READINGS IN JOHN'S FIRST EPISTLE - 1 JOHN 5
READINGS IN JOHN’S FIRST EPISTLE - 1 JOHN 5
We saw at our last reading that the Son had been sent as the propitiation for our sins, and as the Saviour of the world, as seen in 1 John 4: 10, 14. Obviously the subject of that chapter is love. Verse 11 says, “Beloved, if God has so loved us” 1 John 4:11; and “if we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us” 1 John 4: 12; and again, “God is love, and he that abides in love abides in God, and God in him” 1 John 4:16; and, “Herein has love been perfected with us that we may have boldness in the day of judgment” 1 John 4: 17; and then again, “there is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” 1 John 4:18; and in verse 21, “And this commandment have we from him, That he that loves God love also his brother”. 1 John 4:18. So that the great subject of chapter 4 is love.
Chapter 4 answers to the Book of Deuteronomy, which was preparatory to Israel entering into Canaan and chapter 5 answers to the Book of Joshua, which records their possessing the land. In chapter 5 we have the Lord coming by water and blood: what is involved in his death, and the presence of the Holy Spirit, to the effect that we have eternal life. So that this chapter brings in the land of Canaan; the gift of eternal life being in the Son: “This life is in his Son”, 1 John 5:11. But the end of chapter 4 and the first paragraph of chapter 5 have to do with our position here, and the effect in our confession.
The last verse of chapter 4 is put in the way of a commandment, showing that it is imperative that whilst you love to do the thing, it strengthens the position when it is imperative that it should be done. If you love God, the commandment is to love your [p. 144] brother. It is what the Lord had in mind before His departure when speaking to His disciples.
We have the message in chapter 1 that God is light and in chapter 3 the message that we should love one another. A message is something that comes from a distance by a messenger; and the person that carries it necessarily comes into your mind. Joab said to Ahimaaz that there were no tidings suited to him. He wanted to run, and knew something about what had happened, but he had no message; when he came to David his tidings were uncertain and indefinite; he had to stand aside until Cushi came. John would be fully qualified to bear such messages as, “God is light”, and, “We should love one another”.
Christians might say that they love God, but that is not enough; they must love their brother. The commandment brings in divine authority. You cannot disregard your brother. Sometimes it may look impossible to love him, but we are under command to do so. The loving one another is the evidence of eternal life: “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren” 1 John 3:14 but in chapter 5 he deals with life as a definite subject. In chapter 1 it is presented objectively in Christ: “That which was from the beginning” 1 John 1:1; in chapter 5 it is presented more subjectively, as showing how we are brought into it, that we might consciously know that we have eternal life. Loving one another is the evidence of life. Chapter 5 deals with it as in the Son and John presents that which enables us to determine that we have it as a possession, and not merely as title: “These things have I written to you that ye may know [have the consciousness] that ye have eternal life” 1 John 5: 13. It is “in the Son”, as to the setting of it, but one is conscious of having it by the things that John writes.
With regard to the titles of the Lord in this chapter:
[p. 145] the force of them is apprehended more clearly when you see that John’s ministry was to the Jews. They were in view, and the test was whether they would believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah; if they did, it proved that they were “born of God”. But there was a further thought: “Who is he that gets the victory over the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:5. Believing that He is the Christ shows that one is born of God. It would be more applicable as a test to a Jewish believer, but in itself it did not take him out of the Jewish world. The testimony on the day of Pentecost was presented to Jerusalem and, later, that God would send Jesus Christ to them, if they repented. Anyone accepting the testimony of Acts 2, Acts 3 and Acts 4 would believe that Jesus was the Christ but Acts 9 brings in “the Son of God”, and answering to it, the Jew would be taken outside of Jerusalem morally “Who is he that gets the victory over the world” would include what was set up there. The Son of God connects us with a new system, having heaven as its centre. The thought in “the Christ” is that everything would be accomplished by Him that God purposed. Paul was a “prisoner of the Christ Jesus” Ephesians 3:1 for the nations, so that “the Christ” has reference to us Gentiles too. In speaking of the mystery the apostle says, “which is Christ in you the hope of glory”, Colossians 1: 27. It is the working out of the “prisoner of the Christ Jesus for you nations” Ephesians 3:1. In Ephesians 3 Paul goes on to show that he had received the revelation of the mystery, which involved the working out of all the divine thoughts in Jew and Gentile as one body. It is a wonderful achievement! At the end of chapter 2 of that epistle he shows what “the Christ” had brought about: “Broken down the middle wall of enclosure”, Ephesians 2:14 and came and “preached the glad tidings of peace, to you who were afar off ... and to those who were nigh”. Ephesians 3:17. He not only preached [p. 146] the glad tidings to the Gentile and Jew but formed them into one body, and set up in that one body all the divine thoughts. In chapter 3 Paul says, “I am a prisoner of the Christ Jesus for you nations”, Ephesians 3:1 and prayed to the Father for them, that they might “apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height; and to know the love of the Christ which surpasses knowledge, that ye may be filled even to all the fulness of God”. Ephesians 3:18,19. The application of Christ to the Gentiles is very forcible. As the Christ, He sets up everything, and then maintains what is set up. But the Son of God takes both Jew and Gentile out of the world into a new order of things entirely.
