Thomas Aquinas Commentary John 1:9-10

"There was the true light, [even the light] which lighteth every man, coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world knew him not." — John 1:9-10 (ASV)

1. 1. Previously, the Evangelist considered the forerunner and his witness to the incarnate Word; in this section, he considers the incarnate Word Himself. In this regard, he does three things.

   1. He shows why it was necessary for the Word to come.

   2. He shows the benefit we received from the coming of the Word, at he came unto his own (John 1:11).

   3. He shows the way He came, at and the Word was made flesh (John 1:14).

   The necessity for the Word’s coming is revealed in the world's lack of divine knowledge. He points out this need for His coming when he says, for this I was born, and for this I came into the world, that I should give testimony to the truth (John 18:37). To indicate this lack of divine knowledge, the Evangelist does two things.

   • First, he shows that this lack does not pertain to God or the Word.

   • Second, that it does pertain to humanity, at and the world did not know him.

   He shows in three ways that there was no defect in God or in the Word that prevented people from knowing God and from being enlightened by the Word.

   • First, from the efficacy of the divine light itself, because he was the true light, which enlightens every man coming into this world.

   • Second, from the presence of the divine light, because he was in the world.

   • Third, from the obviousness of the light, because through him the world was made.

   So the lack of divine knowledge in the world was not due to the Word, because the Word is sufficient. First, he shows the nature of this efficiency, that is, he was the true light. Second, its very efficiency, which enlightens every man.

2. 2. The divine Word is efficacious in enlightening because he was the true light. How the Word is light and the light of humanity need not be discussed again, as it was sufficiently explained previously (in Chapter 1, Lecture 3). What we must discuss now is how He is the true light.

   To explain this, we should note that in Scripture, the word true is contrasted with three things.

   • It is sometimes contrasted with the false, as in put an end to lying, and let everyone speak the truth (Ephesians 4:25).

   • It is sometimes contrasted with the figurative, as in the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17), because the truth of the figures contained in the law was fulfilled by Christ.

   • It is sometimes contrasted with what is possessed by participation, as in that we may be in his true Son (1 John 5:20), who is not His Son by participation.

   Before the Word came, there was a certain light in the world that the philosophers prided themselves on having. But this was a false light, because as it is said, they became stultified in their speculations, and their foolish hearts were darkened; claiming to be wise, they became fools (Romans 1:21–22); and, every man is made foolish by his knowledge (Jeremiah 10:14).

   There was another light from the teaching of the law, which the Jews boasted of having. But this was a symbolic light, for the law has a shadow of the good things to come, not the image itself of them (Hebrews 10:1).

   There was also a certain light in the angels and in holy men, insofar as they knew God in a more special way by grace. But this was a participated light, as in upon whom does his light not shine? (Job 25:3). This is like saying: whoever shines, shines to the extent that they participate in His light—that is, God’s light.

   But the Word of God was not a false light, nor a symbolic light, nor a participated light. He is the true light—that is, light by His very essence. Therefore, the Evangelist says, he was the true light.

3. 3. This excludes two errors.

   1. The error of Photinus, who believed that Christ derived His beginning from the Virgin. Therefore, so that no one would suppose this, the Evangelist, speaking of the Word’s incarnation, says, he was the true light—meaning eternally, not only before the Virgin but before every creature.

   2. The error of Arius and Origen, who said that Christ was not true God, but God by participation.Commentary on John 2.17–18. If this were so, He could not be the true light, as the Evangelist says here and as it is written, God is light (1 John 1:5)—that is, not by participation, but the true light. Therefore, if the Word was the true light, it is plain that He is true God.

   Now it is clear how the divine Word is effective in causing divine knowledge.

4. 4. The effectiveness of the Word lies in the fact that He enlightens every man coming into this world.

   For everything that possesses a quality by participation derives it from that which possesses the quality by its essence. For example, everything on fire is so by participation in fire, which is fire by its very essence. Since the Word is the true light by His very essence, then everything that shines must do so through Him, insofar as it participates in Him. And so He enlightens every man coming into this world.

