Gooding, David: 9 - 1 John—Structure and Major Themes

It's our last occasion together for the time being this week, so allow me to say how much I have enjoyed it, and it has been an enriching experience to get to know you, and I trust the friendship begun will continue throughout the years. Let me just say what I have been trying to do this week. It may not have become clear to you, but in our selection of topics, we aim to take two gospels, two rather different gospels, eh, and to notice a t- uh, some of their features, uh, that would help us to see some of the topics that the gospel writers are discussing. By the way which they select and then arrange their material. And we thought then to investigate two epistles, two very different epistles, and do the same with them, not to exhaust all their detail, but to see some of their dominant themes. Mention was made also that if we were able to do that, we might end up looking at the book of the Revelation and its literary structure and how that might help us to go about understanding it. But as usual, time has defeated us, and our interests that grew out of our studies led us elsewhere in the course of those studies, so that we shall have to content ourselves today with looking at the second of our epistles, uh, which I have chosen to be the First Epistle of John. In addition, this week we set ourselves to look at three of the great strands in the biblical doctrine of salvation. So we looked at Peter's emphasis on the salvation of the soul. We noticed that he, more than any other New Testament, uh, uh, epistle writer, concentrates on the soul. While the other writers do mention it, it's Peter proportionately that mentions it more than any other. And we trace back the cause of that interest on Peter's part in the salvation of the soul to that vivid and somewhat uncomfortable experience he had when he rebuked the Lord and said, far- this be far from you, Lord. You're not going to suffer, you're not going to be crucified, you're going to be a great success, actually. So get out those, get those negative ideas out of your head. And our Lord had to turn and rebuke him, and on that occasion taught Peter the doctrine of the salvation of the soul. He that loves his soul shall lose it. He that loses his soul for my sake shall the same shall keep it. Understandably, therefore, Peter in his epistle is very interested in the matter of the salvation of the soul. Then we notice the emphasis that, uh, one encounters with Paul in his epistles, the question of justification by faith without works, but how that also leads on, uh, to deliverance, uh, from the power of sin, justification then and sanctification. We noticed also that, uh, the Gospel of John and the Epistles of John, for their part, emphasize more than any others that side of salvation that is denoted by the expression e- eternal life and the related doctrine of regeneration. So yesterday we, we were looking at an epistle, one of Paul's epistles that concentrates on justification. Now today, if we take one of John's epistles, we shall see that, like his gospel, it is concerned with eternal life, do you see? So, First Epistle of John then today. And the First Epistle of John is, uh, a very well-loved epistle, of course, some very famous phrases that have become favorite verses with the people of God all down the, uh, generations. Some of the very favorite verses come from the first epistle of John, such as the blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sins. Or again, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. The delightful, uh, outburst of praise in chapter three, behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God. And that gem of an expression from chapter four: eighteen, perfect love casts out fear. So it is, uh, an epistle that has ministered tremendous comfort and encouragement, uh, to God's people all down the ages. We shall not get time to investigate all its details, of course. Eh, the difficulties, now to mention the difficulty that some people, many people in fact, feel with the first epistle of John, is that, uh, if you look at it in detail, it contains a lot of repetition. And worse than that, on occasions it seems to be going round in circles, coming back to the same thing time and time and time again. That has been the despair of those who are given to analysis, to make any sense of the analysis of this epistle. Eh, you'll see. Some people have suggested, eh, we'll betide them, that this was because John, when he wrote it, had now become old and was doddery, and that, uh, like the old and doddery preachers do sometimes, they once were very clear and precise, do you see, but when they get old and doddery, uh, like some before you, uh, keep on going around in circles, you see, and saying the same thing time and time again, do you see, and not really advancing matters very far, you'll see. And so they suggested that, uh, this repetition in the epistle of John is because he was by now old and doddery, poor boy. And others with a higher view of inspiration and the apostle, uh, have suggested that it is not going round in circles getting nowhere, but it's going round in circles in the manner of a spiral, you'll see, that every time it goes round gets a bit higher. And that John and us in developing his theme of love and light, uh, do you see, uh, though he repeats himself each time, he's taking us a stage higher. So my first task, I suppose, is, uh, today, not, as I say, to try and expound all the details or to solve all the knotty problems, but to contribute my little, uh, part in helping us to get our fingers round the epistle, to to grasp it in that sense, to to get it on our minds as a whole, and to see how the various parts are related to each other, so that, uh, when we preach it, we shan't be going around in circles, you see, but shall see the point of the way John is, uh, has arranged his material, eh, because the arrangement is part of the theme or themes that he wishes to get across. So let's do a little preliminary investigation ourselves, shall we? If we can open our Bibles to one John chapter one, And notice how it begins. That which was from the beginning, that which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we beheld and our hands handled concerning the word of life, and the life was manifested. And we have seen and bear witness and declare unto you the life, the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested unto us. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us. Yea, and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. And these things we write that our joy may be fulfilled. With that introduction, John now goes on to share with his readers the chief message that has been brought to them by this great manifestation, that God is light and him, in him is no darkness at all. If therefore we have, uh, going to have fellowship with him, then certain conditions must be fulfilled. And then, if indeed we are having fellowship with God, it will become evident. There will be evidences that we are thus in fellowship with God. And then in chapter two verse twelve onwards, he exhorts us to not to love the world and tells us why we shouldn't. And from that he comes, as you notice, to chapter, uh, two verse eighteen, to a longish paragraph eighteen to twenty eight or twenty nine, in which he warns us about false Christs. Little children, it is the last hour, and as you heard that Antichrist cometh, even now have there arisen many Antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, they would have continued with us, but they went out that they might be made manifest how that they all are not of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written unto you because you know, uh, not the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar? But he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ. This is the Antichrist, even he that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father. He that confesseth the Son hath the Father also. And from that warning, he proceeds to encourage and exhort his fellow believers that, uh, they are not deceived by the false teachings of these antichrists, but stay firm and abide in that doctrine which they heard from the beginning. And that exhortation goes down to the end of the chapter. Notice how chapter three then begins, for we are merely taking a bird's eye view and, so to speak, having a look at the terrain from above at the moment. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called children of God, and such we are. For this cause the world knoweth us not because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that if he shall be manifested, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone that hath this hope set on him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. So here is the hope that when the Lord Jesus is manifested, we shall be like him. If we have that hope, we purify ourselves, and accordingly we shall seek now so to purify ourselves that now we are like him. And what is he like? Well, says John in verse eight, uh, verse seven and eight, my little children, let no man lead you astray. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that doeth sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning. To this end was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. And as we pass by, we might notice now we have recurred to this theme of something being manifested. In chapter one, it was that eternal life that was with the Father and has been manifested to us. And John writes so that we might have fellowship with God in this great eternal life that has been manifested. And now, at the beginning of chapter three, we recur to the idea of manifestation. The future manifestation of Christ, we know that when he shall be manifested, we shall be like him. That is his future manifestation, when he comes again, when we see him and see him as he is and are transformed into his image. But, uh, in addition, verse eight, the manifestation of the Son of God, that is his incarnation and his life on earth, by which we learned what the Son of God is like, because he's been manifested here on earth. And if we would be like him when he comes again, we must start being like him as he was when he was manifested the first time. So then there follow exhortations and teachings in the verses that follow. Notice, however, that in chapter four, verses one to six, we recur to the theme, this time not of false s- uh, Christs, anti-Christs, but false spirits. Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know you the Spirit of God. Every spirit which confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit which confesseth not Jesus is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it cometh, and now it is in the world already. Ye are of God, my little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. They are of the world, therefore speak they as of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God. He that knoweth God heareth us. He who is not of God heareth us not. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. And now, of course, our memories are beginning to observe a little bit of a recurring, uh, pattern, are we not? Um, we heard about the warnings of false Christs in chapter two, the end of chapter two. Now here, the warning about false spirits. That being said, look how what subject, uh, now, uh, uh, catches John as he moves on in his letter. Four seven. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone that loveth is begotten of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. Herein was the love of God Manifested manifested. In in our. us that God has sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him. And now we recur again to this theme of something being manifested. In chapter one, it was that eternal life that was with the Father that has been manifested. The beginning of three, it was the Son of God manifested at his coming again. He shall be manifested, but manifested, uh, in the century pa- centuries past at his incarnation. Now it is not so much the life of God or the Son of God, but the love of God that is manifested. There are no sequences given out to reward you for guessing how this section is going to end. Ha ha. We have been warned in chapter two about false Christs. We have been warned in chapter four about false spirits. The epistle will end with a warning against false gods. Look at chapter five and verse twenty. And we know that the Son of God is come and hath given us an understanding that we know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. My little children, guard yourselves from idols, which of course are false gods. Now, I'm not, uh, uh, uh, offering this as some dogmatic statement of absolute truth. All I'm looking for is a scaffolding, so to speak, that we may erect from inside the epistle, uh, first epistle of John, that may help to, uh, get us a view of the thing as a whole and how the parts fit together and what are some of its dominant themes. To help us, therefore, get those ideas, uh, before us, I have, uh, uh, scrolled out here a few, uh, things on a sheet of paper. So would you mind? That would be kind of you. I think Thank you I'm very much. So the purpose of this little sheet is to start where the epistle starts, with its, uh, uh, account of the manifestation of the life of God. And following that down in the first column to the end of chapter two, the warning against false Christs. Noticing that after the warning against false Christs immediately comes the mention of the manifestation of the sons of God and of the children of God. It is not yet made manifest what we shall be, but we know that when he is manifested, we shall be like him. And then following that down in column two until the warning against false spirits in chapter four. Noticing again that immediately after that warning about false spirits, the very next topic that is broached is the manifestation of the love of God. And following that down to the end of the epistle, which we've just found to be a warning against false gods. Now the point, uh, of you may not find this kind of analysis very helpful, you may feel it's artificial or