The Great Commentary of Cornelius a Lapide: the First Epistle of S. John
There is a reference to such passages as Jer. xvii. 1, “The sin of Judah is written with an iron stylus , in an adamantine nail, it is ploughed deep upon the breadth of their heart” ( Vulg.) On which verse S. Gregory says, “The finger-nail is the extremity of the body : but the diamond is so hard a stone that it cannot be cut with iron. Now by the iron style is signified the strong sentence, but by the adamantine nail the eternal result. Therefore the sin of Judah is said to be written with an iron stylus in an adamantine nail, because the offence of the Jews by the strong sentence of God is reserved for an eternal end.”
By this sin a man opposes himself directly to Christ, from whom is the only hope of salvation. He drives Him from him, yea he blasphemes Him by whom alone he can be healed. So the disease is said to be incurable which does not admit of food or medicine. Whence S. Paul saith to the Hebrews (vi. 4-6), “ For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened,” &c.
From what has been said it is plain that the sin unto death is distinguished from blasphemy against the Spirit, spoken of in S. Matt. xii. 31, although it is akin to it. Christ calls the sin of the Scribes blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, because they ascribed His Divine works, such as the casting out devils, which He did by the power of the Holy Ghost, to an unclean spirit. And they did this knowingly and maliciously, because they might and ought easily have known that those works were wrought by the Holy Ghost, and not by a devil. Christ opposes such blasphemy against the Holy Spirit of God to blasphemy against the Son of Man, by which some who were offended at the human conversation and condescension of Christ calumniated His actions as man. They called him a wine-bibber , a friend of publicans and sinners. And this was a less, and therefore more easily remissible, sin. But as the sin spoken of in S. Matthew was the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, so here the sin unto death is blasphemy and treachery against Christ. And both one and the other are with difficulty remitted.
This sin is not to be healed by any one but by Christ alone. For such a sinner is like unto Lazarus, of whom Martha said unto Christ, “ Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he has been buried four days.” Wherefore Jesus, with great effort, weeping and lifting up His eyes to heaven, and crying with a loud voice, “ Lazarus, come forth ! ” raiseth him again to life.
I do not say that any one should pray for it. Thus the Greek and Latin. S. Gregory has a reading, that any one should pray for him . The meaning is, I do not forbid prayer for such, but I dare not promise that the prayer will be answered. For often God will not hear those who pray on behalf of the sin unto death, according to the words in Jeremiah, vii. 16, “ Pray not thou for this people, for I will not hear thee.”
S. Bernard says (de Grad. Humil. cap. ult.), “The Apostle John says, for such a one I do not say that any one should pray. But dost thou say, O Apostle, that any one should despair? Indeed let him who loves him groan. Though he may not presume to pray, yet let him weep. Thus Martha and the Magdalen wept the death of Lazarus, and by weeping obtained his resurrection.”
Ver. 17. — All iniquity is sin , and there is a sin unto death : the Greek and Syriac add the negative proposition, and there is a sin not unto death. He opposes the two kinds of sin. Every iniquity is sin, but not every iniquity unto death, because it is a peculiar kind of sin which, as is said, is sin unto death.
For iniquity the Greek has adixia, injustice , which is properly opposed to justice. But as in Scripture, so also in Aristotle and the ethical writers, justice is taken generally for any virtue, and injustice or iniquity for any sin.
Ver. 18. — We know that every one who is born of God sinneth not, but the generation of God preserveth him. The Latin translator reads, γέννησις ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ τηρεῖ αὐτόν. The present Greek reading is γεννηθεὶς ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ τηρεῖ ἑαυτόν, i.e. he who is born of God keepeth himself, viz., by the virtue received from his divine birth.
And the wicked one toucheth him not. This is the third fruit of the living faith, or regeneration, by which any one through faith and grace is born again in Christ, viz., preservation from at least grave and deadly sin, and consequently from the power of the malignant one, i.e. the devil. I have explained this in cap. 3 vers. 6 and 9.
Generation is here put for the grace generating. S. Gregory and S. Bernard, for generation of God read heavenly generation. By generation here S. Gregory understands knowledge of the Divine will, with the love of the same ; S. Bernard, the Divine predestination ; Didymus, the regeneration of the will which takes place by voluntary conversion and repentance. But others better understand it to mean grace and charity. For by these are wrought the regeneration and renovation of the new man, that is to say, of the faithful and holy soul, and its continuance in charity.
And the wicked one ( malignus ), &c. By the wicked one Didymus and Thomas English understand the world. But others, generally with more correctness, understand it of the devil. For the devil is more especially the wicked or the evil one. He does not touch, i.e does not hurt, him who is born of God. The Syriac translates, doth not come nigh him. This is what is said in Zach. ii. 8, “He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of Mine eye.” And Ps. civ. 15, “Touch not My Christs” (Vulg.); and S. Paul says, “God is faithful , who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.”
Ver. 19. — We know that we are of God , and the whole world is placed in the wicked one. For is placed the Greek reads κεῖται, i.e. lieth. The wicked one (malignus), i.e. the devil, as in the last verse. This is the epilogue of the Epistles. As though S. John said, This is the conclusion and the sum of my words. We ought greatly to rejoice that, being born of God, we live and abide in Him, and lead in Him a pure and holy and heavenly life. Whilst, on the contrary, the world, i.e. worldly men, are situated in the wicked one. That is, they live oppressed beneath the tyrannical power and domination of the devil, and in him they lead a life impure and wicked, which leads to hell. The Manichaeans, however, are in error who think that the world is placed in the wicked one because it was made by the devil, as if he in making it breathed into it his own wickedness and malignity.
Another meaning that may be given to wicked is that it is put for wickedness, depravity. Whence Salviatus (lib. 4 de Pravid.) recalls, The whole world is placed in evil. There is an allusion to Gen. vi. 5, “ God saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that the whole thought of his heart was intent to evil.” The Hebrew is, “the whole fashioning, or imagination, of the thoughts of his heart was evil.” The whole world therefore is placed in wickedness and concupiscence which entices to every wickedness. For indeed the world, i.e. all the people of the world, in the Sin of Adam contracted original sin and concupiscence, and by these they are led to all evil. The world therefore is an ocean of crimes and a deluge of vices, according to the words in Osee (iv. 2), “Cursing and lying and murder and theft and adultery have been a flood, and blood hath touched blood.”
Experience teaches us that the world, like Sodom, is full of covetousness, pride, deceit, luxury, gluttony, and every evil.
S. John seems to be alluding to the three evils of the world which he spoke of in chap. ii. 16, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Wherefore he who is wise flies from the world, and the conversation of worldlings, and betakes himself to a congregation of the Saints, as Lot saved himself from the burning of Sodom by fleeing to the mountain.