John 8:42

42 Jesus told them, "If God were your Father, you would love me. After all, I'm here, and I came from God. I didn't come on my own. Instead, God sent me.

John 8:42 Meaning and Commentary

John 8:42

Jesus said unto them, if God were your Father
By adoption; and this was discovered by the grace of regeneration; or in other words, if they had been born of God,

ye would love me;
for in regeneration love to Christ is always implanted: it is a fruit of the Spirit, which always comes along with the superabounding grace of God in conversion; whoever are begotten again, according to abundant mercy, love an unseen Jesus; and where there is no love to Christ, there can be no regeneration: such persons are not born again; nor is God their Father, at least manifestatively:

for I proceeded forth; and came from God;
the former of these phrases is observed by many learned men to be used by the Septuagint, of a proper natural birth, as in ( Genesis 15:4 ) ( 35:11 ) ; and here designs the eternal generation of Christ, as the Son of God, being the only begotten of the Father, and the Son of the Father in truth and love; and the other is to be understood of his mission from him, as Mediator:

neither came I of myself;
or did not take the office to himself, without being called unto it, and invested with it, by his Father:

but he sent me;
not by force, or against the will of Christ, or by change of place, but by assumption of nature; he sent him at the time agreed upon, in human nature, to obtain eternal redemption for his people: and upon both these accounts Christ is to be loved by all regenerate persons, or who have God for their Father; both on account of his being the Son of God, of the same nature and essence with him, see ( 1 John 5:1 ) ; and on account of his mission into this world, as Mediator, since he was sent, and came to be the Saviour of lost sinners.

John 8:42 In-Context

40 I am a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. But now you want to kill me. Abraham wouldn't have done that.

41 You're doing what your father does." The Jews said to Jesus, "We're not illegitimate children. God is our only Father."

42 Jesus told them, "If God were your Father, you would love me. After all, I'm here, and I came from God. I didn't come on my own. Instead, God sent me.

43 Why don't you understand the language I use? Is it because you can't understand the words I use?

44 You come from your father, the devil, and you desire to do what your father wants you to do. The devil was a murderer from the beginning. He has never been truthful. He doesn't know what the truth is. Whenever he tells a lie, he's doing what comes naturally to him. He's a liar and the father of lies.