something, but what I'm trying to do is to, um, outline for myself the major themes, and to have them in front of one allows one to compare, for instance, those topics of manifestation. Yes, they do repeat themselves, as some say. It's not because John is old and doddery. They all talk about manifestation, but the topic each time is different, isn't it? It's the manifestation of the life of God, to start with. Then it's a manifestation of the Son of God and of the children of God. And finally, it's a manifestation of the love of God. And while, of course, the question of the love of God is mentioned all over the place, in the question of the manifestation, it is part of one of the three, but notice how each time it is different. And then similarly, the warning against false teaching. Notice how why- why those warnings have things in common. It's not that John is just repeating himself. The first is the warning against false Christs. The second is the warning against false spirits, and the third is the warning against false gods. You see. That immediately will help us when we come to grasp the significance of the detail, you see. It will stop us getting doddery and getting all mixed up. It will, hopefully. And, uh, you see, help us to expound particular verses in their own appropriate context and see the flow of the argument, so that then we shall be able to apply the details on the right argument flow, you'll see, and be more effective both in our understanding and our, uh, preaching. On this little bit of paper, I pointed out that in the middle of three of these columns, or rather in the middle of the three passages, John, uh, talks about the world. Now, this matter of the world, mentioned by others, of course, but is a topic found very especially in John. You will have noticed that in the gospel. The, uh, term world, cosmos, if you are take a concordance and look at, um, uh, the term cosmos. Uh, Matthew has it one, two, three, four. if I can count, difficult this time of morning, Five, six, seven, eight, nine times, cosmos in Matthew. Mark has it one, two, three times. Luke has it one, two, three times. John has it. You can't see from there, but it starts from here and goes right down the page here. John start, uh, carries on here and comes right down, right down, right down to here. John is the chap that's interested, for some reason or other, in the world and what our attitude should be to the world. And whereas, of course, the word occurs in other, uh, in other epistles when it comes to the little epistle of First John, it starts here in the list and comes right down to here, do you see? What is this matter of the world? Well, at least at this level of our study, we can notice that there is help in listing the contents out like this, because you will see that whereas the topic of the world is treated in all these three passages, once more the emphasis is different in each. In chapter two, the exhortation is love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vain glory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. So in that first passage, the world is representative, represented as that thing that is so attractive, if we're not careful, that will attract our hearts and will attract our love, the beautiful things, the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the pride of life, all the beautiful things. And you say, what's wrong with all those beautiful things? Why shouldn't you love the world? You know, even if you don't love ice cream, why can't we love art? Is that what it's talking about? What does the world mean? Well, anyway, whatever it means, um, it is a something that we're not to love, and the reason why we're not to love it is because if we do, it will drag our love away from the Father. Be very important that we should get a right idea of what the world is. Some folks have thought down the centuries, haven't they, that the world was... Well, when I was brought up, uh, the, the, the, the good teachers, because I'm very old, you know. When they started to denounce the world, they, they paid inordinate attention to the color of women's stockings. It may seem strange to you who are so young, you'll see, but you'll see in my infancy, all women wore black stockings. Some of them were brown, but mostly black, and uh, some of them were wool and used to go down their legs like concertinas, but that's beside the point. And actually, they wore black stockings. Well, with the rolling on of the ages, uh, eventually there began to appear these, uh, sort of, um, well, I don't know what you call them, sort of transparent stockings, or, you know, um, yellowy stockings, or I don't know how you call them. You'll see. Uh, pardon? And, uh, when these appeared in church, wow, the elders looked upon this with great horror. This was worldliness invading the church. Terrible. Nothing ever had been seen like it before. Well, after a while, all women wore this new kind of sort of see-through stocking or whatever it is, and and for the simple reason that the manufacturers never made any black stockings anymore, so you couldn't get black stockings, so everybody wore them, you see. So that became the accepted thing, worldly or not. I remember a Sunday, because I lived in a country town, when a bright young thing came down from London. Do you know what? Everybody was startled. She wore black stockings. Cor! And everybody thought this was colossally worldly. Curious, isn't it? You can't define worldly by the color of women's stockings, can you? Well, what is worldliness then? If we're going to offer practical exhortation to ourselves first and then to young folks, what is worldliness? Some have thought that art and literature are worldly, and music is worldly. So they won't allow themselves that. Dear old Calvin, he had everybody dressing up very in very dark colors, didn't he? None of this frivolity that had gone on before. And you were brought before the church elders if you didn't dress the right way round, and if you were in any way frivolous in your behavior. What is worldliness? Anyway, I decided to come back to this. This we notice that, um, John isn't just going on and on and on denouncing worldliness, he's going to describe it, if not define it. And he's very careful in his three passages, first to point out the world as something that would attract our love and draw our love away from the Father. Yes, but in the second passage, he warns us about the world and its hatred. Marvel not, said the Lord Jesus before he left his apostles, if the world hates you, remember it hated me before it hated you. Now, are we going to get, um, um, so to speak, a persecution complex? Surely not. Our Lord didn't have any persecution complex, but he did point out to his apostles the reality of the world's hatred. Now, where does it stem from, and what is it? And then finally, in the third, uh, great, uh, uh, uh, portion, he talks about the world as that which makes it very difficult for a believer to keep the commandments of God. That is chapter five, you see, and verse two. Hereby we know that we love the children of God when we love