Verse 12. And when the women received Him, He gave them the region to be children of God, believing in His name. Those who received Him,[25] having accepted His teaching, gave them the region to be children of God; but He did not immediately make them children of God, so that they would not lose grace through negligence, but only gave them the power to be, so that through their suffering they would become such children. But do not all have the power to be children of God? Not all, but only those who are given this power; but it is given only to those who believe in Him. Therefore, the Evangelist, explaining to whom the Word gave this authority, added: to those who believe in His name, that is, in Him. It is up to Him to bestow such authority, and it is up to them to use it. It is one thing to be adopted by God through baptism, and another thing to be a child of God through the fulfillment of the Gospel commandments: this is the beginning, and this is the end; this is a gift of God, and this is a matter of diligence.

Verse 13. Who was born not of blood, nor of the lust of the flesh, nor of the lust of men, but of God. [26] He lowers the birth of men as natural, and exalts the birth of God as supernatural, so that, knowing the humiliation of the former and the greatness of the latter, and understanding the greatness of the beneficence, we may worthily thank and try not to lose it through negligence. Having said not of blood, the Evangelist, for greater explanation, added: nor of the lust of the flesh; then he interpreted it still more clearly, adding: "Nor from the lust of a man, since a man is flesh and blood; and by lust he here means the desire for carnal union. The divine seed entered in and strengthened the flesh animated by the thinking and rational soul, not as a fruit-giving force, but as a creative one, and not so that the image was formed little by little from increments, but being perfect in the beginning, it nevertheless grew like embryos. And the ancient Adam was immediately created in a perfect form.

Verse 14. And the Word was made flesh... [27] He could not otherwise show God's love for us than by mentioning the flesh and the fact that the Word descended to the lowest, since the flesh is inferior to the spirit. Having said that men were born of God, he says that the Son of God became man (this is the meaning of the expression: And the Word was made flesh), so that he who marvels at the first will be amazed at the second, as even more wonderful, because it serves as the foundation for the first. The Son of God became man so that people would become the sons of God. When you hear: "The Word was made flesh," do not think that the essence of God, which is unchangeable and unharmed, has changed, but that the Word, while remaining what it was, has become what it was not, or: while remaining God, it became man through the perception of the flesh, animated, of course, by a thinking and rational soul. Everything that happens happens in three ways: first, so that the nature of what existed before changes into the nature of what happened again; thus cheese comes from milk, and tiles from clay; secondly, in such a way that the former essence remains unchanged, but something happens by chance, so that brass becomes a statue, a man just or unjust, and so on; thirdly, in such a way that the former essence remains unchanged, but another essence is perceived; In this way, the commander becomes armed. But the Word was not made flesh in the first way, because His nature was not changed, nor in the second, because the flesh that came into being was not an essence; therefore, this saying must be understood in the third way: having put on the flesh like a military leader, the Word defeated the enemy of our nature. He said: it was (εγενετο — it became), in order to destroy the blasphemy of idle talkers, as if this flesh were illusory. By using the word εγενετο, the Evangelist attested that the Word was real, and not illusory. And so that you do not assume any change in the Divine essence, he says:

Verse 14... And dwelt in us... [28] It dwelt in our flesh, which is akin to us and received from us. Since that which indwells is different from that in which it indwells, the Word also remained distinct from the body in its essence and properties; however, after the indwelling and union, the perceiving Word and the received flesh are one, but both these natures, even after the union, are inexpressibly preserved unchanged and unmerged.

Verse 14... And we saw His glory...,[29] the glory of the Word, the power of the Godhead, shining through the flesh as through a veil. What kind of glory is this? His innumerable and manifold miracles: His brilliant and all-natural transfiguration, then during the Crucifixion – the unnatural eclipse of the sun, the terrible tearing of the veil, the terrible earthquake, the disintegration of stones, the opening of tombs, the rise of the dead, and most of all – the resurrection of the Lord, surpassing all word and mind, and everything that was God-worthy after that the apostles saw.

Verse 14... The glory of the Only-begotten of the Father...,[30] not such a glory as the glorified saints or angels, but the glory of the truly Only-begotten. For here it means the same thing that is true. The Only-begotten of the Father, i.e. by nature of the Son of God. The name "Only-begotten of the Mother" indicates in Him by nature the son of the Virgin, and the expression "Only-begotten of the Father" denotes in Him by nature the Son of God.

Verse 14... Full of grace and truth. [31] Asserting then that the Word made flesh was not diminished in the least by this, the Evangelist says that He was the Fulfillment of the grace of God and of truth, grace in the performance of miracles, and truth in doctrine, grace in omnipotence, and truth in the fact that He had nothing illusory.

