Commentaries:
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown
follow peace with all men--with the brethren especially (Romans 14:19), that so the "lame" among them be not "turned out of the way" (Hebrews 12:13), and that no one of them "fail of the grace of God" (Hebrews 12:15).
holiness--a distinct Greek word from God's "holiness" (Hebrews 12:10). Translate here "sanctification." His is absolute holiness: our part is to put on His holiness, becoming "holy as He is holy," by sanctification. While "following peace with all men," we are not so to seek to please them, as to make God's will and our sanctification a secondary object; this latter must be our first aim. (Galatians 1:10).
without which--Greek, "apart from which."
no man shall see the Lord--no man as a son; in heavenly glory (Revelation 22:3-4). In the East, none but the greatest favorites are admitted to the honor of seeing the king (compare 2 Samuel 14:24). The Lord being pure and holy, none but the pure and holy shall see Him (Matthew 5:8). Without holiness in them, they could not enjoy Him who is holiness itself (Zechariah 14:20). The connection of purity with seeing the Lord, appears in 1 John 3:2-3; Ephesians 5:5. Contrast Hebrews 12:16 (compare 1 Thessalonians 4:3). In Matthew 24:30; Revelation 1:7, it is said that all shall see the Lord; but, that shall be as a Judge, not as their lasting portion and God, which is meant here. The Greek verb does not denote the mere action of seeing, but the seer's state of mind to which the object is presented: so in Matthew 5:8 they shall truly comprehend God [TITTMANN]. None but the holy could appreciate the holy God, none else therefore shall abide in His presence. "The bad shall only see Him in His form as Son of man [compare Revelation 1:13, with Revelation 1:7; and Matthew 24:30; Acts 1:11; Acts 17:31]; still it will be in the glory in which He shall judge, not in the lowliness in which He was judged. His form as God, wherein He is equal to the Father, without doubt the ungodly shall not see; for it is only 'the pure in heart who shall see God'" [AUGUSTINE]. "He shall come to judge, who stood before a judge. He shall come in the form in which He was judged, that they may see Him whom they pierced: He who was before hidden shall come manifested in power: He, as Judge, shall condemn the real culprits, who was Himself falsely made a culprit."
Other commentary entries containing this verse:
Matthew 5:8
Romans 15:33
1 Corinthians 3:17
Hebrews 12:10
Hebrews 12:12
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