God and do his commandments. For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous, his commandment's not heavy, a difficult burden. Why are his commandments not a heavy, difficult burden? Why? Because whatsoever is begotten of God overcometh the world. You see the flow of the thought. If a man is a woman are genuinely born of God, they have within them the power that lifts them above and overcomes the world, and that is what makes the keeping of the commandments of the Lord not a burdensome thing. But you see, the world will make it a very big burden because the world isn't organized to encourage folks to obey the commandments of God at an exceedingly practical level. Uh, in Spain it used to be, I don't know whether it still is, but you see, in Spain it used to be that so many people cheat on the income tax, that the government puts the income tax rate higher, far higher than it need be, because nobody pays it at that higher rate. We all cheat. But the Christians... Huh. Because they don't want to cheat. So, they get punished with an enormous rate of income tax. And when a friend of mine there went to see the income tax inspector, well, he sort of half coughed and, and, you know, it was difficult tricks for him for him to explain, he says, but you see, most people cheat, he says, so we have to have it at this rate. I mean to say, you don't really need to play it at this rate if it may when, if you would cheat like the rest. So what should you do? The world isn't geared, is it? It isn't always that it's hostile to the people of God, but it just isn't geared to the keeping of the commandments of God. And if you try to keep the commandments of God, you can find the world's organization, the way it's run, is a very big obstacle and difficulty and a burden. But his commandments are not grievous. Uh, whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world. So I, I offer you this as a simple working tool for investigating the epistle that at least will demonstrate this, that it's, uh, major themes, repeated, yes, but not just repeated. They, when they are repeated, they're giving you a different aspect each time of the topic, whether it be the manifestation of the life of God, the manifestation of the Son of God, the manifestation of the love of God. Whether it be, uh, warning about the world and its attractiveness, don't love it, warning about the world and its hatred, don't be frightened by it, and the warning about the world and the burden it will place upon you if you try to keep the commandments of God, and how to overcome that burden. And finally, the warning against false Christs, but then the warning against false spirits, and then again the warning against false gods. You get the impression that John is Trinitarian, wouldn't you? You'll see. Another way of, uh, coming at the epistle to help ourselves would be to notice the explicit purposes that John had in writing his epistle. Many have found it very helpful to notice in the gospel John's statement about the miracles. These signs are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believing have life in his name. Helpful to have that purpose, isn't it? And many an evangelist has started off a sermon that way round, that John wrote these things for this reason. First, to convince you that Jesus is the Christ, the s- the the Son of God. That's the first step, coming to believe that he is. And secondly, the second step, believing that you might take the next step and have life in his name. If we look at the epistle and ask John why he has written it, he gives us several, uh, uh, purposes that he has in mind. Look at the one in chapter five. You'll Uh, you'll see in chapter five, verses nine to thirteen. And at verse thirteen he says, these things have I written unto you that you may know that you have eternal life, even unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God. So if the gospel was written that we might believe and receive eternal life, this is written that we may not only have it, but know we have it. It was brought home to me very vividly by the late, uh, Sir J and D Anderson, and he came as a young man to the college at which I was at to lead some of the Bible readings. Dear old J and D Anderson, home from wherever he was, Egypt or somewhere, you know, as a young chap, coming to take up a chair in Islamic studies, law, legal studies. He came to to Trinity and uh, uh, expounded this at a squash, how that you may know that you have eternal life, and went through the argument. Tremendous help, I found it. It's been with me ever since, you'll see. From a practical point of view, that's important, isn't it? We preach in the gospel that people can come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and have eternal life. But so very often, many believers aren't quite sure they have it. And how do they know they've got it? And here is John with a pastor's heart writing. This is how you know you have eternal life. God wants us to know it. But he has also, uh, several other, uh, purposes in mind. I've listed a few on the sheet there, uh, for this is a common phrase in his letter. Uh, chapter one, verse four: these things we write that our joy may, uh, sorry, uh, uh, that which we have seen, verse three, and uh, uh, heard and declare unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us. Here's the purpose. It's a purpose clause. We declare it to you so that you may have fellowship with us, with the Father and with his Son. We write that our joy, or your joy, according to which manuscripts you follow, may be fulfilled. Or, my little children, these things I write unto you, chapter two, verse one, that you may not sin. Its goal is holiness. Two twenty six, these things have I written unto you concerning them which would lead you astray, to stop your being led astray. Safeguard from deception. Uh, the series in the middle of chapter two, verse twelve, thirteen, fourteen, and so forth. I write unto you, my little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake. I write unto you, fathers, I have written unto you, I write unto you, young men, I have written unto you, little children, I have written unto you, fathers, I have written unto you, young men, and so forth. Writing, giving the reason why he's written. Not the purpose, but the reason. And then, as we've just seen, he says, I've written these things that you might know, assurance of the possession of eternal life. One other very, very helpful observation about the first epistle of John. Going back to that famous book, uh, the Tests of Life. Most modern expositors of First John are vastly indebted to it, The Tests of Life. I have, for the moment, being an old and doddery, as I said before, uh, forgotten the man's name. But, uh, if you haven't got it, buy it, sell your shirt and get it. You see, eh, he perhaps is the one of the authors that, uh, commentators have been most influential. You'll find most people that have written after him contain either his idea or modifications thereof. Uh, that he calls it the tests of life. And he means by this, you'll see. Let's look at, uh, chapter