Table of Contents Chapter 1 - The Life Chapter 2 - The Walk Chapter 3 - The Father Chapter 4 - The Anointing Chapter 5 - The Love of God Chapter 6 - The.
Table of contents
- Biblical Studies (NT)/The Epistles of John: God Is Love - Wikiversity
- Biblical Studies (NT)/The Epistles of John: God Is Love
- Who wrote this book?
Dionysius of Alexandria may have been the first to note the parallel structure between the prologue of the epistle and that of the gospel of John. The prologue of the epistle also of the gospel serves as the foundation upon which the remainder of the letter rests. In a court of law in ancient times, the testimonies of two senses were required to make a witness authentic. This stressed the truth that Jesus was not an optical illusion, as the Docetic Gnostics had claimed, but that He had an actual human body that was seen and heard.
The long and somewhat tangled sentence that makes up the Prologue is also an emphasis upon the personal and collective apprehension of the eternal, divine life in Christ. There had been a shared experience of the historical Jesus by His people. Dodd, The Johannine Epistles , pp. The textual problem in 1: The first expansion of thought based upon the basic statement of 1: John insisted in this opening statement that no man has fellowship with God who did not acknowledge Jesus, for it is His blood alone that places men into fellowship with God and maintains them in such fellowship.
John stated the facts of Christian experience that were related to the establishment and maintenance of such fellowship with the intended purpose that his readers might know that they truly possessed this fellowship and that they might readily recognize those who did not. John was merely emphasizing the fact that, in spite of what the Gnostics taught, God had no secret knowledge that was withheld from the entire body of believers, hidden just to give to a select few.
The source of this information was Jesus Himself. It did not come from rabbinic instruction in the synagogue nor from the dialectical reasonings of Gr. It was the message of revelation received directly through the historical Jesus. Beyond this fact light represents the perfect holiness of the unveiled nature of God as seen in Jesus Christ. Darkness is not simply a symbol of ignorance; it is also a symbol of moral evil.
A man who rightly claims a personal knowledge of God in fellowship must measure his life against the character of God. Westcott who pointed out the trilogy: He had heard men say these things again and again. Entrance into fellowship with God did not come by denying sin, but by confessing it and being cleansed of it. The cross stands at the heart of any vital experience of a sinful man with the holy God.
The blood of Jesus real blood and not a phantom is absolutely necessary to the establishment of fellowship between men and God. It is never used to describe those who walked in darkness and did not do the truth. It is important in this passage to recognize the relation between the Gr. To understand properly 1: In the present tense John was speaking of living a life of sin, so that he can say that whoever abides in God does not continue living a sinful life. Two erroneous conclusions might have been drawn from 1: The acknowledgement of the persistent malady of sin might lead a Christian to accept sin as inevitable in life, causing him to ease his struggle against sin.
Also, the readily available forgiveness of sin might lead a Christian to presume on God as the God of forgiveness. The author hastened to assure his readers that everything that he was writing was written that they might not sin. His readers were encouraged to remember the facts that are inseparable from fellowship with God. The author began this section by a reference to knowledge, or assurance, of a personal relation to God.
It was Jesus Himself who identified these commandments with His word. There is an objective basis behind all Christian experience that made it impossible for men to brand it a sham or an illusion. That objective basis is keeping the commandments. The importance and meaning of keeping the commandments is developed by two illustrations: Some have judged it a parenthesis in which the writer definitely turned aside for a word of personal appeal. In the Christian context, the readers may have heard it preached by Paul and John.
Some who had professed the light had given the lie to that profession by the darkness of their hatred for their brethren. John was saying that the new commandment is to put the old commandment into practice; in that sense it is not a new commandment at all but the old one applied. As previously noted, this passage is a personal appeal in the first instance. These tender words of personal exhortation are in sharp contrast with the rather severe words that follow. The basis upon which John wrote to them was that their sins had been forgiven them. Since this was true, he was able to write these things to them because they were in the fellowship.
He reassured his readers of their real knowledge of the Father. Their abiding knowledge of God was attested by their fellowship with Him. There are two reasons that arise from the essential nature of the world that labels love of the world as unspiritual: In early Christianity the belief that an antichrist would come who would be the direct opponent of Christ was widespread and significant.
Usually the thought centered on one antichrist, but here John considered anyone as an antichrist who taught the false doctrines that he had thus far considered. They have withdrawn from the fellowship, and this itself branded them as those who had never shared in the real life and fellowship of the brethren. They had not loved the brethren because they had not loved God.
The cause of Christ had been in much greater danger before these false teachers had been revealed for what they really were, i. The special heresy against which John warned his readers was related to the person of Christ. To deny that Jesus was at one and the same time the perfect man and the true God, was the supreme lie. Such a liar was antichrist. A denial such as this is also a denial of the Father, for it is only through the Son that the Father had been manifested in the flesh.
Whereas previously it was affirmed that love of the world was proof that one did not love God, in this passage it is affirmed that the denial of the truth concerning Christ is evidence that there is no fellowship with God. Faith in Christ tests fellowship with God. Loyalty to the truth of God in Christ is declared to have its rewards.
The two advantages that result from such loyalty conclude the section. They are an eternal relationship with God through Christ and a secure knowledge of spiritual realities. The Gnostics taught that restraint of sin was unnecessary. The reason why the world did not recognize these Christians as children of God was because that world did not know God.
Beyond all this there awaits these believers a wonderful destiny more marvelous than anything yet experienced. These two lives come from two personal sources—Christ and the devil. A new life principle has been imparted to the Christian, a life principle that could not possibly be the seed of sin because it comes from God. The children of God may be expected to resemble their Father, God, in righteousness. The most difficult v. It is to be understood, however, that the tenses of the verbs in Gr.
Proud Gnosticism, boasting its intellectual superiority, produced a spirit of arrogance and self-assertiveness on the part of its followers. There was no place in it for the uninitiated who did not accept the Gnostic interpretation. Jealousy, contempt, and hatred characterized this heretical movement.
Love is thus declared to be the manifestation of this new life from God in men. When Christians judge themselves by the high standard of Christian love, it is easy to become discouraged. Prayer would have no foundation if it were not for the greatness of God. Before he continued with his message, the author paused to warn his readers about the false doctrine of the spirit as held by the Gnostics.
The Gnostics talked much about spirit. Matter, they said, was evil, but the spirit was the divine part of man because it was non-material. They claimed that their knowledge of God was a spiritual knowledge. The fundamental test to apply to a teacher was his attitude toward Christ. If such a teacher denied the reality of the Incarnation, he then based his message upon the wisdom of human reason rather than on revelation from God.
Twice already John affirmed that love is the test of the Christian life. In this passage, the letter reaches its climax, for it was intended not only to give tests by which the readers could measure their lives, but more importantly, to secure for them a deeper experience with God. Love is the supreme test both of the new life and the abiding fellowship of God. Love is the natural fruit of the saved life.
