LOVERS OF THE TRUTH
[p. 159] LOVERS OF THE TRUTH
1 John 2:13 (first clause); 14 (first clause); 2 John 1
I have in mind, dear brethren, to engage you with John’s writings, viewing him as a father, even as Paul also is to be viewed; he enlarges on his fatherhood. John alludes to his own fatherhood and speaks of those to whom he wrote as his children. The need for fatherhood is always evident amongst the brethren, and it is especially suggested in John and Paul. John speaks to us of Christ as “him that is from the beginning” 1 John 1:13,14, and of the truth of christianity “that which was from the beginning”. 1 John 1:1.
The new testament comes first in the holy writings as to all matters; the Old, of course, having its place, for every scripture is inspired of God and profitable. But the Lord’s remark in Matthew 13:52, as to a scribe discipled into the kingdom of the heavens, bringing forth from his treasure things new and old, indicates that the new comes first, and that in our teaching, and our doctrine in our teaching, we must regard the precedence of the new testament in all matters. Hence the early converts, according to Acts 2, persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles. It does not say they persevered in the law of Moses; not that that did not have its place, because the Jews had the oracles of God; they had a great advantage, but “that which was from the beginning” 1 John 1:1, is not an allusion to what Moses gave, nor is it an allusion to the prophets; it is to Christ as become man.
John himself being a father insists on the truth relative to Him that is from the beginning, and that which was from the beginning. And he refers to fathers in growth; that is to say, to christians who have advanced in the truth, especially in the knowledge of Christ as from the [p. 160] beginning. The point is not so much that He is a divine Person, although that is involved, but that the ministry of Christ is the beginning of things in christianity and must have the first place in all matters, especially if they are of a controversial character. The last word must be from the Lord and His apostles.
I have read these two parts of verses in John’s first epistle, because the apostle refers to the matter of the Lord’s being from the beginning, twice over, as you will observe. First he says, “I write to you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning”, 1 John 2:13, and says no more. Then, in 1 John 2:14, he says, “I have written to you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning”. It is just a change of tense, but to call attention to the same thing. He wrote to the persons addressed, because they had known, or knew Him that is from the beginning. That would mean the doctrine set out in the Lord’s ministry, and confirmed in the apostle’s ministry. In Acts 2 the apostles are put first, for we are told that they, that is to say, the converts who listened to Peter and were converted through him, persevered in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship. So when we are looking into the Scriptures and ministering from them, whatever it be in the ministry, the testimony, it is clear that we must give the first place to the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, whether His own direct teaching or that of the apostles. So, as I said, John here stresses this in speaking to the fathers. So the fathers amongst us at the present time are much needed. It is a cheer to hear a brother who has experience rise amongst us and speak to God, or speak to us, especially if he has ability to speak to us, because we expect him, in what he says, to be authoritative and to recognise the Scriptures; to have the Scriptures behind what he says. So that the truth runs smoothly amongst us and the saints grow, unimpeded by novelties, or unscriptural statements sought to be based on old testament scriptures.
[p. 161] Now I mention these thoughts, which I regard as important, so that all may be moving on in the truth, that we may be lovers of the truth. The truth is a great point with John, and he tells us that the Lord Jesus said of Himself, “I am”, “the truth”, John 14:6. The Lord Jesus is the truth, so that evidently, if it is a question of truth to be decided, we must refer to what He says, or His apostles. If other scriptures seem to us to disagree, because of our lack of understanding, we must defer to the teaching of the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit through the apostles. I read these two verses so that the elder brethren amongst us may see the responsibility attaching to us, for I find myself amongst them, and I am glad of this, glad to have a place with them. I am speaking now to my elder brethren here as to the responsibility of paying attention to what is written and what is ministered, to see that the Scriptures have their place in what is ministered, that the saints thus may be brought up in the truth as loving it. John speaks to the elect lady as one loved in the truth; he speaks to her as a person who was herself loved in the truth, and of her children as walking in truth. I wish to bring forward the importance of experience amongst us, experience in the truth, whether it be teaching the truth, or following it, so that, as having this experience, we can be relied on. One of the greatest features is that we should be reliable in what we commend to the brethren, that the brethren may be sure of what we are saying.
