Melito, Apollinaris of Hierapolis, Tatian, Athenagoras (the Old Latin and Syriac translations already have the Gospel of John) are all obviously well acquainted with the Gospel of John. Saint Clement of Alexandria even speaks about the reason for which John wrote his Gospel (Eusebius, “Ecclesiastical History,” VI, 14, 7). The Muratorian Fragment also testifies to the origin of the Gospel of John (see Analects, ed. Preyshen, 1910, p. 27).
Thus, the Gospel of John existed in Asia Minor, undoubtedly, from the beginning of the 2nd century and was read, and around the middle of the 2nd century it found its way into other areas where Christians lived, and gained respect as the work of the Apostle John. Given this state of affairs, it is not at all surprising that in many of the works of apostolic men and apologists we do not yet encounter quotations from the Gospel of John or hints at its existence. But the very fact that the student of the heretic Valentine (who came to Rome around 140), Heracleon, wrote a commentary on the Gospel of John indicates that the Gospel of John appeared much earlier than the second half of the 2nd century, since, undoubtedly, writing an interpretation of a work that has only recently appeared would be quite strange. Finally, the testimonies of such pillars of Christian science as (III century), Eusebius of Caesarea and Blessed Jerome (IV century) clearly speak about the authenticity of the Gospel of John for the fact that there cannot be anything unfounded in the church tradition about the origin of the fourth Gospel .
Apostle John the Theologian
Where the Apostle John was from, nothing definite can be said about this. All that is known about his father, Zebedee, is that he and his sons James and John lived in Capernaum and were engaged in fishing on a fairly large scale, as indicated by the fact that he had workers (). A more outstanding personality is Zebedee’s wife, Salome, who belonged to those women who accompanied Christ the Savior and from their own means acquired what was required to support a fairly large circle of Christ’s disciples, who made up His almost constant retinue (; ). She shared the ambitious desires of her sons and asked Christ to fulfill their dreams (). She was present from afar when the Savior was taken down from the cross (Matthew 27ff.) and participated in the purchase of aromas for anointing the body of the buried Christ (cf.).
The family of Zebedee was, according to legend, related to the family of the Blessed Virgin: Salome and the Blessed Virgin were sisters - and this tradition is in full accordance with the fact that the Savior, while He was about to betray His Spirit from moment to moment The father, hanging on the cross, entrusted the Blessed Virgin to the care of John (see comments to). This relationship can also explain why, of all the disciples, James and John laid claim to the first places in the Kingdom of Christ (). But if James and John were nephews of the Blessed Virgin, then they were also related to John the Baptist (cf.), whose preaching should therefore have been of particular interest to them. All these families were imbued with one pious, truly Israeli mood. This is evidenced, by the way, by the fact that all the names that the members of these families bore were real Jewish ones without any admixture of Greek or Latin nicknames.
From the fact that James is mentioned everywhere before John, we can confidently conclude that John was younger than James, and tradition also calls him the youngest among the apostles. John was no more than 20 years old when Christ called him to follow Him, and the tradition that he lived until the reign of Emperor Trajan (reign 98–117) is not improbable: John was then about 90 years. Soon after the call to follow Him, Christ called John to a special, apostolic ministry, and John became one of the 12 apostles of Christ. Because of his special love and devotion to Christ, John became one of the closest and most trusted disciples of Christ, and even the most beloved. He was honored to be present at the most important events in the life of the Savior, for example at His Transfiguration, at the prayer of Christ in Gethsemane, etc. In contrast to the Apostle Peter, John lived a more internal, contemplative life than an external, practically active one. He observes more than he acts, he often immerses himself in his inner world, discussing in his mind greatest events which he was called upon to witness. His soul hovers more in the heavenly world, which is why from ancient times he adopted the symbol of the eagle in church icon painting (Bazhenov, pp. 8–10). But sometimes John also showed ardor of soul, even extreme irritability: this was when he stood up for the honor of his Teacher (;). The ardent desire to be closer to Christ was also reflected in John’s request to grant him and his brother the first positions in the glorious Kingdom of Christ, for which John was ready to go with Christ to suffer (). For this ability for unexpected impulses, Christ called John and James “sons of thunder” (), predicting at the same time that the preaching of both brothers would have an irresistible effect on the souls of listeners, like thunder.
After the ascension of Christ into heaven, the Apostle John, together with the Apostle Peter, acts as one of the representatives of the Christian Church in Jerusalem (Acts 3ff.;). At the Apostolic Council in Jerusalem in the winter of 51–52, John, together with Peter and the primate of the Jerusalem Church, James, recognized the Apostle Paul’s right to preach the Gospel to the pagans, without obliging them at the same time to observe the Law of Moses (). Already at that time, therefore, the significance of the Apostle John was great. But how it must have increased when Peter, Paul and James died!
Having settled in Ephesus, John occupied the position of leader of all the churches of Asia for another 30 years, and of the other disciples of Christ around him, he enjoyed exceptional respect from the believers. Tradition tells us some details about the activities of the Apostle John during this period of his stay in Ephesus. Thus, it is known from legend that he annually celebrated the Christian Easter at the same time as the Jewish Passover and observed fasting before Easter. Then one day he left a public bath, seeing the heretic Kerinthos there. “Let’s run away,” he said to those who came with him, “so that the bathhouse does not collapse, because Kerinthus, the enemy of truth, is in it.” How great was his love and compassion for people, this is evidenced by the story of the young man whom John converted to Christ and who, in his absence, joined a gang of robbers. John, according to the legend of Saint Clement of Alexandria, himself went to the robbers and, meeting the young man, begged him to return to the good path. In the very last hours of his life, John, no longer able to speak long speeches, only repeated: “Children, love one another!” And when his listeners asked him why he repeated everything the same, “the apostle of love” - such a nickname was established for John - answered: “Because this is the commandment of the Lord, and if only it were fulfilled, that would be enough.” Thus, a will that does not allow any compromise between a holy God and a sinful world, devotion to Christ, love of truth, combined with compassion for unfortunate brothers - these are the main character traits of John the Theologian, which are imprinted in Christian tradition.
John, according to legend, testified his devotion to Christ through suffering. So, under Nero (reign 54–68) he was brought in chains to Rome and here he was first forced to drink a cup of poison, and then, when the poison did not work, he was thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil, from which, however, the apostle was also not injured. During his stay in Ephesus, John had to, by order of Emperor Domitian (reign 81–96), go to live on the island. Patmos, located 40 geographical miles southwest of Ephesus. Here, in mysterious visions, the future destinies of the Church of Christ were revealed to him, which he depicted in his Apocalypse. On about. Patmos the Apostle remained until the death of Emperor Domitian (96), when, by order of Emperor Nerva (reign 96–98), he was returned to Ephesus.
John died, probably in the 7th year of the reign of Emperor Trajan (105 AD), having reached the age of one hundred.
Reason and purpose of writing the Gospel
According to the Muratorian canon, John wrote his Gospel at the request of the bishops of Asia Minor, who wanted to receive instruction from him in faith and piety. Clement of Alexandria adds to this that John himself noticed some incompleteness in the stories about Christ contained in the first three Gospels, which speak almost only of the “bodily”, i.e. about external events from the life of Christ, and therefore he himself wrote the “Spiritual Gospel”. Eusebius of Caesarea, for his part, adds that John, having reviewed and approved the first three Gospels, still found in them insufficient information about the beginning of Christ’s activity. Blessed Jerome says that the reason for writing the Gospel was the emergence of heresies that denied the coming of Christ in the flesh.
Thus, based on what has been said, we can conclude that when John wrote his Gospel, on the one hand, he wanted to fill the gaps he noticed in the first three Gospels, and on the other hand, to give believers (primarily Greek Christians) weapons for combating emerging heresies. As for the evangelist himself, he defines the purpose of his Gospel as follows: “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believing you may have life in His name.”(). It is clear that John wrote his Gospel in order to give Christians support for their faith in Christ precisely as the Son of God, because only with such faith can one achieve salvation or, as John puts it, have life in oneself. And the entire content of the Gospel of John is fully consistent with this intention expressed by its writer. In fact, the Gospel of John begins with the conversion of John himself to Christ and ends with the confession of faith of the Apostle Thomas (Chapter 21 is an addition to the Gospel made later). John wants throughout his Gospel to depict the process by which he and his fellow apostles came to faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, so that the reader of the Gospel, following the actions of Christ, would gradually understand that Christ is the Son of God... The readers of the Gospel already had this faith, but it was weakened in them by various false teachings that distorted the concept of the incarnation of the Son of God. At the same time, John could have had in mind the clarification of the duration of Christ’s public service to the human race: according to the first three Gospels, it turned out that this activity lasted just over one year, and John explains that it lasted over three years.
The Evangelist John, in accordance with the goal that he set for himself when writing the Gospel, undoubtedly had his own special narrative plan, not similar to general first the three Gospels are the traditional account of the story of Christ. John does not simply report in order the events of the Gospel history and the speech of Christ, but makes a selection from them, primarily before the rest of the Gospels, putting in first place everything that testified to the divine dignity of Christ, which in his time was subject to doubt. Events from the life of Christ are reported in John in a certain light, and all are aimed at clarifying the main position of the Christian faith - the Divinity of Jesus Christ.
In the prologue to the Gospel (), John first of all speaks about the divine dignity of Christ and about the attitude of people towards Him, some of whom did not believe Him, while others accepted Him. This idea about the different attitudes of people towards the incarnate Word, the idea of the struggle between faith and unbelief, runs through the entire Gospel of John.
The very narrative of Christ’s activity begins with His speech to the disciples of John the Baptist, who had previously testified three times that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God. Christ first reveals to His disciples His omniscience (), and then His omnipotence () and then after some time in Jerusalem appears as the ruler of the temple, i.e. Messiah (). Official representatives of Judaism immediately show their hostile attitude towards Christ, which over time should degenerate into open persecution of Christ, but the common people, apparently, feel an attraction to the appeared Light, fueled, however, by the miracles that Christ performed this time in Jerusalem ( ). An example of a bearer of such faith is the Pharisee Nicodemus, to whom Christ revealed the greatness of His face and His mission (). In view of this attitude towards Christ on the part of the Jews, John the Baptist again and for the last time already testified to His high dignity before his disciples, threatening those who did not believe in Christ with the wrath of God (). After this, after spending about eight months in Judea, Christ retires for a while to Galilee, and along the way, in the Samaritan region, he converts the population of an entire Samaritan town to faith (). In Galilee, He receives a rather warm welcome, since the Galileans witnessed the miracles that Christ performed in Jerusalem on the Easter holiday. Christ, however, declares such faith to be insufficient (). However, according to John, Christ, during His stay in Galilee, which apparently lasted about seven or eight months - before the Feast of Tabernacles (a Jewish holiday in), lived with His family, without preaching the Gospel. He obviously wants, first of all, to proclaim the Gospel in Judea and for this he goes to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. Here, regarding the healing He performed on Saturday, representatives of Judaism begin to accuse Him of violating the Law of Moses, and when Christ, to justify His act, pointed out to them His special rights as the Son of God, equal with God the Father, the hatred of the Jews for Him was expressed in the measures they conceived eliminate Christ, which, however, were not carried out this time due to the strong impression undoubtedly made by the speech spoken here by Christ in defense of His Messianic dignity (). From this place John begins to depict the struggle that the official representatives of Judaism waged against Christ - a struggle that ended with the decision of the Jewish authorities to “take Christ” ().
Not accepted a second time in Judea, Christ again withdrew to Galilee and began to perform miracles, of course, while preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. But here, too, Christ’s teaching about Himself as such a Messiah, Who came not to restore the earthly Kingdom of Judea, but to found a new Kingdom - spiritual, and to impart eternal life to people, arms the Galileans against Him, and only a few disciples remain around Him, namely the 12 apostles, whose faith is expressed by the Apostle Peter (). Having spent both Easter and Pentecost this time in Galilee, in view of the fact that in Judea the enemies were just waiting for an opportunity to seize and kill Him, Christ only on the Feast of Tabernacles went to Jerusalem again - this is already the third trip there - and here again he spoke before the Jews with affirmation of His divine mission and origin. The Jews again rebel against Christ. But Christ, nevertheless, on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles boldly declares His high dignity - that He is the giver of the truth of the water of life, and the servants sent by the Sanhedrin cannot fulfill the assignment given to them - to capture Christ ().
Then, after forgiving the sinner wife (), Christ denounces the Jews’ lack of faith in Him. He calls Himself the Light of the world, and they, His enemies, are the children of the devil - the ancient murderer. When, at the end of his speech, He pointed to His eternal existence, the Jews wanted to stone Him as a blasphemer, and Christ disappeared from the temple, where His altercation with the Jews took place (). After this, Christ healed a man born blind on Saturday, and this further intensified the hatred of Jesus among the Jews (). Nevertheless, Christ boldly calls the Pharisees mercenaries, who do not value the well-being of the people, and Himself - the true Shepherd, Who lays down His life for His flock. This speech arouses a negative attitude towards it in some, and some sympathy in others ().
Three months after this, on the feast of the renewal of the temple, a clash occurs again between Christ and the Jews and Christ retires to Perea, where many Jews who believed in Him also follow Him (). The miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus, which testified to Christ as the giver of resurrection and life, arouses faith in Christ in some, and a new explosion of hatred towards Christ in others of Christ’s enemies. Then the Sanhedrin makes the final decision to put Christ to death and declares that anyone who knows about the whereabouts of Christ should immediately report this to the Sanhedrin (). After more than three months, which Christ spent not in Judea, He again appeared in Judea and near Jerusalem, in Bethany, was present at a friendly evening, and a day after that, solemnly entered Jerusalem as the Messiah. The people greeted Him with delight, and the Greek proselytes who came to the holiday expressed a desire to talk with Him. All this prompted Christ to announce out loud to everyone around Him that He would soon give Himself up for the true good of all people. John concludes this section of his Gospel with the statement that although the majority of the Jews did not believe in Christ, despite all His miracles, there were believers among them ().
Having depicted the gap that occurred between Christ and the Jewish people, the evangelist now depicts the attitude towards the apostles. At the last, Last Supper, Christ washed His disciples’ feet like a simple servant, thereby showing His love for them and at the same time teaching them humility (). Then, in order to strengthen their faith, He speaks about His upcoming departure to God the Father, about their future position in the world and about His subsequent upcoming meeting with them. The apostles interrupt His speech with questions and objections, but He constantly leads them to think that everything that will happen soon will be useful both for Him and for them (). In order to finally calm the anxiety of the apostles, Christ, in their presence, prays to His Father that He would take them under His protection, saying at the same time that the work for which Christ was sent has now been completed and that, therefore, the apostles will only have to proclaim this to the whole world ().
John devotes the last section of his Gospel to depicting the story of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Here we are talking about the capture of Christ by soldiers in Gethsemane and the denial of Peter, the trial of Christ by spiritual and temporal authorities, the crucifixion and death of Christ, the piercing of Christ’s side with a warrior’s spear, the burial of the body of Christ by Joseph and Nicodemus () and, finally, about the appearance of Christ to Mary Magdalene, ten disciples and then Thomas along with other disciples a week after the resurrection (). The Gospel is accompanied by a conclusion, which indicates the purpose of writing the Gospel - strengthening faith in Christ in the readers of the Gospel ().
The Gospel of John also contains an epilogue, which depicts the appearance of Christ to seven disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, when the restoration of the Apostle Peter to his apostolic dignity followed. At the same time, Christ predicts to Peter his fate and the fate of John ().
Thus, John developed in his Gospel the idea that the incarnate Son of God, the Only Begotten, the Lord, was rejected by His people, among whom He was born, but nevertheless gave the disciples who believed in Him grace and truth, and the opportunity to become children of God. This content of the Gospel is conveniently divided into the following sections.
Prologue ().
First department: Testimony of Christ of John the Baptist - before the first manifestation of the greatness of Christ ().
Second department: The beginning of Christ's public ministry ().
Third department: Jesus is the Giver of eternal life, in the fight against Judaism ().
Fourth department: From the last week before Easter ().
Fifth department: Jesus among his disciples on the eve of His suffering ().
Sixth department: The glorification of Jesus through the resurrection ().
Epilogue ().
Objections to the Authenticity of John's Gospel
From what has been said about the structure and content of the Gospel of John, one can see that this Gospel contains a lot of things that distinguish it from the first three Gospels, which are called synoptic due to the similarity of the image of the person and activity of Jesus Christ given in them. Thus, the life of Christ in John begins in heaven...
The story of the birth and childhood of Christ, with which the evangelists Matthew and Luke introduce us, John passes over in silence. In the majestic prologue of the Gospel, John, this eagle between the evangelists, who has adopted this symbol in church iconography, takes us straight into infinity with a bold flight. Then he quickly descends to earth, but even here in the incarnate Word he gives us signs of the divinity of the Word. Then John the Baptist appears in the Gospel of John. But this is not a preacher of repentance and judgment, as we know him from the Synoptic Gospels, but a witness of Christ as the Lamb of God, Who takes upon Himself the sins of the world (). Evangelist John says nothing about the baptism and temptation of Christ. The evangelist looks at the return of Christ from John the Baptist with His first disciples to Galilee as the beginning of a sermon about the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven. In the Gospel of John, the chronological and geographical scope of activity is not at all the same as that of the weather forecasters. John touches on the Galilean activity of Christ only at its highest point - the story of the miraculous feeding of the five thousand and the conversation about the bread of heaven. Then only in depicting the last days of Christ’s life does John converge with the weather forecasters. The main place of Christ's activity, according to the Gospel of John, is Jerusalem and Judea.
John differs even more from the Synoptic evangelists in his portrayal of Christ as a Teacher. U last Christ acts as a people's preacher as a teacher of morality, expounding to the simple inhabitants of Galilean cities and villages in the most accessible form for them the teaching about the Kingdom of God. As a benefactor of the people, He walks through Galilee, healing every disease in the people surrounding Him in whole crowds. In John, the Lord appears either before individuals, such as Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, or in the circle of His disciples, or, finally, before priests, scribes and other Jews knowledgeable in the matter of religious knowledge, making speeches about the divine dignity of His person. At the same time, the language of His speeches becomes somewhat mysterious, and we often encounter allegories here. The miracles in the Gospel of John also have the character of signs, i.e. serve to explain the main provisions of Christ’s teaching about His Divinity.
More than a hundred years have passed since German rationalism directed its blows at the Gospel of John to prove its inauthenticity. However, it was only from the time of Strauss that the real persecution of this greatest testimony to the Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ began. Under the influence of Hegel's philosophy, which did not allow the possibility of the realization of an absolute idea in an individual, Strauss declared the Christ of John a myth, and the entire Gospel a tendentious fiction. Following him, the head of the new Tübingen school F.X. Baur traced the origins of the 4th Gospel to the second half of the 2nd century, when, as he believes, reconciliation began between the two opposing movements of the Apostolic Age - Petrinism and Paulinism. John's Gospel, according to Baur, was a monument of reconciliation between both of these directions. It aimed to reconcile the various disputes taking place at that time (around 170) in the Church: Montanism, Gnosticism, the doctrine of the Logos, Easter disputes, etc., and for this it used the material contained in the first three Gospels, putting everything depending on one idea of the Logos. This view of Baur wanted to be developed and substantiated by his students - Schwegler, Kestlin, Zeller and others, but, in any case, nothing came of their efforts, as even such a liberal critic as Harnack admits. Early Christianity was not at all the arena of the struggle between Petrinism and Paulinism, as the latest church historical science has shown. However, the newest representatives of the New Tübingen school G.I. Holtzmann, Hilgenfeld, Volkmar, Kreyenbühl (his work in French: “The 4th Gospel”, vol. I, 1901 and vol. II, 1903) still deny the authenticity of the Gospel of John and the reliability of the information contained in it , with most of them attributed to the influence of Gnosticism. Thoma attributes the origin of the Gospel to the influence of Philonism, Max Müller to the influence of Greek philosophy.
Since the New Tübingen school still could not ignore the evidence about the authenticity of the Gospel of John, which dates back to the very first decades of the 2nd century AD, it tried to explain the origin of such evidence as something like the self-hypnosis of those ancient church writers, who have the said evidence. It’s just that a writer, like Saint Irenaeus, read the inscription: “The Gospel of John” - and immediately it was established in his memory that this was really the Gospel belonging to the beloved disciple of Christ... But most critics began to defend the position that By “John,” the author of the 4th Gospel, all the ancients meant “presbyter John,” whose existence is mentioned by Eusebius of Caesarea. This is what Busse and Harnack think, for example. Others (Jülicher) consider the author of the 4th Gospel to be some disciple of John the Theologian. But since it is quite difficult to admit that at the end of the 1st century there were two Johns in Asia Minor - an apostle and a presbyter - who enjoyed equally enormous authority, some critics began to deny the presence of the Apostle John in Asia Minor (Lutzenberger, Feim, Schwartz, Schmiedel).