Verse 15. John testifies of Him, and called... [32] If, says the Evangelist, it may seem to some that I am not fully trustworthy, then before me testifies to the Divinity of the Word John, that John whose name was great and glorious among all the Jews; and not only testifies, but also calls, that is, boldly shouts, preaches freely and without any fear. Listen to what he testifies and preaches:

Verse 15... Saying: This is His rekh, Who is coming after me, was before me... [33] He also said other things similar to the Jews about Christ, before He appeared as a prophet, to warn them by talking about Christ, and when He appeared, so that it would be easier to receive the testimony of Him. And Matthew (3:11) wrote: "And he who is coming for me is strong, Who is worthy to bear the boots... What does this mean: He who is coming is before me after me? He who is soon to come to you, but who has not yet appeared to you as a man, surpasses me in glory and majesty, because He must be greatly glorified and magnified. He spoke of the future as having already been accomplished, according to the laws of prophecy. Then he sets forth the reason for such superiority.

Verse 15... For I was before me,[34] because He was before me, as God.

Verse 16. And from His fulfillment we all received... [35] Having said that the Word was full of grace and truth, and having also shown that He is the eternal and inexhaustible source of all good, the Evangelist says that we, all the disciples, will receive from this fullness His participation through participation.

Verse 16... And grace to grace...,[36] the New Testament instead of the Old. What he says of these Covenants is clear from what follows, but now he has for the time being called both graces, because both of them have been granted by grace to those who have received them, since God has given them to men by His mercy, and has not rewarded them for their former virtues. Just as covenant and covenant, law and law, and many other things have a common name, so are the names grace and grace used. These are homonyms, not synonyms: the grace of the Old Testament is only the original instruction, and the grace of the New Testament is the consummation, the latter is appropriate for infants, and for perfect people, or: this for perfect people, and this even for angels. Further, he points out the difference between the Covenants and the difference between their founders.

Verse 17. As the law was given by Moses, grace and truth were given by Jesus Christ. [37] The Law, or Old Testament, was given to the Jews through Moses, and grace, or the New Testament, was given by Jesus Christ without any mediator. Moses was a servant and gave what he himself received from God, and Jesus Christ was the Master, and He Himself established the New Covenant as God. So, as much as there is a difference between Moses and Jesus Christ, so is the difference between the Testaments. Above the Evangelist said: grace and grace for the reason indicated there, but here only the New Testament called grace as true grace, because only it grants the remission of sins, regeneration, adoption, the Kingdom of Heaven, and those blessings which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor ascended into the heart of man (1 Corinthians 2:9). [38] Having said grace, the Evangelist added: and truth, thus testifying to the non-falsity or perfection of the New Testament. The Old Testament was imperfect grace: for the law did not perfect anything, says the Apostle (Heb. 7:19), but the New Testament is perfect grace, because it makes perfect. Thus, the greater grace we have been vouchsafed, the greater virtue we bind ourselves to, so that, living unworthy of so great a blessing, we may not suffer a punishment worthy of so great sloth.

Verse 18. God is nowhere to be seen: the Only-begotten Son, sitting in the bosom of the Father, that confession. [40] See with what consistency the evangelist proceeded to this. Having shown the difference between law and grace, he adds a reasonable reason for this difference: the law was brought by Moses, a man who did not see God, since God is nowhere to be seen, and therefore the law is inferior, as brought by man; but grace, or the Gospel, the Only-begotten Son, who dwells in the bosom of the Father and always sees God as God, confessed, established, taught, and therefore grace is higher than that which proceeded from God, who sees God and knows all things of God. But how did the Evangelist say: "God is nowhere to be seen?" And Isaiah (6:1) saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and exalted; Ezekiel (10:18) saw Him sitting on the cherubim; Daniel (7:8) saw the Ancient of Days sitting, and others also saw. But they all saw not as He was in His being, but as He appeared in one likeness or another. If they had seen His very essence, they would not have seen Him in various images, because it is something simple, having no image, not sitting, not standing, not walking, everything that is proper to bodies. That is why God said: "I have multiplied visions, and in the hands of the prophets they have been likened to them" (Hosea 12:10)[41], thus indicating various visions and likenesses. The Son is called the Only-begotten, first of all, because he is born of the Father alone, because he is born of the Father alone, and His Father is only the Father, and not any one's son, like other fathers, — further, because only the Son is born, and not someone's father, like other sons — and, finally, because He is born of the Single or special generation, surpassing all reason and word, and not like bodies. He is called the Son, because He is of one and the same being with the Father, and not only of the same being, but also of the same being. The bosom of the Father is said, not because God has a bosom — since the bosom is in bodies — but by this expression: he who is in the bosom of the Father signifies the kinship, consubstantiality, and indivisibility of the Son. It can also be said in another way: the following saying serves as a confirmation of God's words: "The Only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, confessed," i.e., He taught that God is nowhere to be seen; and Jesus Christ spoke about this in various ways, as we will see later. Thus, no creature, not only corporeal, but also incorporeal, has seen God, since He is essentially invisible even to bodiless powers, although they see Him as far as they can.