I want now to speak of the elect lady and her children; it is a remarkable expression. “The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not I only, but also all who have known the truth”. 2 John 1. Now Peter uses a similar expression in 1 Peter 5:13; and we all know how Paul respects sisters, respects those who serve in truth, as in the case of Phoebe, and Lydia, and others; and indeed the Scriptures throughout signalise persons called “holy women”, beginning with Sarah,
[p. 162] then Rebecca, and right down to such as Deborah, Abigail, and many others. How the Spirit of God signalises them as having a public place in the testimony; not simply for doing the ordinary service of sisters or women, but as engaged in actual testimony; and this sister called “the elect lady” is amongst them, and she has another sister, for John says to her, “The children of thine elect sister greet thee”. 2 John 13. She had another sister who was also elect; that is, distinguished. Then Peter says to the saints, “She that is elected with you in Babylon salutes you”. 1 Peter 5:13. The Authorised Version says “The church”, but the New Translation says, “She that is elected with you”. It is remarkable that these two apostles have sisters in their minds; and then, as I said, what a place Paul gives sisters in his epistles. I need say nothing about 1 Corinthians, and 2 Corinthians, and then Philippians; these evidence what I am saying, what place sisters have in the testimony; not doing simply the ordinary daily household duties of sisters, but serving in testimony so as to acquire distinction, as I might say, in heaven. We have in Paul’s first epistle to Timothy a sister who is to be put on the list. That is remarkable, and her history is to be known, what qualities she had, what services she rendered; so with many others. Sisters are not only honoured in doing their ordinary duties, but serving in the testimony, and therefore I venture to launch out a little on this point, and having already delivered my soul in connection with the first passage read, I now turn to this epistle as to the elect lady and her children.
As I was saying, Peter has the same sort of thing in mind, and we cannot think that, in what he says about sisters, he includes their marital relations; he speaks about what is in their hearts, the hidden man of the heart. I would specially mention that, “the hidden man of the heart, in the incorruptible ornament of a meek and quiet spirit which in the sight of God is of great price”. 1 Peter 3:4. I [p. 163] would specially refer to what sisters have in their hearts, and the loyalty that belongs to it, and the graciousness that becomes those who profess to belong to the assembly; so that the hidden man of the heart is there. The assembly must be in Peter’s mind, it is not as if he spoke of it in the marital relation, but it clearly is in his mind, as also in John’s, and in Paul’s. Therefore all these remarks as to sisters must originate in the first chapter of the Bible. It is a question of what is in the mind of God to bring about eternally and in testimony here for the little while that remains to us while we are here.
We find in John a remarkable allusion to this, three women at the grave of Jesus, three Marys, as if the Lord would press upon us the idea of suffering at this time, and what suffering there has been! I would not be behind for a moment in my feelings and sympathies with my brethren who have been through suffering which I have not been through, but these sufferings are intended to form us in view of the assembly, that is the idea. There were standing by the cross of Jesus the three Marys, and John was there too; a remarkable group of persons standing there and witnessing the agonies of Jesus, and it is said of John, that he was the disciple whom Jesus loved. The Lord says of John, as He looked on His mother, “Woman, behold thy son”. John 19:26. Let us not think that the Lord directed her view to Himself; He did not; He directed her view to John, the trusted one. The Lord would ever use one whom He trusted, to exemplify His mind, and John was a trusted person, and hence the view of our Lord’s own mother at that moment is directed by Him to John; “Behold thy son”. John 19:26. The present, dear brethren, is a moment for calling attention to John in that sense, as the trusted one, for the need is great for trustworthy persons; those who can reliably be given things to do, that we can count on their doing them. You will remember how Simeon in Luke 2 says to Mary, “A [p. 164] sword shall go through thine own soul also”. Luke 2:35. I am endeavouring to bring home to us the reality of suffering. I have already alluded to the reality of those sufferings which I cannot speak of as knowing experimentally, for I have not been through the things most of you have been through, but I am now seeking to bring home to you and to myself the reality of sufferings, that they belong to the moment, that the moment requires them. So the Lord directs His mother who is now being deprived of her own Son, and as a sword is piercing her soul; she was truly a Mary in suffering. But there were two other Marys there, the name obviously signifying that they came through suffering. It is a suffering time. So He says to His mother, “Behold thy son”; John 19:26; then He says to John, “Behold thy mother”. John 19:27. Think of what the Lord was placing on His beloved disciple; He was handing over to John His own mother, but not now as His mother, but as John’s mother; He is constituting her John’s mother. What a disciple, therefore, we have in John in that the mother of the Lord is constituted his mother! — “and from that hour the disciple took her to his own home”. John 19:27.
We can well appreciate what the Lord thought of that, what He ever thinks of acts of that kind, for exploits are great matters in heaven; heaven is full of the matter of exploits, but what exploits? The exploits of love, of the sufferings of love; heaven is full of that. We shall see the records, and we may well aspire to have our names in those records of the exploits of love. So John was handed over the care of the Lord’s own mother and she was to be in that home as John’s mother, and he was to be there as her son. Thus we have constituted a peculiar and precious suggestion; we have circumstances that will stand the test at such a time as that, and such a time as this in view of the time of translation, for it is a question of the time of translation. I have no hesitation in saying that the days have come for it. The days of the Lord’s receiving up came earlier than may have been anticipated, but they came, and the days of our translation have come too. It may be years, of course, but at the same time we may call these the days of our translation, and let every one of us see what it is he is constituted in these circumstances; that is, the circumstances of love, where love places us, and where love would enable us to carry out its behests as under the eyes of the Lord. For it is within our range to have precious treasure. I am speaking of the assembly, and I am sure that John and Peter and Paul too are speaking of that when they allude to these things in their writings.
