John 1:4 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

In him was life,— The most ancient fathers who quote this text, so generally join the words at the end of the last verse, ο γεγονεν, which we render that was made, with this 4th verse; and St. John uses so frequently to begin the following sentence with what ended the foregoing, that many judicious commentators think it to be the true reading, and therefore render it,—that which was in him was life; "that fulness of power, wisdom, and benignity which was in him, was the fountain of life to the whole creation;" and the life which was in him, St. John goes on to observe, was the light of men; that is, reason and revelation, the greater and lesser lights of the moral world, were the effects of his energy on the minds of intelligent beings: but, above all, the Light of the divine Spirit, by which alone any thing can be spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:10-14.), is the gift of Jesus, and the purchase of his Blood. The reader will recollect, that Cerinthus (as we have shewn in article 4.)asserted that there were two high aeons distinct from Christ, one called Life, and the other Light; in opposition to which St. John here asserts, that the Word, Life, and Light were the same identical person. As having life in himself is the characteristic of God, St. John, by saying this of Christ, asserts his proper divinity, and intimates, at the same time, that he was the great fountain of life to all creatures. Life and light are frequently connected in scripture; if any one should question how the Logos could be the author of so many things, it is here fully explained, In him was life. And, lest it should be imagined that this power of life could be exhausted in calling so many creatures into being, it is added, that this life was light; light being of that nature, that, though it enlightens many, it is not in the least diminished thereby. The apostle, in another place, tells us, that God is light; here the Word is so-called, and consequently was God, as the evangelist asserts in John 1:1. It is remarkable, that in Midrash the Messiah is described in a most glorious light, exceeding the sun in radiance.