Not finding it possible to find a substitute for the Apostle John, modern criticism, however, agrees that the 4th Gospel could not have originated from the Apostle John. Let us see how grounded are the objections that modern criticism raises to refute the general church conviction in the authenticity of the 4th Gospel. When analyzing the critics’ objections to the authenticity of the Gospel of John, we will necessarily have to talk about the reliability of the information reported in the 4th Gospel, because in support of their view of the origin of the 4th Gospel not from John, the critics point to the unreliability of various facts cited in the Gospel of John and the general improbability of the idea that is created on the basis of this Gospel about the person and activity of the Savior.
Feim, followed by many other critics, points out that according to the Gospel of John, Christ “was not born, was not baptized, did not experience any internal struggle or mental suffering. He knew everything from the beginning, shining with pure divine glory. Such a Christ does not correspond to the conditions of human nature.” But all this is incorrect: Christ, according to John, became flesh () and had a Mother (), and there is a clear indication of His acceptance of baptism in the speech of John the Baptist (). The fact that Christ experienced an internal struggle is clearly stated in, and His spiritual suffering is evidenced by the tears He shed at the tomb of Lazarus (). As for the foreknowledge that Christ reveals in the Gospel of John, it is completely consistent with our faith in Christ as the God-man.
Further, critics point out that the 4th Gospel does not seem to recognize any gradualism in the development of the faith of the apostles: the initially called apostles, from the very first day of their acquaintance with Christ, become completely confident in His messianic dignity (). But critics forget that the disciples fully believed in Christ only after the first sign in Cana (). And they themselves say that they believed in the Divine origin of Christ only when Christ told them a lot about Himself in a farewell conversation ().
Then, if John says that Christ went to Jerusalem from Galilee several times, whereas, according to the weather forecasters, it seems that He visited Jerusalem only once on the Passover of Passion, then we must say about this that, firstly, and from the synoptic Gospels we can conclude that Christ was in Jerusalem more than once (see), and secondly, most correctly, of course, it is the Evangelist John who wrote his Gospel after the synoptic and , naturally, had to come to the idea of the need to supplement the insufficient chronology of the weather forecasters and depict in detail the activities of Christ in Jerusalem, which was known to him, of course, much better than to any of the forecasters, two of whom did not even belong to the 12 . Even the Apostle Matthew could not know all the circumstances of Christ’s activity in Jerusalem, because, firstly, he was called relatively late (cf.), and secondly, because Christ sometimes went to Jerusalem secretly (), without accompanying the entire crowd of students. John, undoubtedly, was given the honor of accompanying Christ everywhere.
But most of all doubts regarding reliability are aroused by the speeches of Christ, which are cited by the Evangelist John. Christ in John, according to critics, speaks not as a practical folk teacher, but as a subtle metaphysician. His speeches could only have been “composed” by a later “writer” who was influenced by the views of Alexandrian philosophy. On the contrary, the speeches of Christ among the weather forecasters are naive, simple and natural. Therefore, the 4th Gospel is not of apostolic origin. Regarding this statement of criticism, first of all, it must be said that it overly exaggerates the difference between the speeches of Christ in the Synoptics and His speeches in John. You can point out about three dozen sayings, which are given in the same form by both the weather forecasters and John (see John 2i; John 3i; John 5i). And then the speeches of Christ given by John should have differed from those given by the weather forecasters, since John set himself the goal of acquainting his readers with the activities of Christ in Judea and Jerusalem - this center of rabbinic enlightenment, where Christ had a completely different circle before Him listeners than in Galilee. It is clear that the Galilean speeches of Christ, cited by the weather forecasters, could not be devoted to such sublime teachings as the subject of the speeches of Christ spoken in Judea. Moreover, John cites several speeches of Christ, spoken by Him in the circle of His closest disciples, who, of course, were much more capable of understanding the mysteries of the Kingdom of God than the common people.
It is also necessary to take into account the fact that the Apostle John, by his nature, was predominantly inclined to be interested in the mysteries of the Kingdom of God and the high dignity of the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. No one was able to assimilate in such completeness and clarity Christ’s teaching about Himself as John, whom Christ therefore loved more than His other disciples.
Some critics argue that all the speeches of Christ in John are nothing more than a disclosure of ideas contained in the prologue of the Gospel and, therefore, composed by John himself. To this it must be said that, rather, the prologue itself can be called the conclusion that John made from all the speeches of Christ cited by John. This is evidenced, for example, by the fact that the root concept of the prologue “Logos” is not found in the speeches of Christ with the meaning that it has in the prologue.
As for the fact that only John cites the speeches of Christ, which contain His teaching about His divine dignity, then this circumstance cannot be of particular significance as proof of the contradiction that supposedly exists between the weather forecasters and John in the teaching about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ . After all, the weather forecasters also have sayings of Christ, in which a clear indication of His divine dignity is made (see, 16, etc.). And besides, all the circumstances of the birth of Christ and the numerous miracles of Christ reported by the weather forecasters clearly testify to His divine dignity.
They also point out their monotony in relation to the content as evidence of the idea that Christ’s speeches were “composed” in John. Thus, the conversation with Nicodemus depicts the spiritual nature of the Kingdom of God, and the conversation with the Samaritan woman depicts the universal nature of this Kingdom, etc. If there is some uniformity in the external structure of speeches and in the method of proving thoughts, this is explained by the fact that the speeches of Christ in John are intended to explain the mysteries of the Kingdom of God to the Jews, and not to the inhabitants of Galilee, and therefore naturally take on a monotonous character.
They say that the speeches given by John do not stand in connection with the events described in the Gospel of John. But such a statement does not correspond to reality at all: it is in John that every speech of Christ has a solid support for itself in previous events, one might even say that it is caused by them. Such, for example, is the conversation about heavenly bread, spoken by Christ regarding the saturation of the people with earthly bread ().
They further object: “How could John remember such extensive, difficult in content and dark speeches of Christ until his ripe old age?” But when a person pays all his attention to one thing, it is clear that he already observes this “one thing” in all its details and imprints it firmly in his memory. It is known about John that among the disciples of Christ and in the Apostolic Church he did not have a particularly active significance and was more of a silent companion of the Apostle Peter than an independent figure. He turned all the ardor of his nature - and he really had such a nature () - all the abilities of his outstanding mind and heart to reproduce in his consciousness and memory the greatest personality of the God-man. From this it becomes clear how he could subsequently reproduce in his Gospel such extensive and profound speeches of Christ. In addition, the ancient Jews were generally able to remember very long conversations and repeat them with literal accuracy. Finally, why not assume that John could have recorded individual conversations of Christ for himself and then used what was written down?
They ask: “Where could John, a simple fisherman from Galilee, receive such a philosophical education as he reveals in his Gospel? Isn’t it more natural to assume that the 4th Gospel was written by some Gnostic or Christian from the Greeks, brought up on the study of classical literature?
The answer to this question is as follows. Firstly, John does not have the strict consistency and logical structure of views that distinguish Greek philosophical systems. Instead of dialectics and logical analysis, John is dominated by a synthesis characteristic of systematic thinking, reminiscent of Eastern religious and theological contemplation rather than Greek philosophy (Prof. Muretov. The authenticity of the Lord’s conversations in the 4th Gospel. Right review, 1881. September, p. 65 et seq.). It can therefore be said that John writes as an educated Jew, and the question of where he could have received such a Jewish education is resolved quite satisfactorily by the consideration that John’s father was a fairly wealthy man (he had his own workers) and therefore both of his sons, Jacob and John, could have received a good education for that time in one of the rabbinical schools in Jerusalem.
What also confuses some critics is the similarity that is noticed both in the content and style of Christ’s speeches in the 4th Gospel and in the 1st Epistle of John. It seems as if John himself composed the Lord’s speeches... To this it must be said that John, having joined the ranks of Christ’s disciples in his earliest youth, naturally adopted His ideas and the very manner of their expression. Then, the speeches of Christ in John do not represent a literal reproduction of everything that Christ said on one occasion or another, but only an abbreviated rendering of what Christ actually said. Moreover, John had to convey the speeches of Christ, spoken in Aramaic, in Greek, and this forced him to look for turns and expressions that were more appropriate to the meaning of Christ’s speech, so that naturally the coloring that was characteristic of the speech of John himself was obtained in the speeches of Christ. Finally, between the Gospel of John and his 1st Epistle there is an undoubted difference, namely, between the speech of John himself and the speeches of the Lord. Thus, the salvation of people through the Blood of Christ is often spoken of in the 1st Epistle of John and is silent in the Gospel. As for the form of presentation of thoughts, in the 1st Epistle we find short, fragmentary instructions and maxims everywhere, and in the Gospel - whole large speeches.
In view of all that has been said, in contrast to the assertions of criticism, one can only agree with those positions expressed by Pope Pius X in his “Syllabus” of July 3, 1907, where the Pope recognizes as heresy the assertion of modernists that the Gospel of John is not history in the proper sense of the word , but mystical reasoning about the life of Christ, and that it is not a genuine testimony of the Apostle John about the life of Christ, but a reflection of those views on the person of Christ that existed in the Christian Church by the end of the 1st century AD.
Self-Testimony of the Fourth Gospel
The author of the Gospel clearly identifies himself as a Jew. He knows all Jewish customs and views, especially the views of the then Judaism on the Messiah. Moreover, he speaks about everything that happened in Palestine at that time as an eyewitness. If he seems to separate himself from the Jews (for example, he says “the holiday of the Jews” and not “our holiday”), then this is explained by the fact that the 4th Gospel was undoubtedly written already when Christians were completely separated from the Jews . In addition, the Gospel was written specifically for pagan Christians, which is why the author could not talk about the Jews as “his” people. Geographical position Palestine of that time is also outlined in an extremely accurate and thorough manner. This cannot be expected from a writer who lived, for example, in the 2nd century.
As a witness to the events that took place in the life of Christ, the author of the 4th Gospel further shows himself in the special chronological accuracy with which he describes the time of these events. It designates not only the holidays on which Christ went to Jerusalem - this is important for determining the duration of Christ's public ministry, but even the days and weeks before and after this or that event and, finally, sometimes the hours of events. He also speaks with precision about the number of persons and objects in question.
The details that the author reports about the various circumstances of the life of Christ also give reason to conclude that the author was an eyewitness to everything that he describes. Moreover, the features with which the author characterizes the leaders of that time are so significant that only an eyewitness could indicate them, moreover, he well understood the differences that existed between the Jewish parties of that time.
The fact that the author of the Gospel was an apostle from among the 12 is clearly evident from the memories that he reports about many circumstances inner life mug 12. He knows well all the doubts that worried the disciples of Christ, all their conversations among themselves and with their Teacher. At the same time, he calls the apostles not by the names by which they later became known in the Church, but by those that they bore in their friendly circle (for example, he calls Bartholomew Nathanael).
The author’s attitude towards weather forecasters is also remarkable. He boldly corrects the testimony of the latter in many points as an eyewitness, who also has a higher authority than them: only such a writer could speak so boldly, without fear of condemnation from anyone. Moreover, this was undoubtedly an apostle from among those closest to Christ, since he knows much that was not revealed to the other apostles (see).
Who was this student? He does not call himself by name and, however, identifies himself as the beloved disciple of the Lord (). This is not the Apostle Peter, because Peter is called by name everywhere in the 4th Gospel and is directly different from the unnamed disciple. Of the closest disciples, then two remained - James and John, the sons of Zebedee. But it is known about Jacob that he did not leave the Jewish country and suffered martyrdom relatively early (in 41). Meanwhile, the Gospel was undoubtedly written after the Synoptic Gospels and, probably, at the end of the 1st century. Only John alone can be recognized as the apostle closest to Christ, who wrote the 4th Gospel. Calling himself “another student,” he always adds to this expression the definite article (ὁ μαθητής), clearly saying that everyone knew him and could not confuse him with anyone else. Out of his humility, he also does not call his mother, Salome, and his brother Jacob by name (). Only the Apostle John could have done this, for any other writer would certainly have mentioned at least one of the sons of Zebedee by name. They object: “But the Evangelist Matthew found it possible to mention his name in his Gospel” ()? Yes, but in the Gospel of Matthew the personality of the writer completely disappears in the objective depiction of the events of the gospel history, while the 4th Gospel has a pronounced subjective character, and the writer of this Gospel, realizing this, wanted to leave his own name in the shadows, which is already everyone was asking for a memory.
Language and presentation of the fourth Gospel
Both the language and presentation of the 4th Gospel clearly indicate that the writer of the Gospel was a Palestinian Jew, not a Greek, and that he lived at the end of the 1st century. In the Gospel, first of all, there are direct and indirect references to places in the holy books Old Testament(this can also be seen in the Russian edition of the Gospel with parallel passages). Moreover, he knows not only the translation of the Seventy, but also the Hebrew text of the Old Testament books (cf. John 19 and Zech. 12 according to the Hebrew text). Then, “the special plasticity and imagery of speech, which constitute an excellent feature of the Jewish genius, the arrangement of the members of the sentence and their simple construction, the striking detail of the presentation, reaching the point of tautology and repetition, the speech is short, abrupt, the parallelism of members and whole sentences and antitheses, the lack of Greek particles in the combination of sentences "BB and much more clearly indicate that the Gospel was written by a Jew, not a Greek (Bazhenov. “Characteristics of the Fourth Gospel,” p. 374).
Member of the Vienna Academy of Sciences D.G. Müller (D.H. Müller) in his abstract “Das Johannes-Evangelium im Lichte der Strophentheorie” (Wien, 1909) even makes, and very successfully, an attempt to divide the most important speeches of Christ contained in the Gospel of John into stanzas and concludes with the following: “ At the end of my work on the Discourse on the Mount, I also studied the Gospel of John, which in content and style is so different from the Synoptic Gospels, but to my great surprise I found that the laws of strophic rule prevail here to the same extent as in the speeches of the prophets, in the Mount conversation and in the Koran." Doesn't this fact indicate that the writer of the Gospel was a real Jew, brought up on the study of the prophets of the Old Testament? The Jewish flavor in the 4th Gospel is so strong that anyone who knows Hebrew and has the opportunity to read the Gospel of John in a Hebrew translation will certainly think that he is reading the original and not a translation. It is clear that the writer of the Gospel thought in Hebrew and expressed himself in Greek. But this is exactly how the Apostle John should have written, who from childhood was accustomed to thinking and speaking in Hebrew, but studied Greek already in adulthood.
The Greek language of the Gospel was undoubtedly original, and not a translation: both the testimony of the Church Fathers and the lack of evidence from those critics who for some reason want to claim that the Gospel of John was originally written in Hebrew - all this is quite enough to be confident in the originality of the Greek language of the 4th Gospel. Although the author of the Gospel has few terms and expressions of the Greek language in his dictionary, these terms and expressions are as valuable as a large gold coin, which is usually used to pay large owners. In terms of its composition, the language of the 4th Gospel has a general κοινή διάλεκτος character. In places there are Hebrew, Latin words and some terms unique to this Gospel. Finally, some words in John are used in a special sense, not characteristic of other New Testament writings (for example, Λόγος, ἀγαπάω, ἰουδαῖοι, ζωή, etc., the meaning of which will be indicated when explaining the text of the Gospel). With regard to etymological and syntactic rules, the language of the 4th Gospel in general does not differ from the rules of κοινή διάλεκτος, although there are some features here (for example, the use of the article, the composition of the plural predicate with a singular subject, etc.).
Stylistically, the Gospel of John is distinguished by the simplicity of its phrase construction, approaching the simplicity of ordinary speech. Here we see everywhere short, fragmentary sentences connected by a few particles. But these brief expressions often produce an unusually strong impression (especially in the prologue). To give special strength famous expression John puts it at the beginning of the phrase, and sometimes the sequence in the structure of speech is not even observed (for example,). The reader of the Gospel of John is also struck by the extraordinary abundance of dialogues in which this or that thought is revealed. As for the fact that in the Gospel of John, in contrast to the Synoptic Gospels, there are no parables, this phenomenon can be explained by the fact that John did not consider it necessary to repeat those parables that were already reported in the Synoptic Gospels. But he has something reminiscent of these parables - these are allegories and various images (for example, figurative expressions in a conversation with Nicodemus and the Samaritan woman or, for example, a real allegory about the good shepherd and the door to the sheepfold). In addition, Christ probably did not use parables in His conversations with educated Jews, and it is these conversations that John mainly cites in his Gospel. The form of the parable was not suitable for the content of the speeches of Christ spoken in Judea: in these speeches Christ spoke about His divine dignity, and for this the form of images and parables was completely inappropriate - it is inconvenient to enclose them in parables. The disciples of Christ could also understand the teachings of Christ without parables.
Commentaries on the Gospel of John and other writings that have this Gospel as their subject
Of the ancient works devoted to the study of the Gospel of John, the first in time is the work of Valentinian Heracleon (150–180), fragments of which were preserved by Origen (there is also a special edition by Brooke). This is followed by a very detailed commentary by Origen himself, which, however, has not survived in its entirety (ed. Preyshen, 1903). Next come 88 conversations on the Gospel of John, belonging to St. John Chrysostom (in Russian, translated by the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, 1902). Interpretation of Fyodor Mopsuetsky on Greek survived only in fragments, but now a Latin translation of the Syriac text of this work has appeared, almost reproducing everything in its entirety. The interpretation of St. Cyril of Alexandria was published in 1910 at the Moscow Theological Academy. Then there are 124 conversations on the Gospel of John, belonging to St. Augustine (in Latin). Finally, the interpretation of the Gospel of John, belonging to Blessed Theophylact (translation at the Kazan Theological Academy), deserves attention.
Of the new interpretations of Western theologians, the works of Tolyuk (1857), Meyer (1902), Luthardt (1876), Godet (1903), Keil (1881), Westcott (1882), Schanz (1885), Knabenbauer (1906) deserve attention. , Schlatter (1902), Loisy (1903), Heitmüller (in I. Weiss in the New Testament Scriptures, 1907), Zahn (1908), Holtzman (1908).
Of the most outstanding works of Western scientists, the so-called. of the critical direction, the works of Bretschneider, Weiss, Schwegler, Bruno, Bauer, Baur, Hilgenfeld, Keim, Thom, Jacobsen, O. Holtzmann, Wendt, Kreienbühl, I. Reville, Grill, Wrede, Scott, Wellhausen and others are devoted to the Gospel of John. In terms of time, the major work of the critical direction is the work: “Spitta”. Das Johannes evangelium als Quelle der Geschiche Jesu. Gottingen, 1910.
In the apological direction, the following people wrote about the Gospel of John: Black, Stier, Weiss, Edersheim (“The Life of Jesus the Messiah”, the first volume of which was translated into Russian), Shastan, Delph, P. Ewald, Nesgen, Kluge, Kamerlinck, Schlatter, Stanton, Drummond , Sunday, Smith, Barth, Goebel, Lepin. But these works must be used with caution...
In Russian theological literature there are many explanations of the Gospel of John and individual articles and brochures related to the study of this Gospel. In 1874, the first edition of the work of Archimandrite (later bishop) Mikhail (Luzin) was published under the title: “The Gospel of John in Slavic and Russian dialects with prefaces and detailed explanatory notes.” In 1887, “An Experience in Studying the Gospel of St. John the Theologian” by Georgy Vlastov appeared in two volumes. In 1903, a popular explanation of the Gospel of John was published, compiled by Archbishop Nikanor (Kamensky), and in 1906, “Interpretation of the Gospel”, compiled by B.I. Gladkov, in which the Gospel of John is also popularly explained. There are also popular explanations for the Gospel of John: Eusebius, Archbishop of Mogilev (in the form of conversations on Sundays and holidays), Archpriests Mikhailovsky, Bukharev and some others. The most useful guide for familiarizing yourself with what was written about the Gospel of John before 1893 is “Collection of articles on interpretative and edifying reading of the Four Gospels” by M. Barsov. Subsequent literature up to 1904 on the study of the Gospel of John is indicated by Prof. Bogdashevsky in the Orthodox Theological Encyclopedia, vol. VI, p. 836–837 and partly prof. Sagarda (ibid., p. 822). Among the latest Russian literature on the study of the Gospel of John, the following dissertations deserve special attention: I. Bazhenova “Characteristics of the Fourth Gospel from the point of view of content and language in connection with the question of the origin of the Gospel”, 1907; D. Znamensky “The Teaching of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian in the Fourth Gospel about the Person of Jesus Christ”, 1907; prof. Theological “Public Ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ”, 1908, part 1.
) Christ again did not go to Jerusalem; this is the third Passover of His public ministry. At the Feast of Tabernacles He performs in Jerusalem (), then spends two months in Perea and in December, for the feast of the renewal of the temple, again comes to Jerusalem (). Then Christ soon leaves again for Perea, from where he appears for a short time in Bethany (). From Bethany until the fourth Passover He remains in Ephraim, from where He comes on the last Passover, the fourth, to Jerusalem, in order to die here at the hands of enemies. Thus, John mentions the four Easter holidays, around which lies the history of the public ministry of Jesus Christ, which apparently lasted more than three years.The latest is Lepin's work. La valeur historique du VI-e Evangile 2 vol. Paris, 1910, 8 franc.