We have another thing in chapter 4 the confession of the Son of God, not only belief in Him but the confession of His name. The name signifies all that is presented in the Son in testimony; whoever confesses it, God dwells in him. This brings in Paul’s ministry; the confession of the Son of God made room for God. The house of God is really contingent on the confession of the Son. Saul would be an example of that when in Damascus “straightway in the synagogues he preached Jesus that he is the Son of God”, Acts 9: 20. That was a confession, and God dwelt in him. It was the beginning of things. The house really comes out of that; room is made for God. So that the confession of the Son of God immediately provides a dwelling-place for God. It might be said, The dwelling-place was present at Pentecost; that is true, but the position was not clearly seen until the confession of the Son of God came in. Early in Acts the links with the temple were not broken, and it is when you come to chapter 9 that you get the setting of the house.
The idea of a dwelling suggests that things are congenial. The Son builds the house, and then brings in a system of affections, of which Solomon is [p. 147] a type. Notwithstanding all the affection seen in David, he is not allowed to build. It was Solomon who built the house, if you take up Solomon’s history, you get the idea of a house. Jehovah loved him, and named him Jedidiah, and said of him, “It is he who shall build a house for my name I will be his father, and he shall be my son”, 2 Samuel 7:13,14. If the Son builds the house, He considers for the family that shall reside there; hence the confession of the Son is of immense moment in regard to the house: “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him”. 1 John 4:15.
He “came by water and by blood, Jesus the Christ”, 1 John 5:6. The order of man enters into that, and His coming is in connection with the means of cleansing; cleansing is necessary if we are to be brought into Canaan, and we must have these elements of water and blood to release us in view of entering. Here the water comes first, whilst in the gospel the order is reversed, because he is dealing with practical cleansing. Of course the judicial side is before the Spirit in the gospel, but John has before him in this epistle our being brought into the consciousness of eternal life, and for that the water is essential. It is the application of the death of Christ, not exactly for sin, but for moral cleansing. There are many who see their title to life clear but connect it with the blood; whereas entering into it consciously necessitates the water. This cleansing would be from the world system and also from the flesh in us; it corresponds to the laver in the court of the tabernacle.
There are many who rest in the fact that “it is the blood that maketh atonement for the soul”. It is one thing to have the title to a thing, but another to have the consciousness of it. There is title in the blood certainly, even as there is title in the handful of fine flour (Leviticus 5: 11 - 13) for that matter - that is enough to give you a footing before God — but for [p. 148] the consciousness of eternal life you need more than the handful of fine flour. Here we have the threefold testimony, “the Spirit, and the water, and the blood”. 1 John 5:8. It is the Spirit that bears witness — that is general — but then He applies the water and the blood. They agree in one to the truth that we have eternal life, but the Spirit is necessary as a complete witness. He gives us the consciousness of it. The water is clearly for us, the blood for God; but all was fulfilled in the cross. We needed the water, but what God needed to meet His holy judgment against sin was the blood. The Lord said to the penitent thief, “To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise”. Luke 23:43. His own death was in principle the water. The application of death has to come to pass in respect of us morally; it is the only way through which we cross the Jordan. The washing of water by the word is the same thing; the word is the intelligent expression of the death of Christ. With regard to the “coming” of verse 6, the apostle has before him the sphere of the testimony, and sees the Lord coming into it through death. Paul says, “Coming, he has preached the glad tidings of peace to you who were afar off, and ... to those who were nigh” Ephesians 2:17, meaning the sphere of the testimony of God. The Lord has come into it, not by incarnation, but as having died, it is a matter for faith to apprehend. He is in heaven literally, but has come into this sphere as having died, and as having died He has the means of relieving every one who has faith, in order to bring them into the enjoyment of the blessing of God. So that we are in a wonderful time. We look at Him as having died, and therefore having the means of setting us all perfectly free for the enjoyment of the blessing of God.. Actually God has crowned Him in heaven.
