=18. No one hath seen God at any time.= Not merely _no man_; no _one_--man, angel, archangel. The phrase here, _seen God_, is equivalent to the phrase _knowing God perfectly_, in Matt. 11:27 (see note there). We know him but in part, shall see him only when we awake in his likeness (Ps. 17:15); Christ sees him because he is one with him.--=The only begotten Son.= Some manuscripts have here, _The only begotten God_, and this reading is adopted by Tregelles, but rejected by Alford, Meyer, and Tischendorf. For examination of the authorities on both sides, see Alford (sixth edition) and Lange, critical note by Dr. Schaff. The external authorities are not conclusive; internal authority strongly favors the ordinary reading. The only begotten God is a phrase occurring nowhere else in the N. T., and is unnatural if not unmeaning. The change of a single letter in the early copies would account for the corruption of the text (Ψ to Θ).--=Which is in the bosom of the Father.= A metaphorical expression, indicating the closeness of intimacy, and drawn more probably from the relation of a child with its parents, than from the not infrequent reclining of one on the bosom of his friend, at meal-time (John 13:25).--=He hath declared him.= Comp. ch. 6:46; 14:6, 9, 10; 1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 1:3. These and other kindred passages indicate clearly _how_ Christ declares the Father, viz., not merely by what he teaches concerning the divine nature, but yet more by his personal manifestation of the divine nature in his own life and character. This verse thus interprets the word _truth_ in the preceding verse, as the word grace has already been interpreted by verses 11 and 12. Christ is the _truth_ of God, because he reveals the divine nature; he is the _grace_ of God because he imparts the divine nature to such as trust in him.