'fc\ LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY PRINCETON, N. J. G-reen Fund Section AN EXPOSITION FIEST EPISTLE OF JOHK JAMES "MORGAN, D.D,, BELFAST. AUTHOR OF "the SCRIPTURE TESTIMONT TO THE HOLT SPIRIT.' Second [Edition. EDINBUEGH: T. & T. CLARK, 3 8 GlEORGE STREET. MDCCCLXTI. TO C^c Caixgr elation of Jfisbcrl\)iTh ||Iittc, THIS VOLUME IS ORATEFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED BY THEIR FRIEND AND PASTOR, THE AUTHOR. PREFACE. TISr the beginning of this year, it was my privilege to pub- -*- lish a volume on " The Scripture Testimony to the Holy Spirit," and I addressed it to my brethren in the ministry of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, because I wished to give expression to the happiness which I have long enjoyed in their fellowship, and because I desired thus to commend the subject of the Holy Spirit to a large place in their public ministrations. The present volume I have dedicated to the members of my congregation, for reasons which have constrained me to feel I owe this expression of my respect, gratitude, and love to them. God has graciously spared me, in the ministry of His Son, for a period of nearly forty-six years, and of these, thirty- seven have been spent in Fisherwick Place. With the exception of three months, under a virulent attack of typhus fever, my ministry was never interrupted in Belfast. Never robust, I was yet never incapacitated for either my Sabbath or week-day services. I can scarcely call to remem- brance a single occasion on which I was unable to appear in my expected place. Often have I wondered at this gracious providence, especially when I have seen many of my brethren, far more able and excellent than myself, laid aside. Better than an uninterrupted ministry, mine has been singularly peaceful, harmonious, and at least outwardly, prosperous. Vlll PREFACE. There has never been a congregational dispute or misunder- standing of any kind. Days, and weeks, and months, and years, have flowed on as a placid river, bearing us along without disturbance or agitation. Of such a ministry, I de- sire, while I have the capacity graciously prolonged to me, to leave some tangible and express memorial. B}^ this I design, first of all, to acknowledge the goodness and grace of God toward me and my flock, and I \mte upon it the pro- phet's motto, " Ebenezer, hitherto the Lord hath helped us." At the same time, I wish to record my deep sense of the forbearance, kindness, and brotherly love, which the Divine Spirit has graciously made to prevail among us, as well in the intercourse of tlie members one with another, as of the pastor and the people. Surely, such mercies ought not to remain unacknowledged to the praise of the glory of the grace of God. In these remarks, tlie reason will be abundantly manifest why I have made this memorial of my ministiy, to consist of an exposition of the first Epistle of John. Its su])ject is brotherly love. And it is treated by him, not merely in all its length and breadth, and all the various relations in which it ought to be exercised, but it is throughout pre- sented in the light of a principal evidence of the believer's sonship. Not merely is the subject of brotherly love fully discussed, but we are taught to examine ourselves by it, whether Ave are the people of God. " We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." — " If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar ; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he liath not seen?" — "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God ; and every one that loveth Him that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of Him." These are the sayings and sentiments of the inspired iipostle. This is tlu; light in which PREFACE. IX he commends his great subject. It is thus I desire to engage your attention with it. I would have you not merely to un- derstand what brotherly love is, but to examine whether you possess it, and live in the exercise of it, and have this evi- dence of your true discipleship. Can you conclude that you are the children of God, seeing you are constrained by the love He bears to you to love all them that are members of His family ? This practical and personal application of the truth that is taught is a distinguishing feature of the First Epistle of John. It is, indeed, a feature of all the Scriptures, manifesting their sincerity, and truth, and earnestness. It is very pointed in the writings of the Apostle Paul, who is ever illustrating his subject by his own personal history. But in John it is carried to perfection, especially in this epistle. He seems to take his reader by the hand, and to discuss with him, not the truth merely, but his personal interest in it ; not only the subject of brotherly love, but the reader's possession of it, and the evidence thus furnished to him, and enjoyed by him, that he is himself a child of God. Thus, it is, beloved brethren, I present this subject to your attention, and ask your acceptance of my volume as a token of my love, and a memorial of my ministry. Undesignedly, the exposition is completed in ififty-two Lectures, so that by the reading of one every Sabbath, the Volume will furnish a lesson for every Sabbath in the year. So far as others are concerned, beyond the bounds of my ministry, I am not without a deep interest in their relation to this subject. I am thankful to say a beloved relative has proposed to place a copy of my book in the hands of ail the ministers of our Assembly, and that it may be hoped it shall in this way reach many who would otherwise be beyond our influence. I am not afraid that my brethren will consider me guilty of presumption in thus offering my thoughts for their consideration. T am older than the most of them, and X PREFACE they will bear with me. I know they will not lightly regard the experience of a lengthened ministry. They will think on a subject that has engaged the patient and persevering atten- tion of one who must soon be separated from them. And 1 am the more earnest to ask this favour from them, because this Epistle of John has not received the same amount of consideration that has been given to some other portions of the divine word. I am not aware of any lengthened exposi- tion of it. I could find little human help in the study of it. But I sought only to know its meaning, and as I was led to see it, to write it in the plainest and simplest words I could command. There is no learned criticism, nor scholarly disqui- sition ; but I count it better to say, " I think that I have the Spirit of God " and " the mind of Christ." Ath Xoveml/er, 1865. CONTENTS. LECTURE I. CHAPTER I. 1-3 LECTURE II. — CHAPTER I. 3, LECTURE III. CHAPTER I. 4, LECTURE IV. CHAPTER L 5-7, LECTURE V. CHAPTER I. 7, LECTURE VI. CHAPTER I. 8-10, LECTURE VII. CHAPTER II. 1, 2, LECTURE VIII. CHAPTER II. 3-6, LECTURE IX. — CHAPTER II. 7-11, LECTURE X. — CHAPTER II. 12-14, LECTURE XI. CHAPTER II. 15-17, LECTURE XII. CHAPTER II. 18, 19, LECTURE XIII. — CHAPTER II. 20, . LECTURE XIV. — CHAPTER II. 21-24, LECTURE XV. CHAPTER II. 25, LECTURE XVI. CHAPTER il. 26-28, Page 1 11 21 30 42 51 62 72 81 91 100 109 119 130 140 150 Xll CONTENTS, LECTUKE XVII. — CHAPTER 11. 29, . LECTURE XVIII. CHAPTER III. 1-3, LECTURE XIX. CHAPTER III. 4-7, . LECTURE XX. CHAPTER IIL 8, LECTURE XXI. CHxVPTER III. 9, LECTURE XXII. CHAPTER III. 10, 11, LECTURE XXIII. CHAPTER III. 12, 13, LECTURE XXIV. CHAPTER III. 14, . LECTURE XXV. CHAPTER III. 14-16, LECTURE XXVI. CHAPTER III. 17. 18, LECTURE XXVII. CHAPTER IIL 19-22, LECTURE XXVIIL CHAPTER III. 23, 24, LECTURE XXIX. CHAPTER IV. 1 3, LECTURE XXX. CHAPTER IV. 4-G, LECTURE XXXI. CHAPTER IV. 7, 8, LECTURE XXXII. CHAPTER IV. 9, 10, LECTURE XXXIII CHAPTER IV. 11-13. LECTURE XXXIV. CHAPTER IV. 14, 15, LECTURE XXXV. — CHAPTER IV. IG, LECTURE XXXVI. — CHAPTER IV. 17, 18, LECTURE XXXVII. — CHAPTER IV. 1 9, LECTURE XXXVIII. — CHAPTER IV. 20, 21, Pftge 160 CONTENTS. Xlll LECTURE XXXIX. CHAPTEU V. ] , . LECTUKE XL. CHAPTER V. 2, 3, . LECTURE XLL CHAPTER V. 4, 5, . LECTURE XLH. — CHAPTER V. 6, LECTURE XLIII. CHAPTER V. 7, LECTURE XHV. — CHAPTER V. 8, 9, LECTURE XLV. CHAPTER V. 10, . LECTURE XLVL — CHAPTER V. 10-12, LECTURE XLVn. CHAPTER V. 13, LECTURE XLVin. — CHAPTER V 14, 15, LECTURE XLIX. CHAPTER V. 16, 17, LECTURE L. CHAPTER V. 18, LECTURE LL CHAPTER V. 19, 20, LECTURE LII. CHAPTER V. 21, Page 384 394 404 415 426 436 447 457 467 478 489 498 508 519 EIESI EPISTLE OF JOHN. LECTURE I. " That which loas from the beginning, which we have heard, which tve have seen with our eyes, which we, have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; {for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, ajid hear wit- ness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was ma^iifested unto us ;) that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you." — 1 John i. 1-3. TT has long been my desire to study and expound the first -■- epistle of John. A seasonable time for doing so seems to me now to have come in the providence of God. And without dwelling on the reasons of this conclusion, I proceed at once to engage in this important exercise, looking for the blessing of God which alone can render it effectual. A prominent design of the whole epistle seems to be ex- pressed by the author in the fifth chapter at the thirteenth verse, where he says, " These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God ; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." It is addressed to believers, A 2 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. and intended to aid them in a work of self-examination, that they may be assured of their interest in Christ, and confirmed in their most holy faith. In the discussion of this subject many topics are intro- duced. The whole range of evangelical truth is traversed by the apostle. The one great practical object, however, is never out of sight. And of this peculiarity we shall endeavour to be mindful in the whole exposition, should it please God to enable us to prosecute and complete it. In the verses now to be considered, the apostle may be understood as announcing his grand subject — the mediatorial person of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is assumed that it is to Him he refers. Without any introduction he proclaims Him at once in His twofold nature of deity and humanity. He tells his readers what the Saviour is, that they may thereby be the better prepared to examine their own interest in Him, and estimate the blessedness which they may hope to derive from Him. This is the special topic on which we are now to dwell. I. In entering upon it, it may be important to notice, in the first place, how common it is in the New Testament to announce the mediatorial person of Christ as the great sub- ject of the sacred writers. A few examples will suffice. The evangelist Mark opens his gospel in these words, chapter first, verse first, "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." Jesus Christ is the name by which the Saviour was known among men, and may be regarded as the cognomen of His humanity. " The Son of God " is a title of higher import. It expresses His deily. It was so under- .stood by the Jews, so that when our Lord claimed it they charged Him with blasphemy, alleging that in calling Him- .self the Son of God, He made Himself equal with God. la reciting His life, therefore, Mark proposed to publish tlie CHAPTER I. 1-3. 3 history of a Saviour who was at once human and divine, uniting in one person the nature of God and the nature of man. The Gospel by John is opened in like manner. \\Tiile in the first verse of the first chapter he says of Christ, " In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God," he adds in the fourteenth verse, " The word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." He who lived as a man on the earth was at the same time the Son of God, and hence in Him, as uniting the two natures in one person, there was an exhaustless fountain of " grace and truth." It is sufficient to add one other example from the epistle of Paul to the Eomans. At the third and fourth verses of the first chapter he proposes to write " concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resur- rection from the dead." A distinction is made between the two natures. They are expressly contrasted with one another. In one sense Clirist was " the seed of David," and in another " the Son of God." This first Epistle of John is opened in the very same manner. It is, however, much more full and explicit than any of the other announcements of the same subject to which we have adverted. This will be abundantly evidenced in our exposition of it. But before proceeding to that, we are constrained to pause for a moment and reflect on the singular fact which has been noticed. Why is it that writer after writer in the New Testament is led to burst out upon his readers, in the very first words which he utters, with a sublime proclamation of the Saviour's mediatorial person 1 They fully sympathize with the exacted 4 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. representation of the prophet Isaiah, " Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsel- lor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." "Why does he speak in this strain ? It is because of the amazing nature of the truth itself, and of the deep inter- ests involved in it. The assumption of human nature by the Son of God is the most stupendous fact in the history of pro- vidence. Angels " desire to look into it," and are amazed at it. It will be the subject of devout inquiry and adoring wonder to the whole intelligent and holy creation of God throughout eternity. In the meantime the salvation of the sinner is sus- pended upon it. In the incarnation of the Word there is pro- vided for him an all-sufficient Saviour. " He is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him." " Neither is there salvation in any other, fur there is no other name given under heaven among men whereby we can be saved." Let us therefore now proceed and consider — II. The full development of the mediatorial person of Christ, contained in the opening verses of the first Epistle of John : " That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life ; (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us ;) that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you." (Vers. J -3.) In these simple but significant M'ords there is much to arrest our attention and impress our minds. The apostle does not seem to pursue any prescribed order in his discourse. He speaks now of the divine nature, then of the human, and sometimes of both together. It is obvious the writer feels the incapacity of human language to convey the thoughts CHAPTER I. 1-3. 5 that burned within his soul. The utmost simplicity distin- guishes his style, yet there is a depth of meaning in his words which no human intellect can fathom. His writings resemble the discourses of our Lord more than those of any other New Testament author. Profound sentiments conveyed in the simplest terms are their distinguishing feature. Tliey possess at the same time a practical bearing which the thoughtful reader cannot fail to recognize and feel. Every principle is enunciated as an appeal to the heart and life. Nothing is put in the form of a cold and imperative dogma, which may be received or rejected without good or evil to the soul. The truth is presented to us as food to the hungry and water to the thirsty soul. Whosoever eateth of tliis bread shall live for ever, while he that refuseth it must die in his sins. This practical feature of the apostle's sublime announcement of tlie Saviour's mediatorial person will be abundantly evident as we dwell on the separate clauses that compose it, which we now proceed to do in the order of the passage. " That which was from the beginning." Two interpreta- tions have been given of this clause. One is — that which Christ was " from the time when he was first manifested in the flesh," and the other is — that which He had always been, before He appeared on earth, as well as when He was upon it. The former is confined to His earthly existence, while the latter comprehends His pre-existence and eternity. We are best instructed in the right interpretation by consulting parallel passages in the divine Word. You find one such in Prov. viii. 22, 23 : " The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from ever- lasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was." The passage can apply to no other person than Christ, and it determines the " beginning," to signify that He existed before the work of creation began, and consequently that He existed 6 FIKST EPISTLE OF JOHN. eternally. It is precisely the same view that is given in the ])assage already quoted from John i. 1, " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." He was with God from the beginning in a way which implied that He was God. In other words, He was eternal. Eecollect it is John who uses these words in the commencement of both his gospel and epistle, and we cannot help seeing he meant to ascribe eternity to Christ in both. Precious truths ! The Saviour whom he reveals is no crea- ture. He is self^xistent. He is essentially what He is. He is eternal. He is therefore God. This is the great being whom John has to announce as " God our Saviour." Again — that " which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled.'' This being, who was from eternity, became a man. The assertion is a contrast to the preceding one. This confirms the view taken of the former ; for it is clear the apostle wishes to convey the idea that it was a marvellous thing that He should appear as a man who had been from the beginning, from eternity. Strange, however, as it was, it was true. There was the fullest evidence of the fact. The ears of men had heard Him, their eyes had seen Him, their hands had felt Him. Clearer or surer proof could neither be asked nor given. The expression, " our hands have handled," refers no doubt to the words of Christ after His resurrection — " be- / hold ray hands and my feet, that it is I myself ; handle me and see ; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have." This is a happy alhision. The nature which Christ took when he was born of Mary, He lifted up out of the grave at His resurrection. We have, therefore, a Saviour, who not merely became a man, but wears His glorified humanity in heaven. His incarnation is thus associated with the redemp- tion of man. He took our nature, stood in our place, and has taken possession of heaven as our representative. While CHAPTEK I. 1-3. 7 therefore, we have everything in His eternity and deity to encourage our confidence, we are assured of His sympathy by His humanity. " We have not an high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." Nothing is want- ing in Him to render Him a suitable and sufficient Saviour. He may well be accounted " all our salvation, and all our desire." Once more — He is denominated "the word of life." In this title He is presented as the link of connection between God and the sinner. He is " the word of God " — He by whom God speaks to us, and to whom we are indebted for all we know of Him. " No man hath seen God at any time ; the only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." But His teaching is no cold inoperative lesson. He is " the word of life." When God speaks to us by Him, it is to put us in possession of life. What life ? Life in every sense in which we can enjoy it. Our natural life is through Him. " All things were made by him, and / without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life." Our spiritual life is from Him. He said himself, " The dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live." He means that the soul dead in sin is then made alive unto God, for He says, "The hour is coming and now is." He had quickened many souls, and would continue to do so. The resurrection life would be im- parted by Him. " The hour is coming in which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice and come forth." The life of glory would emanate from Him. " Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also aj)pear with him in glory." Truly, if such is the work to be done by Christ, He needs to be all that He is declared to be in this passage, divine as well as human, almighty in power as well as infinite 8 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. in love. All that, then, He is. He has only to speak and it is done. He is " the word of life.'' Farther — " The life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness," the apostle adds. The special allusion in these words is to the manifestation of all that had been declared respecting Christ. The evidence was full, clear, and satisfactory. There was the consciousness of expenence. Many had felt His power. He called the apostles, and His words were so irresistible that they could not refuse to leave all and follow Him. Thousands besides were compelled to say, " Never man spake like this man," — " We have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world." There was a certainty of personal observation. His works on both the bodies and souls of men were obvious to every eye. As He healed the sick body, He cured the distempered mind. All might judge for them- selves. His saving power was patent to all. There was the assurance of undoubted testimony. The apostles might well say, " We have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-w^itnesses of his majesty. For he received from the Father honour and glory." No doubt can be entertained by any mind, rightly informed and exer- cised, respecting the sufficiency of Cln-ist. It has been " manifested." No excuse can be valid for either rejecting or declining to accept Him as a Saviour. AVe may well ask with Paul, " How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him, God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders and divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will ?" Finally — the apostle sums up all, saying, " We show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us." Wonderful words ! How can we CHAPTER I. 1-3. 9 apprehend their meaning and force ? Christ is called, " That eternal life which was with the Father." He dwelt with Him as His "fellow,'' and partook in common with Him of eternal life. Christ, as the Son of God, is essentially possessed of life in its highest exercises and enjoyments. It is of Him John says in this epistle, chap. v. 20, " This is the true God and eternal life." It is specially ascribed to Him as Mediator, " As the Father hath life in himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself" It is in this view He says, " I am he that liveth and was dead ; and behold, I am alive for evermore, amen ; and have the keys of hell and of death." Life is His to impart it to sinners. " This is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." It is laid up in Him, in His mediatorial person, as in a foun- tain to which sinners may ever come and receive out of His fulness. " In him dwelleth the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in him." For " He of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redernption.'' And He now stands and calls upon the chil- dren of men, saying, " If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst ; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." Sinner, come to Jesus, and you shall have pardon. Come to Jesus, and you shall have purity. Come, and you shall have power. Come and live for ever. Such is^he view presented to us in this passage of the mediatorial person of Christ. It may properly be summed up in the language of Paul to Timothy, "Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh." Only recollect that Paul as well as John presents this fundamental truth, not in the light of a disputed doc- trine, but of a great practical principle. He desires that sinners should see, on the one hand, that without such a 10 FIEST EPISTLE OF JOHN. Saviour they must perish, but that, on the other, the Saviour they need is provided and offered ; so that it lies upon them to come and embrace Him that they may be saved. " It hath pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell ; and by him to reconcile all things to himself, even you that were alienated, and enemies by wicked works." In conclusion, there is one lesson which I am desirous to press specially on your attention. It is the necessity of being enliglitened by the Spirit to discern the glory of Christ as a manifested Saviour. The apostle discovers deep anxiety tliat he might be thus known to those whom he addressed. He repeats again and again, " That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you." But in all this he betrays a fear that, notwithstanding all the plainness, and fulness, and urgency of his words, they might remain ignorant of Christ. It has been well said, " The manifestation of Christ in the flesh is one thing, and a most blessed thing too, but a mani- festation of him to the soul, by his word and Spirit, is quite another." Paul has distinctly said, " No man can say that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Ghost." Pray, brethren, for His divine illumination. Unless you are taught by Him, you shall not estimate the precious discoveries of the text. You can neither know your need nor discern the sufficiency of the Saviour whom it reveals. But if he be your instructor, you will feel and confess both. This is not a matter of speculation, but of experience. " If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost ; in whom the God or this world hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. — God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Cor. iv. 4-6.) r" LECTURE II. " That ye also may have felloivship with us : and truly our fellowship is ivith the Father, and luith his Son Jesus Christ"—! John i. 3. THE knowledge of Christ is the basis of felloAvship. This sentiment is the link of connection between the text and the verses which precede it. " That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, and seen, and handled, of the Word of life — declare we unto you," in order " that ye may have fellowship with us." It is assumed that without the views of Christ which the apostle had expressed, there could not be the fellowship of which he speaks. How could there be ? Suppose one man to look upon Christ as a creature, and another as the Creator, and how could these have fellowship with one another? The moment they interchanged their views they would contradict one another. We must here see eye to eye, or we cannot have fellowship. On the other hand, whenever the mind is enlightened in the knowledge of Christ, there springs up within it a strong sympathy with all those who entertain similar views of Him. If, like the apostle Paul, we can say, " It hath pleased God to reveal his Son in me," we will, after his example, " assay to join ourselves to the disciples." If we have been taught to say, " I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord," we shall immediately 12 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. add, " grace be with all them that love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." For a beautiful example see J, John v. 1, 2. What, then, is the nature of that fellowship into which we are led by the saving knowledge of Christ ? It is briefly, but comprehensively, described in the text under a threefold aspect — fellowship with the Father, with the Son, and with all those who believe the gospel. Let us consider the subject in these several views of it. I. It is the believer's privilege to have " fellowship with the Father." He has been enabled to behold God in the light of a Father, and to cherish towards Him the feelings of a child. And herein consists the essence of the fellowship which he maintains with Him. It is not difficult to explain how it is so. Before Jesus ascended to His glory, He said to His disciples, " I ascend to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'' He gave them to understand that as was the relation in which He stood to God, so also was theirs. He was a Father to Him, and so also was He to them. They were brought into tliis relation to God because Christ was their substitute and representative. He had taken their nature, stood in their place, answered the demands of the law against them, and appeared in the presence of God for them. They took shelter in Him before the judgment-seat. They were united with Him so as to be looked upon in Him. They could pray, "behold, 0 God, our shield ; look upon the face of thine anointed." Thus standing before God, they could bear the effulgence of His glory. They could look up and say, " Abba Father." They could say, " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus " — and so enter into fellowship with Him. CHAPTER I. 3. 13 If we pursue this thought it will clearly unfold to us the nature of the fellowship to which the believer is admitted wdth his heavenly Father — that of a child with a beloved parent. As a child has near access to his father, so has he to God. This privilege, and the grounds of it, are set forth with peculiar richness in the divine word. " Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God — let us come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." " Having, therefore, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, his flesh, and having an high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." These gracious words and powerful arguments are put into our mouth by God himself, that we may approach him with all the confidence of children to a father. As a child enjoys the assurance of his father's favour, so has the believer that of God. He knows he is sinful and unworthy, but he believes that in Christ " he has redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." Clouds and darkness may often arise to obscure his view, but he waits till the Sun of righteousness shall burst out from beneath them. And then he enjoys afresh the warmth of his reviving beams. He can look up and say, " my Lord and my^ God." As a child cherishes the love which he bears to his father, so does the believer toward God. He feels the force of that irre- sistible appeal, " now, then, we are ambassadors for Christ ; as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be 1 4 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. sill for US who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." He must say^J' We love him because he first loved us." In a word, the believer is exhorted, " delight thyself also ' in the Lord ; and lie shall give thee the desires of thine heart." And this is the height of the fellowship to which he should aspire with God — to be able to say, " We joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Let it not be forgotten, too, that it is a duty as well as a privilege to maintain it, and there are many ways in which it may be done. AVe should have fellowship with God in His works. So had David when he said, " when I consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained, what is man that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man that thou visitest him ?" How blessed to look on all the works of nature around us, and say, " my Father made them all." We should more particularly seek to hold fellowship with God in His word. His will is more plainly revealed there, as well as His character and government. As we hold con- verse with a friend by letters of correspondence, so should we use the word of God as the medium of communion with Him. So regarding it let it be said of us, " his delight is in the law of the Lord ; and in his law doth he meditate day and night." We may have similar fellowship in the ordinances of grace. In them we may pray — " liemember me, 0 Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people ; 0 visit me with thy salvation, that I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, and that I may glory with thine inheritance." It would be alike our duty and wisdom to say with the Psalmist, " One thing liave I desii'cd of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell CHAPTEK I. 3. 