John related this love to the reality of the incarnation of Jesus Christ in the flesh. If Jesus was not truly the Son of God, then the love of God for a lost world was a figment of the imagination. When love is associated with faith and devotion toward Jesus Christ, it then becomes a valid evidence of life everlasting. God, because He is love, is the one source of love.
Love that is genuine, according to John, has to have its source in God. Throughout 1 John is a constant interplay of love, righteousness, and belief. The author insisted upon the relation of belief and love. The readers must remember to identify love with keeping the commandments. Because they are children of God, it should not be burdensome for them. Also, those born of God will gain the victory over the world through faith. It was not the Gnostic victory of spirit over matter, but the Christian victory of righteousness over evil.
Faith comes from love. Love results from being born again. These are the familiar Johannine themes brought again into combination and new emphasis. Verse 6 may have been a direct thrust at the Gnostic leader, Cerinthus, who taught that the divinity of Christ came upon the human Jesus at His baptism in the form of the dove that descended from heaven, but left Him in Gethsemane.
It was, therefore, important to John that he discerned three witnesses to the real incarnation of God in the historical Jesus: The true witness of Christian experience, given through the Spirit, is that salvation is accepted by faith in Jesus as the Son of God. Knowledge not only brought the certainty of salvation but also boldness and confidence in prayer. There are, however, three important qualifications introduced in connection with effective prayer: The reference to mortal sin and the fact that John did not encourage prayer for such, has created much bewilderment for Christian interpreters through the centuries.
A Christian cannot pray with complete confidence where the genuine experience of grace is questionable. He could not encourage hopeful prayer that such a one because he was a brother would be dealt with by God as He deals with His children. Rather, such men as the Gnostics who professed God but were infidels with reference to Jesus had put themselves beyond the pale of prayer that intercedes for a brother. They were not brethren. It becomes more than a declaration from the author; it is also an outreach to establish his readers.
Including the larger section beginning in v. The last use of the word v. The entire sum of Christian teaching is imparted to the end that men may know in their own experience the reality of the Gospel. The Christian knows security in the provision of God; he knows the reality of an escape from the bondage of sin; he knows the truth and not error; he knows the reality of eternal life. The concept of salvation in 2 John is similar to that of 3 John. In all probability, it referred to his office though for John at this time it would have been equally true as a reference to his age.
This title had wide use in the Asiatic churches, and apparently the author felt it was sufficient identification of himself. The author assured those to whom he wrote that he loved them in the truth. His love was not sweet sentimentality. It was a love that was rationally and morally conditioned by the Gospel. It was the spiritual knowledge of God in Christ that produced this love in his heart. The society of the faithful was established by and has its very existence from its relationship to this truth.
The typical blessing, as Westcott has noted, began with the activity of God in behalf of men, and continues to the final satisfaction of men: This may have been true, but it seems better to understand this simply as a positive comment. He has had contact with some of the children, and he found those to be following the truth.
John practiced love in his dealing with the recipients of the letter, as indicated by his tender appeal that they love one another. John appears to have reasoned in a circle. Love, he said, is to follow the truth, and to keep the commandments. On the other hand, he said the command is that they should love one another.
The life of love seeks to obey God in all that He commanded; at the same time all the commandments can be summarized in one—love! The love of which John wrote never goes contrary to the interest of truth. It is not to be extended indiscriminately. Those who were perverters of the truth and enemies of Christ could not in the very nature of things be made the object of brotherly love.
Of compassion and care they should be objects, but of Christian fellowship and service they could not be in the nature of the situation. There were roving teachers of Gnosticism that propagated heresy in denying the reality of the incarnation of God in Christ. They felt they knew God but took a small view of Jesus. The readers were warned against such men. To such men they were not to offer Christian hospitality. They were not to give aid to those teachers of heresy. John found writing to his reader in this instance to be less than satisfactory for the communication of his message.
The reference to children of the sister may have been to nieces and nephews, or more likely was a greeting from the members of a sister church. Three men of this name have been suggested from the NT. Gaius of Corinth Rom Gaius of Macedonia Acts Gaius of Derbe It means that the man lived the life of the Gospel, was shaped in character by it, and was dominated and controlled by his instruction in Christ. Gaius was reminded that as he supported these workers for Christ, he shared in their labor.
He had tried the method of writing to the church, but with no results. This letter to the church had been sent by a faithful Christian missionary named Demetrius, but among the elders of the church was an arrogant, domineering, and conceited man named Diotrephes, who had assumed the leadership of the church. The elder promised to confront this man shortly if he was able to come himself. Demetrius was the bearer of 3 John. Gaius not only was warned against being like Diotrephes, but he also was encouraged to be like Demetrius. Demetrius was given a threefold commendation: This conclusion is strikingly similar to that of 2 John, which may suggest that the two letters were written close to the same time.
The elder stated his definite plan to visit Gaius shortly. Candlish, The First Epistle of John reprint of ed. Westcott, The Epistles of St. John ; C. King, The Fellowship ; W. Conner, The Epistles of John ; J. White, Open Letter to Evangelicals ; J. Among the 7 nodetitle epistles which from ancient times have been called "catholic" universal there is a smaller group of three in which the style alike of thought and language points to a common authorship, and which are traditionally associated with the name of the apostle John.
Of these, again, the first differs widely from the other two in respect not only of intrinsic importance, but of its early reception in the church and unquestioned canonicity. There is no New Testament writing which is throughout more vigorously controversial: But it is true also that there is no such writing in which the presentation of the truth more widely overflows the limits of the immediate occasion. The writer so constantly lifts up against the error he combats, the simple, sublime and satisfying facts and principles of the Christian revelation, so lifts up every question at issue into the light of eternal truth, that the Epistle pursues its course through the ages, bringing to the church of God the vision and the inspiration of the Divine.
The influence of the immediate polemical purpose, however, is manifest, not only in the contents of the Epistle, but in its limitations as well. In a sense it may be said that the field of thought is a narrow one. God is seen exclusively as the Father of Spirits, the Light and Life of the universe of souls. His creatorship and government of the world, the providential aspects and agencies of salvation, the joys and sorrows, hopes and fears that spring from the terrestrial conditions and changes of human life, their disciplinary purpose and effect--to all this the Epistle contains no reference.
The themes are exclusively theological and ethical. The Divine nature as life and light, and love and righteousness; the Incarnation of this Divine nature in Jesus, with its presuppositions and consequences, metaphysical and ethical; the imparting of this Divine nature to men by regeneration; the antithesis to it--sin--and its removal by propitiation; the work of the nodetitle ; the Christian life, the mutual indwelling of God and man, as tested by its beliefs, its antagonism to sin, its inevitable debt of love--such are the fundamental themes to which every idea in the Epistle is directly related.
The topics, if few, are supremely great; and the limitations of the field of vision are more than compensated by the profundity and intensity of spiritual perception. We feel in it the high serenity of a mind that lives in constant fellowship with the greatest thoughts and is nourished at the eternal fountain-head; but also the fervent indignation and vehement recoil of such a mind in contact with what is false and evil. It has been truly called "the most passionate" book in the New Testament. Popular instinct has not erred in giving to its author the title, "Apostle of Love.
