THE DISTINCTION OF JOHN'S WRITINGS
THE DISTINCTION OF JOHN’S WRITINGS
JT I was thinking today of the distinction that should be drawn between John’s writings and the writings of the other evangelists, Matthew, Mark and Luke. They gave the truth in an orderly way, as it grew out of the Lord’s ministry. Mark was the ministry of the gospel. It was the ministry in general in Luke. “The glad tidings” would be the same as the gospel. John was evidently taken up with the great errors that came in after the gospel was inaugurated. He deals with the Person of Christ, and in the epistles, the continuance from that; that is, these three epistles and the Revelation. There were, according to the best information available, several errors as to the Person of Christ. The other apostles expired, and several errors arose. It looks as if the Lord had reserved John for such an event. He says to Peter (John 21:22), “If I will that he abide until I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me”. So that the Lord evidently had a reserve in view of error arising through the devil’s work throughout the first century.
I make these remarks as touching now on John’s first epistle. We can see references to traces of the errors as to the Person of Christ. They have arisen as a development. Here we have, not a development, but “That which was from the beginning” (1 John 1:1), and stress is laid on the humanity of Christ, “that which we have [p. 322] heard, which we have seen with our eyes; that which we contemplated, and our hands handled, concerning the word of life”. Note that it is “that which” not ‘He which’, a neuter thought, as referring to the Lord’s Person. “That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes; that which we contemplated, and our hands handled, concerning the word of life; (and the life has been manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and report to you the eternal life, which was with the Father, and has been manifested to us)”; stressing the idea of life, something that can be seen, and heard, and handled.
The error that arose evidently had to do with the Person of Christ in His humanity. In the gospel of John it is “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1), but here it is, “That which was from the beginning”, pointing out the Lord Jesus in His humanity, that is, from the incarnation. The thought of eternal life runs through to the end of the last chapter, and eternal life is to bring out the Lord’s deity.
AH In reference to the truth of the Person of Christ, has John in mind to impart to our hearts the substantial character of Christianity?
JT ‘Substantial’ is the word. A visible thing, which can be seen and handled. It is remarkable that the Lord Jesus can be seen in that light, especially in view of error which has come down to the present time, from the beginning of Christendom.
ESH It was that order of man.
JT Yes, not simply life, “That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes; that which we contemplated, and our hands handled, concerning the word of life (and the life has been manifested, and we”, that is the apostles, “have seen, and bear witness, and report to you the eternal life”, the article before it makes it more tangible, “which was with the Father”, that is, not in heaven, but with the Father, “and has been manifested to us:) that which we have seen and heard we report to you” (it shows that the saints were especially in the apostle’s mind), “that ye also may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship [is] indeed with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we to you that your joy may be full”, 1 John 1:1 - 4. So that the saints partake in the apostles’ ministry (and he has the apostles in mind — they are the ‘us’ in verse 3), and the saints are to have fellowship with the apostles. So that the apostles have a certain place between the divine Persons and the saints. The apostles have fellowship with the Father and the Son, and we with them.
Ques Is there a link between eternal life and being begotten of God?
JT The phrase being “begotten of God” (1 John 3:9) is not that believers are born again. It is a fulfilment of the thought in the gospel of John.
Rem I was thinking of the thought of that life expressed in the saints, as derived from God Himself and coming into His family.
JT So John says, “See what love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God”, 1 John 3:1.
JSE Is there any sense in which we can view the apostles in a mediatorial way? As, for instance, where it says “they persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles”, Acts 2:42.
JT “And our fellowship is indeed with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ”, 1 John 1:3, that is the apostles’ fellowship, so that they had a mediatorial place, and it is quite in order that we should see that; and another thing is the abstract idea of ministry. The saints have very little idea of that. It is seen in John’s writings peculiarly, because he can overcome the error and bring out the truth and make it predominate.
AH Could we have a word as to the meaning of the term ‘abstract’?
JT The best illustration of it is John’s first epistle.
AH Chapter 3 particularly?
JT Well; the whole epistle; but read chapter 3:6, “Whoever abides in him, does not sin”; that is abstract; a person living on the earth, he does not sin. Yet in chapter 1:8 it says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us”. That is the concrete idea, but what we have read in chapter 3 is abstract.
