in human nature, in the likeness of sinful flesh, in the fulness of time; to be the Saviour of the world, of that which was lost, of the chief of sinners; and to preach the glad tidings of the Gospel, which is more especially here designed; and for which he was abundantly qualified by the Spirit of God, with which he was anointed:

speaketh the words of God; the words which God gave unto him; the doctrines of grace; the word of truth; the word of faith; the word of righteousness; the word of reconciliation; the words of salvation and eternal life; the whole mind and will of God; and whatever he spoke were as true as the oracles of God, and were such.

For God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him, as he did to the prophets of the Old Testament, and to the apostles of the New; and to the ordinary ministers of the word, who have gifts differing one from another; to one is given one gift of the Spirit; and to another, another gift, as the Spirit pleaseth; and to everyone is given grace, or gifts of grace, according to the measure of the gift of Christ, Eph 4:7. To which agrees what the Jews say (a) of the Holy Spirit, and his gifts.

"Says R. Joden bar R. Simeon, even the waters which descend from above are not given, but, "in measure".--Says R. Acha, even the Holy Spirit, which dwells upon the prophets, does not dwell, but "in weight".''

But the Lord Jesus has every, gift of the Spirit, and the fulness of grace in him: he is anointed with the oil of gladness, with the Holy Ghost above his fellows; and has an immeasurable unction of the holy one; which, like the precious oil poured on Aaron, descends from him to the members of his body.

(a) Vajikra Rabba, sect. 15. fol. 157. 3.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

Ver. 33. Hath set to his seal, &c.] Hath given God a testimonial, such as is that, Deu 32:4. After which, God also sets his seal ( quasi in red-hostimentum) to the believer, Eph 1:13.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He that hath received his testimony - Hath received and fully believed his doctrine. Hath yielded his heart to its influence.

Hath set to his seal - To “seal” an instrument is to make it sure; to acknowledge it as ours; to pledge our varacity that it is true and binding, as when a man seals a bond, a deed, or a will. Believing a doctrine, therefore, in the heart, is expressed by “sealing it,” or by believing it we express our firm conviction that it is true, and that God who has spoken it is true. We vouch for the veracity of God, and assume as our own the proposition that it is the truth of God.

God is true - Is faithful; is the author of the system of doctrines, and will fulfill all that he has promised. We learn here:

1.That to be a true believer is something more than to hold a mere speculative belief of the truth.

2.That to be a believer is to “pledge ourselves” for the truth, to seal it as our own, to adopt it, to choose it, and solemnly assent to it, as a man does in regard to an instrument of writing that is to convey his property, or that is to dispose of it when he dies.

Every Christian is a witness for God, and it is his business to show by his life that he believes that God is true to his threatenings and to his promises. See the notes at Isa 43:10. It is a solemn act to become a Christian. It is a surrender of all to God, or giving away body, soul, and spirit to him, with a belief that he is true, and alone is able to save. The man that does not do this - that is not willing to pledge his belief that God is true, sets to his seal that God is a liar and unworthy of confidence, 1Jo 5:10.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

He that hath received his testimony. These following words to the end of the chapter, seem to be the words of St. John the Baptist, rather than of the evangelist. The sense is, whosoever hath believed, and received the doctrine of Christ, hath attested as it were under his hand and seal, that God is true, and hath executed his promise concerning the Messias. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

He who hath so believed the testimony of Christ, as to accept him, and to believe in him as his Saviour, hath, by that his believing, set to his seal that God, in all his promises of the Messiah under the Old Testament, is true; that a word hath not failed of whatsoever God hath there spoken of that nature. According to this is that 1Jo 5:10, He that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. This saying doth notably commend faith, and defame unbelief. Faith in Christ as the only true Mediator and Saviour, giveth testimony to the truth of God, and sealeth it. Unbelief defames God, and doth in effect say that God is a liar.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

33. He that hath received—Whenever that fully takes place; and just so far forth as it in any case does take place.

Set to his seal—Has made a most impressive attestation.

That God is true—For if God attest him by divine powers, his veracity is pledged. If God send his authentic messenger and men disbelieve his words, they impeach the truthfulness of God. Indeed there are impious men who argue, How do we know, even when God himself makes a revelation, that God tells truth? And yet such men will not hesitate to risk their all on the veracity of a fellow-man.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vers. 33-36. (3) The consequences of accepting and rejecting the supreme revelation.

He that receiveth his witnessi.e. his testimony to what he hath personally seen and heard in the heaven from which he has comesealed (esfragisen), confirmed by such very act, ratified arid vindicated as trustworthy and stable (cf. Rom_4:1 Rom_15:28 1Co_9:2 2Co_1:22. In other places the idea or image of a "seal" is used for guaranteeing a special commission, Joh_6:27 (see notes); Rev_7:3 Eph_1:13) that God is true; i.e. admits that the words of Christ are the words of God, are absolute truth and reality an idea which is made more obvious by ver. 35, where Jesus is the Ambassador of God. It may even mean more than this, viz. that in Jesus "all the promises of God are Yea and Amen," that God is true in himself, and the witness of Christ embraces all that for which prophecy and promise and previous revelation had prepared the way (see Luthardt and Westcott). Such an idea is certainly beyond the scope of John"s ministry or message.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hath set to his seal - It was customary among the Jews for the witness to set his seal to the testimony he had given. That God is true - Whose words the Messiah speaks.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

33. The Baptist at once shews that οὐδείς is hyperbolical: some did receive the witness; ‘but what are they among so many?’