It rises to its sublimest height, to the apex of all revelation, in those passages in which its author is so divinely inspired to write of the eternal life, in God and man, as love. But it is an inveterate misconception which regards him solely as the exponent of love. Equally he reveals himself as one whose mind is dominated by the sense of truth. There are no words more characteristic of him than "true" alethinos, denoting that which both ideally and really corresponds to the name it bears and "the truth" aletheia, the reality of things sub specie aeternitatis.
Biblical Studies (NT)/The Epistles of John: God Is Love - Wikiversity
To him Christianity is not only a principle of ethics, or even a way of salvation; it is both of them, because it is primarily the truth, the one true disclosure of the realities of the spiritual and eternal world. Thus it is that his thought so constantly develops itself by antithesis. Each conception has its fundamental opposite: There is no shading, no gradation in the picture.
No sentence is more characteristic of the writer than this: But again, his sense of these radical antagonisms is essentially moral, rather than intellectual. It seems impossible that any writing could display a more impassioned sense, than this Epistle does, of the tremendous imperative of righteousness, a more rigorous intolerance of all sin 1Joh 2: The absolute antagonism and incompatibility between the Christian life and sin of whatsoever kind or degree is maintained with a vehemence of utterance that verges at times upon the paradoxical 1Joh 3: So long as the church lays up this Epistle in its heart, it can never lack a moral tonic of wholesome severity.
The style is closely, though perhaps unconsciously, molded upon the Hebrew model, and especially upon the parallelistic forms of the Wisdom literature. One has only to read the Epistle with an attentive ear to perceive that, though using another language, the writer had in his own car, all the time, the swing and cadences of Hebrew verse. The diction is inartificial and unadorned. Not a simile, not a metaphor except the most fundamental, like "walking in the light" occurs. The limitations in the range of ideas are matched by those of vocabulary and by the unvarying simplicity of syntactical form.
Yet limited and austere as the literary medium is, the writer handles its resources often with consummate skill. The crystalline simplicity of the style perfectly expresses the simple profundity of the thought. Great spiritual intuitions shine like stars in sentences of clear-cut gnomic terseness. The frequent reiteration of nearly the same thoughts in nearly the same language, though always with variation and enrichment, gives a cumulative effect which is singularly impressive.
Such passages as 1Joh 2: The pretensions of Gnosticism to a higher esoteric knowledge of Divine things seems to be clearly referred to in several passages. The confidence he has concerning his readers is that they "know him who is from the beginning," that they "know the Father" 2: The knowledge of the ultimate Reality, the Being who is the eternal life, is for Christian and Gnostic alike the goal of aspiration.
But it is against two closely related developments of Gnostic tendency, a docetic view of the incarnation, and an antinomian view of morals, that the Epistle is specifically directed. Both of these sprang naturally from the dualism which was the fundamental and formative principle of Gnosticism in all its many forms. According to the dualistic conception of existence, the moral schism of which we are conscious in experience is original, eternal, inherent in the nature of beings. There are two independent and antagonistic principles of being from which severally come all the good and all the evil that exist.
The source and the seat of evil were found in the material element, in the body with its senses and appetites, and in its sensuous earthly environment; and it was held inconceivable that the Divine nature should have immediate contact with the material side of existence, or influence upon it. A further consequence of the dualistic interpretation of existence is that sin, in the Christian meaning of sin, disappears. It is no longer a moral opposition anomia , in the human personality, to good; it is a physical principle inherent in all nonspiritual being.
Not the soul, but the flesh is its organ; and redemption consists, not in the renewal of the moral nature, but in its emancipation from the flesh. Thus it is no mere general contingency, but a definite tendency that is contemplated in the repeated warning: If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us" 1Joh 1: Let the duality of nature be boldly reduced to practice.
Let body and spirit be regarded as separate entities, each obeying its own laws and acting according to its own nature, without mutual interference; the spiritual nature could not be involved in, nor affected by, the deeds of the flesh. Vehement opposition to this deadly doctrine is prominent in the Epistle--in such utterances as "Sin is lawlessness" 1Joh 3: The false spiritualism which regards the contemplation of heavenly things as of far superior importance to the requirements of commonplace morality is sternly reprobated: The whole passage 1Joh 2: It is only as a passionate contradiction of this hateful tenet that the paradoxical language of 1Joh 3: To the same polemical necessity is due the uniquely reiterated emphasis which the Epistle lays upon brotherly love, and the almost fierce tone in which the new commandment is promulgated.
To the Gnostic, knowledge was the sum of attainment. The assumption of a lofty mystical piety apart from dutiful conduct in the ordinary relations of life is ruthlessly underlined as the vaunt of a self-deceiver 1Joh 4: The question is raised whether the polemic of the Epistle is directed against the same persons throughout or whether in its two branches, the Christological and the ethical, it has different objects of attack. The latter view is maintained on the ground that no charge of libertine teaching or conduct is brought against the "antichrists," and there is no proof that docetism in Asia Minor lay open to such a charge.
But the other view has greater probability. The Epistle suggests nothing else than that the same spirit of error which is assailing the faith of the church 1Joh 4: And if there is no proof that docetism in Asia Minor was also antinomian, there is no proof that it was not. The probability is that it was. Docetism and the emancipation of the flesh were both natural fruits of the dualistic theory of life. Unfortunately the accounts which have come down to us of Cerinthus and his teaching are fragmentary and confused, and those of his character, though unambiguous, come only from his opponents.
But it is certain that he held a docetic view of the incarnation, and, according to the only accounts we possess, his character was that of a voluptuary. So far as they go, the historical data harmonize with the internal evidence of the Epistle itself in giving the impression that the different tendencies it combats are such as would be naturally evolved in the thought and practice of those who held, as Cerinthus did, that the material creation, and even the moral law, had its origin, not in the Supreme God, but in an inferior power.
In the judgment of many critics, the Epistle possesses nothing that can be called an articulate structure of thought, its aphoristic method admitting of no logical development; and this estimate has a large measure of support in the fact that there is no New Testament writing regarding the plan of which there has been greater variety of opinion. The present writer believes, nevertheless, that it is erroneous, and that, in its own unique way, the Epistle is a finely articulated composition.
It is like a winding staircase--always revolving around the same center, always recurring to the same topics, but at a higher level. Carefully following the topical order, one finds, e. Similarly, we find a paragraph on the necessity of love in 2: So also, a paragraph concerning the necessity of holding the true belief in the incarnate Son of God in 2: And we shall observe that everywhere these indispensable characteristics of the Christian life are applied as tests; that in effect the Epistle is an apparatus of tests, its definite object being to furnish its readers with the necessary criteria by which they may sift the false from the true, and satisfy themselves of their being "begotten of God.
These fundamental tests of the Christian life--doing righteousness, loving one another, believing that Jesus is the Christ come in the flesh--are the connecting themes that bind together the whole structure of the Epistle. Thus, if we divide the Epistle into 3 main sections, the first ending at 2: The leading themes, the tests of righteousness, love, and belief, are all present; and they alone are present. There is, therefore, a natural division of the Epistle into these three main sections, or, as they might be descriptively called, "cycles," in each of which the same fundamental themes appear.
