The Children of God.
being an exposition of the Fatherhood of God and the relationships of his children.
E. Dennett.
(Broom, 1883.)
Preface.
In the following chapters the writer has sought to expound the truth concerning God's family. Commencement is made with Christ as the revealer of the Father, and then the various aspects of the family as presented in the Scriptures are considered. The subject is only dealt with in outline, in order that, keeping the volume within smaller compass, a wider circle of readers, with the Lord's blessing, might be obtained.
The writer begs very earnestly to commend the subject to the reader, because, amid the many ecclesiastical questions which are continually exercising the people of God, it tends to warm and enlarge the heart to be occupied with the whole circle of God's affections. In a day of controversy the heart is apt to be chilled and narrowed if it does not remember the claim of all God's children. It is an unspeakable sorrow to be compelled, for the Lord's sake, and in obedience to His word, to withdraw even from saints who are walking disorderly (see 2 Thess. 3: 6); but on this very account it is the more needful to remind ourselves that our debt of love to them can never be discharged. The obligation of the Lords word ever remains — "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you." (John 15: 12.)
And it is the writer's hope and prayer that the presentation of the common relationship of all believers to God as their Father, together with the fact that all believers alike are the common objects of the Father's heart, and that there is therefore of necessity a common tie both to God and to one another, may be used of the Lord to fasten anew His own word, in the energy of the Holy Spirit, upon the hearts of His beloved people.
London, 1883.
Contents.
CHAPTER 1. CHRIST AS THE REVEALER OF THE FATHER
CHAPTER 2. THE CHILDREN OF GOD
CHAPTER 3. THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION
CHAPTER 4. THE THREEFOLD DIVISION OF THE FAMILY OF GOD. (1)
CHAPTER 5. THE THREEFOLD DIVISION OF THE FAMILY OF GOD. (2)
CHAPTER 6. MARKS OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD
CHAPTER 7. THE FATHER'S DESIRES FOR HIS CHILDREN
CHAPTER 8. THE FATHER'S GOVERNMENT OF HIS CHILDREN
CHAPTER 9. THE PRIVILEGES OF GOD'S CHILDREN
CHAPTER 10. THE FUTURE CONDITION AND HOME OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD
CHAPTER 1. CHRIST AS THE REVEALER OF THE FATHER.
GOD has been pleased to reveal Himself in various ways and under different characters in every age and in all dispensations. Before the cross He had made Himself known to Adam, the patriarchs, and to His people Israel; but it was not until Christ came, and had glorified God on the earth, and finished the work which had been given Him to do, that all was told out, that the Father-name of God could be fully revealed. Ere this clouds and darkness were round about Him; but as soon as atonement had been made by the death of Christ on the cross, the veil was rent, and believers could thereafter be set down in the light as God is in the light. All distance and concealment were now abolished, and all that God is, together with the name of Father, was fully displayed. Christ Himself, Christ as the eternal Son, but as the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1: 14) was Himself the revelation of the Father; but until the descent of the Holy Ghost there was little, if any, power on the part of those before whose eyes the revelation was passing to apprehend it. There were a few anointed eyes who beheld His glory as of an only-begotten with a Father, but John the Baptist knew Him not, except by the appointed sign of the descent of the Holy Ghost upon Him, and even Philip had to be told, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." (John 14)
Practically therefore there was no knowledge of God as Father until after Pentecost. This will be plain to the reader if we trace a little the successive revelations of God which were made to His people in the Old Testament. To Abraham, God said, "I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect" (Gen. 17: 1); to Moses, "I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you" (Exodus 3: 14); and when He entered into distinct relationship with His chosen people, it was under the name of Jehovah, and that was ever His covenant name with Israel. Search indeed the whole of the Old Testament Scriptures, and not even the word father will be found more than five or six times as applied to God, and in most of these cases it is used rather as indicating the source of existence than as implying relationship. All the Old Testament saints were undoubtedly born again. This is to be insisted upon, for without a new life and a new nature they would not have been able to converse with God; but it is equally true that they never knew God as Father, and therefore that they could not be in the enjoyment of the relationship. One word from Scripture definitely and conclusively settles this point, "Neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him." (Matt. 11: 2 7.)
It is then abundantly proved that God was not revealed as Father before the advent of Christ. And passing now to the New Testament, it will be seen, as already stated, that Christ Himself was the revealer of the Father, and that it is in the Gospel of John He is presented to us in this character. In the very first chapter of this gospel it is said, "No man hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." (v. 18.) Not only, indeed, does this scripture inform us that the only-begotten Son declared the Father, but it also teaches that none other but Himself could have done so, and this because of the position He ever occupied — the place of intimacy and communion which He ever, and He alone, enjoyed, as marked by the words, "in the bosom of the Father." This place He never left; He was in it (for it is a moral expression) as much when He was the man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, as when He possessed the glory which He had with the Father before the world was; and on the cross itself He was still there, for He Himself said, "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again" (John 10: 17) — His death in obedience to the commandment which He had received, supplying as it were a new motive for the expression of His Father's love. Later on in the gospel, we find one of His disciples permitted to lean on His bosom, and this same disciple was the chosen vessel to unfold in his gospel the eternal Sonship of Christ — Christ as divine; and this in some measure may aid us in understanding that none but He who was ever in the bosom of the Father could unfold Him in this character and relationship. In divine things it is ever true as an abiding principle, that we can only tell out to others that which we ourselves know in our own souls. If we are not in the power of the thing spoken of, our words, clear as they may seem to be, will convey but little significance. The Lord Himself laid down this principle when He said, "We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen." (John 3: 11)
Let us then enquire in what way the Lord revealed the Father. He Himself has answered the question. "If," said He to the Jews, "ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also" (John 8: 19); and again, speaking to Philip, "If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him. Philip saith unto Him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto Him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of" (from, literally) "myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake." (John 14: 7-11.)
Christ Himself then, in all that He was, in the life He lived when down here, was the revelation of the Father; i.e., He was the perfect moral presentation of the Father, in all that He is, to all who had eyes to perceive it. As He said, "I have declared unto them Thy name" (John 17: 26) — name in Scripture being the expression of the truth of what a person is, and it will therefore signify, in this connection, the truth of the Father. Thus as Christ passed through this scene every feature, every moral trait, all the perfections of the Father's mind and heart and character, were fully exhibited; so that had the eyes of those who were round about our Lord been anointed they would have perceived in Him the living embodiment of the Father. To the natural eye He was only Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter's son, but the eye opened by the Holy Ghost beheld in Him "the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father," and as such the declarer of the Father.
But we may come to the details of this wondrous revelation. The Lord has Himself pointed put the two channels through which it was made, as indeed there are but these two in which man can express what he is. The passage has already been cited in which He says, that He did not speak His words from Himself; and in an earlier chapter He says, "The Son can do nothing from Himself, but what He seeth the Father do." (v. 19; see also John 8: 28.) He did not therefore originate (for that is the force of His statement) either His words or His works. Though He were the eternal Son, He had come not to do His own will, but the will of Him that sent Him (6: 38), and on this account His every word and work were but the expressions of His perfect obedience, the motive to both alike being found not in His own will, perfect as it was, but in His Father's. That is, He never spake and He never acted except as in dependence on the Father, and in subjection to His will; and on this very account His words and work were the revelation of Him who had sent Him.
And this characteristic brings out a very blessed truth as to Himself, and a mournful contrast as to ourselves. Being what He was, His words were as perfect as His works; and thus when the Jews asked, "Who art Thou?" He replied (as it should be rendered), "Altogether that which I also say to you" (John 8: 25); as another has said, "His speech presented Himself, being the truth." Our words often convey either less or more than the truth, and we are frequently humbled at the discovery that we have failed to express what we even desired, and sometimes because we have left behind a wrong, if not untrue, impression, through the imperfection of our words. With Him, on the other hand, every word was perfect, and a ray therefore of His own glory as well as a manifestation of the Father. We thus find in John 14 that He identifies His words with His works. "The words," He says, "that I speak unto you I speak not from myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the works." (v. 10) The words were as perfect as the works, and both alike the revelation of the Father.
Bearing this in mind, what preciousness, yea, what solemnity, attaches to all that is recorded of our blessed Lord. Some things that He said and did have not been recorded (see Luke 24: 27; John 21: 25; Acts 1: 3), and at times we have been tempted to desire that it had been otherwise. The truth is, every word and every act have been given which were necessary for His perfect revelation of the Father — no more, no less. If more had been given, perfect as all of necessity would have been, this revelation would not have been more complete. We have therefore suffered no loss; for divine wisdom and divine love guided in the preservation of all that was necessary for God's glory, and our instruction and blessing. In one word, what is recorded is a perfect presentation of Himself, and thus of the Father. Omit but a single word, or but one action, and the perfectness of the picture would be marred. It is very necessary to insist on this point in such a day as the present, when men, on the one hand, are endeavouring with ruthless criticism, the offspring of an unholy rationalism, to destroy our confidence in the authenticity of portions of the four blessed gospels, or, on the other hand, with bold presumption to construct human narratives of the life of our blessed Lord, which they offer either as substitutes for, or in elucidation of, the divine fourfold record. It were difficult to decide which of these two classes are guilty of the greater temerity. Be this as it may, nothing can be more certain than that the labours of both tend to destroy faith in the word of God, obscure the holy character of our Lord, and thereby to inflict irreparable damage upon the souls of their readers.