15 in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple." So also should we see and hear Him in the dispensations of His providence. Whatever they may be, joyous or sorrowful, we should recognise their author and learn their lessons. We should say, "I will sing of judgment and of mercy; unto thee, 0 Lord, will I sing." Can we find a man who attained to such fellowship as this with God ? Yes — there is an example of it in Enoch. Of liim it is written — "he walked with God." Jehovah was the chosen companion of his life. Wherever he was he saw Him. Whatever he did he recognised His judgment. However he was exercised he bowed submissive to His will. As a duti- ful child with a loving fatlier, leading him by the hand, he pursued the journey of life, until at last "he was not, for God took him." Let this be our example of fellowship with the Father. And that being explained, let us consider — IL The fellowship of the believer "with his Son, Jesus Christ." In the text this is pointedly distinguished from that which has been already considered. Nor is it difBcuit to perceive the reason of the distinction. Fellowship with the Father can be held only through Christ. He has said expressly, " I am the way — no man cometh unto the Father but by me." On the other hand fellowship with the Son is direct. The reason is that he has taken our nature, and converses with us in it. This is the substance of the statement in the verse preceding the text. It describes his mediatorial person — that he was at once divine and human, the word of life, the eternal life that was from the beginning with the Father, and yet was manifested in the flesh in the fulness of time. Being so constituted the sinner may have direct fellowship with Him, and deal with Him on all the concerns of his soul and IG FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. salvation. All he needs is to be enlightened to know Him. From the moment of his saving acquaintance with Him there commences a communion with Him, which is a perennial fountain of blessedness. And in order to understand what it is, we have only to consider it in the light of God's media- torial person, as that is described in the verses to which we have adverted. Let us notice the views there presented to us. He is described as the eternal Son. He was in the begin- ning with the Father. He is therefore possessed of all divine perfections. His wisdom is unerring, His power almighty, and His love infinite. This is the being who came to us in the capacity of a Saviour. His call is to every sinner, "come unto me." He is revealed to him in His greatness, that he may have confidence in Him. This is the fellowship to which he is invited. He is assured He is " able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him.'' The more He is trusted the more He is honoured. The sinner is en- couraged to rely on His perfections, and if he acts up to his privilege and holds fellowship with Him, he may express it in the assured and confiding language of the apostle — " I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day." Again He is described in His humanity. He was seen, heard, and handled. He assumed that humanity for the very purpose of qualifying Him to be the Saviour of men. As the children were partakers of flesh and blood, He likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death. — It behoved Him in all things to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of His people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted. He is able to succour them that are tempted. Now, if these views are CHAPTER I. 3. VT realized to what fellowship must they lead with Christ ? There is the fellowship of a common humanity. He is " bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh." He has felt all that man can feel. He has the sympathy of a brother. Especially He endured all the sorrows of humanity. He suffered from poverty, neglect, reproach, injustice, and cruelty. He agonized under mental grief, as well as bodily tortures. He was tried by temptations the most harassing and powerful. Well, there- fore, does He understand our trials. If God said to the Israelites — " love ye the stranger, for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt," how may we reckon on the sympathy of Jesus ? He has said, " in all your afflictions I am afflicted." Poor suffering humanity will ever find a sympathetic friend in Him. Especially the sin-stricken soul should hear Him saying — " come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." The more bitter the exer- cises of the soul, the more tender is His fellowship. Try it and you will find he is indeed " a brother born for adversity," Not merely, however, is H-e described in His deity to encourage our confidence, and in His humanity to assure us of His sympathy, but in His office also as "the word of life," He has " eternal life " as the Saviour of men. It is His to dispense it to sinners. He says to all who believe in Him, "because I live ye shall live also.'' It is their privilege to say, "I am crucified wdth Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me ; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave himself for me." He is the fountain of life to all who will come to Him. That is the office entrusted to Him, and which He is ever able and willing to execute. " He is before •all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the Church." We have only, therefore, to come, and come, and come again, to Him, that we " may have life, -and have it more abundantly." 18 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. Surely if we are encouraged to have fellowship with the Father, we may be specially encouraged to maintain it with His son, Jesus Christ. There is everything in Him to invite us to cultivate it. We may well say, as we think upon Him, " my meditation of Him is sweet," — " His name is as ointment poured forth." They who experience it most can best testify — " 1 sat under His shadow with great delight, and His fruit was sweet unto my taste." And if we be wise we will never rest till, in the interchange of constant love with Him, we can say, my beloved is mine, and I am His." Such is the fellowship we may hold with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. But this is not the end of it. There arises out of it another exercise which we now proceed to consider — III The fellowship of believers with one another. If we have fellowslup with the Father, then we are His children, and are animated by their spirit. If we have fellowship with Jesus Christ, then we are His redeemed ones, and the subjects of His grace. It follows, therefore, as a necessary consequence, that wherever there is fellowship with the Father and the Son, there must also be fellowship with those who believe in them. And this is the very light in which the subject is presented in the text, where the three forms of fellowship are treated as indissolubly connected with one another. What, then, is the fellowship of believers? Let the apostle Paul reply — " There is one body and one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling ; one Lord, one faith, one baptism ; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." The communion arising out of such unity must be universal, and pervading throughout all who are bound by it. They are one in Christ Jesus, and we just name some of the forms in which their fellowship will appear. CHAPTER I. 3. 19 They have a community of nature. They are all " par- takers of the divine nature," and obey its impulses. Their tastes and habits are therefore alike heavenly. They have a conmiunity of views. They can all say, " To them that believe Christ is precious." He is in their esteem " the chief among ten thousand, and altogether lovely." They have communion in feelings. Loving Christ, they love one another. " Every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him." They have communion in joy and sorrow. " If one mem- ber suffer, all the members suffer with it ; if one be honoured, all the members rejoice with it." As it is with the members of the body, so it is in the church. . They have communion in the kind offices of brotherly love. " The eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need' of thee ; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you." They have fellowship in the progress of true religion. They can sympathize with David, when, having poured out his ardent aspirations for the triumphs of godliness, he said, " The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended." They have fellowship in the prospects of heaven and eternity. They rejoice to say, " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath begotten us again to a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inlieritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away." It ought to be the aim of believers to cultivate such fellow- ship as this. There are many reasons to enforce it. One is their own good. " Behold how good and how plea- sant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is like the precious ointment on the head that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, that went down to the skirts of his garments ; as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended on the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord com- manded the blessing, even life for evermore." 20 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN, Another is the advancement of religion on the earth. Jesus prayed "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." And to these let it be added, that it is vain to speak of fellowship with the Father and the Son if we have not fellow- ship with one another. "Wherever one of these is they must all be. Tliey are inseparable. They will all be found, too, in an equal measure. Just as we have fellowship with God as a Father, so shall we have fellowship with the Son as a Saviour; and as we have fellowship with the Son, so shall we have it with all who believe in Him. " If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar ; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen ? And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God loves his brother also.'' LECTUEE III. " And these things write we unto you, that our joy may be full" — 1 John i. 4. T T7HAT things ? The mediatorial person and office of ^ ^ Christ, and the fellowship to which they lead. The apostle had described the former in these words, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life ; (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us ; that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you." And the latter he represents as the result of this knowledge of Christ whenever it is really received, " That ye also may have fellowship with us ; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." He makes known Christ that so men may have fellowship with God as children with a Father, with the Son as sinners with a Saviour, and with one another as the partakers of a common salvation. It is with all this in view he adds, in the language of the text, " And these things write we unto you, that our joy may be full." It is assumed in these words that the fulness of joy arises out of the fellowship which is produced by the knowledge of Christ. This is the sentiment which it will be the object of 22 FIKST EPISTLE OF JOHN. the present discourse to illustrate. And our prayer is tliat its truth may not only be proved by evidence, but known by experience. In the farther consideration of it, we shall draw our illus- tration from the threefold fellowship of the believer, showing in each case how the fulness of joy may be expected naturally to arise out of it — out of fellowship with the Father, with the Son, and with all who believe the Gospel I. The fulness of joy springs out of " fellowship with the Father." This is self-evident. Suppose a sinner so to see and con- fide in God as his Father, that he may be said to have fellow- ship with Him, enjoying a sense of His favour, and recipro- cating it with a feeling of love, it is plain he must be happy in God. It is ever so regarded in the Scriptures. When God invites sinners to forsake the fellowship of the ungodly and to come into communion with Himself, it is in these words, " Come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing ; and T will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." The promise by which the invitation is enforced is supposed to secure true blessedness to all who shall enjoy it. A brief contemplation of what may be expected from God as a Father, will make this statement plain. A father is ready to pardon his children. He is accounted a monster among men who is inexorable toward his own children. Eemember, then, how God is described by His Son in the three parables which appear to have been delivered in the same discourse, of the lost sheep, the lost piece of money, and the lost son. " When he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him." Tlie believer knows such is the CHAPTER I. 4. 23 readiness of God to receive him at all times, when in the spirit of penitence he cries to Him, " Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son." A father has tender sympathy with his children. Their joys and sorrows are all his own. How he agonizes with their griefs and pains, and is gladdened by their success and happiness ! Is it not written, then, " As a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him ?" " He knows our frame, and remembers we are dust." He has said, " When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee." And His children may say, in the assurance of His sympathy, " Though I pass through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.'' A father teaches his children. What he knows himself he makes known to them. He does so that they may know how to choose the good and refuse the evil. Observe, then, how the promise runs, " All thy children shall be taught of the Lord ; and great shall be the peace of thy children." They are taught that so they may have peace. The earthly father teaches his child, believing that he is so preparing him for prosperity ; and God says to His child, " Hear, 0 my son, and receive my sayings ; and the years of thy life shall be many : take fast hold of instruction, let her not go ; keep her, for she is thy life." A father corrects his children. Observe, then, how an inspired apostle applies this thought, " We have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence ; shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure ; but he for our profit that we might be partakers of his holiness.'' A father encourages his children. It is God who has said. 24- FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. " Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged." He requires parents to foster every good desire and effort in their children by tokens of their favour and satisfaction. And herein he only asks them to imitate His own providence, in which He causes His children to experience that " in keeping his commandments there is a great reward.'' A father protects his children, AVith what parental care Joseph and Mary bore away the child Jesus out of the reach of the persecuting Herod ! The parent will sacrifice his life to preserve that of his child, _^ God's promise to His children is, " He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye.'' A father provides ' for his children. Hear, then, the word of the Lord, " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath begotten us again to a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inherit- ance incorruptible, undefiled and that fadeth not away." A father delights to grant all the righteous desires of his children, and in reference to this parental disposition, Jesus has said, " If you fathers, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" He specifies the Holy Spirit, because in that gift all others are comprehended. Suppose, now, that this view of God is realized. A sinner, through the knowledge of Christ, is brought into fellowship witli God. Regarding Him as a Father, and cherishing toward Him the spirit of a child, he knows that he has His pardoning mercy, and tenderest sympathy and instruction, and if need be, correction, and yet His encouragement and protection, with the assurance of what is best for him here, and eternal blessedness hereafter. What, then, ought to be his joy ? Surely the text is not too strong, " These things have I written unto you, that our joy may be full." CHAPTEE I. 4. 25 How lamentable it is that sinners do not seek happiness where it may be found — in God ! "Well has David said " There be many that say, who wlQ show us some good ? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us, and that will put joy and gladness into our hearts." It is almost as lamentable, and more unreasonable that believers do not live up to their privilege and enjoy God as they ought to do. Recognizing Him as their Father and holding fellowship with Him, their joy in Him ought to be full. " For the Lord God is a sun and shield ; the Lord will give grace and glory ; no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly^ 0 Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee." II. Fulness of joy springs out of "fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ." There is a happy expression of the union between the Father and the Son, as the source of joy to the believer who has fellowship with God, in the words of Paul to the Corin- thians, " We joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." All the com- munion which a sinner can enjoy with God is through Christ. It is only as he contemplates " God in Christ" he has fellow- ship with Him as a Father. Besides the happiness thus derived from God, however, there is a fresh source of joy opened up to the believer in Christ himself He has direct and immediate fellowship with Him, and while he cultivates the habit of " looking unto Jesus," he derives virtue from the sight, as the dying Israelite did from the serpent of brass when he gazed upon it in the wilderness. It will be profitable to consider how it is that the contem- plation of Christ, by the eye of faith, is calculated to inspire with joy. First, then. His person is such as to caU forth this affec- 2G FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. tion. He is " God manifest in the flesli." He lias become such for the very purpose of being a Saviour of men. He has taken our nature into union with His own divine nature, that He might redeem it from sin, and death, and sorrow. With what propriety, therefore, was His manifestations in the flesh thus announced by the angelic messenger, " Behold I bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people, for unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." He was fully equal to the sreat task He had undertaken. None other could save. In Him, but in Him only, could the sinner repose his confi- dence. With Mary he might say, " My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour." Again, the work of Christ affords matter of joy. "He died the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,' having been made a curse for us." " He hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteous- ness of God in him." Invariably the work of Christ and the design of it are thus associated in the Scriptures. It was an atonement for sin, that men might be released from its con- demnation. Every one who apprehends it, and is willing to confide in it, may say, " Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid ; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song ; he also is become my salvation." His work is perfect, and the sinner, who is willing to accept it, is pre- sented with a full and free salvation. His gi-acious offices, still continued, must farther heighten the joy of all who have fellowship with Him in them. He is their prophet, ever teaching them by His word, and Spirit, and providence. " He of God is made imto them wisdom." And if any man lack wisdom, he has only to ask it of Him and obtain it. He is their priest, ever applying the benefits of His sacrifice to their souls, while He pl(>ads its merit for CHAPTER I. 4. 27 their pardon, and makes it effectual as His plea for their purity. "Who bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should . live unto righteousness ; by whose stripes ye were healed." He is their king, ruling in their hearts, governing their lives, restraining their enemies, and overruling all things for their highest good. What a perennial source of blessedness is here ? Once more, we have the Spirit of Christ, and the blessed promises of which He is the fulfiller. These are throughout associated in our Lord's farewell discourse to His disciples. " I will pray the Father, and he shaU give you another Com- forter, that he may abide with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him ; but ye know him, for he dwell eth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfort- less ; I will come to you." And after setting forth all the gracious benefits which His Spirit would confer, He concludes with the words of warning and consolation, " These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation ; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." To all this must be added His everlasting covenant. All the blessings He bestows are secured by covenant. And nothing is omitted which is needful for His people. In the darkest hour they may fall back on its sure provision, and say with David, " He hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure ; for this is all my salvation and all my desire, although he make it not to grow." All these things considered, it must be seen the Apostle Paul ■ spoke advisedly when he exhorted the Philippians, " Eejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say rejoice.'' If they will rejoice in the Lord, they may and ought to rejoice alway. There is sufficient ground to do so in Him. His 28 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. person and work, and offices, and Spirit, and covenant, con- stitute a source of joy which is inexhaustible. What He is himself, what He has done, what He continues to do, in His gracious offices, by His blessed Spirit, and in accordance with His everlasting covenant, are sufficient to dispel all fears, to assure the highest hopes, and establish the firmest^happiness. To these ends only one thing is needed, and that is fellow- ship with Christ. Hence He is ever saying, " If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink ; he that believeth in me, out of him shall flow rivers of living water." How deplorable, that with such a fountain of joy within our reach, we are so prone to " forsake the fountain of living water, and hew out for ourselves broken cisterns that can hold no water." Let us hear Christ saying, "Ask and receive that your joy may be full." And consider the testimony of His beloved disciple, " These things write I unto you, that our joy may be full." III. The fulness of joy is greatly confirmed by fellowship with believers. It is so in many ways. They instruct one another. It is a just observation of the wise man, " Iron sharpeneth iron ; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." How much we owe to the society of the wise and good. The interchange of thought is a principal means of advancement in knowledge. Hence the apostle expresses his high estimate of it, " let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man." This is a precious opportunity of advancing the well-being and happiness of others. Alas, that it sliould so often be lost or abused. Believers encourage one another. How touching the reflection of David on the days that were past, when he said, of his companions in other times, " we took sweet counsel together, and walked into the house of God in company." They conferred on their duties and difficulties, and strength- CHAPTER I. 4. 29 ened one another's hands. " They go from strength to strength; every one of them in Zion appeareth before God." We should aim at being thus useful to those with whom we are associated. They comfort one another. After the death of Christ, two of the disciples journeyed together, going to Emmaus. They talked of all the things that had happened. As they did so, Jesus drew near, and went with them, and said, "what manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad V He listened patiently to their sad recital, and then addressed them in words of conso- lation. So appropriate were they, that as they thought upon them afterwards, they said, " did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures?" We should imitate Christ, and if we do so, we may well have reason to say of our conversation, " a word spoken in season, how good is it ? " Believers should warn one another. The command is, " thou shalt not suffer sin upon thy brother, but rebuke him," The duty is no doubt a difiicult one. But fellowship requires that it shall be discharged. And if it be done in a right spirit, there will be a happy result. " Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a kindness ; and let him reprove me, it shall be an excellent oil, that will not break my head ; for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities." They should aim in every way to edify one another, avoiding whatever may be hurtful, and doing whatever may be serviceable. " Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another." " Let every ane please his neighbour for his good to edification." By pursuing such a course, it is easy to see how the fellowship of Christians would tend to the fulness of their joy. We should act as though we heard every brother saying to us as Paul did to Philemon, " let me have joy of thee in 80 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. the Lord : refresh my bowels in the Lord." His7appeal is the just appeal of all, " fulfil ye my joy." It is our duty to do nothing that may unnecessarily wound the spirit of another, but everything that may at once soothe and sanctify, so that their joy may be full. This is the legitimate claim of Christian fellowship. In conclusion, how thankful we should be that the religipn of Christ is one of joy. Such it truly is. Of all who live up to its high privileges and holy duties it may be said, " Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound ; they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance ; in thy name shall they rejoice all the day ; and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted." Then how deeply should we be humbled when we do not attain to this joy. It is evidence we do not know, and love, and serve the Lord as we ought to do. It should lead us to deep searchings of heart, and earnest supplications that we might be enabled to act worthy of our high vocation. Let us aim at attaining to the joy which the gospel yields. We should do so for the sake of our own holiness. " AVlien he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in liim, purifieth himself, even as he is pure.'' We should do so for the credit of religion. There is everything in it to commend it to men. And it is unworthy of its professors to exhibit a deportment calculated to dishonour it. We should do so for the honour of Christ. He is reflected in us. "Ye are the epistles of Christ, known and read of all men." Let His glory be seen in our joyous submission to His justifying righteousness, and cheerful obedience to His holy commandments — and so acting our joy may be full. LECTUEE IV. " Tliis then is the message ivhich we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no dark- ness at all. If ive say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth ; hut if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one luith another!' — 1 John i. 5-7. rpHUS early does the apostle begin to apply his subject to -*- the practical use of self-examination. He opened it with a sublime description of the mediatorial person and office of the Lord Jesus Christ. He showed how the perception of that great and wonderful truth, " God manifest in the flesh," led to the most blessed fellowship — to fellowship with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ, and with the whole Church of believers. And he declared that such enlighten- ment and fellowship issued in the fulness of joy. Having said so much on the privileges of believers, he deemed it necessary to address them in the tone of warning. They must bev/^are of self-deception. They should be sure that they really knew the truth, and obeyed it, and that their fellowship was not a mere profession, but a spiritual reality. And with a view to enforce this lesson, he expressed himself in the language of the text, " This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If 32 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in dark- ness, we lie, and do not the truth ; but if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another," How appropriate and searching are these words. They contain a lesson of instruction, a warning against self-decep- tion, and an encouraging direction. Let us address our attention to these three views of the subject. And may the Lord be our teacher. L A lesson of instruction. It is contained in the 5th verse, and consists of a description of the great Being, with whom we profess to have fellowship. "This, then, is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." Both the manner and the matter of this lesson are very impressive. The apostle adopts the manner of the deliverer of Israel when Ehud came to Eglon and said, " I have a message from God unto thee." It is indeed the style of our Lord Himself, who said, " My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me." It is intended to remind us that the word and ministry are to be understood and treated as a message from God. " He, therefore, that despiseth, despiseth not man but God ; who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit.'' In the present in- stance it is observable that no mention is made by name of the being from whom the message comes. " We have heard of him." Of whom ? No doubt the glorious being described in the previous verses is meant. It is Jesus the Mediator. The apostle assumes he would be understood to speak of him. And thus his manner in this epistle is in harmony with his sublime introduction to the Apocalypse, " The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass ; and he CHAPTEK I. 5-7. 38 sent and signified it by liis angel unto his servant John, who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ." Impressive, however, as is the manner of the lesson before us, its matter is of far higher moment. " God is light." Its simplicity and comprehensiveness are amazing. It is so simple a child perceives the meaning, while it is so compre- hensive as to render a full exposition impossible. There are, however, three principal ideas suggested by the figure on which it may be sufficient to dwell. Light is the emblem of knowledge, holiness, and happiness. Of knowledge. God is omniscient. We pronounce this sentiment, but how limited our views of its meaning. " Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the creation.'' He sees all things as they are, in their true nature, and real influence. He cannot be deceived. Matter and mind are alike plain to His perception. Our motives, and feelings, and purposes are as palpable to Him as our bodies. But we cannot describe omniscience. The thovight overwhelms us. We are relieved by quoting the words of inspiration, and must be satisfied with them — " 0 Lord, thou hast searched me and known me, thou knowest my down- sitting and mine up-rising, thou understandest my thoughts afar off. Thou compassest my path, and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue but, lo, 0 Lord, it is known to thee altogether — the darkness hideth not from thee ; but the night shineth as the day ; the darkness and the light are both alike to thee." So also is light the emblem of holiness. God is "the Holy One," implying that none but He is absolutely and infinitely holy. Angels veil their faces and cry out in His presence, " Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts." " Behold, he put- teth no trust in his saints ; yea, the heavens are not clean in 34- FIEST EPISTLE OF JOHN. his sight." On the sun itself there are spots to be seen, but there are none on the character of God. All He does is in un- deviating correspondence with perfect purity. " Every good gift and every perfect gift cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."' But His holiness is as far beyond our apprehension as His knowledge, and we can only quote and acquiesce in the words which the Spirit has put into our mouth — "\\Tio only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen, nor can see ; to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen." Finally, light is the emblem of happiness. Infinite know- ledge and holiness must be productive of infinite happiness. As God can never be deceived in apprehending, nor err in acting, the element of sorrow can never enter into His mind. On the contrary, He possesses within Himself all the sources of unmingled blessedness. His perfections are never-failing springs of joy. All His works contribute to His happiness. However mysterious they may sometimes appear to us, to Him they are irradiated with light and glory. He seeth the end from the beginning. And we may cry with the elders before His throne, " Thou art worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power, for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.'' To the sublime announcement that " God is light," it is added, " And in him is no darkness at all." Nor is this with- out its meaning. It is designed to teach us that no element enters into His light to obscure it. There is no limit to His knowledge, no stain on His holiness, no hindrance to His happiness. He is intellectually and morally perfect. We feel the propriety and force of the inspired description of Jehovah, and indeed all other language is felt to be far be- neath the dignity of the theme. What a privilege that we are taught to say, " The works of his hands are verity and CHAPTER I. 5-7. 85 judgment ; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness." " Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty ; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, 0 Lord, and glorify thy name ? for thou only art holy." " No man hath seen God at any time ; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath de- clared him." And "this is the message we have heard of him, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." II. This lesson of the apostle is followed by a warning against self-deception. Indeed, it was obviously introduced for the sake of founding the warning upon it. And, therefore, as soon as it was solemnly announced, the apostle immedi- ately adds, " If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk, in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth." In considering this warning it is well to notice the force of the terms employed to express it. " If we say that we have fellowship." We say it, but we may herein be uttering what is untrue. This is a common mode of speaking in the Scriptures. " A man may say. Thou hast faith, and I have works ; show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works." It does not follow, because we say we have faith or fellowship, that we must have them. Profession is not principle. W^e may be self-deceived, or we may be hypocrites. " And walk in darkness." In the midst of our profession of fellowship, it is possible we may be walking in darkness. Darkness is the emblem of ignorance, error, and sin. It is the opposite of light. And so far may the spirit of self- deception or hypocrisy prevail, that with the highest profes- sions on our lips, our walk may be utterly inconsistent with them. Walk is used to describe the habitual deportment. It is not merely that we may be betrayed by the force of oG FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. temptation into some inconsistent action, but that our habit of life is contrary to sound principle and true godliness. " We lie " in such a case. Our outward profession is con- trary to the inward reality. This strong term is used because it is fitted both to expose and denounce the base inconsistency. And it is well calculated to impress us with the abhorrence which the Author of the Scriptures must feel toward such conduct. " And do not the truth." If such be our deportment, we are disobedient to the truth. The language reminds us of the words of Christ, " Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." It is plain, from this brief exposition, that the warning of the apostle is designed to stand in contrast t© the lesson which he had just delivered. Looking at it, then, in this light, how powerful is his appeal ! God is light, infinite in knowledge, holiness, and happiness. "Who, then, can have fellowship with such a Being ? Is it he who is walking in darkness, which is the emblem of ignorance, and (jrror, and sin ? Impossible ! " What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness ? And what communion hath light with darkness V This is the very argument which the Apostle Paul addresses witli so much power to the Hebrews, saying, " let us labour, therefore, to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the Word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than .a two- edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight ; but all things CHAPTER I. 5-7. 