On this basis we shall now give a brief analysis of its structure and summary of its contents. The writer announces the source of the Christian revelation--the historical manifestation of the eternal Divine life in nodetitle --and declares himself a personal witness of the facts in which this manifestation has been given. Here, at the outset, he hoists the flag under which he fights. The incarnation is not seeming or temporary, but real. That which was from the beginning--"the eternal life, which was with the Father"--is identical with "that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld, and our hands handled.
The Christian life, as fellowship with God walking in the Light tested by righteousness, love and belief. What God is at once determines the condition of fellowship with Him; and this, therefore, is set forth: The answer is given in what follows. First, in confession of sin 1Joh 1: The first fact upon which the light of God impinges in human life is sin; and the first test of walking in the light is the recognition and confession of this fact.
Such confession is the first step into fellowship with God, because it brings us under the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus, His Son 1Joh 1: The old-new commandment 1Joh 2: Love is the commandment which is "old," because familiar to the readers of the Epistle from their first acquaintance with the rudiments of Christianity 1Joh 2: On the contrary, "He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother, is in the darkness" 1Joh 2: The antithesis is then repeated with variation and enrichment of thought 1Joh 2: Then follows a parenthetical address to the readers 1Joh 2: This being treated as a parenthesis, the unity of the paragraph at once becomes apparent.
The light of God not only reveals sin and duty, the children of God our "brother" and "the world" in their true character; it also reveals Jesus in His true character, as the Christ, the incarnate Son of God. And all that calls itself Christianity is to be tested by its reception or rejection of that truth. In this paragraph light and darkness are not expressly referred to; but the continuity of thought with the preceding paragraphs is unmistakable. Throughout this first division of the Epistle the point of view is that of fellowship with God, through receiving and acting according to the light which His self-revelation sheds upon all things in the spiritual realm.
Unreal Christianity in every form is comprehensively a "lie. The first main division of the Epistle began with the assertion of what God is as self-revealing--light. He becomes to us the light in which we behold our sin, our duty, our brother, the world, Jesus the Christ; and only in acknowledging and loyally acting out the truth thus revealed can we have fellowship with God.
This second division, on the other hand, begins with the assertion of what the Divine nature is in itself, and thence deduces the essential characteristics of those who are "begotten of God. This test is inevitable 1Joh 3: On the contrary, the Spirit that confesseth not Jesus is the spirit of Antichrist 1Joh 4: In this closing part, the Epistle rises to its loftiest heights; but the logical analysis of it is more difficult. It may be divided into two main sections dealing respectively with love and belief.
This paragraph grounds more deeply than before the test of love. Love is indispensable, because God is love 1Joh 4: There are three claims, each with a consequence and a corresponding moral state. And for each claim there is an answering remedial statement which demonstrates the character and resources of true believers. Each of the claims and each of the contrasts is detailed in three clauses. Notice that the intensity of the consequences resulting from the claims increases. In the first, 'we lie'. In the second, 'we deceive ourselves'. Lastly, 'we make Him a liar'!
In the same way that God did not define life, eternal life, for us in a dictionary, so the Lord Jesus did not give a verbal definition of light. God is light - it is part of His essential nature. It indicates His intrinsic and absolute purity. It is the condition of life. Physically, it represents glory; intellectually, truth; morally, holiness. Flowing from it are His attributes - which are relative - such as righteousness and holiness. His attributes are a consequence of what He is in Himself; they indicate what He is in relation to others.
Whereas the manifestation of life was received by what the apostles saw in Christ, the message of light was received by what they heard from Him. It is declared here as the standard against which the claims of men may be measured. The message that God is light is introduced here to test the claims of all who say they have this fellowship. The claims John presents here are really the claims of false professors of Christianity but he presents them in such a way as to arrest even the consciences of true believers.
In this first claim he takes up specifically the thought of what these days we call a 'relationship with God'. He does not talk about 'being saved' although we may well consider the two to be synonymous. Paraphrasing it, we would say, 'You can't be serious if you say you have a relationship with God and there is nothing in your life that matches up to it. The claim in verse 6 was the false claim of an unsaved person. The answer here in verse 7 is the true standing of a saved person.
The 'if' is not an 'if' of doubt. It is not a conditional 'if'. It is an 'if' of argument. In this verse he makes an abstract, absolute statement as to our Christian standing. Some believers read this as if it says, 'if we walk according to the light' but this is not the real meaning of walking in the light.
To walk in the light as He is in the light is to live in a position where God's revealed nature illuminates and exposes all that we do - whether good or evil. Those who walk in darkness have no real relationship with the living and true God. His nature has no bearing on the character of their lives. Their sins are not exposed to their consciences as are ours who know God and who walk in the light. From Paul's teaching we may say that although the flesh is in us we are not in the flesh. From John's we may say that although we do not walk in darkness there is darkness in us.
The light in which we now walk exposes that darkness, inducing us to confess our sins. Remember that this answer to false profession gives abstract, absolute statements as to our Christian standing. This is John's way of teaching. He is not giving concrete suggestions concerning specific circumstances. To attempt to interpret his words in this way would lead to confusion or to false doctrine or both.
For example, to say that to 'walk in the light' is equivalent to practical Christian holiness, then the interpretation of the passage would be, 'if we live our lives as holy as God Himself. If it is really speaking about practical consistency, walking in the light as God is, then speaking of cleansing is absurd. Sometimes we hear people say that when we sin we need to re-apply the blood of Christ! They base it on this verse, claiming that the word 'cleanses' is a continuous verb - that it is an ongoing process. Such teaching puts Christians in bondage and denigrates the finished work of Christ.
It sets scriptures against one another such as Rev. And it falsely assumes a position of linguistic superiority! Continuous verbs are used to teach abstract absolute concepts. Scripture says, 'He is the propitiation for our sins'. This refers to His finished work on the cross.
Biblical Studies (NT)/The Epistles of John: God Is Love
Doctors say, 'Oat bran reduces cholesterol. John states, in an absolute way, the cleansing of believers by the blood of Christ - expressed in an abstract way, without reference to time past, present or future - as one of the main characteristics of their standing. This false claim would deny that we have a sinful nature, 'We have no sin'. It refers to sin in our nature. One of the very first principles of scripture is that of 'trees yielding fruit. Apples grow on an apple tree, plums on a plum tree and sins on a sin tree!
If believers do not have a sinful nature then it is not possible for them to commit sins. To claim that we do not have a sinful nature is to claim that it is impossible for us to commit sins. Is it not just the reverse application of this false teaching to the Lord Jesus Himself that has corrupted many Christians? When people say that it was even possible for the Lord Jesus to have sinned, it amounts to asserting that He had a sinful nature.
Let us avoid it at all costs. Trees yield fruit only after their kind - and, praise God, our Lord Jesus Christ was the true 'sprout of Jehovah for beauty and glory' Isa. Being God He is perfect in holiness and it is gloriously and uniquely true of Him that 'in Him is no sin' 1 Jn. As is often the case in scripture, it is the response to what is false that gives occasion to the unfolding of wonderful truth.
