Church Fathers Commentary John 1:10

"He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world knew him not." — John 1:10 (ASV)

St. Augustine of Hippo: The Light that enlightens every man that comes into the world came here in the flesh. For while He was present in His divinity alone, the foolish, blind, and unrighteous could not discern Him—those about whom it was said earlier, The darkness comprehended it not. Therefore, the text says, He was in the world.

Origen of Alexandria: For just as a person's voice ceases to exist and vanishes when they stop speaking, so if the Heavenly Father were to cease speaking His Word, the effect of that Word—that is, the universe which is created in the Word—would also cease to exist.

St. Augustine of Hippo: However, you must not suppose that He was in the world in the same sense that the earth, cattle, and people are in the world. Rather, He was in the world in the sense that a craftsman governs his own work, which is why the text says, And the world was made by Him. Nor did He make it in the manner of a craftsman, for a craftsman is external to what he makes. God, however, permeates the world, carrying on the work of creation in every part and never being absent from any part. By the presence of His majesty, He both makes and governs what is made. Thus, He was in the world as the One by whom the world was made.

St. John Chrysostom: And again, because He was in the world but not contemporary with the world, for this reason the Evangelist introduced the words, and the world was made by Him, thus leading you back again to the eternal existence of the Only-Begotten. For when we are told that the whole of creation was made by Him, we would have to be very foolish not to acknowledge that the Maker existed before the work.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Here he at once overthrows the foolish notion of the Manichaean, who says that the world is the work of a malignant being, and the opinion of the Arian, that the Son of God is a creature.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But what does this mean: The world was made by Him? The earth, sky, sea, and all that is in them are called the world. In another sense, however, the lovers of the world are called “the world,” about whom he says, And the world knew Him not. For did the sky or the angels not know their Creator—whom even the demons confess, and to whom the whole universe has borne witness? Who, then, did not know Him?

Those who did not know Him are those who, because of their love for the world, are called “the world.” Such people live in their hearts in the world, while those who do not love it have their bodies in the world but their hearts in heaven, as the Apostle said, our conversation is in heaven. By their love for the world, these people deserve to be called by the name of the place where they live. And just as when we speak of a “bad house” or a “good house,” we are not praising or blaming the walls but the inhabitants, so when we speak of “the world,” we mean those who live in it and love it.

St. John Chrysostom: But those who were the friends of God knew Him even before His presence in the body, which is why Christ said later, Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day. So when the Gentiles interrupt us with the question, “Why did He come in these last times to work our salvation, having neglected us for so long?” we reply that He was in the world before, overseeing what He had made, and was known to all who were worthy of Him. And if the world did not know Him, those of whom the world was not worthy did know Him.

The reason why the world did not know Him follows. The Evangelist calls those people “the world” who are attached to the world and savor worldly things, for there is nothing that disturbs the mind so much as being consumed by the love of present things.