Truth Magazine

By Johnny Stringer

John says, “He that committeth sin is of the devil” (v. 8). Like the verbs used in verse 6 and discussed in article no. 2, the verb used here denotes habitual action. Hence, John has reference, not to one who commits an occasional act of sin and then penitently seeks God’s pardon, but to one who persists in sin. Such a one is of the devil. In verse 10 he declares, “In this the children of God are manifest and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God.” Clearly, then, the one who lives a life of sin is a child of the devil.

But what about the one who has become a child of God in the past, but has since that time forsaken the Lord and gone into a life of sin? Is not such a one still God’s child, even though he is in sin? I believe that in one sense he is. In 2 Thess. 3:15 Paul is discussing one who has departed the Lord and is living impenitently in sin, so that he must be withdrawn from; yet, Paul teaches that he is still to be regarded as a brother. Therefore, he is still in God’s family. My conclusion is that when the church is viewed as a family, with God as the Father and us as His children, those who go into sin are still in His family; and in the sense ^: still being in the family (the church), they are still His children.

However, the word “child” can be used in different senses. John divides all men into two classes – children of God and children of the devil – and makes it quite clear that those who live in sin are not God’s children, but children of the devil – regardless of whether they were once faithful or not. There is obviously a sense in which the one who departs from the faith he once practiced ceases to be a child of God, and becomes a child of the devil.

Usage of the Word “Child”

Sometimes in the Bible the word “child” is used with reference to character. One is said to be the child of another in the sense that he partakes of the character of that one. Note some examples of this usage of the term “child.”

In John 8:39-44 Jesus told some Jews that they were not children of Abraham. In a sense they were Abraham’s children, for they were his fleshly descendants. Nevertheless, Jesus pointed out that they did not do the works of Abraham, hence were not his children in the sense of partaking of his character. After telling them that they were not the children of God either, He then proceeded to tell them who their real daddy was – the devil (v. 44).

In Matthew 5:44, Jesus teaches us to love and do good to our enemies. Then in verse 45 He says that if we do this we

will be children of our Father of heaven. He then explains why this will make us God’s children, pointing out that God sends sunshine and rain to the evil and unjust, as well as to the good and just. Therefore, if we do good to our enemies, we will be like God, hence, His children.

In 1 Peter 3:6 women are told that if they show the proper respect to their husbands they will be daughters of Sarah. They will be her daughters in the sense of partaking of her character,, for she manifested her respect to Abraham by obeying him and calling him lord.

According to Gal. 3:6-7 those who have faith, as Abraham had faith, are children of Abraham. They partake of his character; they are like him in that they have the faith he had.

It is in this sense that John refers to habitual sinners as children of the devil. They partake of his character. In describing them as children of the devil, John explains, “for the devil sinneth from the beginning.” Hence, those who live in sin are his children in the sense of being like him. Children of God, on the other hand, are like God, as they derive their character from Him.

Children of God (v. 9)

Verse 9 says, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” The verb John uses when he says that the one who is born of God does not commit sin, denotes habitual, continual action. John does not mean that he never commits a single act of sin; he means that the person does not continue in sin, that sin is not his way of life. When he does sin he is careful to penitently seek God’s pardon in God’s appointed way (Acts 8:22, 1 John 1:7-9). We demonstrated in our discussion of verse 6 that this was the meaning of “sinneth not” in that verse, and the same proofs that were given there apply here as well (see article no. 2).

The reason that the one who is born of God does not and cannot habitually sin is given: “for his seed remaineth in him.” What is the seed? 1 Pet. 1:23 makes it clear that the seed of the new birth is the word of God. Therefore, the seed that remains in the one who is born of God is the word of God. It is through the influence of the word that God works on our hearts, changes our character to make us the kind of people He wants us to be. This initially occurs at conversion, but John shows that the working of that seed in our hearts is not to stop at conversion. Through its working we are to continue to derive our character from God, hence continue to be His children in the sense of partaking of His character.

John says that the one who is born of God does not live in sin because the seed, the word of God, remains in him and will not permit him to sin persistently. Is this true of everyone that has ever been born again? Does John mean to teach that if anyone has ever been born again he will not go into a life of sin, because the seed remains in him and will prevent it? No, this cannot be the meaning, for this would contradict the plain teaching of other passages such as 2 Pet. 2:20-23.