Now Peter says, “She that is elected with you”. 1 Peter 5:13. There may be several thoughts in this. It may be the brotherhood, or it may be a sister, a wife, one that was evidently honoured; but it may well be that there is an allusion to the assembly in Babylon. “She that is elected with you in Babylon”. 1 Peter 5:13. How remarkable that there should be an assembly in Babylon, and that she should be saluting the brethren elsewhere, co-partners with the brethren. Well, that is what it is. Babylon has now acquired a great place in christendom in this sense, in the form of a woman too. I mean Rome as in the book of Revelation. “Thy wife, Jezebel”, says John, Revelation 2:20; see Note. He says that to the assembly in Thyatira, and he says, You are allowing her, you are tolerating her. So that we are challenged as to whether we are tolerating any forms or features of Babylon. Yet we are in the midst of Babylon; there can be no doubt that in this country, and in all the countries of christendom, Babylon has increasing power, and it is a question with real christians of loyalty to the Lord in the midst of it; for He tells us plainly, “her children will I kill with death”. Revelation 2:23. That is the announcement. We have just to wait for that, but we have not to wait very long for these things, they are at our doors, but the point is love’s loyalty to Christ in the midst of it. So Peter speaks of someone in Babylon that [p. 166] is saluting the saints; she is elected with them, and one can discern that it implies the loyalty of love to Christ, as Paul says, “I have espoused you unto one man”. 2 Corinthians 11:2.
I am continuing now to speak to the sisters, endeavouring to arouse loyalty so as to give them renown in the testimony, to create the thought of renown in their hearts. For exploits are due in heaven, and it is due that the sisters should do exploits at the present time, the exploits of love. So, as I was saying, Peter is speaking of one in Babylon who salutes the saints; she is in Babylon, and she is elected with the saints and she salutes the saints. What can we do, if we think of things rightly, but link up this sister, who is elected with the saints in Babylon, with the teaching of Peter as to the sisters at the present time, so that our testimony should rise above the ordinary level of sisters’ work. I know very well that in this country many of the sisters have to do rough work such as they have never done before; it is a humbling thing to have to do it, but at the same time love can do exploits in these circumstances, and it is an opportunity for the sisters.
I now bring forward John’s elect lady, whoever she was; she had children and they walked in the truth. She was not an ordinary sister. She belonged to the nobility, if you please, as brothers do, as the nobles of Israel, for instance. The brethren are signalised by exploits in their service of love; why not the sisters? Why should so few be signalised in testimony publicly? That is the question to be raised in every sister’s heart, as to why things are not going better with us. So Peter thinks of the sisters and he speaks of the hidden man of the heart. It is a question of the place that Christ has inwardly; not simply by profession but inwardly; and that hidden man of the heart is to be put on as an ornament in the presence of their husbands so that the husbands may be gained. How many husbands need to be saved! I know very many, and the obligation is put on the wives to gain them, and [p. 167] to save them by their holy and pure conversation, 1 Corinthians 7:16. It is a question of doing exploits in the family so that the husbands are gained. They are to be adorned with the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit which in the sight of God is of great price. It is valued up there! Sarah is the example brought forward; perhaps the most honoured woman in the old testament; she is brought forward among the holy women, for there were others.
It is on my mind to say a word of exhortation to the sisters, if they will hear it, that there may be this holiness, and this pure conversation, and this ornamentation, so as to win the husbands, to secure them for the assembly, and to secure them for the levitical services that are so needed. So that the sisters and the brothers are working alike for the promotion of the assembly, Christ and the assembly. What has come before us of late, is how Abraham had the thought in his heart that his son should have a wife. A right thought, but then what about the relation of the proposed husband? The relation Abraham had in mind was a holy, pure relation, a right strain in the family links coming down the ages in the testimony. That is the idea; it originated with Abraham, the head of the believing family and the other members of the family come in as brethren. So you have in Genesis 22 Abraham’s brethren, and then Rebecca standing out as a unit in testimony; she is not doing anything, she is just mentioned by the Spirit of God in testimony. We have to wait and see what will develop, and chapter 24 tells us what does develop, as a result of Abraham’s concern about his son. In chapter 22, we learn that he offers him up, he offers up his only-begotten son, and heaven speaks to Abraham and swears to him, as much as to assure him that Jehovah appreciates what he has done. It is God’s appreciation of the faith of the patriarch, and the second time there is the voice from heaven, and He swears to Abraham, “I will multiply [p. 168] thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies”. Genesis 22:17. The promises to Abraham are established by an oath, that “by two unchangeable things, in which it was impossible that God should lie, we might have a strong encouragement”. Hebrews 6:18. God would have His servant, the great father, established in the faith of his heart as to the line of the sister Rebecca. This is most important, if, as I said, the sisters are to gain their husbands. That is the last word I want to stress now; they are to gain their husbands, according to Peter, 1 Peter 3:1.
