John 6:46

Joh 6:46. Οὐκ ὅτι, not that) By the addition of this declaration it is intimated, that the Father is heard then only, when the Son is heard; and that He is seen then only, when the Son is discerned: ch. Joh 14:9, [Jesus to Philip] “He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father.”—ἐώρακεν, hath seen) Understand, and hath heard. Comp. the preceding verse, who hath heard (and hath seen). But because to see is a more intimate perception than to hear, the seeing is with elegant propriety ascribed to the Son, the hearing to the believers. Comp. ch. Joh 1:18, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, etc., hath declared Him.”—ὁ ὢν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ, He who is from God) So ch. Joh 7:29, “I know Him, for I am from Him, and He hath 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 6:46 . Lest His hearers should suppose that in Messianic times direct knowledge of God was to be communicated, He adds, οὐχ ὅτι τὸν πατέρα τις ἑώρακεν , it is not by direct vision men are to learn of God. One alone has direct perception of the Father, ὁ ὢν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ , He whose origin is Divine; not ὁ ἀπεσταλμένος παρὰ Θεοῦ , a designation which belonged to all prophets, but He whose Being is directly derived from God. Similarly, in Joh 7:29 , we find Jesus saying ἐγὼ οἶδα αὐτόν ὅτι παρʼ αὐτοῦ εἰμί καὶ ἐκεῖνός με ἀπέστειλεν , where the source of the mission and the source of the being are separately mentioned. To refer this exclusive vision of the Father to any earthly experience seems out of the question. No one who was not more than man could thus separate himself from all men. See Joh 1:18 . Having thus explained that they could not believe in Him without having first been taught of God, He returns (Joh 6:47 ) to the affirmation of Joh 6:40 , ἀμὴν … ζωῆς . Their unbelief does not alter the fact, nor weaken His assurance of the fact. This consciousness of Messiahship was so identified with His spiritual experience and existence that nothing could shake it. But now He adds a significant confirmation of His claim.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

If the son only hath seen the Father, then it is he only that can teach and instruct us truly.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Not that any man hath seen, &c.--Lest they should confound that "hearing and learning of the Father," to which believers are admitted by divine teaching, with His own immediate access to Him, He here throws in a parenthetical explanation; stating, as explicitly as words could do it, how totally different the two cases were, and that only He who is "from God" hath this naked, immediate access to the Father. (See Joh 1:18).

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 46. Not that any man hath seen the Father] He does not teach men by appearing personally before them, or by any other outward voice than that of his word and messengers; but he teaches by his Spirit. This teaching from God implies:

1. That they shall have proper instruction.

2. That they shall comprehend it; for, when God teaches, there is no delay in learning. And,

3. That this teaching should be by the influence of the Holy Ghost upon their minds.

He which is of God] That is, Christ alone: neither Moses nor any of the prophets had ever seen God: Jesus, who lay in the bosom of the Father, HE saw and revealed him, Joh 1:18.

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

46. Not that any man hath seen the Father. As he has hitherto magnified the grace of his Father, so now he earnestly directs believers to himself alone. For both must be joined together; that no knowledge of Christ can be obtained, until the Father enlighten by his Spirit those who are by nature blind; and yet that it is in vain to seek God, unless Christ go before; for the majesty of God is so lofty, that the senses of men cannot reach him. Nay, more, all that knowledge of God which men may think that they have attained out of Christ will be a deadly abyss. When he says that he alone hath known the Father, he means that it is an office which belongs peculiarly to himself, to manifest God to men, who would otherwise have been concealed.

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.

(46) But this hearing and learning of the Father was the preparation for, not the substitute for, the fuller revelation in the person of the Son. Once again He declares that “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath been the interpreter.” (See Note on Joh_1:18; and comp. Joh_3:13; Joh_8:38.) Every man, in proportion as he had been taught of God, would feel how little he knew of God, and there would be in him the yearning desire and the trained faculty to see Him who is of God.

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

46. Not that any man hath seen] To be enlightened and taught by the Father it is not necessary to see Him. “That is a privilege reserved for a later stage in the spiritual life, and is only to be attained mediately through the Son (comp. Joh_1:18).” S. p. 129.

he which is of God] Or, He which is from God, with whom He was previous to the Incarnation; Joh_1:1; Joh_1:14, Joh_8:42, Joh_16:27.

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.