What a blessed provision for the child of God we find here! Notice that it is not needful to confess that sin is in us. When we were born again God did not remove our sinful nature, and He does not hold us responsible for its existence. But we are responsible for its actions - and the actions of that nature are sins.
If we say that we have no sin, how can self-judgment and confession have a place in our Christian lives? But if the truth is in us, recognising the existence and nature of sin within us, we will be prepared both to judge and confess the actions that result from that nature. The word here simply means, 'to say the same thing'.
To speak to God the same thing that is on our heart and conscience, the hiding of which will cause a sense of distance from Him. It is not a matter of begging or pleading for forgiveness. It is His desire and delight to forgive. Our place is not to beg forgiveness - but rather it is to judge ourselves so that we see the true source and character of our actions, agreeing with His estimate of our actions and speaking that agreement to Him. This, in summary, is repentance and confession. Send away, let go, give up, remit, forgive. These words give the true sense of what forgiveness is.
It is not, as we sometimes think, a change of attitude. Forgiveness is not merely an abstract concept. It is definite and concrete. The finished work of Christ on the cross has put us in a forgiven position in the sight of God in which the eternal consequences of our sins have been sent away. But our sins also have consequences in our lives here on earth. Examples of these temporal consequences include death as in the case of Ananias and Sapphira or of the Corinthians , sickness James 5 , debt, a sense of distance in a relationship including things like reduced confidence and a lack of trust.
Scriptures that indicate how forgiveness involves the removal or sending away of such consequences include 2 Samuel Fellowship with the Father and the Son is the great privilege taught us by John. It results for us in fulness of joy. One significant consequence of our sins is that a barrier comes in to hinder the practical enjoyment of this fellowship. When we confess our sins, God faithfully and righteously removes this consequence, this barrier, opening the way for our joy to be restored.
Sins we have committed not only entail consequences here on earth but also produce in our consciences a felt sense of inconsistency with our true Christian position. Young believers, sometimes on account of having received defective teaching, feeling this inconsistency, may therefore doubt their salvation.
Unrighteousness is inconsistency in any relationship in which we are set. And how wonderfully does the Word of God teach practical righteousness in every relationship of life! Husband - wife; parent - child; employee - employer; ruler - subject; brother - brother etc.
Committing sins produces in our consciences the sense of our inconsistency in that holy relationship in which we have been set with God. Confessing them, the scripture assures us that He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness - from all inconsistency. He is both faithful and righteous consistent with His own nature in doing so. Perhaps some Christians have wrongly believed that upon conversion our sinful nature was removed, and in the words of verse 8 have said, 'we have no sin'. Conscious indeed of the sins they commit in practice, they are perhaps unaware of the gross inconsistency of claiming that they have no sinful nature.
They are deceived and the truth is not in them. But this third claim is more bold. It is not merely self-deception but an affront towards God. In the presence of Him Who said, 'all have sinned' Rom. Verse 4 of that same chapter in Romans says, in relation to the acknowledgement of sins, 'but let God be true, and every man false'. To claim that we have not sinned reverses the picture and makes God to be a liar. God's word is so clear as to this matter that if we say we have not sinned it proves that His word is not in us.
What a glorious triumph in this third answer to that third false claim. None should ever dare claim that they have not sinned but all should make it their constant aim to not sin. John did not expose the falsity of the claim in order to cause us to be lax about sins and to treat them as a foregone conclusion in our lives.
He wrote in order that we might be encouraged, motivated and challenged to not sin. Yet if sin should come in, what a gracious provision we have in the unfinished work, the Person, and the finished work of Christ. The first 'If we say. The third here, is answered by 'if anyone sin. Notice that the provision is not conditional upon repentance, confession, restoration or anything we may do or feel. If anyone sin we have a patron with the Father.
What then is the character of the service of the Lord Jesus as our patron with the Father? Other words for patron include solicitor, advocate, comforter. In the affairs of this world a solicitor may act on our behalf when he knows our case because he knows the protocols of a legal system which is too complicated for us. The Lord Jesus certainly knows our case. He knows our history, He knows our character, our desires, our present state, and He knows the divine system in which He acts on our behalf.
He does not minimise or gloss over our sins - He is Jesus Christ the righteous. He is with the Father and He both pleads with Him concerning our sins and acts towards us to bring us to repentance and restoration. We see a beautiful example of this service in the Lord's dealings with Peter before He left this earth.
For a summary of this example please read Luke Peter's sin of pride, self-confidence and superiority over his brethren was already in evidence on that dark night. But Christ, his patron, was praying for him. His prayers had Peter's restoration in view and had Peter's faith as their subject. At the moment when Peter's sin was fully consummated the Lord acted towards him - by a mere look - to bring home to his conscience his guilt.
The Lord's action continued until there was full restoration, first appearing to him and then challenging him about the proud claims he had previously made. Sin is inexcusable always in a saint; but if one should be guilty, 'we have an advocate with the Father.
It is not our repentance that makes Him our advocate, but His grace which puts all in effectual activity. There are many ways in which we make God a liar if we say we have not sinned. We have already seen that we would make Him a liar in relation to what He has said. But we would also make Him a liar in relation to what He is and what He has provided. Because of all that He is, He has provided Christ both as an advocate if we sin and as a propitiation because we have sinned.
Propitiation refers to His once and for all work on the cross which has a lasting, abiding, eternal effect. Advocacy refers to the work He is still doing. To claim we have not sinned nullifies His provision of Christ in every way. Notice the important distinction between what is said concerning us and concerning the world. Propitiation is the aspect of Christ's work in which He has satisfied the righteous claims of God. Because of Christ's work of propitiation, God can righteously justify the believer - or as Romans teaches - 'that He should be just, and justify him that is of the faith of Jesus.
Because Christ is the propitiation for our sins God has righteously shown mercy and favour to each individual believer, having justified us and introduced us into a relationship with Himself. Additionally, because He is the propitiation for the whole world, God can righteously offer His mercy and salvation to the world. On the cross the Lord Jesus did not bear the sins of every human being in the world.
Every individual has not thereby been justified. But He did meet God's righteous claims with respect to the world as a whole. Through His work on the cross all things will one day be reconciled to God Col. And at the present time God can righteously offer to the whole world His mercy and salvation.
The same sacrifice that has enabled God to act righteously with mercy towards me regarding my sins enables Him to act righteously with forbearance towards the whole world. The world is evil, subject to Satan as its god, at enmity with God, and under His judgment, and yet instead of executing that judgment God acts with longsuffering, continuing to present His salvation to all. Beloved, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment, which ye have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye heard.
Again, I write a new commandment to you, which thing is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light already shines. In the previous section three claims of professing Christians were exposed in such a way as to arrest the consciences of true Christians as well. The style of the language in that passage turns the thoughts of the reader inwards -'If we say In this present section tests are given for three claims of professing Christians. Again John writes in such a way as to cause us to judge ourselves and to consider our own state by using the expression 'we know' , but the general style of the language really turns the thoughts of the reader outwards towards others - 'He that says When we meet another person who claims to be a Christian, this section gives us tests against which to measure their claim.