The threefold witness is that which is presented objectively by way of testimony. Then you have in [p. 149] verse 10 something for yourself; the believer has the witness in himself. In verse 11 we have what is presented collectively in the saints, the fact that they have eternal life: “This is the witness, that God has given to us eternal life; and this life is in the Son”. 1 John 5:11. The fact of eternal life being possessed by the saints is a witness on the part of God. It is not now a question of preaching, but of the fact that the saints have it as the gift of God. We have the Son by way of intelligent faith and affection, it is what we have in our souls; the believer characteristically has the Son, and having Him he has life. Whilst the apostle is dealing with the individual mainly in the chapter, he says that God has given to us eternal life, which would be a collective idea; it refers in principle to all saints, We must have the company to have the conditions of life, that which answers to the land of promise. The witness that God has here cannot be set aside or refuted, because it is in life. Jannes and Jambres tried to produce life but could not, and were compelled to say, “This is the finger of God”. Exodus 8:19. What Moses did could not be imitated. It is not a mere theory, but something known and enjoyed here on earth, and it cannot be overthrown. It is the same character of life as spoken of in Psalm 133, that is, life in a collective way, where brethren are dwelling together in unity. It is heavenly in character enjoyed on earth: “as the days of the heavens which are above the earth”, Deuteronomy 11: 21. It is also our eternal portion. The Lord has come by water and blood, so that we may be free to enjoy it, that there might thus be a witness for God. It is a marvellous position, because it refers to the saints brought out of the world, delivered from the flesh, set up in relation to Christ and to one another in the enjoyment of the blessing of God; such a testimony cannot be set aside or imitated. Each believer necessarily has eternal life individually, but the position of it is in
[p. 150] the Son. Paul had it, for example in Galatians 1:15,16 he says, “But when God ... was pleased to reveal his Son in me”. As witnessing for Christ in the synagogue at Damascus he had life, and none could touch him. Peter had made a confession similar to Paul’s during the Lord’s ministry on earth. He developed the first part of that confession, “Thou art the Christ”, Matthew 16:16 in his service; but Paul brought in the second part of the confession, and it was not simply the announcing of a doctrine, he preached in the synagogue that Jesus is the Son of God; it was consciously known by him. With Peter, the Lord said, “Flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee”. Matthew 16:17. Paul says, “But when God ... was pleased to reveal his Son in me”. Galatians 1:15,16. There is a difference there.
No doubt the witness on the part of God was in Antioch — that he had given to the saints eternal life; Acts 13. One does not know of any better illustration of the statements here found than Paul himself. He may be taken to illustrate every phase of them. It is wonderful what he possessed in the way of intelligence and affection. Eternal life is a wide and comprehensive thought but to have life in your soul is a wonderful thing, and usually refers to power there, it is like John 4, the water becomes a fountain springing up into eternal life. He who has the knowledge of the Son of God in his soul enjoys the blessedness of eternal life, and there is power in such a one, and moral superiority to circumstances. Peter did not develop the thought of the Son of God. The Lord gave him the keys of the kingdom. But the truth of the Son of God involves the house, so that the opening up and developing of the truth of the Son of God was left for Paul. The Lord did say to Peter what He would do: “On this rock I will build my assembly” Matthew 16:18; the thought of building was in the Lord’s mind, but Peter had to wait for that. It was not communicated to Peter who would be used [p. 151] for the building; for this service He sovereignly brings in Paul.