In this second epistle of John he says: “The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth; and not I only, but also all who have known the truth; for the truth’s sake, which abides in us, and shall be with us to eternity. Grace shall be with you, mercy, peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. I rejoiced greatly that I have found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received commandment from the Father. And now I beseech thee, lady, not as writing to thee a new commandment, but that which we have had from the beginning, that we should love one another”. 2 John 1-5. You see what I am coming to now is the beginning, what was established in Christ and in the apostles at the beginning, and this lady is to be brought into that. It is supposed that someone comes to her not bringing the doctrine, and the apostle says, “See to yourselves, that we lose what we have wrought, but may receive full wages. Whosoever goes forward and abides not in the doctrine of the Christ, has not God. He that abides in the doctrine, he has both the Father and the Son. If any one come to you and bring not this doctrine, do not receive him into the house, and greet him not”. 2 John 8-10. Now you see this lady, as I said before, was no ordinary sister; she is an extraordinary sister, and she has a sister who is linked [p. 169] up with her; they are linked together in John’s mind. The Lord had linked up two together before, John and His mother. John is an outstanding brother as to his conception of sisters, and their qualities.
These matters are a challenge to every sister here as to faithfulness, as to acquiring something for heaven. We have already spoken of the memorial which Cornelius built up in heaven, before he had the Spirit; but now I am speaking of sisters building up something for heaven, building up a reputation, a dignity, a title, as it were; the titled lady is in heaven. Pardon me for stressing the use of the word so much, but I am stressing dignity and what belongs to the assembly. All these terms must eventually merge in the assembly, and the idea of lady, that is a sister who does exploits, is among them.
I urge this now, especially as to bad doctrine. There is no necessity that the sisters should leave if matters of doctrine taught are looked into; sisters should be there, they should be thoroughly in the thing. Here is a sister who is committed to discipline. She has a house; she has children who walk in the truth; and someone comes to her house, and perhaps sits down at the table, but she discovers that he does not bring “the doctrine of the Christ”. 2 John 9. Now John says, Do not bid him God-speed; do not receive him into your house. We are to look into the doctrine; the question of doctrine is to come up at once. You say, It is for the brothers. It is not only for the brothers, it is for the sisters also. The lady here is a sister; she is not merely a sister, she is a spiritual person, and she is reliable. John can trust her in relation to the doctrine, the doctrine of the Christ. If anyone comes to her and she knows that he does not bring that doctrine, she will not ask that man in, she will shut the door on him. John is telling this lady and her children to see to it that if anyone comes with bad doctrine, they are not to let it pass, not to harbour it at all. Look into it and [p. 170] challenge him, and if he is holding it, do not let him into your house.
Now I quite admit that these are strong words, and perhaps words that will arouse some wonder in your minds; that may be so; I can well afford to leave it. But I am endeavouring to establish, and to stir up in the sisters’ hearts, the idea of the hidden man and loyalty to Christ; that they may stand firm in view of a memorial in heaven, a title in heaven that will remain with you for having been loyal to the Lord Jesus, loyal to the doctrine He came here to establish and maintain. So John rightly refers to “the children of thine elect sister”; 2 John 13; there is a group of them, a group of sisters who had children and they love the truth. It reminds me of Mary and Elizabeth in the hill country of Judaea; the beautiful picture that Luke alone gives us. They were about to be mothers. Elizabeth was to be the mother of John the baptist, and Mary was to be the Lord’s own mother, and they are signalised in the hill country. What times they must have had in that bill country as their souls were full of that wonderful light that had been brought to them! Mary could say, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour”. Luke 1:46,47.
So it is, dear brethren, that the sisters have a great field opened up at the present time; the brothers have too, but I am now concerned to bring out this matter of title amongst sisters, corresponding with the elect lady and her children. The love of the truth is there, and the love for one another too, in the two sisters and in their children; the love of the truth amongst them. What a circle!
May God grant that there may be such circles abounding amongst the brethren, holy women who are true, and their children, who are brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord!