It is entirely appropriate that a book dealing with the subject of Christian assurance should end with three final affirmations, introduced by the repetitive phrase “we know” in verses 18, 19 and 20. In some ways these statements are a summary of much of what John has been teaching. In another sense they are a reminder of how important affirmations are to Christianity.
John’s first affirmation is that the one who is truly born of God does not sin. At first glance this statement seems to be contradictory to John’s repeated declaration in chapter one that anyone who says that he does not sin or has never sinned is either self-deceived or a liar, just as the section in chapter 3, verses 4-10, seemed to be contradictory to those same statements. But the contradiction is only an apparent one, and our discussion of the earlier passage indicates how we should deal with this.
The second of John’s affirmations is that “we are of God,” joining himself to his readers in this certainty. But where does the certainty come from? In the first instance the certainty that the one born of God does not sin comes from the ability of Jesus (or God) to keep the Christian. In this case the certainty that “we are of God” comes from the fact that the tests of righteousness, love, and sound doctrine have been applied and the results discovered to be positive.
This leads to the third of John’s affirmations, which is, as Stott says, “the most fundamental of the three.” This strikes at the very root of the heretical Gnostic theology, for it is the affirmation that the Son of God, even Jesus, has come into this world to give us both knowledge of God and salvation.
Once we know Him, what then? Then we must keep ourselves from idols. In verse 18 John has written that the Son of God will keep the Christian, but this does not relieve the Christian from his own responsibility to persevere in God’s service. Rather than drifting, he must draw near to God and grow in the knowledge of Him. For only then will he be truly kept from idols.
The letters of 2 and 3 John are the shortest books of the New Testament, shorter even than Jude or Philemon which also each have only one chapter. But this does not mean that either 2 or 3 John is insignificant. To be sure, in some ways each merely repeats the general message of 1 John, which is longer. But the repetitions are made in two distinct contexts which in turn give a unique direction to the letters and call forth new emphases.
One similarity between the two letters is that each begins by the author’s introduction of himself as “the elder.” In the one case he writes, “The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth” (2 John 1). In the other letter he writes, “The elder unto the well-beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth” (3 John 1). Traditionally the identification of “the elder” plus the unnamed author of 1 John and of the fourth Gospel has been fixed as John, the son of Zebedee, who became an apostle. The captions of the books themselves indicate this.
At the conclusion of yesterday’s devotional, we mentioned one reason why Eusebius’ reference to Papias may not prove the existence of two Johns. Today, we begin by offering another reason.
In yesterday’s study, we concluded with John Stott’s insightful question: “Is it possible, that a man of such prominence, who exercised such authority and wrote three Epistles which are included in the New Testament canon, should have left no more trace of himself in history than one dubious reference by Papias?”
We may wish to answer that such may indeed be possible, as an outside though highly unlikely chance. But it is not probable. Consequently, we rest on sound ground when we perceive the importance and widespread authority of the author to be that of none other than John, the son of Zebedee…
The messages of 2 and 3 John are not just for an earlier age, despite the unique and particular problems to which the letters are addressed. Like all Scripture they have a message for our own time also.
No other books of the New Testament more clearly reflect the current letter writing style of the first century than do 2 and 3 John. There is an opening greeting, in which the author identifies himself and names those to whom he is writing. There is an opening salutation. This is followed by the body of the letter, containing the message. Then there is a closing salutation in which the author expresses his hopes of seeing the one to whom he is writing and sends a final greeting. The letters of 2 and 3 John follow this format. But, like the other New Testament books which also follow it, particularly the Epistles of Paul, these books introduce distinctly Christian ideas by which the conventional forms are both elevated and transformed.
The unique feature of this opening salutation is John’s surprising emphasis upon truth and his linking of the truth he thus emphasizes to love. Indeed, the word “truth” occurs four times in the first three verses and one more time in verse four.