uh two of John and verse three. And hereby know we that we know him, if we keep his commandments. You'll say. And, uh, that phrase, hereby know we that we know. A little complicated it sounds, doesn't it? But, um, uh, I say to you, uh, I know the Lord. You have a right to say to me, how do you know that you know the Lord? Eh? You say you know the Lord, but how do you know that that isn't sort of psychological self-deception? How do you know it isn't some kind of fantasy that you have in your mind that, uh, evo- evokes in you all sorts of psychological happy experiences, and, uh, and, uh, really what you're in love with is a fantasy of your own mind. It's all subjective going on inside your brain and heart. You label it the Lord, but how do you know it's the Lord you know? Yeah? How do we know that we know? What are the tests, as this commentator says, the tests of life? And he proceeds to point out that the, uh, John offers us these tests of life, and he keeps repeating them. First, the test that we know God and have fellowship with him. Look at, uh, uh, uh, uh, verse, uh, five. This is the message of chapter one. This is the message we have heard from him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie and do not the truth, you see. So, the claim to have fellowship with God must be tested. How is it tested? And the commentator points out that there are three tests that John applies. First of all, right behavior. Chapter two verse three: hereby know we that we know him if we keep his commandments, and he that saith I know him and keepeth not his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not with him. So the test of right behavior, and that goes through, uh, to, uh, uh, he suggests to two verse six. But not only the test of right behavior. Secondly, the test of true love. Beloved, no new commandment write I unto you beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, and so forth. Verse nine: he that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother is in the darkness until now. He can say what he likes. If he doesn't love his brother, then whatever he says of having fellowship with God and being in the light, that is not true. The test has found him out as being false. The test of love. And it goes down, says the commentator, to about verse 17. And then the verses eighteen to twenty nine, yet a further test. The test of correct doctrine. The doctrine of Christ. And the writer makes the point that to demonstrate that one is genuine, really knows God and has fellowship with God, you must be able to pass all three tests. That isn't enough just to pass one. For instance, you can find a man who is scrupulously just in his business, absolutely scrupulously do- just, does he? And you say, well, he bears every mark of being a true Christian. Wait a minute, he's a Unitarian, denies the deity of Christ, oh dear. He passes the test of justice, you say, but he doesn't pass the test of correct doctrine. Here's a man who's scrupulously just in his business, and he's absolutely impeccable when it comes to the Christian creed and believes in the doctrine of Christ, but a more calm, calm mud- mudgenly chap, cruel to his family and to his wife, and at the cause of many a bitter strife in the church, and obviously showing signs of hatred of his fellow believers. Sorry. It's not enough to ha- to pass two tests out of three. you must pass three tests, says John. The test of right behavior, the test of true love, the test of correct. Or, says the dear commentator, if you take the next, uh, great section of the book, the profession of being a child of God. Now are we children of God? Not simply that we have fellowship with God, but that we are children of God. Well, that too, that claim must be tested, and once more tested by these three tests, and the tests are repeated. Right behavior, you see. The chapter three, verse three: and everyone that hath this hope set on him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. Everyone that doeth sin doeth also lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that he was manifested to take away sins, and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not. Whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither knoweth him. My little children, let no man lead you astray. He that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that doeth sin is of the devil. Yeah. In this the children of God are manifest. You see, there is a sense in which verse one can say, uh, verse two can say, beloved, now are we the children of God, and it is not yet made manifest. You can't necessarily tell, and the world can't necessarily see. And that is not surprising because when the Lord Jesus was here, the world didn't know him either, and crucified him as a blasphemer. They got that horribly wrong. In spite of his sinless life, righteous and holy and loving, the world decided that he was a blasphemer and an impostor and crucified him. If they thus interpreted Christ wrongly, it's not to be wondered at if they won't recognize a true believer always. And it's not manifested yet what we shall be. It waits till the coming of Christ. The other side of that, that, uh, uh, uh, is that in another sense, it is very clear who are children of God and who are not. In this, the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil, says John. The test, therefore, am I, I make a profession of being a child of God, am I a child of God? The test I must first apply to myself is the test of right behavior. And then, of course, in that chapter three, from verse thirty of twelve onward, verse eleven onward, this is the message which we heard from the beginning that we should love one another. The test of true love. Cain hated his brother Abel, but then Cain was not a child of God. You see, uh, and uh, uh, uh, uh, John will be very severe here on us. It's not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. And then, as we saw in our first run through, the end of that paragraph, here comes the test of correct doctrine once more. Beloved, believe not every spirit test the spirits. The test of true doctrine. All three tests must be passed. Not good to have just one or two, you need all three. And similarly, and I needn't go through the detail, in the, uh, last section, divine love and life shown in, once more, the love, then the obedience, and then the faith of God's children. You will see there that I've wandered from the track a little bit. Uh, do you see? Um, some commentators would say that in that third and last section, you still have the same order of right, the test is right behavior, true love, and correct doctrine. Uh, well, maybe they have to push it a little bit. Read John Stott on the topic in his marvelous commentary. Uh, it is better not to be push it and be artificial. Divine love and life shown in once more, however, three respects: the love of God's children, the obedience of God's children, and the faith of God's children. Huh? Uh, you'll say, in other words, if we profess to be in in the enjoyment of the love of God, then, notice how that test, that, that profession must be tested. If we say, I love God, but I don't love my brother, well, I'm deceiving myself. But if I don't love my brother, who I have seen, how can I say I love God, whom I've not seen? And anyway, if you love the father, you'll love the child, won't you? If you really love the father and his child is n- uh, is a very awkward cuss. Yeah, for the father's sake, you'll love him, won't you? What is love? Ah, we need to test what love is, don't we? Oh, I love God. Well, loving God means keeping his commandments, you know. Uh, what does it mean if I love my brother? Well, loving my brother means if I love God and keep God's commandments. It is not love to my brother to compromise God's commandments just to make him feel good. That isn't loving my brother, is it? So the profession to, to have the love of God and to love God, that too needs to be tested. Righty ho, so far so good. That was meant to be a little bird's eye view of the, um, uh, contents of the, uh, epistle. Can I ask you just Yeah. How that all fits in with the notion of failure within the Christian life? Yes, that's a very good question to ask. Because obviously that's something you get thrown at in the fit in your life. Yes, that is true. And it is, the question is, is uh, all the more strong and insistent, isn't it, because John uses such uh, extreme terms. He that doeth sinners of the devil. Wow. And we have all, uh, uh, uh, been perturbed by it, haven't we? And some have are very perturbed. He that doeth sin, well, says somebody, I find I, I, I sin a particular sin, and I confess it to the Lord, but then I keep doing it, and I do it again, and I fall again, and then I, I confess it, and I do it again, but look here, I'm constantly doing it. Does that mean I'm not a believer? Is that what you mean, yes? Yes. That is a very real thing. And you who are pastors, eh, uh, uh, shepherd people like I don't, alas, do they? I only have half a gift. I'm only a teacher. Uh, sometimes the Lord does that. He doesn't trust a man to have a full gift. Gives him a half a gift. Um, uh, excuse me. Uh, you will know it, how some of these verses worry the Lord's people. Yeah. That's why anything that will help us get a grasp of this argument and what John is saying, a- and make sure that we're not, so to speak, uh, trying to parry the thrust of it, or on this other side, we're not, uh, pushing it to wrong. That's very important. As a general remark, of course, you will notice the, um, purpose that John has in writing. You know, sometimes a man can preach a sermon and it have altogether the opposite ex- uh, uh, effect from what he was intending it to have. You've never done that, of course. I have many times. Yeah, just see. Uh, it's good to know what the chap intended when you wrote, isn't it? In case we interpret him to mean very opposite of what he intended. It is therefore important to see the, the purposes for which he wrote. These things I write unto you that you mightn't be quite so sure as you have been hitherto. These things I write unto you to take the, uh, uh, confidence out of you. Well, no, of course not. Dear me not. The thrust of the epistle, the thrust of these tests indeed. These things have I written unto you that you may know that you have eternal life. These tests are not written to cause true people of God to doubt. The very opposite is his intention, and that's not me trying to excuse myself, that's interpreting John. Do you see? These things are written that you might know that you have eternal life. And again, if you like to take s- uh, uh, uh, a snippet of the, uh, thought flow. Says John in chapter two, verse one, my little children, these things I write unto you that you may not sin. You'll see. And, or rather, but if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father. In other words, he's writing these things, and as we shall see, uh, as we come past them, the r- the things that he writes are, uh, to comfort us. If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin. We don't have to hide our sins. The very opposite is true. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, we don't have to hide it. If we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar. Oh, so do I get the impression right? Uh, John, from what you're saying, it doesn't really matter if I sin. Oh, dear me, no, no. These things I've written unto you that you may not sin. I'm not encouraging you to sin, but the fact remains, if anybody does sin, there is provision for them. So even within the detail, you see how John is working. He is not working to, uh, uh, uh, disturb believers in the sense of making them doubt their salvation and, and, uh, casting them into gloom and depression and real thinking that you can never be sure. No, he's not doing that. And that's why it, it is very necessary for us to understand the whole flow of the thing and not take verses out of their context. Yeah? We'll come to that perhaps in the second half, after our usual fortification. Ah. Uh, you see, on the other hand, it is absolutely true that he does give us tests so to, uh, uh, uncover and expose what is false doctrine and false behavior. And he's very, very, uh, uh, concerned, as you notice in those three long passages, warning against false Christs and false spirits and false gods. And if we get round to that, we shall see that it is, uh, it was a very important issue in, in John's day, this business of false Christs and false spirits. And, uh, if I'm not mistaken, we are now moving into an age where increasing mysticism, coupled with liberalism in doctrine, will bring about a situation very similar to what John was fighting against in his day. All kinds of doctrines about Christs that are not Christian, about the great world spirit, about mystical communion with God, mysticism, all having a veneer of being seeking the true God, but are right false. And John is, uh, very strong about it and gives us tests so that we may, uh, uncover this, uh, and avoid it. Yes, but you had a question, sir. It's, uh, chapter three and verse nine. Whoever is born of God doth not commit sin, quite explicit. Yes. Uh, and when it hits you like that there, your first reaction is to try and find some way Out of it. something else. Yeah, that's right. And uh, from that, sometimes the idea comes the two natures. Yeah. That, uh, I do sin because that's the old nature. Mm-hmm. And uh, the the new nature of God doesn't sin. Mm-hmm. So that. Yeah. Yeah, that's interesting. Uh, let's open it up to now to the discussion, because there are heads here much wiser than mine. What do you normally say, ladies and gentlemen, when these questions arise? What? Obviously, earlier on we said that, if we said we have no sin, Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. If we do sin, we recognize. No, we recognize as we sin, don't we? Do sin. Yes. And then he says we're born of God, we don't sin. Mm-hmm. But then, where's sin come from? Mm-hmm. That's right, yes. Well, ladies and gentlemen, what do you normally say? Is he speaking more of attitude to sin than the actuality, pardon me, than the actuality of it? That if we're