5. 5. To understand this, we should know that world is used in three ways in Scripture.

   1. From the point of view of its creation, as when the Evangelist says here, through him the world was made.

   2. From the point of view of its perfection, which it reaches through Christ, as in God was, in Christ, reconciling the world to himself (2 Corinthians 5:19).

   3. From the point of view of its perversity, as in the whole world lies under the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19).

   On the other hand, enlightenment or being enlightened by the Word is taken in two ways. First, it can refer to the light of natural knowledge, as in the light of your countenance, O Lord, is marked upon us (Psalms 4:6). Second, it can refer to the light of grace, as in be enlightened, O Jerusalem (Isaiah 60:1).

6. 6. With these distinctions in mind, we can easily resolve a difficulty that arises here.

   When the Evangelist says He enlightens every man, this seems false, because many in the world remain in darkness.

   However, if we keep these distinctions in mind—taking world from the standpoint of its creation and enlightens as referring to the light of natural reason—the Evangelist’s statement is beyond reproach. All people coming into this visible world are enlightened by the light of natural knowledge by participating in this true light, which is the source of all natural knowledge in which humans share.

   When the Evangelist speaks of man coming into this world, he does not mean that people lived for a time outside the world and then entered it. This would be contrary to the Apostle’s teaching: for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls (Romans 9:11). Therefore, since they had done nothing before they were born, it is plain that the soul does not exist before its union with the body.

   He refers to every man coming into this world to show that people are enlightened by God with respect to that by which they came into the world—that is, with respect to the intellect, which is something external. For a person is constituted of a twofold nature: bodily and intellectual. According to their bodily or sensible nature, a person is enlightened by a bodily and sensible light. But according to their soul and intellectual nature, they are enlightened by an intellectual and spiritual light.

   Now, a person does not come into this world according to their bodily nature; in that respect, they are from the world. Their intellectual nature, however, is derived from a source external to the world—that is, from God through creation, as it is said: and the spirit is directed to God, who made it (Ecclesiastes 12:7). For these reasons, when the Evangelist speaks of coming into this world, he shows that this enlightenment refers to what is from without—that is, the intellect.

7. 7. If we understand enlightenment with respect to the light of grace, then he enlightens every man may be explained in three ways.

   1. The first explanation is from Origen in his homily, The Great Eagle.The author of the homily referenced here is actually John Scotus Eriugena (c. 800–877). For an English translation of the homily, see The Voice of The Eagle: The Heart of Celtic Christianity: John Scotus Eriugena's Homily on the Prologue to the Gospel of John, trans. Christopher Bamford (Great Barrington, MA: Lindisfarne Books, 2000). Here, world is understood from the point of view of its perfection, which humanity attains by reconciliation through Christ. The meaning, therefore, is: He enlightens every man coming, by faith, into this world—that is, into the spiritual world of the Church, which has been enlightened by the light of grace.

   2. Chrysostom explains it another way.Commentary on Saint John 8.1. He takes world under the aspect of creation. In this view, the sense is: He enlightens—that is, the Word does—insofar as it depends on Him, because He fails no one, but rather wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). This applies to every man coming, or born, into this sensible world. If anyone is not enlightened, it is their own fault, because they turn away from the light that enlightens.

   3. Augustine explains it a third way.The Enchiridion 27.103. For him, ‘every’ has a restricted application. The sense is: He enlightens every man coming into this world, meaning not every man universally, but every man who is enlightened, since no one is enlightened except by the Word. According to Augustine, the Evangelist says coming into this world to give the reason why humanity needs to be enlightened, taking world from the point of view of its perversity and defect.Tractates on the Gospel of John 2.7. It is as if he were saying that humanity needs enlightenment because it is coming into a world darkened by perversity, defects, and ignorance. This contrasts with the spiritual state of the first man. As Scripture says, this coming is to enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death (Luke 1:79).

8. 8. The above statement refutes the error of the Manichaeans, who thought that humans were created in the world from an opposing principle—namely, the devil. For if a person were a creature of the devil when coming into this world, they would not be enlightened by God or by the Word, for Christ came into the world to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).