Contents: ; ; ; ; ; .Preface
This message of the Apostle John is of a special nature. It speaks of the eternal life revealed in Jesus and given to us - the life that was with the Father and that is in the Son. It is while in this life that believers enjoy fellowship with the Father, are in connection with the Father through the Spirit of adoption, in relationship with the Father and the Son. Divine character is what tests this relationship, because this communication comes from God himself.
Two points are confirmed in the first chapter, namely communication with the Father and the Son and the fact that this communication must correspond to the essence of the character of God. The defining moment of the second chapter is the name of the Father. Subsequently, it is precisely what God is that tests the truth of the life transmitted to us.
If we talk about the letters of the Apostle Paul, although they talk about eternal life, they mainly present to Christians the truth regarding those means that help to stand before the face of God accepted and justified by him. The first letter of John tells us about the life that comes from God through Jesus Christ. John presents to us God the Father revealed in the Son, and eternal life in him. Paul presents us before God as adopted children through Christ. I'm talking about what characterizes them. Each author touches on different points accordingly.
So the eternal life revealed in the person of Jesus is so precious that the message presented to us in this respect has a special charm. And I, too, when I turn my gaze to Jesus, when I contemplate all his humility, his purity, his mercy, tenderness, patience, his devotion, holiness, his love, the complete absence of selfishness and self-interest, I can say that this is my life. This is immeasurable grace. It is possible that this life is hidden in me, but nevertheless it is true that this is my life. Oh, how I rejoice when I see her! How I bless God for this! Oh, what peace of mind! what pure joy of the heart! And at the same time Jesus himself becomes the object of my affections, and all my love is formed on the basis of this holy object. And this is extremely important from a moral point of view, because the reason for my joy, my delight lies precisely in him, and not in myself.
1John 1
Let's return to our message. There were many claims to the new world, to more clear views. It was said that Christianity was very good in its original form, but it grew and a new light appeared, going much further than that gloomy truth.
The person of our Lord, the true manifestation of the divine life itself, has dispelled all these proud pretensions, this exaltation of human reason, under the influence of the devil, who cannot but obscure the truth and leads men back into the darkness from which they themselves came.
The Apostle John speaks of what was from the beginning (that is, of Christianity in the person of Christ): “What we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at, and what our hands have touched, concerning the Word of life—for life has appeared.” The life that the Father had appeared to the disciples. Could there be anything more perfect, more beautiful, more wonderfully developed in the eyes of God than Christ himself, than that life that was with the Father and appeared in all its perfection in the person of the Son? Once the person of the Son becomes the object of our faith, we will feel the perfection that was from the beginning.
After all, the person of the Son, eternal life revealed in the flesh, is the topic we are considering in this letter.
The Promise of the Law and the Life of Grace—The Savior is Presented Before the Essence of God is Revealed
Therefore grace is here manifested in that which pertains to life, whereas Paul presents it in connection with justification. The law promised life for obedience, but life was revealed in the person of Jesus, in all its divine perfection, in its human manifestations. Oh, how precious is the truth that this life which was with the Father, which was in Jesus, is now given to us! What a relationship it places us in with the Father and the Son himself by the power of the Holy Spirit! This is what the Spirit is demonstrating to us here. And notice that everything here is from grace. Let us further note that He makes every pretension to be friendly with God, demonstrating the character inherent in God, which He will never change. But before proceeding to this, He introduces the Savior himself, and thereby offers communion with the Father and the Son without doubt and without any change. This is our position and our eternal joy.
The apostle saw that life, touching it with his own hands, and he wrote to others, declaring it, so that they too might have fellowship with him, recognizing the life that was thus revealed. So, since this life was the Son, it could not be known without knowing the Son, that is, who He was, without delving into his thoughts, his feelings; otherwise he cannot be truly known. This was the only way they could have fellowship with him - with the Son. How wonderful it is to delve into the thoughts and feelings of the Son of God, who descended from the heavens of grace! And do this through communication with him - in other words, not only know them, but also share these feelings and thoughts with him. As a result, this is life.
This life has been revealed. Therefore, we no longer need to seek it, groping after it in darkness, searching at random for the obscurities or doubts of our hearts to find it, laboring under the burden of the law to obtain it. We contemplate it, it was revealed in Jesus Christ. Everyone who has Christ has it.
You cannot have fellowship with the Son without having fellowship with the Father. He who saw the Son also saw the Father, and therefore, everyone who has communion with the Son also has communion with the Father, for their thoughts and feelings coincide. The Son abides in the Father, and the Father in him. Therefore we have fellowship with the Father. And this is true when we look at it from a different perspective. We know that the Father has complete joy in the Son. Now He, having revealed the Son, allows us to rejoice in him, no matter how insignificant we may be. I know that when I rejoice and admire Jesus, his humility, his love for his Father and for us, his pure eye and pure devoted heart, I experience the same feelings as the Father himself, the same thoughts in my head that and from him. Rejoicing in Jesus now, like the Father, I have fellowship with the Father. Therefore I am with the Son and know the Father. All this, from one point of view or another, follows from the person of the Son. In this we have complete joy. What could be more for us than the Father and the Son? What will give more complete happiness than the unity of thoughts, feelings and joys with the Father and the Son, than communication with them, than the opportunity to draw complete joy from this? And if this seems difficult to believe, then let us remember that it really cannot be otherwise, for in the life of Christ the Holy Spirit is the source of my thoughts, feelings, my communication, and the Holy Spirit cannot inspire other thoughts than those that belong to the Father and Son. They are one in nature. To call them delightful thoughts is something that goes without saying and makes them even more valuable. If the blessed Spirit is the source of thought, people will think like him.
He who was life and came from the Father brought us the knowledge of God. The apostle heard from the lips of Jesus about the nature of God. This knowledge is a priceless gift, which, however, tests the soul. And this, too, the apostle announces to the believers, as if on behalf of the Lord. It was from him that they learned that God is light and there is no darkness in him. As for Christ, He said what He knew and testified to what He saw. No one was in heaven except him who came down from heaven. “No one has ever seen God; The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has revealed.” No one saw the Father except he who was from God: He saw the Father. Therefore He could, thanks to His perfect knowledge, reveal it. God is light, perfect purity, which at the same time points to everything that is pure and everything that is not at all. To have communion with light, you must be light yourself, have the nature inherent in it, and be prepared to reveal yourself in perfect light. Light can only be associated with what comes from it. If something else is mixed into it, then light ceases to be light. He is perfect by nature, so that he excludes everything foreign to him.
We find that when the letter of John speaks of grace to us, the author speaks of the Father and the Son, but when it speaks of the nature of God or our responsibility, the apostle speaks of God. John 3 and 1 John. 4 could be an exception, but is not. It is about God as such, not about personal activity and relationships in grace.
Everyone who saw him saw the Father, but here the apostle is talking about communicating information about him, about discovering his nature. Therefore, “if we say that we have fellowship with Him, but walk in darkness, then we lie and do not act in the truth,” and our life becomes a complete lie.
But “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 cleanses us from all sin.” These are great principles, significant features of the position of Christians. We are in the face of God, and there is no longer a veil between him and us. This is a real circumstance, a matter of life and walking. This is not the same thing as walking according to the light, but it is walking in the light. In other words, it is walking before the eyes of God, illuminated by the full revelation of the essence of God. This does not mean that there is no sin in us, but, walking in the light, we have a will and consciousness illuminated by the light of God, and that which does not correspond to this light is subject to condemnation. We live and act essentially with the feeling that God is constantly present with us and that we know him. Thus we walk in the light. The moral principle of our will is God himself, the known God. The thoughts that influence the soul come from him and are formed on the basis of his revelation. The apostle always expresses this in an abstract form, so he declares: “And he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” And it claims moral principle such a life. This is its essence, this is the truth, since man is born of God. We cannot have any other criterion, and any other would be false. Alas, as it follows from this, we do not always answer him. We do not meet this criterion if we are not in that state, if we are not walking according to the nature that God has placed in us, if we are not in that true state that corresponds to the divine nature.
Moreover, by walking in the light as He is in the light, believers have fellowship with one another. The outer world is selfish: the flesh and passions seek reward for themselves, but if I walk in the light, then there is no place for selfishness. I can enjoy the light, and everything that I seek in it, I seek in communication with others, and therefore there is no place for envy and jealousy. If another has carnal passions, then I am devoid of them. In the light we have together what He gives us, and we enjoy it even more when we share it with each other. And this is the touchstone for everything carnal. Since we are in the light, we rejoice in fellowship with everyone who is in it. The Apostle John, as we have already said, states this in a generalized and categorical form. This is the most the right way find out the essence of the matter. Everything else is just a matter of implementation.
By the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, we are cleansed from all sin. To walk in the light as God is in it, to have fellowship with one another, and to be cleansed from sin by the blood of Jesus Christ are the three essential points which characterize the position of a Christian. We feel the need for the latter. Walking in the light, as God is in the light, having (blessed be God!) a perfect revelation of himself, given to us by nature, which knows him, thus being able to see him spiritually, even as the eye was created to appreciate the light (for we also share the divine nature), we cannot say that we have no sin. The light itself would object to us. But we can say that the blood of Jesus Christ completely cleanses us from all sin.
It does not say “cleansed” or “will cleanse.” This does not indicate time, but the potency of the blood. I could just as easily say that some medicine cures a fever. This speaks of effectiveness.
Through the Spirit we rejoice in the light together; this is the common joy of our hearts before God, and this pleases him, this is evidence of our common participation in the divine nature, which is also love. And our conscience is not a hindrance to this, since we know the price of blood. We do not feel sin on ourselves before God, although we know that it is in us, but we feel that we have been cleansed from it by blood. However, the same light that shows us this warns us (if we are in it) from declaring that we have no sin at all. We deceive ourselves if we say this, and the truth is not in us, for if the truth were in us, if that revelation of the divine nature, which is light, the revelation of Christ - our life, were in us, then the sin that abides in us, would be condemned by the world itself. And if he is not condemned, then this light - the truth that reveals everything as it is - is not in us.
If, on the one hand, we have already committed some sin and, being condemned by the light, confessed our sin (in such a way that there is no more self-will and pride is broken in us), “then He, being faithful and righteous, will forgive us our sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” And further: “If we say that we have not sinned, then [this testifies not only that there is no truth in us, but also that we] represent Him [God] as a liar, and His word is not in us,” for He affirms that all have sinned. There are three points: we lie, the truth is not in us, we represent God as a liar. We are talking about that communication with God in the light, which in practical everyday Christian life inseparably connects forgiveness and the real feeling of it through faith and purity of heart.
Speaking about sin, the apostle says in the present tense: “We say.” When he talks about sin, he uses the past tense. It is not based on the fact that we are going to continue to sin. Doubts arise whether he is talking about the first appeal to the Lord or about subsequent sins. To this I answer: he speaks in an abstract and absolute sense; Confession brings forgiveness through grace. If we are talking about our first appeal to God, then this is forgiveness, and this is said in the full and absolute sense. I have been forgiven by God and He no longer remembers my sins. If we are talking about subsequent sin, then the regenerated soul always acknowledges sins, and then forgiveness is considered as the management of God and as the real state of the connection of my soul with him. Note that the Apostle John, as everywhere else, speaks regardless of anything, he speaks in principle.
Thus we see the position of the Christian (v. 7) and three points that in different ways contradict the truth, i.e. communication with God in life. The Apostle wrote about what has to do with communion with the Father and the Son, so that the joy of Christians could be complete.
1John 2
Having a revelation of the essence of God, which the apostle received from him who was life sent from heaven, John writes a letter so that Christians will not sin. However, to say this is to assume that they are capable of committing sin. One cannot think that they will certainly sin, for the presence of sin in the flesh in no way obliges us to live according to the flesh. But if sin does take place, grace will take precautions so that it can act and so that we do not fall under condemnation and are not again under the law.
We have an advocate with the Father who intercedes for us in heaven. Now it is no longer in order to achieve justice, not in order to wash away our sins. All this has already been done. Divine truth has placed us in the light, just as God himself is in the light. However, communication with God is interrupted as soon as frivolity appears in our hearts, for it is of the flesh, and the flesh has no communication with God. If communication is broken, if we have sinned (not when we have repented, for it is his intercession that leads to repentance), Christ intercedes for us. The truth is always present - our truth is “Jesus Christ the righteous.” Therefore, neither the truth nor the value of the atoning sacrifice for sin changes, grace operates (we can say that it acts necessarily) by the power of that righteousness and that blood, which act before God through the intercession of Christ, who never forgets us, to bring us back to fellowship through repentance. Therefore, while still on earth, before Peter committed sin, Jesus prayed for him. At some point, He looks at Peter, and he repents of what he has done and sobs bitterly. After this, the Lord does everything necessary to make Peter condemn the very root of sin, but all this happens through grace.
The same is true in our case. Divine truth abides - it is the unchanging basis of our relationship with God, strengthened on the blood of Christ. When fellowship, which can only exist in light, is interrupted, the intercession of Christ, through the power of his blood (for the atoning sacrifice for sin was also offered), regenerates the soul, that it may again enjoy fellowship with God, according to the light into which truth has brought it. This atoning sacrifice for sin was made for the sake of the whole world, and not only for the sake of the Jews alone, not only for the sake of one in general, but for the sake of the whole world, and God with his inherent spiritual nature was completely glorified by the death of Christ.
Here we are talking about communication, and therefore, we are talking about a possible fall from grace. In Hebrews we saw that it is access to God and we are made “perfect forever,” and the priesthood is for mercy and help, not for sins, except in the great act of atonement.
Thus we have considered three main points (or, if you wish, two main points and a third, namely, defense, which is complementary to the first two), forming the introduction to the teaching of the epistle. All the rest is a tentative application of what is contained in the part already considered: first, life was given in communion with the Father and the Son; secondly, the essence of God in light, which reveals the falsity of any claim to communicate with light when life passes in darkness; thirdly, the vision that sin is in us, that we can sin, although purified before God and can enjoy the light, having the intercession that Jesus Christ, the righteous, can always show before God on the basis of the truth that is always present with him , and the blood he shed for our sins to restore our fellowship, which we lost through our criminal negligence.
The Spirit now proceeds to set forth the characteristics of the divine life in which we are sanctified to the obedience of Jesus Christ. In other words, we must be obedient and follow the same principles that Jesus followed, for whom the will of his Father was the incentive and rule of action. It is the submission of a life in which doing the will of God was food and drink, but not under the authority of the law, in order to obtain life. The life of Jesus Christ was a life of obedience, and in it He fully enjoyed the love of His Father, being tried in all situations and enduring all trials with dignity. His words, his commandments were the expression of that life; they are a guide to the same life in us and must manifest its influence on us, the influence of the one who pronounced them.
The law promised life to those who obeyed it. Christ himself is life. This life was given to us - believers. That is why these words, which are the expression of that life in its perfection in Jesus, guide us and guide us according to that perfection. In addition, this life has an influence on us, which is expressed through the commandments. Therefore, we must obey and do as He did. Here are two basic guidelines for action. It is not enough to just behave well - we must obey, because there is authority over us. This is the essential principle of righteous living. On the other hand, the obedience of a Christian, as Christ himself proves, is not what we often think. We call an obedient child who, having his own will, nevertheless obeys his parents as soon as they begin, demonstrating their power over him, to prevent him from exercising his will. However, Christ was never obedient in this way. He came to do the will of God. Obedience was his form of being. The will of his Father was the impulse, and together with love, which was always inseparable from it, it was the sole motive of his every act and every impulse. Such obedience is called, strictly speaking, Christian. This is a new life that joyfully fulfills the will of Christ, recognizing his complete power over oneself. We consider ourselves dead to everything else, we live for God and do not belong to ourselves. We know only Christ as we live his life, for the flesh does not know him and cannot understand his life.
Now that life is obedience, anyone who says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. It is not said here that “he deceives himself,” for it is quite possible that he is not deceived, as happens in another case when someone imagines communication, because the will is at work here, and the person knows this if he confesses. But the confession here is false, and the man is a liar, and the truth that is in the knowledge of Jesus and which he confesses is not in him.
There are two points to make at this point. Firstly, the fact is that the apostle always sees things as they are in themselves in an abstract concept, without all those deviations that are caused by other things among which the first ones find themselves or with which they are connected. Secondly, the conclusions that the apostle makes are not formal reasoning, the meaning of which, accordingly, lies on the surface of the fact itself. He rests on a great spiritual principle, so that no one can see the meaning of his arguments without knowing the fact itself, the extent of the principle, and, in particular, what the life of God is in its essence, in its character and in its manifestation. But without it, we will not be able to understand anything about it. And, indeed, the authority of the apostle and the authority of the Word must convince us that this is so, and that is sufficient. However, the connecting links of his sermon will not be understood if one does not have that life that interprets his words and is itself interpreted by what the apostle says.
I return to the text: “Whoever keeps His word, in him truly the love of God is perfected.” This is how we realize that we know him. “His Word” has a much broader meaning than “His commandments.” In other words, while both of these concepts imply submission, the word is something less external. “His commandments” here represent the details of the divine life. “His Word” contains its full expression: the spirit of that life. This is a universal and absolute truth: life is the divine life revealed in Jesus and communicated to us. Have we seen it in Christ? Do we doubt that this is love and that the love of God was manifested in this? After all, if I keep his word, if the goal and means of that life expressed by this word are understood and achieved in this way, then the love of God is perfect in me. The Apostle John, as we have already seen, always speaks abstractly. If at any this moment I really do not keep this word, then in this sense I am not aware of his love and the beautiful communication with God is broken, for his word expresses his essence, and I keep it. This is spiritual communication with his nature in its entirety, communication with nature in which I participate. Therefore I know that He is perfect love, and I am filled with it, and it shows in my actions, for that word is the perfect expression of Himself.
In essence, these concepts are not much different, which is confirmed by verse 7, which reads: “The ancient commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.” We can say that the commandment is the word of Christ, and this is the perfect truth. But I doubt whether it can be said that the word is a commandment. And this makes us feel some difference. The contrast between verses 4 and 5 is remarkable, and the whole point here is that a man either has, according to the Word, the divine life, knowing and fully realizing what he has, or he does not have it. “Whoever says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him,” for only what “His word” reveals is true. And if we live as a creature whose expression is the word of Christ, and therefore know him through the word, then we submit to that word. On the other hand, possessing this life, being participants in this divine nature, we have the love of God in us, we have the commandment of Christ, his word, the perfect love of God, we act like Christ, and the life of Christ is transmitted to us in such a way that his commandment actually remains in it is in us, and we walk in the light, loving our neighbors. How abundant is the purpose of blessings! The privileges here spoken of are: knowing Christ, being in him, being in the light. The proof of justification for the first privilege is submission. After all, if we abide in Christ (and we know this by keeping his word), then we are obliged to act as He does. That this last claim is true is proved by love to our brethren. Secondly, it is our duty to maintain our walk at the height of Christ's walk. But just walking is not proof of our staying in him and our observance of his word. Notice that it is not said, “We know that we believe,” for that is not what is meant here, but, “We know that we are in Him.”
Let me add that the apostle never uses these proofs because they are too common to be doubted. Verses 12 and 13 clearly confirm that John speaks of those to whom he is speaking as having been finally forgiven, having the Spirit of adoption, otherwise he would not have written to them. He considers everyone, even the smallest and weakest, as such. Others have tried to cast them into doubt, but the apostle urges that their hearts should be sure before God, that they should not give in to any doubt, for they have the whole Christ, and are perfect Christians, having eternal life. Only in this way, having this, can they remain firmly convinced, even if they are dissuaded, that they have received eternal life. They received forgiveness and became sons. If others began to cast them into doubt, they, as the apostle writes, would have no reason to doubt.
I have no doubt that this is the true meaning of what is said in John. 8:25: “He was from the beginning, just as I told you.” What he said fully expressed his nature. Who He was is conveyed by His words. So this is the life that was handed down to us, but it was the love of God among men and in man. And this life is our life, and the word of Christ is given to us to know it, and if we keep it, then love will appear in us in all its depth.
Therefore, in this way we know that we are in him, for we know what he is in the unity of his nature. Now, if we say that we abide in him, it is evident from what we now see in the instruction given to us by the apostle, that we ought to do as he did. Our actions are actually an expression of our life, and that life is Christ known through his Word. And since it is known through His Word, we who have this life accept the spiritual responsibility to follow it, in other words, to do as He did. For that word is the expression of his life.
Obedience, precisely as obedience, is thus rather a moral characteristic feature of the life of Christ in us. However, this is proof of what in Christendom is inseparable from the life of Christ in us: we abide in him. We know that we not only know it, but we also abide in it. Enjoying the perfect love of God in the path of obedience makes us aware, through the Holy Spirit, that we are in it. However, if I am in him, then I cannot be exactly the same as He was, for He was completely sinless. But I must do as He did. Therefore, I know that I am in it. But if I admit that I am in him, then my soul and heart are completely there, and I must act as He did. The principles that form the way of our life are: obedience as the main one, keeping his word so that the perfect love of God may remain in me, and also knowing that I am in him.