87 are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.'' With these solemn words before us, let us inquire who they are that belie their profession of fellowship with God ? The ignorant do so. Many assume they have fellowship with God, and yet can give no account of the grounds or reasons of it. They have no adequate conception of sin, or of themselves, or of the Saviour, or of God, or of the world, or of eternity. They are walking in darkness, yet they have no fear. They take for granted that when they die, they shall pass as a matter of course into heaven. But their hope is based only on their ignorance. " If our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost." The erroneous present a more aggravated case. What a description does Isaiah give of such 1 " He feedeth on ashes ; a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, is there not a lie in my right hand ? " The Apostle Paul describes the same, saying, "They being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not sub- mitted themselves to the righteousness of God.'' The forms in which they do so are very various, and sometimes the very opposite of one another. One trusts in his inno- cence or righteousness. He does not see anything in him- self why God should cast him off, but thinks he has done much to commend himself to His fellowship. Another relies not on himself at all, but on the very circumstance that he disclaims himself and adheres to " a form of sound words " in the creed which he has learned from his youth, and which he holds tenaciously in the letter, while a stranger to its power and spirit. Many more rest in the formality of out- ward rites and ceremonies, " drawing near to God with the mouth, and honouring him with the lip, while the heart is far from him." All such, wliatever their profession of fellow- ship may be, are walking in darkness, and do not the truth 38 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. Above all, they who allow themselves in sin, fall under the censure of the apostle. AVe might have supposed it im- possible that any could be either so deceived or inconsistent as to make profession of fellowship with God, while yet, if they retlected at all, they must be conscious they are walk- ing in the paths of iniquity. Men have been dishonest, or drunken, or cruel, or impure, and yet made a religious pro- fession. Nor are such always sensible of their own inconsi.s- tencies. It is to be feared many are going to the judgment with their sins, without alarm. It is of them Christ says, " Not every one that saith unto me. Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name ? And in thy name done many wonderful works ? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you ; depart from me, ye that work iniquity." These are they who walk in darkness, and can have no real fellowship with that God who is light. III. Let us then consider the seasonable and encouraging direction which the apostle gives to those who would have the enjoyment and advantage of real fellowship. It is con- tained in the 7th verse. " If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another." The direction of the apostle exactly corresponds with the invitation of the prophet, " 0 house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord." The encouragement of another prophet proceeds on the same principle, " Then shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord ; his going forth is prepared as the morning ; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain, unto the earth." The Apostle Paul expresses the sama sentiment, in the form of an appeal and a counsel, " Ye were sometime darkness, CHAPTER I. 5-7. 39 but now are ye liglit iu the Lord ; walk as children of the light." Keeping these passages before us as our directory, it may be profitable to inquire what is implied in walking in the light so as to attain to the enjoyment of fellowship? In other words, what should we do that we may have so high a privilege ? 1. First, then, a clear apprehension of the truth is essential to fellowship. The ground of a sinner's hope must be distinctly seen. No one can have solid and permanent enjoy- ment of God who does not well understand the doctrine of justification by faith. He who does see it clearly, and acquiesce in it cordially, may and ought to have it. It is thus we learn to say, " Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." It is the property of faith to discern, receive, and rejoice in the truth that " Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that belie veth." 2. The believer, thus enlightened and brought into fellow- ship with God, must exercise the utmost watchfulness against sia Whatever sin is allowed, and in whatever measure, it will obscure the object of faith, and darken the evidence of his interest in it. The clouds that hide the sun from the view of the beholder, are emblems of those sins which hide the Sun of righteousness from the perception of the believer. His faith cannot penetrate through the darkness which they create. It is the law of God that whenever sin enters peace departs. The man who imagines he can have both is fearfully deceived. Whenever we are betrayed into sin, our duty is to humble ourselves under it, and confess it, and in the spirit of self-abasement bring it to the Saviour. Then may we exercise " repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." In this habit of crucifying sin, we shall consult for our peace. And, hence, we have the exhorta- 4-() FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. tion of Christ, " Watch ye, therefore ; what I say unto you, I say unto all. Watch." 3. Finally, he who would walk in the light and enjoy the fellowship of God must abound in welldoing. There is a most instructive passage, illustrative and confirmatory of this sentiment, in the 58th chapter of Isaiah. The people are there represented to bewail that, although they waited on the forms of religion, they had not its enjoyment. They cry, " Wherefore have we fasted and thou seest not ? " The pro- phet explains the mystery. He tells them they were indulg- ing practices which were unlawful. They were contentious with one another, and oppressive to others. Therefore God hid His face from them. He tells them these habits must be laid aside. But more than that, they must engage in doing good. " Deal thy bread to the hungry, bring the poor that are cast out to thy house, cover the naked, and hide not thy- self from thine own flesh.'' Act thus, and " then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily, and thy righteousness shall go before thee, the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward." He repeats his counsel — " If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul, then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday ; and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones ; and thou shalt be as a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters fail not." This is the secret of religious enjoyment. " He that watcreth others, shall himself be watered." Exercise is essential to the health of the body, and if we exercise ourselves by grace in godliness and good works, our " souls shall be in health and prosper.'' Thus " if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another." He names fellowship with one another. But that includes all the forms of fellowship to which believers are admitted. CHAPTEE I. 5-7. 41 The fellowship which they have with each other, grows out of that Avhich they have with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. Surely this is a blessed reward for a life of faith and godli- ness. It is the highest and purest bliss. Fellowship with God ! He who enjoys it contemplates Him as a Father, in whose bounty and grace he can ever re- pose, appropriating the gracious word, '■ Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you." Fellowship with Christ ! In the enjoyment of it he has the sensible presence of an all-sufficient Saviour. He goes up the wilderness of life leaning on the beloved. In sweet communion he can say, " My beloved is mine, and I am his.'' Fellowship with the whole church of God ! His soul is drawn out " to the saints that are in the earth and to the ex- cellent in whom is all his delight." And he anticipates the realization of the glorious congratulation, " Ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to the spirits of just men made perfect." LECTUEE V. "And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son deanseth us from all sin." — 1 John i. 7. " 4 FOUNTAIN hath been opened to the house of David and -^ to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for un clean- ness." That fountain it is of which the apostle speaks in the text. It is the blood of Christ. And it possesses these two features, that it alone can cleanse from the defilement of sin, and that it is effectual to all who can be induced to wash in it. No sin can be removed without it, all sin with it. " The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin." It is not sufficient, however, at present to consider this great doctrine generally as it is announced in the text ; it is introduced in a connexion which requires to be specially noticed. The apostle had been treating of Christian fellow- ship, and had shown with whom it was to be maintained, what was inconsistent with it, and how we might hope to enjoy it. He had said, " If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another," adding in connexion with this counsel the encouraging assurance con- tained in the text — " And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." Considering the nature of the exercise,''therefore, in M'hich we are engaged, endeavouring to understand this Epistle of John, it will be necessary to notice, 1. the connexion of the text ; and, 2. the blessed doctrine comprehensively, though briefly expressed in it. CHAPTER I. 7. 43 I. Consider the connexion of the text. The blood of Christ and its cleansing efficacy are associated with fellowship. The question is, what is the relation between them to which the apostle adverts ? Fellowship is to be understood here in its widest accepta- tion as comprehending that which is maintained with the Father and the Son, and all true believers. The blood of Christ is essential to it in all these exercises. And our in- quiry is why it is so ? Without it we can have no fellowship with the Father. The Apostle Paul has said of the entrance of the High Priest into the holiest of all — " Into the second went the high priest alone, once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people.'' The High Priest alone could enter at all ; even he was permitted to enter but once in the year ; when he did so he must carry with him the blood of the sin-offering and sprinkle it on and before the mercy-seat ; and this blood so sprinkled was to be regarded as an atonement for himself and the people. All the circum- stances were so ordered as to impress the worshipper with the great truth that his access to God could not be with- out blood. He was thus taught his own sinfulness on the one hand, and the holiness of God upon the other. If, however, he did come with the appointed blood, he might do so with all confidence. And the apostle thus applies the emblematic lesson to the sinner's approach by the blood of Christ, "Hav- ing, therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say his flesh, and having an high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water." The penitent sinner, canying the blood of Jesus in the hand of faith, and sprinkling the mercy- 44 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHJN". seat, may have fellowship with the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He may encourage himself as he ap- proaches saying, "Let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." The same law obtains in holding fellowship with the Son also. How impressively this lesson is taught in His own ordinance of the Supper. That ordinance is the outward ex- pression of fellowship with Him, and it thus teaches how that fellowship is to be enjoyed. " He took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them, saying. Drink ye all of it, for this is my blood of the New Testament which is shed for you." And in heaven, where the fellowship is maintained in perfec- tion, the song of the redeemed is, " Thou art worthy, for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood." How much more must it be necessary for us, while still on earth, and burthened with much sin, to hold fellowship with Christ through His blood ? In this view the life of the believer is well expressed when it is said, " The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.'' ♦ Kor is there any other basis on which believers can hold fellowship with one another as the followers of Christ. They may truly say, " The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ ? The bread whicii we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ ?" The death of Christ is the bond of their union. They are alike sinners, and have no hope but the death of Jesus. They are alike believers in its efficacy, and their community of interest and confidence in it gives them a deep concern in one another. They can rejoice in one another's joys, and sympathise in one another's sorrows, as the common beneficiaries of the crucified one. They can well understand how their fellowship is sus- pended on the great doctrine tliat " the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin." CHAPTER I. 7. 45 It is to be borne in mind also that fellowship in all these views, with the Father, and the Son, and believers, as it is begun by the reception of this doctrine, must ever be main- tained by the application of it. We can never come to God otherwise, and we may always come to Him by the peace- speaking blood of Jesus. Whenever we are defiled by sin, and*our sensible fellowship with the Father is interrupted, we must betake ourselves afresh to the fountain of atoning blood, and cleansed there, renew the broken communion. As we would at any time walk with the beloved by the way, we must talk wdth Him as Moses and Elias did of His de- cease which He accomplished at Jerusalem. No theme is so agreeable to Him. And our spirit should be in harmony with that of His apostle when He said, " God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, by which I am crucified unto the world, and the world is cruci- fied unto me." And so in order to bind the hearts of the disciples in holy brotherhood, we must have recourse to the blood of Christ. Thence we derive our strongest arguments for forgiveness and forbearance. There we find the most powei-ful appeal for the tenderest sympathies and the kindest services. In short, as we live under the influence of the blood of Christ, so shall we love God, and Christ, and one another. "We shall have fellowship with the Father, and the Son, and all who believe, just as we realize and enjoy the precious doctrine that " the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin." Let us, therefore, having seen the connection in which this truth is introduced to our notice, proceed to consider — II. The blessed doctrine itself. The statement is short, but the sentiment conveyed by it is vast. It expresses both the efficacy of the blood of Christ and the reason of it. It will be necessary to notice both of these, beginning with the latter. 46 FIEST EPISTLE OF JOHN. 1, "Whence does the efficacy of the blood of Christ to cleanse from sin arise? Not merely from divine appoint- ment, although there was a divine appointment. That ap- pointment was made because it was seen by the Omniscient mind to be effectual. It constituted at once the " power of God and the wisdom of God." There is a reference in the text to the reason of its sufficiency. "The bloo(i of Jesus Christ, God's Son (and because He is God's Son) cleanseth us from all sin." The apostle testifies, "It was not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." In the nature of the case it could not ^be. There was no correspondence between the disease and the remedy. No appointment, even were it divine, could render it avail- able. The same may be said of the blood of any creature, even of the most exalted archangel, or the whole company of angels. But there was in the Son of God that which made His blood suitable and efticacious. As the Son of God He was the Fellow of the Father. He thought it not robbery to be equal with God. When He assumed human nature, His deity dwelt in it. The deity could not suffer, but the humanity did. The mysterious person of the Eedeemer was constituted of the two natures. He was " God manifest in the flesh." Hence arose the infinite value of His atonement. "Feed the Church of God,'' saith Paul, "which he hath pur- chased with his own blood.'' It was His own blood, inas- much as it was the blood of that humanity in which the Deity dwelt. It possessed in the eye of God an infinite value. And on that ground the gracious announcement might be made to men, without limitation or condition — " The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin." This is the reason of its efficacy, and it prepares us to consider — 2. The efficacy itself — " It cleanseth from all sin." The terras are as universal as it is possible for language to make them. They undoubtedly teach that there is efficacy CHAPTEK I. 7. 47 in the blood of Christ sufficient to cleanse all the sins of all the men that have ever dwelt or ever shall dwell upon the earth. If there shall prove to be any whose sins have not been cleansed it must be traced to some other cause than the want of sufficiency in the blood of Christ. It will bring the subject more closely home, however, if we direct attention to some of the special forms of sin, showing how in every case the blood of Christ avails to remove it. There is original sin. Under the deep conviction of it David exclaimed, " Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." It was only to the deep-seated depravity of his nature he could ascribe the sins into which he had been betrayed contrary to his judgment and conscience and character. Yet humbling as was his sense of his great vile- ness in this respect he did not hesitate to pray — " Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean ? wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." He knew there was blood, of which that washing was an emblem, sufficient to cleanse his depraved nature. It is the same lesson we are taught verj'- impressively in the administration of baptism to infant children. If it have any meaning it is emblematic of two great truths — the sinfulness of the infant presented, and the efficacy of atoning blood to meet the extremity. For why is an infant presented if it be not under the conviction that it needs to be cleansed? And why is water applied if it be not to express the assurance that there is virtue in the blood which it represents to take away sin? Baptism is a standing testimony that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from original sin. There is again actual sin. Alas ! how mightily does it prevail. It is graciously ordered, however, that many of the examples of restored sinners, recorded in the Scriptures, are those of notorious offenders. Such are Mary Magdalene, and Paul, and the murderers of our Lord. Of the first it is de- clared Christ had cast out from her distempered mind a legion 48 FIEST EPISTLE OF JOHN. of seven devils. Of the second it is taught that mercy was extended to him tliat he might be a pattern to all that here- after should believe in Jesus. And as to the third our Lord directed that the first offer of His gospel should be made to them. And when it was preached to them three thousand embraced it, and were accepted by the Church and its great Head. These facts, and many similar to them in the history of a preached Gospel, have placed the doctrine beyond all question, that there is no amount of transgression from which the blood of Christ cannot cleanse. To the most abandoned God has said, " I will sprinkle clean water upon you and ye shall be clean ; from all your filthiness and from all your idols I will cleanse you." There is, farther, the guilt of sin. How fearfully is it accumulated. Which of God's commandments has not the sinner broken ? " He that offendeth in one point is guilty of all," but every sinner has offended in all points. ]Pe it so, there is a remedy. There is a full and free pardon through the blood of atonement. " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." And on the ground of His sacrifice, the invitation is addressed to sinful men — " Come now and let us reason together, though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow ; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." " In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." So also is there the power of sin. It might be supposed this was not to be overcome. All expedients, indeed, have been tried in vain, except that which has been furnished by the blood of Christ. But that avails. And hence language is employed to describe its power, in the Scriptures, of the most peculiar and forcible character. Paul argues — " If the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprink- ling the unclean sanctifieth to the piuifying of the tlesh, how CHAPTER I. 7. 49 much more shall the blood of Christ, who, through the eteruiil Spirit, offered himself without spot to God, purge your con- science from dead works to serve the living God ?" Peter appeals, " Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear, for- asmuch as ye have been redeemed, not with corruptible things as silver and g-old, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without spot or blemish." The whole doctrine of the purification of the sinner by the blood of Christ is thus summed up — " He loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word ; that he might present it to himself a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but that it should be holy and without blemish." This surely is efficacious. Yet again, there are the sins of believers. These also are contemplated, but it is in connection with the remedy in the blood of Christ. It is to believers John says, " my little children, these things write I unto you that ye sin not. And if any man sin we have an advocate witli the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous ; and he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." It is assumed they may sin, but they are urged to betake themselves to the fountain in which they sliall be cleansed. They should do so without delay. The tempta- tion is, because they have sinned, to fly from God as did Adam in the garden. But as they value a return to peace and purity let them go afresh to the open fountain, and again plunging beneath its waters, rise again to newness of life. Even the best services of believers, however, are not fault- less. Sin attaches to all they are and all they do. There are none so sensible of this and ready to confess it as they are them- selves. Often, while others applaud them, they blush and are ashamed to lift up their faces to the Lord. What strangers ac- count their splendid virtues or achievements they may regard 50 FIEST EPISTLE OF JOHN. themselves as utterly un-worthy of any notice or reward from their heavenly Father. They can look for acceptance for them only through the merit and mediation of Jesus Christ. Their aim is to be "filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are, by Jesus Christ, unto the praise and glory of God." They put their prayers and their services alike into His censer to be presented by Him before the throne. And " they look for the mercy of God unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Their whole plea is reduced to the precious doctrine of the text, that the "blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleans- eth us from all sin." In conclusion, there is one thought which it is of the utmost importance to have impressed on our attention. Blood must be sprinkled before it is made effectual. Under the law, all things were purged by blood. The book, the people, the tabernacle, and the vessels of the ministry, were sprinkled with blood. So must it be with our souls. It will not suffice that the blood of Christ has been shed. It is not enough that it is of infinite value. It will not save us that it is sufficient to cleanse from all sin. It must be applied to the conscience. It was not enough that the poor sufferers lay at the pool of Bethesda mourning over their diseases, they must go into the healing waters when troubled by the descending angel. Whoever did so were made whole of whatever diseases they had. In like manner we must go into the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness. We must go at first with all our sins, original and actual. We must continue to go as long as we live and contract fresh defile- ment. Let us not neglect tc do so. Our salvation is de- pendent upon it. Wash and be clean, as did the leprous Naaman. You shall then prove by experience that " the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin." LECTUEE VI. " If we say that ive have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all un- righteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." — 1 John i. 8-10. npHE apostle had said, " The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth -■- us from all sin.'' But who are understood by us ? Certainly not all men. The impenitent, and unbelieving, and ungodly, have not been cleansed from their sin. They are still defiled by it, notwithstanding the efficacy of the blood of Christ. That blood must be applied that it may be effectual. That is what the apostle has before his mind in the verses now to be considered. There are some persons to whom the blood of Christ has been of no avail. Their guilt has become aggravated, because they have never sought its application to their souls. There are others who have been saved by it, It has cleansed their guilt and removed their impurity. And these are the persons described in the verses now before us. They warn us who they are to whom the blood of Christ has not been effectual, and they *-each us who they are whom it has saved. They tell us how any and all may become par- takers of its benefits. " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we 52 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." Carefully observing these verses, we find in them three distinctive marks of thosa who have been cleansed from their sin by the blood of Christ. They have been convinced of sin — they have made confession of it to God — and they are deeply penitent on account of it. Let us consider these three exercises as tliey are here described. I. Conviction of sin. " If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." In one sense, there are probably none who would say, " We have no sin." However blinded or hardened any may be, they are yet ready to own they are sinners, that they have done many things wliich they ouglit not to have done, while they have left undone as many which they ought to have performed. The words must therefore be understood in a peculiar sense. It is of the utmost importance to ascertain what it is. And we cannot fail to see it if we look carefully at the CO ntext The apostle had taught that Christian fellowship could be enjoyed only through the blood of Christ. This is true of all the forms of fellowship, whether it be regarded as it is main- tained with the Father or the Son, or those who believe in Him. Bearing this in mind, the apostle is to be understood as speaking of those who do not feel that their sin is such as to forbid the enjoyment of this fellowship, except through the blood of Christ. They would not be so daring as to say " they had no sin," yet they do not feel their sin to be such as to exclude them from Christian fellowship. This is the Ijasis of the right interpretation of the apostle's words, and we must dwell for a little upon it. Mafiy will own they are sinners, and yet think they may CHAPTEK I. 8-10. 53 come to God as they are, independent of Christ and His blood. They do not say so, but they act so. Listen to their prayers, and they call upon God without any mention of His Son. It is obvious they have no sense of their real position in His sight. In their hearts they do not feel they are so odious and vile before God, as to be utterly unworthy to take His name into their lips. They are wanting in the humilia- tion becoming the sinner in the presence of the most high God. They have not entered into the spirit of Christ's words, " 'No man cometh unto the Father but by me." In this sense they say " they have no sin." The same may be said of their fellowship with Christ. They may approve of His precepts, or even admire His moral character. They may think of Him as a model of perfection. But His death does not specially affect them. They attach no peculiar efficacy to the shedding of His blood. They think well of Him as an example, but they do not enter into any just view of His character as a Saviour. They have never felt the power of the great truth, that "without shed- ding of blood is no remission." And the reason is, they have no adequate sense of their sin. So also as to fellowship with believers. They can meet them as friends, and neighbours, and brethren, but they have no perception of the communion arising out of the blood of Christ. They do not feel either its necessity or influence as a bond of union. Their views of brotherhood might all be independent of it. And this arises out of their inadequate idea of their own sinfulness and that of others. It cannot be difficult to realise such a character as this. There are many examples of it before us. It is exhibited by all who do not feel their sin to be such as to exclude them from all fellowship with the Father, and the Son, and the Church of Christ, except through the peace-speaking blood of Jesus. Its essence lies in imagining themselves to be 54) FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. " something when they are nothing,'' in counting themselves reputable when they are vile, and in regarding themselves entitled to all Christian privileges when they are incapacitated for the enjoyment of any. Of all such the apostle testifies " they deceive themselves." They do not know their own real state and character. They have never entered into the depravity of their hearts, nor seen the ungodliness of their lives. In the spirit of pride and self- righteousness they reply to all faithful admonition, " are we blind also?'' They are deceived by an imagination of their own excellence, while in reality they are dead in sin. It is said of them farther, " the truth is not in them." Its light may be all around them, but it has never penetrated to the inner man. It may be professed by the lip, but it has not entered within the heart. It is like the mainspring, com- plete in itself, but not inserted within the watch, so as to stimulate and direct its motions. They may have the form of godliness, but they deny its power. Such was the condition of the church at Laodicea. " Thou say est I am rich and increased in goods and have need of nothing ; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miser- able, and poor, and blind, and naked." It was therefore addressed, " I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich ; and white raiment that thou mayest be clothed ; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve that thou mayest see." The same admonition and counsel are applicable to all who have not an adequate idea of their sinfulness, such an idea as to make them feel that their only hope is the blood of Christ. It matters not what may be the stage of their journey at which they suppose themselves to be arrived. If ever the time conies when they think of themselves otherwise than the pub- lican did wlien he cried, " God be merciful to me a sinner,'' they have fallen under a false and fatal delusion. At the CHAPTEE I. 8-10, 55 first they can come to God only as sinners, washed in the blood of atonement; and to the end it must be the same. The conviction of their sinfulness must abide with them. The doctrine of sinless perfection in man is contrary to Scripture, and experience, and fact. Those who dream of it may see a picture of themselves in the language of the apostle, which has not been sufficiently considered by them — " If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." II. Another mark of those who have been cleansed by the blood of Christ is their confession of sin. " If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." There is a close and natural connection between conviction and confession. " Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." " While I was musing the fire burned : then spake I with my tongue." If the heart be touched by a sense of sin it cannot be restrained from pouring forth the accents of humiliation. When the people were " cut to the heart '' by the words of the apostles on the day of Pentecost, they cried out, "men and brethren what shall we do?" When the prodigal was made sensible of his folly and "came to him- self,'' he returned to his father, saying, "I have sinned against heaven and in thy sight." And David describes his exercises saying, "When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me ; my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgres- sions unto the Lord." Wherever there is conviction it will compel to the confession of sin. What are the features of such confession ? It is sincere, coming from the heart. It is full, no attempt being made to hide anything from God or ourselves. It is special, not satis- 5C) FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. fied with acknowledging sin generally, but noting special offences, and dwelling on their aggravations. It fills the mind witli grief for sin. It rouses to the hatred of it. It constrains to an immediate and total abandonment of it. It is such as was exemplified by David when he poured out his heart before God, and cried, "Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sins; for I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me — hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities ; create in me a clean heart, 0 God, and renew a right spirit within me." To such confession there is the most gracious encourage- ment in the text. And I have to solicit your earnest atten- ^ tion to the full and emphatic assurances of the verse before us. " If we confess our sins." This is all we are required to do. We are not sent on some toilsome pilgrimage, or sub- jected to some round of self-mortification. We are to come to God as we are — now — and with the whole burden of our sin upon our hearts. Alas ! it is the simplicity of the exer- cise that is distasteful to us. We would be far better pleased to come with something beside our sins in our hand. It would be gratifying to flesh and blood to be able to lay our hand on some service, and say we have done this and suf- fered that. But it must not be. If we are to come at all, it must be in all our vileness, with a full heart and an open mouth, deeply convinced of sin and ready to own it. Then God is " faithful to forgive us our sins." Is it not remarkable to find such an argument as tliis presented to us ? It would not have surprised us to have been told God was merciful. We could have understood that. But how can the faithfulness of God do otherwise than inspire us with fear ? It may well alarm the hardened and ungodly, but it encour- ages all who feel and confess their sin. The reason is that (jod has promised to accept them. He has said in His word " he that covereth his sins shall not prosper ; but whoso con- CHAPTEE I. 8-10. 