9. 9. Thus, it is clear from the efficacy of the divine Word that the lack of knowledge in humanity is not due to the Word, for He is effective in enlightening all, being the true light, which enlightens every man coming into this world. But so that you do not suppose this lack arose from the withdrawal or absence of the true light, the Evangelist rules this out by adding, he was in the world.

   A comparable statement is found in Acts: He is not far from any one of us... for in him we live, and move, and are (Acts 17:27–28). It is as if the Evangelist were saying: The divine Word is both effective and near, in order to enlighten us.

10. 10. We should remark that something is said to be ‘in the world’ in three ways.

    1. By being contained, as an object exists in a place: these are in the world (John 17:11).

    2. As a part within a whole. For example, supernatural substances, although not in the world as in a place, are nevertheless in it as parts: God... who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them (Psalms 146:6).

    3. As an efficient and preserving cause. The true light was not in the world in either of the first two ways, because that light is neither localized nor a part of the universe. Indeed, the entire universe is, in a sense, a part of His goodness, since it participates in it partially. Accordingly, the true light was in the world in this third way: as its efficient and preserving cause, as God says, I fill heaven and earth (Jeremiah 23:24).

    However, there is a difference between the way the Word acts and the way other agents act. Other agents act externally; since they only act by moving and altering a thing’s external qualities, they work from the outside.

    But God acts in all things from within, because He acts by creating. To create is to give being to the thing created. Therefore, since existence is the innermost reality of each thing, God—who gives existence by His action—acts in things from within. Thus, God was in the world as the one giving existence to the world.

11. 11. It is customary to say that God is in all things by His essence, presence, and power.

    To understand this, we should know that someone is said to be present by their power in all things subject to that power. A king, for example, is said to be in his entire kingdom by his power, though he is not there by presence or essence. Someone is said to be present by their presence in all things within their range of vision, as a king is said to be in his house by his presence. And someone is said to be present by their essence in those places where their substance is, as a king is in one specific location.

    We say that God is everywhere by His power, since all things are subject to His power: if I ascend into heaven, you are there... if I take my wings early in the morning, and dwell in the furthest part of the sea, even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me (Psalms 139:8–10). He is also everywhere by His presence, because all things are bare and open to his eyes (Hebrews 4:13). Finally, He is present everywhere by His essence, because His essence is innermost in all things. Every agent, in the act of causing, must be immediately joined to its effect, because the mover and the moved must be together. Since God is the maker and preserver of the existence of every single thing, and since a thing’s existence is its innermost reality, it is plain that God is in all things by His essence, through which He creates all things.

12. 12. It should be noted that the Evangelist significantly uses the word was when he says, he was in the world. This shows that from the beginning of creation, He was always in the world, causing and preserving all things. For if God were to withhold His power for even a moment from the things He established, they would all return to nothing and cease to exist.

    Hence Origen uses an apt example to show this, when he says that the creature is to the divine Word as a human vocal sound is to the word conceived in the mind.John Scotus Eriugena, The Voice of the Eagle 18. Just as our vocal sound is the effect of the word conceived in our mind, so the creature is the effect of the Word conceived in the divine mind: For he spoke, and they were created (Psalms 148:5). Therefore, just as a spoken word ceases the moment the inner thought vanishes, so too would all things immediately cease to exist if the power of the divine Word were withdrawn from them. This is because He is sustaining all things by his powerful word (Hebrews 1:3).

13. 13. It is plain, therefore, that a lack of divine knowledge in human minds is not due to the Word’s absence, because he was in the world. Nor is it due to the Word’s invisibility or concealment, because He has produced a work in which His likeness is clearly reflected: the world itself. As it is written, for from the greatness and beauty of creatures, their creator can be seen accordingly , and the invisible things of God are clearly seen, being understood through the things that are made (Romans 1:20).

    And so the Evangelist immediately adds, and through him the world was made, so that the light might be manifested in it. For just as a work of art reveals the skill of the artist, so the whole world is nothing other than a representation of the divine wisdom conceived in the mind of the Father, who poured her out upon all his works .