Each opening statement indicates something that is a key feature of the possession of life from God: Whereas the foundation underlying the previous section was the theme of fellowship, here it is life. The first feature of divine life is knowing Him - knowing Christ. This is not a theoretical, abstract kind of knowledge but a knowledge that demonstrates itself in practical obedience. Keeping His commandments is the practical proof that we know Him. Here is a comment by the well-known Greek scholar W E Vine.
It indicates the accuracy of the language in which the New Testament was originally written:. The first is present continuous, expressing a course of procedure. To bring this out, we may paraphrase thus: The word is ginosko, i. Here is another important characteristic of John's epistle. Practical Christianity depends on what we are now - not on what we were in the past.
Therefore John regularly uses verbs in the present tense, for example:. The eternal security of the believer is a vital and important doctrine -, but the Holy Spirit does not comfort a backslidden person with thoughts of their eternal security! By use of these present tense verbs He gives encouragement of this assurance only to those whose lives are in practical conformity to His Word. By keeping His commandments we have the ongoing experimental assurance that at some time in the past we have come to know Him. Remembering the date of our conversion does not give us this experimental assurance.
Writing the date in a diary or on a certificate does not provide it. To enjoy this knowledge in a continuous and practical way we must keep His commandments. For you will see it when you cannot say anything about it. For the knowledge of it is divine silence and annihilation of all senses Irradiating the whole mind, it shines upon the soul and draws it up from the body. Knowledge, to these mystics, was an incredibly abstract concept. But to John, to the Christian, it is simple: But here we need to ask a question.
What are His commandments? Didn't Paul teach that we are not under law? Is there an inconsistency here? Commandments in Christianity are addressed to those who already have life and who have a nature capable of keeping them. The following quotation from F B Hole is helpful in this context:. Every definite expression of God's will has the force of a command. The law of Christ is a law of liberty. Another characteristic feature of John's epistle is evident at this point. In the context of this verse, this is not an issue to confuse our minds - rather it is a matter to warm our hearts!
Because the Son always did those things that pleased the Father! It is vital not to attempt to restrict the idea of 'His commandments' in any way. Every expression of the Father's will was displayed in Christ - in walk, in work, in word. This is where we read His commandments - not just in the directions He gave verbally or when He prefaced a saying with the words.
If we want to learn His commandments, we must learn Christ! Notice that the true condition of such a person is similar to what John wrote in response to the first two claims in the previous section. There he wrote 'we lie' 1: Here he writes, 'He In this section the focus is on evaluating the claims of others.
In some parts of the scriptures, the Lord's commandments are distinguished from His word. But in this First Epistle of John they are identified rather than distinguished. In the parts of scripture where they are distinguished we might think of His commandment as that which is expressed, and His word as that which is implied. We might also say His commandment is objective presented to us externally , His word comes to us subjectively - making an impression inwardly so that it affects our thinking and behaviour.
But in this book those distinctions are not highlighted. For example in 1 John 1: Both His word and His commandment are shown to have a subjective effect. They are identified and not distinguished. Bearing this in mind we can see how verses 4 and 5 together are written in the manner of Solomon's proverbs. Recall how in the Proverbs the truth is often condensed by setting two opposites in contrast in a way that teaches four things and not merely two.
Read for example Proverbs Here we learn two things directly:.
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The whole intent of the proverb is to teach all four things by using this condensed style. In a similar manner we learn from 1 John 2: To understand this phrase it is important to bear in mind all that has been said before. With this in mind, these remarks by J N Darby are extremely helpful:.
Have we seen it in Christ? Do we doubt that this is love; that the love of God has been manifested in it? If then I keep His word; if the scope and meaning of the life which that word expresses is thus understood and realised, the love of God is perfect in me. The Apostle, as we have seen, always speaks abstractedly. If in fact at any given moment I do not observe the word, in that point I do not realise His love; happy intercourse with God is interrupted.
But so far as I am moved and governed absolutely by His word, His love is completely realised in me; for His word expresses what He is, and I am keeping it. This is the intelligent communion with His nature in its fullness, a nature in which 1 participate; so that 1 know that He is perfect love, 1 am filled with it, and this shows itself in my ways: The second feature of divine life is that we are in Him - in Christ. The desire of the Apostle here is that we should know it. Every saved person is in Christ.
But John wants us to know that we are in Him. It is no more possible to define what it means to be 'in Him' as it is to define what life is. It involves the thought that God has put us into a position and relationship with Himself in which He regards us just as He regards His own beloved Son. Our position is within the new creation, where all things have been made new.
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Our relationship [as described in this epistle] is that of children with the Father. These things can be seen in passages such as Ephesians 1 and 2 Corinthians 5. There is of course a very intimate connection between knowing 'that we know Him,' v. The second introduces us to a deeper thing. Angels know Him, and obey His commands. We are to know Him, as those who are in Him, and hence the slightest intimation of His thought or desire should be understood by us, and incite us to glad obedience.
Now it is easy for any of us to say, 'I abide in Him,' but if so we must produce that which proves the claim to be real. The grace and power of our walk, compared with His, will be poor and feeble; yet it will be walk of the same order. The difference will not be in kind but only in degree. These helpful extracts have been taken from a commentary by F B Hole, available from the publishers. Another challenging and helpful summary of the teaching of these verses has been written by J N Darby:.
Christ is before God for me and I in Him: I am before the world for Christ and He in me. Now if Christ be in you, let me see Him. The third feature of divine life is that there is that which is true in Him and in us. Considering them all together, how beautifully reminiscent these three features are of the words John heard the Lord Jesus speak in the upper room the night He was betrayed: This is what John had heard from the beginning - the features of divine life clearly outlined: John was conscious that the commandment of which he was writing was not new.
It had been in existence 'from the beginning'. Remember that this expression was first used in the first verse of chapter 1. It refers to the time when the Lord Jesus was alive here on earth. The context here shows that the subject is specifically the Lord's commandment to love one another. Considering it from a different perspective, this commandment to love one another was new.
How can this be? How could a commandment be both new and not new? Historically it was not new, vitally it was new. Historically - from the beginning - there was only One who could and did keep it. Amongst the twelve disciples including John there were rivalries and self-centredness. There was but One who would lay down His life for His friends. But in John The commandment is new in this respect: We now have a nature capable of responding to the commandment.
His life is imparted to us and we have the Holy Spirit as the power of that life. This is all new in Christianity. Prior to the resurrection of Christ it was not so. The unique feature of Christianity is that it is not comprised of legal commandments. Its commandments are not addressed to man in the flesh with the objective of him attaining life through keeping them. They are addressed to those who already have life, who have from God a nature that delights in those commandments. At this point in the verse there is a mistake in the translation of the King James Version which has, 'the darkness is past'.
Greek scholars have frequently demonstrated that the verb is in the present tense - passing, not passed. The context of this mistake serves to highlight a wonderful feature of the marvellous grace of God and of the character of John's epistle. John regularly puts things in black and white.