There is much in the life of the local church to give John cause for rejoicing, but this does not mean that there is no more room for growth. These to whom he writes are Christians. Their lives meet the three tests: the moral test (which is righteousness or obedience to God’s commands), the social test (which is love), and the doctrinal test (which is the test of truth or sound doctrine). But this does not mean that their lives are as marked by righteousness as they might be, that they love each other fully, or that they have totally assimilated the whole of Christian doctrine.
There is a true progress in the Christian life, but it is progress based upon a deeper knowledge of the historical, biblical Christ. Progress on any other ground may be called progress, but it is a progress that leaves God behind and is, therefore, not progress at all.
The second part of John’s instructions to the local church reveals how strongly he feels about the danger. For here the Christians are not only warned. They are also instructed to have no part in encouraging either the false teachers or their false doctrines. In fact, says John, do not even greet them, for in so doing you may be sharing in their wicked work.
The messages to or about these three personalities give a straightforward outline to the book. There is: 1) the message of Gaius, who is termed a fellow worker; 2) the message about Diotrephes, who is causing the problem; and 3) the message about Demetrius, who is designated as an example to all.
Today many regard truth as nonessential, so long as good deeds are done. But John does not favor this view, nor does he regard it as possible. According to the apostle, good deeds flow from truth, just as love flows from it. For it is only as one walks according to the doctrines of the Word, which he has been taught, that truly righteous acts become possible.
Here is a great word for those who would like to be engaged in front-line Christian work but who cannot, due to ill health, circumstances, or other pressing obligations. In God’s sight those are fellow workers who merely support others by their gifts, interest and prayers.
We may grant that there was a struggle for power over the affairs of the local church. But John attributes this, not to a mere difference of opinion about who should have the final word, but to obvious sin; for John argues that the struggle came about because Diotrephes loved “to have the preeminence.”
In verse 11 we have what seems to be a general exhortation to do good and not evil. But in the context of the letter the evil example is most obviously Diotrephes, and the good example, Demetrius. Consequently, the exhortation leads directly into what follows. The personal nature of the maxim is conveyed by the word “imitate.”
Do you remember where that expression “Pyrrhic victory” comes from? It comes from a battle that took place between the Greek armies directed by General Pyrrhus and the Roman armies in the year 279 B.C. The Greek armies were in southern Italy, and they were engaged in a massive conflict with the Roman forces. The armies under Pyrrhus lost thousands of men, even though they won the battle, and Pyrrhus lost some of his most able commanders. And he lost all of his supplies and baggage. After the battle, one of the Greeks came up to him and congratulated him on his victory. Pyrrhus replied, “Another such victory and we are ruined.” And so a Pyrrhic victory came to refer to a victory which is a genuine victory, according to some standards, but which is won at a devastating and destructive price. Now that’s what we’re talking about when we’re talking about the death of Jesus Christ.
However, it wasn’t only the enemies of Christ that seemed to have won on that Good Friday. It was also a victory for the devil, or so it seemed. The devil had begun his onslaught against Jesus even before the religious leaders. Even before the leaders knew He was around to cause them trouble, the devil knew He was there.
Jesus is the One who described Himself in John 14:6 as the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus said, “No one takes my life from me. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.” But when Jesus stood alone before this formidable foe, it seemed by any reasonable analysis, any objective appraisal, that it wasn’t Jesus who was victorious, it was death.
Yesterday, we concluded by making the point that Jesus’ resurrection is proof that God the Father accepted Christ’s sacrifice for our sins on the cross. And not only that, the resurrection is also a victory because it shows that the ravages of sin will be reversed—those ravages of sin which affect us in our bodies and eventually bring about our physical death.
Because Jesus has removed death’s sting by His death in our place, although physical death comes, for believers what follows is the receiving of our resurrection bodies. This is necessary because, as Paul himself says, flesh and blood can’t inherit the kingdom of God. You have to have a resurrection body. We have to lay aside this body in order that we might take on a new body in order to be able to be presented in heaven.