Verses 7 and 8 present two forms of the rule of this life - two forms which, moreover, correspond to the two principles of which we have just spoken. The Apostle John writes not a new commandment, but an ancient commandment: the word of Christ from the beginning. If it were not so, if it were new in this sense, then it would be much worse for the one who puts it forward, for it would no longer be an expression of the perfect life of Christ himself, but would be something else, perhaps a falsification of that what Christ spoke about. This coincides with the first principle, that is, it refers to the obedient fulfillment of the commandments, the commandments of Christ. What He said was an expression of what He was. He could command that they love one another as He loved them (compare with the Beatitudes).
The new commandment is “the true light is already shining.” In some other sense it was a new commandment, for (by the power of the Spirit of Christ united with him and drawing our life from him) the Spirit of God demonstrated the result of this life, revealing a new image of the glorified Christ. And now this was not only a commandment, but, as something true in Christ, it was contained in his own as partakers of his nature, abiding in him, and He in them.
Through this revelation and through the presence of the Holy Spirit, “the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.” There will be no other light in heaven, and only then will this light appear to everyone in cloudless glory.
There is still a lot of darkness in the world, but as for the light, it really is already shining.
The life spoken of in John. 1, 4, is now presented as the light of men (v. 9), only brighter still, with the belief that Christ is gone, but his light shines very brightly through the torn veil. We have already discussed the claims to know it, to abide in it. Now we have a right to abide in the light, and to abide in it before the Spirit of God touches in detail this life in proof of its existence for the soul, in answer to the seducers who seek to intimidate Christians with new statements that Christians do not really possess the life of the Father and Son. The true light is already shining. And this light is God, his divine nature. And as such, light is a means of judging the seducers themselves, bringing to light another quality associated with our being in the light, that is, with God fully revealed. Christ was the light in this world. And we are appointed to be light, and in this we are born of God. And he who has such a nature loves his brother, for is not God love? Didn't Christ love us and not hesitate to call us brothers? Can I have his life and his nature if I do not love my brothers? No. Then I am in darkness and have no light in my path. He who loves his brother is in the light, the nature of God is working in him, and he is in a bright spiritual knowledge of this life, in the presence of God and in communion with God. If someone hates his brother, then it is clear that he does not dwell in the divine light. Having feelings corresponding to a nature contrary to God, can he pretend to be in the light?
Moreover, there can be no doubt about who loves, for he walks in divine light. There is nothing in him that would cause another to doubt him, for the revelation in grace of the nature of God will certainly not do that which is contrary to God; This is precisely what is revealed in the one who loves his brother.
The reader here may compare this for his own edification with what is said in Eph. 4, 1-5.12, where these two names of God, used only to reveal his nature, are also used to show the way of Christians and their true essence. Only according to this the Holy Spirit reveals through the mouth of Paul the will and work of God in Christ. John shows more of the divine nature.
From 1 John. 1.1 - 2.11 ends with the introduction of the first part of this message. Here, first, the privileged position of Christians is narrated, our true position is spoken of, and we are warned against a possible fall. Then, beginning with the second verse of chapter 2, the idea is confirmed that Christians occupy a truly privileged position, having, according to the narrative, the following privileges: obedience, brotherly love, knowledge of Christ, abiding in Christ, enjoying the perfect love of God, abiding in that , who are in the light, the formation of conditions, which is confirmed in this way.
Having established the two great principles, obedience and love, as proof of the possession of the divine nature of Christ, known as life, and our continuance in him, the apostle now addresses himself personally to Christians and shows, on the basis of revealed grace, their position in relation to three different degrees of maturity. Let us now consider this introductory but very important address of the apostle.
He begins with a call to all the Christians he addresses, calling them “children.” This is what the elderly apostle calls them, showing love for them. And since he urged them not to sin in verse 1, he now turns also to tell them that their sins are forgiven for the sake of the name of Jesus. This was the secure position in which all Christians were, and it was given by God to them all, together with faith, that they might glorify him. The apostle does not allow them to doubt that they are forgiven. He writes to them because that is who they are.
Next we find three categories of Christians: fathers, youths and youths (children). The Apostle twice addresses each category of Christians: fathers, youths and youths. He addresses the fathers in the first part of verse 14; to the young men - starting from the second part and until the end of the 17th verse; to children - starting from verse 18 and including verse 27. In verse 28 the apostle again addresses all Christians, calling them “children.”
The fathers in Christ are distinguished by the fact that they “knew the One without beginning” - the One who existed from the beginning, that is, Christ. And that's all the apostle had to say about them. Everything follows from this. John only repeats the same thing when, changing his form of expression, he again turns to these three categories of Christians. The fathers knew Christ. This is the sum total of all Christian experience. The flesh is condemned, recognized, no matter how far it penetrates and mixes with Christ in our feelings. She is recognized experimentally as unfit, and as a result of the tests Christ remains alone, free from all impurities. The fathers learned to distinguish what has only the appearance of goodness. They are not busy with experiments; that would mean for them to be busy with themselves, with their soul. All this is a passed stage. Christ alone remains our part, not being mixed with anything else; it was He who gave himself to us. Moreover, He is known much better, they knew through experience and in detail what He is, they knew him in the joy of communicating with him, in the awareness of their weakness, they knew his devotion, the generosity of his mercy, his ability to understand their needs, they knew him love, the revelation of his fullness, so now they can say, “I know who I believe in.” They are characterized by affection for him. These are the “fathers” in Christ.
The second category of Christians is represented by “young men.” They are distinguished by spiritual strength in the fight against Satan, i.e. energy of faith. They defeated the evil one. And the apostle speaks of their character of being in Christ. They fight and the power of Christ is demonstrated in them.
The third category of Christians is represented by “youths.” They know the Father. We see here that the Spirit of adoption and freedom characterizes the smallest children as believers in Christ, that is, it shows that faith is not the result of development. We have it because we are Christians, and it is always the hallmark of new believers. On the contrary, something else distinguishes those who lose it.
Addressing the young men, the apostle develops his thought and, in addition, warns them. He says: “You are strong, and the word of God abides in you.” This important characteristic. The Word is the revelation of God, and, applying Christ to the heart so that we thus have the incentives to form and guide the soul, it bears witness from the state of the soul and the confessions that have divine power in us. This is the sword of the Spirit in our clash with the world. We ourselves are shaped by what we witness in our dealings with this world, and this in us corresponds to the power of God's Word. The evil one is thus defeated, for he can only kindle worldly passions in us, while the word of God, abiding in us, keeps us in a completely different sphere of thought, in which a different nature is formed and strengthened through divine communication. Young men have a craving for everything worldly, they are characterized by youthful ardor, the strength of their age, and deviation away from the true path. The young man must beware of all this, completely separating himself from this world and everything that is inherent in the world, because everyone who loves this world is deprived of the love of the Father, for everything that is inherent in this world is not from the Father. The Father has his own world, the center and glory of which is Christ. The lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, worldly pride - all this is from the world and characterizes it. Indeed, only this is inherent in the world, and nothing else, only this moves it. All this is not from the Father.
The Father is the source of everything that corresponds to his soul - every grace, every spiritual gift, glory, heavenly holiness, everything that was revealed in Christ Jesus. And this is coming: the whole world of coming glory, of which Christ is the center. And all this had only the cross as its destiny on earth. However, the apostle here speaks of the source of worldly things, indicating that the Father is not the source of them.
But this world passes, and everyone who fulfills the will of God, everyone who, passing through this world, chooses as his guide not worldly passions, but the will of God - the will that corresponds to his essence and expresses it - such a person will remain forever, according to that nature and the will that he follows.
We see that this world and the Father with all that is from it, the flesh and the Spirit, the devil and the Son, are opposed to each other. All that has been said, the principles operating in us and characterizing our existence and our position, and the conflicting principles of good and evil opposing each other, have no uncertainty (we thank God for this!) regarding the outcome of the struggle, for the weakness of the dying Christ is stronger than the forces of Satan . Satan is powerless against everything that is perfect. Christ came to destroy the works of the devil.
Addressing the youths, the apostle speaks mainly about the dangers to which they are exposed from seducers. He warns them with tender love while reminding them that all sources of spirituality and power have been discovered and belong to them. We are talking about the “end time,” not about the last days, but about a time that has the character of completion, belonging to the sphere of God’s relationship with this world. The Antichrist must come, and many antichrists have already appeared; This is precisely what indicates the advent of the “end times.” This is not just a sin, not just a violation of the law. But Christ had already come, and now that He had left the earth and was hidden from the world, there was obvious opposition to the special revelation that was given to people. This was not just doubt or unbelief out of ignorance, but it took the form of outright self-will directed against Jesus. Jesus' opponents may have believed everything the Jews believed, since it had already been revealed to the world, but as for the testimony of God given through Jesus Christ, they were hostile to it. They did not recognize Jesus as the Christ; they rejected the Father and the Son. All this, as a creed, bears the true character of the Antichrist. He may believe, or pretend to believe, that Christ is to come, and yet pretend to be him. Antichrist does not accept Christianity in two aspects: on the one hand, in the person of Jesus, the fulfillment of the promises promised to the Jews is provided, and on the other, the eternal heavenly blessings revealed in the revelation of the Father through the Son. The Antichrist is primarily characterized by the fact that he denies the Father and the Son. To deny that Jesus is the Christ is indeed Jewish unbelief, which forms the character of the Antichrist. What gives the character of the Antichrist is the denial of the basis of Christianity. He is a liar because he denies that Jesus is the Christ. Therefore, this denial is the work of the father of lies. But the unfaithful Jews themselves did a lot in this regard even without the Antichrist. It is characteristic of the Antichrist to reject the Father and the Son.
But there is something more. Antichrists came from Christians. Christian apostasy has already taken place. It cannot be assumed that these were true Christians, but apostates were among the Christians and came from them (how instructive this message is for our contemporaries!). Thus it was revealed that they were not the true flock of Christ. All this tended to shake the children's faith in Christ. The apostle tries to strengthen their faith. There were two means of strengthening their faith, which gave the apostle confidence. First, Christians had the anointing of the Holy One; secondly, what was from the beginning was the touchstone for any new teaching, and they already owned what was from the beginning.
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in them, their anointing and spiritual knowledge and the truth that they accepted from the beginning, that is, the full revelation of Christ, was a reliable defense against deceivers and deceptions. It is possible to overcome every heresy, every error and corruption, having the first and divine revelation of the truth, if the anointing from the Holy One abides in us to condemn all this. Even the youngest Christians have this anointing, and they should be encouraged to exercise it, as the apostle here tenderly warned them about.
The essence of the Antichrist is that he rejects the Father and the Son. Unbelief again appeared in its Jewish form, for the Jews recognized the Messiah (Christ), but denied that Jesus is the Christ. Our sure protection against these deceptions is the anointing from the Holy One, but in a special way connected with the holiness of God, which allows us to clearly see the truth (another characteristic of the Spirit), and, secondly, what abides in us and what we have heard from started. This is obviously what we read in Scripture. Note that “evolution” is not something we have from the beginning. By its very name it fundamentally contradicts the defense that the apostle reminds us of. What the congregation preaches as the development of truth whenever it accepts it is not what was heard from the beginning.
There is another point to be noted here which the apostle points out in this chapter. People have a tendency to represent God in some obscure way as the Father, claiming to have him without the Son, Jesus Christ. However, this cannot be, for anyone who does not receive the Son does not have the Father. After all, it was through him that the Father was revealed to us, in him the Father was known to us.
If the truth that we have acquired from the beginning abides in us, it means that we abide in the Son and in the Father, for this truth is revealed by the Son and is his revelation, who himself is the truth. It is living truth if it abides in us. Thus, by possessing it, we possess the Son, and in the Son also the Father. We abide in it, and through this we have eternal life.
So, the Apostle John has the happy confidence that the anointing that Christians received from him abides in them, and therefore they do not need anyone to teach them, since this very anointing teaches them everything. This anointing is true and not false, for the Holy Spirit himself works in the Word, which is the revelation of the truth about Jesus himself, and there is no lie in it. Therefore the children must abide in it according to what the Word has taught them.
Note also that the result of learning to discern the truth by the anointing from above is twofold. Christians knew that the truth is not false, for it is from God, but everything that does not relate to it is a lie. They knew that this anointing, which taught them everything, was true and that there was no lie in it. This anointing taught them all things, in other words, all the truth as the truth of God. Therefore, what was not true was a lie, and there was no lie in this anointing. In the same way, the sheep hear the voice of the good shepherd; if someone else calls them, then it is not his voice, and this is enough for them to get scared and run away, because the other voice is unfamiliar to them.
Verse 28 concludes the series of appeals to three categories of Christians. The Apostle again addresses all Christians (v. 29). It seems to me that this verse echoes chapter 3 of 1 Corinthians.
Having finished his address to those who were all together in communion with the Father, the apostle turns to the most important principles of the divine life, the divine nature as revealed in Christ, in order to test those who pretend to share in it. He does this not to make believers doubt, but to discard all that is false. In his repeated address in verse 28, the apostle spoke about the appearance of Jesus. This represents the Lord as fully revealed and provides an opportunity to test the claims of those who call themselves by his name. There are two proofs having to do with the divine life, and a third which is additional as a privilege: righteousness or obedience, love and the Holy Spirit.
Further, I will note the amazing way in which God and Christ are spoken of here as one essence or person: not as in the doctrine of two natures, but Christ occupies the thoughts of the apostle, and he speaks of him in one sentence as about God and at the same time as a man . Look at verse 28: “He will appear.” Verse 29 says that “everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.” This means that we are children of God. But the world did not know him. Now this is Christ dwelling on earth. In ch. 3:2 says that “we are now the children of God,” but the same verse says that when He appears, we “will be like Him.” But what is even more beautiful is that the apostle identifies us with him, calling us “children” because we are related to him. The world doesn't know us because it didn't know him. We know that we will be like him when He appears. We are given the same place here and there!
There is no righteousness in the flesh. If it is really found in someone, then this person is born of him, he borrows his nature from God in Christ. We may notice that such righteousness was demonstrated in Jesus; we know that He is righteous because we know that “everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.” It is the same nature revealed through the same fruits.
1John 3
So to say that we are born of him is to say that we are children of God. What love the Father has given us that we can be called his children! Therefore the world does not know us, for it did not know him. The Apostle again speaks here of his coming and how it will affect us. We are children of God, this is our real, secure and known position, because we are born of God. What we will be has not yet been revealed. But we know that, being in a relationship through Jesus with the Father, having him as our life, we will become like the Lord when He appears. For it is we who are destined to see him as he now is, being with his Father, from whom proceeds the life manifested in him and given to us, and we will appear in the same glory.
John usually uses the word “children” rather than “sons” because this word more clearly conveys the idea that we are from the same family. We are like Christ in this world, and we will be like that when He appears.
Having the hope of seeing Him as He is, knowing that I will be perfect like Him when He appears, I strive to be like Him now, as far as possible, since I already have this life and He is in me and is mine life.
This is the measure of our practical purification. We are not so pure as He is pure, but we take Christ as He appears in heaven as the pattern and standard of our purification; we are being purified to be as perfect as Him when He appears. Before contrasting the principles of the divine life with the devil, the apostle presents to our attention the true standard of purity (a little later he will present to us the criterion of love) for children, since they are participants in his nature and have the same relationship with God.
“And everyone who has this hope in Him...” Two points need to be made here. First, “hope in Him” is a hope that has Christ as its end. Secondly, it is surprising to see how at first glance the apostle confuses the words “God” and “Christ” in his epistle: he uses the word “His” both to designate Christ and when he speaks of God. We can clearly see the principle of this at the end of the fifth chapter: “And that we may be in His true Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” In these few words we have the key to understanding the message. Christ is life. It is clearly the Son, but it is also God himself revealed and the perfection of the divine nature which is the source of life for us as that life was revealed in Christ as man. Thus I can speak of God and say, “Born of him”; but it is in Jesus that God was revealed, and from him I borrow life, therefore “Jesus Christ” and “God” alternate mutually. Therefore it is said about Christ: “He will appear” (chap. 2, 28). Christ is righteous, and everyone who does righteousness is born of him. However, in ch. 3:1 speaks of those born of God, the “children of God,” but the world did not know him, and here it speaks of Christ dwelling on earth. “When it is revealed” is again about Christ, and we purify ourselves “as He is pure.” There are many other examples.
It is said about the believer: “He purifies himself.” This indicates that he is not as pure as Christ. Accordingly, it is not said that he is pure, as Christ is pure (for then there would be no sin in us), but the believer purifies himself in order to be pure, like Christ who is in heaven, in order to have the same life that he has Christ himself.
Having demonstrated the positive side of Christian purity, the apostle continues to talk about it from a different angle: as one of the characteristic proofs of the life of God in the soul of man.
He who commits a sin (does not break the law, but) also commits lawlessness. To Rome. 2:12 this word is used in contrast to the term “breaking the law” or “sinning under the authority of the law.” That is, this Greek word, usually used to mean what is translated as “breaking the law,” is here used to mean “sinning without the law” as opposed to “sinning under the authority of the law and being punished by the law.” I do not hesitate to say that this change regarding the definition of sin is a very serious thing.
A person behaves unrestrainedly, disobeying the rules of the law. He does not curb his whims, for sin is an action without regard to the law or other authority, a willful action. Christ came to do the will of his Father, not his own. But Christ appeared to take away our sins from us, and there is no sin in him, therefore anyone who commits sin opposes the purpose of Christ's appearing; it opposes that nature in which we, since Christ is our life, have a part. Therefore, everyone who abides in Christ commits no sin, and everyone who commits sin “has neither seen Him nor known Him.” So we see that everything depends on participation in the life and nature of Christ. So let's not deceive ourselves! Everyone who does righteousness is righteous, just as Jesus is righteous, for by participating in the life of Christ, a person is revealed to God in all the perfection of him who is the head and source of such life. Thus, we are like Christ before God, because He Himself truly is our life. It is not our active life that is the measure of our acceptance, but Christ. For Christ is our life, and if we are accepted by God according to his excellence, it is only because we are participants in his life.
Note that condemnation is more than denial. Anyone who commits sin is from the devil and has the same nature with him, for “from the beginning the devil sinned,” and his true character is similar to the devil’s. Christ came to destroy the works of the devil. How can one who shares the character of this enemy of God, the enemy human souls, to be with Christ?
On the other hand, everyone born of God commits no sin. And it's clear why. He becomes a partaker of the divine nature, inherits his life from him, the beginning of divine life is in him, the seed of God abides in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God. This new nature does not have a sinful principle in itself to commit sin. How can it be that the divine nature sins?
Having thus defined these two families - the family of God and the family of the devil - the apostle adds one more sign, the absence of which indicates that a person is not from God. He has already spoken about truth, now he adds brotherly love to it. For Christ himself told the disciples about it, commanding them to love one another. In verse 12 the apostle shows that hatred of a brother is caused by the fact that the deeds of one are righteous, and the deeds of the other are evil. Moreover, we should not be surprised that the world hates us, for we know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. If this love is the essential proof that we are regenerated, then it is only natural that this love should not be found in worldly people. However, the fact is that anyone who does not love his brother (sad thought!) remains in death. In addition to what has been said, “everyone who hates his brother is a murderer... no murderer has eternal life.” The absence of the divine nature is death. Moreover, the old man acts in contradiction to the divine nature, he hates and acts in the spirit of death, and therefore he is a murderer.
Further, as in the case of truth and purity, we have Christ as the standard of this love. We know this love in this: Christ laid down his life for us, and we should lay down our lives for our brothers. Further, if our brother suffers need while we have plenty in this world, and we do not help him in need, then does that divine love that made Christ lay down his life for us abide in us? It is by this real and effective love that we know that we are in truth and that our soul is calm and confident before the face of God. For if we have nothing on our conscience, then we are confident of his presence, but if our heart condemns us, then God knows even more.
If we love our neighbors in his sight and do what is pleasing in his sight, then whatever we ask, we will receive from him. For, acting with such confidence before his face, we entrust the soul and its desires to this blessed influence, being instructed by the joy of communication with him in the light of his face. It is God who quickens the heart. This life and this divine nature spoken of in the epistle are in full activity and are illuminated and moved by that divine presence in which they take pleasure. Thus, our requests are fulfilled only if desires arise when this life and our thoughts are filled with the presence of God and communication with his nature. And He gives from His strength for the fulfillment of these desires, the source of which is He himself - desires that are formed in the soul by His own revelation.
So everyone who keeps his commandment abides in him, and he abides in obedience to him. The question arises: is God or Christ meant here? The Apostle John, as we have already seen, interchanges them in his reasoning. In other words, the Holy Spirit unites them in our consciousness. We are in him who is righteous, that is, in the Son of God, Jesus Christ. It is Christ who represents God to men in human life, and to the believer He is the communication of divine life, so that God also dwells in him. Christ communicates this through a revelation divinely beautiful and perfect, revealing that nature which the believer shares in the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling him, so that this love is equally manifested and brings joy to all.
But what a wonderful grace it is to have a life and a nature by which we are enabled to possess the very God who dwells in us, and by which, because this life and nature is in Christ, we actually enjoy fellowship with God, this nearness to God! He who has the Son has life, but God also abides in him as a part, and also as the source of this life, and he who has the Son also has the Father.
What wonderful links of vital and living joy received through the communication of the divine nature of him who is its source, and all this according to its perfection in Christ! This is what a Christian is by grace. And therefore a Christian is also obedient because this life in the man Christ (and thus it became ours) was the very submission and example of man’s true relationship with God.
Righteousness in practice is evidence that we are born of him who by nature is the source of that righteousness. In the midst of worldly hatred, we know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. So, having a good conscience, we have boldness towards God, and we will receive from him everything we ask if we are submissive to him and do what is pleasing in his sight. In doing this, we abide in him and He in us.
Here abiding in it is spoken of first of all, because it is the practical fulfillment of the submission of the soul. After all, his presence in us is spoken of separately; it is known by the Spirit given to us to keep us from the wrong path that we can take under the influence of evil forces. In ch. 4:7 the apostle returns to this again, speaking of the love of God.
So here is a third proof of Christian privilege. The Spirit which He has given us is proof that He Himself abides in us; this is a manifestation of the presence of God in us. Here the apostle does not add that we also abide in him, because we are talking about the manifestation of the presence of God. This is indicated by the presence of the Spirit. However, in staying in it there is, as we will see later, enjoyment of its essence and, accordingly, spiritual communication with its nature. As we have already seen, everyone who is obedient has this. This speaks of the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. But the presence of God in us by grace and through the power of the Spirit also involves communion with the divine nature. And we abide in him, from whom we borrow this grace and all the spiritual forms of this nature, we borrow in communication with him and in practical life. The apostle speaks about this in the 12th 16th verses of the 4th chapter.
Effective righteousness or obedience, brotherly love, the manifestation of the Spirit of God - all these are evidence of our connection with God. He who obediently fulfills the commandments of the Lord and demonstrates righteousness actually abides in him, and He in him. The Holy Spirit given to us is evidence that He dwells in us.
1John 4
So, in order to use the last proof, foresight and caution were required, for even in the time of the apostles there were already many false prophets who pretended to have communication with the Holy Spirit and crept into the society of Christians. It was necessary, therefore, to teach Christians the precautions to be taken by showing them the exact mark of the true Spirit of God. The first sign was the confession of Jesus Christ coming in the flesh. It is not merely a confession that He came, but that He came in the flesh. Secondly, the one who truly knows God listened to the apostles. Thus, what the apostles wrote became a touchstone for those who aspired to become preachers in the congregation. The whole Word of God is like this, and this is certain, but I will limit myself here to what is said in this passage. Indeed, the teaching of the apostles is the touchstone for every other teaching - I mean what they themselves directly teach. If someone tells me that others must interpret or develop doctrine in order to have truth and confidence in the faith, then I will answer: “You are not from God, because he who is from God listens to the apostles, and you want me to I didn’t listen to them, and no matter what you give as an excuse, you will not be able to confuse me.” The spirit that denies Jesus who came in the flesh is the spirit of the Antichrist. Not listening to the apostles is the initial form of evil. True Christians have overcome the spirit of error by the Spirit of God who dwells in them.
The three tests of true Christianity are now clearly set forth, and the apostle continues his exhortations by speaking of our full and intimate connection with God, who is love, affirming that participation in the nature in which love comes from God, whereby we are partakers of his nature, and everyone who loves others is born of God and knows him (for this is through faith) as having received part of his nature. He who does not love has not known God. We must have a nature that loves in order to know what love is. After all, he who does not love does not know God, for God is love. Such a person has no feelings connected with the nature of God; how then should he know it? And without this, a person can know and understand God no more than an animal understands a person.
The reader must pay special attention to the special prerogative which flows from the whole teaching set forth in this epistle. The eternal life that the Father had was revealed and given to us. Thus we are participants in the divine nature. The love inherent in this nature works in us under the influence of the power of the Holy Spirit, whereby we have fellowship with God, who is the source of this love; we abide in him, and He in us. The first is the affirmation of truth in us. Feelings of this nature prove that He abides in us and that if we love so much, then God himself abides in us. But He is limitless, and the soul rests in Him. At the same time, we know that we abide in him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. However, this passage, so rich in blessings, demands that we strictly follow it.
The apostle begins with the truth that love from God is his essence. He is its source. Therefore, he who loves is born of God, is a participant in his nature. He knows God who knows what love is, and God is its fullness. This teaching makes everything dependent on our participation in the divine nature.
On the one hand, it can lead to mysticism if we focus our attention only on our love for God and on the love in us, which is the essence of God, as if it were said that love is God, and not God is love if we let us try to seek the divine nature in ourselves or doubt about others, since we will not find those fruits of the divine nature in us that we desire to find. As a result, the one who does not love (and this, as always, is expressed abstractly in John) does not know God, for God is love. Possession of the divine nature is necessary for understanding the essence of this nature and for knowing who is its perfection.
But if I strive to know it and receive or give proof of it, then this is not the presence in us of that nature when the Spirit of God directs the thoughts of believers with a specific purpose. The Apostle says that God is love, and this love towards us was manifested in the fact that He sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we could receive life through him. The proof of this is not the life in us, but the fact that God gave his only begotten Son so that through this we might have life and, moreover, our sins might be forgiven. Praise be to God! We have come to know this love, and the proof of this is not the fruits of its influence on us, but its perfection in God and even its manifestation towards us, which has nothing to do with ourselves. The manifestation of this perfect love is a circumstance beyond our control. We use it because we share in the divine nature and know this love through the infinite gift of the Son of God. The manifestation and proof of this love lies precisely in this.
It is amazing to see how the Holy Spirit, in a message that is essentially connected with the life of Christ and its fruits in us, gives proof and full characterization of love in something that does not concern us at all. Nothing could be more perfect than the way in which the love of God is here represented from the time of our transgressions until we “have boldness in the day of judgment.” God has provided for everything: love for us while we were still sinners (vv. 9, 10), when we became saints (v. 12), when we will be perfect in the position in which we will find ourselves on the day of judgment (v. 17). In the first of these verses the love of God is demonstrated in the gift of Christ. First, thanks to him we have gained life, but before we were dead; secondly, our sins have been atoned for, but before we were sinners. Our position has been considered in all respects. In the following verses indicated, the great principle of grace is presented, and what the love of God is and how to know it, and this is clearly expressed in words of infinite importance for revealing the very essence of Christianity. “This is love, that we did not love God [for this is the principle of the law], but He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” It was through this that we learned what love is. It was perfect in him when we had no love for him, perfect in him because He showed it to us when we were in sins, and “sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” The apostle undoubtedly asserts that only the lover knows God. This is what proves the privilege of having love. However, in order to know love, we must not look for it in ourselves, but look for its manifestation in God. He gives loving life and propitiation for our sins.
Now let's talk about having the love of God and its privileges. If God loved us so much (this is what He takes as a basis), then we should love each other. “No one has ever seen God,” but if “we love each other, then God abides in us.” The presence of God and his abiding in us lifts us in his majestic nature above all obstacles and circumstances, drawing us to those who are of him. It is God, by virtue of his nature, who is the source of thoughts and feelings that spread among those who have this nature. It's clear. How does it happen that I have the same thoughts, the same feelings and sympathies as those people whom I have never seen? Why am I closely connected with them and have so much more in common with them than with my childhood friends? Yes, because both in them and in me there is a common source of thoughts and feelings that is not inherent in the world. And this is God. God dwells in them and in me. What happiness! what a connection! Doesn't He fill our souls with Himself? Is it not He who makes his presence felt in love? This is certainly true. And since He thus dwells in us as the blessed source of our thoughts, can there be fear, or alienation, or uncertainty in relation to Him? Not at all. His love is perfect in us. We know His manifestation of love in our soul. Enjoying the divine love abiding in our souls is the second important point in this wonderful passage.
Until this moment, the Apostle John did not say that “we abide in Him and He in us.” He declares it now. But if we have brotherly love, then God also abides in us. When this manifests itself, we experience the presence of God within us as perfect love. It fills the soul and thus manifests itself in us. And this feeling is the result of the presence of his Spirit in us as the source, the force of life and the divine nature. It says here that He did not give us “His Spirit” (proof that He abides in us), but “of His Spirit.” And we, through his presence in us, enjoy divine love, thanks to this Spirit, and thus we know not only about his presence in us, but also about the presence of the Spirit, acting in that nature that is in us from God, and giving us to understand that we dwell in Him, for He is that immensity and that perfection that is now in us.
The soul is calmed by this, rejoices in it and avoids everything that is not connected with it, feeling in itself that perfect love in which (thus being in it) a person finds himself. By the Spirit we abide in God; He gives us the feeling that He dwells in us. Therefore, we, tasting and feeling this divine love, can understand what is inaccessible to the Jews with all their limitations, namely, that the Father sent the Son as the Savior of the world. Next we will see another feature of this.
If we compare ch. 4, 12 c John. 1:18, this will help us better understand the purpose of the teaching of the Apostle John. The same difficulty, or, if you like, the same truth is presented in both cases. “No one has ever seen God.” How is this explained?
In John. 1:18 God was revealed by the “Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father.” He who is in the most perfect intimacy with him, in the most absolute kinship with God and tastes the love of the Father - this eternal and perfect one, who knew the love of the Father as his only begotten Son, He revealed God to people as He knew Him. Notice that it does not say “was in the bosom,” but “he who was in the bosom.” Scripture never says that the Son left the bosom of the Father, but it says: “The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father.” Knowing God in this way, He reveals him to people on earth.
What answer is given in our message to this difficulty? “If we love one another, then God abides in us, and His love is perfect in us.” Through the transmission of the divine nature to us and thanks to the indwelling of God in us, we rejoice in him in our souls as he was revealed by his only begotten Son. His love is perfect in us, known to our soul as revealed by Jesus. God, revealed by the Son, dwells in us. What a wonderful idea! This is the answer to the fact that “no one has ever seen God,” and equally to the fact that the only begotten Son revealed him and that he abides in us. What light this sheds on the words - “what is true both in Him and in you”! For it is because Christ has become our life that we can thus rejoice in God and his presence in us under the influence of the Holy Spirit. From this we see what follows from verse 14. And this shows us, in the highest sense, the difference between the gospel of John and the first epistle of John.
Even in what Christ says about himself, we see the difference between God abiding in us and us abiding in God. Christ always abides in the Father, and the Father in him. However, Jesus says, “The Father who abides in Me is the One who creates.” Hearing the words of Christ, the disciples should believe in him and in the Father, but in what they heard they should rather see evidence that the Father abides in him and that those who saw him saw the Father. But on that day when the Comforter appears, they will know that Jesus abided in his Father, the divine abided with the Father.
The Apostle does not say that we abide in God or in the Father, but that “we abide in Him,” and we know this because “He has given us of His Spirit.” The only expression in Scripture that somewhat resembles this is the phrase: “To the church of Thessalonica in God the Father,” but that was an address to a large congregation, which has a slightly different meaning.
We have already noticed that in Chap. 3:24 He says: “We know that He abides in us by the Spirit which He gave us.” Here the apostle adds that we know that we abide in God, because it is not a manifestation of him as a proof, but communication with God himself. We know that we are in him, and this is always, like a precious truth, an unchangeable fact, felt when his love acts in the soul. Therefore, having this very activity in mind, the apostle immediately adds: “And we have seen and testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” This testified to everyone the love that the apostle, like all believers, enjoyed in his soul. It is important to note that this passage first refers to God being in us, then to the consequence (since He is infinite) that we are in him, and finally to realizing the first truth in experiencing the reality of life.
We may observe here, that as the abiding of God in us is a doctrine of doctrine, and is true of every true Christian, our abiding in him, though caused by it, is nevertheless connected with our condition. This is confirmed by the following verses: “And whoever keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him” (chap. 3, 24) and “...he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (chap. 4 , 16).
Loving one another is indeed taken as proof that God is in us and his love is perfect in us; this distinguishes his presence in us from the presence of Christ in us (John 1:18). But it is through this love that we know that we are in him, and He is in us. In any case, this knowledge is transmitted through the Spirit. Verse 15 states a universal fact, verse 16 reveals all the way down to the source of this love. We learned and believed in the love that God has for us. His nature is manifested in this (for we rejoice in God). God is love, and everyone who abides in love abides in God and God in him. There is nothing like it anywhere. If we draw from his nature, then we also draw from his love, and everyone who abides in his love abides in God, who is the fullness of it. Note, however, that the confirmation of what He is entails a persistent confirmation of His personal being - He dwells in us.
And here comes a principle of deep importance. Perhaps it should be said that this abiding of God in us and our abiding in him depends to a large extent on spirituality, for the apostle did indeed speak of the highest joy. And although the degree to which we comprehend all this indicates spirituality, yet this very existence in itself is part of every Christian. This is our position because Christ is our life and because the Holy Spirit has been given to us. “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” How great is the grace of the gospel! How delightful is our position, because we occupy it by abiding in Jesus! It is very important to confirm that the joy of the humiliated is the lot of every Christian.
The apostle explains this high position by the possession of a divine nature - a state inherent in Christianity. A Christian is one who is a participant in the divine nature and in whom the Spirit dwells. However, knowledge of our situation does not follow from consideration of a given truth (although it depends on its truth), but, as we have already seen, from the love of God. And the apostle continues: “And we knew the love that God has for us, and we believed in it.” This is the source of our knowledge and joy in these privileges, so pleasant and so wonderfully sublime, yet so simple and so real to the heart when they are known.
We have known love - the love with which God loves us - and believed in it. Precious knowledge! Having found it, we came to know God, for this is how He revealed himself. Therefore we can say: “God is love.” And nothing more than that. He is love itself. He is love in its entirety. He is not holiness, but a saint, but He is love. He is not righteousness, but righteous. Righteousness and holiness presuppose a reference to another. Thus, evil is known, the denial of evil and condemnation. Love, although shown towards others, is what He represents. Another name that God goes by is light. We are said to be “light in the Lord,” because we are partakers of the divine nature, not of love, which, although divine in nature, is nevertheless independent in grace. Therefore we cannot be called love.
After all, being in love, I abide in him, but I am not capable of this until He abides in me, and He does this. Here the apostle first says that we abide in him, because God himself is before us as the love in which we abide. Therefore, when I think about this love, I say that I abide in it, because I recognize it with my soul through the Spirit. At the same time, this love is an effective and powerful principle in us; this is God himself. Such is the joy of our situation - the situation of every Christian.
Verses 14 and 16 reveal the double effect of God's love.
First, the evidence that the Father sent the Son as the Savior of the world. This is outside the scope of the promises given to the Jews (as elsewhere in John's gospel); this work is the result of what God himself is. Accordingly, everyone who confesses that Jesus is the Son of God enjoys the fullness of the blessed fruits of love.
Secondly, the Christian himself believes in this love, and he enjoys it in all its fullness. There is only this formulation of the expression of our glorious destiny: the confession of Jesus as the Son of God is here in the first place a proof that God abides in us, although another part of this truth equally affirms that whoever confesses it also abides in God.
Speaking about our participation in communication with God as believers in his love, we can say that everyone who abides in love also abides in God, for as a result it comes to the heart. Here is another part of the truth revealed which is equally true: God abides in him equally.
I spoke about the awareness of this abiding in God, because this is the only way to know it. But it is important to remember that the apostle preaches this as a truth that applies to every believer. Believers may justify themselves by saying that they do not meet these standards, which are too high for them, but this fact rejects such an excuse. This communication is overlooked. However, God abides in everyone who confesses that Jesus is the Son of God and He is in God. What an encouragement this is for the timid believer! and what a reproach this is for a carefree Christian!
The apostle again speaks of our relational position, considering God outside ourselves as the one before whom we must appear and with whom we must always deal. This is the third great testimony and image of love in which it is perfect. It shows, as I have already said, that God thinks about all of us, from our sinful state until the day of judgment.
In this regard, love is perfect in us (so that we may have boldness in the day of judgment), and just as He is, so are we in this world. And, indeed, what else can give us more complete confidence in that day than that we will become like Jesus himself and be like the judge? The one who will judge by truth is our truth. We abide in him, in that righteousness by which he will judge. In terms of court, we are similar to him (that is, we are the same judges). And this can truly give us a perfect world. But notice that this will be so not only on the day of judgment (we have boldness for this), but we are like this in this world. Not as He was, but in this world we are as He is now, and we already have a certain position, and this position is according to the nature and will of God in that day. It is identified with it in our way of life.
So, in love there is no fear, but there is confidence. If I am sure that a person loves me, then I am not afraid of him. If I wish to be only the object of his love, then I may fear that I am not such and may even be afraid of him. However, this fear will always tend to destroy my love for him and my desire to be loved by him. These two concepts are incompatible - there is no fear in love. After all, perfect love casts out fear, for fear torments us and torment prevents us from enjoying love. Therefore, those who are afraid do not know perfect love. So what does the apostle mean by perfect love? This is exactly what God is, this is what He fully revealed in Christ, allowing us to know it and enjoy it through his presence in us, so that we might abide in him. The indisputable proof of its complete perfection is that we are like Christ. This love is manifested towards us, it has reached perfection in us and makes us perfect. But what we rejoice in is God, who is love, and we rejoice that He abides in us, so that love and confidence are present in our souls, and we have peace. What I know about God is that He is love, and love for me, and He is nothing else, but only love for me, and therefore there is no fear.
It is surprising to see that the apostle does not say that we should love Him because He first loved us, but that we love Him. We cannot know and enjoy self-love without loving ourselves. The feeling of love for us is always love. You can never know and appreciate it if you don’t love it yourself. My feeling of love in others is love for him. We must love our brothers, because their love for us is not the source of love, although it can nourish it in this way. But we love God because He loved us first.
If we, so to speak, go deep into the history of these affections, if we try to separate out what is united in joy, because the divine nature in us, which is love, enjoys love in its perfection in God (his love is poured out abundantly into the soul through his presence), if we wish to accurately define the connection in which our souls find themselves with God through love, we will receive the following answer: “We love him because he first loved us.” This is grace, and it must be grace, because it is God who must be glorified.
It is appropriate to note the sequence of verses in this remarkable passage.
Verses 7-10. We have a nature from God, and therefore we love. We are born of him and we know him. But the manifestation of love for us in Christ Jesus is the proof of this love, and it is through this that we learn about it.
Verses 11-16. We enjoy it by being in it. This is truly living in the love of God through the presence of his Spirit in us. This is the enjoyment of that love through communication, thanks to which God dwells in us, and we in him.
Verse 17. This love is made perfect in us; the perfection of this love is seen from the point of view that it gives us boldness in the day of judgment, because in this world we act like Christ.
Verses 18,19. Love reaches perfection in us. Love for sinners, fellowship, perfection before God give us the spiritual and specific elements of this love, representing this love in our relationship with God.
In the first passage where the apostle speaks of the manifestation of this love, he does not go beyond the statement that everyone who loves is born of God. The nature of God (who is love) resides in us; everyone who loves has known him, for he is born of him, that is, he has his nature and is aware of its essence.
This is exactly how God is in relation to the sinner, in which the nature of his love is manifested. Subsequently, what we learn as sinners we enjoy as saints. God's perfect love fills the soul abundantly, and we abide in him. As was already the case with Jesus in this world and as is happening to him now, fear has no place in those for whom this love of God is their abode and peace.
Verse 20. Testing our love for God, which is the result of his love for us. If we say that we love God and do not love our brothers, then we are lying, for if the divine nature, so close to us (dwelling in our brothers), and the appreciation of Christ given to it, have not awakened in us our spiritual affections, then can He, who is so far away, do this? He also commanded us to loving God loved his brother too. And this is where obedience manifests itself.
1John 5
Love for our brothers proves the truth of our love for God. And this love must be universal: it must be manifested in relation to all Christians, for “everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begat him loves him also who is born of Him.” And if birth from him is a motivating force, then we will love all those born from him.
However, the danger lies elsewhere. It may be that we love brothers because they are pleasant to us, their company pleases us, it does not offend our conscience. Therefore, we are given a counterargument: “We learn that we love the children of God when we love God and keep His commandments.” I will not love the brothers as children of God until I love the God of whom they are born. I may love them separately as companions, or I may love some of them, but not as children of God, unless I love God himself. If God himself does not occupy his proper place in my soul, then what is called love for brothers excludes God, and this happens in a much more complete and subtle way, because our connection with them carries within it the secret name of brotherly love.
Now there is a criterion even for this love of God, namely, obedience to his commandments. If I, along with my brothers, are disobedient to the Father, then obviously I love my brothers not because they are his children. If this were because I loved the Father, and because they were his children, then I would clearly want them to obey him. After all, disobeying God together with the children of God and at the same time feigning brotherly love does not mean loving them as children of God. If I really loved them like that, then I would love the Father too and would not dare, disobeying him, to talk about the fact that I loved them because they are from him.
If I also loved them because they were his children, then I would love all of them, because the same reason obliges me to love them all. True brotherly love is distinguished, firstly, by the universal nature of this love in relation to all the children of God, and secondly, by its manifestation in true submission to his will. Everything that is not characterized by these signs is just carnal ostentatious spirituality, putting on a mask with the name and appearance of brotherly love. I probably don't love the Father if I tell his children to disobey him.
Thus, there is an obstacle to this obedience, and that obstacle is this world. The world has its own orders, which are very far from obeying God. If we are occupied only with thoughts of God and doing his will, the world soon begins to show hostility towards us. It also entices the soul of a person with its comfort and pleasure, causing it to act according to the flesh. In short, this world and the commandments of God are in opposition to each other, but the commandments of God are not a burden to those who are born of it, for everyone who is born of God overcomes the world. He has that nature and is armed with those principles that overcome all the difficulties that this world throws at him. His nature is the divine nature, for he is born of God; he is guided by the principles of faith. His nature is insensitive to all the lures that this world offers to the carnal, and the reason for this is that he is completely separated from this world; his soul does not depend on him and is controlled by completely different thoughts. Faith guides his steps, and faith does not notice this world and what it promises. Faith confesses that Jesus, whom this world has rejected, is the Son of God, and therefore this world has lost all power over the soul of the believer. Her affections and her trust are fixed on the crucified Jesus, and she acknowledges him as the Son of God. Therefore, the believer, having separated himself from the world, has the boldness to be submissive to God; he fulfills the will of God, which always remains.
In a few words the apostle sums up the testimony of God concerning the eternal life which He has given us.
This life lies not in the first Adam, but in the second - in the Son of God. Man born from Adam does not possess it, he has not acquired it. He really had to find this life by obeying the law, which can be summed up by the following phrase: “Do this and you will live.” But people were unable and unwilling to do this.
God gives man eternal life, and this life is in his Son. “He who has the Son (of God) has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
So what is the evidence of the gift of eternal life? There are three of them on earth: spirit, water and blood. “This is Jesus Christ, who came by water and blood and the Spirit, not by water only, but by water and blood, and the Spirit bears witness of Him, because the Spirit is truth.” They testify that God has given us eternal life and that this life is in his Son. But where does this water and this blood come from? They flow from the pierced side of Jesus. This is the death sentence pronounced upon the flesh and carried out upon it, the sentence upon all that is in the old man, the sentence pronounced upon the first Adam. It is not that the sin of the first Adam was in the flesh of Christ, but Jesus died in it as a sin offering. “For if He died, He died once to sin.” Sin in the flesh was condemned in the death of Christ in the flesh. And there was no other way. The flesh could not be changed or brought under the law. The life of the first Adam was nothing more than sin, based on self-will; he could not be subject to the law. Our cleansing (as the old man) could only happen through death. The one who died is justified from sin. Therefore, we are baptized to take part in the death of Jesus. It is as if we were crucified together with Christ, and yet we live, but it is not us, but Christ who lives in us. By participating in the life of the risen Christ, we consider ourselves to have died with him; because why live this new life, this life of the second Adam, if we can live before the face of God the life of the first Adam? No. Living in Christ, we have by faith approved the death sentence pronounced by God on the first Adam, and this is Christian cleansing, the death of the old man, because we have become partakers of life in Christ Jesus. “We died” - crucified with him. We need to be completely cleansed before God. We have it because what was unclean no longer exists. And that which exists as born of God is completely pure.
He came by water, the water that flowed from the pierced side of the dead Christ - what a strong proof that it is useless to seek life in the first Adam. For the Christ who came in the name of man and took upon himself his burden, the Christ who appeared in the flesh, had to die, otherwise he would have to remain alone in his purity. Life is to be found in the Son of God who rose from the dead. Purification is achieved by death.
But Christ came not only by water, but also by blood. Such atonement for our sins was necessary as a moral cleansing of our souls. We have it in the blood of the slain Christ. Only death could atone for sins and erase them. And Jesus died for us. The believer is no longer guilty before God. Christ put himself in his place. This is life in heaven, and we were resurrected with him, God forgave us all our sins. Redemption is achieved by death.
The third witness is the Spirit. He is placed first among the witnesses on earth, since He is the only one who testifies, having authority, giving us the opportunity to recognize the other two witnesses. Finally, if we talk about the historical order, for this is what the order was, then death came first, and only after it the Holy Spirit. Even in the order of events, the reception of the Holy Spirit took place after the death of Christ (see D.Ap. 2, 38).
As a result, it is the testimony of the Spirit and its presence in us that allows us to appreciate the meaning of water and blood. We would never have understood the practical significance of the death of Christ if the Holy Spirit had not become the opening power for the new man to comprehend its importance and effectiveness. Thus, the Holy Spirit descended from heaven from the resurrected and ascended Christ. Therefore we know that eternal life is given to us in the Son of God.
The evidence of the three witnesses converges on one truth, namely, that grace (God himself) has given us eternal life and that this life is in the Son. A person has nothing to do with this, except perhaps his sins. This life is a gift from God. And the life that He gives is in the Son. This testimony is the testimony of God. What a blessing it is to have such a testimony, and to have it from God himself and through perfect grace!
So, we see here three things: cleansing, redemption and the presence of the Holy Spirit - as witnesses that eternal life is given to us in the Son, who was killed for people while among them on earth. He could not help but die for a person in the state he was in. Life was not in people, but in himself.
This concludes the teaching of this message. The apostle wrote all this so that those who believe in the Son might know that they have eternal life. He does not provide a means of testing this, lest it cause believers to doubt whether they really have eternal life. However, he allows them to see seducers who seek to turn them away from the true path, as if devoid of something more important, and who claim that they have some kind of higher light. John points out signs of life to believers to convince them; he reveals to them the superiority of this life and their position as having it; and all this so that they may understand that God has given it to them and that they should in no case be shaken in their thoughts.
Then the apostle speaks of the real confidence in God which follows from all this, the confidence which arises in connection with all our desires on earth, all that our souls would ask of God.
We know that God always listens to what we ask according to his will. Precious privilege! A Christian himself would not wish for something that would contradict his will. His ears are always open, He is always attentive to it. God always hears. He is not like a man who is often so immersed in his own worries that he cannot listen, or so careless that he does not want to. God always hears us, and, of course, He has power over everything. The attention He pays to us is proof of His good will. Therefore we receive what we ask of him. He accepts our requests. What a sweet connection! What a great privilege! And this is also what we can afford when we show mercy to others.
If some brother sins and God punishes him, then we can pray for that brother and God will give him life. Punishment leads to mortification of the flesh. We pray for the sinner, and he is healed. Otherwise the disease takes its toll. Any untruth is a sin, but there is also a sin that leads to death. It doesn’t seem to me that this is some kind of special sin, but any sin that is of a similar nature awakens indignation in a Christian instead of mercy. Thus, Ananias and Sapphira committed the sin of death. They lied, but the lie, in the circumstances, inspired more disgust than compassion. We can easily distinguish this sin in other cases.
This is all about sin and its punishment. But a positive side also opened before us. As those born of God, we do not sin at all, we keep ourselves and “the evil one does not touch” us. He cannot seduce a new person. The enemy has no means of attracting to himself the attention of the divine nature in us, which, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, is occupied only with the divine and heavenly, or with doing the will of God. Therefore, our destiny is to live like this, for the new man is busy with the affairs of God and the Spirit.
The apostle ends his epistle with a precise definition of two things: our nature and our way of being as Christians, and also what has been communicated to us to generate and nourish faith in us.
We know that we are from God, and we know this not by vague ideas, but by contrast with everything that is not ours. This is a principle of great importance, and makes the position of the Christian exceptional in its very nature. It is not just good, or bad, or better, but it is from God. And anything that is not from God (in other words, that is not born of him) cannot have such a character and occupy such a position. The whole world lies in evil.
The Christian has confidence in these two things by virtue of his nature, which is able to discern and know what is of God, and thereby condemn everything that is contrary to it. These two opposites are not just good and evil, but what comes from God and what comes from the devil. This is what goes to their core.
Regarding the purpose of the new nature, we know that the Son of God is coming. This is an extremely important truth. The point is not simply that there is good and there is evil, but that the Son of God himself came into this world of suffering to give purpose to our souls. However, there is something more important than this. He made us understand that in the midst of all the lies of the world, of which Satan is the prince, we can know him, who is true, for He is the truth. This wonderful privilege changes our situation entirely. The power of this world, with which Satan blinds us, has been completely broken, and the true light has been revealed to us, and in this light we see and know him, who is the truth, who in himself is perfection. Thanks to him, everything can be clearly examined and everything can be judged from a position of truth. But that is not all. We abide in this truth as partakers of his nature, and while abiding in him we can enjoy the source of truth. As I have already noted, this passage is a kind of key to our true knowledge of God, allowing us to abide in him. It speaks of God as we know him, in whom we abide, explaining that it is in his Son Jesus Christ our Lord that we abide. It is here, judging by the text, that it speaks of truth, and not of love. Now it is in Jesus that we abide. It is in this way, precisely in this way, that we are connected with the perfections of God.
We may again notice that it is the way in which God and Christ are united in the apostle's thoughts that gives its character to the whole epistle. It is because of this that the apostle so often repeats the word “He” when we should understand “Christ,” although a little earlier the apostle spoke about God. For example, in ch. 5:20 says: “That we may know the true God, and that we may be in His true Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.”
Look at the divine connections we have in our situation! We are in him, who is the true God; this is the nature of the one in whom we dwell. So, as for this nature, it is God himself; as for the person and manner of being in him, we are talking about his Son Jesus Christ. It is in the person of the Son, the Son of man, that we truly abide, but He is the true God, the real God.
And that's not all, for we have life in him. He also is eternal life, so in him we have it. We have come to know the true God, we have eternal life.
Everything that is outside of God is considered an idol. May God save us from idols, and may He teach us with His grace how to be saved from them! This gives the Spirit of God an opportunity in the next two short messages to speak about the truth.
Testimony of the person of Christ and His supremacy (vv. 1, 2). Knowing him gives us fellowship with God and Christ (v. 3) and joy (v. 4). The nature of God (v. 5). What kind of walk does it oblige us to (v. 6). What does such a walk give (v. 7). The path to forgiveness of sin (v. 9). What harm we do to ourselves by denying our sin (vv. 8-10).
Verses 1-4. The apostle does not mention his name and title (like the author of Hebrews), either out of modesty, or out of a desire that the Christian reader should be influenced by the light and power of what is written, and not by the name, which can give authority to what is written. So he starts with:
I. Descriptions, or characteristics, of the personality of the Mediator. He is the great subject of the Gospel, the foundation and object of our faith and hope, the bond that binds us to God. We must know Him well, and here He is presented as:
1. Word of life, cm. 1. In the gospel these two concepts are separated, Christ is first called the Word (John 1:1), and then the Life, which means spiritual life. In Him was life, and the life was (actually and objectively) the light of men, John 1:4. Here these two concepts are combined: the Word of life, the living Word. Identifying Him with the Word means that He is the word of a certain person, and that person is God, God the Father. He is the Word of God, therefore He came from God, in the same way (though not in the same way) as a word (or speech) comes from the speaker. But He is not just a sounding word, an Adyo code, but a living Word, the Word of life, a living word, that is:
2. Eternal life. His longevity proves His superiority. He was from eternity, therefore, according to Scripture, He is life itself, integral, inherent in Him, uncreated life. That the apostle means His eternity, a parte ante (as is usually said), His existence from eternity, is evident from what he said of Him as existing in the beginning and from the beginning, when He was with the Father, before His appearance to us, and even before the creation of all things that were made, John 1:2,3. So He is the eternal, living spiritual Word of the eternal living Father.
3. Manifested life (v. 2), manifested in the flesh, revealed to us. Eternal life takes upon Himself the form of mortal man, puts on flesh and blood (perfect human nature), and thus dwells among us and communicates with us, John 1:14. What a great condescension and favor it is that eternal life (eternal life personified) should come to visit mortals, procure eternal life for them, and then bestow it upon them!
II. From the testimony and convincing evidence of the apostle and his brethren about how the Mediator dwelt in this world and dealt with people. There was ample evidence of the reality of His dwelling on earth, as well as of the excellence and dignity of His person revealed to the world. Life, the word of life, eternal life in themselves are invisible and intangible, but life manifested in the flesh may have been visible and tangible. Life took on flesh, assumed the condition and characteristics of humiliated human nature, and as such gave tangible evidence of Its existence and activity on earth. The divine life, or Word, became incarnate and revealed itself to the real feelings of the apostles.
1. To their ears: That...we have heard, v. 1,. Life took on a mouth and a tongue to speak the words of life. The apostles not only heard about Him, they heard Him Himself. For more than three years they witnessed His ministry and listened to His public sermons and private conversations (for He taught them in His house) and were delighted with His words, for He spoke as no one had ever spoken before Him. The divine word requires an attentive ear, an ear dedicated to listening to the word of life. Those who were to become His representatives and imitators in this world needed to become personally acquainted with His ministry.
2. To their eyes: About what.. we saw with our own eyes.., Art. 1-3. The Word became visible so that He could not only be heard, but also seen - seen in society and alone, at a distance and close up, which can be meant by the words seen with one’s own eyes, that is, using all the abilities and possibilities human eye. They saw Him in His life and ministry, they saw Him transfigured on the mountain, they saw Him hanging, bleeding, dying and dying on the cross, they saw Him rise from the tomb and rise from the dead. The apostles of Christ had to not only hear Him with their ears, but also see Him with their own eyes. Therefore, it is necessary that one of those who were with us throughout the entire time that the Lord Jesus remained and spoke with us, from the baptism of John until the day on which He ascended from us, should be with us a witness of His resurrection, Acts 1 :21,22. They were eyewitnesses of His majesty, 2 Peter 1:16.
3. Their inner feelings, the eyes of their minds, for this (probably) can be explained by the following expression: What was considered. It differs from the previous one - we saw it with our own eyes, and perhaps has the same meaning as what was said by the apostle in his gospel (John 1:14): ... We saw Beaor, His glory, the glory as the only begotten from the Father. This word is applied not to the immediate object of vision, but to that which is perceived by the mind from what is seen. “What we have clearly seen, pondered and appreciated, what we have well understood about this Word of life, we proclaim to you.” The senses must be informants of the mind.
4. To their hands and sense of touch: About what... our hands touched (touched and felt). This refers, of course, to that complete conviction which our Lord gave to the apostles after His resurrection from the dead concerning His body, its truth and reality, wholeness and soundness. When He showed them His hands and His side, He probably allowed them to touch them. At least He knew of Thomas's unbelief and his stated decision not to believe until he saw and felt the marks of the wounds from which Christ died. Therefore, at the next meeting, He, in the presence of the other disciples, invited Thomas to satisfy the curiosity of his unbelieving heart. Others probably did the same. Our hands have touched the Word of life. The invisible life and the invisible Word did not neglect the evidence of the senses. The senses, in their place and in their sphere, are the means intended by God and used by the Lord Christ for our information. Our Lord took care to satisfy (as far as possible) all the feelings of His apostles, that they might be His faithful witnesses to the world. To attribute all this to hearing the gospel means to exclude the variety of sensations listed here, to make the expressions used in this case inappropriate and their repeated listing meaningless: What we have seen and heard we proclaim to you..., v. 3. The apostles could not be deceived by such long and varied sensations. Feelings should serve reason and prudence, and reason and prudence should contribute to the acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel. The rejection of the Christian revelation ultimately amounts to a rejection of reason itself. He reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who saw Him risen, Mark 26:14.
III. With the solemn confirmation and certification of these foundations and evidence of Christian truth and Christian teaching, Art. 2, 3. The Apostle proclaims them for our satisfaction: And we... testify and proclaim to you..., v. 2. What we have seen and heard we declare to you..., v. 3. The apostles had to testify to the disciples about what guided them themselves, and explain the reasons that prompted them to proclaim and spread Christian teaching in the world. Wisdom and honesty obliged them to show the world that what they testified was neither their own imagination nor elaborate fables. The obvious truth forced them to open their mouths and impelled them to public confession. We cannot help but speak what we have seen and heard, Acts 4:20. Students should take care to have a firm conviction of the truth of the doctrine they have accepted. They must know the foundations of their holy faith. She is not afraid of the light, nor of the most careful examination. She can present reasonable arguments and strong convictions to the mind and conscience. I want you to know what a feat I have for your sake and for the sake of those who are in Laodicea (and Hierapolis), and for the sake of all who have not seen my face in the flesh, so that their hearts may be comforted, united in love for all the riches of perfect understanding, to know the mystery of God the Father and Christ, Col. 2:1,2.
IV. From the reason that prompted the apostle to give this brief summary of the essence of the holy faith and the list of evidence accompanying it. This reason is twofold:
1. So that believers can achieve the same blessedness with them (with the apostles themselves): What we have seen and heard we declare to you, so that you also may have fellowship with us..., v. 3. The apostle does not mean personal communication and not unification in the same church service, but such communication as is possible even in the presence of a separating distance. It is fellowship with heaven and participation in the blessings that come from heaven and lead to heaven. “We declare and affirm that you may share with us in our privileges and in our bliss.” Evangelical souls (those who have found happiness through gospel grace) are ready to make others equally happy. We also know that there is a fellowship or fellowship that embraces the entire Church of God. There may be some personal differences and peculiarities, but there is a fellowship (that is, a common participation in privileges and advantages) belonging to all believers, from the highest apostles to the most ordinary Christians. Just as there is one precious faith, there are the same precious promises that exalt and crown that faith, the same precious blessings that adorn those promises, and the same glory that is the fulfillment of them. In order that believers may strive for this fellowship, in order to encourage them to hold fast to the faith as the means of such fellowship, and also in order to show their love for the disciples by promoting their fellowship with them, the apostles indicate what it consists of and where it is located: .. .And our fellowship is with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Our fellowship with the Father and with the Father the Son (as He is so emphatically called in 2 John 3) is expressed in our happy relationship with Them, in receiving heavenly blessings from Them, and in our spiritual conversations with Them. This supernatural fellowship with God and the Lord Christ that we now have is the guarantee and foretaste of our eternal abiding with Them and enjoying Them in heavenly glory. Look at what the gospel revelation is aimed at - to raise us above sin and above the earth and lead us to blessed communion with the Father and the Son. See why Eternal Life became flesh in order to elevate us to eternal life in communion with the Father and Himself. See how much lower is the standard of life of those who do not have blessed spiritual communion with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, compared with the dignity and purpose determined by the Christian faith.
2. That believers may grow and perfect themselves in holy joy: And these things we write unto you, that your joy may be complete, v. 4. The gospel economy is not an economy of fear, sorrow and horror, but of peace and joy. Mount Sinai brought horror and amazement, but Mount Zion, where the eternal word, eternal life appears in our flesh, causes rejoicing and joy. The sacrament of the Christian faith is intended for the joy of mortals. Should we not rejoice that the eternal Son came to seek and save us, that He made full atonement for our sins, that He triumphed over sin, death and hell, that He lives as our Advocate and Advocate before the Father, and that He will come again to to perfect and glorify those who have kept faith in Him? And therefore those who are not filled with spiritual joy live below the goal and purpose of the gospel revelation. Believers should rejoice in their blessed relationship with God, being His children and heirs, beloved and adopted by Him; to his blessed relationship with the Son of the Father, as members of His beloved body and joint heirs with Him; the forgiveness of their sins, the sanctification of their nature, the adoption of their soul, the grace and glory awaiting them that will be revealed at the return of their Lord and Head from heaven. If they were established in the holy faith, then how joyful they would be! And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit, Acts 13:52.
Verses 5-7. Having proclaimed the truth and dignity of the Author of the Gospel, the apostle conveys the gospel from Him and draws from this gospel an appropriate conclusion for the admonition and conviction of those who profess themselves to be believers, or to have accepted this glorious Gospel.
I. The gospel which the apostle received, he affirms, is from the Lord Jesus: And this is the gospel which we have heard from him... (v. 5), from his Son Jesus Christ. Since Christ Himself directly sent the apostles and is the main person discussed in the previous passage, then the pronoun Him in the subsequent text should also be attributed to Him. The apostles and their ministers are messengers of the Lord Jesus. It is an honor for them to proclaim His intentions and carry His gospel to the world and the Church; this is the main thing they claim. By sending His gospel through people like us, the Lord showed His wisdom and revealed the essence of His economy. He who took on human nature wanted to honor the clay vessels. The desire of the apostles was to be faithful and faithfully convey the instructions and messages they received from the Lord. What was conveyed to them, they tried to communicate to others: And this is the gospel that we have heard from Him and proclaim to you. We must receive the gospel from the Word of life, the eternal Word, with joy; this gospel concerns the nature of God, Him whom we are to serve, and with whom we are to long for every possible fellowship, and it is this: ... God is light, and in him is no darkness at all, v. 5. These words affirm the superiority of God's nature. He is the totality of beauty and perfection that can only be represented by the concept of “light”. He has self-acting, whole, unalloyed spirituality, purity, wisdom, holiness and glory. It means absoluteness and completeness of excellence and perfection. There is no defect or imperfection in Him, no admixture of anything foreign or contrary to absolute excellence, no variability or tendency to destruction: There is no darkness in Him, v. 5. These words may also refer directly to what is commonly called the moral perfection of the divine nature, which we are to imitate, or, still more directly, to the influence which we experience in our gospel work. This word then includes the holiness of God, the absolute purity of His nature and will, His all-pervading knowledge (especially of the human heart), His jealousy burning with a bright and all-consuming flame. This presentation of the great God as pure and perfect light is very suitable for our dark world. The Lord Jesus reveals to us the name and nature of the unsearchable God best of all: He has revealed the Only Begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father. It is the prerogative of Christian revelation to bring to us the most beautiful, majestic and true idea of the blessed God, best suited to the light of reason and therefore demonstrable, most suited to the greatness of His works around us, and to the nature and dignity of Him who is the supreme Ruler and Judge. peace. Is there any other word that can contain more (encompassing all these perfections) than this - God is light, and in Him there is no darkness. Further,
II. A just conclusion that inevitably follows from this gospel and is intended to admonish and convince those who profess to be believers or accept the Gospel.