PL The divine nature does not sin.
JT The divine nature is not a person, but “whoever abides in him” is a person.
PL A person viewed as in the divine nature.
JT Yes, that is allied to it. But to say it is the nature, you lose the person.
KMcL Does the divine nature involve the formation of Christ in us?
JT Yes. Enlarge on that.
KMcL Is it what the Spirit is effecting in us?
JT Yes, provided you keep in your mind the personal thought, not the abstract thought; it is the person, as over against the nature.
ESH Does chapter 3:9 help? “Whoever has been begotten of God does not practise sin”.
JT That is a modification of this. Our verse is “Whoever abides in him, does not sin”, but to practise sin is a modification of that.
ESH Is it affected by the completion of the verse? “Because his seed abides in him, and he cannot sin, because he has been begotten of God”, John 3:9. Is it just to bring out the abstract thought?
JT Verse 9 is a different thought from verse 6, where he “does not sin”, that is, not at all; but not to practise sin may mean ‘habitually’.
ESH What does “Because his seed abides in him, and he cannot sin” signify?
JT It is a positive abstract statement, “he cannot sin”, but “practising sin” is a modification of it; it is not just one item of sin; not just once, but to ‘practise’ means more than one.
A.H. A course?
JT Just so.
Rem The person governed by the abstract thought would not practise sin now.
JT We are to be governed by the thought in verse 6, he “does not sin”. There is some modification in the following statement in verse 9, he “does not practise sin”. You would say that?
Rem Yes. Does John in this epistle bring out the personality of the saints according to God, so that we come to what is true of us in the abstract?
JT Just so; it runs through John’s epistles.
F.S. True Christianity?
JT It is, if we connect the abstract with it. Peter and the others do not deal with the abstract side as John does, but he also maintains the idea of the person, as “we should be called [the] children of God” (1 John 3:1), where it is the family idea.
Rem So that the chapter begins with a reference to persons, but not simply the work done in us.
JT That is good.
PL Would it be right to say that we are to be found in the testimony here?
JT Personally, for Christianity involves persons, and that we are the assembly, and we have to work it out in that way.
,Ques. As to chapter 5, and the thought of the victory over the world, is the faith of the saints brought into evidence?
JT Faith is greatly stressed in this chapter, so “Every one that believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten of God; and every one that loves him that has begotten loves also him that is begotten of him” (verse 1). The idea of love is brought into it; and again, “Hereby know we that we love the children of God,
[p. 326] when we love God and keep his commandments” (verse 2); the interchange for this is the love of God, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments”; see how the thoughts are interchangeable, “and his commandments are not grievous. For all that has been begotten of God gets the victory over the world” (verses 3,4); you now have the idea of nature in verse 4. “And this is the victory which has gotten the victory over the world, our faith. Who is he that gets the victory over the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (verses 4, 5).
AH That is seen in John’s gospel, chapter 9, where He stands out in complete superiority as the Son of God.
JT Just so.
WS This would be an advance on “Jesus is the Christ” (verse 1)?
JT Yes. The Son of God is found in the Old Testament in Psalm 2:7, but here it is more decisive, “Who is he that gets the victory over the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” The Son of God has a great place in John’s writings.
PL He is the Sun and Centre of another world.
JT Just so.
WF Does the idea of ‘nature’ enter into verse 4? “For all that has been begotten of God gets the victory over the world”.
JT “All that has been begotten of God” refers to nature, that is no matter how many persons there are, all are regarded as having the victory over the world, but we must make room for the thought of quality in all the brethren sitting here.
WF Does it refer to the persons?
JT It does not say. ‘Persons’ is the quantity of humanity, and you can see that we must carry the idea of quantity of persons.
Rem All that proceeds from Adam; that is the [p. 327] contrast.
JT Just so; it began with Abel, then Enoch, and to get the reality of that, Jude 14 says, “And Enoch, the seventh from Adam”, but he should not be included in the thought of quantity.
AM Why is it “has been”, not ‘have been’? Is it the character of the thing thus set out as one thing?