The truth is that the clause, “Whosoever is born of God,” does not refer to everyone who has ever been born again. Notice the tense of the verb in that clause. John does not say, “Whosoever has ever been born of God does not commit sin.” He says, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin” (KJV, ASV, and NASV). The tense of the verb is the key to our understanding. The verb is in the Greek perfect tense. Concerning this tense, Marshall says, “The Greek perfect can generally be taken as represented by an English present: a past action continuing in its effect down to the present, in contrast to an action wholly in the past” (The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament, p. vii). Machen states, “The Greek perfect tense denotes the present state resultant upon a past action” (New Testament Greek for Beginners, p. 187). Machen goes on to say that the perfect tense is never used unless the past action had a permanent result. John’s usage of the perfect tense, therefore, shows that he is talking, not about everyone who has ever been born again, but only about the one in whom the relationship begun at the new birth continues – the one in whom the seed continues to work. This is the one that does not habitually sin.

In commenting on this verse Vincent says, “The perfect participle indicates a condition remaining from the first: he who hath been begotten and remains God’s child.” Similarly, the renowned B.F. Wescott comments, “the perfect . . . marks not only the single act . . . but the continuous presence of its efficacy. ‘He that hath been born and still remains a child of God.’ ” John is not talking about everyone that has ever been born again. Completely out of his view is the one who was born again, but later rebelled against God; such a person is not one who “is born of God.” John is talking only about the one who continues the relationship begun at the new birth, continuing to let the seed work in him, so that he remains a child of God in the sense of deriving his character from God through the working of that seed. This is the one that does not habitually sin.

Keep in mind the context. John is distinguishing children of God from children of the devil, showing that those who persist in sin are not children of God, but are children of the devil. In verse 9 he simply says that the one who con= tinues the relationship begun at the new birth – that is, continues to be a child of God through the continued working of the seed – does not persist in sin, for the seed will not let him. Those who live in sin, therefore, no longer sustain the relationship that was begun at the new birth. Inasmuch as they have ceased to derive their character from God through the working of His seed, they have ceased to be His children.

QUESTIONS

1. In v. 8, the verb “committeth sin” denotes what kind of action?
2. The one who lives in sin is whose child?
3. Can one persist in sin and yet be a child of God in any sense whatever?
4. According to John’s teaching in vv. 8-10, when one departs from the faith and lives in sin, he ceases to be a child of God and becomes a child of the Devil. True or False
5. Explain the sense in which John uses the word “child” and give some other passages which use the word in this sense.
6. In v. 9, the verb “doth not commit sin” denotes habitual action. True or False
7. What prevents the one who is born of God from sinning?
8. What is the seed of the new birth?
9. John said that whoever has ever been born of God does not commit sin. True or False
10. In v. 9, John was talking, not about everyone who has ever been born again, but only about the one who continues in the relationship begun at the new birth, continuing to let the seed work in him. True or False
11. The one who continues to let the seed of the new birth work within him is continuing to be a child of God in what sense?

Guardian of Truth XXV: 16, pp. 242-243
April 16, 1981

 

By Karl Diestelkamp

Third John sets forth a vivid contrast in the obedience, behavior and response of two men, Gaius and Diotrophes, to apostolic instruction. Diotrophes presents an obstinate and negative influence in reference to assisting those in need who preached the gospel. On the other hand, Gaius had become one of the “fellow-helpers to the truth” by his aid to those Diotrophes refused. Vital, relevant lessons are to be learned, from this comparison, by Christians everywhere.

The aged apostle John addresses “the well beloved Gaius” whom he also loved “in the truth” (v. 1). There is no definite way to determine if this Gaius is the same as any of those named elsewhere in the New Testament (Acts 19:29; 20:4; Rom. 16:23; 1 Cor. 1:14), though the man in Romans was said by Paul to be “mine host and of the whole church,” thus possessing attributes like the Gaius of 3 John. Obviously, Gaius was a highly esteemed brother, not only by John, but by all who knew him. Such love was “in truth” – in keeping with obedience to truth on the part of Gaius (cf. 2 Jn. 1).

John affirms his desire that “in all things” Gaius might prosper and be in health to the same degree and proportion that his soul prospered (v. 2). By his faithfulness, he was “laying up treasure in heaven” (Matt. 6:19-21) and his soul prospered, but John wished that he might receive general prosperity and good health as well. This would evidently promote his usefulness in the body of Christ. The chief concern of every Christian is to be “the things above” (Col. 3:1-3). Opportunities to assist brethren and further the cause of Christ compliment that concern.

Those whom Gaius had assisted had reported back to John and he rejoiced on hearing their report about Gaius and his walk in the truth. Gaius not only had the truth residing in him, he also lived according to it as could be observed in his daily behavior. For John, no joy surpassed that of knowing that his “children” were faithfully walking in the truth (v. 4). It may be that Gaius had obeyed the gospel through the teaching of John, making him his “child in the faith” just as Paul referred to some m “sons in the faith” (1 Tim. 1:2; Tit. 1:4).