When you talk about Utopias biblically, you find that there are two. There is a Utopia in the early pages of the Word of God, the Garden of Eden, and there is a Utopia at the end in the book of Revelation. The one at the beginning we have lost and can never go back to; the one in Revelation is before us, which we can enter, but the way in which we are to enter is by the cross and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
God gave Adam a paradise in which he had useful, meaningful work to do. God could have done without Adam of course. He did not need Adam to bring the universe into existence, nor did God need Adam to do anything once God’s work of creation had been completed. But when God created Adam He understood that part of Adam’s wellbeing had to do with significant work.
So now we have this paradise, a perfect place, with a perfect man, being given perfect work to do, and with a perfect companion. And yet, as we know, through the temptation of Satan in the form of the serpent, Adam turned his back on that paradise because he turned his back on God and he sinned.
And so we come here to Revelation 21and see the presence of God again with His people. It’s a glorious scene. We then see something else. We see described the bride of the Lamb, that is, the bride of Christ. This bride is a holy bride, a bride without blemish, without stain, a bride who has been made perfect through the work of Jesus Christ, perfectly adorned for her husband. This bride is the Church, the communion of the saints.
Our Lord was raised from the dead and because He was raised, those who are united to Him in saving faith will be raised also. You know how the apostle Paul talks about it in 1 Corinthians 15, that great chapter on the resurrection. He says that “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable” (v. 50). But at the last trumpet, all those mortals who are united to Christ by faith will put on immortality, and what is perishable will put on the imperishable.
Birthdays are usually very happy times. For that reason we generally try to remember the birthdays of close friends. We who have children cannot forget birthdays; the children will remind us. When we get older we are supposed to be too sophisticated to remind people that our birthday is coming, but we are always pleased when they remember. Of all the birthdays that are remembered there is no birthday that has been remembered more faithfully by more people over a longer period of time than the birthday of Jesus Christ.
Another related paradox comes in at this point: When Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem, there was no place for them to stay. As a matter of fact, there was no room even in the inn. When Luke says there was no room in the inn we have to understand him to mean there was no room for them anywhere. If there had been a place, they would have gone there. When they could not even get into the inn, they ended up in the stable, and that is almost to say there was no place for them at all.
Is there room in your heart for Jesus? If Jesus is God’s great gift to humanity, you could never have anything greater in your life than Jesus. The source of all blessing begins with receiving Him. But notice! If you do have room in your heart for Jesus, then the world is not going to have room for you.
The Christmas story is a great story. It is filled with paradoxes, but the paradoxes all come down to this: God has entered human life at a low level so that nobody, no matter how low or how sinful, how high or self-righteous, need be excluded. Jesus Christ is for you, whoever you are. He is the Son of God. He is the Savior. He invites you to receive Him into your heart. Won’t you do that? This is the time. It would be a pity to go through another Christmas and not receive Him.
Somewhere in my library I have a pamphlet by Donald Grey Barnhouse entitled How to Mark Your Bible. This pamphlet contains suggestions for using Bible markings as an aid to Bible study, and it contains sample pages from a Bible Barnhouse used and marked thoroughly. I think of this now because at Romans 3:21 and following, Barnhouse had written the picture of a heart in the margin of his Bible. That was to remind him, as he came to this passage, that Romans 3:21-27 is the heart of the Word of God.
Verses 10 and 11 capsulize Paul’s whole theology on this subject when he writes, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.” When Paul says there is no one righteous, he is talking about the moral dimensions of our being. When he says there is no one who understands, he is talking about the intellectual dimension of our being. When he says there is no one who seeks God, he is talking about the volitional dimension of our being. Together these mean that things are so desperate that our state is actually hopeless unless God intervenes to do what needs to be done.
We need to see how desperate our situation is, because it is only when we see this that we can begin to appreciate the magnitude of the grace of God. So long as we think that at the worst we only have a few flaws, we believe that insofar as salvation is concerned all we need is for God to make up the deficit, plug the hole in the dike, or rub off the rough edges. But that is not the situation.