The Lord Himself, then, declared the Father perfectly in what He was in His life on the earth; but at the same time it is also true that His death was the consummation of the revelation He had made. As the only-begotten of the Father — yea, as the sinless One in His own abiding excellency and perfection — He could not be at any time less than what He was. There was not a moment of His life in which He could not have said, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father;" and yet it is also true that His death was, so to speak, the crowning act, at least in demonstration, of His perfect declaration of the Father. It was so in two ways. First, in the exhibition and proof of His entire devotedness to His Father's glory, in humbling Himself and becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. On the cross it was obedience, if we may thus speak, of another sort, obedience under new circumstances and conditions; for there it was that He glorified God in the place of sin, and on account of sin, being made sin for us. Thus it was that He spake of His death as a special ground for the Father's love (John 10), and on this account also it is that the death of Christ was the completion of the perfect manifestation of His own moral glory. (John 13: 31.) Secondly, His death was necessary for the full revelation of the. Father's heart. "And we have seen and do testify, that the Father sent the Son [to be] the Saviour of the world." (1 John 4: 14.) All that God is — all the attributes of His character, His holiness, His righteousness, His truth, His mercy, His Majesty, and His love — were displayed in and through the cross of Christ; but when we are taught that the Father sent His Son, and sent Him in order to be a Saviour for all, Jew or Gentile, who should believe on Him, we are permitted to see into the depths of His unfathomable heart. Yea, "God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3: 16.)*
*It may be helpful to some if we add the following note from the writings of another. He says, "It will be found in the writings of John that, when responsibility is spoken of, God is the word used; when grace to us, the Father and the Son. When indeed it is goodness (God's character in Christ) towards the world, then God is spoken of." Nothing indeed can be more instructive than a close observation of the way in which the Holy Spirit uses the different names of God, and also of our blessed Lord Himself. The meaning of many a scripture almost entirely depends upon it.
We can now perhaps better understand the Lord's words to Philip — "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." If therefore we would know the Father more fully it can only be. through a more perfect knowledge of Christ. The fathers to whom John writes (1 John 2), whose characteristic was that they knew "Him who is from the beginning," i.e., Christ, "that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us" (1 John 1: 2), were those who knew most of the Father; for it is in Christ, as we have seen, that the Father has been fully displayed. This should never be forgotten; for one of the evils of traditional and formal theology (and many souls are still under its influence) is that Christ, as the Son, has been too much separated from the Father. While rightly insisting on the holiness of God, and the necessity of atonement as the foundation of His gracious dealings with men, it has lost sight of the fact that Christ was the true expression of the Father's heart, of the Father's character and nature. The consequence is, that when the heart, under the gracious operations of the Spirit of God, has turned for relief to Christ, and the work He has wrought out on the cross, there has yet been the sense of distance from God, because He has been presented only in the aspect of a Judge. The knowledge therefore that God is for His people, that the Father's heart rests upon them with delight and complacency, has been confined to comparatively few, and hence with the mass of believers there has been but little liberty in the presence of God, and almost no knowledge of their relationship to God as their Father. It would be an immense blessing to all such to apprehend the truth here insisted upon; that Christ is the perfect revelation of the Father; for then all that they learn of Him, they would consciously learn also of the Father, and thereby enter upon the rich and ever-increasing enjoyment of the Father's love. He Himself has told its, "I and my Father are one" (John 10: 30) — one in mind, thought, purpose, and aim; He in the Father and the Father in Him, and thus of necessity He is the perfect expression of all that the Father is.
The question may perhaps be asked, "Where then can we obtain a fuller knowledge of Christ in order more perfectly to know the Father?" The answer to this question is of all importance. It is only in the Scriptures that we can learn what Christ is. There may be meditation upon Him undoubtedly; but if we would be preserved from the snares of mysticism and imagination, the word of God must be the basis of our contemplations. It should ever be strongly stated, that the only revelation of Christ is in the Scriptures; and when the Holy Ghost glorifies Christ, receives of Christ, and shows it unto us (John 16: 14), it is through the Word. It is not too much to say that there is no contact with a living and glorified Christ except through the written word of God. There is a manifestation of Christ to the soul, giving us the special and conscious apprehension of His presence, but even this privilege and blessing are connected with keeping His commandments or His word. (John 14: 21-23.) Assailed as we are by the dangers, both of human reasonings and a spiritualized mysticism, it cannot be too often repeated, that we can only apprehend Christ, what He was on earth, and what He is at the right hand of God, the same Christ, His moral glories now being the same as when He was down here, but existing under different conditions — we can only learn all that He is, we repeat, through the pages of God's inspired word. Remembering this, it will give a new incentive to the study of the Scriptures, and at the same time it will keep us while we read, like Mary, at the feet of our blessed Lord. We shall behold the man Christ Jesus moving across the scene, but the thought will ever be present to our hearts — He whom we behold in His works of mercy and love, He whom we hear speaking as never man spake, is the only-begotten Son in the bosom of the Father, and is Himself in all these acts and words the declaration of the Father. Reading the Scriptures in such a spirit would be an occasion for adoring worship and for grateful praise.
Before we close we may point out two things which our Lord did to aid His disciples in the apprehension of this truth. At the close of His sojourn among them He said, "These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father. At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: for the Father Himself loveth you," etc. (John 16: 25-27.) There was no possibility of coming to the Father but by Him, but He would have them know that they had through Him come unto the Father. They should continue to ask in His name, but He desired them to understand that the Father Himself loved them. He wanted to direct their gaze to the Father through Himself that they might know Him, and know also that they were the objects of His heart. This teaching of our blessed Lord might well be commended to many in the present day. Is there no danger to our souls of forgetting that the Father has been revealed to us, that through the Lord Jesus we are come to Him, and that we may count upon His heart at all times?
The second thing is that the Lord put His disciples, ere He departed from them, into His own place. He did this when. He presented them before the Father in His prayer which He uttered in their hearing: "I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given me; for they are Thine. And all mine are Thine, and Thine are mine; and I am glorified them. And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are." (John 17: 9-11; see also verses 16-26.) But after His resurrection He formally announces to them the character of the place into which they had now been brought. "Go to my brethren," says He to Mary, "and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." (John 20: 17.) We hope to expound these words in the next chapter; but we call attention now to the fact that on the ground of redemption, effected through His death and resurrection, the Lord brings His people into His own place and relationship with God. God was not henceforth to be known as Jehovah, or Jehovah-Elohim, as by Israel, but as the God and Father of His people, because the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hence it will be found in the epistles that almost all the blessings secured to us in Christ are developed in this twofold relationship. (See 2 Cor. 1: 2, Eph. 1: 2, 3; 1 Peter 1: 3.)
Thus the gospel of John closes.* Commencing with the introduction of the Word, who was with God and who was God, and who withal was the eternal Son, and as such the revealer of the Father, it concludes with His putting the disciples, in His tenderness and love, on resurrection ground into His own place and relationship to His God and Father. As yet they could not enter upon the enjoyment of this, but He had given it to them, and had brought them into it as the fruit of His own redemptive work. Blessed be His name!
*John 21 is in some sort an appendix, and points on to millennial times, the shepherding of the sheep, and John's ministry, which was to go on until the Lord's return. John 20 is therefore a distinct close of the historical gospel.
CHAPTER 2. THE CHILDREN OF GOD.
WE have already seen that Christ as the Son was the revealer of the Father; and as soon as the Father is declared it is of necessity that there should be those who are in the enjoyment of the relationship; in other words, the Father must have His children. Accordingly we find the family in the very same gospel that contains the declaration of the Father's name. There are, it may be said, three notices of it to which we may call attention.
The first is contained in John 1; but we turn now to that found in John 11. After the resurrection of Lazarus the Jewish authorities assembled together for consultation. They could not deny the miracle that had been wrought; but, shutting their eyes to its divine significance and their consequent responsibility, and caring only for their own selfish interests and advantage, they determined to rid themselves of the One who so disturbed their peace, and who was making so many disciples. They thought in their wicked councils only of themselves; but God was behind the scene overruling their thoughts, and was about to make their wrath to praise Him in the accomplishment of His own eternal counsels of grace and love. He thus used the mouth of Caiaphas to prophesy that Jesus should die for the Jewish nation, this being God's purpose from eternity; and to that prophecy the Spirit of God added another in order to embrace the full character of the death of Christ, by the hand of John, who writes, "And not for that nation only, but that also He should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad." (John 11: 49-52.) We thus learn that not only was the heart of God set upon His children, but that also the death of Christ was requisite, requisite for the glory of God as for the redemption of His people, as the foundation on which the Spirit of God could, through the entreating message of the gospel, go out into every land, and gather in one by one those who should constitute the Father's family, and as such be heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ. As the Father could only be fully revealed by the life and death of Christ, so likewise the children could only be sought out, found, and gathered through that death.
The second reference is in John 1: 12, 13, and points out the way in which we become children — the only possible way — and this must be entered upon more fully. It is stated at the very outset in accordance with the character of the gospel. In the three preceding gospels — generally termed the synoptic gospels — Christ is presented to His people for acceptance, and we see Him rejected in the course of the narrative. This is true of all three, though there are characteristic differences. In John, on the other hand, Christ is introduced as already rejected. "He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." The world was ignorant (knew not God, as in 2 Thess. 1: 8), and the Jew rejected Him (did not, as it were, obey the gospel, as also in the scripture cited). Hence we find a fuller display in John of the person of Christ, and the introduction of the cross with its blessed teachings at the commencement (John 3) instead of waiting for the historical relation at the close. We have therefore, following immediately upon the statement of His rejection, a class indicated who received Him, and who in receiving Him received power (right or authority) to become (to take the place of) the children of God; and then, to dispel all uncertainty as to the nature of the change thus wrought, it is added, "Who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (v. 13.) It is a divine and sovereign operation effected by a power and through agencies outside of man, and with which man, though he may be the subject of their energy, can have nothing to do.
But the consideration of this will lead us back to the very fountain-head of the existence of the children of God. They are born of God. In chapter 3 the Lord tells Nicodemus, that "except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (v. 5); and here we find another truth, that those who are born again through these instrumentalities are brought into relationship of children with the Father. Combining then these scriptures, we shall have before us the whole truth of the process by which the family of God is formed.
1. Its origin is in God Himself; and this same apostle tells us another thing, not only that believers are born of God, but also that their blessed place and relationship flow from the heart of the Father. "Behold," he exclaims, "what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons" (children — tekna) "of God" (1 John 3: 1); so that the very fact of our being children is the expression of the Father's heart, He desired to have His children for His own satisfaction and joy; and if we add another scripture, we shall see that in a past eternity He formed this blessed counsel of grace. "Having," as St. Paul writes, "predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved." (Eph. 1: 5, 6.) We cannot dwell too much upon this outflow of the heart of God, on the fact, we repeat, that our being children is but a simple consequence of the Father's love. And when in connection with this we consider what we were, the state we were in, our utter alienation from God, the bitter enmity of our hearts towards Him, we shall in some measure enter into the meaning of John's cry, "Behold, what manner of love!" Yea, it is love unspeakable, unbounded and divine, having no motive for its expression except in that blessed heart whence it has flowed. Well indeed might we be humbled before it when we think that we — once poor sinners of the Gentiles — have become its object, and have been brought into its enjoyment, and that for eternity.
2. The heart of God is the source, but God has His own means of bringing us into His family. "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons" (children) "of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1: 12, 13.) There are two or three important statements in these words. First, that those who received Christ, or believed on His name, are actually born of God. More indeed than this. The very manner of the statement is exclusive of all human agency or claims. With the Jew descent from Abraham, born "of blood," went for a great deal, as it brought him into the number of the chosen people. But now that Christ is come, natural descent has no pre-eminence, it is indeed totally set aside, and nothing will avail except being born of God. It is not only therefore, as theologians speak, adoption, blessed and wonderful grace as this would be; it is more, it is an actual new birth, the result of the action of sovereign and divine power by which those who are the subjects of it become partakers of a new nature and a new life. It is thus that John, speaking in the abstract confining his attention entirely to the character of this new nature, without respect to the old, the Adam nature, which all believers still possess), says, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." (1 John 3: 9.) Yes, nothing short of this — born of God — is the truth; but while of God, if we would come to the special character of the action, it is of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the divine agent by whom this wondrous change is effected, according to the scripture already adduced, "born of water and of the Spirit."
This brings us to the second agency God employs. If the Spirit is the power, and the only sufficient power, the Word, for the "water" is an emblem of the Word (see Eph. 5: 26), is the instrumentality which the Holy Ghost uses to effect the new birth. St. Peter thus speaks, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass" (all flesh) "withereth, and the flower thereof" (the glory of man) "falleth away: but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you." (1 Peter 1: 23-25.) Behold, then, how simple the process — so simple that even a child may comprehend it! The gospel is preached, Christ is presented in the gospel, and by the grace of God the heart receives Christ, receives Him as the Saviour, and thus receiving Him, together with Him a new life and a new nature are possessed. Such a soul is born of God. Faith therefore in Christ is both the sign and the occasion (if we may so speak) of the new birth; and thus we have not to concern ourselves with the divine modes of action, or the divine sovereignty in the action, but only and entirely with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything hangs upon that. If you have received Him, believed on His name, you are born of God; if you have not received Him, you are without the new birth, still flesh; for that which is born of flesh is flesh; and all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.
One word should be added to prevent misconception, and, we trust, to minister blessing to feeble souls. When speaking of the necessity, or the fact of being born again, there is a danger — a danger peculiarly seen in the writings of some evangelical teachers — of losing sight of the forgiveness of sins — of forgetting, while rightly pressing regeneration, the need of expiation for sins, cleansing from guilt as well as the new birth. Now in John 3 both things are carefully conjoined. If on the one hand our blessed Lord says, "Ye must be born again," He also says, on the other hand, "The Son of man must be lifted up." If it were possible to be in such a case, the new nature would not be, in and by itself, sufficient, as it would still leave the question of our sins untouched. But it need hardly be remarked that when the soul believes in Christ not only is it born again, but it partakes before God of all the efficacy of His redemptive work. This may not always be apprehended. It will often indeed happen, through unbelief, ignorance, or defective teaching, that a soul may be born again for years before entering upon the enjoyment of the forgiveness of sins. The slightest believing contact with Christ is saving, and not only so, but if we are thus brought into contact with Christ, we are before God, though often and generally not in our own souls, in possession of all the value of Christ, and His atoning work. More attention to the truth contained in this chapter (John 1) would save from much confusion. Instead of pressing the necessity of being born again (which still is absolutely requisite) there should be the presentation of Christ to the sinner; for his first felt need springs from the sense of his guilt, and then the moment his heart is open to receive Him as his Saviour, he loses the burden of his guilt, enters upon the enjoyment of forgiveness, and is withal born again — born of God. Everything therefore depends upon the presentation and reception of Christ.
The last thing to be noticed in this scripture is the power, authority, or right conferred. To them — to as many as received Christ — gave He power to become, or to take the place of, the sons (children) of God. All such as we have pointed out are born of God, and as the result of this they are now entitled, divinely entitled, to take their place as God's children. The word is "children" and not "sons," as given in our translation. — In fact John never uses the term "sons," with him it is always "children." Paul uses both. When writing to the Galatians "sons" only; but in Rom. 8 he employs both, and gives thereby the clue to their different significance. "Sons" would seem to mark out rather the position into which we are brought consequent upon faith in Christ, "children" speaking more distinctly of the relationship, and of its intimacy and enjoyment.
What a wonderful thing is it then which the evangelist here indicates; viz., that all who believe on the name of Christ are empowered to take the place of being God's children! Such a thing was never heard of before the advent of Christ. The Jewish saints were undoubtedly born of God; but inasmuch as atonement was not yet accomplished, and the Holy Spirit not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified, it was impossible for them to be brought into the place of children, or if they had been it would have been impossible for them to enjoy it. Until through the one offering for sin, accomplished in the death of Christ, there might be possessed "no more conscience of sins" — the knowledge of being perfected for ever — there could be no peace or liberty in the presence of God; and it belongs to the very idea of a child that he should be before the Father in perfect freedom, entirely at home, and conscious of the Father's love. And this is the place we are now warranted — warranted by divine grace and conferred privilege — to take.
The fact of this place belonging to us is here revealed, and at the close of the gospel, as we have seen in the last chapter, the Lord Himself, on the morning of His resurrection, puts His disciples into it. What love and tenderness on His part! Here we are told that it is ours by divine title; and now that we might not from our feebleness and unbelief lose its enjoyment, He condescends to explain its character, and to lead us into its blessedness. "Go," says He to Mary, "go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." (John 20: 17.) We learn then from these words that the place which the Father would have us take as His children is the very place which Christ Himself enjoys. As man, God was the God of our blessed Lord; as Son, His Father — these two relationships covering the whole position which He occupied when here, and now indeed that He is glorified at the right hand of God. It is on this account that we find so often in the epistles the term, "The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (see, for example, 2 Cor. 1: 3; Eph. 1: 3; 1 Peter 1: 3, etc.), and also that we thus address God in prayer as our God and Father, because the God and Father of our blessed Lord — these titles revealing at the same time the source of the individual blessings that flow to us on the ground of redemption. But here, since we speak of children, we have chiefly to do with the term Father — "My Father and your Father." In one word, He gives us His own place, and nothing could so effectually describe for us the marvellous efficacy of His death and resurrection. His own place, we say; and it is His own place of relationship, so that we are permitted to use the same appellation when addressing God as Himself. It is, however, to be carefully remembered, that while He thus associates us with Himself before God, He yet always retains the pre-eminence. It is not, could not be in His lips, "our" Father, but "My Father, and your Father;" for if He is not ashamed to call us His brethren He is the first-born, even as we are taught in the scripture which tells us that God has predestinated us to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren. Many of our popular hymns have forgotten this distinction, and have in this way fostered modes of thought and expression which are not of the Spirit of God. If our blessed Lord in His grace and love puts us into His own place, and condescends to call us brethren, it would be on our part to forget what is ever due to Him in His own worthiness, dignity, and absolute supremacy if we addressed Him as our Brother. Close as is the intimacy to which in the greatness of His love He admits His own, and endearing as are the terms which He applies to them, they must never forget, and in proportion as they really enjoy His love they will never forget, that His name is above every name, and that the joy of their hearts in His presence should ever flow out in tones of reverence and adoration. Still He would have us fully understand the character of the place into which He has introduced us, as well as the fact of association with Himself in the presence of God as our God and Father, because His God and Father.
A reference to one other scripture in this gospel may close our meditations on this part of our subject. In John 17, at the close of the wonderful prayer which our blessed Lord presented to the Father before He departed from the world, He says, "I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them." (v. 26.) In these words we have the full object in the revelation of the Father, and our introduction into the relationship declared. Name, it may be repeated, in Scripture always expresses the truth of what the person is; for example, when saints are said to be gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 18), it signifies that they are gathered to the truth of all that Christ is, and Christ as both Jesus and Lord. So the name of the Father is the revelation of all that He is in the relationship which is thus expressed. The Lord then had declared the name of the Father, and this He would continue to do by the ministry of the Spirit through His servants, so that the same love which had rested upon Him as Son while here in this world, might not only rest upon and be enjoyed by us, but also be in us, and that He Himself might be in us, might be in us as the medium or channel through which this love should flow into our hearts.
A very striking illustration of this may be gathered from John 15. He says, "As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you." (v. 9.) The Father's love flowed out of His heart, as from its fountain or source, into the heart of Christ, and then again from the heart of Christ into the heart of His disciples; whence also, in this case, it was to flow out again to one another. But the point here is, that it is the same love — same in character and same in extent. Who then could measure or comprehend it? And what a thought for our souls, when we hear the Father's voice, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight," that the same boundless and infinite love rests upon, and is in us, if His children. It should be known and enjoyed, but that should not lessen the force of the truth in our souls — that His love rests upon every child of God. You say, perhaps, "I am so feeble, and I walk so badly, that I am ever stumbling, and grieving the Spirit of God." This may be all true, and, alas! that it should be so; but still it is the fact, notwithstanding all, that you are loved with the same love as Christ was loved, when He was down here as God's beloved Son. Never lose this blessed truth, but let it have its full weight in your souls; for by the grace of God, and the power of His Spirit, it will tend to keep and strengthen you, it will cheer your heart in times of depression and gloom, comfort you in sorrow and affliction, it will finally flood your soul with its own blessed light and radiance, and thereby give you no mean foretaste of the atmosphere and joy of the Father's house, when we are there for ever with the Lord. While waiting for this, we can all cry -
"O, Holy Father, keep us here
In that blest name of love;
Walking before Thee without fear,
Till all be joy above."
CHAPTER 3. THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION.
IN the gospel of John we have found two things; first, the Father revealed in the Person of the Son; and, secondly, the way in which the family is gathered and formed, together with their place and relationship before God. It is also true that under the type of the living water (John 4, 7) we have instruction, in one aspect, concerning the Holy Ghost; but the evangelist expressly explains, after the gracious invitation which the Lord had given on the great day of the feast — "This spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet [given]; because that Jesus was not yet glorified." (John 7: 39.)
Whatever the extent therefore of the declaration of the Father, and the truth of the family, it was not possible for believing souls to take up and enjoy their relationship to the Father until after the descent of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost. To be born again is one thing — a change wrought by divine power through the action of the word — to know that God is our Father is another thing, and only to be enjoyed through the gift of the indwelling Spirit. This distinction is plainly marked by the apostle Paul in his epistle to the Galatians. He says, "Ye are all the children" (sons) "of God by faith in Christ Jesus," a statement which corresponds as to the instrumental means of the new birth with John 1: 12, 13, as already considered. Then, in the next chapter, he says, "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." (John 4: 6.) So also in another epistle he writes, "Ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." (Rom. 8: 15.)
It is therefore only after we have received in this way the Holy Ghost that we can either know or enjoy the relationship of children; but before we enter upon this it may be for edification, especially as there is much confusion abroad on the subject, to point out clearly the ground on which, according to the Scripture, the Spirit is bestowed. This may be shown in a twofold way — by a reference to the descent of, the Holy Ghost upon our blessed Lord Himself, and by the direct statements of the word of God. The scene of the baptism of our Lord is one of surpassing interest, not only on account of the display it gives of His own lowly grace and excellency, and of His love for and identification with His own — the saints on the earth, and the excellent, in whom was all His delight (Psalm 16), but also because it plainly indicates the position into which the believer is now brought as a consequence of redemption. Coming up out of the water after He had been baptized by John, "the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: and, lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matt. 3: 16, 17.) Here we have the heavens opened, Christ sealed as Man, and consequent thereon the Father proclaims, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight." And this, as remarked, shows the position of every believer who has received the Holy Ghost. The heavens are open above him, and the believer himself is a child of God and the object of the Father's heart. There is also an interesting contrast. In the scene before us Christ on the earth is the object of heaven; but the object of the believer is Christ at the right hand of God, seen by the eye of faith through the opened heavens.
We may then inquire, On what ground was Christ sealed with the Holy Ghost? The answer is obvious — He received the Spirit on the ground of His own spotless and absolute purity. And the very contrast to ourselves which this indicates shows the foundation on which God can give the Holy Spirit to His people. We cannot stand before God in ourselves as sinless or undefiled; but we are before Him as whiter than snow through the precious blood of Christ. As soon, then, as we are cleansed from our guilt through the efficacy of the blood, God can and does send the Holy Ghost to dwell within us as the Spirit of adoption, as His seal, as the earnest of the inheritance, and as the anointing. This order is remarkably exemplified in the types. When the priests were consecrated, and when the leper was cleansed (Ex. 29; Lev. 14), the order in both cases was the same. First they were washed with water, significant of the new birth; they were then sprinkled with blood, type of the blood of Christ, which cleanseth from all sin, and lastly, they were anointed with oil, oil being, as ever, an emblem of the Holy Ghost.
If we turn now to other scriptures, we shall find this order illustrated and confirmed. When on the day of Pentecost those who were pricked in their heart said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Peter replied, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2: 38.) When, moreover, Peter was preaching in the house of Cornelius, we find that the moment he testified to the remission of sins, through faith in Christ, the Holy Ghost (while Peter yet spake these words) fell on all them which heard the word. Both these cases teach, in the most unmistakeable manner, that the condition for the reception of the Holy Ghost is the knowledge of the forgiveness of sins. So in the epistle to the Romans, there is no mention of the Holy Ghost until after justification by faith and peace with God. (Rom. 5; compare also Eph. 1: 13.) If this is clearly understood, the difficulty often raised will disappear. It is asked, "Can it be possible that a soul can be born again and not have the Holy Ghost?" The question should be put in another form. It should be thus stated: "Can the Holy Ghost dwell where there is no knowledge of the forgiveness of sins?" Or, "Is it possible for a soul to become the temple of the Holy Ghost before it is cleansed from guilt?" And this question, with the scriptures considered before us, can only be answered in one way. And what intelligent believer doubts that life, divine life, exists in many souls long before, through lack of knowledge or faith, they enjoy the forgiveness of sins?
The divine order then is, born again through the Word by the power of the Spirit, the forgiveness of sins, and then the Spirit's indwelling. But let it be clearly stated that there is no necessity for the interval which is often found between the new birth and the sealing; and if a full gospel were more commonly proclaimed, and the nature of grace explained, it would seldom exist. It should at the same time be remembered, that the new birth must be prior to the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. It is "because we are sons that God sends forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father."
We may now point out the effect in us of the reception of the Spirit of adoption. The first is that we cry, as we have seen, "Abba, Father." In Galatians the apostle says, "God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts." (Gal. 4: 6.) This is as instructive as it is remarkable. When our blessed Lord was in the garden of Gethsemane, assailed by Satan in the prospect of His death on the cross, He cried, in the agony of that hour, "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what Thou wilt." (Mark 14: 36.) This shows what the "Spirit of His Son" is, as well as that the Lord was at this moment in the conscious enjoyment of His relationship to the Father, whatever the agony through which He was passing. The same Spirit therefore, in the power of which Christ, as the Son, thus, addressed the Father, dwells in us — in all who have, been cleansed by the precious blood of Christ. And dwelling in us He teaches, yea, leads, our hearts to cry, "Abba, Father." This cry is, so to speak, the necessary consequence of possessing the Spirit of sonship (huiothesia). We may have addressed God in other terms before; but as soon as the relationship has been formed, and God has sealed it by the gift of the Holy Ghost, we shall be constrained to. call God our Father. If we did not it would be as unreasonable as if the child of an earthly parent were to persist in naming him "master" instead of giving to him the endearing name of "father." Indeed, and it must not be overlooked, "Abba, Father" is the cry of the Spirit Himself in our hearts.
Having then the Spirit we cannot but thus address God; but if any have not the Spirit of God it will be impossible for them to call upon God from the heart as Father, because they have not entered upon the enjoyment of the relationship. Very recently a well-taught Christian told the writer, that after he was first awakened he tried for two years to call God Father, but in vain. He could not utter the word before God; but immediately on being brought to the knowledge of the forgiveness of sins, it became the natural mode of address, because now he had become indwelt with the Holy Ghost. And this experience accords with the teaching of the word of God. If we are real before God the truth of our souls must come out; and thus our state and relationship are immediately discovered when we pray, especially if in private, when we are not affected by the presence of others. What a solemn consideration is it then that the Spirit of God actually makes these bodies of ours His temples, that the very title of Father which we utter before God is really the Spirit's own cry! And what grace on the part of God to make us thus know, even now, that He has put us among His children, and given us to know that He has formed a relationship with us that will endure throughout eternity! To be in the power of this blessed truth would make our prayers far more real and blessed, as well as fill us with unspeakable gratitude to Him who, in His condescending grace and love, has gathered us around Himself as His beloved* children. (Eph. 5: 1)
* The term is beloved — agapeta.
There is, however, another thing. The apostle proceeds, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." (Rom. 8: 16.) The possibility of all self-deception is thus obviated. There might be the imitation of others in calling God Father, but there is also produced by the Spirit the inward consciousness of the relationship. It is important to remark that it does not say, bear witness to our spirit. If this were the language employed, we might be waiting for some distinct testimony at a given moment to assure us that we were now God's children. The apostle says, "with our spirit;" i.e., the fruit of the indwelling Spirit is to beget in us feelings and affections suited to, and to lead us into the enjoyment of, the relationship into which we are brought. The child of God now knows the Father, and does not doubt that he is a child, for he has within himself the assured consciousness of his relationship, and is able therefore to repose, in measure at least, in the enjoyment of the Father's love and care. In other words, the filial spirit is the product of this testimony of the Holy Ghost.
And we may be permitted to ask whether this filial spirit is sufficiently cultivated and exhibited? There is nothing more beautiful in the Christian life, and nothing which gives a greater sense of dependence upon God, or more confidence in prayer. The apostle Paul, in writing to the Thessalonians, addresses them as "the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father." (1 Thess. 1: 1; 2 Thess. 1: 1) No other assembly is thus described. The reason would seem to be that the Christian life of these young believers, in the freshness and fervour of their first love, was especially developed and manifested in the enjoyment of their filial relationship. We shall also be characterized by the same thing just in proportion as the Spirit of adoption, ungrieved within us, is permitted to guide our hearts into the apprehension of the Father and His love, and to form within us all those filial affections which the knowledge of His love will alone produce. The knowledge of the Father and of our true relationship is the first thing, and then the Spirit will be free to lead us on — it may be gradually, but ever increasingly — into the enjoyment of all the blessings associated with our position. We cannot have the feelings of children before we know that we are such. Knowledge of the relationship enjoyed, filial affections, filial gratitude, reverence, etc., will soon follow. His witness with our spirit — the distinctness and intensity of it — must and will ever depend upon the character of our walk. As for example, "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." So, if the believer in anywise walks loosely or carelessly the Spirit is grieved, if not silenced; and there will be, in such a case, but feeble, if any, testimony with his spirit that he is a child of God. But no one should be satisfied with anything short of the blessed and conscious enjoyment of the relationship which God has been pleased in His grace to form with us as His children.
The children of God are also led by the Holy Ghost. It is indeed on the statement of this fact that the apostle proceeds to unfold the character of the Spirit that now dwells in believers. Previously he had contrasted those that are after the flesh with those that are after the Spirit. All men are included in these two classes. Believers are not in the flesh, as to standing before God, but in the Spirit; this now characterizes them as to their existence in God's presence, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in them. (Rom. 8: 9.) There is no middle place between these two extremes; for he adds, "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His" — he is not of Him. Every Christian therefore, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, has a new standing before God. He is in Christ and not in Adam, for through death with Christ he has been dissociated from the first man (Adam), and by the resurrection of Christ he has been brought on to new ground, and into a new standing before God — a ground beyond sin, condemnation, and death, because it is in resurrection. He is now in Christ risen, and the Holy Spirit dwells within him as the power of the new life which he has in Christ, and therefore as the power for conflict with, and victory over, the flesh. Having then shown that we are brought out from under the law of sin and death, with all the blessed consequences of that deliverance, and pointed out the character of our new place, the apostle says, "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." This brings us face to face with some very solemn truths.
We may call attention, first to the fact that "led of the Spirit" is regarded in this scripture as that which characterizes every child of God. "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God;" i.e., all believers are so led, and in this way are manifestly sons of God. No account is taken here of the humbling fact that sometimes believers are governed by the flesh, and not by the Spirit. This, alas! is often true; but the apostle is describing rather what attaches to believers as a class. They are led of the Spirit, and not of flesh. But having stated this distinctly, we may now profitably remind ourselves that we are always led either by the Spirit or the flesh. True there is nature, and the natural affections as God created them, and which the believer must ever maintain according to God; but we speak now of the entire and absolute contrast which the scriptures so continually exhibit between the flesh and the Spirit. As he says in another epistle, "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot" (rather, "so that ye should not") "do the things that ye would." (Gal. 5: 17.) The flesh and the Spirit are always in antagonism, so that whenever we are not in the power of the Spirit, not under His governance and guidance, we are sure to be controlled by the flesh. How watchful therefore we need to be! Alas! that we are so often off our guard; and be it but for a moment, the flesh, acted upon as it ever is also by Satan, will take the advantage and opportunity to have its own way, to decoy us into sin, and thereby to grieve the Holy Spirit of God.
The third thing to be remembered is, that the Holy Ghost is our only power. We have no other, whether it be for walk, conflict, service, or worship. Hence, indeed, what distinguishes the sons of God is that they are led of the Spirit of God. How beautifully this was seen in the life of our blessed Lord! After His baptism, He was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil; in the power of the Spirit He preached, wrought miracles, cast out devils, healed all that were oppressed, and went about doing good. (Matt. 4, 12; Luke 4; Acts 10) Yea, in every step of His path, in every act He did, in every word He spake throughout the whole of His life on earth, He was led of the Holy Ghost. And He is our example, and it is our blessed privilege to be also led of the Spirit of God; and in proportion as we are thus led, will it be manifested that we are the sons of God.
The apostle shows us still greater things. The Spirit we have received is the Spirit of adoption, and we therefore are children. Now he tells us, "If children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together." For the present we may confine ourselves to the position we occupy as children, as we hope in another chapter to deal with our future condition in the Father's house. All the children then are heirs — heirs of God. It is not only that He has been pleased, in His love and mercy, to bring us into blessed relationship with Himself, but also He has made us His heirs, and, as if even this wondrous unfolding of His grace were not sufficient to satisfy His heart, it is added, "and joint-heirs with Christ." This last clause indeed contains the key to the whole of our blessing. God has associated us with His own beloved Son. He is the firstborn from the dead, and we compose the church of the firstborn through association with Him, and thus are also associated with Him in heirship to all that He Himself, as man, will inherit in virtue of His redemptive work. Every child of God is therefore put into the rank and position of the Firstborn, saving always His own pre-eminence and His own personal and essential dignity. Still as children we rank with Him joint-heirs with Christ. What words could so adequately express the wealth of God's grace, or of the blessedness into which we are brought? For it is not only that He has saved us, brought us to Himself, and bestowed upon us privileges and blessing, but He must, in order fully to satisfy His own heart, put us into the same rank with His beloved Son. Let these words then, "joint-heirs with Christ," have an abiding place in our souls, that we may, by constant meditation upon them, learn ever increasingly what God is in His grace, and what He has done for us through the death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour; and surely the more we ponder them, the more we shall be led out to investigate and explore the boundless treasure of that inheritance of which we are the heirs, because heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.
But it is added, "If so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together." This "if" by no means implies a doubt; it merely indicates the necessary condition of sonship, and the pathway to being glorified together with Christ; that is, if we are children, our pathway here must be one of suffering with Christ. If we are born again, and have the Spirit of adoption, we cannot escape it. The new nature in us, born of God as we are, must feel, in measure, as Christ felt in the presence of sin, Satan, sorrow, and death. The Spirit of God, who dwells within us, must lead us, in proportion as we are subject to His guidance, in the same path as that in which Christ walked, and to feel and act as He felt and acted in similar circumstances. We cannot therefore be children of God without suffering with Christ. But the measure of our suffering with Him will entirely depend upon the degree in which we are under the governance and power of the Holy Ghost. A child of God who is walking faithfully before God with an ungrieved Spirit will thus suffer with Christ much more than one who is walking carelessly. But it is the necessary path, and, it may be said, an unspeakable privilege. What greater privilege indeed (unless it be that of suffering for Christ) could we enjoy than that of passing through this world in company, as to feeling, with our blessed Lord — to sorrow and to suffer as He sorrowed and suffered in this wilderness of sin and death? And the more we suffer with Him the more we shall learn the depths of His heart of love, that never wearied in His ministry of tenderness and grace, though He had daily to endure the contradiction of sinners against Himself. The encouragement to such a path is not lacking; "for," says the apostle, "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in" (or to, in respect of) "us." The joy set before Him sustained our blessed Lord Himself in enduring the cross and in despising the shame; and here the prospect of the glory, being glorified together with Christ, is adduced that it may have the same effect on us. Nothing indeed raises us above suffering like the contemplation of the future glory, and, measuring the former by the latter, it dwindles away into utter insignificance. As the apostle writes in another place, "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." (2 Cor. 4: 17.) But it should never be forgotten that the suffering as well as the glory is with Christ. This blessed companionship is never wanting. We suffer with Him, and we are glorified with Him. It is identification with a rejected Christ now, and identification with a glorified Christ in the future. What more could we desire, or the God of all grace bestow?
CHAPTER 4. THE THREEFOLD DIVISION OF THE FAMILY OF GOD.