Gaius had diligently cared for brethren whom he knew as well as those (strangers) who were not personally known to him. John commends him for this assistance (v. 5). Such hospitality went beyond a casual “be ye warmed and filled” (Jas. 2:16), for his actions were an open challenge to the dictates of Diotrophes who tried to stop the response of brethren to the needs of those who came from John.

The brethren whom Gaius had helped had given testimony of his love and good work before the church (v. 6). John tells him he would do well to “bring forward on their journey” such ones as these. This would involve whatever was needed by the travelers, including financial support (cf. Tit. 3:13). A Christian is to assist other Christians as they have need and he has ability. This includes the one “taught” providing for the “teacher” (Gal. 6:6). The church may also be involved in the work of “bringing on their way” faithful gospel workers (Rom. 15:24; Phil. 4:3).

Those assisted and to be assisted had gone forth to make known the name of Christ and his authority “taking nothing of the Gentiles” (v. 7). Therefore, responsibility for sustaining and supporting the teachers of the lost falls upon children of God and not upon unbelievers.

All saints ought to welcome (receive) such laborers for the Lord, that we might be “fellow-helpers to (for/with) the truth (v. 8). Christians ought to relish the opportunity to have a part personally in the great work of preaching and teaching the gospel. We become “fellow helpers” as we assist those who labor as we can not, either because of lack of ability or lack of opportunity. Elsewhere, Paul refers to Titus as his “partner and fellow-helper” (2 Cor. 8:23) and others as “fellow workers” (Col. 4:11), “yoke-fellow and fellow-laborers” (Phil. 2:25), and “helpers” (Rom. 16:3, 9). He says that those who plant and those who water are one and are “laborers together with God” (1 Cor. 3:9). The Corinthians were “helping together by prayer” for Paul (2 Cor. 1:11), who had earlier instructed them to properly regard those who had given themselves to serving the saints and “every one that helpeth with us, and laboreth” (1 Cor. 16::5, 16). The tragedy of seeing only the needs of a local work is not new. Many are content to see a work begun and maintained where they are and where they can “oversee” every aspect of it, but have little or no interest in the needs of faithful workers elsewhere or of lost sinners everywhere. Ours is to hold up the hands of diligent workers in behalf of truth and yet not diminish our own labors in the cause of Christ. Our goals must include the defense of the gospel (Phil. 1:17, 27; Jude 3), the spread of the truth (1 Tim. 2:3, 4) and the salvation of lost souls (1 Cor. 15:1, 2) without regard for personal ambition and recognition (1 Cor. 3:5-7).

John had written to the church, but a lover of preeminence (Diotrophes) rejected the authority of the apostle (“receiveth us not”) in the matters about which he had written (v. 9). John promised to deal with Diotrophes when he has the opportunity (v. 10). Diotrophes was in line for a reprimand for the works which he did, including “prating against” John “with wicked words,” a refusal to fellowship brethren and his efforts to isolate anyone who did receive those brethren he had rejected. His efforts to control the church may be broken down under five headings: (1) he rejected the instruction of the inspired apostle John; (2) he used wicked words to accuse John and other faithful disciples; (3) he personally refused the brethren who came from John to where he was; (4) he forbade other Christians to receive these traveling brethren; (5) he “cast out of the church” those who disregarded his dictatorial pronouncements. John reminds Gaius to “follow not that which is evil, but that which is good” (v. 11). That John includes the evil work of Diotrophes is clear as he says, “He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.”

What had been a burden, imposition and intrusion to Diotrophes was not such to Gaius and to others. Demetrius is held up as a good example worthy of imitation as everyone who knew him would testify (v. 12). The love of Gaius for his brethren had manifested itself in his care and assistance to those in need of such. Diotrophes had yet to learn the lesson set forth in 1 Jn. 3:11-18 regarding love of his brethren. “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in work, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth” (vv. 17, 18).

In closing, John stated that he had many things to say, but he was not content to write them. His desire was to come to Gaius where he could talk with him face-to-face and at the same occasion of his visit he would deal with Diotrophes (v. 13). Those who are “friends” of Gaius and the brethren send greetings to their “friends,” indicating a mutual set of motives, values and goals in spiritual matters.

The lesson is that “fellow helpers to the truth” are those who labor according to the truth, following precisely the will of Christ. Those who seek to “serve God in their own way’; (Rom. 10:2, 3) and who call “Lord, Lord” without doing the will of the Father (Matt. 7:21-23) are not at all “fellow helpers to the truth” but are in reality against Christ (Lk. 11:23). Gaius had engaged in profitable spiritual activity in the face of opposition and without concern for himself. May his “tribe increase as Christians imitate this worthy example (Phil. 3:17).

