Thomas Aquinas Commentary John 3:16-21

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God sent not the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through him. He that believeth on him is not judged: he that believeth not hath been judged already, because he hath not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, lest his works should be reproved. But he that doeth the truth cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest, that they have been wrought in God." — John 3:16-21 (ASV)

1. Above, the Lord assigned the coming down of the Son and the lifting up of the Son of Man as the cause of spiritual regeneration, and he explained its fruit, which is eternal life (John 3:13–15). But this fruit seemed unbelievable to people struggling with the inevitability of death. So now the Lord explains this.

   First, he proves the greatness of the fruit from the greatness of God’s love.

   Second, he rejects a potential reply, at for God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world.

2. Here we should note that the cause of all our good is the Lord and divine love. For to love is, properly speaking, to will good for someone. Therefore, since the will of God is the cause of all things, good comes to us because God loves us. God’s love is the cause of the good of nature: you love everything which exists . It is also the cause of the good of grace: I have loved you with an everlasting love, and so I have drawn you—that is, through grace (Jeremiah 31:3). But it is because of his great love that he gives us the good of glory.

   So he shows us here, from four standpoints, that this love of God is the greatest. First, from the person of the one who loves, because it is God who loves, and immeasurably. So he says, for God so loved; he has loved the people; all the holy ones are in his hand (Deuteronomy 33:3). Second, from the condition of the one who is loved, because it is man, a bodily creature of the world, existing in sin: God shows his love for us, because while we were still his enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son (Romans 5:8). Thus he says, the world. Third, from the greatness of his gifts, for love is shown by a gift; as Gregory says, the proof of love is given by action. But God has given us the greatest of gifts, his only begotten Son, and so he says, that he gave his only begotten Son. God did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for all of us (Romans 8:32).

   He says his Son, meaning his natural, consubstantial Son, not an adopted son like those of whom the Psalmist says: I said: you are gods (Psalms 81:6). This shows that the opinion of Arius is false, for if the Son of God were a creature, as he said, the immensity of God’s love—revealed through the taking on of infinite goodness, which no creature can receive—could not have been shown in him. He further says only begotten to show that God does not have a love divided among many sons, but all of it is for that Son whom he gave to prove the immensity of his love: for the Father loves the Son and shows him all things that he himself does (John 5:20). Fourth, from the greatness of its fruit, because through him we have eternal life. Hence he says, so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life, which he obtained for us through the death of the cross.

3. But did God give his Son with the intention that he should die on the cross? He did indeed give him for the death of the cross, insofar as he gave him the will to suffer on it. And he did this in two ways. First, because as the Son of God he willed from eternity to assume flesh and to suffer for us; and this will he had from the Father. Second, because the will to suffer was infused into the soul of Christ by God.

4. Note that above, when the Lord was speaking about the descent that belongs to Christ according to his divinity, he called him the Son of God. This is because of the one suppositum of the two natures, as was explained previously. And so divine things can be said about the suppositum of the human nature, and human things can be said about the suppositum of the divine nature, but not with reference to the same nature. Rather, divine things are said with reference to the divine nature, and human things with reference to the human nature. Now the specific reason he here calls him the Son of God is that he presented that gift as a sign of the divine love, through which the fruit of eternal life comes to us. And so, he should be called by the name that indicates the power that produces eternal life; and this power is not in Christ as Son of man but as Son of God: this is the true God and eternal life (1 John 5:20); in him was life (John 1:4).

5. Note also that he says, should not perish. A person is said to perish when they are prevented from reaching the end for which they are destined. The end for which humanity is destined is eternal life, and as long as a person sins, they turn away from that end. And although while they are living, they cannot perish entirely in the sense that they cannot be restored, when they die in sin, then they perish completely: the way of the wicked will perish (Psalms 1:6).

   He indicates the immensity of God’s love in saying, have eternal life, for by giving eternal life, he gives himself. For eternal life is nothing other than enjoying God. But to give oneself is a sign of great love: but God, who is rich in mercy, has brought us to life in Christ (Ephesians 2:5), that is, he gave us eternal life.

6. Here, the Lord addresses a potential objection. For in the Old Law it was promised that the Lord would come to judge: the Lord will come to judge (Isaiah 3:14). So someone might say that the Son of God had not come to give eternal life but in order to judge the world. The Lord rejects this.

   First, he shows that he has not come to judge.

   Second, he proves it, at he who believes in him is not judged.