JT ‘One thing’, yes; but the whole quantity of humanity, so to speak, can be designated as getting the victory over the world, whether quantity of persons, or weight. It is like the earth by itself, what weight there is! We can hardly bring that in here, but it does say, “All that has been begotten of God”.
J,S.E. Is it the principle of substance over against what is abstract?
JT Very good. I would say that.
AH Is “our faith” a general idea?
JT Yes, and collective; it belongs to all Christians.
KMcL Does it involve J.N.D.’s “Faith once delivered to the saints”?
JT Yes; it is the same idea. “Our faith” is an important thought. Hebrews 11 gives you the persons in whom faith is found. But here it is the thought of quantity. So we have the thought of great faith, and of little faith.
FS Is verse 5 individual? “Who is he”?
JT Yes, the person is brought in therefore, “Who is he that gets the victory over the world”?
WS Which is it, faith in us individually, or the system of faith, that is, Christianity?
JT Well, a ‘system of faith’ is all right; but it is Christian faith really. “He is the true God and eternal life” (verse 20). We may well rest on this thought of ‘witness’.
ESH Further than eternal life, we have the persons.
JT Just so.
WS [p. 328] The Spirit stands alone in verse 6, and the water and the blood are added.
JT The water and the blood are elements of redemption; water as moral cleansing, and blood as judicial cleansing, that is, death has to take place. We are cleansed by both.
Ques Is the witness of the Spirit and the water and the blood public testimony?
JT Yes, including the gospel, too. Let us read it, “This is he that came by water and blood, Jesus [the] Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that bears witness, for the Spirit is the truth. For they that bear witness are three: the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and the three agree in one” (verses 6 - 8). We should get it into our minds, to learn to carry the truth in our minds, the greatest part of us, to enable us to carry the truth. Then it goes on, verses 9,10, “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater. For this is the witness of God [which] he has witnessed concerning his Son. He that believes on the Son of God has the witness in himself; he that does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness which God has witnessed concerning his Son”. So it is remarkable to rest on that which we have in ourselves, to carry it all the time and enjoy it. The Spirit of God has helped us; He is the Comforter, and the devil raises the point as to whether we have done something wrong in speaking to God, but we have the witness in ourselves; the water is for moral cleansing; purity in the person is needed. So it says in John 3:3, “Except anyone be born anew he cannot see the kingdom of God”; and again in verse 5, “Except anyone be born of water and of Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God”.
WS Does the witness lead up to the thought of conscious knowledge, as in verse 13?
JT I think that. “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”. That is conscious knowledge. If the devil is attacking, you come to know consciously that the devil is shut out, because of the water and the blood meeting the state of the person.
Ques Would you link “the witness in himself” (verse 10) and the Spirit?
JT I think that is what it is, and perhaps some of us have not been accustomed to consult what is in us, and we become unhappy. Something comes in, the devil is watching to get into the souls of the saints to disturb them.
FS Why is the water mentioned first?
JT It is needed for the moral side, not the judicial side. Someone may say, You were a Christian, but now you are unhappy. You need the water; and then the blood comes in to cleanse “from all sin”, 1 John 1:7.
JSE This particular section should be rooted in us all, as to this transaction, so that we are not muddled as to each of these things?
JT Our methods are not happy as to the use of these things, if anything happens, especially as to the water and the blood; then nothing can take you out of the Father’s hand.
Rem ‘Let the water and the blood, From Thy riven side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure, Cleansing from its guilt and power’ (396:1).
ESH ‘How bright, there above, is the mercy of God! And void of all guilt, and clear of all sin, Are my conscience and heart, through my Saviour’s blood: Not a cloud above — not a spot within’ (22:1).
PL As to the blood and water coming out of the Lord’s side on the cross, John himself adds, “And he who saw it bears witness, and his witness is true, and [p. 330] he knows that he says true that ye also may believe”, John 19:35.
JT That is John’s note.
PL The thought of conscious knowledge is referred to in regard of the blood and water (see note to ‘knows’ in John 19:35).
JT The gospel rightly understood carries the reason for all these things.
AH “It is God who justifies ... . It is Christ who has died ... who also intercedes for us”, Romans 8:33,34.