QUESTIONS

1. Who are the principal characters in 3 John?
2. What caused John to say the soul of Gaius was “prospering”?
3. List that which was a great “joy” to the apostle John?
4. Who are the “strangers” of the text?
5. What is involved in “bringing” someone “forward on their journey?”
6. Why would these who went forth not take anything of the Gentiles?
7. Specifically, how may we be “fellow helpers to the truth” today?
8. Enumerate the listed faults in the character and action of Diotrophes?
9. Could Diotrophes actually cast people out of the church?
10. What does our conduct and example tell about that which we follow?

Guardian of Truth XXV: 15, pp. 234-235
April 9, 1981

By Ron Halbrook

1, 2, and 3 John are a cluster of spiritual diamonds small in size but full of value and beauty. The second letter consists of a salutation (vv. 1-3), counsel and warning (vv. 4-11), and a conclusion (vv. 12-13). Truth, love, obedience, and the teaching of Christ are presented in perfect union. If these lessons are written upon our heart, we have both the Father and the Son. Whoever transgresses or refuses to abide in that teaching is cut off from God. The Holy Spirit emphasizes this warning in 2 John.

Salutation (vv. 1-3)

John writes as “the elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth.” He is the aged or last – living Apostle. Besides an elect lady and her children, he mentions her sister and nephews in the letter. These are family terms to be taken literally in the absence of any compelling reason to regard them as figurative. John’s use of plural pronouns is considered evidence by some writers that a local church is addressed figuratively. The pronouns are as easily understood if they refer to a lady and her remaining children at home or other people standing with her for the truth. Why is the letter addressed to the lady rather than her husband? Among first century saints, as today, many widows were serving God and many women whose husbands did not serve Him. These women are elect or chosen unto God through the gospel which He gave, which they have obeyed, and in which they stand (1 Cor. 15:1-3; 2 Thess. 2:13-15).

Legion are the numbers of such Christians through the centuries, unknown by name in recorded history and, therefore, unknown to us. These who are passed by as nothing in the esteem of this world are the very elect of God (1 Cor. 1:26-29). John’s letter reminds us that our lives and the choices we make are recorded in heaven. If we look to eternity and seek the esteem of God, our lives have meaning and purpose which pale the annals of history written by and about a humanity shrouded in darkness.

John’s love was without alloy, corruption, hypocrisy, or sinister motives. He did not love the lady as seeking to use her for his own lust or greed but loved her “for the truth’s sake.” All who “know the truth” know this love toward all of the elect of God. Here is a life and love which find all their object and meaning in the truth. It – the truth – is both in use and with us, both for time and eternity, so long as we are faithful to it, truly living our lives “for the truth’s sake.”

John wishes and pronounces with confidence a three-fold blessing. Grace is God’s free and unmerited favor, from which all blessings flow, especially those of His merciful compassion and forgiveness in reconciliation for the sinner. This bounty comes “from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father.” This identifies Jesus Christ as Deity, sharing the nature of Godhood. He is the unique Son of God, not in the sense that one’s sonship can be used to express the beginning of His existence but rather in the sense that one’s sonship guarantees the nature of His identity. Jesus Christ is “the Son of the Father,” guaranteeing that the Father and the Son share the one nature of Deity. In the Godhead, truth and love are united. They are cords inseparably intertwined. So it is to be among men who serve God. The Holy Spirit makes “‘truth and love” major themes of John’s letter. Grace, mercy, and peace from God dwell only in the realm of truth and love.

Counsel And Warning (vv. 4-11)

John rejoiced greatly to have found in his travel some of the lady’s children who were “walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father.” This denotes truly living the pattern of conduct commanded by God. God’s truth, love, and law are Divine in origin; therefore they are exalted beyond all powers of human experience or imagination (as to origin). Yet this Divine truth, love, and law is given to and for man. They are perfectly adapted to his need and ability. The gospel for the high, low, mighty, weak, wise, and uneducated is also for both old and young. John found some children of a godly mother who were giving the strength of their youth to God. We still find them today, a marvelous testimony to the simplicity of the gospel. Christ belongs to all of humanity suffering under the crushing weight of sin. If only men will hear Him and have Him, He is the answer to their deepest needs. He is adequate, more than adequate, all-sufficient!

The life of truth and love is embraced by means of God’s commandment. God has revealed truth for our belief, provided the example of love for our imitation, and spoken His law for our obedience. All this – truth, love, and law – is found in the person of Jesus Christ. In Him, God gave and we find the fulness of grace and truth (Jn. 1:14-18). “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (14:6). The truth “is identical with Christ’s message (Jn. 1:17), and with Christ’s Person (Jn. 14:7)” (B.F. Westcott, The Epistles of St. John, p. 225). All of- truth prepared for man. is given by God through Christ and summed up in Him. W.E. Vine’s Epistles of John comments on 2 John 4,

Love, truth and obedience are connected. Love without obedience is mere sentiment, and lacks reality. Obedience without love is mere servility. Love and obedience must be founded on, and directed by, truth. Truth finds its expression and activity in love; they form together (and they are found together here only in the N.T.) a doctrinal and a moral harmony (p. 115).

The perfect harmony of love, truth, and obedience are perfectly manifested in life, work, and teaching of Jesus Christ.

Love Obeys, Obedience Loves (vv. 5-6)

John appeals to the lady to continue in the love which Jesus originally taught the Apostles and which John originally taught her. The defense of apostolic authority appears here as throughout the letter. John admonishes all who are with his Christian friend to continue in the truth of love and the love of truth, without wavering, in keeping with apostolic instruction. Beyond this teaching are found no truth and no love.

The command to love began when God first made man. Yet, in the person and work of Jesus Christ a new and higher standard of love is revealed. With the fulness of grace and truth came also the fulness of love. The Master said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (Jn. 13:34-35). It is this love which causes one to give of himself for the good of someone else. Jesus gave until there was nothing left He gave His life!

This is the love which John had preached and the lady had “heard from the beginning,” that “ye should walk in it.” The love which Christ manifested summarizes the love which God commands. “The commandment” is love, for this encompasses all else that God asks. Therefore, the realization of this commandment (singular) involves our walking “after his commandments” (plural). “Love strives to realize in detail every separate expression of the will of God” (Westcott, p. 228). “The plural expresses the attitude of love in general; it consists in the fulfillment of all God’s will” (Vine, p. 115). But all of God’s will is summarized in the unselfish, sacrificial love of Christ. If we will but surrender arrogant love of self for an unselfish love of God and fellow man, our obedience will be easy and our duty in all things delightful.

All of our service to and life in God is realized as we walk in love, as did His Son. It is not optional. Neither is it drudgery. This love so fully characterizes God that it may be said, “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Never are we closer to God, never so satisfied in fulfilling the purpose of our existence, never so truly blessed and happy, than when walking in this love which gladly embraces and gladly obeys every command of God.

A Deceiver and An Antichrist (vv. 7-8)

Since our love for God is inseparably intertwined with truth and obedience, this love perfectly protects us from the subtle maneuvers of error. Therefore, John moves easily from admonitions on love to warnings against error. Not a few, but many deceivers have gone out from the Apostles and their adherents, as though representing the great cause of truth. In particular, John names those teachers who confess not – whether by positive denial or by studied omission – the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Historians tell of various theories popular in the first and second centuries which considered all matter and, therefore, human flesh as evil in essence. In view of this theory, God had not actually come in flesh nor could He ever so come. Man’s goal must be to transcend and escape life in the flesh. Christians by keen intellectual insights can reach levels of spiritual development which free man from the taint of the fleshly body, from the restraints against sin in the body, and from the limits of apostolic teaching. It must be stressed that the false teachers specified by John believed in God, the Bible, the life of Jesus, the church, and other matters taught by the Apostles. Why, then, the problem? Why not emphasize agreements and build bridges? The same men differed as to the content of teaching on the above themes and failed to see that the gospel is emasculated by the deviation. These are the same deceivers discussed in I John who argued that man can walk in the light of God will continuing to practice sin in the body.

The false teacher rarely sees the destructive implication and effects of his fond theories, and so usually protests that his opponents see dangers which do not exist. He cries that he is misunderstood, misquoted, and mistreated. What the false teacher whom John opposed did not see is that the deviation invalidated the atonement, human redemption, the mediation of Jesus Christ, the meaning of His example, to us, His position as man’s sympathetic Savior, and much more. “If Christ be not truly human, the chasm which parted earth and heaven has not been bridged over. God, as before the Incarnation, is still awful, remote, inaccessible” (quoted in Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 22: The Second Epistle of John, p. 10). The same may be said of the modern theories denying the Deity of Jesus Christ. If Jesus be not truly Divine, the chasm still exists and we are utterly without any certain knowledge of God’s will and of His purpose for us in life.

The theories of men in departing from apostolic truth oppose both man and God. “In the capacity of `the deceiver’ the evil teacher acts against men; in his capacity as ‘the antichrist’ he acts against God” (Vine, p. 117). As can be seen in the case with which John dealt, man destroys himself when he opposes the truth revealed by God.

In the face of error’s subtle appeal and destructive force, the elect lady and those with her are cautioned to examine themselves. Eternal vigilance is the price of truth and freedom from Satan’s snares. Apostolic teaching had produced fruit in the form of adherents. Brethren who wished to receive the final and full reward must maintain their stand for apostolic truth. By neglect, indifference, and compromise, the labor’s of John could be nullified or lost. Accompanying the loss to John of his labor’s fruit would be the greater loss to his brethren who were seduced – the loss of their eternal reward.

Whosoever Transgresseth (vv. 9-11)

The danger of losing the eternal reward is not confined to any one person, one group, one sin, or one false doctrine. It is “whosoever” transgresses, goes onward, or pushes forward. “Whosoever” means everyone and anyone. The transgression or forward march is parallel to abiding not in the doctrine of Christ. The key idea is the violation of set limits. Invariably, the false teacher regards his movement beyond the limits of New Testament teaching as exciting discovery, progress, advance, greater knowledge, deeper experience of truth, liberation from enclosure, and the sweet secrets of super spirituality. The simply faith and practice of the New Testament, along with those adhering to these, are regarded with a mixture of contempt and condescension. The spirit is accompanied by pious professions of humility with both pity and consternation for the opponents labeled “traditionalists,” “legalists,” “antis,” “religious detectives,” “spiritual cannibals,” “political brokers,” “brotherhood watchdogs,” and the like.

The boundary lines for truth, love, and obedience are laid down by the teaching of Jesus Christ. To go beyond what Christ taught (both in person and through His Apostles; Heb. 2:1-4; Jude 3) is to go beyond God, that is, to leave Him and lose Him. Why? Because “God” is “both the Father and the Son.” To leave one is to leave the other, and to lose either is to lose God. “Both the Father and the Son” are one in nature, will, purpose, and teaching. As to persons or the individuality of personality, it is “both .the Father and the Son” – two. But as to the nature of Deity, it is one nature – the nature of “God.” Therefore, the man who abides in the teaching from Jesus Christ, has the Father as well as the Son. – The gospel reveals that it is utterly inconceivable and impossible to have God, except through the teaching of Jesus Christ. When He promised to guide the Apostles into “all truth” (“the truth in all its parts”), He affirmed, “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father except by me” (see Jn. 14:6, 16-17, 26; 16:13). All our knowledge of the teaching of Christ is through His Apostles. All our knowledge of the teaching of God is through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We must, therefore, abide in this teaching!

When the false teacher comes to us for aid and comfort, hoping to utilize our name, influence, and facilities to advance his cause, what are we to do? He is not to be received into the house. Do not invite Satan to make your house his workshop, hotel, base of operation, and classroom. Shut the door. Send the man on his way. Let him go elsewhere. Do not wish him well in his work. To give aid and comfort to the enemies of God in their destructive cause is to share to some degree in their destructive work. If we share their work, we must share their reward. Thus, we number ourselves with those who have not God. The elect lady is to make her home a bastion for truth, a bastion against error – closed up tightly against every advance of its advocates. Their siren calls for sympathy and for help to their cause, though sung with bewitching sweetness, are to be utterly rejected. Let the Trojan horse stand outside the gates until it decides to move on or else rots in the weather.

Conclusion (vv. 12-13)

John’s heart is all full of admonition, warning, and encouragement, but he says that his brief letter must suffice until he can come for a personal visit. He seeks only the lady’s good and that her joy may be full. Her nephews send greetings. So the letter ends with this tender human touch. This letter shines brilliantly with love for God and for truth, and love for the brethren. Let us catch the gleam in our own hearts and lives that we, too, may send it on.

QUESTIONS

1. To whom did John write? What are some things we can learn about this person’s family, circumstances, and influence?
2. Discuss the nature of John’s love for this person.
3. How does John introduce the nature of the Godhead, and what blessings come from God?
4. What may we learn from the lady’s children living as God commanded?
5. Does John teach love without obedience, or obedience without love? Discuss.
6. How is Jesus Christ the perfect standard of love?
7. What are some dangerous implications and consequences of not confessing Jesus Christ is come in the flesh?
8. Discuss the difference between how the false teacher views himself and how the Holy Spirit teaches us in 2 Jn. 9 to view the false teacher.
9. Why must we abide in the teaching of Christ and not abide in the violation of that doctrine?
10. What must we do when the false teacher comes seeking our aid to advance his cause?

Guardian of Truth XXV: 15, pp. 230-233
April 9, 1981

By Hoyt H. Houchen

Faith is the need of the hour. From the pen of John we read, “For whatsoever is begotten of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith” (1 Jn. 5:4). In a world of doubt and unbelief, a world of atheism, infidelity, and agnosticism, the emphasis upon faith is most timely. We need faith in ourselves, in our country, in our fellow man, but more important and basic to everything, is the need for our faith in God. This indeed is the victory of the Christian as he strives to please God in a society where sin is rampant.

That faith is essential to salvation, no Bible believer denies. Many are the passages in the New Testament which teach that we are saved by faith (Mk. 16:16; Jn. 3:16, 18, 36; Acts 16:31; Rom. 5:1; Heb. 11:6 etc.). The issue that divides us in the religious world is not whether we are saved by faith, but rather, “What is faith and at what point is one saved by faith?” We can well ask, “By what kind of faith is the believer saved?” This the real issue.

In their efforts to prove their doctrine of “faith only” the idea that one is saved the moment he believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (and without any further acts of obedience), denominationalists turn to passages in the New Testament which only mention faith. Their conclusion is that salvation is by faith only.

This study is confined to a few specific texts in the epistle of First John which are relied upon to prove the doctrine of “faith only.” The first passage in the epistle in which the exercise of faith is mentioned is:

1 John 3:23

“And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, even as he gave us commandment.” This verse teaches faith, but it does not teach “faith only.” It is significant, in the first place, that John is addressing Christians. This faith is to be active in the life of God’s children as it continues to work through love (Gal. 5:6). Faith and practice, two inseparable conditions for becoming a Christian, are also essential after one has become a Christian. The “faith only” adherents fail to recognize faith as a work (Jn. 6:29); it is not man’s work, but the work of God in that He provided it as a necessary condition for man’s salvation. Faith works through love. Jesus said in His discourse to His disciples, “If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments” (Jn. 14:15). John wrote in his first epistle, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments . . .” (1 Jn. 5:3). All through this epistle, the author urges his readers to love one another (2:10; 3:11, 13 etc.). This love, which is continuous, is prompted by belief. One can not believe without loving, nor love without believing. Belief and love go hand in hand. Since love is the keeping of God’s commandments, as we have seen (1 Jn. 5:3), therefore to believe is not merely acknowledging Jesus Christ, but submitting to the other necessary conditions of salvation. These conditions are repentance (Acts 17:30), a confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (Acts 8:37), and baptism for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). To believe in the name of Jesus Christ is to believe in all that is revealed about Christ, to accept Him for what He is and for all that He does. Those who rely upon 1 Jn. 3:23 as a proof text for “faith only” fail to consider the fact that John is writing to Christians, and they also miss the point of what is involved in belief.

1 John 5:1

“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is begotten of God . . . .” The advocates of “faith only” contend that this verse teaches that one is saved before he is baptized. Again, as in all of these faith passages in John’s first epistle, he is addressing Christians, not aliens. John was dealing with a problem. Some denied the deity of Christ by denying that Jesus was the Christ. Others denied His humanity by denying that Christ was Jesus. Still others believed that the fleshly body of Christ was only a phantom. John was showing who was the genuine child of God. The true child of God would confess that Jesus is the Christ (1 Jn. 4:2, 3). He thereby acknowledged both His deity and His humanity. By confessing that Jesus came in the flesh, he also acknowledged His reality. So, in this passage a line of demarcation is drawn between true believers and heretics. John was not giving a condition for becoming a child of God, in the first place. He was simply pointing out who is the real child of God in contrast to the one who merely claimed to be.

An interesting consideration at this point is the dilemma in which the “faith only” adherents place themselves. We have already observed that John is addressing those already baptized – Christians. But the believer is not the only one who is said to be begotten of God. In this same epistle John declares that, “everyone that loveth is begotten of God” (1 Jn. 4:7). The apostle tells us that whoever believes is begotten of God (1 Jn. 5:1) and everyone who loves is begotten of God (1 Jn. 4:7). If 1 Jn. 5:1 teaches that one who believes is saved before he is baptized, then we simply ask, which comes first – faith or love? If faith comes first and one is begotten of God the moment he believes, then he is begotten of God before he loves God. If love comes first then one is begotten of God before he believes. The argument is made that because one believes before he is baptized and the one that believes is born of indestructible God, therefore one is born of God before he is baptized. But the same argument would prove that one is born before he loves, or he is born before he believes. The argument proves too much, and what proves too much does not prove anything.

Who is the one begotten of God? Other statements in this first epistle reveal to us that the one who is begotten of God is not the one who only believes without any further acts of obedience. We have already seen that the one who loves is begotten of God (4:7). We consider other statements. “He that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also” (2:23). “Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God” (4:3). “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God” (4:15). “He that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him” (3:24). “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar and the truth is not in him (2:3, 4). “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous” (3:7).