No shades of grey. Light or darkness; love or hate; of God or of the devil. Contextually therefore it would not have been out of the question to expect that he would have said that the darkness is past. It is this that beautifully displays God's grace. In Him is no darkness at all 1 John 1: But in us the darkness is passing. The true light already shines - the life of Christ and the life was the light of men imparted to us and displayed in us. In us the measure in which the light shines and the extent to which it dispels the darkness may be small - yet in wonderful grace He credits us with it being 'true in him and in you'.
In us the darkness may be merely passing, but the life which we have received, and the light that shines come from Him in whom is no darkness at all. The claim here exposes the character of one for whom it cannot be said that the darkness is passing. Hating his brother is proof that he is not in the light. Notice that it is a claim; a profession. The Lord always takes men up on their profession. As an unbeliever, in darkness, he is not a brother. But his responsibility is measured against his profession. As to his practical state he is not a brother. As to his profession he has brothers that he ought to love.
His hatred of them proves that he is in the darkness. This is the final test in this series of three. In each group there is a statement, a claim and a test. In the previous section fellowship was the theme underlying the groups of three. In this section the underlying theme is life. There is a close connection between life and light as seen in the paragraphs above.
There is also a close connection between these two things and love. Here is the test. Does the one who professes Christianity love his brother? It does not ask how much he loves him, but whether the love is there. It might be but feebly expressed but love is not hatred. There are hundreds of practical ways in which it may be expressed - in tenderness: The expression may be feeble but love is love. Love desires the blessing and well being of its object. Hatred is the opposite. He that loves his brother abides in the light. He doesn't have to say he is in the light. He doesn't make claims about himself.
The love he expresses, flowing from the life that he has, proves it. In the first study the grouping of God's children into three different stages of growth was noted as being one of the very obvious threes in the epistle. This introduction will firstly show the grouping in outline form and then use an alternative outline to provide a basis for understanding why many fail to notice John's true grouping. Every believer is included in John's opening words to children v.
Then in verse 13 he indicates the three sub-groups of God's children to whom he is writing. In verses 14 onwards he expands on this further, increasing in volume as the maturity of his audience decreases. This outline focuses on the two different tenses of the verb 'to write'. In many Greek manuscripts the tense changes in verse 13c - thus making 'I write' and 'I have written' three times respectively. Although this outline seems attractive in that it makes an attractive little 'poem' of verses , there are several reasons why it does not adequately tit with the structure and teaching of the chapter:.
Are there four, three or two groups? As we progress with this study, be reminded that although the word of God is written so that it can only be apprehended by spiritual intelligence 1 Cor. God's Word is accessible and explicable to every believer desiring thereby to enjoy fellowship with Him and to obtain food and direction for life's pathway here. The expression 'children' designates every believer in the Lord Jesus. The children of God are characterised in the following ways:.
All these things are the true privileges of every believer irrespective of age or maturity, but lets us consider the one here in verse 12 for the moment, - your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake! Those to whom John wrote were precious to him, as indicated by the word he used to address them - but further, they were precious to God, as indicated by the fact that their sins were forgiven. Whilst in the Greek language there is a clear distinction between the two different words for children in this chapter, an appropriate English translation is difficult.
Both words are diminutive expressions - that is, they are derived from more formal words but have a suffix attached to change their character into something more affectionate and intimate. In English there are many examples of words that are made diminutive by the addition of a suffix. Technically, both could be accurately translated 'little children' - but this would fail to show the distinction between them.
The first, teknia, emphasises relationship by birth; the second, paidia, emphasises that one is under the care, discipline, instruction, direction and responsibility of another. It is possible for a translation of these words to be technically correct and yet still inappropriate. An appropriate and helpful translation must clearly indicate that two distinct words are used. This is an absolute fact, true of every believer, John wrote because of this very reason - but having introduced various tests in the preceding sections, it was necessary to emphasise this fact here.
Recall that we dare not say that we have no sin, or that we have not committed sins. If we sin we have a patron with the Father and we must confess our sins. But the position that is ours - for His name's sake - is that our sins are forgiven. The eternal consequences due to us because of our sins have been sent completely away. This is the position in which every believer stands. Of course, the consequences on earth due to us if we sin - including a break in fellowship with the Father - require confession on our part in order to be removed.
It is important not to confuse these things. In literal terms it is likely that John is here addressing those who had personally known the Lord Jesus when He was here on earth - but the intent of what he says is much wider than that. As Christians mature, the issues and exercises that once concerned and occupied them become less important or significant. Christ Himself and knowing Him personally becomes the paramount concern. The apostle Paul used the expression, 'that I may know Him The Bible teacher F B Hole, towards the end of his life spoke of the many things that had engaged his attention as a.
As a young man he had been involved in publishing and editing work for the blessing of many believers. As a young man he had written very helpful books on the doctrines that lie at the basis of a thorough grounding in the Christian faith - books we should have and read and treasure if it is our desire to come to a sound understanding of key New Testament doctrine -'Foundations of the Faith', 'Outlines of Truth' and 'The Great Salvation'. But in his old age he said it was no longer these things that held his attention!
The one thing John says about fathers - emphasised as important by repetition - is that they had known Him that was from the beginning. The personal and intimate knowledge of Christ Himself is to be the ultimate goal of Christian growth. Why did John virtually repeat what He said to the fathers? To emphasise its importance - but also to emphasise their constancy and stability.
Think of the constancy of Anna the prophetess, 'herself a widow up to eighty-four years; who did not depart from the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers These are the marks of fathers.
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Verse 14 makes this apparent. Through the abiding word of God, young men have strength - and it is by this means alone that they have any power to overcome the wicked one. A distressing feature of these last days is the way in which many brothers who are older in years and esteemed as fathers by those who are younger, fail with respect to overcoming the wicked one by refusing false teachings.
The occupation of fathers with Christ - if genuine - will not dispense with the need to stand firm for the truth and against the wicked one! True fathers do not dispense with or belittle what once characterised them as young men. Do you aspire to be a young man? Then get the Word of God into you. Do not merely memorise the words printed on the pages of your Bible although this is a vital starting point , but exercise yourself to understand God's thoughts in giving those words. Are you a father? Then demonstrate it by your constant stability - not tossed about by every wind of doctrine.
Maintain and uphold truth learned in communion with Christ. But John has more to say to young men. By the abiding word of God young men may well overcome the wicked one's attempts to divert by false teaching - but what about his attempts to divert by using the influences of the world of which he is the god? This is the particular snare John anticipates young men encountering. His remedy is to thoroughly define it in order to expose what it is in its true character. If any one love the world, the love of the Father is not in him; because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
And the world is passing, and its lust, but he that does the will of God abides for eternity. All that is in the world It is not of the Father. What is the world? What are the things in the world? What does it mean that they are of the world? Young men especially but all believers generally are to take care not to love it or the things in it. We ought to take care, therefore, to know what these things mean. It is not a reference here to the persons who comprise the world -'for God so loved the world. In principle it began with the fall of man and was epitomised by Cain.
