1 John 1

1 John 1:1

THE CHRIST IS JESUS 1 John 1:1IN attempting to present John’s First Epistle in thirty or forty minutes I undertake the impossible.Matters of first moment, texts of the most intense concern, and even arguments and conclusions of great importance must be either passed in silence or presented all too briefly. And yet, such a study should not be profitless. To present this Epistle in outline may serve to excite interest and aid as we return to it for special additional studies.It would seem practically impossible to question the authorship of this Epistle. The early fathers assigned it to John. Polycarp, himself John’s own disciple, together with Papias, who had sat at the feet of the beloved disciple, Irenaeus, Clement, Tertullian, Dionysius, Origen, and others, quote from it in the name of John’s writings.Again, if one compare the phrases of this Epistle with those appearing in John’s Gospel he finds almost overwhelming evidence that they came from one and the same pen.The churches to which it was addressed seem to have been that company of believers beyond the Euphrates, the region including the church at Babylon, the territory of the Parthians, and the region of the Ephesians—practically the same company to whom Peter wrote his Epistles.That it followed the writing of the Gospel of John is argued from the fact that it assumes the reader’s acquaintance with the facts recorded in the Fourth Gospel.The phrase “little children” also indicated the extreme age of John, and his expression “the last time” assumes that he had already looked upon the destruction of Jerusalem, and that events indicated to him the nearness of the Lord’s Return.The subject of the Epistle, as Westcott has tersely put it, is this, “The theme of John’s Gospel is Jesus is the Christ; the theme of the Epistles is Christ is Jesus.”When Christ first appeared men were incredible as to His Deity; they denied and rejected the same.When Christ was risen from the dead and ascended on High some of His professed followers denied His humanity. It was in answer to that heresy that John penned these Epistles.

Men lived in extremes.Unitarianism denies the Deity of the Son of God; Universalism is practically in agreement in denying His humanity and the Blood Atonement. Let John teach us.There are three remarks he makes about God that form the fundamentals in this first Epistle.“GOD IS LIGHT” The introduction of this Epistle is an affirmation of knowledge, born of experience. That over, the Apostle proceeds to his discussion.“This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all.”And upon that basis he proceeds to certain arguments.First, To walk in the light insures sweet fellowship.‘If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the Blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:6-7). The fraternity of blood is not the sweetest fellowship earth knows. Even where that fraternity is unalloyed, and the flow of natural affection undisturbed, still the fellowship that is in Christ surpasses it. To be born of one blood binds people together; to be cleansed by the Blood of Jesus Christ binds closer still. Mark you, I am not speaking now of the fraternity of church membership; but rather of the fraternity of the cleansed. Men may be members of one church and fail to love one another, refuse to speak to one another, even hate one another. But those who “walk in the light, as He is in the light, * * have fellowship one with another”.

And the world knows no fraternity worthy to be mentioned in the same breath.The fellowship with David and Jonathan in the Old Testament is an illustration of this fact. The phrase is that their “souls were knit together”. That knitting occurred before they were brothers-in-law, and was based not so much upon the ruddy countenance of David “which was goodly to look upon”, as upon the spiritual traits which characterized the heart of each. Their faith in God was the foundation of their fraternity. They walked in the light; hence their fellowship one with another. The New Testament illustrates the same thought.

The closest friendships there are not carnal; they are spiritual—Peter and John; Paul and Timothy were not brothers by the blood in their veins; but rather by the cleansing of the Blood of Jesus Christ.To walk in the light also necessitates confession and cleansing.“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the Truth is not in us. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us. “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: “And He is the Propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 1:8 to 1 John 2:2).It is a strange thing that wherever you find the heresy of denying the incarnation of Jesus Christ, you will find the one of denying the fact of sin, and its awful effects.John affirms that one cannot “walk in the light, as He (God) is in the light” without seeing clearly his sins and frankly confessing the same, that they might be forgiven.Cleansing is a necessity of the soul if it is to receive the light of God, or become a fit medium for transmitting the same. And in His infinite grace God has been pleased to put cleansing upon the basis of confession.I have been deeply interested in a volume on “Electricity and its Similitudes.” You will remember that George Becqueral discovered sometime since that uranium possesses a certain weird property of emitting radiance. And of its ability both to shine like the X-rays, to send its light through objects which have commonly been regarded as opaque, Prof. Thompson says, “It appears to be due to an invisible phosphorescence of a persistent sort.” And Tyndall likened these rays to qualities which are sometimes possessed by disciples of Christ, who live in intimate communion with Him. They seem to be composed of rare metal, ever radiating the spirit of their Master which has been imparted to them; transparent alabaster pillars are these in the Church of God, through which His glory shines; rare old cathedral windows letting the rays of the Son of Righteousness shine through them to reach other hearts with life and healing.”But let it be understood, beloved, that only the man who confesses and is cleansed can both walk in the light and radiate the same.Again, To walk in the light involves commandment keeping.“Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments, “He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth Hot His commandments, is a liar, and the Truth is not in him, “But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him: “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked, “Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the Word which ye have heard from the beginning, “Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in Him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth, “He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now, “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. “But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:3-11). There is a constant controversy as to whether a man who is saved and justified can sin. It would hardly seem to be necessary to discuss that question. If he could not sin the Apostle’s speech would be unnecessary; if he could not keep from sinning the Apostle’s counsel and encouragement would be useless; for “sin is the transgression of the Law”, and the children of light are asked to watch against this and keep the commandments, else their very profession brings them into disrepute.Phillips Brooks once said, “A search after wisdom awakens the sense of obedience. * * The knowledge which is highest in nature and which it is most necessary for man to have, always comes to man by revelations, and can be obtained only by the learning man’s obedience to the revealing power. “Whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected”. That once accomplished, the old commandment—became now a new one— that we love our brethren, and it is not difficult.You will find it a universal law that the men who break God’s commandments most are the men who hate their fellows worst; and those who keep God’s commandments best love their fellows with the sincerest affection.When did a man prove himself more faithful to the commands of the Lord than David Livingstone, and where in all human history have we seen one who loved with greater fervor, loved them despite black skins of the African climate, loved them against their degradation, loved them well enough to give his life for them, loved them to the point of dying for them; and “greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”. To walk in the light of God is to keep God’s commandments; and to keep God’s commandments from the heart is to know the inspiration of a new affection.And yet once more—To walk in the light excludes false friends and teachers. Addressing the old and young he says,“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:15-17). The world is the place for false friendship. Goethe made his friends there and mutual injury was wrought. “Evil communications corrupt good manners”. “The lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world”. The children of light eschew them all.But as we approach more and more “the last time” we are in as great danger from false teachers as we are from wicked friends. The “antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us; but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us”.What is the point of departure? The denial that Jesus is the Christ. “He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father; [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also”.What are men doing today? Men who stand in places of power; men who fill the chairs appointed to teach theology, what are they saying?