ἐσφράγισεν. Of sealing a document to express one’s trust in it and adherence to it (Joh 6:27; 1Co 9:2): but in this figurative sense the middle is more usual (Rom 15:28; 2Co 1:22; Eph 1:13; Eph 4:30); the active in the literal sense (Mat 27:66). Αὐτοῦ is emphatic, balancing ὁ Θεός: ‘he that receiveth Christ’s witness, set his seal that God is true.’ To believe the Messiah is to believe God, for the Messiah is God’s ambassador and interpreter (Joh 1:18). Ἀληθής not ἀληθινός; see on Joh 1:9.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

33. ὁ λαβὼν αὐτοῦ τὴν μαρτυρίαν κτλ., i.e. who has accepted as convincing the witness of Christ about eternal life and God’s love; cf. vv. 3-15, upon which all this is commentary.

σφραγίζειν here and at 6:27 (where see note) is the equivalent of “to attest,” the metaphor of sealing being a common one. He who accepts the witness of Jesus thereby attests that Jesus speaks the words of God as His accredited Messenger, and in this attestation virtually testifies to his belief that God is true (ὁ θεὸς ἀληθής ἐστιν). So at 8:26 it is urged that God, who sent Jesus, is true (ὁ πέμψας με ἀληθής ἐστιν), and that Jesus speaks what He has heard from God, the implied conclusion being that the hearers of Jesus may believe in Him and trust what He says. The argument of 1Jn 5:10 puts the same thing in another way, viz. God has testified of His Son, and so he who does not believe this testimony makes God a liar.

Lightfoot (Hor. Hebr. in loc.) quotes the Rabbinical maxim that “the seal of God is truth.”

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vv. 33, 34. “He that hath received his testimony hath set his seal that God is true; 34, for he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God; for he giveth not the Spirit by measure.”

There are, nevertheless, some believers, and what is the grandeur and beauty of the part which they act! Σφραγίζειν, to seal, to legalise an act by affixing one’s seal to it. This is what the believer does in relation to the testimony which Christ gives; in ranging himself among those who accept it, he has the honor of associating, once for all, his personal responsibility with that of God who speaks by His messenger. Indeed, this certification of truth, adjudgod to Jesus by the believer, rises even to God Himself. This is what is explained by Joh 3:34 (for). The utterances of Jesus are to such a degree those of God, that to certify the truth of the former is to attest the veracity of God Himself. Some think that the idea of the divine veracity refers to the fulfillment of the prophecies which faith proclaims. But this idea has no connection with the context. According to others, John means that to believe in Jesus is to attest the truth of the declaration which God gave on His behalf at the time of His baptism. This sense would be natural enough in itself, but it does not accord well with Joh 3:34.

The profound thought contained in this expression of John is the following: In receiving the utterances of Jesus with faith in their divine character, man boldly declares that what is divine cannot be false, and proclaims thus the incorruptible veracity of God. We must notice the aorist ἐσφράγισεν,set his seal: it is an accomplished act. And what an act! He affixes His private signature by his faith to the divine testimony, and becomes thus conjointly responsible for the veracity of God Himself. There is evidently somewhat of exaltation in this paradoxical form, by which John expresses the grandeur of the act of faith. The expression whom he hath sent (which recalls Joh 3:17), must be taken in the most absolute sense. The other divine messengers merit this name only in an inexact sense; they are, in reality, only raised up; to be sent, in the strict sense of the word, one must be from above (Joh 3:31). The same absolute force should be given to the expression: the words of God: He alone possesses the complete, absolute divine revelation. This is what the article τά, the, indicates; all others, John the Baptist himself, have only fragments of it. And whence comes this complete character of His revelation? From the fact that the communication which is made to Him of the Spirit is without measure.

The T. R. reads, after δίδωσιν, ὁ θεός : “God gives the Spirit...” The Alexandrian authorities unanimously reject this subject, God; and it is probable that it is a gloss, but a gloss which is just to the sense. It is derived from the first clause of the verse. No doubt the Spirit might be made the subject, as I myself tried to do formerly. The position of the word τὸ πνεῦμα, the Spirit, however, is not favorable to this sense. And it is more simple to understand the subject of the preceding clause. The present δίδωσιν gives, as well as the expression: “not by measure,” are explained by the recollection of the vision of the baptism: John saw the Spirit in the form of a dove, that is to say, in its living totality, descending and abidingupon Him. Meyer, offended by the ellipsis of the pronoun αὐτῷ, to him, makes a general maxim out of this saying, with the following sense: “God is not obliged always to give the Spirit, only in a definite measure, as He formerly did in the case of the prophets. He may, if He pleases, give it once without measure in its fullness,” from which this application is understood: “And this is what He has done with respect to the Son.” But thus precisely the thing would be understood which ought to be expressed, and expressed which might very well have been left to be understood. Perhaps, the ellipsis of the pronoun αὐτῷ, to Him, arises from the fact that the gift of the Spirit to Jesus is in reality of a universal bearing. God does not give it to Him for Himself only, but for all. It is a permanent, absolute gift.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.