57 fesseth and forsaketli them sliall have mercy." It is not pre- sumption, therefore, to expect pardon or confession. On the contrary it is distrust of God to doubt it. AVe dishonour His truth if we do not rely unhesitatingly on His promise. And that promise is — " If we confess our sins he is faithfid to forgive." There is even stronger language employed. The apostle says, " God is faithful and just to forgive." Just. This is intended to assure our hearts before him. It carries an argument with it that we ought not to be able to withstand. God has so ordered the way of pardon that we can put for- ward the plea of His own justice in seeking it. It is provided by the blood of Christ. " In him we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins." Thus granted, God is just to His own word, for He has promised it. He is just to his Son, for He has engaged to Him to bestow it. He is just to His people, for they appear before Him in the name of Jesus. He is just to Himself, for He magnifies the riches of His grace, in harmony with all the perfections of His character. We are assured there is nothing in God to forbid, but everything to require fovgiveness, when it is sought and received through the blood of Christ. Wondrous words ! " Faithful and just to forgive us our sins.'' And observe the gracious yet warning words that follow, " and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." They are de- signed to meet the jealousy of the awakened soul. We are taught that God will accompany His pardon with sanctifying grace. Our plan would be to put purity first and pardon next. But God's plan is the reverse. We are to accept par- don at once, and it will be accompanied and followed by holiness. While the blood of Christ removes the guilt, it renews the heart of the sinner. The forcible terms of the Scriptui'e are, that " it purges the conscience from dead works to serve the living God." It does so reasonably. It fills the 58 FIEST EPISTLE OP JOHN. mind with gratitude to God. It imparts to it a sense of His favour. It furnishes the most powerful motives to obedience. As it begins the life of godliness it upholds and increases it. " The life that we now live in the flesh we live by the faith of the Son of God." Its influence will continue and grow until in death the power of sin is annihilated. And so the whole promise is verified — "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.'' It was this view of the confession of sin that led David to say, after he had exercised it — " Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found.'' As for himself he assumed that God forgave him. Great as was his sin he did not account it presumption to think so. He relied on the truth of God. As for others they would be encouraged by his example. And all who imitated him in his confession, should do so also in his sense of forgiveness. Try it and you shall find the proof in your happy experience. III. To complete the subject, one thought is yet to be added. Conviction of sin and confession of sin must be followed by habitual penitence for sin. " If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his truth is not in us." Observe the difierence between this verse and the eighth. There the expression is, " if we say we have no sin ; " here it is, " if we say that we liave not sinned." The former is in the present tense, the latter in the past. And there are two states of mind thus indicated. The former describes the con- dition of the man who docs not feel his present sinfulness, the latter of him who justifies his past conduct. The former needs to be convinced of his sinfuhiess, the latter to be exer- cised ariglit about his past transgressions. In the one verse there is reference to the beginning of the divine life, in the CHAPTEE I. 8-10. 59 other to the maintenance of it. The one consists in the con- viction which brings the sinner to the blood of Christ for sal- vation, the other in the habit of penitence which must accom- pany him as long as he lives. Many examples of such an exercise appear in the history of the godly. David's sin oppressed him as long as he lived. There is a continual recurrence to it in his future writings. He knew God had forgiven it, yet he could not forget it. Paul also presents a similar example. " T am the least of the apostles, and am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of Christ.'' Supposing this to be a just view of the subject, you observe the important doctrine to which we are conveyed. While we live, though pardoned through the blood of Christ, we are to remember former iniquities, and humble ourselves on account of them. It is both natural and profitable to do so. How natural that memory should recall the sins of our impenitent life, when it is said to us — " What fruit had ye in those things whereof ye are now ashamed ; for the end of those things is death ? " How profitable to remember them, that we may be at once humbled and warned — humbled for the past and warned for the future. Let me exhort you to cultivate this habit. Many important ends are served by it. And we may briefly advert to some of them. It will keep us mindful of what we once were, and of how much we are debtors to divine grace. Think what David must have felt when he prayed, " Eemember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions ; according to thy mercy, remember thou me, for thy goodness' sake, 0 Lord." It wiU stimulate us to devote ourselves more unreservedly to God in the future. How powerful the appeal of the apostle, " The time past of our life may suffice to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasci- 60 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. viousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries.'' It will promote watchfulness against temptation. We may- well be exercised and say with the ancient church in her meditations, " Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall ; my soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me." It will strengthen faith. Calling to mind how graciously God dealt with us in other days, we are encouraged to trust Him to the end. This was what David did when having complained, " My spirit is overwhelmed within me, ray heart within me is desolate," he added, " I remember the days of old ; I meditate on all thy works ; I muse on the work of thy hands." It will kindle repentance. Like Ephraim of old, it will lead us to say, " What have I to do any more with idols ? " It will promote holiness. We shall learn to acquiesce in the saying of the prophet, " Who is wise and he shall under- stand these things ? prudent, and he shall know them ? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them, but the transgressors shall fall therein." It will urge to perseverance. " The just shall live by faith ; but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul." All these exercises will arise out of the cultivation of a penitential spirit. No wonder, therefore, it is so powerfully enforced by the apostle in the text : " If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.'' " We make him a liar.'' We resist the whole testimony of God. He has told us again and again what we are, and have done, and deserve. " We have sinned and come short of his glory." We must acquiesce in his word. Otherwise, "his CHAPTER I. 8-10. 61 word is not in us." Its light lias not shone into our under- standing, nor its truth taken possession of our heart. It is to us a dead letter, and we have to learn its first principles. Let us view ourselves as God views us, and we must approve of the apostle's marks of a true believer — conviction of siii, confession, and penitence. LECTUEE VII. " My little children, these things lurite I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ (he righteous : and he is the propitia- tion/or our si7is : and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" — 1 John ii. 1, 2. rriHESE verses are remarkably full of instruction. They -*- disclose the spirit of the writer — "my little children ;'' the design of his writings — " that ye sin not ; '' the faithful- ness of his warning — " if any man sin/' implying that any man may sin ; the duty and refuge of those who may be so overcome — "we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous ;" and the encouragement we have to make our suit to Him — " he is the propitiation for our sins ; and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world." What a mass of valuable matter in a few simple words ! Let us consider the views here presented to us. And may God grant that we shall find them to be " profitable for doctrine, and reproof, and correction, and instruction in righteousness.'' 1. Notice the spirit of the apostle's address conveyed by his salutation — " My little children." Such words are felt to be peculiarly appropriate in him. They are suited to his character. He was gentle and loving. He had peculiar attractions even for our Lord Himself, and was known as " the disciple whom Jesus loved." AVe see CHAPTEE V. 1, 2. 63 exemplified in him the " meek and quiet spirit which is in the sight of God of great price." They are suited also to his age. He lived to be the oldest of all his companions in the apostolic ministry. His labours in both writing and preach- ing appear to have been continued in his old age. As was said of Moses it might be said of him, " His eye was not dim , nor his strength abated." It is a noble triumph of godliness when age is redolent with piety, and retains the earnestness and diligence of youth. John was one of those who might say, " I serve the Lord from my youth." We may be also assured his words were suited to the success of his ministry. Of those whom he addressed it might be presumed there were many whom he might regard as " his children " in the highest and best sense. He was their spiritual father. He might have adopted the words of Paul to the Corinthians, " I have begotten you through the gospel." Or, as that apostle said to Philemon, so might he, " Thou owest unto me even thine own self' Well might such a man speak as John does in the text, saying, "My little children." In this there is an example to all who would be the teachers of others, whether pastors or parents, or any who would be their " helpers in Christ Jesus." It shows both the spirit in which they should labour, and the object at which they should aim. Their spirit should be affectionate, " Speak- ing the truth in love," ever " in meekness, instructing those who oppose themselves." And their object should be the conversion of souls. Everything else falls short of the design of the truth. Both may be fitly expressed in the language of Paul to the Galatians — " My little children, of whom I travail in birth again, until Christ be formed in you." It is when the word is thus spoken we may expect to find it accompanied by the Spirit and rendered successful. 2. The apostle expresses the design of his writings — "These things write I unto you that ye sin not." Q4f FIEST EPISTLE OF JOHN. His reference is manifestly to what he had written in the preceding chapter. And it is only necessary, for the illustration and confirmation of his remark, to look back on what he had written and see how fitted it was to discourage and destroy sin. He opened with a most simple yet sublime description of the mediatorial person of the Saviour as " the word of life." He revealed Him "able to save to the uttermost," and declared that He had been manifested as the Author and Giver of " eternal life." If, then, such be the Saviour, and such His mission, what might be expected to be the results ? Surely it is appropriately said of Him, " His name shall be called Jesus, because he saves his people from their sins." The knowledge of Christ and His mission, he next announces, is productive of two effects — fellowship and joy. It leads to fellowship with God as with a father, with the Son as a Saviour, and with the godly as brethren. In that fellowship is laid the foundation of the purest joy. So say the Scrip- tures. "We joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ." " In whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." " My good- ness extendeth not to thee, but to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight." Of such joy and friendship is it not natural to expect that the fruit shaU be holiness? All these relations tend to secure it. The apostle proceeds to show that it must be so, by placing in contact the character of God and those who hold fellowship with Him. How forcible are his words, " God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellow- ship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth." A similar influence is also ascribed to fellowship with believers and with Christ. " If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." The purifying influence of such fellowship is self-evident. CHAPTER II. 1-2. 65 To these views is added a description of the divine life in the soul of the believer. It is characterized by the conviction of sin, the confession of it, and penitence for it. There must be conviction, for " if we say we have no sin we deceive our- selves." Confession is equally necessary, for it is only to such as make it, the promise is given, " if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." And repentance must ever be exercised, " for if we say we have not sinned v/e make God a liar, and his word is not in us." What then must be the effect of such exercises in the life ? They will " bring forth fruits meet for repentance." Now, these were the views which the apostle had been un- folding. It is to them he refers when he says, " these things write I unto you, that ye sin not." The propriety of his appeal is obvious. Between such views and the indulgence of sin there is a complete contrariety. They cannot exist together. Either the doctrine of the apostle or the practice of sin must be abandoned. They are wholly incompatible with one another. In this view he is not singular. Everywhere in the divine word, the gospel of Christ is represented to be " a doctrine which is according to godliness." It is well set forth by the Apostle Paul, in its great design and character, when he says, " the grace of God hath appeared to all men, teaching us, that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world ; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." We may well acquiesce in the prophetic description of the gospel church — " This is the law of the house ; on the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy ; be- E G6 FIEST EPISTLE TO JOHN. hold this is the law of the house." Our apostle, therefore, only falls in with the tenor of the whole inspired volume when he says, " these things write I unto you, that ye sin not." 3. Tn full accordance with his own spirit and design, he proceedsto utter the words of warning — " If any man sin," implying that notwithstanding all he had said, " any man " might sin. The man in the apostle's view is the believing man. It is of and to such he is speaking. He may sin. Alas ! no proof is necessary. Both observation and experience are at hand to attest the melancholy fact. It may be very profit- able, however, and fitted for warning, to consider whence it is that the liability of the believer to sin arises. One source, then, is the remaining sinfulness of his nature. This is what is known in the Scriptures as indwelling sin. Of it the Apostle Paul speaks in his own case, saying — " I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the la.w of God after the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 0 ! wretched man that I am ; who shall deliver me from the body of this death ? " There are two natures in the believer, the old man and the new, the one the inheritance derived from our first parents, through the flesh, and the other the work of the Divine Spirit in the souL Between these, there is, and will be, while life lasts, a ceaseless controversy. As the old man prevails there is sin, and as the new there is holiness. " The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, and these are contrary the one to the other." There is no doubt, also, that this tendency to sin in tlie believer is mightily strengthened by the temptation of the wicked one. His enmity is specially directed against the CHAPTER II. 1, 2. 67 godly. He takes the wicked captive at his pleasure, and they yield themselves without resistance to his power. They are, therefore, not conscious of his influence. His service is agreeable to them, and they are at ease, if not happy in it. It is different with the godly. They hate the dominion of Satan. They resist it. Yet he urges it without cessation. Witness the examples of Job and Peter. It is expressly said of the former that Satan sought and obtained a certain measure of power against him. And as to the latter, our Lord warned him, though it proved to be in vain, "Satan hath desired to have thee that he might sift thee as wheat." N"o doubt these verses are so distinctly recorded to teach us what we may expect, and to put us on our guard. Nor must we omit to notice the extreme danger to which the believer is exposed from the world. It is through it our own evil hearts and Satan largely exercise their power. It has also temptations peculiar to itself. It is a rock on which many have made shipwreck. Its pleasures and honours and riches are dangerous in the extreme. But its people are the grand evil. Their flatteries and threats are plied with cease- less effort. If they cannot beguile unstable souls they will try to affright them with terrors. Eidicule is a favourite weapon. And many who could face the cannon's mouth are unable to resist it. 0 ! of how many might it be said, as the apostle said of some in his day, "They departed from me, having loved this present world." In harmony with these views the divine life is described in the Scriptures as a constant warfare. The exhortation therefore is, " fight the good fight of faith." And this fight is to be maintained with the world, the devil, and the flesh. It need scarcely be said how necessary it is to be vigilant in maintaining it. Great interests are at stake. The peace of the believer depends on it. See how it fared with David and Peter when they proved unfaithful. They were plunging 68 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. daggers into their own breast. The law is, that as sin enters, peace departs. The credit of religion, too, is bound up in the fidelity of those who profess it. Its severest wounds are those which are received in the house of its friends. It is a fear- ful thing to cause " the way of truth to be evil spoken of." Above all the honour of Christ is concerned. He is calum- niated as the " minister of sin," when those who bear His name dishonour Him. The Scriptures, therefore, abound with warnings and entreaties addressed to our fears and hopes and interests. Paul says — " As my beloved sons, 1 warn you." And John reiterates the sentiment in the same spirit, " My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not." Full well he knew, however, that in spite of all he could say, many would sin. And, therefore, he proceeds to declare as we shall now consider — 4. The duty and refuge of those who are overcome by temp- tation, and betrayed into sin — " If any man sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." The peculiar view that is here given of Christ is suggestive at once of a great privilege and a corresponding responsibility. By considering these we learn the duty of the backslider. The privilege arises out of the part which Christ acts as an " advocate." It supposes that we are accused, and that He appears for us, defends us, and maintains our cause. We are accused by Satan. We have sinned, and he demands sen- tence upon us and judgment against us as transgressors of the divine law. The representation given of the case of Job shows that this view is not f^mciful. It is while he accuses, the oreat Intercessor undertakes our cause. And to see how He conducts it let us look into the example recorded in Zechariah iii. 1-5, " He showed me Joshua the high priest standing be- fore the angel of the Lord, and Satan standhig at His right baud to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, Tlie Lurd rebuke thee, 0 Satan ; is not this a brand plucked out of the CHAPTEE II. 1. 2. 69 fire ? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood hefore the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood hefore him, saying, Take away the filthy gar- ments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments." Observe how the advocate acted. He admitted the sin of his client, but he defended him on the ground that his sin was pardoned, and that a righteous- ness had been procured for him. The filthy garments were removed, and a change of raiment was substituted. The accusations of Satan were thus silenced. Such is the believer's privilege, but let us not overlook the duty involved in it. We must bring our cause to our great advocate, and commit it to His hands. We must not say we have no sin. On the contrary, we must confess our sin. We must say we have sinned. And then we may be assured the divine intercessor will successfully plead our cause, remove the filthy garments, and put on us a change of raiment. This is the duty of every sinner, and it is the duty of every backslider. Whenever we sin we must have recourse to this exercise. In no other way can this contracted sin be removed, or our peace be restored, or our purity, or our power. Be persuaded, 0 backslider ! neither to neglect nor delay this duty. Whenever conscience warns you, act upon it. Do like David. He says, " I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments." Return to Christ and to duty, and so you will return to joy and to holiness. And that you may be strengthened in this purpose and urged to act upon it, let us consider — • 5. The encouragement held out to us to make our suit to our great advocate — " He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.'' 70 FIKST EPISTLE OF JOHN. This is precisely what we need, and all we need, when we have sinned. Let us consider the words. " He is the propitiation." It is the word that is applied to the mercy-seat that covered the ark, which contained the law. As that mercy-seat covered the ark, so the blood and righteous- ness of Christ cover our sins and unworthiness. " Whom God hath set forth to»be a propitiation (a propitiatory or mercy- seat) through faith in his blood." This was David's senti- ment when he said, " blessed is he whose transgression is for- given, whose sin is covered." Whenever we come to Christ our sins are covered by His atoning sacrifice, and we are accepted, because " found in him." " He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." Why is this added, and what is its import ? It is added for encouragement, and that encouragement is found in the terms employed. They meet all the jealousy of the soul that is awakened to a sense of its sin 'and danger. Especially they meet the backslider who is tempted to despair. Observe their force. The apostle was addressing the believer, and he urges him to come to Christ. He is supposed to hesitate, as though he feared he would not be accepted. The apostle meets him with the assurance that in the blood of Christ there is enough to satisfy for the sins of the whole world. It is of infinite efficacy. Its merit never can be exhausted. There is there- fore no reason for despair. Whatever be your sins, whether btjfore conversion or after it, here is a fountain in which you may wash and be clean. How completely this meets the case. The believer is tempted to think that, because he has sinned, he h^s been deceiving himself when he thought he was a child of God. This idea so occupies him that he only writes " bitter things against himself," and makes no effort to return to God. The apostle takes him on his own ground. It is as if he said, be CHAPTER II. T, 2. 71 it SO ; admit you never were a cliild of God ; what then ? Why, I exhort you come now to the Saviour. If you never came before come now, and you will find that His blood is a propitiation not only for the sins of believers, but of all who will come to Him, whether they have been united in the fel- lowship of the Church, or have hitherto lived in the ways and wickedness of the world. JSTone who come to Him shall be cast out. Let the subject be viewed in this practical light. The terms have been subject of great controversy, and we must beware of being occupied with that to the neglect or loss of their practical design. It is contended by some. they must be understood literally, and that Christ died in the same sense for every sinner, and atoned for all human guilt. To me it seems to be a fatal objection to this view, that if it be just, none can perish. If Christ has atoned for their sin they must be accepted. Eather let us remember none are saved by the atonement of Christ, unless they receive Him by faith. " He that believeth shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be condemned." He died for all who believe in Him. And 0 ! what encouragements are held out in such a pas- sage as this, for all to come to Jesus. It reminds us there is a sense in which all are benefited by His death. " He is the Saviour of all men, especially of them that believe." " He tasted death for every man." It reminds us there is merit in His death to save all who come to Him. " Look unto me and be saved, all ye ends of the earth." It reminds us all are invited. " Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." With such views let us be satisfied. And, avoiding unpro- fitable controversy, let us act on the text — " He is the propi- tiation for our sins, and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world." LECTURE VIII. " A nd herehy lue do hnow that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, atid keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But lohoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God ' perfected ; hereby know ive that ive are in him. He that saith he ahidcth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." — 1 John ii. 3-G. TRUE to his purpose, tlie apostle again engages his readers in the duty of self-examination. He is not satisfied with the most full and repeated statements of the way of sal- vation, but labours continually to impress the necessity of a personal interest in it. He goes farther, and urges the im- portance of our knowing that we possess a saving interest in Christ. In the text he teaches believers to say, " we do know that we know him." And this is his habitual style. The same expression is repeated many times in the course of the Epistle. And it is usually found in connection with some fresh evidence of a personal interest in salvation. It is observable that in the text it is used twice. Not only does he say, "we do know that we know him," but he repeats, "we know that we are in him." It is surely then both a duty and a privilege to seek this gracious attainment. And the text is designed to instruct us how we may gain it. It does so in two ways — 1. By describing the blessed cliange which passes on the sinner when he becomes a partaker of salvation ; and, CHAPTEE II. 3-6. 73 2. By reciting various evidences of tliat change. Let us con- sider the subject under these two aspects. And may God grant that we shall all be found the subject of this change, and possess a happy assurance of it ! I. The great change is described. For this purpose three phrases are used by the apostle in the verses that are before us. These are, " We know him — we are in him — and he abideth in him." In every verse he changes his representation of the subject. This very circum- stance is both instructive and impressive. It shows its im- portance, and the deep concern of the apostle that it may be understood. If an object of great value is put into our hands, we examine it with the utmost care, we look at it on every side, we place it in every light, and we are not satisfied until we discover its many qualities and realize its worth and ex- cellence. In like manner is the great subject of the work of grace in the human heart presented to our notice. It is exhibited under every form that may manifest its nature and importance. Let us notice particularly the three phrases employed by the apostle in the text. 1. " We know him." It need scarcely be said it is Christ that is meant. It was of Him the apostle had been speaking. He had said, " he is the propitiation for our sins." And then he immediately adds, " hereby we do know that we know him." Such manner of speech is very common in the Scriptures. Our Lord said, " This is life eternal, to know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." And the Apostle Paul says for himself, " I count aU things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." The knowledge of Christ has thus become expressive of a personal and saving interest in His work and grace. There is great propriety in this use of the term. Know- 7^ FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. ledge is the result of observation and experience. It implies certainty. If we say we know a man, it supposes we have had intercourse with him, and have proved him, what sort he is. If we know a country, we must have been there, and have seen it, and become versant with its inhabitants, and soil, and products. If we know a medicine, we nmst have used it, or analysed it, and so become acquainted with its constituents and properties. We know that bread is nutritive, because we have eaten it and found it to be so. We know that honey is sweet, because we have tasted it. Now this is precisely the force of the term when we speak of the knowledge of Christ. It was so used by the Samaritans when they said to the woman who first told them of Christ, and on whose testimony it is said, " many believed on him," " now we believe, not because of thy saying ; for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world." They knew it, because they had seen Him, and heard Him, and felt the power of His words. Thus also the Apostle Paul speaks of his own experience — " I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day." He had committed his soul into the hands of his Saviour. He had put his salvation to the test, and found it to be all that had been testified of it. From what he had already experienced he could confidently trust Ilim for the future. His knowledge of Christ was the fruit of his experi- ence. Hence it is that the characteristic of believers in the text is " we know liim." We know His power, for we have proved it ; we know His wisdom, for we have been guided by it ; we know His love, for we have enjoyed it ; and we know His truth, for we have ever found Him faithful. How thankful we should be this is the nature of true religion. It is not a speculation about which there is uncer- CHAPTEE V. 3-6. 75 taintj. It is not a doubtful opinion. It is knowledge. It is a reality of wliicli we may have experience. They who have attained to it may say, " we know him." 2. " We are in him." This expression is in full harmony with the former. It brings us into still closer communion with Christ. Not only are we brought to Him, to converse with Him, and receive from Him, and feel the power of His truth and grace ; but we are made to dwell in Him, and find ourselves at home in the bosom of His love. This- union of the believer with Christ is the source of all the blessings of which he becomes the partaker by the know- ledge of Him. Thus he is justified — " There is no condemna- tion to them that are in Christ Jesus." Thus he is sanctified — " If any man be in Christ he is a new creature/' Thus he is preserved — " I am crucified with Christ : nevertheless I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Thus shall he at last be made sure of a glorious resurrection — " As in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive." In short, he may say, " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Once entered into the Ark, Noah was safe, and there all things were provided that were necessary for his preservation. The moment tlie man-slayer crossed the threshold of the city of refuge he was beyond the reach of the avenger of blood, and all he needed was laid up in store in the place of his habitation. These are emblems of the believer's safety in Christ. He is the ark in which he is borne across the troubled sea of life. He is the city in which he finds a refuge until all present calamities are overpast. He needs but one thing, to be able to say, " we are in him." 3. " He abideth in him." Had Noah left the ark while the deluge continued, he must 76 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. have perished. If the man-slayer went out of the city of refuge, it was at the hazard of his life. When Shimei vio- lated his pledge to Solomon, and passed beyond the bounds of Jerusalem, he brought upon himself the sentence of death. And so with the believer, it is essential to his safety that he shall abide in Christ. How forcibly is this lesson taught by our Lord Himself, in one of His beautiful parables. "Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me." He repeats the same sentiment, and uses the same illustration again to enforce it. " I am the vine, ye are the branches ; he that abideth in me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without me ye can do nothing." The believer knows how essential the maintenance of this union is for all the purposes of His salvation. " The just shall live by faith." If that divine principle ever lost its hold of its great object, Christ Jesus, the soul would be lost Hence it is at once his duty and privilege to keep " looking unto Jesus." And hence all the ordinances are so constructed as to keep him in continual contact with the Lord Jesus. His life depends on union with Him. Nor does he maintain this union merely on the ground of its necessity. Communion with Christ is his delight. He has tasted that the Lord is gracious. He can testify " to them that believe He is precious." He can truly say, "AVhom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none on the earth whom I desire beside thee." He loves the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, and therefore " he abideth in him." Let me only add, the three expressions which have been considered as descriptive of the gracious change which takes place in the believer are closely connected with one another. He knows Christ. This knowledjie inclines him to dwell in CHAPTEE II. 3-6. 