He went out from the presence of God, took a wife, had a family, built a city, became the progenitor of urban life, of entertainment, commerce and industry. It is not these things in themselves that constitute the world, but it is the systematised way in which they support and sustain life, and absorb energy and attention, in absolute separation from and without reference to God. We are touched daily by or involved in all that Cain instituted. But are our thoughts, our habits, our conduct, our aspirations governed by it and by the principles that ensure success in it? This is the issue raised here by John.
Do not pleasure, gain, vanity, ambition, govern men? When we speak of men rising in the world, getting on in the world, is it not ambition and gain which are in question? Is there much difference in what Cain did in his city, and what men are now doing in theirs? If a Chinese, who had heard a missionary speak of Christ and Christianity, came to London to see what it was, would he find the mass of men, the world, governed by other motives than what governed the masses at Nankin [Nanjing], or Pekin [Beijing], or Canton [Guangzhou]?
Would they not be seeking gain, as he would have done there, or pleasure, as they do there, or power and honour, as they do there? What is the world in its motives? A system in which men seek honour one of another, and not the honour which cometh from God only. I sit here reading these words en-route home from China. On every visit to that country 1 am struck by the blatant corruption in commerce, industry, society and politics - by the selfishness and lust for power - I find here.
But is the western world any different? Is my natural heart any different? Education enlarges and improves the mind. Commerce does take away grossness and violence; but gain is its motive. Its earnest pursuit tends to destroy higher motives, and to make a moral estimate of value sink into money and selfishness. It has nowhere elevated the tone of society, but the contrary. It has not stopped wars; it has caused many. Commercial nations have, in general, been the least scrupulous, and the most grasping. Excuses may be formed; but none but a commercial people would make a war to sell opium.
What has education done? It enlarges the mind. Be it so; of course it does. Does it change the motives which govern the heart? Men are more educated than they were; but what is the change? Is the influence of superstition really diminished? On the contrary, the infidelity produced by dependence on man's mind has forced men, who are not personally established in divine truth, back into superstition, to find repose and a resting-place.
One of the worst signs of the present day, and which is observable everywhere, is that deliverance from superstition and error is not now by means of positive truth; but that liberty of mind, sometimes called liberalism, which is bound by no truth, and knows no truth, but doubts all truth, is simply destructive. In modern society we look with disdain upon nations now using the gross methods once used by the western world to commercial prosperity through drug traffic, slave labour, environmental irresponsibility, etc. Where would Britain and its allies be without the once lucrative enforced opium trade into China?
Where the Americas without slavery? Where industry without the environmental and social irresponsibilities of the industrial revolution? Is the western world any better now? Are we any better now? All that is in the world is summed up by three moral principles originating in the human heart: These have not changed and they never will. Satan tried to tempt the Lord Jesus with these three things but there was no sinful nature in Him to respond to the temptation.
He had been in the wilderness in conditions of adversity. Adam and Eve in the garden were in conditions of favour and the tempter's three arrows hit their target every time. If, after further meditation, you still desire clarification, please contact the editors. The characteristic snares of idolatry seen in the history of Israel also illustrate these three moral principles that are in the world and of the world. Pleasure, possessions and power.
We may say therefore that 'the world' is that which is obtained by means of 'the things in the world' - the moral principles rooted in the sinful human heart. The issue is not whether we have pleasure, power or possessions but whether we love it them and whether we are governed by these means of getting it them. If so, the love of the Father is not in us. We may well have been the recipients of God's love in His unspeakable gift, but it is not in us in a practical and experimental way-enjoyed in communion with Him.
The Lord Jesus did the will of God. How beautifully evident this was during the temptation in the wilderness. How supremely evident at the cross! This gives us another simple hint as to what the world is. As to any object before us we may ask, 'Will it last? Is it worth my energies? Dare I contravene the will of God in grasping after it? Little children, it is [the] last hour, and, according as ye have heard that antichrist comes, even now there have come many antichrists, whence we know that it is [the] last hour. I have not written to you because ye do not know the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
As for you let that which ye have heard from the beginning abide in you: And this is the promise which he has promised us, life eternal. These things have I written to you concerning those who lead you astray: In the same way that John addressed, for the young men, the issue of the wicked one's attempts to divert by false teaching, he takes up this matter also with reference to the little children.
But the resources identified are different. For the young men it was that the word of God dwelt in them. For the little children it is that the Spirit of God dwells in them. It is not that He doesn't dwell in young men — but by virtue of increased maturity they are addressed as having responsibility to know the word themselves.
The Holy Spirit preserves little children from false teaching in a special and tender way. But young men must more directly face their responsibility to know the scriptures, to not be like babes tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. It is a sad thing when believers who should be young men take the ground of little children, claiming that they don't need anyone to teach them. This isn't a status upon which to rest — it is an encouragement to those who have not yet had time, opportunity and experience to learn.
It is a gracious provision the Holy Spirit provides. As we mature we dare not abuse the grace that has made this provision. Although the Holy Spirit acts in a special preserving way towards young believers a warning is nevertheless given to them. Provisions of grace do not remove the need for personal exercise and faithfulness. Many think that this refers to grace as the last dispensation but this does not fit the context here. In the context he tells us what that one thing is. It is not the outflow of grace but rather the coming of many antichrists. The Lord Jesus has promised to come quickly.
We likewise have the privilege of anticipating the Lord's coming at any moment. But there are also scriptures which speak of the ruin of the church, of apostacy, of wheat and tares, of perilous times in the Christian profession. How is it to be understood that on the one hand the Lord could have come at any moment and on the other that the predicted ruin must first take place? Simply in this — that before the apostolic company had passed away every feature of apostacy and ruin had already showed its face.
And thus the Lord Himself has left us with resources in His word for every aspect of our Christian pathway in the midst of the ruin that exists.
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Here is another remarkable example of the consistency of Scripture with respect to teaching on a particular subject. You can use a concordance to look them up yourself: Each of these expressions defines a particular feature of his character according to the context of the passage that speaks of him. Although John's term is unique, the person he speaks of was well known — well known even amongst little children, the babes in Christ!
It is to be taught and known and understood amongst new believers. It shapes the mind, forms Christian character, guides the walk, warns of dangers and pitfalls and preserves against a multitude of doctrinal errors. What a shame and a disgrace that prophetic teaching is avoided by many believers — and in particular by many who teach the word! Not in those terms, but they knew the truth of it. Because of this knowledge, John was able to build on what they knew to introduce warnings appropriate to the particular condition of things surrounding them.
Notice that the application of a truth is always subsequent to the knowledge of its proper interpretation — always! Beware of trying to make something out of a verse as a means of guidance without first knowing what it is actually teaching in its own context and in its place in the whole scope of Scripture. The Antichrist, the False Prophet of the future will set himself up in the place of Christ — both against Him and instead of Him. But in the application here we also learn that persons who do not necessarily falsely claim to be Christ can be characteristically antichrists — not necessarily instead of Him for example by professing to be the Messiah but against Him by their false teaching and practice.