JT All is secured, but every one of the believers is an object of care.
AM Is there a link between conscience and consciousness?
JT There is a link with the mind. You know that your patients tell you that they are unhappy, and you give them the gospel instead of homoeopathic medicine. Consciousness is more than conscience.
AM Exactly.
JT Now in verses 14,15 we have the remark, “if we ask him anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him”. It is beautiful in the middle of the night to have the consciousness that all is well. The Holy Spirit is here sent down from heaven, here with us as the Paraclete, and the Lord is speaking in heaven.
Rem Our consciousness is because of the Spirit in us.
JT A beautiful thought. We are kept consciously from all defilement, “and no one can seize out of the hand of my Father”, John 10:29.
AH Is the boldness toward God by the Spirit given to us?
JT By the Spirit dwelling in you.
JSE John frequently uses this title “the Spirit”, the shortest of all. Is it to convey to us the peculiar place this Person has in the intimacy of the family?
Rem In verse 6 it is, “and it is the Spirit that bears witness, for the Spirit is the truth”. He alludes to the simple title.
JT Very good.
JSE Now in Romans 8:16 we have the same title, “The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God”.
JT Very good. How many times is the Spirit mentioned in Romans 8?
JSE You have told us that before, so we all know!
JT Begin to read at the end of chapter 7.
Rem “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me out of this body of death? I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then I myself with the mind serve God’s law; but with the flesh sin’s law. [There is] then now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and of death”, Romans 7:24 — Romans 8:2.
Rem “A spirit of adoption” (Romans 8:15) is equal to a personal title, it is not merely His character.
JT “A spirit of adoption”, so that the Spirit can be used as we speak to the Father.
Ques Is the Spirit of God His title as with the saints in the wilderness path? We count on Him as the disciples counted on the Lord, perhaps more so.
Rem So we have Him in Genesis 24; the servant there is undoubtedly the Spirit.
JT Yes.
Ques Does His service lead to our enjoyment of eternal life?
JT So in verse 15 we are conscious of being heard, “And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have asked of him” And then verse 16, “If anyone see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life, for those that do not sin unto death”; notice that, “he shall give him life, for those that do not sin unto death. There is a sin to death:” — there is a difference made — “I do not say of that that he should make a request”; the matter is left open to the believer’s mind. And then, verses 17 and 18, “Every unrighteousness is sin; and there is a sin not to death. We know that every one begotten of God does not sin, but he that has been begotten of God keeps himself, and the wicked [one] does not touch him”. You say, God keeps me, and yet you keep yourself. So, “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the wicked one” (verse 19); you are kept from the terrors of the world. Then, verse 20, “And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding that we should know him that [is] true; and we are in him that [is] true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life”. And then the final word verse 21, “Children, keep yourselves from idols”. So that we do not rely simply on God to keep us, “keep yourselves”.
Rem We should not be a charge on the brethren if we kept ourselves.
JT Many say, God will take on the charge, but He has given us the power to keep ourselves.
WF John’s children keep themselves from idols.
JT And their seductions, too. We have the Holy Spirit in us, a divine Person, sent down from heaven, equal to the Father and the Son. He is the only One said to have been “sent from heaven”, 1 Peter 1:12.
JSE Is there a connection between chapter 1:1, “That which was from the beginning” — the Lord as coming into humanity, and this passage, “He is the true God and eternal life”? We are incapable of [p. 333] laying hold of the deity of Christ, though He has come within our range as Man.
JT In the Bexhill trouble the attackers said eternal life was a Person.
Rem That is correct.
JT Not only eternal life; two other things.
Rem They set aside the place of the Spirit in the saints, as a matter received on the principle of faith, a teaching arising from the lack of clarity as to receiving the Spirit in John 4 following the teaching of John 3, especially of verse 5.
JT The Lord says in John 4:14, “the water which I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into eternal life”; it leads upward.
KMcL In verses 19 and 20 we have”We know” three times.
JT It all develops into the thought of “the true God”. “Children, keep yourselves from idols”. The knowledge of the true God will keep you from idols.
Rem “And this is the eternal life, that they should know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent”, John 17:3.
JT The true God and the true Man as you have expressed it.