Verily, verily, I say unto you,.... This is a certain truth, and to be depended on:

he that believeth on me hath everlasting life; not only he may have it, as in Joh 6:40, and shall have it, but he has it; he has it in Christ, his head and representative; he has it in the covenant of grace; he has it in faith and hope; he has a right unto it, and a meetness for it; he has the earnest of it, the grace and Spirit of God; and he has the beginning and foretastes of it in his soul, and shall certainly enjoy it.

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

46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.

Ver. 46. He hath seen the Father] And hath it in commission to manifest him to all his, by working faith (either actual, or, at least, virtual, as in infants) in their hearts, whereby they see him that is invisible, being well seen in Moses’ optics.

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.

Not that any man hath seen the Father - Jesus added this, evidently, to guard against mistake. He had said that all who came to him were taught of God. The teacher was commonly seen and heard by the pupil; but, lest it should be supposed that he meant to say that a man to come to him must see and hear God, visibly and audibly, he adds that he did not intend to affirm this. It was still true that no man had seen God at any time. They were not, therefore, to expect to see God, and his words were not to be perverted as if he meant to teach that.

Save he which is of God - Jesus here evidently refers to himself as the Son of God. He had just said that no man had seen the Father. When he affirms that he has seen the Father, it implies that he is more than man. He is the only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, Joh 1:18; the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, Heb 1:3; God over all, blessed forever, Rom 9:5. By his being of God is meant that he is the only-begotten Son of God, and sent as the Messiah into the world.

Hath seen - Hath intimately known or perceived him. He knows his nature, character, plans. This is a claim to knowledge superior to what man possesses, and it cannot be understood except by supposing that Jesus is equal with God.

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

None must dream that the Father should visibly appear in the world to teach men; for the essence of God is invisible, none hath seen it at any time, saving he alone who is the only begotten Son of the Father; he hath seen the essence of the Father, he knoweth his will, and most secret counsels.

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

46. Not… seen the Father—From the phrase hath heard the Father, his opponents might represent him as teaching the visibility, of God to men. He, therefore, guards his language by limiting the true vision, or seeing of God, to himself.

He which is of God—Rather from God, referring to himself.

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

Not that any one hath seen the Father, save he who is from God, he hath seen the Father. "Hearing" and "learning do not amount to the beatific vision. "No one (as John said, Joh_1:18) hath seen Godat any time, the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, (pron , Joh_1:1; eiv tolpon , Joh_1:18) he hath declared him". (cf. Mat_11:27) The full revelation of the Father is alone possible to one who is (para tou Yeou) "forth from God," yet evermore standing in close association with God. Cyril and Erasmus here suggest the fact that Christ distinguishes himself from Moses, and some suggest that Christ protests against the supposition which would make the spiritual "inner Christ" of modern speculation of more value than the historical personality. But para in association with wn indicates more than mission from God, and obviously stands in indissoluble relation with the teaching of the prologue, viz. the eternal pre-existence of the personal Logos the identity of the Person who was made flesh with the Christ of this discourse. These words bring our Lord"s teaching back to a full justification or reassertion of the statement that he had come down from heaven.

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

Not that any one - Must expect him to appear in a visible shape. He who is from or with God - In a more eminent manner than any creature.

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

46. Not that any man hath seen. They are drawn by hearing the word, not by seeing.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Connecting Statement:

Jesus now continues speaking to the crowd and the Jewish leaders.

Truly, truly

See how you translated this in John 1:51.

Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God

Although no human who is alive on earth has seen God the Father, Jesus, the Son of God, has seen the Father.

Father

This is an important title for God. (See: Translating Son and Father)

he who believes has eternal life

God gives "eternal life" to those who trust in Jesus, the Son of God.

translationWords

amen

believe

eternity

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

46. ἑώρακεν. see on Joh 1:18. Hearing is not the same as seeing, and in order to hear and learn from the Father it is not necessary to see Him. The result of hearing is to lead men to the only One who has seen (Joh 1:18), and in whom the Father may be seen (Joh 14:9).

ὁ ὤν παρὰ τ. θ. The expression, as in Joh 7:29, implies a permanent relation, and points to the generation rather than the mission of the Son. On οὗτος see on Joh 3:32.

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.

46.] The connexion is: the mention of ἀκούσας παρὰ τοῦ πατρός might lead them to think of a personal communication from the Father to each man, and thus the necessity of the mission of the Son might be invalidated. This was the only way in which a Jew could misunderstand ver. 45; he could not dream of a seeing of the Father with bodily eyes.