In Christ, God has turned aside His own wrath, punishing sin in the person of His Son who died for sinners. We deserve to die. The wages of sin is death, and we have sinned. Nevertheless, God sent Jesus to bear the punishment of death in our place. He experienced the wrath of God for us.
Yesterday we looked at propitiation and justification. The third term is redemption. It is a business term. It has to do with buying something back. In the ancient world much of the commerce had to do with the purchase and selling of slaves, and this term relates particularly to slavery. It meant to buy a slave out of slavery and set the slave free. It is what Jesus has done for us.
When I was talking about the third chapter of Romans, I pointed out that Romans 3 is the heart of the Bible. If that is true, Romans 8 is the Bible’s climax. It is a climax because it takes us from the matter of our deliverance from the penalty and power of sin to that final glorious consummation of our salvation when we are made free from sin in all respects and are brought into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father forever.
You recall what is said in the third chapter of John’s gospel, the very chapter which contains that great verse beloved by Christians everywhere, beginning, “For God so loved the world . . .” The chapter talks about the Gospel: that God sent Jesus Christ that we might have eternal life. But immediately after that it also talks about condemnation, saying that if we have not believed in Jesus we are condemned already because of our unbelief. In other words, our natural state is not neutral.
Just as Adam, Moses, David, and all the Old Testament figures were saved, though they were sinners, so did Christ save the woman, knowing that the time was coming when He would die upon the cross to pay the just punishment, not only for her sin, but for all whom the Holy Spirit should draw to faith in Him, ourselves included.
Third, in verses 26 and 27, Paul talks about our weakness. “The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness,” he says. He acknowledges that we have it. We have a sinful nature within. We face hostile circumstances without. We are weak. How can we triumph? How do we know that these things are not going to gang up on us, and in the end, regardless of the value of the death of Christ, overcome us and defeat us?
The second reason why there will be no separation from the love of God is the impotence of everything, when set over against the sovereign love of God toward us in Christ Jesus. What are things, when set over against God? Paul talks about a number of things that might tend to separate us from that love.
There is something about Christmas that is wonderful—in spite of the frantic pace of the days leading up to Christmas, the anxious flurry of pre-Christmas buying and the undisguised commercialism and materialism that is so much a part of Christmas in the West. I suppose it is the sheer magnitude of the event itself, the grandeur of what Christmas means: the birth of the Savior.
The announcement that Jesus should be born to Mary has several parts, all of them important: that Jesus would be “great”; that He would be “the Son of the Most High”; that He would be “holy,” that is, without sin; and that He would “reign over the house of Jacob” on the throne of David forever. But of these various parts of the announcement the greatest, without any doubt, is that the one to be born should be the Son of God. It is the greatest part of the announcement because it means that by the incarnation and birth God would Himself become man.
The second miracle of Christmas announced to Mary by the angel Gabriel is the Virgin Birth. Strangely, this miracle was not a problem for the ancients. At least no strong opposition to its being possible has been recorded. It is only in recent times, in the earlier decades of this century, that the Virgin Birth has been discounted. It was attacked by the unbelieving liberal element in Christianity.
It is hard to think of Christmas without thinking of the two great miracles I have mentioned—the incarnation and the Virgin Birth—and yet the third of these three miracles is the greatest of all, namely, that Mary should believe the angel’s message.
At this point I have spoken of three great miracles of Christmas: that God should become man, that He should do so by means of a virgin birth, and that Mary should have believed the angel’s announcement. But now I want to say that the last of these miracles needs to have its counterpart in us. We too need to believe the good news concerning this child, that He is the Savior sent by the Father to deliver us from sin, and that we need to commit ourselves to Him in wholehearted trust and obedience.
It was C. S. Lewis who invented the phrase, “surprised by joy.” It’s the title of his autobiography. But I suppose that if there were ever people who were supremely surprised by joy, it was the shepherds when the angels appeared in the sky to announce that on that evening in Bethlehem, a Savior had been born.
