32. He--rather, "He surely." (It is a pity to lose the emphatic
particle of the original).
that spared not--"withheld not," "kept not back." This expressive
phrase, as well as the whole thought, is suggested by
Ge 22:12,
where Jehovah's touching commendation of Abraham's conduct regarding
his son Isaac seems designed to furnish something like a glimpse into
the spirit of His own act in surrendering His own Son. "Take now
(said the Lord to Abraham) thy son, thine only, whom thou
lovest, and . . . offer him for a burnt offering"
(Ge 22:2);
and only when Abraham had all but performed that loftiest act of
self-sacrifice, the Lord interposed, saying, "Now I know that thou
fearest God, seeing thou HAST NOT WITHHELD THY SON, THINE
ONLY SON, from Me." In the light of this incident, then, and of
this language, our apostle can mean to convey nothing less than this,
that in "not sparing His own Son, but delivering Him up," or
surrendering Him, God exercised, in His Paternal character, a
mysterious act of Self-sacrifice, which, though involving none
of the pain and none of the loss which are inseparable
from the very idea of self-sacrifice on our part, was not less real,
but, on the contrary, as far transcended any such acts of ours as His
nature is above the creature's. But this is inconceivable if Christ be
not God's "own (or proper) Son," partaker of His very nature, as really
as Isaac was of his father Abraham's. In that sense, certainly, the
Jews charged our Lord with making Himself "equal with God" (see on
Joh 5:18),
which He in reply forthwith proceeded, not to disown, but to illustrate
and confirm. Understand Christ's Sonship thus, and the language of
Scripture regarding it is intelligible and harmonious; but take it to
be an artificial relationship, ascribed to Him in virtue either
of His miraculous birth, or His resurrection from the dead, or the
grandeur of His works, or all of these together--and the passages which
speak of it neither explain of themselves nor harmonize with each
other.
delivered him up--not to death merely (as many take it), for
that is too narrow an idea here, but "surrendered Him" in the most
comprehensive sense; compare
Joh 3:16,
"God so loved the world that He GAVE His
only-begotten Son."
for us all--that is, for all believers alike; as nearly every good
interpreter admits must be the meaning here.
how shall he not--how can we conceive that He should not.
with him also--rather, "also with Him." (The word "also" is
often so placed in our version as to obscure the sense; see on
Heb 12:1).
freely give us all things?--all other gifts being not only immeasurably
less than this Gift of gifts, but virtually included in it.
JFB.
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