1 JOHN 2
THE family of God is one — one of necessity, because every member of it possesses the same nature and the same life. And so perfectly one is it in this way that the Lord desired this oneness to be expressed in this world. He says, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me."* (John 17: 20, 21.) This prayer moreover (for it could not be otherwise) was distinctly answered. In the early days of the Pentecostal Church we read, "The multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul" (Acts 4: 32); and in connection with this exhibition of the oneness of the family of God, the apostles with great power gave witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Power went forth with their testimony, convincing the world that Christ had been sent of God. The manifestation of the unity of the whole Church soon passed away, and will never be seen again in this world. But, spite of this, every instructed believer must hold fast the precious truth that the family of God is one, and that the hearts of the children of God must never move in a narrower circle than the heart of the Father Himself. As John writes, "Every one that loveth Him that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of Him." But that there may be no mistake, and in order to show the holiness of the love that is to be expressed, as well as the channel through which it is to flow, he adds, "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments." (1 John 5: 1, 2.) While therefore joyfully remembering that all who are dear to the heart of the Father must also, by virtue of our common relationship, be dear to us, we must at the same time not forget that the Father Himself must have the first place in our affections, and that true divine love for His children can only flow out when we are in obedience to His word. The love must ever be in our hearts, but the expression of it must be according to God. These two things must never be confounded.
*There is undoubtedly more than the oneness of the family in this scripture; but still, as it is oneness in nature and life, it may be applied to the children of God.
The unity of the family must then be always asserted; and it is in nowise inconsistent with it that the apostle John gives a threefold division of it; for the classes into which he groups the children of God are expressive only of state or attainment. just as in a human family grades are found of growth or knowledge, so in the family of God. "There are," John tells us, "fathers, young men, and little children or babes." But before he takes up these separate classes he addresses the whole, and gives what is characteristic of all the family. "I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake." The term little children in this verse is not the same as that so translated in the next. If we say "children" in verse 12 as including the whole family, we may keep the term "little children" in the 13th as marking out a special class.*
*When verse 28 is reached the apostle again uses the word "children" (not "little children"), because he there resumes his address to all.
The divine characteristic, then, of every child of God is, that his sins are forgiven. It should be borne in mind, as we may yet see, that no such thing is contemplated in the Scripture as a child of God without the Spirit of adoption, and then, since we pointed out in the last chapter the ground on which God bestows the Spirit, this characteristic will at once be understood. Every child of God therefore — i.e. every child of God who can cry, "Abba, Father" — enjoys the forgiveness of sins, and the name of Christ is the foundation on which this unspeakable blessing has been received. "Your sins are forgiven you," says John, "for His name's sake." This is the divine testimony, and a testimony based upon the value of the name of Christ before God, upon all the value of what Christ is in virtue of His death and resurrection. The forgiveness of sins therefore which God would have His children enjoy is both divine and eternal — divine in its character, and eternal in its duration. Yes, it belongs to the efficacy of the precious blood of Christ, that when our sins are forgiven, they are forgiven for ever. Do you say, But such has not been my thought? Search the Scriptures, and see whether it is not God's thought, and if it is His thought, it may well become ours. Faith, indeed, consists in our receiving God's thoughts, and resting in them instead of our own, and thus believing we can rejoice in the fullest import of this message of the apostle — "Your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake." Does another say, "But do I not need the cleansing blood every day?" That we sin every day is, alas! true, though it should ever be remembered that there is no necessity for the believer to sin. "These things," says John, it write I unto you, that ye sin not." But such is our state that, as a matter of fact, we do sin every day, and hence, pointing out God's gracious provision for our unworthy failures, he adds, "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the whole world." (1 John 2: 1, 2.)
The truth then is, that once cleansed from the guilt of sin we are cleansed for ever. "By one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." (Heb. 10: 14.) On the ground of the efficacy of that one perfect sacrifice, God in His grace not only forgives our sins, but He never more imputes guilt to the believer. He cannot tolerate sin in His people, and thus, if they sin, the Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, undertakes their cause, on the foundation of His one perfect propitiation for their sins, prays for them, in response to which God, acting by His Spirit, brings home, through the instrumentality of the Word, the sin to their consciences, produces self-judgment and confession, and then, as the apostle also says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Every believer is under the abiding efficacy of the precious blood, and as a consequence there is no further question of guilt. But God will surely deal with His children in the way of chastisement if they sin, and continue in sin, with the object of humbling them in His presence, that they may tell out their sins before Him. Then they are washed by the water of the Word — by the action of the word of God upon their hearts and consciences — not cleansed by the blood, for that has been done once and for all, and cannot be repeated. It is therefore absolutely true, as stated in this scripture, that the sins of all the children of God are forgiven — forgiven for His (Christ's) name's sake, and forgiven eternally.
Having addressed the whole family, John next classifies the children under three denominations, fathers, young men, and little children or babes. He gives the characteristics of each, in the thirteenth verse, and then proceeds to give them counsels and admonitions. We may then look at these several classes as defined by the apostle. (vv. 13-27.)
(1) The fathers. "I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning." (v. 14.) This term fathers marks out attainment, and that alone. It by no means therefore follows that "fathers" are old believers, though it will be generally true that the "fathers" will mainly be composed of such. Still, it is to be remembered that many old Christians — old in the sense of the length of time they have been believers — are yet but babes, while in some cases those who are comparatively young believers, may, from their rapid growth in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus, be found among the "fathers." The important thing is to see that this class includes all, of whatever age, who are distinguished by the spiritual characteristic of knowing Him that is from the beginning.
"From the beginning" in John points out a very distinct epoch. It is not, as in his gospel, "in the beginning," which dates from eternity itself, but from the beginning; that is, from the time Christ as the eternal life was introduced into this scene; for as soon as Christ was born into the world He was the second Man, though it is also true that He did not take the place of such until after the resurrection. Nor was He indeed in the condition of the second Man (as to circumstances) until after He had risen from the dead. "Him that is from the beginning" will therefore indicate Christ, Christ as He now is at the right hand of God, as the firstborn from the dead, and the beginning of the creation of God. (Col. 1: 18; Rev. 3: 14.) Together with the cross, and by means of the cross, God closed up His relationship with Adam, the responsible man; and thereafter everything dates from the Man of His counsels, the ascended and glorified Christ. Hence, according to the testimony of John, blood and water flowed out from the side of a dead Christ — the blood that expiated sin, and the water that cleanses or purifies — in token that life is not in the first but in the last Adam. Christ therefore is, as St. Paul speaks, Himself our life, and He is on this account the true beginning, inasmuch as He is the first-born from the dead.
To know Him that is from the beginning is thus to know Christ as He is, and where He is, as the eternal life "which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us," as all that He now is in Himself, as the glorified Man at the right hand of God. But it is sometimes asked, "Do not all believers know Him? This question does but ignore the truth of our passage. All believers more or less know Christ as their Saviour, and own Him as their Lord; but this is a far different thing from knowing Himself. To know Him in a special, in any, character, is blessed; but the knowledge of which the apostle here speaks embraces what He is, apart from any special presentation or character. For example, we may know the Queen as our sovereign without any personal acquaintance at all with her. Her children, on the other hand, while they do not forget that she is the sovereign, know her rather as what she is in herself — her mind, character, and ways. So the fathers here have risen beyond any character, office, or relationship which He may sustain towards them, and find their delight in Himself, in what He is, in all His moral beauties, perfections, and excellencies.
And this, it must be distinctly observed, is the highest and last attainment to be made. There is nothing beyond. When converted, we are occupied mainly with the work of Christ and the grace of God; afterwards we delight in truth; but finally, if we press on to the things that are before, Christ Himself absorbs our attention, and then only do we become "fathers," in the meaning of the apostle. A remarkable exemplification of this statement may be adduced. Some time back it was our privilege to visit a saint in great bodily suffering. His hands and his face were alike distorted by the severity of his affliction. But though suffering most acutely when we saw him, and with scarcely any temporal comforts to alleviate his condition, he did not for one moment speak of himself or his pains. His conversation turned entirely on the Lord. In the course of our visit he used words to this effect, "For the first ten years of my Christian life I knew and enjoyed the efficacy of the precious blood of Christ. After that, the whole circle of Church truth dawned upon my soul, and, while I did not lose the blessedness of the value of the blood, the new truths that had been opened out to me formed the chief subject of my meditations. But now," he said, "through the goodness of God, I have been introduced into another circle, where Christ Himself fills my vision. Not that," he continued, "the other truths are less precious, only Christ Himself is more precious still, and I feel that now I want nothing beside. No," he concluded, "it is Christ Himself now, and only Christ." This saint of God was, as the, reader will perceive, a true father, and his experience marks the order of Christian growth, and justifies the statement already made, that the knowledge of Christ Himself is the last attainment reached.
Another thing may be added. As it is the last attainment, so when this is possessed nothing more is needed, except indeed an ever fuller and increasing knowledge of the One we know. This is shown from the fact that when John turns to address the several classes, he has neither counsel, warning, nor exhortation for the "fathers." He simply repeats, "I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning." (v. 14.) This is easily understood. These "fathers" were wholly occupied with Christ Himself, and had therefore discovered the secret of all growth, progress, and safety. For conformity to Christ is produced, through the power of the Spirit, by the contemplation of Christ. (2 Cor. 3: 18.) The one object of the Christian life is to learn more of Himself, and Satan cannot find entrance into a heart that is full of Christ. John therefore needed not to say anything to these; for, in fact, they wanted nothing. Take, for example, all the precepts of Scripture, and what are they? They are but the embodiment of some trait of Christ; and hence in knowing Him these "fathers" possessed all, or were at the source of all, that was necessary for their sustenance and growth in the divine life. If they needed encouragement, wisdom, guidance, consolation, or admonition — all this; yea, all the blessings secured for us in redemption, they possessed in the One they knew.
