Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 8:47
He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear [them] not, because ye are not of God.
47. Christ answers His own question and at the same time gives a final disproof of their claim to call God their father ( Joh 8:41).
heareth God’s words ] Christ here assumes, what He elsewhere maintains explicitly, that He speaks the words of God ( Joh 8:26, Joh 3:34, Joh 7:16, Joh 17:8).
ye therefore hear them not ] Better, for this cause (Joh 12:18; Joh 12:27) ye hear not. It is not S. John’s favourite particle ‘therefore,’ but, as in Joh 5:16; Joh 5:18, Joh 6:65, Joh 7:22 (see notes there), a preposition and pronoun with which he not unfrequently begins a sentence to prepare the way for a ‘because’ afterwards. These characteristics of his language should be preserved in English, and kept distinct, so far as is possible. In the First Epistle he uses the very same test as Christ here applies to the Jews; ‘We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth and the spirit of error’ (Joh 4:6).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He that is of God – He that loves, fears, and honors God.
Heareth Gods words – Listens to, or attends to the doctrines or commandments of God, as a child who loves his parent will regard and obey his commandments. This is an evidence of true piety. A willingness to receive all that God teaches us and to obey all his commandments, is an undoubted proof that we are his friends, Joh 14:21; 1Jo 2:4; 1Jo 3:24. As the Jews did not show a readiness to obey the commands of God, it proved that they were not of him, and to this was owing their rejection of the Lord Jesus.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 47. He that is of God] Meaning probably himself: he who came from God, or was born of God-heareth the words of God-has the constant inspiration of his Spirit, speaks nothing but truth, and cannot possibly err.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He that is of God; to be of God, here, is opposed to a being not of God, and so may be understood to comprehend election, as well as regeneration.
Heareth Gods words; he heareth, acknowledgeth, believeth, and patiently submits to the will of God revealed in his word.
The reason why you, though with your ears ye hear the word of God, yet do not in heart receive, and embrace, and believe it, nor can submit to it, is
because ye are not of God, not chosen of him, not savingly enlightened and regenerated by him. So as this text affords us an excellent note, by which we may know whether we be regenerated, and of God, yea or no. That is, our believing and yielding obedience to the will of God revealed in his word. By this saying of our Saviour, he seemeth to acquiesce in the will of God, concerning these refractory and unbelieving Jews, notwithstanding all the pains he had taken with them to enlighten and bring them to the saving knowledge of the truth. It pleased not his Father to open their eyes that they might see, or their hearts that they might understand. This ought in like manner to satisfy all the true and faithful ministers of the gospel, when they see they have laboured in vain, and spent their strength for nothing and in vain. When they have done all they can, they will find this of our Saviour true, That the work must be Gods, and not theirs; and no more hearts will be changed, than theirs who are of God.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
45-47. And because I tell you thetruth, ye believe me notnot although, but just becauseHe did so, for the reason given in the former verse. Had He been lesstrue they would have hailed Him more readily.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
He that is of God,…. Who is born, not of blood, by carnal descent from any person, or of the carnal will, or by the power of freewill, or of the will of the best man in the world; but of God, according to his abundant mercy, of his own will, by the power of his grace; and so has God to be his Father: such an one
heareth God’s words; the doctrines of the Gospel, which have God for their author, being of his ordaining, sending, and publishing; and his grace for the matter of them, displayed in election, redemption, justification, pardon, adoption, and eternal salvation, and his glory for the end: now a regenerate man has eyes to see into the glory, loveliness, excellency, suitableness, and usefulness of these things; and he has ears to hear, and a heart to understand them, which others have not; and therefore hears them with pleasure, receives them in the love of them, cordially embraces them by faith, and distinguishes them from the words of man; and puts such of them in practice, as requires it:
ye therefore hear [them] not, because ye are not of God; because God was not their Father, or they were not born of him, as they boasted; therefore they had not eyes to see, nor ears to hear, nor hearts to understand: and it may as fairly be inferred, that because they did not hear the words of God, therefore they were not of God; for these two necessarily imply each other; it looks very dark on such persons, who neither hear the doctrines of the Gospel externally nor internally.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
He that is of God ( ). See this use of in 3:31f. “Their not listening proved that they were not of God” (Dods). They were of the earth and the devil, not of God.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
He that is of [ ] . The familiar construction. See on 1 46.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “He that is of God heareth God’s words: (ho on ek tou theou ta hremata tou theou akouei) “The one who is out of God, he hears (gives heed to) the words of God,” responds to what God says. The true prophets did, John the Baptist did, and Jesus did that which He heard and was sent of the Father to do, because they and He were of God, Joh 6:38; Joh 17:4-5.