born of God, we, we are no longer casual, blasé about our sin, and it dr- drives us to the point of contesting so that the advocate Yes. becomes real to us at that moment? Yes, I, I- More than that. Well, I, I, I, I, I tend to think it is that, uh, uh, that, um, it's talking about attitude. A man that goes on sinning and has no s- no intention of repenting, doesn't care tuppence about it, carries on sinning regardless. No believer does that, does he? Or if he does, he raises very serious questions as to whether he is a believer, yes? Mm-hmm. Any other suggestions? I, I usually thought of it in terms of habitual sin, in the sense that, uh, when you become a believer, um, with your new nature and everything that Christ has done for us, we are someone special. We're a new creation, we're in Christ, no longer Adam and all, all the other good things that we've, we've come to understand. And that sin, we are no longer comfortable with sin, um, that the difference is between someone who habitually sins and is comfortable with that, and someone who's a genuine believer who can never be comfortable. Mm-hmm. With sin. Mm, that's what Oferin was saying here. What Oferin was saying here. The idea that that there may be sin, a sin in our life that we have no intention of giving up, we're going to hold on to it. Mm-hmm. Compared to a sin that may be setting sin that we often fall into. Mm-hmm. But are all continuously seeking, uh, victory over through the cry, the seed that is within us. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Um. Mm-hmm. Uh, obviously it's not a matter of, uh, try to slow down the number of times you sin, but you're, you're seeking to live in victory, but Mm-hmm. We're gonna fall time and time again. Mm-hmm. And doesn't mean that, uh, we love that sin. May mean that at that point in time when we're sinning, that's what we want to do. Maybe that point in our something within us said, that's what I want. I mean, temptation is good to be tasteful to us. I'm not tempted with a pizza because I don't like cheese, but a Pooh Bear ice cream would be a different thing altogether because that's, that's where I am tempted. I mean, you get some folks, you know, from different backgrounds. I've never been tempted to go to the cinema in my life, and I think they've won a victory because that's an area where they haven't even been tempted to indulge, and there's, to me, it's not a bit, there was no battle in the first place for a victory to be won. And there's other things that, um, I'm very much aware from my past and from what I am as an individual, that those are areas that I need to be very, very careful indeed about because they're areas in which I could fall into sin again very easily, unless I depended on the grace of God and the victory, uh, that Christ wants to win, uh, within my life, uh, over those particular areas. Uh, I don't see so- habitual sin as something that I do continuously. I say it, and it might be wrongly, I say habitual sin is something that I don't want to give up. Mm-hmm. But I'm determined that this is God, you can have this area of my life, you can have that, but hey, this is, this is for me, and it's, no one else knows about it or whatever. I'm just going to indulge myself in that, but I have no intention of ever letting go. Mhm. Holding on to, I d- I don't know. Mhm. I don't know. Mm-hmm. Mhm. The, what would you say, the character of the child of God and the direction of his life, um, in the context of one sixty three verse three says, everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, which indicates, first of all, that he's not, on a practical level, particularly pure anyway, unless it means something else. For sure. So, uh, it's a direction, there's a hope that characterizes the child of God is moving in a direction. It's not perfection, but a process towards this. It's what is it that characterizes the person? Mm-hmm. It's characterized by, uh, increasingly reflecting who he is, or increasingly moving towards the truth. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. I wouldn't even raise a question about if he has no moral struggles of that kind. Mm-hmm. Yeah. In other words, this is pointing to basic character. Uh, but uh, within that basic character for a believer, there can be inconsistencies. In chapter seven of Romans, where Paul is talking about the struggle that he Mm-hmm. very real struggle. Yeah. And he says, why the light in the law of God after the man. Mm-hmm. But, uh, then the other law that brought us defeat. Yeah. But the inner man Yeah. delighted that there was this recognition Yeah. in himself. Yes. That there's a delight to do good. Mm-hmm. Even though we may not have been able to do good, but the delight was there. Yeah. We wanted to. Yeah. And I've often thought of that, say to yourself, if you offered a wee pill that could guarantee that all temptations would be removed, that you could offer a Christian, and that Christian will never ever sin again, who would take the pill? And it might be the the the believer who might want it the most, might be the believer who's defeated the most. Mm-hmm. You know, uh, they're struggling, and the greatest joy would be to be free of all that Yeah, yes, yes, yes. to have freedom. Mhm. And maybe the first one is not to take the town. Mhm. You know? Yes. Because they're a man that recognizes they're a man that cries out for that freedom. Yes, yes. Oh, surely, surely. Uh, uh, and uh, as a hymn writer put it, they who, how does it go, would serve him most, are conscious most of ill within. Yes, isn't that so? I mean, the, eh, if you, as we shall see in a minute, if you walk in the dark, you won't be so conscious of sin. The nearer you get to the Lord and you walk in the light, you won't feel yourself better, you'll feel yourself worse off. Theological commentaries and so on that astonished, uh, a little prayer group that he went to in the college by asking that they, they pray for him that he wouldn't become a dirty old man. Mm. This idea of the, the awareness, the more you seek to live in the light, the more those areas in our lives are exposed by that light. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. True. The question, uh, I think, are you going to say something? No. The question that I think arises, uh, uh, uh, in all this discussion, I remember I was in Denmark once, and it rose very vigorously in this connection, is if John is dealing with character, so to speak, uh, this is the, the, uh, direction of character. Believer who wants to please God, he's struggling with sin, but his character is in this direction. He wants to please God, he confesses his sin, sin makes him miserable, he wants deliverance, do you see, and so forth and so on, even though he falls. Uh, but if it is character, then the question arises, can a true believer live out of character? If you take an example, our Lord said and laid it down categorically, whoever denies me before men, I shall deny him before my Father and the holy angels. That's very severe, isn't it? Well, what should we say of Peter? He did deny the Lord. And used all the swear words he knew to convince the folk standing around that he wasn't a believer. Do these verses, what do these verses say to people like that? We know, of course, don't we, from what our Lord said, one, that Peter was a genuine believer, and two, we know from what our Lord said that underneath he didn't cease to be a believer. Our Lord's remarks are to Peter, you're going to deny me, but I pray for you that thy faith shall not fail. Not that your godliness shouldn't fail or your courage shouldn't fail. They all failed, and his testimony went out of the window. Our Lord didn't pray that any of those things shouldn't fail. The thing that he prayed for was that his faith shouldn't fail. And of course, um, underneath Peter remained a believer and was restored. And when, not if ever, but when you are restored, strengthen your brothers. But if you had been standing by Peter when he was denying the Lord with oaths and curses, and somebody said to you, Miss Peter, is he a believer? What would you have said? Mm-hmm. What would you have said, you see? You would have said, well, I thought he was. I do believe he loved the Lord, but if he himself was saying I'm not, well, how can I say he is? But it turned out in the event that yes, he was, and he was restored. So if we talk about this as the character of a believer, eh, eh, we should have to recognize that, uh, uh, it is possible for a believer at certain times to act completely out of character. That re- that does actually call into question how genuine his profession of faith is, does it not? But then we ca- must remember that, that such people can be restored, as distinct from the Judases of this world, who never was a believer. Our Lord didn't pray for him that his faith shouldn't fail. Never did have any to start with. Do you see? But that is important. I think also what will come to light as we get down to the some detail, uh, is the difference between the condition, the conditions that God lays down for having fellowship with God and the evidence that we have fellowship with God. Yeah? There is a very big difference between those two, and John himself is careful to point it out. Difference between the conditions upon which I receive eternal life and have it. And on the other side, the evidence that I have eternal life. And if you say, what's the difference between those two? Well, babies don't get life by crying, do they? But if a newborn baby doesn't cry presently, you'll be very worried. A baby's crying is the evidence it has life, yes? A tremendous, uh, triumph when the, the newborn is held up by his legs and slapped upon his posterior, whatever they do, and shout triumph, and it melts out and gives out an almighty yell. And the yell is very welcome. Didn't get life by crying, but because it had life, it cried. And if it stopped crying, you'd get very worried. Yeah? There's a difference between the condition upon which you receive life and the evidence that you have life. I think we shall find that John makes that distinction very carefully in his early chapters. Would this be a time to break off? And then Yeah, yeah, surely. One other thing. Yeah, surely. In your synopsis, you're suggesting almost that John contrasts having fellowship with God with being a child of God. Is it possible to have fellowship with God in any other context than that of being a child? Oh, that's a very good point. Uh, uh, and uh, uh, uh, my answer to that I, uh, I shall give, eh, uh, when we start up again from chapter one. I understand that when John is saying to that, uh, that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that you also may have fellowship with us. Yea, and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. I personally think, well, let let's do that just now. Um, in modern English, when we talk about having fellowship, here's A and here's B. And sometimes in Christian circles, when we talk about having fellowship with God, we're talking about some kind of, uh, experience that goes on, say, in prayer or something like that. And there is a two-way process of sharing or whatever, uh, speaking, love and devotion that is going here and here. And this is having fellowship. Do you see? Communion has been a frequent evangelical expression. Uh, you may be out of communion with the Lord, and you see, you're still a believer, but not out of communion because you've sinned, and now when you confess your sin, the communion is restored. And people have understood John to mean by fellowship that kind of communion, day-to-day communion with the Lord. And when we sin, there comes a cloud over it, and the communion is, so to speak, broken, and then when we confess our sins, the communion is restored, the fellowship is restored. But, uh, uh, uh, uh, in Greek, to have fellowship often means... here is a something, and A has a share in it, and B has a share in it. And they both partake of this third thing. So, in practical terms, uh, uh, Peter and company, when they caught the marvellous catch of fish, they called to their partners to come and help them. They were partners in the business. Now, in what sense is John saying, I write unto you that you may have fellowship with us? Fellowship is simply praying to God or praising God and, uh, uh, that is it simply that? I suggest it, no, it's this. What we have fellowship with is, is this eternal life that was with the Father and has now been manifest to us. And John and James and all the company as apostles, they said, we, we, we, we saw that life, we, we touched, felt, handled it. That was absolutely marvelous, wasn't it? To wake up to the fact that the man, uh, traveling in your boat is, is that eternal life that was with the Father and has now been manifested, and you're sharing with him as God is sharing with him, sharing in him. That is a colossal concept. And I read that, and I- I'm inclined to read it so at that highest level, that John the Apostle, who witnessed the incarnation, traveled with him, felt him, touched him, handled him, uh, meditated upon him, beheld him, contemplated him, saw him, and came to share in that very life of Christ. And in sharing the life of Christ was sharing something with God. So he writes to us that we may have fellowship. That is, fellowship in this sense is sharing the very life of God. Yes? If that is so, that becomes important for when we come down to these, uh, conditions. If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship. What do you mean have fellowship? Is it just we're on good terms in the sense that we're today talking to each other and enjoying our quiet time, or is it the much more fundamental thing? How do you possess eternal life at all? If the fellowship is sharing with God in eternal life, sharing the very life of God, possessing that life, then that's at the fundamental. Yeah, does it? And that's what I would want to say, to be a child of God is not just to have happy times of communion, important as they are. Being a child of God is to share the very life of God. That would be absolutely fundamental. Yeah? Good. Right, let's ca- let's have a break, and then we'll come back to that.