77 Him, And having taken np his dwelling there, it is his pur- pose to abide in Him for ever. What a simple, clear, and blessed view of the Christian's condition ! Surely we may well ask, is it mine ? Do I know Christ ? Am I in Him ? Do I abide in Him ? None should be satisfied until they are enabled to reply in the affirmative. Let me therefore engage your attention farther while we consider — II. The evidences of this gracious state as they are recited in the text. These are equally clear with the description of that state. And it is observable that each feature in the description is accompanied by a corresponding evidence. We know that we know Him if we keep His commandments. We know that we are in Him, if we keep His word. And we know- that we abide in Him, if w-e walk as He walked. The variety of the evidence is a testimony to the supreme im- portance of the enquiry. It is the will of God that we should faithfully examine ourselves by it. " Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith ; prove your own selves ; know 3'e not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates." Let us then consider these three evidences of a gracious state. 1. "If we keep His commandments." " By their fruits ye shall know them," "if ye love me, keep my commandments." Thus were the evidences of disciple- ship described by our Lord. He taught us how His people might be known by others. Then in the same way they ought to know themselves. See an illustration of this evidence in the Apostle Paul. When Jesus revealed Himself to him, as he went to Damas- cus, his first cry was, " Who art thou, Lord ?" And his second, " What wilt thou have me to do ?" Whenever he 78 KKST EPISTLE OF JOHX. knew Christ he desired to obey Him. The light that shone upon him was an emblem of that which illuminated his understanding, and the voice that spoke to him was an emblem of the power that touched his heart. The con- sequences were apparent in His life. All men saw he was a servant of Christ by the change that passed on his conduct. And it was in the same way he was satisfied himself. Hence he says, "our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wis- dom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world." The same rule is applicable to others. To all who are in Christ the promise is made good, " This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their hearts, and write it in their minds.'' Let this be done, and the law, so understood and loved, must be obeyed. This result is essential. The habitual violation of the divine commandments is incompatible with union with Christ. On the contrary, if we are conscious that our aim and purpose are to obey them, and if our sincerity is proved by our conduct, we have so far satisfactory evidence of our discipleship. This is not the only evidence ; but all others are vain with- out it. If it is wanted, every other is a mere pretence, " Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments." And to all who delude themselves by con- ceits, unsupported by this evidence, the apostle testifies, " he that saith I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him." 2. " Whoso keepeth His word." There is a close and natural connexion between this evi- dence and the former. The word is the directory of the conduct. "Whenever the knowledge of Christ has been ob- CHAPTEE II. 3-6. 79 tained, His word is obeyed exclusively and universally. Ex- clusively, for no other authority is admitted. "To the law and to the testimony. If they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Universally, for whatever it forbids is avoided, and whatever it requires is done. Great importance is attached to this conformity of the life to the written word. " In Him," says the apostle, " is the love of God perfected." He must be understood to speak of the principle of love in the heart. And the meaning is, that in obeying the counsels of the word, that love is carried forward to its perfection, in the obedience of the life. It is said of Abraham, " seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect.'' In like manner, love is made perfect by conformity to the word. What then is our treatment of the word ? Do we love it, study it, and obey it ? Let us give the answer and judge our- selves accordingly, keeping the words of James before us, "if any man be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass ; for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway for- getteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. " Hereby know we that we are in Him." 3. "He that saith he abideth in Him, ought himself so to ■walk, even as He walked." This evidence is the completion of the two former. It con- sists in the imitation of the example of Christ. In His deportment we see the best illustration of the meaning of the word, and of the conformity of our conduct to it. He exhibited in His own walk what He requires His followers to do, "leaving us an example that we should follow His steps." 80 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. How rich is the language of the Apostle Paul enjoining this example on the Ephesians, " grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ ; from whom the whole body, fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.'' He is to be always before us. The effort to be conformed to him is never to be abandoned. It must embrace alike His spirit and His conduct. And we must bear a nearer and nearer resemblance to Him. " Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ." Surely this is an evidence of discipleship, sufficiently plain to be understood by alL We readily perceive it in others, and why not in ourselves? Did we judge ourselves as im- partially as we do others, we may know our state by the earnestness of our desire, and the sincerity of our purpose to have "the mind of Christ" and to "walk as he also walked." It verily becomes us to determine this great question. Are we Christ's ? Or are we not ? Have we a good hope through grace, or have we not ? We cannot suppose, after all God has done for us in His Son, that He has left us without light on this all-important concern. Our life is bound up in it. Is it reasonable to live ignorant and uncertain of our eternal destiny ? We know not what a day or an hour may bring forth. If we are wise, we will never rest until we are satis- fied with our personal interest in the salvation of Christ. And it is to help us in such an inquiry, the text has been written, " hereby do we know that we know Ilim if we keep His commandments." " Whoso keepeth His word in Him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby do we know that we are in Him.'' " He that saith he abidoth in Him, ought himself also to walk, even as He walked." LECTUEE IX. " Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, hut an old commandment which ye had from the beginning ; the old commandment is the word which ye have heard front the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you : because the darkness is past and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in dark- ness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in Him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not ivhither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.^' — 1 John ii. 7-11. rpHE subject of these verses is well introduced by the -L salutation of " brethren." The apostle had been dis- coursing on the principles and evidences of true godliness. Not satisfied, however, with a general statement, he introduces a particular subject, which at once entered into the essence and evidenced the existence of that godliness. This subject is brotherly love. And therefore, while it is cited as an illustration, it is appropriately introduced by the salutation of " brethren." At the outset it is important to ascertain what is meant by brotherly love. Does the apostle understand by a brother, every man, or only the believer ? In looking carefully at the frequent recurrence of the term in this epistle, he seems to use it sometimes in the one sense, and again in the other. He does F 82 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. not distinguish between the exercises of benevolence toward all men, and love toward the people of God. He regards them as emanations from the same gracious principle. Not that there is no real distinction between them. Such a distinc- tion is clearly implied when it is said, " do good to all men, specially to them that are of the household of faith." But in treating of brotherly love as an evidence of union with Christ, the apostle does not limit himself by that distinction. He views it indiscriminately, sometimes in the one exercise and again in the other, as the same principle directed to different objects. And in the remarks now to be made upon it, we shall follow his example. It is assumed that brotherly love is the apostle's topic in the several verses before us, and our object shall be to collect the views which he gives us of it. These are numerous. He denominates it " an old commandment," and yet " a new commandment." He declares that it has been exemplified in Christ and in all that are His. He represents its obligation to be great, considering the light of Christianity. And he enforces it by a strong denunciation of its violation, and a high commendation of its excellence. All these views are contained in the passage now before us, as I shall endeavour to illustrate. 1. Brotherly love is an old commandment. Ver. 7. "Bre- thren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word wdiich ye have heard from the beginning." This verse is often represented as tliough it referred to what the apostle had before said, and not to tliat which he was about to utter. To me it seems clear that he speaks by anti- cipation. And without arguing the correctness of this view, it must suffice to notice that he adopts a manner of writing which suggests the introduction of a new topic — " Brethren, I write (or am about to write) no new commandment." Be- CHAPTEE II. 7-11. 83 sides, brotherly love is a subject of which such a declaration might with great propriety be made. In making it the apostle imitates the example of his be- loved Master, when, in His memorable sermon on the Mount, He warned His hearers against supposing He was introduc- ing any new doctrine. " Think not, says he, that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets ; I am not come to destroy but to fulfil.'' It was the desire of both the great Teacher and His loving disciple to allay the prejudices of their hearers or readers, and to keep their minds open to conviction by preventing them from supposing that they were introducing some new doctrine. There was good reason why the apostle made the same remark as his Master had made before him. It was true. Brotherly love was no novelty. It arose of necessity out of the relation in which men stood to God and to one another. He was their Creator and they were brethren. " God made of one blood all nations of men, to dwell on all the face of the earth." As the children of God, created by His power, they were bound to love all the members of His great family. And as partakers of the same nature and the same hope they were laid under obligations to love one another. It is con- trary to all the ideas we are capable of forming, to suppose that the children of the same family on earth are not bound to love their common parent, and in the same measure to love one another. And this thought is still more applicable to the family of mankind, and the relation of its members t(j God and one another. This, therefore, is the view which has been put forth under all dispensations, and in every revelation of the Divine will. Wlien one addressed the question to Christ, " Master, which is the great commandment in the law ?" He replied, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great 84 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. commandment. And the second is like unto it, Tlioii slialt love thy neighbour as thyself." Brotherly love was the doc- trine of the Old Testament as well as of the New. Not only so, it was in both only the republication of the great law of nature. It arose out of the condition of man's being, as a rational and accountable creature, and could not be dispensed with as a bond of union among the children of men. It need not be added how powerfully these views are enforced when men are regarded as the subjects of grace. They become thus doubly the children of God and brethren one of another. In the same measure the claims of brotherly love are increased. " Every one that loveth him that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of him." Such a disposition arises of necessity out of his new nature. Well, therefore, might the apostle say of brotherly love, " I write no new commandment.'' 2. Yet there is a sense in which it is a new commandment. Ver. 8. " Again, a new commandment I write unto you.'' The apostle delights to imitate his Master. He does so not only in his own conduct, but in his very manner of teaching. Of this there is an interesting example in the subject now before us. Of it Jesus said, " a new commandment I give unto you, that yc love one another ; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.'' It is after this model Jolin says of brotherly love, " a new com- mandment I write unto you." How is this saying to be understood ? In one sense it was an old commandment, and in another it was new. It was old, necessarily arising out of the relation of men to one an- other, and required by the oldest revelation of the Divine will. But it was also new, as it was republished under the Chris- tian economy. The law of the Sabbath was as old as the creation, but when it had fallen into oblivion, and was re- CHAPTER n. 7-11. 85 enacted in the Jewish law, it might be said to be new. So also when under Christianity it was made the memorial of redemption, as it had from the beginning been of the creation, it might again be said to be a new commandment. It is in the view of changes not less than these, affecting brotherly love, that it also is said to be new. It will suffice to notice a few of them. It should be more intense than it ever had been. It was hereafter to be formed on the model of Christ's love. He loved us unto the death, and His followers should be pre- pared to endure any amount of suff'ering for the benefit of one another. " Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." It should be wider in extent as it should be deeper in feeling. Hitherto the Jew confined his regards to his own nation. The woman of Samaria used a proverb when she said, " The Jews have no dealing with the Samaritans." But in future all such national and sectarian distinctions were to be done away. The full tide of brotherly love welling up in the hearts of Christians should rise over all such barriers, and cover them with tokens of kindness. You know our Lord's answer to the question, " Who is my neighbour ?" — He that had mercy upon him. It should be as high in its motives and aspirations as it was deep in feeling and wide in extent. Both would bring it into fellowship with heaven. Thence it would derive its motives, and thitlier it would bear its objects. It would be kindled by a flame from heaven, and it would burn higher and brighter till it ascended to heaven again. Thus it should become the badge of the Christian economy. Judaism had been distinguished by its formal ceremonies, but Christianity would be distinguished by its generous and 86 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. enlarged catholicity. Taking hold of a few hearts, it would bind them together as one man. Thus united, they would operate on the mass of society around them. As they suc- ceeded to influence them, the circle of holy love and active benevolence would be widened and extended. Families, nations, continents, the world, would at length be brought within the wide but warm embrace. " All nations shall be blessed in Christ, and all nations shall call him blessed." The world is to be subdued and governed by love. Is not this a new commandment? And yet it is old. It is the old commandment dug up out of the depths in which it had been buried, and brought to shine with such lustre, as to attract, and enlighten, and cheer mankind. 3. Such love is a reality, and is exemplified in Christ and in them that are His. Ver. 8. " Which thing is true in him and in you." Christ and His early disciples are meant. Let us look at the example which they exhibited. As for Christ, His whole life was one burning flame of holy love. In love He left His Father's glory, and came on a mission of mercy to our earth. In love He assumed our nature and tabernacled among men. In love He spent a life of sorrows, and made himself acquainted with our griefs. In love He taught, and laboured, and suffered. In love He died for men and lay in the grave. In love He rose again, and went to prepare a place in heaven for His people. In love He appears in the presence of God for them, their advo- cate and intercessor. In love He will come again and take His people to Himself, that where He is there they may be also. And be it observed, all this is summed up by the apostle as an argument for brotherly love in us. He says, " Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the i<)rm of God, thought CHAPTEE II. 7-11. 87 it not robbery to be equal with God ; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the hkeness of men : and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name : that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth ; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.'' Philip, ii. 4-11. If we have the mind of Christ, it is clear what that must be. A similar account may be given of his early disciples. Like their Master, they denied themselves that they might benefit others. How incredible were the hardships endured by the apostles and the other preachers of the word, in order that they might put men in possession of the knowledge of Christ, and through it of eternal life ? It was of no account in their eyes what they suffered, if only they had the reward of seeing souls saved. Nor was this spirit confined to the ministers of the word. Paul congratulates the Hebrews in these words, "Ye endured a great fight of afflictions, partly while ye were made a gazing stock both by reproaches and afflictions, and partly while ye became companions of them that were so used. For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven an enduring substance." This was the spirit that pervaded the early church. No other could have sustained it in those days. It was full of the tenderest sympathy, the most ardent love, and the severest self-denial. The brotherly love that reigned in it constrained its enemies to say, " Behold how these Christians love one another." It should be so still, and then might it be said of us as of them, " Which thing is true in him and in you." 88 FIEST EPISTLE OF JOHN. 4. It ought to be so, considering the light we enjoy. Ver. 8. " Because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth." These two statements are eminently true, and lay us under a deep obligation to brotherly love. " The darkness is past.'' \Yhat darkness ? The darkness of Judaism is past. It served its purpose. But as the moon and stars disappear when the sun rises, so did Judaism when the sun of righteousness appeared in the horizon. The dark- ness of heathenism is past. The address of the prophet has been made to us. " Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people, but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee." The darkness of unaided and perverted human reason is past. " After that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." " The true light now shineth.'' The light of the word shineth, " a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path.'' The light of the Spirit shineth, so that "with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the Lord." The light of ordinances now shineth, so that, as of old, of many places it may be said, " to them that sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up." The light of Christ shineth, so that it may be said to us, " while ye have light, believe in the light, tliat ye may be the children of light." These are our privileges. What then must be our respon- sibilities ? Let us take for answer — 5. The apostle's enforcement of brotherly love by a strong denunciation of its violation, and a high commendation of its excellence. The former he thus expresses in ver. 9 and 11, "he that CHAPTEE II. 7-11. 89 saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now ; he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes." These are strong sayings, and the repetition of them is deeply emphatic. The figure is easily apprehended. It is that of the blind man who, in the midst of light, is immersed in darkness, yet is compelled to prosecute his way, and knows not the obstacles he may encounter, or the dangers into which he may be pre- cipitated. So it is with the man who indulges ill-will and hatred towards others. Be his professions what they may, he is in darkness, the darkness of nature and sin. He attempts to walk in his darkness, but he will not be able to iind his way. He knoweth not whither he goeth, and will speedily be overthrown by the obstacles that lie in his path, or precipitated into unexpected ruin. " God shall slay the wicked, and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate." Hatred has within itself the essence of misery, and entails unhappiness. It brings heavy punishments from without by its provocations and injuries. And it will bring down sooner or later the divine indignation, for it is written, " vengeance is mine, I will recompense, saith the Lord." On the other hand, how high is the commendation of brotherly love. Ver. 10. " He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him." His walk is consistent. It is in harmony with his profession. His actions recommend the truth which he professes with his lips. His walk is safe also. He casts no stumbling block in the way of others, nor does he raise any in his own. His own mind is calm and peaceful. Instead of provoking the hostility, he draws forth the sympathy and love of others. And while he pours forth the expression of his affection towards others, he will bring down the rich blessing of God upon himself. " If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and 90 FIEST EPISTLE OF JOHN. satisfy the afflicted soul, then shall thy light rise in obscur- ity, and thy darkness be as the noon day ; and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones ; and thou shalt be as a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not." Nothing can be added to these views of brotherly love. Verily we may say with the apostle, "touching brotherly love, ye need not that I write unto you : for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another." LECTUEE X. " I write iinfo you, little children, because your sins are for- given you for his names sake. I write unto you, fathers, because ye have knoiun Mm that is from the beginning. 1 write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. 1 have written unto you, young men, because ye are stroiig, and the ivord of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome tlw wicked one.'' — 1 John ii. 12-14. OUE Lord has said, "who is that faithful and wise steward, whom his Lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?" Assuredly we may reply, his own beloved disciple John was such a one. And in the text we are furnished with a proof and an example. He addresses himself to three classes, and gives appropriate counsel to each of them. He repeats and varies his instructions to make them more plain and impres- sive. These classes are little children, fathers, and young men, the component parts of each household, and of the whole family of man. Let us, therefore, consider them sever- ally, and the separate counsels addressed to them, knowing these are no less necessary and suitable now than they were in the time of the apostle. And may the Lord guide us in seeking "rightly to divide the word of truth.'' 1. The apostle addresses little children, saying in the 12th 92 riEST EPISTLE OF JOHN. verse, " I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake,'' — and again, at the con- clusion of the 13th verse, " I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father." In the 1st verse of this chapter it is manifest the apostle understands by little children, all true believers. " My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." But the term does not appear to be so used in the passage now before us. It is a different one in the original in ver. 13, and not only is there this change of the word, but little children are distinguished from fathers and young men, so that it is clear a particular class are intended by the expression. These "little children" may have been such in either years or attainments. Many who are far advanced in age may be only babes in Christ. Paul says to the Corinthians, " I coidd not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ." And Peter exhorts those to whom he wrote, saying, "as new born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby." All those therefore who are low and weak in their attainments, if they are only the subjects of saving grace, must be comprehended under the class of little children. Yet such of them as are at the same time young in years are pointedly and principally intended. Perhaps it may be properly said these form the generic class in the apostle's view, but others who do not surpass them in attainments, may attach themselves to them, whatever be their period of life, and consider themselves addressed in what is said to them. What then is the address ? It is twofold — " Your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake, and ye have known the Father." How much is implied in these words ! Even little children need to be forgiven. They are sinful CHAPTEE II. 11-14. * 93 by nature, and so soon as they discover any character, they manifest the prevalence of sinful passions and evil propen- sities. What a standing testimony to original sin is the administration of infant baptism? If, however, they need pardon it is assumed they may ob- tain it. However weak their faith may be, it is effectual. Our Lord is careful to encourage the weakest faith. He speaks of it being as a grain of mustard seed. And^ he says, "Why are ye fearful, 0 ye of little faith ?" Nor is it to be overlooked how these little children are assumed to be in actual possession of forgiveness. "Your sins are forgiven you.^' They are truly subjects of Divine grace, as well as fathers or young men. It is not for us to limit the Holy One of Israel. We know that even infants may be partakers of salvation. It is recorded of both John the Baptist and the Prophet Jeremiah that they were filled with the Holy Ghost from the womb. These thoughts are well fitted to encourage and instruct parents, as well as urge them to seek the salvation of their children from their earliest years. Surely also they ought to be a solemn lesson to chil- dren themselves, who are reminded at once of their need of a Saviour, and of His readiness to accept them. He says, " Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Yet let not the ground on which they can be accepted be mistaken. " For his name's sake.'' It is not for their inno- cence they are received. It is not on account of any natural amiability they may nianifest. They are held to be guilty and impure. It is only in the righteousness of Christ they find favour. Redeemed infants as well as others, will for ever sing, " Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his blood, and made us kings and priests to God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion, for ever and ever." It is even supposed that little children may be the subjects, 94 ' FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHIf. of mucli religious experience. This is implied in the congra- tulation, " Ye have known the Father." They have had experimental knowledge of God as a Father. They have felt the power of His Spirit, and been begotten again in righteous- ness. They have had fellowship with Him, and learned to say, " Abba, Father.'' They have had much enjoyment in the word, and ordinances, and prayer. Often the religious attain- ments of little children have excited the admiration and sur- prise of those who have observed them. They have proved that God was their teacher and Saviour by the discovery of perceptions and dispositions far beyond their years, and which could properly be ascribed only to the sanctifying influence of the Divine Spirit. Nor can we close this part of the subject without noticing the apostle's design in assuring these children of the pardon of their sins, and their saving knowledge of God. He does so in order to remind them of their obligations to live for His service and glory. This is the purport of his whole address. " These things write I unto you, that ye sin not." And he longs to see them walking worthy of their vocation. It is he who says in another place, " I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." And observe his double argument. " Your sins have been forgiven you " — therefore go and sin no more. Gratitude, love, and self-interest, conspire to claim your holiness. " Ye have known the Father," therefore act as obedient children, " Perfecting holiness in the fear of God." " Ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious," and are able to testify that His ways are ways of pleasantness, and that all His paths are peace. It is a blessed thing to see little children walking in the fear of God. It is in itself a glorious triumph of grace. And what a blessing to themselves and to others. It is the only preparation for a life of happiness to themselves and useful- ness to others. They embark on the stormy sea of life with CHAPTEK II. 12-14. 95 a helm to guide them safely through its storms and perils. And guided thus they will arrive at last at the haven of eternal rest, with the rich treasure of their own redeemed souls and those of others who have made the journey with them. Well, therefore, might the aged apostle condescend to the notice of little children which has now been considered. It is, indeed, a sublime spectacle to see him stoop to be the instructor of babes. But it is alike in harmony with the soundest philosophy, the purest philanthropy, and true religion. 2. From little children the apostle proceeds to address him- self to fathers — saying in v. 13, "I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning," and repeating the same words again in v. 14, It is an appeal to their experience, and suggests much valuable reflection. "Days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom." So they have often done. The aged Jacob has spoken, and what is the language of his experi- ence ? As to liimself he says, "Few and evil have the days of the years of my life been in the house of my pilgrimage." And as to God, he expresses his sentiment in the prayer for his grand-children, " the God which fed me all my life-long unto this day, the angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads." David has declared his experience, saying, " I have been young and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his. seed begging bread." As for his son, Solomon, we have only to read the counsels of his age to the young in the book of Ecclesiastes. And how Paul tells us what time had done for him when he says — "I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and how to abound ; every- where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." 96 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. Judging by these examples, liow proper is the appeal of the aged apostle to those who, like himself, had become fathers in the church, in both years and attainments? "Ye have known him that is from the beginning." His language is that by which he describes the Saviour in the opening of the epistle. It is, therefore, as if he had addressed to them the inquiry, " AMiat think ye of Christ ?" They had tried him, they had trusted Him, they had done so long. What, then, had they to say of His service ? Had they not found Him a good master ? And in remembrance of all the way by which He had led them, what might He not now claim at their hands ? He asks them to say, from their knowledge of Him, what service they should render to Him while life endured ? Let us consider this question. Surely they might be expected to be " clothed with humi- lity." They had learned w^hat they are, so vile, and what they are capable of doing, so little. The greater their experience of themselves, the more cause they must have seen for deep humiliation. As they learned of themselves, so also might they be ex- pected to grow in the knowledge of Christ. In Him they had found a counterpart to all their wants, and weakness, and sinfulness. It well became them to say with the apostle, " I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." They ought to be "strong in faith, giving glory to God." Their humility and faith should promote their patience. Seeing how little they deserved and how much they had re- ceived, they might well bear submissively the trials that were appointed them. They had seen enough in themselves and others to be well satisfied, if no afflictions beyond the ordi- nary calamities of life had been permitted to come upon them. With these graces deadness to the world would naturally be CHAPTER II. 11-14. 