7. So he says: the Son of God has not come to judge, because God did not send his Son, referring to his first coming, into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him. The same thing is said later: I came not to judge the world, but to save the world (John 12:47).

   Now, a person’s salvation is to attain to God: my salvation is in God (Psalms 61:8). And to attain to God is to obtain eternal life; hence to be saved is the same as to have eternal life. However, because the Lord says, I came not to judge the world (John 12:47), people should not become lazy, abuse God’s mercy, or give themselves over to sin. For although in his first coming he did not come to judge but to forgive, in his second coming he will come to judge, not to forgive. At the appointed time I will judge with rigor (Psalms 75:2).

8. However, this seems to conflict with what is said: for judgment I came into the world (John 9:39).

   I answer that there are two kinds of judgment. One is the judgment of distinction, and the Son has come for this in his first coming, because with his coming people are distinguished, some by blindness and some by the light of grace. The other is the judgment of condemnation, and he did not come for this in itself.

9. He now proves what he said, as if by a process of elimination, in the following way: whoever will be judged will be either a believer or an unbeliever. But I have not come to judge unbelievers, because they are already judged. Therefore, from the outset, God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world.

   So first he shows that believers are not judged.

   Second, that unbelievers are judged, at whoever does not believe is already judged.

10. He says, therefore, I came not to judge the world (John 12:47), because he did not come to judge believers, for he who believes in him is not judged with the judgment of condemnation. No one who believes in him with a faith formed by love is judged in this way: he will not come into judgment but passes from death to life (John 5:24). But he is judged with the judgment of reward and approval, of which the Apostle says: it is the Lord who judges me (1 Corinthians 4:4).

11. But will many believing sinners not be damned?

    I answer that some heretics have said that no believer, however great a sinner he may be, will be damned. Instead, he will be saved because of his foundation of salvation—namely, his faith—although he may be permitted to suffer some punishment. They base their error on the Apostle’s statement: no one can lay a foundation other than the one that has been laid, that is, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11); and further on: if a man’s building burns... he himself will be saved as one fleeing through fire (1 Corinthians 3:15).

    But this view is clearly contrary to what the Apostle says: it is obvious what proceeds from the flesh: lewd conduct, impurity, licentiousness... those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19–21).

    Therefore, we must say that the foundation of salvation is not unformed faith, but faith that is formed and works through love. It is significant, therefore, that the Lord did not say, "he who believes in him," but whoever believes in him. This means that whoever, by believing, moves toward him through love is not judged, because such a person does not sin mortally, which would remove the foundation. Alternatively, one could say that anyone who acts sinfully does not truly believe: they profess to know God, but they deny him by their actions (Titus 1:16). But the one who acts worthily shows their faith by their works ; such a person is not judged and not condemned for unbelief.

12. Here he shows that unbelievers are judged.

    First he makes the statement.

    Second, he explains it at: and this is the judgment.

13. Regarding the first point, we should note that Christ does not say, "he who does not believe will be judged," but rather that he is already judged. This can be explained in three ways. First, whoever does not believe is not judged in the future because he is already judged, not in fact, but in God’s foreknowledge; that is, it is already known to God that he will be condemned: the Lord knows who are his (2 Timothy 2:19).

    In another way, whoever does not believe is already judged means that the very fact that he does not believe is his condemnation. For not to believe is not to adhere to the light—which is to live in darkness, and this is a great condemnation: all were bound with one chain of darkness . What kind of joy can I have, I who sit in darkness and do not see the light of heaven? .

    In a third way, whoever does not believe, being already condemned, displays the obvious reason for his condemnation. This is like saying that a person who is proven guilty of a capital crime is already dead, even before the sentence of death has been passed on him, because he is as good as dead.

    Hence, in passing judgments there is a twofold order. Some will be sentenced by a trial; such are the ones who have something not deserving of condemnation, namely, the good of faith—that is, believing sinners. But unbelievers, whose reason for condemnation is obvious, are sentenced without a trial; and of these it is said, whoever does not believe is already judged. In judgment the wicked will not stand (Psalms 1:5), that is, stand in trial.

14. It should be noted that to be judged is the same as to be condemned; and to be condemned is to be shut out from salvation, to which only one road leads: the name of the Son of God. There is no other name under heaven given to men, by which we are saved (Acts 4:12); O God, save me by your name (Psalms 54:1). Therefore, those who do not believe in the Son of God are cut off from salvation, and the cause of their damnation is evident.

15. Here the Lord explains his statement that unbelievers have an evident cause for their condemnation.

    First, he sets forth the sign which shows this.

