the truth of God, because in him, in his inner character, truth found no place. We can only stand _by_ the truth when truth is in _our inward parts_ (Ps. 51:6), _i. e._, in our desires and our affections. The truth must be _in_ us to be _under_ us.--=He speaketh of his own.= Out of (ἐκ) his own treasury of evil things. So the evil man, out of the evil treasure, bringeth forth evil things (Matt. 12:35).--=For he is a liar, and the father of it.= Or _of him_; either the father of _lying_ or the father of the _liar_. Either rendering is grammatically possible. The latter better fits the context. 45 And because[348] I tell _you_ the truth, ye believe me not. [348] Gal. 4:16; 2 Thess. 2:10. 46 Which of you convinceth[349] me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? [349] Heb. 4:15. 47 He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear _them_ not, because ye are not of God. =45-47. But because I tell you the truth ye believe me not.= “A thoroughly tragical _because_; it has its ground in the alien character of the relation between that which Jesus speaks and their devilish nature, to which latter a lie alone corresponds.”--(_Meyer._) Truth has not always its evidence in human nature; for human nature may be so warped as to be more ready to believe a lie than the truth (Rom. 1:21; Ephes. 4:18; 2 Thess. 2:11). If Christ had told a lie they would have believed him, just as many of those who now rejected him did subsequently believe the false Christs of a later date.--=Which of you convinceth me of sin.= Not of _error_ (_Calvin_), but of _sin_ (_Alford_, _Godet_, _Meyer_). Indeed, _error_ in Christ’s teaching in this matter would be _sin_; for if his declaration respecting himself, that he came not from the earth but from above, from the Father, and was the long-anticipated Messiah, was not true, it would have been false and fraudulent--not merely a mistake, but a lie. By this question he asserts, by implication, his sinlessness; he defies his opponents to point out a single sin in his life, a single flaw in his character. And they were speechless, as scepticism has been ever since, before his incomparable character. The argument is this: If I am not the Son of God, find out some human defect that indicates a human origin and kinship. And this has never been done. I imagine a pause, a moment’s expressive silence, no answer from the Pharisees, and then the crushing words that follow, calmly uttered:--=If I say the truth, why do ye not believe?=--=He that is of God=--as the Pharisees had claimed to be (ver. 41)--=heareth= (receiveth) =God’s words; ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God=. This is Christ’s method with deists. Point out a single flaw in his stainless character. You cannot? Then at least listen with reverent attention to the words of the sinless man. To refuse a hearing to such an one demonstrates hostility to purity and truth, and so to God.