1. To convince those who profess faith, but do not have true fellowship with God: If we say that we have fellowship with Him, but walk in darkness, then we lie and do not act in the truth. It is known that in the language Holy Scripture the word “walk” means to organize the general direction and individual actions of moral life, that is, life subject to the law of God. To walk in darkness is to live and act in accordance with ignorance, error and false practices, which are directly contrary to the fundamental principles of our holy faith. There may be people who claim great achievements in religion and claim to have fellowship with God, and yet lead ungodly, immoral, unclean lives. The apostle is not afraid to accuse such people of lying: They lie and do not act in the truth. They lie about God, for He has no fellowship with wicked souls. What does light have in common with darkness? They lie about themselves because they have neither messages from God nor access to Him. There is no truth in either their profession or their life; by their conduct they reveal that their profession and claims are false and prove their folly and falsehood.
2. For the conviction and subsequent encouragement of those who are close to God: If we walk in the light... we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. Just as the blessed God is the eternal, boundless light, and the Mediator sent from Him is the light for this world, so Christianity is the great luminary shining in our sphere, here below. Conformity to this light in spirit and practical behavior indicates the presence of fellowship with God. Those who walk this way show that they know God, that they have received the Spirit from God and the divine image is impressed on their souls. Then we have fellowship with each other, they with us, we with them, both with God, fellowship in His blessed or saving messages to us. One of these blessed messages is that the Blood of His Son, or His death, works in us: The Blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. Eternal life, the eternal Son put on flesh and blood and became Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ shed His Blood for us, or died, to wash us from our sins with His own Blood. His Blood working in us frees us from the guilt of sin, both original and actual, both innate and committed by us, and makes us righteous in His sight. And not only this, but His Blood has a sanctifying effect upon us, whereby sin is more and more suppressed, until it is utterly destroyed, Gal. 3:13,14.
Verses 8-10. In this passage I. The Apostle, having admitted that even those who have this heavenly fellowship still sin, now proceeds to confirm this assumption; he does it by showing harmful consequences denial of this assumption, in the form of two statements.
1. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us, v. 8. We must beware of self-deception - denial or justification of our sins. The more sins we see in ourselves, the more we will value deliverance. If we deny our sins, then the truth is not in us, either the truth opposite to such denial (we lie when we deny sin), or the truth of piety. The Christian religion is the religion of sinners, those who have sinned in the past and in whom sin still dwells to some extent. The Christian life is a life of continuous repentance, humiliation due to sin and mortification of sin, a life of constant faith in the Redeemer, gratitude and love for Him, a life of joyful anticipation of the glorious day of deliverance when believers will be completely and finally justified and sin will be destroyed forever.
2. If we say that we have not sinned, we represent Him as a liar, and His word is not in us, v. 10. By denying our sin, we not only deceive ourselves, but also defame God. We question His veracity. He testified abundantly about sin and against the sin of our world. ...And the Lord said in His heart (made a decision): I will no longer curse the earth for a man (as He did shortly before), because (Bishop Patrick believes that it should be read here not “because”, but “although ") the thought of man's heart is evil from his youth..., Gen. 8:21. God has given His testimony to the continuing sin and depravity of this world by providing a sufficient and effective sacrifice for sin, which will remain necessary in all ages, and He testifies to the continuing sinfulness of the believers themselves by requiring them to constantly confess their sins and communion through faith in the blood of this sacrifice. Therefore, if we say that we have not sinned or are no longer sinning, then the word of God is not in us, nor in our minds, that is, we are not familiar with it; neither in our hearts, that is, it has no practical influence on us.
1. What he must do for this: If we confess our sins..., v. 9. Recognition and confession of sin, accompanied by contrition for it, is the task of the believer and such is the means for freeing him from the guilt of sin.
2. What encourages him in this, guaranteeing a happy outcome? It is the faithfulness, righteousness, and mercy of God, to whom he confesses his sins: ... He, being faithful and just, will forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, v. 9. God is faithful to His covenant and His word, in which He promised forgiveness to the believer who repents and confesses his sin. He is true to Himself and His glory in providing such a sacrifice by which His righteousness is proclaimed in the justification of sinners. He is faithful to His Son, not only by sending Him to this ministry, but by promising Him that whoever comes through Him will be forgiven on account of His merits. By knowing Him (by receiving Him by faith), He, My righteous Servant, will justify many... Isaiah 53:11. He is a merciful and compassionate God, and therefore forgives the repentant and contrite one all his sins, cleanses him from the guilt of all unrighteousness, and in due time will deliver him from the power of sin and the habit of sinning.
The first four verses of the message form its prologue. The Apostle speaks of the certainty of the incarnation of Christ and declares the purpose with which he writes this epistle - to perfect joy and brotherly fellowship.
1-John 1:1. The Apostle begins his epistle with the words: About that which was from the beginning. Many believe that John here had in mind the beginning of the universe - the one spoken of in Gen. 1:1 and in John. 1:1. Perhaps so, but if we consider that the message concerns the original message about Christ, then it is more logical to assume that in in this case the apostle speaks of the beginning of the gospel preaching.
If this is so, then the expression “from the beginning” is used in the same sense in 2:7,24 and 3:11. The author further claims that the truth he proclaimed about the Son of God was originally attested to by the apostles, who were in direct communication with Him. Including himself among these witnesses, he says: what we heard, what we saw with our own eyes, what we examined, and what our hands touched.
Already these opening words are the first arrow fired at the heretics, whose actions the apostle was concerned about. The “Antichrists” introduced new ideas among believers - by no means those that were proclaimed “from the beginning” of the preaching of the Gospel. However, the teaching of the heretics, who denied the reality of the earthly incarnation of Christ, was refuted by many witnesses who not only heard Christ, but saw and touched Him (“Handle Me and see” in Luke 24:39). So John's message was based on something that actually took place, actually happened.
The expression about the Word of life can be understood in different ways. When written with a capital letter, "Word" becomes the title of the Lord, and this is the sense in which it is used in Jn. 1:1,14. However, in those two verses there is no definition for it that is available here - “life”. In 1 John. 1:1 says “Word of life.” And it seems that it is more correct to understand this expression as “news about life”; parallel passages where it is used in the same sense - Phil. 2:16 and Acts. 5:20. And in fact, in 1 John. 1:2 the properties of personality are attributed not to “word”, but to “life.” Thus, the Apostle John speaks in his epistle about the original and subsequently verified truth - about what is the “news of Life,” that is, the message about the Son of God, Who Himself is Life (5:20).
1-John 1:2. The life that the apostles preach about is the individual. Not just life came to earth, but eternal life, which was with the Father and appeared to us. Undoubtedly, we are talking about the incarnation of Christ.
1-John 1:3. John wrote about this most important reality in order to attract readers to fellowship with the apostles. But since further, in 2:12-14, he leaves no doubt that his readers were true believers, he did not have in mind their need to turn to Christ. Having already been saved, the readers of the letter needed, however, the joy of communication with the apostles, including John himself (one of the goals of the letter was to bring them this joy). And this joy was all the greater because the apostles themselves, in turn, had fellowship with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.
The false teachers probably denied that those to whom the apostle wrote had the gift of eternal life (commentary on 2:25; 5:13). If this were indeed the case, and John's readers began to doubt the guarantees given to them by God in this regard, then their fellowship with the Father and the Son would be in jeopardy. Not the salvation promised to them, but precisely their communication with God. For the gift of eternal life that they received from God (John 4:14; 6:32,37-40) they, as believers, could never lose, but their fellowship with Him depended on whether they walked in the light ( 1 John 1:7).
The danger for readers was that the “Antichrists,” singing their “songs” like sirens, could lure them into darkness. It is clear from the message what temptation their godless theories concealed. That is why John set himself the goal of once again strengthening his readers in the fundamental truths of the faith, so that their communication with God would not suffer.
1-John 1:4. John ends his prologue on a soft, personal note. If this message is accepted by the readers and achieves its goal - and we write this to you so that your joy may be complete (in other translations - our joy), then John himself and the other apostles will receive great spiritual joy. The Lord's beloved disciple speaks about the same thing in 3 John. 4 “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth.” The apostles took the condition of other believers so seriously that their own joy depended on the degree of spiritual well-being of those they ministered to. If the readers of the epistle maintain true communication with God and His apostles, then there will be no happier person than John himself.
II. Introduction: Basic Principles (1:5 - 2:11)
Since the purpose of John's letter was to establish communion, the apostle begins the letter with a discussion of this subject. In verses 1:5 - 2:11, he formulated several fundamental principles on which true fellowship with God is built. These principles are of great practical importance in Everyday life all believers. Based on them, Christians can check whether they really have personal communication with God. And have they come to know God, with whom they have fellowship?
A. Basic principles of communication (1:5 - 2:2)
1-John 1:5. In the prologue, the apostle stated that he was writing about what he heard, saw and touched. And here he begins with what he heard: And this is the gospel that we have heard from Him and proclaim to you. By the words “from Him,” John undoubtedly means “from Jesus Christ,” to whose incarnation he just referred (verses 1-2). And further the apostle reveals the content of this gospel: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness.
We will not find such a phrase - word for word - among the recorded words of Christ. But the author of the message is an apostle who personally heard from the Savior much more than is written in the Gospels (John 21:25). And there is no doubt that he meant exactly what he wrote. He heard the truth he formulated from the Lord Himself.
Often speaking of God as Light (John 1:4-5,7-9; 3:19-21; 8:12; 9:5; 12:35-36,46; Rev. 21:23), the apostle implies God revealing His holiness. Two aspects of the divine nature are seen in verses 6-10, in the discussion of the theme of sin and the theme of fellowship: as the Light, God not only exposes human sin, but also condemns it. If anyone walks in darkness, he is hiding from the truth that the Light reveals (compare John 3:19-20). The words relating to the realm of revelation, "truth" and "His Word" are key in verses 1:6,8,10.
It is important to note that it is the gospel that the apostle himself heard that he conveys to his readers: “and we proclaim to you.” Some theologians believe that the false statements refuted by the apostle in verses 6, 8 and 10 came from the mouths of false teachers, i.e., “antichrists”, about whom John writes in the further course of the epistle, that he had them in mind here . But it is not possible to prove this point of view.
The author emphatically uses the word “we”, as if addressing not only his readers, but also himself. If you think about it, the false statements mentioned could well have come from those believers whose contact with spiritual reality and with God has weakened. Attempts to detect in verses 6-10 traces of false doctrines put forward by heretical teachers are not confirmed by the interpretation of the text.
1-John 1:6. Since God is Light, a believer who “walks in darkness” cannot expect to communicate with Him. The Apostle warns: If we say that we have fellowship with Him, but walk in darkness, then we lie and do not act in the truth. John, like every discerning pastor, recognized that sometimes believers, although guilty of disobedience of one kind or another, only pretend to be spiritually at the proper level.
Thus, the Apostle Paul had to deal with a case of incest in the Corinthian church (1 Cor. 5:1-5); He also lists a number of other sins for which those who committed them should have been punished by the church (1 Cor. 5:9-13). Pretentious statements about their supposed communication with God by believers who in fact did not have such communication is a sad reality that can be traced throughout the history of the church. A believer who says he has fellowship with God (Who is the Light) but disobeys Him (“walking in darkness”) is lying (1 John 2:4). Ten times in the Gospel and in his epistles the Apostle John uses the word “darkness” when speaking about sin (John 1:5; 3:19; 12:35 (twice); 1 John 1:5-6; 2:8 -9.11 (twice)).
1-John 1:7. In only one sphere - the sphere of light - is real communication with God possible. In Him and only in Him, John asserts, believers can have fellowship with God: But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. Strangely, many commentators understand the expression "with each other" to refer to communication with each other.
But the Greek pronoun used here, alledon, translated "one with another," implies two parties coming into mutual contact, and these parties are named at the beginning of the verse - we (implied in "if we walk") and He. John's point is that if Christians walk in the light in which God dwells, then they have fellowship with God, and God with them.
Light is the fundamental reality that unites them. Thus, true communication with God is realized in a human life that is illuminated by the truth that He reveals about Himself, that is, in a life that receives His revelation given in Jesus Christ. It is they (this truth, this revelation), as the apostle further says (verse 9), that encourage believers to recognize ("confess") those sins that the light of Christ "highlights" before them.
It is important to note that John does not say to “walk according to the light,” that is, as if in complete harmony with the light, but to walk in the light. In the first case, an absolutely sinless state would be assumed, and since this is unusual for man, he would not be able to have communication with God at all. As for walking “in the light,” it means openness to the light and receptivity to it. John did not at all consider Christians to be sinless, even those who “walk in the light,” and this is clear from the final lines of the verse: The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
This part of the sentence is grammatically consistent with the previous one: “then we have communication with each other.” Thus, taken together, verse 7 states that two things are real for believers who walk in the light: a) they actually have fellowship with God and b) they are cleansed from all sin. As long as the souls of Christians are open to the light of Divine truth, their mistakes and sins fall under the cleansing stream of the blood of Christ. In fact, only thanks to the feat of Christ on the cross, the opportunity was opened for imperfect creation to enter into communion with the absolutely perfect God.
1-John 1:8. At times, a believer who is truly in fellowship with God may be tempted to think of himself as sinless, at least for the time being. The Apostle warns Christians against such self-deception: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth does not exist in us either (compare verse 6; 2:4). Correctly understanding the Word of God, which speaks of the depravity of the “human heart,” Christians also understand the following: not noticing sin behind oneself does not mean being free from it.
If Divine truth dwells “in” believers as a kind of controlling, directing and inspiring force, then the sense of self-righteousness will be alien to them. If someone believes that he has not sinned at all at least for some period of time, or declares that he has achieved sinlessness and remains invariably in it, then his claims are false.
1-John 1:9. In view of what is said in verse 8, the believer must be ready at all times to admit one or another of his sins, which God can reveal to him in His light. This is why John writes: If we confess our sins, He, being faithful and righteous, will forgive us (our) sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Note that the word “our” is not in the Greek text, and therefore it is taken in brackets. Taking into account the peculiarities of Greek grammar, we can come to the conclusion that in the second case we are talking about precisely those sins that we confess.
But then there is some discrepancy between sins, which are forgiven because they are confessed, and “cleansing us from all unrighteousness,” as stated in the last line of the verse. It seems that John’s thought can be paraphrased here as follows: “If we confess our sins, then He forgives us not only them, but also generally cleanses us from all unrighteousness.”
Of course, only God knows the extent of the wrongfulness of any person at any given moment. But every believer nevertheless has the responsibility to acknowledge (meaning “to confess,” 2:23; 4:3) all that is revealed to him in the light, and if he does this, he receives complete and complete cleansing. And therefore, he should not be tormented about sins that he does not know.
How good it is to know that the forgiveness promised here is absolutely guaranteed (because God is “faithful”), and that it is in no way inconsistent with His holiness (He is “righteous”). The Greek word dikaios, translated “righteous,” is also found in 2:1, where it is translated “Righteous.” It is also applied to God (whether the Father or the Son) in 2:29 and 3:7. Undoubtedly, God remains just and “righteous”, forgiving the sin of the believer, since the Lord Jesus Christ offered an atoning sacrifice for him “in propitiation” (2:2). As follows from 1:7, man's communication with God is inextricably linked with the work of the blood of Jesus Christ, shed for sinners.
Nowadays, some argue that a Christian has no need to confess his sins and ask for forgiveness. They refer to the fact that the believer already has the forgiveness of sins in Christ (Eph. 1:7). But supporters of this point of view confuse different things: the perfect position that the believer has in Christ as the Son of God (by virtue of which he is even “seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” - Eph. 2:6), and the spiritual need of the believer - the weak, sinful creature - while he lives on earth. What John talks about in 1:9 can be compared to the forgiveness received in the family.
Isn’t it clear that when making mistakes, a son must ask for forgiveness from his father, although nothing threatens his position in the family! Christiania, who never asks for forgiveness for his sins from Heavenly Father, hardly feels how and when he upsets Him. In addition, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself taught His followers to ask for forgiveness in a prayer that was clearly designed to be said daily (judging by the words “give us this day our daily bread” standing before “forgive us our debts” - Matthew 6:11-12).
So the idea that believers should not ask God for a petition every day is wrong. But the Apostle John does not connect confession of sins with the gift of eternal life, the receipt of which depends on whether a person believes in Jesus Christ. What is said in 1:9 therefore does not apply to unsaved people, and attempts to connect it with the issue of salvation are only misleading.
It can also be said that as soon as the ideas of walking in light or in darkness are correctly perceived in experience, no difficulty arises in understanding them. The word "darkness" must be understood in an ethical sense. If a Christian loses contact with the God of light, he falls into darkness. But confession of sin or sins brings him back into the light.
1-John 1:10. But having sinned, a believer must not deny his sin: If we say that we have not sinned, then we represent Him as a liar, and His word is not in you. This verse must be seen in direct connection with the previous one. Since the Word of God convicts a believer of sin, then one must agree with this, and not try to deny one’s sin. By insisting that he has not sinned, the believer thereby makes “Him a liar.” By objecting to the Word of God, a person rejects it and does not give it a place in his life.
I. PROLOGUE: THE FIRST COMING OF THE SON OF GOD (1:1-18)
John begins his Gospel with the story of Word, but does not immediately explain who or what the Word is. A word is a unit of language with which we can express ourselves and communicate with other people. But John writes rather about Man, not about language.
This Man is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. God has fully revealed Himself to mankind in the Person of the Lord Jesus. When Christ came into the world, he showed us perfectly what God looks like. By dying for us on the cross, He let us know how much God loves us. Thus, Christ is the living Word of God addressed to man, the expression of the thoughts of God.
A. The Word in Eternity and Time (1.1-5)
1,1 In the beginning was the Word. He Himself had no beginning, but existed forever. In the past that the human mind can comprehend, the Lord Jesus has always been. It was never created. He had no beginning. (We might not need the genealogy of the Son of God in the Gospel.) And God had the Word. It was a separate and independent Person. He was not just an idea, a thought or some vague example, but a real Person who lived with God blessing. And the Word was God. Not only was he nearby with God blessing, but He Himself was God.
The Bible teaches that there is one God, but He is triune in three Persons - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. All three Persons are one God. There are two Persons mentioned in this verse—God the Father and God the Son. This is the first of many clear statements in this Gospel that Jesus Christ is God. It is not enough to say that He is like God or that He is Deity. The Bible teaches that He There is God.
1,2 Verse 2 at first glance seems to be a simple repetition of what was mentioned, but in fact it is not. This verse teaches that the Person of Christ and His Deity were not started. He did not become a Personality for the first time by incarnating in the Child of Bethlehem. Moreover, He did not become God after He rose from the dead, as some teach today. He is God from eternity.
1,3 Everything came into being through Him. He was not created; rather He was the Creator Total. He created humanity, animals, celestial planets, angels - All visible and invisible. And without Him nothing began to be that began to be. These words do not admit of any possible exception.
If everything was created, then it was created by Him. And, as the Creator, He naturally commands all that He has created. All three Persons of God participated in the process of creation: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1:1). “And the Spirit of God hovered over the waters” (Gen. 1:2). “All things were created by Him and for Him (Christ)” (Col. l:16).
1,4 There was life in Him. This means not just that He was alive, but that He was and is source life. The word here includes both physical and spiritual life. Having been born, we received physical life. When we are born again, we gain spiritual life. Both lives come from Him.
And life was the light of men. He is not only the One who gave us life, but also the One who is light for people.
He gives the direction and guidance that a person needs. After all, it is one thing to exist, and completely different to know how to live, to know the true purpose of life and to know the path to heaven. He and the One who gave us life, and the one who illuminates us the path we follow.
The first chapter of the Gospel contains seven wonderful names of our Lord Jesus Christ. His names: 1) Word (vv. 1, 14); 2) Light (vv. 5, 7); 3) Lamb of God (vv. 29, 36); 4) Son of God (vv. 34, 49); 5) Christ (Messiah) (v. 41); 6) King of Israel (v. 49); 7) Son of Man (v. 51). The first four names, each mentioned at least twice, seem to be universal in application. The last three names, each mentioned only once, referred to Israel, to ancient people God's.