    Second, the appropriateness of this sign: for everyone who does evil hates the light.

16. In the sign he presents, he does three things. First, he mentions the gift of God. Second, the perversity of mind in unbelievers. Third, the cause of this perversity.

    So he says: it is abundantly clear that whoever does not believe is already judged. This is apparent from the kindness of God, because the light has come into the world. For people were in the darkness of ignorance, and God destroyed this darkness by sending a light into the world so that they might know the truth: I am the light of the world: he who follows me does not walk in darkness but will have the light of life (John 8:12); to enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death (Luke 1:79).

    Now the light came into the world because people could not come to it, for he dwells in inaccessible light, whom no man has seen or is able to see (1 Timothy 6:16). It is also clear from the perversity of mind in unbelievers who loved darkness more than the light; that is, they preferred to remain in the darkness of ignorance rather than be instructed by Christ: they have rebelled against the light (Job 24:13); woe to you who substitute darkness for light, and light for darkness (Isaiah 5:20).

    The cause of this perversity is that their works were evil. Such works do not conform to the light but seek the darkness: let us cast off the works of darkness (Romans 13:12), that is, sins, which seek the darkness. Those who sleep, sleep at night (1 Thessalonians 5:7); the eye of the adulterer watches for the darkness (Job 24:15). Now, a person does not believe the light because they withdraw from it, finding it unpleasant.

17. But do all unbelievers perform evil works? It seems not, for many gentiles, such as Cato and others, have acted virtuously.

    I answer that it is one thing to act from virtue, and another to act from a natural aptitude or disposition. For some act well because of their natural disposition, because their temperament is not inclined toward the opposite. And even unbelievers can act well in this way. For example, one may live chastely because he is not assailed by sinful desire; and the same for the other virtues. But those who act well from virtue do not abandon virtue, despite inclinations to the contrary vice, because of the rightness of their reason and the goodness of their will; and this is characteristic of believers.

    Alternatively, one might answer that although unbelievers may do good things, they do them not for the love of virtue but out of vainglory. Furthermore, they did not do all things well, for they failed to give God the worship he is due.

18. Then when he says, for everyone who does evil hates the light, he shows the appropriateness of the sign he used.

    First, with respect to those who are evil.

    Second, with respect to the good, at but he who practices truth comes to the light.

19. So he says: they did not love the light because their works were evil. This is plain because everyone who does evil hates the light. He does not say "did," but rather does. This is because if someone has acted evilly but has repented and is sorry, seeing that they have done wrong, such a person does not hate the light but comes to it. But everyone who does evil—that is, persists in evil—is not sorry, does not come to the light, but hates it; not because it reveals truth, but because it exposes a person’s sins.

    For an evil person still wants to know the light and the truth, but he hates to be exposed by it. If the dawn suddenly appears, they regard it as the shadow of death (Job 24:17). And so he does not come to the light, and this is so that his works may not be exposed. For no one who is unwilling to abandon evil wants to be rebuked; such rebuke is fled from and hated. They hate the one who rebukes at the city gate (Amos 5:10); a corrupt man does not love the one who rebukes him (Proverbs 15:12).

20. Now he shows the same things with respect to the good, who practice the truth—that is, who perform good works. For truth is found not only in thought and words, but also in deeds. Every one of these comes to the light.

    But did anyone practice the truth before Christ? It seems not, for to practice the truth is to not sin, and before Christ all have sinned (Romans 3:23).

    I answer that a person practices the truth in himself when he is displeased with the evil he has done. After leaving the darkness, he keeps himself from sin, and repenting of the past, comes to the light with the special intention that his works may be made manifest.

21. But this conflicts with the teaching that no one should publicize the good they have done; this was a reason why the Lord rebuked the Pharisees.

    I answer that it is permissible to want one’s works to be seen by God so that they may be approved: it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom God commends (2 Corinthians 10:18); my witness is in heaven (Job 16:19). It is also permissible to want them to be seen by one’s own conscience, so that one may rejoice: our glory is this: the testimony of our conscience (2 Corinthians 1:12). But it is blameworthy to want them to be seen by others in order to be praised or for one’s own glory.

    Yet, holy people desire their good works to be known to others for the sake of God’s glory and the good of the faith: let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Such a person comes to the light, so that his works may be made manifest, because they are done in God—that is, according to God’s commandment or through the grace of God. For whatever good we do, whether avoiding sin, repenting of what has been done, or performing good works, it is all from God: you have accomplished all our works for us (Isaiah 26:12).