By summing up the foregoing statements we learn who is saved or born of God. (1) He is the one who believes, (2) the one who loves, (3) the one who acknowledges or confesses Christ, (4) the one who keeps the commandments of God and (5) the one who does righteousness. These statements are all found in the same book. Will the “faith only” advocates who use 1 John 5:1 as a proof text of who is born of God, accept these other verses also? They are found in the same epistle.

Faith includes obedience. “But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar? Thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect; and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of God. Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith. And in like manner was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead” (Jas. 2:20-26). So, saving faith is obedient faith. Since faith without works is barren – unfruitful, it follows that the faith referred to in 1 John 5:1 is an obedient faith – a faith that takes God at His word and does what God says to do and in the way that God says to do it.

1 John 5:4

“For whatsoever is begotten of God overcometh the world: and this the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith.” Again, John is addressing Christians. Here he is encouraging them in the midst of their hardships. In spite of these, they will conquer their foes by faith. “Faith is the Victory,” and as we sing this song, we are reminded of the words in 1 John 5:4. This verse does not hint the idea, much less teach the doctrine, that one is saved when he believes and that before baptism.

1 John 5:5

“And who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?” The proposition is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Again, John is not presenting a condition before ON is a child of God. He is pointing out that the true child of God is the one who believes this proposition. He confesses both the humanity (Jesus) and the deity (the Son of God). Here is the conqueror of the world in contrast to the one who denies the truth that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Thus, this verse does not teach that one is saved by “faith only.”

1 John 5:10

“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in him: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he hath not believed in the witness that God hath borne concerning his Son.” When one refuses to believe God’s testimony upon any matter, it makes God a liar. How much then does it do so when one refuses to believe God’s testimony about His own Son? God declared Jesus to be the Son of God (Matt. 3:17; 17:5 etc.). To disbelieve that Jesus is the Son of God is to discredit the witness who is God Himself. John is not teaching here, nor anywhere else, that we are saved by “faith only.”

1 John 5:13

“These things have I written unto you, that you malt have eternal life, even unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God.” Again, in this text, as in all others which mention faith or belief, those who believe and teach “faith only” must prove that the faith or belief is separate and apart from any other act of obedience. This they cannot do. Those who are assured of eternal life are those who continue to believe all that Jesus is and does. Eternal life is conditional – dependent upon a continued faith or belief on the name of the Son of God. To conclude that one is saved by “faith only” before baptism is a mere assumption without proof. It is a complete removal of faith from the context of the entire epistle, and an ignorance of what is involved in faith.

Conclusion

The saved believer is the baptized believer. Luke records the conversion of the jailor in Acts 16. He asked the important question, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (vs. 30). They commanded him, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved” (vs. 31). They then spoke the word of the Lord to him” (vs. 32). Faith is produced by the preaching of the word (Rom. 10:17), so they preached to him so that he could believe. He then took them the same hour of the night, washed their stripes and was baptized. “And he brought them up into his house, and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, with all his house, having believed in God” (vs. 34). Notice the phrase: “having believed in God.” His belief was consummated by his acts of obedience – repentance and baptism. Here is a plain example that the saved believer is the baptized believer.

All conditions of salvation must be summed up and accepted as a whole. Those who believe that salvation is by “faith only” make the fatal mistake of basing their doctrine upon passages which mention faith without considering passages which mention other conditions. When they see a verse that mentions “faith” they assume that it means “faith only.” They fail to realize that all conditions must be accepted as a whole. Repentance saves (Acts 2:38), a confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God saves (Acts 8:37; Rom. 10:10), and baptism saves (1 Pet. 3:21).

We have examined the so-called “faith only” texts in 1 John and not one of them teaches the doctrine of “faith only.” There is not a passage in the Bible that teaches it. When all will acknowledge that truth is harmonious and that it must be derived by considering all passages upon a given subject, much division and confusion will be eliminated.

Truth is the most valuable commodity on the market today because the salvation of the human soul is dependent upon it. With open hearts may we ever seek it, obey it, and live by it.

QUESTIONS

1. Why is faith important? What is the issue of faith?
2. What is the significance of faith and love in 1 Jn. 3:23?
3. What does it mean to believe in the name of Jesus Christ?
4. What is the problem with which John is dealing in 1 Jn. 5:1?
5. How do “faith only” adherents place themselves in a dilemma with regard to faith and love?
6. Name some other things by which we are said to be begotten.
7. Prove that faith includes obedience.
8. What kind of believer is the saved believer?
9. What is the basic error of those who teach “faith only”?
10. What principle of interpretation will eliminate confusion and division?

Guardian of Truth XXV: 15, pp. 227-230
April 9, 1981