It may be that but few are really "fathers." But the question for our souls is this, Shall we be content to be anything else? The child of today is the man and the father of the future. Should it not be the same with us spiritually? Alas! that so many of us are so dwarfed and stunted. The consequence is, that very many never pass beyond the stage of childhood. As we read in the epistle to the Hebrews, "When for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat." (v. 12.) But if we would know the full blessedness of the Christian life, or rather if we desire to learn more of the boundless treasures that are contained for us in Christ Himself, we must press on with full purpose of heart in the study of all the blessed unfoldings of His person, of His graces, beauties, and moral perfections which are contained in the word of God. If indeed we sit daily, like Mary, at the feet of the Lord, to hear His word, we shall be on the road to become "fathers" in the family of God.
(2.) Young men. This is the second class which John distinguishes amongst God's children; and concerning these we have first their characteristics, and then the divine counsels addressed to them both for guidance and warning. In commencing his exhortation to them, the apostle repeats their special characteristic, and adds a clause which reveals to us the source of their strength — "The young men are strong; they have derived their strength from the word of God, and it has been exhibited in their victory over the wicked one." (Compare vv. 13, 14.) These several points are of exceeding interest. But the fact of their being strong needs only to be mentioned; it is the source of their strength that contains instruction for us. Their strength, then, flowed from having the word of God abiding in them. It is this, indeed, which gives power in every direction — with God, before men, and, as here, in conflict with Satan.
What, then, is meant by having the Word abiding in them? Our blessed Lord has given us the clue when He says, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." (John 15: 7.) In this case it means no less than that His words should have found their home in our hearts, and in such a way as that they have formed our thoughts; yea, rather, because filling us with divine thoughts they have produced the mind of Christ in us, so that the very desires we utter in prayer are but the expression of His own mind and will. Hence He can say, "Ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." So with the "Young men;" the word abiding in them indicates the word so treasured up in their souls that it forms and governs the life, and is there in their possession always ready for use against the attacks of Satan.
"This is," you may say, "the very thing we desire." Many express the same thought. It should then be understood, that to have the word of God abiding in us involves labour. For example, if I but seldom read the Scriptures, and even then cursorily or hurriedly, it is impossible that I can have the word of God abiding in me. No, this blessing can only be reached by reading, prayer, meditation, and the ministry of the Spirit. In this way the word that is written in the Bible is transferred to our hearts, is stored up there as a priceless treasure, and becomes the spring of all our thoughts, activities, and conflicts. We read that Israel in a later day will have God's law put into their minds, and written in their hearts, and that then all will know the Lord from the least to the greatest. (Heb. 8: 10, 11) They had always possessed the law in the tables of stone, but this gave them no power for obedience or conflict; but when it is engraven on their hearts everything is changed; they become faithful and strong in the ways of the Lord. In like manner, when we only possess the word of God in the Bible, it does not help us in our daily warfare; but the moment we have any part of it treasured up in the heart it becomes, as we have seen, the spring of life and power through the Spirit of God.
It was then through the word abiding in them that the "young men" overcame the wicked one, and this for a twofold reason. Treasuring up the word, they were in obedience to it, and Satan cannot touch the obedient believer. As long as he is kept in dependence and obedience all Satan's assaults are foiled. And this same word, abiding in the heart, becomes the ready sword of the Spirit wherewith to repel and put to flight the adversary of our souls. The Lord Himself is the perfect example of this, as of all else, in the temptation in the wilderness. Speaking in the Spirit in the Psalms, He says, "I delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart." Led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, He was tempted of the devil; but to every temptation He replied, "It is written." He used the word already abiding in His heart, and thus met every assault and confounded the adversary, who at last retired baffled and overcome. The instruction for us lies in this, that if the word is not beforehand in the soul it cannot be employed as a weapon for defence. How often have we had to confess, that had we remembered such and such a Scripture, we might have been saved from this mistake and that snare! It is therefore of the first importance that we should seek to have the word of God abiding in us. It is the only sword of the Spirit, and with no other weapon can the ceaseless assaults of Satan be repelled. If indeed we would be strong, "young men," it is absolutely necessary, always necessary, but especially in a day like the present, when the very foundations of our faith are being assailed, to treasure up the living word of God in the inmost recesses of our hearts. The divine resource for us in such a state of things is to prize, meditate. and feed upon the sure word of God.
There is, however, a special danger to which the "young men" are exposed, and this forms the subject of the address to them. "Love not the world," says the apostle, "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 pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." (vv. 15-17.) The world therefore is the one special danger, arising out of the character of their conflict, to which the "young men" are exposed. It was so with Samson, the Nazarite, and a "young man," because of his strength through his separation unto the Lord, and not being drunk with wine, but filled with the Spirit. (Compare Num. 6; Eph. 5: 18.) As such he became the special object of Satan's enmity and assaults, and the temptation with which he succeeded in luring him to shame and disaster was one of the things in the world of which John speaks — the lust of the flesh.
There are two things pointed out — the world, and the things that are in the world. It is very important for us all that these should be understood. John uses the term "world" in a moral, not, it need scarcely be remarked, in a physical, sense; i.e., not as the place in which we live, the created world, the earth, but as setting forth the whole system of things round about us, the world as organized by man, and controlled by Satan as its prince and god. (See John 12: 31; John 14: 30; 2 Cor. 4: 4.) Cain was its originator, when he went out from the presence of the Lord, and built a city — the expression of organized society; and his descendants embellished the world which had thus been formed with arts and sciences, the object of which was to make man happy apart from God. The world is therefore always in antagonism to God; or, to speak according to the teaching of the New Testament Scriptures, to the Father. The flesh is in opposition to the Spirit, Satan to Christ, and the world to the Father. It is on this account that John says, "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." This does not mean that every one who loves the world is not a believer, but that such an one could not be in the enjoyment of the Father's love.* The Father indeed could not manifest His love to a lover of the world; for there is the most absolute contrariety between the world and the Father. This was shown out in the cross of Christ. God demonstrated by that cross what man and what the world were. It was the world that crucified Christ. Satan succeeded in banding together against God's only-begotten Son all ranks and classes of society. The whole world, Jew and Gentile, the religious and civil authorities, were united as one man to put Him to death; and thereby Satan demonstrated that he was the prince of this world. God now holds the world to be guilty of the death of His Son; and a child of God could not therefore love the world, and have in him at the same time the love of the Father. Nay, his only possible attitude towards it should be that of the apostle Paul, as expressed in his words, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom" (or whereby) "the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Gal. 6: 14.) All this is so plain and simple that no believer would question it; but who, at the same time, is there that cannot perceive the danger of us all from this source? Satan is very active, and our hearts are very subtle, so that worldliness, in some shape or form, finds an easy entrance amongst the children of God. We have need therefore to be always on the watch, and to remember these solemn words, that the love of the world absolutely excludes from the heart the love of the Father. What folly we are often guilty of! For the sake of a passing gratification we are content to forfeit the sweetest and most blessed enjoyment of the soul, to lose from our hearts that which gives perpetual sunshine, and ministers solace in every trouble and sorrow which can befall us in our wilderness path.
*There is no doubt that in this passage love of the world and love of the Father are characteristic. But we speak above of the general truth in its application.
To guard against all misconception, the apostle speaks not only of the world, but also of the things that are in the world; and these are specified as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. That is, everything which the flesh can desire in any shape or form, all that may please the eye, everything the eye may covet or desire to possess, and also everything in which a man can take pride, which gives him importance in this world or exalts him amongst his fellow-men, whether it be rank, distinction, learning, strength, skill, or power all, in a word, that ministers to man as man in this world. The "young" man is to eschew all these things, and will just in proportion as he understands their relation to a rejected Christ, and consequently to the Father and His love.
It will be seen, moreover, that the Spirit of God points out in this scripture the three avenues to our souls — the avenues through which Satan ever seeks to beguile us with his worldly fascinations and enchantments. These gateways should therefore be ever carefully guarded. It is easier to keep the enemy out than it is to expel him after he has effected an entrance. just as Nehemiah after he had built the wall appointed watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, and every one to be over against his own house to maintain the city in holy separation, so should we guard the portals of our souls against the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, in order to keep ourselves in the enjoyment of the Father's love. To succeed in this, a walk in the presence of God, constant watchfulness and prayer in the power of the Holy Ghost, are absolutely requisite.
The apostle enforces his exhortation by an argument of another kind. "The world," he says, "passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." He reminds us of the transient character of the world and its possessions in contrast with the perpetual duration, the immutable character, of all that attaches to God. Doing His will, we abide for ever; for in His grace he has associated us with Himself, and with His beloved Son (1 John 1: 3), and eternity therefore is our portion — an eternity of blessedness and joy. And the more we enter into this, the more our hearts comprehend the character of the place into which we have been brought and are possessed and controlled by the Father's love, the more we shall be fortified against the allurements of the world, and perceive their utter vanity. "Every trace of Egypt," says a well-known writer, "is a reproach to the believer." This testimony is true, for Christ "gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father." (Gal. 1: 4.)
CHAPTER 5. THE THREEFOLD DIVISION OF THE FAMILY OF GOD (cont.).