2) “Ye therefore hear them not,” (dia touto humeis ouk akouete) “You all therefore do not hear or heed them,” because you are troops of the Devil, the Father’s archenemy, Joh 8:44; 1Jn 3:8; 1Jn 3:10.
3) “Because ye are not of God.” (hoti ek tou theou ouk este) “Because you are not (exist not) out of God,” of the nature of God, have not been born again, or made a partaker of His Divine nature, Joh 3:6-7; 2Pe 1:4; They were of the same Satanic attitude toward Jesus that Satan was to Adam and Eve in Eden, Gen 3:4-5.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
47. He who is of God. As he has a full right to take this for granted, that he is the ambassador of the heavenly Father, and that he discharges faithfully the office which has been committed to him, he kindles into greater indignation against them; for their impiety was no longer concealed, since they were so obstinate in rejecting the word of God. He had showed that they could not bring forward any thing which he had not taught as from the mouth of God. He concludes, therefore, that they have nothing in common with God, for they do not hear the words of God; (242) and, without saying any thing about himself, he charges them with being at war with God. Besides, we are taught by this passage, that there is not a more evident sign of a reprobate mind, than when one cannot endure the doctrine of Christ, even though, in other respects, it shone with angelic sanctity; as, on the contrary, if we embrace that doctrine cheerfully, we have what may be called a visible seal of our election. For he who has the word enjoys God himself; but he who rejects it excludes himself from righteousness and life. Wherefore, there is nothing which we ought to fear so much as to fall under that dreadful sentence.
(242) “ Ils n’oyent point les paroles de Dieu.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(47) He that is of God heareth Gods words.Again He answers the question which He has Himself asked, and gives more fully the same reason which He gave in Joh. 8:43. In Joh. 8:44 He asserted that they were of the father the devil, and therefore lived to do the lusts of the devil. In the same way he who is of God does the will of God, and hears the words of God. The words of God are those which He has been speaking unto them (Joh. 8:26). Here, then, is the answer to the question, Why do ye not believe Me? Rabbis and priests, teachers of the Law, judges of truth, offerers of sacrifice, keepers of feasts, worshippers in synagogues and Templethey were all this; but they were not of God.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
47. Of God Preferring God to Satan.
Heareth God’s words His preference for God induces him to prefer the truth of God.
Therefore It follows that the reason why ye reject truth is because ye reject the God of truth. And this forms the answer to the searching question in Joh 8:46.
Such is the fearful picture which the Son of God draws of these, the seed of Abraham. Children of Satan in heart and deed, they excluded regeneration by a resolute exclusion of truth. From them, then, Christ was shut out, and Satan was shut in. Jesus then proceeds to a firm attestation of his own high nature, closing with the grand climax of Joh 8:58.
II. Christ’s exalted character asserted he is prior to, and Lord of, Abraham.
In this lofty strain of self-assertion, Jesus blends a tone of deepest humility touching himself as towards God, and the gentlest firmness towards his opposers.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Joh 8:47 . Answer to the question in Joh 8:46 , a syllogism whose minor premiss, however, needs not to be supplied in thought (De Wette: “Now I speak the words of God”), seeing that it is contained in ( ) . That Jesus speaks the words of God is here taken for granted . The major premiss is grounded on the necessary sympathy between God and him who springs from God , who hears the words of God, that is, as such , he has an ear for them. The words, , in the sense of being spiritually constituted by God, do not refer to Christian regeneration and to sonship, for this first begins through faith, but merely to a preliminary stadium thereof, to wit, the state of the man whom God draws to Christ by the operation of His grace (Joh 6:44 ), and who is thus prepared for His divine preaching, and is given to Him as His (Joh 6:37 ). Compare Joh 17:6 .
] as in Joh 5:16 ; Joh 5:18 . See on Joh 10:17 .