97 associated. They had found it a vain show. They could not but acquiesce in the sentence pronounced upon it by the wise man — "vanity of vanities, all is vanity, and vexation of spirit.'' Yet just as they were divorced from the world they might be expected to gather confidence in God. Many a time when cast down they had been lifted up. Their sorrows had some- times been turned into joy. And good cause had been given them to learn the lesson — " Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass." It must be felt by all that these and similar graces are becoming in the fathers of the church. They are the natural fruits of sanctified experience. And if they have not been produced they have so far lived in vain. Yet it is well to observe they are not found to be the char- acteristics of age, unless it is distinguished by piety. On the contrary, the very opposite evils are found where the Spirit is not. Pride, distrust, impatience, covetousness, are the sins of unsanctified old age. How blessed when these have been overcome, and the opposite graces have been cherished. Truly, "the hoary head is a crown of glory when it is found in the way of righteous- ness." And this is just what the apostle sought when he made his appeal, "I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning." 3. He addresses himself to young men, saying, in ver. 13, " I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one." And again, in ver. 14, " I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." Nothing could be more appropriate than this address. It must commend itself to all. Twice it notices " ye have overcome the wicked one." His mind is bent on their ruin. Let him gain the mastery of G 08 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. tlieir youth, and he reckons either on their premature death or a depraved age. He has many weapons with which he may contend against them. Their passions are warm, their appetites are strong, and their experience is Kttle. He hopes therefore to make them an easy prey. Alas! with how many he succeeds. But not with all. By some he is overcome, and the apostle congratulates them on their victory. In spite of his resistance they have yielded to the heavenly demand, " my son, give me thine heart." Having yielded their hearts to God they have obtained dominion over themselves as well as Satan. Their passions are subdued, their appetites are denied, and their desires are moderated. It is true they need still to be watchful, but it is the easy watchfulness of the conqueror in the land of the enemy, who feels that greater is he who is for him, than any that can be brought against him. This is a noble spectacle, a young man triumphant over all the machinations of the wicked one. Observe, then, how he is represented to gain this victory. "The word of God abideth in you." It is the same view long since expressed by David — "By what means shall a young man cleanse his way ? By taking heed thereto according to thy word.'' This is the weapon by which Timothy is said to have conquered, " from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus." That laid the founda- tion of all his excellence and usefulness. It was the same with our Lord. Every thrust of Satan was met and resisted by Him with a weapon from the armoury of the word. " It is written," was the announcement by which in every attempt he was overthrown. The same will be successful ever, be- cause it is the sword of the Spirit. It is He who conquers by it in the mind of the assailed. But in order to this it must abide there. The word must be laid up in the under- standing as a store-house, wlience memory can draw it forth CHAPTER II. 11-14. 99 as it is needed in the emergencies of life. It is the office of the Spirit to bring it up seasonably to the memory, but it can- not be remembered unless it has been learned. Its doctrines must be studied, its precepts considered, and its promises weighed. Then, in the fitting time, these will prove to be a well of living water in the soul, springing up in every emer- gency into everlasting life. The consequence is therefore well expressed in the congra- tulation, " ye are strong." This is the characteristic state of the young man in Christ. He is strong in years, and his powers of both mind and body are well fitted for active ser- vice. His responsibility is therefore great. These powers must be employed for God and His cause, or they will not only be wasted, but perverted to evil. As they are vigorously employed they become more strong by the healthful exercise. The more they attempt the more they wiU. find they are cap- able of accomplishing. Well, therefore, might the apostle address them, " I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." Such, then, is the Christian household — little children, fathers, and young men. If we are members of it we must belong to one of these classes. Alas ! how many there are who can be associated with none of them. Let us consider how is it with us. May we have grace to enter the hallowed circle, and receive the appropriate counsel. LECTUKE XI. " Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, hut is of the ivorld. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: hut he that doeth the tuill of God ahideth for ever!' — 1 John ii. 15-17. TN the opening of this chapter the apostle announces the -*- purpose of his epistle, saying, " These things write I unto you, that ye sin not." To illustrate and enforce this purpose he states the general principles by which the character of the believer must be formed, and his conduct governed. He must " keep the commandments of God/' " keep his word," and " walk even as Christ walked." But the apostle does not rest in any general statements. He condescends to particu- lars. He demands the exercise of brotherly love. He calls upon Christians to walk worthy of their high vocation in the several conditions occupied by them, as little children, fathers, and young men. And now, in the text, he warns them against the love of the world. It will serve to heighten the importance of the apostle's counsels, if it is remembered that he is not merely giving them as rules for the direction of the conduct, but also as evidences of a personal interest in the salvation of the gospel. Without conformity to them we are not entitled to conclude that " we know '' Christ, or that " we are in him " by faith. CHAPTER II. 15-17. 101 As therefore we would have our evidences clear of a saving interest in Him, and would enjoy the assurance of a living faith, we must cultivate a close conformity to the manner of life enjoined by the apostle. Under this impression let us now consider the solemn warning to which he gives utterance in the text. It may be viewed in two aspects. 1 . The warning itself ; and 2. The reasons of it. May the Lord enlighten us to apprehend the meaning of the one, and cause us to feel the force of the other. I. The warning, " Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world." It need scarcely be said that by the world we are here to understand, not the goodly fabric which God created, and which is still an object of deep interest as presenting count- less evidences of the wisdom, goodness, and power of God, ruined though it has been by sin, but the pursuits, pleasures, habits, and whole " course of the world," as these are sought and followed by ungodly men. It is indeed a humiliating thought that the general term of " the world " should be em- ployed to designate a condition of sinfulness. It implies that mankind are in a state of estrangement from God, and enmity to Him. Yet such is the scriptural representation. " Walking according to the course of this world," is the lan- guage used by the Apostle Paul to describe the condition of those who are " dead in trespasses and sins." It is thus the term must be understood when we are warned " not to love it, nor the things that are in it." It may be said. Are we not required diligently to attend to the things of the world? And is not a promise of its enjoy- ment made to those who do so ? This is true. The command is, " Look well to thy flocks and herds." One mark required of a disciple is, " Not slothful in business." And this is 102 FIEST EPISTLE OF JOHN. among the promises, " Godliness is profitable to all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come." We may value the world, we may seek to possess it, we may enjoy it. This is not what the apostle forbids. His words are, " Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world," and we must take care that we rightly under- stand, and interpret, and obey them. The true meaning of the injunction lies in the appropriate term used by the apostle, " Love not the world." This affec- tion is supreme in whatever heart it dwells. It is jealous, and admits no rival. Its very nature is to make everything subordinate to the object on which it is set. A parent loves his child, and therefore he will do or bear whatever the inte- rests of that child may demand. Toil is nothing. Trouble is nothing. Even life itself will be endangered if it be neces- sary. Let him see the life of his child in danger, and his impulse is at once to risk his own that he may save it. This is the nature of love, that it reigns in the heart, and must be obeyed as a master-principle. Now let this view be applie^ to the subject before us, the love of the world, and it makes all plain. If a man loves the world, he gives it the first place in his heart, and everything is subordinated to it. The world then becomes his God, and he worships it. AVhatever comes in competition with it is discarded. Whatever is necessary to the acquisition of it is done. It obtains a place to which it is in no way entitled. It becomes the object of a passion of which it is wholly unworthy. Yet the love of the world is a principle fearfully prevalent among men. It is to be found in many who do not suspect it. And it may be profitable to go down from the general principle to a few special details, that we may detect its power where it may elude observation. Here then is a man placed in a position where he may add CHAPTER II. 15-17. 103 to his worldly substance. The way is plain before him, and he has only to pursue it and be enriched. But there is a difficulty. The law stares him in the face, " provide things honest in the sight of all men." He sees it, and respects it, and would like to keep it. But the prospect is tempting if he could only in some way compromise it. He tries to do so. He views the subject on various sides. He sees the benefits that will result if he can only gain his object. He sees the evils that will arise if he is disappointed. By degrees his principle of integrity is overcome, and he takes the golden bait, overcome by the love of the world. Or to take another illustration, here is a man who would not knowingly violate the law of integrity. He too sees an opportunity of advancing his worldly interests. But there is a hindrance in his way. He is not sure that he can remove it, and respect the command, " whatsoever ye w^ould that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." He would not knowingly injure another, but this seems to be different from taking advantage of him. He is drawn aside from the path of honour by the deceitfulness of a mind under the power of self-interest, and he also falls, overcome by the love of the world. To contemplate the same passion under another form, here is a man Mdio has a great respect for the ordinances of reli- gion and the word of God. The Sabbath comes, and he would like to remember it. But it has just so happened, that by an infraction of its sacredness he may advance his gains. Let him only occupy a portion of it in his daily calling, or let him but prosecute a journey, or only settle a few arrange- ments that may expedite the business of to-morrow, and the advantages will be somewhat. He would rather avoid the desecration. Still the case is urgent. It may not occur again. Let me venture this once. He makes the venture and falls, overcome by the love of the world. 1 04 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. One other illastration may be added. Here is a man who does respect the laws of integrity and honour, and devotion. But he is associated with another, who does not respect them. A case arises where both must act together. The former expresses his desire to act righteously. The other uses his influence to overcome what he denominates his scruples. He is afraid to offend him. His interests are too deeply involved to run so great a risk. He yields, and presents another ex- ample of a victim overcome by the love of the world. These illustrations are suf&cient to show how extensive may be the influence of the love of the world, even where it is not suspected. It is needless to cite examples from those who openly avow it. But taking both classes together, how many there are who live in subjection to this evil principle? Truly there was reason why the apostle should lift up his voice against it. The men of the world needed it, who were pursuing it to their own destruction. And the godly needed it lest they might be entangled by its delusions. It might come in so many forms, and prevail in so many ways, and inflict such disastrous consequences on their peace and pro- gress, that the apostle could not forbear to warn them. He therefore called upon them in the language of the text, "love not the world, neither the things that are in the world,'' adding, as we shall now proceed to consider, TI. Tlie reasons of the warning. Of these, several are enumerated in the text, and we shall notice them in their order. 1. " If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." The love of God and the love of the world are incompatible with one another, and cannot exist together in the same mind. This is precisely the sentiment of our Lord when He says in His sermon on the Mount, " no man can serve two masters ; for either he will hate the one and love CHAPTEE II. 16.-17 105 the otlier ; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Each claims the mastery, and one of them must have it. Both cannot rule, because their counsels and commands are contrary. The one says this is right, and the other it is wrong. The one pronounces that to be lawful which the other declares to be unlawful. Their spirit and course are directly opposed. No one therefore can serve both. While these opposing masters claim the dominion, it is said to all, " choose ye this day whom ye will serve." Every one must be determined, either to resist the world when it goes contrary to the will of God, or to comply with the world even at the cost of disobeying God. It is hard to persuade men that these views are just. The great effort is to please both God and the world. But it is vain, " If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." 2. " All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, is not of the Eather, but is of the world." This is the cause and explanation of the former reason. The world is sinful, and therefore its service is incompatible with that of God. This is again the very doctrine of Christ when He says, " that which is born of the flesh is flesh." The same is the doctrine of Paul — " the first man is of the earth, earthy." The tastes and habits of the world are the sinful results of a depraved nature, and are therefore entirely contrary to the will of God. This is proved by " all that is in the world" as its own natural fruit. And to be convinced that it is so, we have only to trace and test the apostle's summary. He begins with " the lust of the flesh." AVhat is it ? The inspired Paul answers, " the works of the flesh are manifest ; which are these — adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lascivi- ousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunken- 106 FIPvST EPISTLE OF JOHN. ness, revellinffs, and such like." It need not be asked if this master is contrary to God. Next he names " the lust of the eye." What then pleases it? Vanity, empty show, finery, and folly. It were idle to ask if this is to be the master of a rational and immortal mind. Last and worst, " the pride of life " is specified. It is seen in the pursuit of popularity — to have a name among men, to stand out distinguished above others. It may assume the serious form of the tyrant's ambition, or the low aspect of ruling over the little circle of menials and dependents. Shall this be the leading principle ? God forbid. These are all of the Avorld, and not of the Father. The man who yields to them renounces the authority of God. He chooses a service ignoble beyond expression, and he forfeits the dignity of being a servant of the Lord. 3. All who do so should especially observe the third reason, " the world passeth away and the lust thereof." We are ourselves perishing, and so is all that is earthy. " He that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption." Is it the riches of the world we seek and obtain ? Hear the word of the Lord : " The sun is no sooner risen with a burn- ing heat than it withereth the grass, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth ; so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways." Is it pleasure we pursue ? The wise man has compared the laughter of fools to "the crackling of thorns under a pot," Is it honour ? What a bubble ; no sooner is it seized than it burst.s. 0 ! how just as well as forcible is the language of the divine Word announcing the destruction of the earth itself, and the use we should make of the solemn prospect — " The day of the Lord will come as a thief in tlie night ; in the wliich the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the eartli also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up. See- CHAPTER II. 15-17. 107 . ing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be, in all holy conversation and godli- ness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat ?" Surely if we are reasonable men we shall not live for a world that is destined thus to perish. 4. But to all this there is a glorious contrast in the last reason. " He that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." Blessed announcement ! , It is true in many ways. Such a man is the subject of principles that will endure through all the trials and vicissitudes of life. He is ever conqueror and more than conqueror through Him that loved us. He has an unerring guide in perplexity, and an exhaustless source of consolation in trouble. He will be borne unhurt through death itself. " The body returneth to the earth as it was, but the spirit to God that gave it." Death is to him the door of life. Beyond death he enters on his rich inheritance. It is " incorruptible, undefiled, and fadeth not away, reserved in heaven." There the high promises of eternal blessedness shall all be realized and enjoyed. The precious Word of truth shall be consummated in the experience of those who have embraced it, " 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 withereth, and the flower thereof fadeth away, but the Word of the Lord en- dureth for ever. And this is the Word which by the Gospel is preached unto you." Surely in the light of these reasons the apostle might well exhort, " Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world." His words ought to impress both the ungodly and the godly. To the ungodly they say that they are walking in a 108 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. vain show. They are living in a dehision. The world which they serve not only cannot serve them, but it will desert them in the hour of need, and all that they reckon upon as a glory and a comfort in it will become their tormentor. To the godly they say, that as they would enjoy God and reli- gion, they must watch against a worldly spirit. Eecollect the apostle is treating of the evidences of our interest in Christ. These cannot be clear or comfortable if we indulge a spirit of worldliness. " To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." Therefore, hearken to the text, " Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world ; for 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." LECTURE XII. "Little childreri, it is the last time : and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists ; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us ; for if they had been of u.% they would no doubt have continued with us : but they ivcnt out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all ofus!'—! John ii. 18, 19. TT is a dangerous voyage whicli every Christian sails upon -*- the sea of life. Sunken rocks, deceitful currents, and boisterous winds endanger his brittle bark. He needs con- stantly to beware that he makes not shipwreck of his faith. Hence proceeds the tone of warning in which he is habitually addressed in the Word of God. Our Lord has said, " Watch ye : what T say unto you I say unto all, Watch." And in like manner does the aged apostle utter the lessons of his own experience in the epistle on which we are now dwelling. In the last discourse we considered one warning, " Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world,'' and after explaining its import, we entered into the reasons by which it is enforced. In the present discourse we are called to con- sider another, the danger arising from the seduction of false teachers. In the early Church these were the source of constant dis- quietude. Nor is it otherwise yet. It is melancholy to observe how little they are feared. Many trifle with them 110 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. as ignorant children do with sharp and dangerous weapons. We are therefore faithfully warned against them in the text, And in learning its lessons we cannot do better than simply follow its several clauses in a brief and simple exposition. 1. The apostle addresses liimseK to believers under the title of " little children." There is a peculiar propriety in using such language to those who are warned. Little children need to be warned. They are ignorant and unsuspecting, because they are inex- perienced, When they are tempted they possess little power of resistance. And once betrayed and overcome, they have neither the skill nor the power to deliver themselves out of the evils into wdiich they have been betrayed. It is to be lamented that in all these respects many Christians bear a strong resemblance to little children. They know little of that world agahist which they would require to be constantly watchful. They are ill qualified to say with Paul of the devices of Satan, " We are not ignorant of them." Above all, they have little acquaintance with the deceitfulness of their own hearts and the power of their fleshly appetites. Such knowledge is the result of only much observation and experi- ence. They might be addressed as Paul spoke to the Cor- inthians : " And I, brethren, could not speak unto you, as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat ; for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able." Without denying the sincerity or reality of their religion, they need to be exhorted, " as new-born babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." They have faith, but it is weak. They are little children, and as such they need to be warned. 2. To these the apostle says, " It is the last time," and this is an appropriate introduction to the warning he was about to give them. CHAPTEE 11. 18, 19. Ill The meaning of tlie phrase will be seen by citing the parallel passage in Heb. i. 1, "God who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers, by the prophets hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son." The last time is therefore the day of Christ. It is the age of Christianity. And there are two views in which it may be appropriately so denominated. It is the last economy viewed in its historical relation to those which have preceded it. The patriarchal, the Abraham ic, and the Mosaic dispensations, went before it in point of time, and prepared the way for it. It was the last. And it may be called so also in relation to the future. There will be no other economy. " Then cometh the end, when Christ shall have delivered up the kingdom to God the Father." And this is a consideration of great practical importance. It is a high privilege that we live under an economy which is the completion, the perfection of all that went before it. But we must not forget we shall have no higher privileges than those which we now enjoy. If we are not saved by means of those we have, we must perish, for we shall have no more. Hence the solemn question, " How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" And the unqualified assertion, "If we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." Those whose attainments are not beyond those of little children w^ould do well to attend to these representations. " It is the last time.'' 3. Thus introduced, the apostle begins to announce his warning, " Ye have heard that antichrist shall come." The very name is sufficient to awaken deep concern. We are at once given to understand that we must see a grand opponent to Him whom we delight to honour, and in whom is all our confidence. For His sake and our own, such an announcement should awaken our timely fear. As for him, we cannot doubt his ability to overcome every enemy. But 112 FIKST EPISTLE OF JOHN. we may well fear for ourselves. His aim will be to deprive us of tlie blessings we eujoy by Christ, and it may well be a serious concern how we shall stand in the evil day. The name of our enemy is sufficient to indicate His nature and mission. He is antichrist, opposed to Him and all who shall adhere to Him. The prediction of such an enemy may be found in all the Scriptures, but especially in the writings of Paul. " That man of sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped ; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.'' " Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter time some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth." It is to these and such predictions John refers in the text. They were well known in the church in his day. And as a familiar testimony he could remind his little children, " Ye have heard that antichrist shall come." Who is this antichrist? "With the light poured on the question by tlie records of history, we can be at no loss to discern. The description will apply only to the papacy, and to that it does apply in the most minute and palpable manner. Assuredly that was the original from which the Spirit of God drew the picture in the passages that have been cited, and to which many similar might be added. How important it is to have such a prediction ! Many practical ends are served by it, and it is for this purpose especially we notice it at present. It furnishes us with a great confirmation of the truth of Scripture. It serves the purpose of a fulfilled prophecy. In CHAPTER II. 18, 19. . 113 the existence and character of the papacy we read a living comment on the truth of the Scriptures which foretold that thus it should be in the last time. At the same time we are guarded against stumbling at thii? rock of offence. Had we not been forewarned of the appear- ing of antichrist, we might have been perplexed by it. But fore-warned we are fore-armed. Instead of our faith being weakened by his appearance and power, it is strengthened. Nor let us overlook how we are put upon our guard against his wiles. "He would deceive, were it possible, the very elect." When we know that such an enemy is in the midst of us, seeking to pervert and destroy us, surely we ought to be watchful that we may not be betrayed from " the simplicity that is in Christ." " Ye have heard that antichrist shall come." 4. The apostle, however, comes closer to the case of those little children whom he addressed, and says, " Even now are there many antichrists." Observe the distinction between this statement and the former one. The former is a prophecy, the latter is a fact. Antichrist shall come, but he has not yet been revealed. He who shall eminently bear that name has not yet come formally on the stage. Time will be required for his development. But there are other forms of evil and other seducers who exist now. You are not to imagine you are safe because the great antichrist has not yet appeared. There are enemies to your faith and holiness even now, and they are numerous and mighty. " There are even now many antichrists." This is a subject of constant reference in the divine M'ord. Paul said to the assembled elders at Ephesus, " I know that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock ; also of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after them." To Timothy he says, " the time will come when they will not 11 -fc FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. endure sound doctrine ; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears ; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and be turned unto fables." And the language of Peter is fearful, " There were false pro- phets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction." Both Paul and Peter spoke of the future, but it was a future just at hand. In the signs of the times they saw the approach of these enemies. And in John's time they did appear. He lived to be the oldest of the apostles. He saw the fears of Paul and Peter verified. And although the grand apostacy had not yet come, there were many dangers to be encountered. " Ye have heard that antichrist shall come; and even now are there many antichrists." It is to be observed that in the indications already appear- ing, the apostle saw the approach of the great antichrist. The leaven was working which would in time corrupt the mass of professors. So insidious and dangerous is error : and so necessary it is to watch its first rise and destroy it at the bud. It may be said of error as of ainger, that it is " as the letting out of water." See also how these evils began to work even in the presence and under the ministry of the apostles themselves. Paul said, " The mystery of iniquity doth already work." No human power can hinder the in- roads of error and sin. We are amazed to read the records of the early Church and see how feeble was the resistance which even inspired apostles could give to the opposition of erroneous and ungodly men. Nothing could at any time preserve either the truth or the Church but the mighty power of God. In our own day we may well cry witli the apostles, " There u:re nuiny antichrists." And who or what are they ? Their CHAPTER II. 18, 19. 115 name is legion. They are all persons and things that are opposed to Christ and His people, and His cause. And how can they be enumerated ? Infidelity is antichrist, and pours contempt upon the truth. The Papacy is antichrist, and perverts the truth. The scoffer is antichrist, and scorns the truth. All ungodly men are antichrists, and while they resist the truth themselves, they tempt others to deny it. All errorists are antichrists, and obscure and oppose the truth. We have a catalogue of antichrists from an inspired pen, when the apostle warns the Church through Timothy, saying, " This know also that in the last days perilous times shall come ; for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof From such turn away !" All these are antichrists. They were in the apostles' day, and they are in ours. Alas ! so true it is that " there are many antichrists." 5. The apostle applies this announcement of many anti- christs to a practical use, saying in the next clause, " whereby we know that it is the last time." The words amount to a declaration that this mighty host with all their enmity to th(:; truth, should be a marked and prominent feature in tlie Christian era. This is a solemn truth, and demands our serious concern. It is well fitted to warn us of our danger. Never before were privileges so high, and consequently never before were responsibilities so great. Christianity is the best economy, and therefore it is the most hated and opposed by the wicked one. He raged against Christ in the days of Hi.s flesh, and John tells us, " The devil is come down unto yo\i, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but u short time." Is it not well to be thus put upon our guard ? 116 FIEST EPISTLE OF JOHN. We are at the same time instructed. We are given to understand what is the nature of the Christian life. It is to be in all cases a sore and bitter controversy. We must fight the good fight of faith with the world, and the devil, and the flesh. We should so live as to aim at being enabled to say in the end, " I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the right- eous judge shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but to all them also that love his appearing." Yet there is at the same time consolation in this truth. We become reconciled to what we know is unavoidable and necessary. We are persuaded it must be good when a wise and gracious God has so ordered it. And this is the very view that is given us in the Scriptures. " Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial that is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you, but rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceed- ing joy." It is the law of Christianity that as it is advanced in any person or in any place it shall in the same measure be resisted and opposed by the many antichrists who are only the agents of the great enemy of Christ and of His people. " Hereby we know that it is the last time." 6. We should beware that we are not found among these antichrists. And for our warning and guidance, a descrip- tion of them is given in the 19th verse. Let us consider its several features. " They went out from us." Once they belonged to the church of Christ. But they continued not. They became unstable. They were given to change. They apostatized from the faith and practice of the Gospel. Not that it is necessary to renounce the Christian name. All their changes &nd declensions may take place under continued and high CHAPTER I. 18, 19. 