1 JOHN 2.
ALREADY two of the three classes into which the apostle divides the whole family have been considered. The third now remains to be noticed, and these are the babes. It will be remembered that these several classes distinguish spiritual states or attainments. Babes therefore, while they should be, are not necessarily the youngest of God's children, because, unhappily, it is sometimes the case that Christians remain in this class throughout the greater part of their lives. All, if God's children, are babes who are neither "fathers" nor "young men," whatever their age or the number of years they have professed to be Christians.
Their characteristic is, as seen in verse 13, that they know the Father; for this is the first thing they learn through the reception of the Spirit of adoption. Convicted of sin through the mercy of God, the blood of Christ has met their need as sinners by cleansing them from guilt, and thus giving them peace and confidence in the presence of God. Thereupon sealed by the Holy Ghost, who is the Spirit of God's Son, they cry, "Abba, Father," and are thus brought to know Him in this relationship. It is not now only that they are saved, but they also know that they are children, and as children they have been taught to know the Father. This is an immense, though it be but an initial, blessing; for learning that through grace a divine relationship has been formed between God and their souls, and that this relationship is indestructible, they are led on to apprehend something of what is involved in the Father-name of God, and to rejoice in the blessed knowledge that they have become the objects of His heart — a heart that will never weary in ministering to them, and which will find its joy in their welfare and happiness now and throughout eternity.
It will thus be perceived that it is not supposed that there could be a single child who did not know the Father. That there are such cases is well known; but this arises, as before pointed out in reference to the forgiveness of sins, from defective teaching, from unbelief, or from ignorance of the full character of grace. God desires that every one of His children should know Him as Father, and He has made provision that they should do so, so that if there be not this knowledge, the want can only be traced to man, and not to God. There is nothing indeed more sad than the perpetual attempts made, even by professing Christian teachers, to undermine the truths of redemption and the privileges of believers. Unwilling to believe that God is as good as He is, and that man is as bad as he is, their object is to exalt man at the expense of God, and thereby they become blind to the plainest teachings of His word. It is the more necessary on this account to assert the whole truth of grace and redemption.
The address to the "babes" commences with verse 18, and extends to the end of verse 27. In verse 28 the whole family is included. The world is the peculiar danger to the "young men," and false teaching is the snare to which the "babes" are more especially liable, and this gives the occasion for the unfolding of important instructions, for the guidance of believers in every age. These we may now examine.
He first reminds them that it is the "last time." They knew, for they had been taught, that antichrist should come; but already there were many antichrists — opposers of Christianity in the spirit of antichrist, and this proved that it was the last time. In Paul's writings mention is made of the "last days," and this term marks more distinctly the closing period of the last time — the last time being characteristic rather of this dispensation. The cross of Christ was the close of God's dealings with the world on the ground of responsibility. Man was demonstrated to be lost, and the world was judged. But the Lord still lingers in His long-suffering grace, "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance;" and this attitude characterizes the day of grace, the last time, during which the cry goes out on every hand, "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." John, however, shows that it is the last time by the existence of antichrists — proof that the antichrist was in the background, the man of sin, who will not himself appear on the scene until after the saints are caught up to be for ever with the Lord. (Compare 1 Thess. 4: 13-18 with 2 Thess. 2) The antichrists are regarded as heralds of Satan's masterpiece; and in order to put the babes on their guard, the apostle describes the character both of the one and the other. The antichrists were apostates. "They went out from us." "They would not have done so if," says John, "they had been of us," and now their going out has made it "manifest that they were not all of us." What a solemn statement! These antichrists had once been on the ground of Christianity, breaking bread with the saints at the Lord's table, and had now gone out, had abandoned even the profession of the name of Christ, and assumed a position of utter antagonism to Him whom they had once confessed as their Saviour and Lord. But doubtless it needed spiritual perception to detect their antagonism to Christ, or it would scarcely have been necessary to warn the babes against such a danger. Satan ever transforms himself into an angel of light, and his servants likewise assume the form of ministers of righteousness (see 2 Cor. 11: 14, 15); and thus often, under the plea of greater spirituality, more devotedness or a profession to have discovered higher truths, these false teachers seek to beguile simple souls. John unmasks and gives them their proper name — antichrists. This leads him on to the full character of antichrist. He is a liar that denieth that Jesus is the Christ; He is the antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. The first points to the Jewish, the second to antichristian error, and the two combined will make the antichrist.
We have then in this short scripture the development and consummation of all heresy and evil doctrine. At last all forms of antagonism to the truth will head up, first, in the denial, not that there is a Christ to come, but that Jesus is the Christ; and, finally, not, it may be at first, in denying that there is a God, but in refusing the truth of the Father and the Son; in a word, Christianity. And who is there with any intelligence in the word of God, and with any measure of acquaintance with prevailing forms of error, that cannot perceive the germs, daily expanding in distinctness, of these forms of opposition to the truth of God? Yea, if John could say in his day, even more can we affirm in our time, that even now are there many antichrists. In every shape and form the word of God is being undermined, and the distinctive truths of Christianity ignored, not so much by avowed atheists or infidels as by professed Christian teachers; so that it is now possible for a man to be a so-called minister of Christ even while he rejects the whole truth of His person and His work.* The greatest danger of the present moment is found in the pulpits of Christendom. For the time they are with us — with us only, because Christendom itself is fast becoming, if it has not already become, apostate, and is therefore in agreement with these deniers of the truth; but ere long many (as some have already done) will throw off their mask and boldly take their stand with the open rejecters of Christ and Christianity. They are really antichrists.
*As an example of this, we have just noticed the appearance at an institution where young men are professedly trained for ministry among the descendants of the Puritans, of an eminent Unitarian. He was heartily welcomed and loudly praised.
It is of the greatest moment to remark that it is the babes who are warned of this danger and snare. In our day it is too often deemed a superfluous work — if not altogether unwise — to admonish young converts concerning prevalent errors. John, on the other hand, speaks plainly, and prepares them for the dangers which lie round about their path. Even a worldly proverb says, "To be forewarned is to be forearmed," and this saying is true in every sense, as seen from this scripture. Many a shipwreck might have been spared us if the example of John had been copied by those who have the lead in the Church of God. But the apostle does more than indicate the peril; he also teaches these young believers the means of their safety. For God in His tender grace, foreseeing every difficulty, and the character of every foe that will confront His people, has provided for every emergency. Hence John says, "But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth." (vv. 20, 21.) And further on he says, "Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father." (v. 24.)
These three sources of defence against error are worthy of careful consideration. First, John reminds them of the unction of the Holy One, by which they knew all things. The same Spirit that dwells within us as the Spirit of adoption is the unction or anointing, as well as the seal and the earnest. (See 2 Cor. 1: 21, 22, etc.) As the anointing, the Spirit of God, bringing us thus into association with Christ, gives us two things — intelligence and power. In this scripture it is in the aspect of intelligence, and John teaches the "babes" that since they have been anointed by the Holy Ghost, they are themselves at the source of all knowledge, not that they actually know all things, but that, in having the anointing, they have the possibility within themselves of knowing, and thus of distinguishing between, truth and error. In divine things it is well to bear in mind that the Holy Ghost is the only power of apprehension. (See 1 Cor. 2) The mind, human reason, and intellect have no place here. As another has said, "The activity of mind is the greatest barrier to the understanding of the truth of God." Hence it is often the case that a mere child in the things of the world is the wisest in the things of God. The psalmist thus says, "I have more understanding than all my teachers: for Thy testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the ancients; because I keep Thy precepts." (Ps. 109: 99, 100) The source, then, of all wisdom and knowledge for the believer is the word of God as unfolded by the Holy Ghost. God has in this way furnished the "babes" in His family with an all-sufficient means of discernment and defence when surrounded by anti-Christian errors. As to these they need not that any one should teach them, because, walking in dependence on God, the Holy Spirit Himself will put them on their guard, and show them what is truth and what is error. A remarkable exemplification of this occurred recently in another land. Under the guise of more light and greater charity the very foundations of the truth were assailed in a certain city, and especially in connection with the saints of God. One brother was aware of the danger, but at the outset, for the sake of peace, and because, as he then thought, the poor and simple would not be able, to enter upon such questions, he kept silence. Finally he was compelled in faithfulness to the Lord to separate from those who maintained the false doctrines; and in a letter recently received he relates, to the glory of God, that not one of the simple souls, for whom he had been afraid, has been led astray; but he adds that, with scarce an exception, all the educated and intellectual have either refused to judge, or have accepted, the erroneous teachings. Like "the babes" of our passage, those who proved themselves faithful had, and have, the unction of the Holy One, and therefore, distinguishing the truth from error, were not ensnared by the plausible persuasions of the Evil One.
These "babes" also knew the truth, and consequently knew that no lie is of the truth. (v. 21.) This is a great safeguard for the saints when errors in specious guises are stalking abroad. If we have the truth we may well be satisfied, and we need not to examine everything else that claims to be a truth. The Lord would spare us both the defilement and the trouble. "His sheep," as He Himself has taught us, "know His voice, but they do not know the voice of strangers." (John 10) It is sufficient therefore for us, if we do not know the voice that seeks to beguile: we refuse to listen to it because it is a strange voice. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and for ever," and we are not therefore to be carried about with diverse and strange doctrines. No greater mistake can be made, when we know we have the truth, than to examine an error which claims to supersede that which we possess. It may be the du