Note in connection with Joh 8:47 , compared with Joh 8:44 , that the moral dualism which is characteristic, not merely of John’s Gospel, but of the gospel generally, here so far reveals its metaphysical basis, that it is traced back to the genetic relation, either to the devil or to God two opposed states of dependence, which give rise to the most opposite moral conditions, with their respective unsusceptibility or susceptibility to divine truth. The assertion by Jesus of this dualism was not grounded on historical reflection and a conclusion ab effectu ad causam , but on the immediate certitude which belonged to Him as knowing the heart of rom. At the same time, it is incorrect to suppose that He assumes the existence of two classes of human nature differing radically from each other at the very outset (Baur, Hilgenfeld). On the contrary, the moral self-determination by which a man surrenders himself either to the one or the other principle, is no more excluded than the personal guilt attaching to the children of the devil (Joh 8:24 ; Joh 8:34 ); though their freedom is the more completely lost, the more completely their hearts become hardened (Joh 8:43 ). The problem of the metaphysical relation between human freedom and the superhuman power referred to, remains, however, necessarily unsolved, and, indeed, not merely in this passage, but in the whole of the New Testament (even in Romans 9-11); comp. also 1Jn 3:12 ; 1Jn 4:4 . But the freedom itself, in face of that power, and the moral imputation and responsibility remain intact, comp. Joh 3:19-21 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
47 He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
Ver. 47. He that is of God heareth God’s word ] With attention of body, intention of mind, and retention of memory. And this is God’s earmark.
Ye therefore hear not ] But either refuse or rage at what you hear, as tigers do at the sound of a drum. And this is a sore sign of a reprobate goat.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Joh 8:47 . He is believed by those who have another moral parentage, . “He that is of God listens to the words of God,” implying that the words He spoke were God’s words. Their not listening proved that they were not of God. At this point the Jews break in: ; “Say we not well that Thou art a Samaritan and hast a demon?” “In the language in which they spoke, what is rendered into Greek by ‘Samaritan’ would have been either Cuthi , which, while literally meaning a Samaritan, is almost as often used in the sense of ‘heretic,’ or else Shomroni . The latter word deserves special attention. Literally, it also means ‘Samaritan’; but the name Shomron is also sometimes used as the equivalent of Ashmedai, the prince of the demons. According to the Kabbalists, Shomron was the father of Ashmedai, and hence the same as Sammael or Satan. That this was a widespread Jewish belief appears from the circumstance that in the Koran Israel is said to have been seduced into idolatry by Shomron, while in Jewish tradition this is attributed to Sammael. If therefore the term applied by the Jews to Jesus was Shomroni and not Cuthi , ‘heretic’ it would literally mean ‘Child of the Devil,’ ” Edersheim. The ordinary interpretation of “Samaritan” yields, however, quite a relevant meaning. To His refusal to own their true Abrahamic ancestry they retort that He is no pure Jew, a Samaritan.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
He that, &c. Note the Introversion in the structure of Joh 8:47,
words = sayings. Greek. rhema. See note on Mar 9:32.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Joh 8:47. ) of [from] God, as of a father.-) he alone heareth the words of God.- , therefore [on this account]) The conclusion, Ye are not of God, Joh 8:42, is proved by the effect; inasmuch as ye do not hear; Joh 8:42, If God were your Father, ye would love Me.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 8:47
Joh 8:47
He that is of God heareth the words of God: for this cause ye hear them not, because ye are not of God.-Those who did not honor God in their hearts would not hear Gods word. They would hence not listen to or accept his teaching.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Joh 8:37, Joh 8:43, Joh 8:45, Joh 1:12, Joh 1:13, Joh 6:45, Joh 6:46, Joh 6:65, Joh 10:26, Joh 10:27, Joh 17:6-8, 1Jo 3:10, 1Jo 4:1-6, 1Jo 5:1, 2Jo 1:9, 3Jo 1:11
Reciprocal: Isa 55:3 – hear Jer 25:3 – rising Dan 12:10 – but the wise Hos 14:9 – wise Mat 13:23 – good Joh 3:34 – he Joh 5:38 – ye have Joh 5:42 – that Joh 7:17 – General Joh 8:27 – General Joh 10:20 – why Joh 18:37 – Every Act 7:37 – him
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
7
Of is from EK, and Thayer uses three whole pages in his lexicon in defining and explaining the word. The reader may thereby form some estimate of the importance of the term. But his first and general definition is, “From out of, out from, forth from, from.” He also explains that it is the opposite of the terms “into” and “in.” In composition such as our verse, it means one whose character and principles of life originated with God. Jesus affirmed that all whose character came from God would hear his words. These Jews were refusing to hear them, therefore it proved they were not of God, which is the conclusion which Jesus charged against them.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 8:47. He that is of God heareth the words of God: for this cause ye hear not, because ye are not of God. As in Joh 8:43, the word hear has the meaning listen to, so that the thought of receiving and believing is implied. He that is of God, and he alone, thus listens to the words of God: recognising their origin, willing to receive their teaching, he takes them into his heart.