THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE REVELATION IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN AND IN HIS EPISTLES

^[p. 570] THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE REVELATION IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN AND IN HIS EPISTLES

I think it is of the utmost importance to apprehend the distinction between the revelation in the gospel of John and in his epistles.

In the gospel it is the unfolding of what was true (revealed) in the Son and in the Father amid the darkness of this world, tested by it, but comprehending it not: and yet a silent work going on underneath, drawing souls to the Son.

In the epistles the point is, what is true in Christ and in us — first manifested in Christ — now that redemption is accomplished and we are in the light as God is in the light. The Son is the source of it, and we have it in having Him.

I would add that eternal life is not what Christ took in becoming man (being made of a woman), but what He brought into manhood — the living bread come down from heaven. At the same time in the epistles the truth of His Person as divine is most jealously guarded.