117 pretensions. Or they may renounce the name of Christ. In either case they are apostates from him. " But they were not of us," adds the apostle. They never were. " They are not all Israel that are of Israel." They may have professed the faith, but in reality they had never embraced it. " He is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh ; but he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God." Such they never were. " For," says he, " had they been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us." This is certain. The nature of the divine life makes it so. " The just shall live by faith.'' " They are born not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." The power that keeps them makes it so. Saints are " kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.'' The pro- mise makes it so. " My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." If any draw back therefore from faith and holiness, they evidence that they only professed and did not possess them. The apostle concludes, " But they went out, that they might be made manifest they were not all of us." On the whole, it was better they departed. It was better for them- selves, that they might not be deceived by a name, but be led to penitence. It was better for others, that they might not be a burthen and hindrance to those with whom they were associated. And it was better for the cause of religion, that it might not be scandalized by their inconsistencies. " Thou art neither cold nor hot ; I would thou wert either cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm, ami neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." We may well conclude with the words of Paul in 2 Tim. 118 FIEST EPISTLE OF JOHN. iii. 12- J 7, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them ; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness : that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." LECTUEE XIII. " Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." — 1 John ii. 20. rpHE miner, who searches for precious metals in the bosom -*- of the earth, can readily discern the spot where he may hope to labour with the prospect of success. When once he enters on the work, he prosecutes it with diligence, and is never satisfied till he finds the desired riches. And if he is led into a vein of precious ore, he follows it wherever it leads him, and returns to it again and again, until either it is ex- hausted, or he has accumulated all he is capable of enjoying- It is so with the student of the scriptui'es. They contain truth more precious than gold. Wherever we enter into this mine of spiritual wealth our labour is well repaid : but there are some beds and veins of peculiar value ; and when we discover and work them, our souls are singularly enriched with their precious treasures. Of these the text is an example. Its simplicity is equalled only by its fulness. It is observable that the weightiest truths of scripture are usually expressed in the simplest terms. Witness our Lord's discourses, or the beginning of the Gospel according to John. So here, also, almost every word in the text is a monosyllable. Yet how deep its dis- coveries and divine its instructions ! Let us then enter into this rich mine, and seek to possess ourselves of the wealth which it contains. And this we may hope to do, under the 120 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. divine blessing, by a few remarks naturally suggested by the position and language of the text. 1. First, then, it is observable that it contains an affirma- tion represented to be peculiarly descriptive of genuine be- lievers. It had been said, in the previous verse, of mere pro- fessors, " They went out from us, but they were not of us ; for had they been of us, they would, no doubt, have con- tinued with us ; but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us." They had been ex- posed to the temptations of false teachers, and did not endure the test. They were drawn away by the specious errors presented to them, and so evidenced they were not " rooted and grounded '' in the truth. On the contrary, those whom the apostle commends in the text had remained firm in the midst of all attempts to seduce them from the faith. In opposition to those who had manifested their weakness and inconstancy, he says of them, " But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." Let it be remem- bered this is a test to which the people of God are at all times brought. "There must also be heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest." God is pleased to try our principles, that their reality and strength may be proved. He who remains "stedfast in the faith," affords evidence of being divinely taught ; while he who is ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth discovers that he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. 2. It is more important, however, to observe, in the second place, that the text accounts for this peculiarity of genuine believers, and teaches us both what it is and whence it arises. This is contained in the expression, " But ye have an unction from the Holy One.'' The terms at once suggest the work of the Spirit. He anoints the soul with His own grace. As of old, prophets, priests, and kings were officially set apart to CHAPTEE II. 20. 121 their duties by being anointed with oil, so the believer is spiritually called to all these offices by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. He may say with Christ Himself, " The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me." Every true Christian is the Lord's prophet, who knows His will, and makes it known to others ; he is a priest, who has con- stant access to the divine presence by the blood of atone- ment ; and he is a king, who maintains a controversy with his Lord's enemies, and acknowledges only His authority. There is, therefore, a rich and abundant provision made for his security and perseverance in faith and holiness. The Spirit dwells in him. He is the temple of the Holy Ghost. It is this, and no mere purpose of his own will, that main- tains his stedfastness. He is kept because he has " an unction from the LColy One." It is doubtful whether we are to understand by " the Holy One" the Spirit himself who is given to the believer, or Christ by whom He is given. He is habitually known as the Holy Spirit, and both His own nature and His operations on the hearts and lives of men well entitle him to the appella- tion. Yet, on the other hand, He is represented to be the Spirit of Christ. He is the great gift which Christ was to confer upon the Church. In His exaltation the Saviour is revealed as dispensing this gift. "I beheld," saith John, " and lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb, as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth." It seems natural, therefore, to understand the " Holy One " of Christ. And we are thus presented with a most engaging and en- couraging view of the truth. Jesus presides over His people, and confers His Spirit upon them as His gifts and graces may be required for either their own preservation or their faithfulness and efficiency to others. To obtain the Spirit I 22 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. they have only to apply to Him. AVith the Psalmist they may plead, " Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led cap- tivity captive, thou hast received gifts for men, even the rebellious, that the Lord God might dwell among them." There is thus at hand a never-failing supply of grace to which they may continually come, and having " an unction from the Holy One," they may realize His gracious promise, " He that drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but it shall be in him a well of water springing up to everlasting life." 3. But we now proceed, in the third place, to that which is most prominent in the text, and on which therefore we shall mainly dwell, the result of the " unction of the Holy One " in the experience and life of the believer — " Ye know all things." It is with great appropriateness this effect of the indwel- ling of the Spirit is introduced here. It is as the best and only safeguard against error and those who seek to promote it. The believer is so under the influence of the Spirit, that error does not find ready entrance to his mind. His views, and feelings, and habits, are so contrary to it, that it meets a continual resistance in his spirit. It is only when he is off his guard, and becomes neglectful or unfaithful, that the wily enemy can obtain a lodgment in the citadel of his heart. "Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." " Ye know all things." This is a remarkable saying, and v/ill need a full illustration. At first it may seem to be extravagant, and there is a sense in which it cannot be under- stood. In his highest attainments the believer is still under much darkness. Compared with what he hopes hereafter to obtain, he may truly say, " We know in part, we see through a glass darkly;" yet there is at the same time a sense in which he may be said to " know all things," and we proceed to inquire what it is. CHAPTER II. 20. 123 We are all acquainted with the use and exercise of instinct in the lower creation. We take the animals that roam through the fields and forests in j^ursuit of their food and pleasure. They are placed in a luxuriant herbage, part of which would he to them poison and death, and other portions nutri- tious and necessary food. They do not u.sually fail to distin- guish between them. They are not much in danger of mistak- ing the one for the other. However closely they may resemble one another, they can tell which they are to use and which they are to shun. Men, with all their sagacity, may err, but the untaught quadruped seldom hesitates or goes astray. His Creator has taught him, and in this department of His works he knows all things that he needs to know. If we go to the winged creation, they are instructed, not merely with what they are to regale themselves, but they know to perfection how to protect themselves and their offspring from the inclement season. What a mystery is the bird's nest, so exactly adapted to all the wants, and conveniences, and comforts of the creatures that construct and occupy it ! Of the bee and its wise contrivances and prudent care, nothing need be said to those who know it well. Even the meanest insects are pointed out to man that he may learn from them lessons of wisdom. " Go to the ant, thou sluggard ; consider her ways and be wise ; which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest." Of all these creatures there is a sense in which it may be truly said, " they know all things." There is, however, another and a higher illustration to be found among men themselves. As there is instinct in the inferior creation, there is what may be called taste in the intellectual world. It is very diversified in different persons. Some have a powerful propensity for certain objects or engagements which are just as much disrelished by others. Take, for example, the fine arts, or any of the sciences. One 124< FIEST EPISTLE OF JOHN. is enamoured ^yith them from his youth, and another is indif- ferent to them, while neither can tell why it is so. But mark the readiness with which the former becomes a proficient in that which pleases him, and compare it with the difficulty which the latter finds it impossible to overcome. The one learns as if by intuition, while the other makes no progress. What is easy and plain to the one, is just as difficult and dark to the other. The one readily knows all things apper- taining to his favourite study, and the other is only con- founded and disheartened by all his attempts. Suppose the art of music. How soon and successfully it is gained where the taste for it is strong ! How unavailing even the utmost diligence where this is wanted ! Thus there is a sense in which it may be said of the natural taste with which God is pleased to endow us, it readily knows all things appertaining to the object of its interest and delight. There is still another illustration of the same propensity of the human mind. Observe the effect of experience. In the various forms of handicraft or other enfrafrcraents, whether mental or manual, the power of habit is remarkable. It has been well termed a second nature. Whatever relates to the accustomed exercise is perceived and understood at once. Practice, it is said, makes perfect. And thus experience becomes a teacher under whom we may be said to know all things. Now let these illustrations be applied to the subject imder consideration. The Holy S})irit visits the soul with His " unction." By His intluenco the mind is enlightened to apprehend the truth, the heart is sanctified through the belief of it, and the life is spent under the power of it. What is the consequence ? The soul participates in the benefits of its own decided tastes and chf^-ished habits. A sanctified instinct may be said to be formed in it by wliich it chooses what is good and refuses the evil. It does not need in every case CHAPTER II. 20. 125 to pause, and reason, and consider. Without any such pro- cess, it feels instinctively what is the course to be either pur- sued or shunned. This heavenly taste is usually the best casuist. It is the product of an enlightened conscience. And the expression is not too strong when it is said of those who yield themselves to its habitual influence, " Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." "Ye know all things." We have endeavoured to illustrate how such a condition of mind may be understood and pro- duced, but it may be well to enter into the subject more particularly. Such an affirmation cannot be understood absolutely or universally. There are countless subjects of which believers may be and are ignorant. Even of many things appertaining to their own favourite subjects of religion they may be very badly informed. The Apostle Paul tells almost all the churches to which he wrote that tliey were only babes in Christ. But there are certain subjects which they do and must know. There is a range of knowledge which their taste urges upon them, and their experience forces' them to traverse. It is important, therefore, to inquire what this specific knowledge is, and what are its prominent topics and features — those of which it is said pointedly in the text, " Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." In the prosecution of this inquiry we shall be most safely guided by the context. We read at the 22nd verse, " Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ ? He is antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father." Again at the 25th verse, "This is the promise he has promised us, even eternal life." And it is interesting to observe what the apostle adds in connexion with the assertion of these fundamental truths at the 27th verse, "But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need 1 2G FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. not that any man teach you ; but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." We are forced to conclude there are certain trutlis which the believer does and must know, and in which, if he would be saved, he must abide. Let us then inquire what these are, and under the light and guidance of that pole-star which we have found in the context we can scarcely err in the enumeration of them. They are all based on the sinfulness of man. It is assumed that he is in a state of guilt, and danger, and depravity. He has broken the law of God, is exposed to His just and righteous displeasure, and is universall)^ corrupted in his heart and life. He needs pardon for his sins, the renewal of his heart in righteousness, and a complete reformation of his whole life. This is a matter on which there can be no doubt or hesitancy in the mind of a true believer. No sophistry and no flattery can hide this truth from him, or cause him to deny it. " Behold, I am vile !" is his exclamation. The Spirit has shone into his heart, and cast light over his life, so that he has made discoveries of his own sinfulness which no argumentation can cover from his sight. He knows himself He knows human nature. " There is none righteous, no not one." He and every man must come to God with the publican's prayer, "God be merci- ful to me a sinner." So far there can be no dubiety and no diversity of sentiment among all who are taught by the Spirit. Their views, again, are equally harmonious regarding the Saviour, to whom they must look for deliverance. The utter- ance of the apostle on this subject is exceedingly impressive and explicit. " I give you to understand that no man speak- ing by the Spirit of God, calleth Jesus accursed ; and that no man can say that Jesus is Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." No CHAPTEE II. 20. 127 man who is taught by the Spunt will have low views of Christ, and no man can have correct views of Him, and views sufficiently elevated, unless he be taught by the Spirit. Our Lord Himself declared the great object of the Spirit would be to honour Him. " He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." And the Apostle Paul has well exemplified the spirit of every believer toward Christ, saying, " I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom 1 have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him." This high appreciation of Him applied to both His person and His offices. His personal glory is admitted to be divine. He is " God mani- fest in the flesh." No inferior Saviour, it is felt, could suffice. But He is accounted all-sufficient, " mighty to save." He is heard proclaiming, " look unto me and be saved, all ye ends of the earth, for I am God, and beside me there is none else, a just God and a Saviour." His instructions as the great prophet of the Church, are confided in as certain and infallible. His atonement and intercession, as the only high priest, are held to be effectual and availing. And His dominion and authority, as King of Zion, are owned to be universal and supreme. From these views of Christ and His offices there is no departure among those who are taught of the Spirit. All such have proved by experience that He is " able to save to the uttermost those who come unto God by Him." They need no argument to prove it. They have found it to be true. Would you enter on an argument to prove to those who daily live upon it, that bread is nutritious ? No more does the believer need to have it proved that Jesus, "the bread of life," is sufficient for him. And while the world may be filled with wranglings and angry controversies, it is enough for him to say, " I know whom I have believed, and I am perr 128 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. suaded He is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day." The same remarks may be applied also to the believer's view of the salvation of Christ. It is viewed as mainly dis- tinguished by two great features — fulness and freeness. It is full, and so seen to meet the entire case of the sinner. There is pardon for his guilt through the merit of His death, for " the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin ;" and there is purity of heart and life to meet both his original and actual sin, for the Spirit is given by Christ to regenerate the soul and to maintain and consummate His own work in it. " Ye are complete in him." At the same time this whole salvation is free. It is so free that nothing is demanded, nothing can be given, and nothing could be accepted for it. It is free as the air we breathe. "The Spirit and the bride say, Come ; and let him that heareth say. Come ; and let him that is athirst, Come ; and whoso- ever will let him come and take the water of life freely." On this view of salvation there can be no diversity of senti- ment among those who have become partakers of it. It is subject of knowledge and not merely of opinion. They can all cordially join in the divine invitation, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." 0 ! taste and see that the Lord is good. It need only be added that all who have "an unction from the Holy One," regard alike the present world and that which is to come. This subject is specially noticed in the context. " Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the 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 CEAPTEK II. 20. 1 29 the will of God abideth for ever." " Abide in liim, that when he shall appear, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming." The world is a vain show and must not be served. Its maxims and customs are no law for the believer's conduct. Eternity is all-important. " We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." This world is only the door that admits to the next. It is so accounted by all in whom is the Spirit. However different their attain- ments, yet are they all taught alike, and led by the same Spirit it may be said, " ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all these things.'' In conclusion, let us be thankful that truth is known by experience, for this is the best safeguard against all attempts to wrest it from us. " If any man shall do my will he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God." Let us cultivate fej-lowship in those great truths which are common to all believers, for in all that is fundamental they are still of one heart and one soul. Eead the scriptures that express them together and you will probably agree. Let us exercise forbearance on all subjects of comparative unimportance, and on which there- may be diversities of sentiment without injury to vital godliness. Phil. iii. 15, 16. And let us dili- gently cultivate the Spirit, for as His influence is vigorous in the soul, so shall we experience the blessedness of the truth in the text — " Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.'' LECTUEE XIV. " / have not luritten unto you because ye Tcnoiu not the tnith, hut because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whoso- ever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father : but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you, luhich ye have heard from the begin- ning. If that ivhich ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father."— I John ii. 21-24. T/'OU will observe that the second part of the 23d verse is -■- printed in a manner different from the remainder of the passage. Tliis form of letter is usually employed to indicate that there is nothing in the original language corresponding to that which is so expressed, but that it is added by the translators for the sake of more fully bringing out the uican- ing. In the present instance, however, such is not the design. It is intended to denote that doubts were entertained respect- ing the authenticity of that portion of the verse. The reason of the uncertainty was tliat in some of tlie early manuscripts of the scriptures tliis clause was not found. It is pleasant to iind how careful the translators of our English Bible were to sift the evidence for every sentence that claimed to be of divine origin. We have our confidence in them thus greatly increased. In this case, however, they seem to have carried CHAPTER II. 21-24. 131 tlieir scrupulous jealousy too far. The clause is found in a very large number of the best manuscripts. Of late years the most distinguished scholars have expressed the fullest satisfaction with the evidence for its authenticity. There is reason to believe were the venerable translators to examine the subject now, with the light that has been cast upon it, they would not put any mark of doubtfulness on the passage in question. AVe shall therefore assume its authenticity in common with that of the entire passage, and so consider it. A most instructive passage it is. The apostle states in verse 21 why he had written ; in verses 22 and 23, what, for substance, he had v/ritteu ; and in verse 24, his object in so writing. Let us contemplate the subject under this threefold aspect. And may the entrance of the AVord give us light. I. Why the apostle had written, " 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." It does not follow from tliis statement that the apostle would not have written to those who were either ignorant of the truth or opposed to it. He understood well the original commission, " Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.'' To every sinner he would address the gospel of salvation, and entreat him to become a possessor of its benefits. Indeed, he did so in other writings. He was the author of the Book of Revelation ; and in it we find him addressing the invitations of the gospel to all men, saying, " The Spirit and bride say come, and let him that heareth say come, and let him that is athirst come, and whosoever Mall let him come, and take the water of life freely.'' On the present occasion, however, it was not to such he wrote. It was to them that knew the truth. He had special reasons for writing to them particularly. And it may be instructive to inquire what they were. ] 32 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. No doubt one reason was the extreme jealousy of the apostle lest any of those who knew the truth should act inconsistently with it. Tn another epistle he discovers the spirit that animated him in this respect. He says, " I rejoice greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." How it must have distressed him to have found some not walking in the truth. He therefore wrote to instruct, and warn, and encourage them that they might walk worthy of their high vocation. Nor can it be supposed this was not needed. In the most enlightened there is still much ignorance. In the most determined there is still irresolution. In the most devoted there is still deficiency. There is therefore necessity for line upon line, and precept upon precept. The experience of the aged apostle had shown him how many dangers and defects encompassed the most advanced believers, and how needful it was ever to address to them the word of exhortation. But his great reason appears to have been his hope of success in writing to such. It was to this he must have alluded in the verse that is now before us. He declared the truth to them, encouraged by the belief that there would be found in them a readiness of mind to receive it. He warned them against error, in the assured confidence they would, like liimself, nauseate and reject it. Such was their sanctified taste, that no sooner was the truth presented than they per- ceived its meaning, and rejoiced in its discovery ; and for the same reason, error needed only to be exposed that it might be refused. In this assumption of the apostle there is a practical lesson of great value. We are taught that the acceptance or rejec- tion of the truth is chiefly dependent on the disposition of the heart towards it. It is true, sufficient evidence must in every case accompany it. But if the heart be right, the mind CHAPTER II. 21-24. 133 perceives the force of evidence with much clearness ; while, if it be indisposed, no amount of evidence will satisfy. " If thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light ; but if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness." It is testified of the Bereans, " these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that tliey received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." There is a proverb, founded, as most of our common sayings are, in truth, that it is hard to persuade a man against his will. It is the perversity of the will that often blinds the understanding. Let that be rightly disposed, and we are apt to see clearly. And that is simply the apostle's principle in the text — " 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." II. What, then, let us inquire in the second place, did he write ? The reply is in the next two verses, " Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is anti- christ that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father ; but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also." It is observable that, in treating of truth and error, the whole subject of the apostle is concerning Jesus Christ. He assumes that if our views of Him are correct, so will be our apprehension of the whole circle of truth ; but that if they be erroneous, we shall not rightly perceive any other truth. Christ is eminently the truth. He that knows Him knows all things, and he that knows Him not knows nothing as he ought to know it. The apostle therefore goes largely into the subject. His words are few and simple, but they are weighty and compre- hensive. He presents the Saviour in various views of supreme importance, in which it is vital to true godliness 134 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. that we shall perceive the truth and not fall into error. "We shall endeavour to unfold what these views are. 1. The first is adverted to in the opening of the 22d verse. "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?" No doubt the general sentiment here is the rejection of the claims of Jesus Christ to be the Messiah promised in the scriptures of the Old Testament. This was the sin of the Jewish nation. " He came unto his owm, and his own received him not." In so acting, they sinned against the clearest evidence and the fullest light. All the marks of the promised Messiah might have been seen in Christ had not their minds been blinded by prejudice and worldliness. He was the light, but they could not see it, because their eyes were blinded. This view, however, does not express the full doctrine of the apostle. It is very comprehensive, and needs to be deeply examined. To receive or reject Jesus as the Christ has respect to all His offices, and consequently to all the blessings which we may obtain or forfeit b}^ embracing or refusing Him in them. Kightly to apprehend the sentiment of the apostle, let us consider what is implied in the term Christ. It means strictly anointed, and raises the question, for what was He anointed ? Under the law, prophets, priests, and kings were set apart to their several offices by being anointed with oil. In this respect they were emblematic of the Saviour, who said of himself, " The Spirit of the Lord was upon me, because He hath anointed me.'' The Spirit anointed Him to be the prophet, priest, and king of the Church. And it is to designate Him as bearing these offices He is called Christ. Keeping this view before us, we perceive the meaning of the apostle's definition of antichrist as one who " denieth that Jesus is the Christ." He rejects or does not accept Him in one or all of these offices, and so subjects himself to that CHAPTER II. 21-24. 135 condemnation. It may be profitable to offer a remark on each of these views. He is antichrist who does not accept of Jesus as the pro- phet of the church. He is the great and infallible Teacher. His mind is declared in the written word. If any man, therefore, refuses obedience to the word, it is counted dis- obedience to Christ. He resists Him " in whom are hid the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.'' He is antichrist. The same observation may be made in relation to His priestly office. " There is one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus — By one offering he hath per- fected for ever them that are sanctified — He ever liveth to make intercession for us.'' Does any man therefore come to God in any other name ? Does he trust in any other ground of acceptance, whether it be his own imagined innocence or righteousness, liis sufferings or his offerings, anything he can do or others can do for him ? Does he put his prayers into any other censer than that of Jesus ? Whoever so acts rejects Christ as his great, meritorious, and prevalent high priest. He is antichrist. So also with the kingly office. Christ only has a claim to command and be obeyed. He said, " One is your master, even Christ ; and call no man your father upon the earth." Does any man therefore yield obedience to another, whose command is contrary to the will of Christ? He rejects Him in His kingly office. He is antichrist. It is well to look at the subject in this comprehensive light. No doubt the Scriptures point to some special anti- christs as more marked and aggravated than others. It is impossible to overlook that the papacy is most distinctly described as such. Yet let us not deceive ourselves. It is to be feared the test which we have just applied will discover many to be themselves antichrist, who have been accustomed to point the finger of scorn at another antichrist. 136 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. 2. This is not all. In the same verse now under considera- tion the apostle gives another description, and says, " He is antichrist that denies the Father and the Son." Let us inquire into this view. It cannot mean a denial of the existence of the Father and the Son as two distinct beings, the one dwelling in heaven, and the other upon the earth. The reference is manifestly to some union between them which some might be disposed or tempted to deny. Nor have we far to go to discover what that union is. It is stated by the apostle to be that of Father and Sou. Yet this cannot mean merely the relation of father and son as that exists between God and angels, or between God and men. There must have been some peculiar relation in the mind of the apostle. It is that in which Christ is called God's " own Son," His " only-begotten and well-beloved Son." In this relation the Son is the equal of the Father. The Jews understood Him to claim that equality when He called Himself the Son of God, and so charged Him with blasphemy and proceeded to stone Him. It is that of which our Lord often spoke, saying, " He that hath seen me hath seen the Father. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me. I and my Father are one." He does not hesitate to say, " The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him." Now, is it not a fair inference from these views that the scriptures claim divine honours for the Son of God ? And if so, does not the apostle declare him to be anticlirist wlio refuses to render them ? Assuredly He is entitled to them. The divine names are all applied to Him. Divine perfections are attributed to Him. Divine works are ascribed to Him. CHAPTEE n. 21-24. 137 Divine worship is paid to Him. He, therefore, is antichrist who does not own His divinity.' And let it be remembered He is represented in this high character, and these honours are claimed for Him as our Saviour. It is for our good as well as for His glory the apostle contends for His honour. Let us give Him the glory that is duQ by hearkening to His invitation, " Look unto me and be saved, all ye ends of the earth ; for I am God, and beside me there is no Saviour." 