He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them
He that has not merely the external revelation of them in the
Bible; but has them written on his heart, by the finger of the
Spirit of God, and keeps them under the influence of grace and
strength received from him:
he it is that loveth me:
others may talk of loving Christ, but this is the man that truly
does love him; for his observance of Christ's commands is a proof
and evidence that he loves him not in word only, but in deed and
in truth: and to encourage souls to love and obedience, Christ
adds,
he that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father;
not that love to is the cause, condition, or motive of the
Father's love to his people; nor does his love to them begin when
they begin to love Christ; but this expression denotes some
further and greater manifestation of the Father's love to such
persons, and shows how grateful to the Father are love and
obedience to the Son:
and I will love him;
which must be understood in the same manner; Christ does not
begin to love his people when they begin to love, and obey him;
their love and obedience to him, spring from his love to them;
which love of his towards them was from everlasting: but this
phrase signs a clearer discovery of his love to them, which
passeth knowledge; and some fresh mark and token of his affection
for them; and which is explained in the next clause:
and will manifest myself to him;
not in a visible way, or in a corporeal form, as he did to his
disciples after his resurrection; but in a spiritual manner, as
when he makes himself known to his people in ordinances, and
favours them with communion with him, and they see his beauty,
his fulness, his grace and righteousness, his power, and his
glory.