ὁ ὢν παρὰ τ. θεοῦ is Jesus Himself: see ch. 7:29. His knowledge of the Father is complete and immediate; ours, partial, and derived through Him only.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

46. This “hearing” of God’s voice is, however, not by way of immediate personal communication; it is not “seeing the Father.” Only One has “seen” God (1:18), although it is true, in another sense, that he who has “seen” Jesus has “seen the Father” (14:9).

οὐχ ὅτι τὸν πατέρα ἑώρακέν τις. So אBCDLNWΘ; the rec. has τις ἑώρακεν. א*D have τὸν θεόν for τόν πατέρα, a reminiscence of 1:18, where see note. Cf. 5:37.

εἰ μὴ ὁ ὢν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ, sc. not only He who has been sent by God (see on 3:17), as παρὰ θεοῦ means (1:6, 9:16, 33), but He whose origin is from God; cf. παρὰ πατρός (1:14, where see note), παρʼ αὐτοῦ εἰμι (7:29), παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐξῆλθον (16:27), παρὰ σοῦ ἐξῆλθον (17:8).

οὗτος ἑώρακεν τὸν πατέρα. The λόγος was πρὸς τὸν θεόν (1:1); see 8:38 for the things which He has seen παρὰ τῷ πατρί (cf. also 3:32). See on 14:7.

For the repetition (οὗτος) of the subject of the sentence, in the interests of emphasis, cf. 1:2, 7:18, 15:5, and see 10:25.

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

Hath seen. As contrasted with hearing and learning. (ver. 45). The Father is not seen immediately, but through the Son. Compare Joh 1:18; Joh 14:9; 1Jo 3:2, Mt 11:27.

Of God [παρα του θεου] . More correctly, as Rev., from, with an idea of association with : from with God. Para is used of procession from a personal object, indicating it generally as the starting - point.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 46. The phrase οὐχ ὅτι, not that, marks a restriction. This restriction can only refer to the term teaching (Joh 6:45). The notion of teaching seems to imply a direct contact between the disciple and the Master. Now no other but Jesus has possessed and possesses the privilege of immediate contact with God through sight. All can certainlyhear, it is true, but He alone has seen. And this is the reason why the divine teaching of which He has just spoken is only preparatory; it is designed not to take the place of His own, but to lead to Him, the only one who has seen and consequently can reveal God perfectly, Joh 17:3; comp. Mat 11:27. This saying is, certainly, one of those from which John has drawn the fundamental ideas of his Prologue (comp. Joh 1:1; Joh 1:14; Joh 1:18). If the preposition παρά, from, were not connected with the words ὁ ὤν, who is, it might be applied solely to the mission of Jesus. But that participle obliges us to think of origin and essence; comp. Joh 7:29. This παρά is the counterpart of the πρός of Joh 1:1; united, they sum up the entire relation of the Son to the Father. Everything in the Son is from (παρά) the Father and tends to (πρός) the Father.

Does the sight of the Father here ascribed to Jesus proceed from His divine state before the incarnation, as most interpreters and even Weiss think? This does not seem to me possible. It is the contents of the human consciousness which He has of God, which He sets forth to His brethren in human words. Comp. Joh 3:34-35, where His knowledge of God is inferred from the communication of the Spirit without measure, which has been made to Him as man; the same in Joh 14:10, where it is explained by the communion in which He lives here on earth with the Father. The perfect ἑώρακε, has seen, proves absolutely nothing for the contrary view; comp. Joh 8:38, and the analogous expressions,Joh 5:19-20, which evidently refer to His earthly existence. Only it must not be forgotten that the unique intimacy of this paternal and filial relation rests on the eternal relation of Jesus to the Father; comp. Joh 17:24 : “Thou didst love me before the foundation of the world.” It is because this son of man is the eternal well-beloved of the Father, that God completely communicates Himself to Him. The readings of א : “who comes from the Father,” instead of “from God,” and of א D: “has seen God,” instead of “the Father,” arose undoubtedly from the desire to make our text more literally conformed to the parallel expressions of the Prologue; comp. for the first Joh 1:14 : παρὰ τοῦ πατρός, and for the second Joh 1:18 : Θεὸν ἑώρακε . By this saying Jesus gives it to be understood that after the divine teaching has led to the Son, it is He, the Son, who, in His turn, leads to the Father: “I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me” (Joh 14:6). Through this idea Jesus comes back to the principal idea which had excited the murmuring of the Jews and He reaffirms it with still more of solemnity than before, in the words of Joh 6:47-51 :

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.