Life and eternal life are not dissimilar in character but the Spirit of God uses the word ‘eternal’ life to show that there is nothing to succeed it, for there is no termination of it. The word ‘eternal’ is a well-known term. Scripture has its own vocabulary and that word has its own meaning there; it is applied to God Himself, hence we cannot make the word ‘eternal’ too strong, in whatever connection it is applied. When we apply it to life itself, we have something beyond creature power, as in Satan, to destroy, or the believer to lose: “They shall never perish”, John 10: 28. The earthly saints will have it too for they will not die at all. They are not as privileged as we, for besides having this great blessing, we have heavenly ones.
For full development everything awaited Paul’s ministry. He is the architect and erecter of the structure, whereas Peter’s work was in the foundation, and his name is there; Revelation 21:14. It is the Son ruling as King we have to take account of. It is a great thing to see the antitype of Solomon on the throne in Christ, and then as building the house. First we have Solomon ruling, and we see the wisdom which marked his starting out; he could tell which woman was the mother of the child. He was a remarkable man as a ruler, but when you see him as a builder, you have another character of things before you and that is where the truth of the Son of God is so important, it brings in a new system of things.
In verse 13 he says, “These things have I written to you that ye may know that ye have eternal life who believe on the name of the Son of God”. 1 John 5:13. We have got the secret of why he writes; it is that we might know consciously that we have eternal life. It is, as one has often remarked, like the soundings that a mariner takes after having taken the position [p. 152] of the sun. You take account of what is in yourself; that is, by the soundings you discover what God has effected in you. Then by keeping the position of eternal life as in the Son clearly before you, you are preserved from self-occupation in the process. A person might have eternal life as a matter of light, but the right understanding of this epistle enables the believer to have the consciousness of having it. He sees what God has effected in Christ and what He has effected in him - Verses 18, 19 and 20 are all in line with what we have been saying. In verse 14 it says, “If we ask him anything according to his will, he hears us”. 1 John 5:14. You know that God heard you; as having the consciousness of it you are sure. It is like Ahasuerus the king holding out the golden sceptre to Esther, she knew that she was heard and accepted. The Lord said, “I knew that thou always hearest me”, John 11: 42.
The process through which one goes really means that if we did not have the authority of Scripture for this, we could not say these things; we assure ourselves by this authority; we face the matter with the authority of Scripture. But we analyse and find what is of God in us and what is not. We know there is that in us, namely, the divine seed, which cannot sin but we draw a line of demarcation between that and what is of the flesh in us which can only sin. This epistle is really the consummation of a process which begins in Romans 7. It is the subjective side: “with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin”. Romans 7:25. This process enables one to detect the workings of the flesh, and is largely worked out in Romans 7. John’s epistle enables one to look up to Christ and see every divine perfection there; but then I must look at myself and analyse my experiences, failings and thoughts, and see where I am. In the presence of all this one can say, with [p. 153] the authority of this epistle, one knows consciously that one has eternal life: “These things have I written to you that ye may know that ye have eternal life”. 1 John 5:13. It does not say, Believe on the Son of God, but on the name of the Son of God (verse 13), showing that we have come to know the honour and renown that reside in that Person. It is the result of growth in the knowledge of the Son of God. You believe on Him, and you see that His renown fills the whole sphere.
John does not tell us what the sin unto death is, it is left for us to determine, as having spiritual discernment. The entire enjoyment of what has been before us is nullified by allowing idols. The true God is presented in One having come by water and blood. He is the true God. We can only see God in Christ. Verse 20 is characteristically Christian knowledge. Knowing the Son of God has come would indicate a knowledge of the Father. It is remarkable that the Lord should be presented to us here at the finish as the true God. It is really the fulfilment of John 17: 3: “That they should know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent”. The thought that He is the eternal life suggests His manhood, it is what He is as Man on our side. As the “true God” He is on God’s side. God in His essential being can never be seen or approached. Verse 20 refers to the fact that God is made known in a Man. He has come out in a Man to be known and worshipped; so that there is no excuse to turn to idols. That which was contemplated by the apostles from the beginning, which was heard, seen and handled, was reported, that we might have fellowship with them, so that like the man in John 9 we fall down and render homage to Him.