Now there were several reasons why this message was a message of joy to the shepherds and why, in exactly the same way, it must be a message of joy to us. And the first is that it had to do with the Savior.
Now Jesus Christ was announced by the angels to the shepherds as the One who solves that sin problem. He solved it by His own death. He came to die for our sin. Our sin means that we, in our basic nature, are at odds with the God of the universe. And because we’re in opposition to the God of the universe, we’re at odds with all of the laws that govern the universe, all the moral laws that should provide for our well-being if we were obeying that God. And our sin has erected a great barrier between ourselves and God.
You know, it’s an interesting feature of this word, “Messiah” (“Anointed One”), that in the Old Testament period, there were three classes of people who were anointed. The prophets were anointed, the priests were anointed, and the kings were anointed. It’s also an interesting feature that neither one was to cross over into the bounds of the other. But when the Messiah comes, the Anointed One, He is to be a Person who embraces all three of those offices in Himself.
If He’s Lord, He must be obeyed. And if He’s Savior, He must be Lord. Jesus didn’t allow anyone to think that somehow they could be saved and do their own thing. But if they were going to be saved, it was going to be by Jesus the Savior, who is at the same time the Lord. And it was impossible to have one part of Him without having the other. By nature we don’t want that kind of Savior, but that’s the kind of Savior we very much need.
The fourteenth chapter of John’s gospel is great for several reasons. It is great because of its contents, and it is great because of the situation to which it speaks. The chapter begins, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” But the reason Jesus spoke those words is that the disciples were troubled and had every cause to be. As a matter of fact, earlier even Jesus was troubled. He said, “Now my heart is troubled” (John 12:27). Here the disciples are troubled, and Jesus says to them, “Do not . . . be troubled.”
But what I want to say is that heaven will become increasingly precious to us as we live out the course of our lives and that it is meant to be a consolation to us even now. That was the point with the disciples. They were going to be faced with death in just a few hours. Jesus Christ, the one whom they were closest to, the one they loved and had given their whole lives to, was going to die. But He said, “Do not be troubled, because death is not the end. There is life beyond. There is a heaven, and I am only going there to prepare a place for you.”
In knowing Jesus Christ we really do know God. God is not a mystery. God is not that supreme being who stands so far behind creation that we cannot even begin to know what He thinks, what He wants, or who He is. God has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. What is God like? He is like Jesus. How do we see Jesus? We see Jesus in the Scriptures.
When our Lord gets to the end of this chapter, He says in v. 27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Do you see how this comes back to the beginning? What did Jesus say in verse 1? He said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” Then, when He gets to the end, He says, “I give you my peace. And because of this you do not need to be troubled.” Jesus did not promise that life will be free of difficulties, but He did promise the means of living in the midst of our difficulties.
No portion of our Lord’s teaching is better known and probably no portion of the Word of God is more difficult to read than the Beatitudes given in Matthew 5. This is because it is impossible to read these verses without realizing acutely that while they may describe the Lord Jesus Christ, they most certainly do not describe us.
In the first beatitude we stand before God, not in our pride, but in poverty of spirit, recognizing our need. As we stand before God we see Him in His holiness and are inevitably conscious of our own sin. So in the second beatitude Jesus says that we are not only to see that sin, but to mourn for it.
In Christian terms this means that believers must use all the force at their disposal to speak out against the sinfulness of the world. But at other times, perhaps when their own rights are intruded upon, they must step back and allow the Lord to be their defender.
The fourth beatitude encourages a hunger and thirst after righteousness. It stands at the center of them all. Righteousness is what we most lack, and, therefore, our greatest problem is how we as sinful men and women become right before God. We can deal with other problems. We can find partial solutions. But if we are not right before God we have missed the only thing that matters ultimately.
We are to work for peace in all areas of our lives: in the community where we work, at church, school, store, or on the international scene. In yourself you may not want to be a peacemaker. You may want to retaliate for wrongs and lash out against personal hurts. But this is not Christ’s way. He says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”
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