3. The apostle gives one other view of antichrist in verse 23 — "Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father ; but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also." There are two deeply important sentiments in these words, which can only be noticed. The one is that no one can have just views of God unless He is known as He is revealed in the Son. This is what our Lord refers to when He says, " No man knoweth the Son but the Father ; neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." " God in Christ " is the true God ; and he only who so dis- cerns Him can say, " We joy in God." He who worships any other may be addressed, " Ye know not what ye worship." The other sentiment is the result of the first. He only who know^s God in His Son can have fellowship with Him. This seems to be the force of the phrase, he " hath the Father." He can come to Him. He can take hold of Him. He can walk with Him. He can enjoy Him. He can say of Him, " This God is our God for ever and ever ; he will be our guide even unto death." You see how our privileges are bound up in right appre- ' hensions of Christ. It is to maintain these, as well as to assert His honour, the apostle unfolds the forms in which antichrist may appear. They are indeed united in the 138 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. counsels and purposes of God. And happy is he who unites them in his o\vti experience. III. Tliis will more fully appear while we notice the object of the apostle in writing as he had done. It is thus expressed in the 24th verse — "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." The three terms, " abide," " remain," " continue," are tlie same in the original. The repetition is sufficient to show the extreme importance attached to the thought by the apostle. To secure it was the design of all the earnest argumentation and varied illustration wliich he employed. What, then, is it? It is suggested by a phrase which he uses again and again througliout the epistle, " The truth is not in us." In order that tlie truth may have its due effect, it nuist be in us, not as a speculation in tlie head, but a mighty practical principle in the heart. It must be in us as food is in the man whom it nourishes. It must be incorporated with our whole system, enlightening the understanding, subduing the will, purifying the alfections, controlling the conduct. It must occupy and fill the heart as the seat and fountain of life, whence the streams of thought, and speech, and action are ever flowing. But it is not merely the truth, as a system, that must tluis dwell in us. It is as the casket that contains the jewel ; and that jewel is Christ. It is thus twice identified with Him in the verse that is now before us — " Let that abide in you which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you." But does not the epistle open with this account of Christ — "That which was from the beginning — the Word of life — declare we unto you.'' Tlie meaning, therefore, is that we shall be careful to abide in Christ, or to have llim abiding in us. It is to obey CHAPTEE II. 21-24. 139 His own words, " Abide iu me, and I in you ; as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine, no more can ye 'except ye abide in me." It is that we may do as the apostle did when he saith, " I am crucified with Christ : nevertheless I live ; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me : and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Gal. ii. 20.) And when we thus abide in Christ, trusting in His wisdom to guide, His power to support, His grace to pardon and purify us, how blessed the consequences. Then, says the apostle, " Ye also shall continue in the Son and in the Father." In fellowship you shall have all they can confer. The Son will confer on you all the blessings of His salvation. The Father will confer on you all the blessings of children. As you maintain this union and communion, you may cry, " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." God grant you may prove it to be so in your happy experience. LECTURE XV. "And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life." — 1 John ii. 25. rpHERE is great variety in the style of instruction in tins -^ epistle. Sometimes the apostle lays down general and comprehensive principles, and at other times he has recourse to the most minute explanations and illustrations. Of the former there is an example in the first chapter, and the latter almost entirely, thongh not exclusively, occupy the second. Everything is said that can possibly either unfold or enforce the great subject discussed, true godliness and its evidences. " There is line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little." All things are done for edification. At present our attention is to be occupied with one of those general statements that comprehend the grand features (»f the gospel of Christ. It is like others of the same class announced by this apostle, so simple that a child may apprehend it, and yet so profound that it can neither be fathomed nor exhausted. " This is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life." In considering this statement, let us notice, 1. The blessing promised, " eternal life ;" and 2. AVhat is implied in its being represented as a promise. May God open our minds to apprehend it, and incline our hearts to receive it ! I. Consider the blessing promised — " eternal life." Life is used as the illustration, because of all blessings it is CHAPTEE II. 25. 141 the most desired, and eternal is appended to it, because that is the highest and best form of life. " God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but might have everlasting life." In one view, this eternal life is a present blessing, and in another it is to be realized only in eternity. It is begun here, and consummated there. Here it takes the form of grace, there of glory. It is possessed now as the acorn con- tains the oak, or as the man is in the child, or the plant or flower is contained in the seed. It is only then, however, it is fully developed. Yet it is most important to be remem- bered that it must be begun in time. If not, it can never be consummated in eternity. If there be not life imparted to the soul in the present world, it can have no existence in that which is to come. Under the solemn impression of this thought, let us then inquire in what eternal life consists, as relates to both time and eternity. 1. The first great element in eternal life is freedom from condemnation. So taught our Saviour himself. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life." He declares it to be a present attainment — " he hath it ;" and he makes it to consist in deliverance from condemnation — "he shall not come into it." The sentence of death that lay upon him is removed, and that of life is pronounced. As the criminal who has been tried, found guilty, condemned, and had the sentence of death pronounced upon him, is afterwards freely pardoned by his offended sovereign, and restored to life under his protection, so the sinner, on whom the law has passed sentence of death, is freely pardoned by his gracious judge, and restored to the security of life. This .pardon is in a sense already eternal The sentence is irreversible. Once passed it is never recalled. It was purposed in eternity, and 142 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. shall be made good in eternity. This is the common heritage of all the people of the Lord, and hence it is written, " Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness ; in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie promised before the world began ; but hath in due time manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour." 2. Another element of eternal life is the renewal of the heart in righteousness by the grace of the divine Spirit. There is a double death in the sinner in this present life, and there is a double life corresponding to it. He is dead under the sentence of the law, and also under the power of sin. The former is removed when he is forgiven, the latter when he is renewed in the spirit of his mind. He is then " born again." This is the figure which our Lord employs to describe the spiritual change. His apostle calls it a new creation. It restores all the powers of the soul to their original and proper exercises. " You hath he quickened who were dead in tres- passes and sins." The eyes are opened to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The ears are unstopped to hear His voice in the word. His tongue is unloosed to speak v/ith God in prayer and for him to men. His heart has the power of life infused into it. The man is made " alive unto God." He is so made alive that he can never die. " He is born, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." The Spirit who begins the work in the soul abides in it to maintain and perfect it. " Saints are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." " He that hath' begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." In the confidence of security the believer, confiding in the grace that has made him alive, may boldly challenge all the ene- CHAPTEE II. 25. 1 i3 mies that would again bring liini under the power of death, saying with an apostle, " Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or nakedness, or peril, or sword ? Nay, in all these things we are conquerors, and more than conquerors, through him that loved us." The divine life in the soul, as well from its own nature as its almighty preserver, cannot die. And in this it is even now eternal. 3. It is in eternity, however, it shall be consummated. The principles by which it is now produced and maintained shall then be perfected. Faith shall be turned into sight and hope shall become fruition. "Now abideth faith, hope, charity, but the greatest of these is charity." And mark the reason why it is declared to be the greatest. " Charity never faileth ; but whether there be prophecies they shall fail ; whether there be tongues, they shall cease ; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. For now we see through a glass darkly ; but then face to face : now I know in part : but then shall I know even as also I am known." This, therefore, is the great blessedness ever presented to the hope of the godly. " Ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." Holiness will then be perfect, and consequently so also will happiness. " We know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." In this glorious prospect it is we are taught to triumph and say with the apostle, " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath begotten us again to a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, undeliled, and that fadeth not away, reserved 144! FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. in lieaven for you.'' This is that eternal life proclaimed in the text. Let us now proceed and consider — II. What is implied in its being represented as a promise. " This is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.'' There is a strong emphasis in these words. The repetition of the terms is no doubt intended to arrest attention. It is not merely " the promise," but " the promise which he hath promised us." Let us inquire into the import of such a representation. 1. If eternal life be a promise, this implies that it is a free gift. In this view it is habitually presented in the Scriptures. " The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." " This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, aud this life is in his Son." "The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him come and take the water of life freely." It would be impossible to convey in any terms more fully, or emphatically, or earnestly the idea of eternal life being imparted to men as a free gift. This much is indeed implied in the very idea of a promise. It supposes that the party promising is not under any obligation to grant, or the party promised in a condition to claim, the favour. A promise is, in the very nature of it, gratuitous, and may be "iven or withheld. This applies to all the blessings con- tained in eternal life. The pardon of sin cannot be claimed on the ground of anything in the sinner. If ever it is enjoyed it must be received as a free gift. The same is true of the renewal of the heart in righteousness. As pardon is freely given and received, so also must the Holy Spirit, whose work it is to change the heart. And if ever any sinner is admitted CHAPTER II. 25. 145 to tlie blessedness of heaven, its gates cannot be opened on the ground of any worthiness found in him, but only through the free and undeserved grace of God in Jesus Christ. This is the argument so powerfully addressed to the Gala- tians by the Apostle Paul. He says, " If the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise : but God gave it to Abraham by promise. Is the law then against the promises of God ? God forbid : for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe." There is necessity for all this urgency and argumentation. Strange as it may seem, and unreasonable and mad as it may be, the sinner is unwilling to accept of eternal life as a free gift. It offends his pride. He would purchase it. He would suffer for it, or obey for it, or give some consideration for it. But to receive it gratuitously, this goes against his whole nature,' and he will never submit to it until he is con- strained by divine grace. 0 foolish and unwise, be persuaded to hear the gracious invitation, " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye ; yea come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." Accept eternal life, its pardon, and purity, and blessedness, and while you are thus saved, God will be glorified by your acceptance of the gift. 2. This thought, however, suggests a second remark. While a promise supposes a free gift on the part of God, it implies its acceptance on our part. If it be not accepted it can never be enjoyed. It becomes, therefore, an important inquiry. How is this great promise to be accepted ? It is true, and never to be forgotten, that the promise of eternal life is absolutely unconditional. There are no terms. 146 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. It is simply receive the gift and liave it. Yet the very act of receiving involves certain exercises of mind. Our inquiry is, What are these exercises ? And the least reflection will show there are three which are indispensable. There must be repentance. If any one will receive pardon he must be sensible of his sin. His desire must be to have its heavy burden removed from him. In the nature of the case he cannot come into the possession of pardon without this exercise. Hence its necessity is declared in the most unequivocal terms, " Except ye repent ye shall perish." And the same remark may be made of the other constituents of eternal life. So also there must be faith. The pauper cannot possess the alms presented to him, unless he shall put forth his hand to receive it. No more can the sinner be a partaker of eternal life, without the act of receiving it gratuitously at the hand of God. It is by faith he does so. In its exercise he sees his need of the gift, its suitableness for him, its freeness, and so he accepts it. He says, " Lord, I believe." And in so doing he embraces Jesus Christ, and eternal life in Him. These exercises are followed of necessity by obedience. If we are penitent we must hate sin. If we have faith we must rejoice in Him who saves from it. And if we are saved from it we must be holy. "The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world.'' There is therefore no danger lest the gratuitous salvation of the gospel should encourage us in sin. "While it is free as an unconditional and undeserved gift, it is yet sanctifying. How the apostle unites these views, saying to Titus, " After that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the wash- CHAPTEK II. 25. 147 ing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." 3. If eternal life be the promise of God it is sure. " He is not a man that He should lie, nor the son of man that He should repent. Hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good ? " It is deeply interesting to observe how this unchanging faithfulness of God is represented to guarantee all the bless- ings of eternal life to those who are willing to accept them. The apostle speaks of the " covenant of promise." The pro- mise is put into the form of covenant, that we may be the more assured of its certainty. And the manner in which he unfolds and reasons upon this idea is truly surprising. He says, " God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable tilings, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consola- tion who have fled for refuge, to lay hold on the hope set before us." He gave His promise, but as if that were not enough, He has added His oath, that nothing might be wanted to complete the consolation of those who confided in His covenant. What effect ought such a view of the subject to have upon us ? It is written of Abraham that he " was strong in faith, giving glory to God, being' persuaded that what He had promised He was able also to perform.". Surely then it ought to be the same with us. He has done every thing that was possible to assure our hearts. And let it be remembered this is a view of the subject which ought to exercise a most extensive influence over our lives. There are promises addressed and adapted to us in 148 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. all possible conditions. There is the promise of guidance in perplexity, of strength in weakness, of consolation in sorrow, of grace in life, and support in death. Nothing has been omitted in all the varieties of our exercises, and duties, and feelings. Still there is a promise to meet the case. We liave only to seek it out, to lay our hand upon it, to plead it and say, " Do as Thou hast said." It is sure, and the more we rely upon it, the more honour do we give to Him who has ffiven it. We should seek to remember the word of James, and apply it to the promises, " Let him ask of God and it shall be given him ; but let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord." -t. Finally, since eternal life is the promise of God, it ought to exercise a powerful influence over us, in engaging us wholly for Him, who has so provided for us. This tliought is set forth with great power by more than one apostle. Peter speaks thus, "According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue ; whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises ; tliat by these ye might be par- takers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.'' Sucli he reckoned should be the influence of the promises. And therefore he adds, " And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue ; and to virtue, knowledge : and to knowledge, temper- ance ; and to temperance, patience ; and to patience, godli- ness ; and to godliness, brotherly kindness ; and to brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor un- fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ," 2 Pet. i. 5-8. Paul views the subject in the same light. He CHAPTEK II. 25. 149 says, "having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Surely this ought to be the effect of the promises. Gratitude to him who has given them should so influence us. The conscious happiness with which their enjoyment inspires vis, should thus affect us. And above all, the hope which they set before us should transport us beyond the world, and sin, and self, and elevate us to heaven, with its anticipated holiness, and blessedness, and glory. So will it be with all who truly receive the doc- trine of the text, " this is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life." LECTUEE XA^I. " These tilings have I written ttnto you, concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which yc have received of him ahideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you; hut as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall aiypear, we may have confidence, and not he ashamed hefore him at his coming." — 1 John ii. 26-28. "jPv AILY bread is necessary for the sustenance of life. The -*-^ food of which we partake to-day must be repeated to- morrow. We do not nauseate it because we have been accustomed to it. On the contrary the experience of its efiicacy in past time encourages us to desire it for the future. And as long as we live we must eat and eat again, as well to satisfy the cravings of appetite as to nourish this mortal body. It is the same with the mind. It must be fed from day to day with living bread. The same spiritual food must con- tinue to be taken. The more it has contributed to the nourishment of our souls in former times the more it will be desired iu time to come. " Blessed are they who so hunger and thirst after righteousness ; for they shall be filled." Thus it is we are to account for the reiteration of the same truths in the word of God. The gospel is one. liy it alone can " the soul be in health and prosper." If ever we become CHAPTER II. 26-28. lol satiated with it, the cause must be the inroad of disease upon the mind. The healthy soul never can have enough of " Christ and him crucified.'' We return, therefore, with fresh zest to the Apostle's re- presentation of this unchanging theme in the verses that are before us. In the 26th He insinuates the danger of those to whom he wrote ; in the 27th he reminds them wherein their safety lay ; in the 28th he urges them to the duty necessary to their safety ; and in the latter part of the same verse he urges upon them reasons and motives for the performance of this duty. Let us consider these views. And may the Lord enable us to act upon them ! I. The danger. " These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you." Ver. 26. The term employed by the Apostle is most significant of danger — " seduce you." Those to whom he refers would come to the disciples, not as open enemies, but as professed friends Did they come under the former aspect there would be an immediate and stern resistance. Preparation would be made to ward off the attack. But coming in the latter they would not be suspected. The objects of their seduction would be off their guard. And there would be the hope of making them an easy prey. The history of the church furnishes a melancholy illustra- tion and confirmation of these remarks. "Satan beguiled Eve through his subtlety." He came to her with all the blandish- ments and apparent sympathy of one who had her interests sincerely at heart. He assured her she must somehow have been quite deceived when she supposed God had forbidden her to eat of all the trees of the garden. It could not be so, consistently with the goodness of God and the interests of the human family. On the contrary, it was well known that, by partaking of the tree which she supposed to be forbidden, 1 52 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. she and her companion would "be as gods, knowing good and evil." The gilded bait was swallowed, and we all know the results. This, however, was only a beginning of the seduc- tion. It has been practised successfully in all ages. There have been delusions, instigated by the wicked one, at all times and under all circumstances, to allure the unwary to the ruin of their souls. In the apostolic age they abounded. Even while the apostles lived, the early churches were distracted and agitated by them. The Epistles are filled with counsels and warnings and entreaties. It is so still. In our own day Satan appears sometimes under the guise of an angel of light. With a profession of superior enlightenment and greater zeal and advanced piety, he introduces stealthily the most de- structive errors which, he well knows, will so increase and operate as, in the progress of time, to undermine the whole system of gospel truth. At other times, practices unsanc- tioned by the divine word are gradually admitted, until tliey end in a complete scheme of superstitious observances that overlay the doctrine of Christ. Assaults are again made on the passions and the appetites and the peculiar propensities of men, so as to entice them from the paths of purity and propriety into forbidden courses. Nothing is left undone that can influence our frail humanity, whether it be intellec- tual or sensual. We need to be on our watch against the invasion of the enemy through every sense of the body, and every faculty of the mind. We should ever hear the warn- ing of the wise man — "my son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not." The more we think we are safe we are the less secure. The less we consider our danger it is in reality the greater. " Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." " These things have 1 written unto you concerning them that seduce you." II. Such being the danger of disciples the Apostle next CHAPTER I. 26-28. 153 instructs them wlierein their safety lies. " But the anoint- ing wliich ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you ; but as the same anoint- ing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him." Ver. 27. These are precious views, let us try to enter into them. 1. The security of the believer is at once ascribed to the grace of the Holy Spirit. This is obviously what we are to understand by the anointing of which the Apostle speaks. Oil is the well known emblem of the Spirit. It is properly so because of its uses and properties, purifying, h(;aling, and nourishing, while it was most grateful to all who were brought into contact with those on whom it was poured. No being but the Spirit of God can keep the soul. Our own strength is weakness and our wisdom folly. None can redeem or deliver his brother any more than himself But the Spirit can and has undertaken to do it. " We are not sutficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our suffi- ciency is of God." And he who confides in the Spirit may say, " when I am weak then am I strong." 2. The very promise of the Spirit is made in the text which encourages us to confide in Him. He "abideth in you." This was the precious promise of Christ to his disconsolate followers. *' I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever ; even the Spirit of truth ; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him : but ye know him ; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." The soul of the believer is His chosen temple. There He is with His unerring wisdom to guide in every movement, with His almighty power to uphold against every temptation and strengthen for every duty, with His gracious consolation to sustain under all trials, and with His sanctifying grace to overrule and bless all things for edification. How careful 154 FIKST EPISTLE OF JOHN. we sliould be not to grieve or quench the Spirit. If we only confide in him we need want for nothing. 3. For observe next how independent He is said to render tlie man in whom He abideth. " Ye need not that any man teach you, the same anointing teacheth you of all things." This certainly does not mean that he is made presumptuous and unwilling to be taught by others, as though he needed not their help. The apostle's practice contradicts such a supposition. He is engaged in teaching the very persons ^^•llom he congratulates as independent of human teaching. Nor is there any inconsistency between his views and his practice. He taught the disciples, and they were grateful for his instructions, and were much edified by them. Yet supposing him to be withdrawn from them, it did not follow that they must remain in ignorance. The Spirit could teach by him or without him. Even an apostle could not open the mind to apprehend a single truth unless the Spirit employed and blessed him. Circumstances might arise in which believers would be deprived of all external means of edification. They might be laid on beds of sickness, and shut out from public ordinances. They might be cast on some distant shore, where such privileges were not enjoyed. They might be confined within the narrow limits of a brittle bark on the deep waters, where little was heard but the voice of profanity or folly. They might be immured in the dark prison, and deprived of books and friends and all human aids to devotion or instruction. But in none of these undesirable and trying positions could the Spirit be excluded. He could teach in them all in answer to earnest prayer. He could make the very privation of an ordinance to be an ordinance. It is amazing how often the greatest enlighten- ment of mind has been found in circumstances that promised no advancement. The unlettered peasant has many times given proof of a thorough training in the"" things of God. CHAPTER II. 25-28. 155 And this has not always been confined to a few simple and leading trnths. He has discovered betimes a large acquain- tance with the whole circle of gospel doctrine. The reason is that the Spirit has caused him to describe it in his own experience. He has learned the doctrine of human depravity by being well acquainted with his own heart and life. He lias found the value of Christ in being enabled to embrace Him, and can say, "I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." He has "tasted that the Lord is gracious." He knows the fulness and freeness of salvation by having himself so par- taken of it. Literally " the same anointing teacheth him of all things." He can testify of- every doctrine of Christ that " it is truth, and no lie, even as it hath taught him." No one need attempt therefore to dislodge him out of the strong- hold in which he has found such security and peace. The teaching of the Spirit has made him, if need be, independent of man. 4. It is, therefore, declared that he is safe. "Ye shall abide in him." Seeing the Spirit abides in him, he shall abide in Christ. The latter is the necessary evidence of the former. If he were to depart from Christ, it would be proof that the Spirit had departed from him. But the covenant of grace secures that both shall be enduring. Our Lord has said, " My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life ; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all : and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." In the same strain the apostle argues, " The just shall live by faith ; but if any man draw back my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them that draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul." The conclusion, therefore, is irresistible, that if 156 FIEST EPISTLE OF JOHN. "^ we do draw back from a life of faith and holiness, we are bound to conclude we are not the subjects of the Spirit's gracious work. Whatever may have been our attainments and exercises, we must have been deceived. Our duty is, in such a casie, now to repent and believe the gospel. Christ invites us, and we should never rest until we are enabled to say, " To them that believe he is precious." And being in him, we should yield ourselves to the Spirit that we may be safe and " abide in him." III. This leads us to consider the apostle's view of the believer's duty, " And now, little children, abide in Him." ver. 28. There is no inconsistency between our security being placed entirely in the grace of the Spirit, and the obligation of the duty here enjoined upon us. It does not follow that because the Spirit abides in us, and maintains His own work, we are set free from any responsibility. Eatlier, it is the very reverse. Since the Spirit dwells in us, we are the more called upon to be diligent and faithful. We are left without excuse, seeing we are under the power of Him who is infinitely wise, and powerful to direct and sustain us. This is tlie very use which an inspired apostle makes of this truth, saying, " Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that worketli in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.'' His very argument for activity on our part, consists of this sovereign exercise of divine grace within us. The willing and the doing are both ascribed to God, and for that very reason we are held responsible to advance in the divine life. This sentiment must be admitted. It requires no farther cuiiiirmation. Iiather, therefore, let us occupy ourselves by inquiring how this duty may be best discharged. That we may abide in Christ, under the grace of His Spirit what shall we do ? We reply, CHAPTEE II. 26-28. 167 ' 1. In order to preserve the health of the body we use the utmost diligence to procure necessary food, and so should we do for the soul. What painful industry men are accus- tomed to endure for the sake "of the meat that perisheth." No effort is untried that it may be abundant, and good, and wholesome. So let it be in things spiritual. We are to provide whatever is necessary for edification. We must secure the word and ordinances, and whatever may be neces- sary to make them available for our growth in grace. If not, we cannot prosper. 2. As we freely use the food we have secured for the body, so let us do with our spiritual food. We will not starve while we have bread and to spare, or perhaps food laid up for many years. Yet many neglect the precious word, the re- freshing ordinances, and the advantageous opportunities which God in His mercy has supplied. How can they hope that they shall profit ? Eest assured we are as dependent on the means of grace for the health of the soul, as on daily food for that of the body. 3. As when we have partaken of the food which our industry has provided, we employ our strength in the active duties of our calling, so let us be diligent and active in serv- ing God. Indolence is injurious alike to body and mind. As we receive good of the Lord, we must do good to others. It is in watering others, we are ourselves watered. It is in doing good we get good. In serving others we serve our- selves. It is thus we discharge the duty of abiding in Christ, while all this is done with faith in His name, and dependence on His Spirit. And that we may be urged so to act, consider — IV. The reasons assigned and the motives urged by the apostle in the text, " that when He shall appear, we may 1 58 FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN. have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming." The fact is assumed that Christ shall appear, and two most solemn reflections are founded on it. Christ will appear. This is the plain and repeated testi- mony of the divine word. " Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many ; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time, without sin unto salvation." " Wlien the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with liim, then shall he sit on the throne of his