1,5 And the light shines in the darkness. The appearance of sin has clouded the minds of people. Sin has sunk the world into the darkness in the sense that people not only did not know God, but also did not want to know Him. In this darkness and the Lord Jesus came - light, shining in the darkness.
And the darkness did not embrace him. This may mean that the darkness did not understand the Lord Jesus when He came into the world. People did not understand who He really was or why He came. There is another explanation, which is given in the margin of the NKJV: the darkness did not overcome his.
One could also offer the following understanding: people’s rejection and their hostile attitude did not prevent the true to the world shine.
B. The Ministry of John the Baptist (1:6-8)
1,6 Verse 6 refers to John the Baptist, not John who wrote this Gospel. John The Baptist was sent by God as the forerunner of the Lord Jesus. His mission was to announce the coming of Christ and prepare people to receive Him.
1,7 This the man came testify that Jesus was truly Light peace, so that everyone people could believe through him.
1,8 If John had tried to draw attention to himself, he would have been untrue to the task at hand. He pointed people to Jesus and not to himself.
C. The first coming of the Son of God (1:9-18)
1,9 There was true Light. For many centuries different people claimed to be leaders and saviors, but the One John testified about was the true one Light, the best and most authentic Light. Another translation of this verse is: “The True Light, which, when it enters the world, gives light to every person.” In other words, the phrase "coming into the world" may rather describe true Light, but not each person. It is thanks to the arrival to the world of true Light every person received light. This does not mean that every person has received some internal knowledge of Christ. This also does not mean that all people have heard about the Lord Jesus at one time or another.
Most likely this means that Light shines for all people, regardless of nationality, race or color. This also means that by shining light on all people, the Lord Jesus showed them in their true light, that is, revealed their essence. Coming into this world as a perfect Man, He showed how imperfect other people are. When the room is dark, you cannot see the dust on the furniture. But when the light comes in, the room looks like it really is. Just the same shine true Light shows a person as he really is.
1,10 From the time of His birth in Bethlehem until the day He returned to heaven, Jesus was in the same thing world, in which we now live. He created this entire world and was its rightful Ruler. Instead of recognizing Him as the Creator, people thought that He was just a man like them. They treated Him as a stranger and an outcast.
1,11 He came to his(to one’s own or to oneself – in the margin of the NKJV). He did not encroach on anyone's property. Moreover, He lived on a planet that He Himself created. And yours(People) He was not accepted. In a general sense this could apply to all humanity; and indeed, the majority of mankind rejected Him. But in a narrower sense, His chosen earthly people were the Jews. Having come into the world, He appeared to the Jews as their Messiah, but they didn't accept Him.
1,12 So now He offers Himself again to all humanity, and to those who receive His He gives the right, or power, to be children of God. This verse clearly tells us how we can become children of God. It is not good deeds, not church membership, not our maximum efforts that lead to this, only one thing is needed - to accept His, believe in His name.
1,13 To become a child in the physical sense, you need be born. In the same way, in order to become a child of God, one must be reborn. It is known as birth
from above, or conversion, or salvation. This verse tells us three ways, which Not lead to rebirth, and only one way what's his name get. First, three paths that cannot lead us to being born again. Not from blood. This means that a person does not become a Christian by inheritance by having Christian parents. Salvation is not passed on from parent to child through blood. It's not from the desire of the flesh. In other words, a person is not able, through his own efforts, flesh to be born again. That is, although he wants to receive salvation, his own desire is not enough for this. It's not from the desire of her husband.
No man can give salvation to another man. A preacher, for example, may long for a particular person to be born again, but he does not have the power to grant that amazing birth. Then how does this birth take place? We find the answer in the words: but were born of God. This simply means that the power capable of reviving a person to a new life is not found in something or someone, but in God.
1,14 And the Word became flesh when Jesus was born as a Child in Bethlehem. He, as the Son of God, always abided with the Father in heaven and now came into the world in human body. He lived with us. His arrival was not short-lived, which could have caused some error or misunderstanding. God really came to this earth and lived among people as a Man. Word "dwelled" means: “lived in a tent” or “pitched His tent.” His body was a "tent" in which He lived among men for thirty-three years.
And we have seen His glory. In the Bible, "glory" often refers to the bright, shining light that was seen in the presence of God. It also signifies the perfection and holiness of God.
While living on earth, the Lord Jesus hid His glory in a human body.
But glory is His was revealed in two ways. First, in Him there was moral glory. By this we mean the radiance of His perfect life and character. There was no blemish or the slightest physical defect in Him. He was perfect in everything. All His virtues were displayed in His life in absolute harmony. Then on the Mount of His Transfiguration glory manifested itself visibly (Matthew 17:1-2). At that moment, Peter, James and John saw His face shining like the sun, and His clothes becoming white as light. These three disciples were given a preview of the splendor that the Lord Jesus would have when He returned again to earth and reigned for a thousand years.
There is no doubt that the words "we have seen His glory" spoken by John refer primarily to moral glory Lord Jesus. He and the other disciples contemplated the miracle of the absolutely perfect life that had ever existed on this earth. But it can also be assumed that John also had in mind the event on the Mount of Transfiguration. Glory, revealed to the disciples, confirmed that He is truly the Son of God. Jesus - only begotten Son of the Father, that is, Christ is the only Son of God. God had no one else but a Son like Him. In a sense, all true believers are sons of God. But Jesus - Son God's is one of a kind. Being the Son of God, He is equal with God.
There was a savior full of grace and truth. On the one hand, He was full of kindness towards people who did not deserve it, on the other hand, He was absolutely honest and straightforward and never excused sin or approved of evil. To be absolutely merciful and at the same time absolutely just - only God can do this.
1,15 John the Baptist testified that Jesus was the Son of God. Before the Lord began His ministry, John told people about Him. When Jesus went out to minister, John spoke these words: “This was the one of whom I said...” Regarding the birth and ministry of Jesus, He came after John. He was born six months after John's birth and appeared before the people of Israel some time after John began preaching and baptizing. But Jesus took the lead John. He was greater than John; He was worthy of greater honor only for the simple reason that He was before John. He, the Son of God, existed forever.
1,16 All who believe in the Lord Jesus receive spiritual power from His fullness. Its completeness so great that He can provide it to all Christians in all countries. Expression "grace upon grace" perhaps means "grace upon grace" or "grace abundant." Here grace- this is the merciful disposition of God that He pours out on His beloved children.
1,17 John contrasts the Old Testament period with the New Testament era. The law given through Moses was not an act of grace. He demanded obedience from people and sentenced them to death if it was violated.
He told people what was good, but Not gave them the strength to do so. It was given to show people that they were sinners, but it could not protect them from sin. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. He came not to judge the world, but to save the unworthy, those who could not save themselves, who were His enemies. That's what it is grace– the best in heaven for the worst on earth.
Not only grace came through Jesus Christ, but also true. He said about Himself: “I am... the Truth.” He was absolutely honest and true in all His words and actions. He showed no grace in giving up the truth. He loved sinners, but did not love their sins.
He understood that the wages of sin is death. As a result, He Himself died the death we deserved in order to show us His boundless love, which we do not deserve, and His desire to save our souls and give us life in heaven.
1,18 No one has ever seen God. God is Spirit and therefore He is invisible. He has no body. Although He appeared to people in the OT as an angel or a man, these appearances do not prove that this is what God actually looks like. These were just temporary shells that He chose to speak to His people. Only the Lord Jesus - only begotten Son God's; He is His only Son; and there is no other son like Him. (In the NU and NKJV Bibles we read: "only begotten God" Traditional phrase "only begotten Son" corresponds to most manuscripts, as well as 3.16.) He always occupies a particularly close place to God the Father. Even when Jesus was here on earth, He was still in the depths of the Father. He was one with God and equal to God.
Blessed is He who fully showed people who God is. When people saw Jesus, they saw God. They heard what God said. They felt the love and mercy of God.
God's intentions and His dealings with humanity were completely manifested through Christ.
II. THE FIRST YEAR OF THE MINISTRY OF THE SON OF GOD (1.19 – 4.54)
A. Testimony of John the Baptist (1:19-34)
1,19 When the news is that a person calling himself John, calls on the people to repent, since the Messiah must come, reached Jerusalem, the Jews sent group priests and Levites to find out who he is. Priests carried out important service in the temple, while Levites were employees who performed general duties at the temple. "Who are you?- they asked John. “Are you the long-awaited Messiah?”
1,20 Someone else could have taken this opportunity to glorify himself by calling himself Christ. But John was a faithful witness. He testified that he not Christ(Messiah).
1,21-22 The Jews expected that Elijah would return to earth before Christ came (Mal. 4:5). They reasoned like this: if John is not the Messiah, then perhaps he is Or me. But John assured them that he was not Elijah. In Deuteronomy 18:15, Moses said: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from among your brothers; listen to him.” The Jews remembered this prediction and thought that John might be prophet mentioned by Moses. But again John assured that this was not so. The delegation did not want to return to Jerusalem to those who sent it without a certain answer, so its members again asked John the question of who he was.
1,23 "He said: I am the voice crying in the wilderness." In response to their question, the Baptist quoted Isaiah 40:3, which records the prophecy that a forerunner would appear and announce the coming of Christ. In other words, John confirmed that he was the prophesied forerunner. He was voice, and Israel - desert. Because of their sin and aversion from God, people became callous and barren, like the desert. John spoke of himself simply as voice. He did not portray himself as a great man who needed to be praised and admired. He - voice, which should not be seen, but heard. John was voice, and Christ was the Word. The word needs a voice to be known; the voice has no meaning without the word. The Word is infinitely more than the voice, but it is also our privilege to be the voice for Him.
John proclaimed the message: "Make straight the way of the LORD". In other words: "The Messiah is coming. Remove from your life everything that prevents you from meeting Him. Repent of your sins so that He can come and rule over you as the King of Israel."
1,24-25 The Pharisees were a strict sect of Jews who prided themselves on their superior knowledge of the law and their ability to give minute details of the commandments of the Old Testament. In fact, many of them were hypocrites who hid behind religiosity, but in fact led very sinful lives. They wanted to know what right John had to be baptized if he was not one of the authority figures they listed.
1,26-27 “I baptize in water,” said John. He didn't want anyone to think about his significance. His task was only to prepare people for the coming of Christ. Whenever those listening to him repented of their sins, he baptized them in water. The rite of baptism in water symbolized their inner change. "But there is someone standing among you whom you do not know"- John continued, referring, of course, to Jesus. The Pharisees did not recognize Him as the long-awaited Messiah. In fact, John was telling the Pharisees: “Do not think of me as a great man. The one to pay attention to is Him, for He is the Lord Jesus; however you do not know, who He really is."
He is the One worthy of attention. He came after John the Baptist, but it is He who deserves all praise and honor. A slave or subordinate was charged with the duty of untying the sandals of his master. But John Not considered himself worthy to perform even such a humble, unassuming service for Christ.
1,28 Exact location Bethavara, or Bethany, unknown according to other sources. But we know that this place was located on the eastern bank of the river Jordan. Let's say that this Bethany, but then this is not the Bethany that was located near Jerusalem.
1,29 On another day after a conversation with the Pharisees from Jerusalem John looked and he saw Jesus coming towards him. Excited by this event, he exclaimed: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Among the Jews, the lamb was considered a sacrificial animal. God commanded His chosen people to sacrifice a lamb, sprinkling its blood all around. The Lamb died as a substitute; its blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins.
However, the blood of animals killed in the Old Testament period did not eliminate sin. Those lambs were a type: they symbolically indicated that one day God would send Lamb, Which really will atone all sins. For many years religious Jews have been waiting for this Lamb. And finally, this time has come, and John the Baptist solemnly announced the coming of the true Lamb of God.
When he said that Jesus would carry sin of the world, he did not mean that in this way all sins would be forgiven. Although the death of Christ is a rather large payment for the sins of all peace, only those sinners receive forgiveness who accept the Lord Jesus as their Savior.
J. S. Jones points out that this verse sets out the uniqueness of the Christian atonement:
1. It surpasses all other victims in CHARACTER. If in Judaism the sacrifice was foolish lambs, then in Christianity the Lamb of God became the sacrifice.
2. It surpasses all other sacrifices in EFFECTIVENESS. If in Judaism sacrifices reminded of sin every year, then in Christianity sacrifice eliminated sins. "He... appeared to put away sin by His sacrifice."
3. It surpasses all other victims in terms of SCALE of impact. If Jewish sacrifices were the privilege of only one people, then in Christianity the sacrifice is intended for all peoples: “... takes away the sin of the world.” (J. Cynddylan Jones, Studies in the Gospel According to St. John p. 103.)
1,30-31 John never tired of reminding people that he was only preparing the way for One greater than himself. Jesus was greater than John, just as God is greater than man. John was born a few months before Jesus, but Jesus existed forever. When John said: "I didn't know Him" he did not necessarily mean that he had never seen Jesus before.
John and Jesus are cousins, and it is quite possible that they knew each other well. But John did not recognize the Messiah in his cousin until the moment of His baptism.
John’s task is to prepare the way for the Lord, and after His arrival to point the people of Israel to Him. This is the reason why John baptized people in water- to prepare them for the coming of Christ, and not in order to attract disciples to their side.
1,32 Here we are talking about the moment when John baptized Jesus in the Jordan. At that hour when the Lord came out of the water, Spirit God came down like a dove And abided on Him(cf. Matt. 3:16). The author goes on to explain the significance of this fact.
1,33 God showed John that the Messiah had come, and when He came, Spirit got off on Him and stayed on German Therefore, when this happened to Jesus, John realized that before him was the One who would baptize By the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit– Person, one of the three Persons of the Trinity. He is equal to God the Father and God the Son.
John baptized with water and Jesus will baptize By the Holy Spirit. Baptism Holy Spirit happened on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:5; 2:4.38). Then Holy Spirit came down from heaven to dwell in every believer, making him also a member of the Church, that is, the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13).
1,34 Based on what he saw at Jesus' baptism, John confidently testified that Jesus of Nazareth is God's Son, whose coming into the world was predicted.
When John said that Christ is God's Son, he meant that He was God the Son.
B. Conversion of Andrew, John and Peter (1:35-42)
1,35-36 Next day, mentioned here is the third. John was with two their students. These people heard John preach and believed what he said. But they had not yet met the Lord Jesus. Now John testified to everyone about the Lord. The day before, he spoke of His Person (the Lamb of God) and His mission (He who will take away the sin of the world). Now he simply draws attention to His Person. His message was short and simple, he did not exalt himself, but only the Savior.
1,37 Because of his truthful preaching, John lost two students, but he was pleased to see them following Jesus. This is a lesson for us: we should be more concerned about getting our friends to follow the Lord rather than following us by thinking highly of us.
1,38 The Savior is always not indifferent to those who follow Him. Here He showed His interest by turning to two disciples and asking: "What do you need?" He knew the answer to the question; He knew everything. But He wanted them to express their desire in words. Their answer: "Rabbi, where do you live?"- showed that they wanted to be with the Lord and get to know Him better. They were not satisfied with simply meeting Him. They sought to have fellowship with Him. "Rabbi"- Hebrew word meaning "teacher"(literally "my lord").
1,39 He He says to them: “Come and see.” They had a sincere desire to learn more about the Savior and did not refuse the invitation. Jesus invited the two to Himself, where He lived at that time; perhaps, in comparison with modern houses, it was very poor housing.
They went and saw where He lived, and stayed with Him that day. (It was about ten o'clock.) These people have never received such an honor. They stayed that night in the same house where the Creator of the universe lived. They were among the very first representatives of the Jewish people to recognize the Messiah.
Tenth hour– this is either 10 hours before noon or 4 pm. Preference is usually given to an earlier time (Roman).
1,40 One of two students was Andrey. Andrey not as well known today as him brother Simon Peter, but it is interesting to note that he was the first to meet Jesus.
The other is not named, but almost all Bible scholars believe that it is John who wrote this Gospel. They admit that due to his humility and modesty of character, John did not mention his name.
1,41 When a person finds Jesus, he usually wants his relatives to also meet Him. Salvation is too good a thing to be kept just for yourself. Therefore, Andrey quickly went to to his brother Simon with exciting news: "We have found the Messiah!" What an amazing message! For at least four thousand years people have been waiting for the promised Christ, the Anointed One of God. And so Simon hears from the lips of his brother the amazing news that Messiah near. They truly lived at a time when history was being made. How simple Andrey's message was. Just three words: "We have found the Messiah" but God used them to win Peter. This verse teaches us that you don't have to be a great preacher or a smart speaker. We must tell people about the Lord Jesus in simple words, and God will take care of the rest.
1,42 Andrey brought his brother to the right place and to the right Person. He did not take him to church or to a clergyman, and did not expound his doctrine. He brought him to Jesus. What an important act this is! Thanks to Andrew's interest, Simon later became a great "fisher of men" and one of the first among the Lord's apostles. Simon is better known than his brother, but Andrew certainly shared the same reward with Peter because he was the one who led Peter to Jesus. The Lord knew Simon's name, although no one presented it to Him. He also knew that Simon had an unstable character. And finally, He knew that Simon's character would change so much that he would become as hard as a rock.
How did Jesus know all this?
There is only one answer: He was and is God. Simon's name changed, he began to be called Cephas(which in Aramaic means "stone"), and he truly became a man of strong character, especially after the ascension of the Lord and the descent of the Holy Spirit.
B. Conversion of Philip and Nathanael (1:43-51)
1,43 This is the fourth day that we read about in the first chapter. Bosch notes that on the first day we see only John(vv. 15-28); in the second - John and Jesus(vv. 29-34); on the third day we see Jesus and John(vv. 35-42); and on the fourth day we see only Jesus(vv. 43-51). The Lord headed north to an area known as Galilee. He is there found Philip and invited him to follow Him: "Follow Me!" These are great words because He spoke them, and they are also great because they honored the hearer with great privilege. The Savior still pronounces this simple and yet sublime invitation to all people on earth.
1,44 Bethsaida - city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Not many cities in the world have ever received such an honor. The Lord performed a number of His mighty miracles there (Luke 10:13). This was my hometown Philip, Andrey and Peter. However, this city rejected the Savior and as a result was so destroyed that now we cannot determine its exact location.
"Christ never at first demanded unconditional faith. He was never in the habit of sending disciples back because of their imperfect faith. And it is quite obvious that He does not resort to this method today. He is with his brothers. He invites them to join to Him at any stage. He accepts them with whatever faith they have to offer Him. He understands that this is the beginning; and from here He leads His friends forward, as He led the first group, gradually, step by step, into the hidden secret of who He is, and to the great glory of discipleship."(James S. Stewart, The Life and Teaching of Jesus Christ, pp. 66-67.)
1,46 Before Nathanael there was a problem. Nazareth despised in Galilee. It seemed impossible to him that the Messiah lived in such a bad place. Therefore, he expressed the question that bothered him. Philip didn't argue. He felt that the best answer to objections was to introduce people directly to the Lord Jesus (a valuable lesson for anyone who wants to win others to Christ). No need to argue. There is no need to engage in long discussions. You just need to offer it to people go and see.
1,47 This verse confirms that Jesus knew everything. Without any prior knowledge of Nathanael He announced that he truly an Israelite, in whom there is no guile. Jacob had a reputation as a somewhat dishonest businessman, but Nathanael was an Israelite who had nothing in common with Jacob.
1,48 Nathanael was obviously surprised that a complete stranger spoke to him as if he knew him.
Apparently he was completely hidden from people's view as he sat under the fig tree. What is certain is that the hanging branches of the tree and the surrounding greenery hid it from view. But Jesus saw him, although he was so securely hidden.
1,49 The Lord Jesus had the ability to see what was hidden from the eyes of people, and this fact convinced Nathanael is that such knowledge may have been given to Him supernaturally. In any case, he now knew that Jesus was Son of God and King of Israel.
1,50 The Lord provided Nathanael with two proofs that He was the Messiah. He described his character and said that he saw Nathanael when no one could see him. These two proofs were sufficient for Nathanael, and he believed. But now the Lord Jesus has promised that he will see big ones evidence than these.
1,51 Whenever Jesus began a statement with: "Truly, truly, I say to you"(literally "Amen, amen") He was about to say something very important. (Only John writes: “truly, truly.” The other evangelists apparently reduced expression of our Lord, and we read: “truly.”) Here He gave Nathanael a description of the future when He would return and rule over all the earth. The world would then know that the Carpenter's Son, who lived in despised Nazareth, was truly the Son of God and the King of Israel. In that day the heavens will open. The favor of God will be upon the King, for He reigns, and Jerusalem is the capital of His Kingdom.
Nathanael was probably thinking about the story of Jacob's ladder (Gen. 28:12). This staircase with angels ascending and descending on it seemed to him an illustration of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who is the only way to heaven. Angels of God will ascend and descend to the Son of Man. Angels– servants God's who move like tongues of fire, carrying out His instructions. When Jesus reigns angels will fly from heaven to earth, doing His will.
Jesus told Nathanael that he had seen only minor manifestations of His messiahship. In the coming Kingdom of Christ, he will see the Lord Jesus in all his fullness as the anointed Son of God. Then all humanity will know that someone good can come from Nazareth.
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