    It is now clear that the lack of divine knowledge is not the fault of the Word. He is efficacious, being the true light; He is near, since he was in the world; and He is knowable, since through him the world was made.

14. 14. The Evangelist indicates the source of this deficiency when he says, and the world did not know him. It is as if to say: the fault is not His, but the world’s, which did not know him.

    He says him in the singular because he had earlier called the Word not only the light of men (John 1:4) but also God (John 1:1). Thus, when he says him, he means God.

    Again, he uses world to mean humanity. For the angels knew Him by their understanding, and the elements knew Him by their obedience, but the world—that is, humanity, which lives in the world—did not know him.

15. 15. We can attribute this lack of divine knowledge either to human nature or to human guilt.

    If we attribute it to human nature, it is because even though all the aforementioned aids were given to lead humanity to the knowledge of God, human reason in itself is deficient in this knowledge. As Job says, Man beholds him from afar (Job 36:25), and soon after, God is great beyond our knowledge. If some have known Him, it was not insofar as they were in the world, but insofar as they were above the world—the kind of people for whom the world was not worthy. This is one reason why God is not known by humanity. Another is the world's inordinate love for itself; thus it is said, the world did not know him. Therefore, if such people perceived anything eternal, it was only insofar as they were not of this world.

    If, however, this lack is attributed to human guilt, then the phrase the world did not know him itself explains why God was not known. In this sense, world means those who inordinately love the world. It is as if to say, the world did not know him because they were lovers of the world. As Augustine says, the love of the world is what chiefly withdraws us from the knowledge of God, because love of the world makes one an enemy to God (James 4:4);Tractates on the Gospel of John 2.11. furthermore, the sensual man does not perceive the things that pertain to the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2:14).

16. 16. From this, we can answer the futile question of the Gentiles: If the Son of God has only recently been set before the world as the savior of humanity, does it not seem that He scorned human nature before that time?

    We should answer that He did not scorn the world but was always in the world and, for His part, was knowable by all. It was due to their own fault that some did not know Him, because they were lovers of the world.

17. 17. We should also note that the Evangelist speaks of the Word’s incarnation to show that the incarnate Word is the same as the one who was in the beginning with God (John 1:1), and who is God.

    He repeats what he had said of Him earlier. The following points are an explanation of what he had said before:

    • Previously, he said the Word was the light of men (John 1:4); here, he says He was the true light.

    • Previously, he said that all things were made through him (John 1:3); here, he says that through him the world was made.

    • Previously, he said, without him was made nothing (John 1:3), which, according to one explanation, means He preserves all things; here, he says, he was in the world, creating and preserving the world and all things.

    • Previously, he said, the darkness did not comprehend it (John 1:5); here, he says, the world did not know him.

18. 18. From the above, we can gather three reasons why God willed to become incarnate.

    1. The first reason is the perversity of human nature, which through its own malice had been darkened by vice and ignorance. This is why he said before, the darkness did not comprehend it (John 1:5). Therefore, God came in the flesh so that the darkness might apprehend the light—that is, obtain knowledge of it: The people who walked in darkness saw a great light (Isaiah 9:2).

    2. The second reason is that the testimony of the prophets was not enough. The prophets came, and John the Baptist came, but they could not provide sufficient enlightenment, because John was not the light (John 1:8). And so, after the prophecies and the coming of John, it was necessary for the Light Himself to come and give the world knowledge of Himself. This is what the Apostle says: in past times, God spoke in many ways and degrees to our fathers through the prophets; in these days he has spoken to us in his Son (Hebrews 1:1–2). And also: We have the prophetic message, to which you do well to give attention, until the day dawns (2 Peter 1:19).

    3. The third reason is the shortcomings of creation. Creatures were not sufficient to lead humanity to a knowledge of the Creator; hence the Evangelist says, through him the world was made, and the world did not know him. Thus, it was necessary for the Creator Himself to come into the world in the flesh and be known through Himself. This is what the Apostle says: since in the wisdom of God the world did not know God by its wisdom, it pleased God to save those who believe by the foolishness of our preaching (1 Corinthians 1:21).