A multitude of them are denying the wisdom of Jesus. A great company are repudiating the Resurrection of Jesus; and a larger company still are denying the Return of Jesus. To such an extent has this heresy made its way into theological thinking, and theological schools that real point is given to the story I heard a few days since. A simple-minded fellow, sincere to the core, had decided that he must speak to at least one man about his soul each day. Finally there fell out a day when the sun was about to go down and this duty was undischarged. But the opportunity was at hand. There approached a man whose keen features marked the student, and the earnest soul addressed him, “Are you a Christian?”“Why, my dear sir, I am a teacher in that theological seminary yonder.”“Well now, my friend,” said the soul-winner, “even that ought not to keep you from being a Christian!”And yet, teacher in theological seminary, preacher in the pulpit, Pope on the throne, no matter what the position—“Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father. * * These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you”.“GOD IS ” “And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall Appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His Coming.“If ye know that He is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him”.That God is righteous is no Johannine doctrine. It is not a tenet of New Testament teachers; it is the affirmation of every true Prophet. The Psalmist wrote, “The righteous Lord loveth righteousness”. “The righteous God trieth the hearts”.The Apostle follows this affirmation, God is righteous, with a discussion of the ground of righteousness, the proof of righteousness, and the assurance in righteousness.“The ground of righteousness.”“If ye know that He is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall Appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. “And every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure. “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the Law: for sin is the transgression of the Law. “And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is no sin” (1 John 2:29 to 1 John 3:5).The child is like its father. The bad behavior of evil men is easily explained on that basis, “Ye are of your father the devil”.Every better custom of the Christian rests in the same fact—he is of his Father. As God is righteous, everyone that doeth righteousness is begotten of Him. It is not of works therefore that any man should boast; “it is of faith, that it might be by grace”.Someone who had read the memoirs of John Quincy Adams mother, meeting the great statesman said, “I have just learned who made you what you are.”’A man who gets acquainted with the character of God has an explanation of the righteous conduct of His children. We only manifest forth that which He, by His Spirit, has begotten within. The outward life of a man is always and everywhere a perfect explanation of the place God holds in the inner temple of the soul.John immediately proceeds to the discussion of that fact:The proof of righteousness!“Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not; whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither knoweth Him. “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous: “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning”. Sir Robert Anderson, in his volume, “The Way,” says, “The servants of Crete were exhorted to ‘adorn the doctrine of God.’ And how could such adorn it? Why, by obedience to their masters, and diligence in their work, and, as the Catechism says, by keeping their hands from picking and stealing, and their tongues from evil speaking, ‘not answering again; not purloining, but showing all good fidelity’.“That their heathen masters, marking their conduct, watching them through the keyhole, perhaps, when alone in the room, with the cupboard open, might find that their lives were not governed by outward restraints, but by a secret principle of good within, and thus learn to praise the doctrine which could produce such results.“They thus adorned the doctrine. It was not that the servant was valued because of his profession, but that his creed was valued because of his practice.”That is the universal law; that is the basis of judgment in Matthew 25; that is the evidence of faith in James’ Epistle; that is the demand of all right-thinking men. I noticed in a daily paper that the mayor of a city favored the re-election to office of the man who had opposed him in party, and the reason given was that “this man has proven a good officer.”That is the basis of right promotion on the part of men; and that is the basis of pleasure on the part of God.Alexander McLaren says truly, “Holiness is not feeling. You are not perfect because you say you are, and feel as if you were, and think you are. God does not make any man pure in his sleep. His cleansing does not dispense with fighting, but makes victory possible.” After having turned to Him from whom cleansing comes, moment by moment, let us purify ourselves by the strength of the Master and the practice of righteousness.But John speaks also of the assurance in righteousness.“Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have 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 word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in Truth. “And hereby we know that we are of the Truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. “Beloved, if our heart Condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. “And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the Name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us Commandment. “And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us. “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. “They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of Truth, and the spirit of error” (1 John 3:13 to 1 John 4:6). There are a great many people who live always in the realm of doubt. The things they don’t know would make many books. Yea, of the making of such books there is no end. The Bible has no certainties for them; religion knows no finality. Their spirits are never at rest.It is not so with the righteous. John clearly teaches that they know certain things; they are assured of them. “We know that we have passed from death unto life”, and we know it on not the basis of having grasped a promise; but because a new spirit has been born within us, and we love the brethren. We know love because Christ laid down His life for us, and the sense of obligation to our brethren has been born within us.“We know that we are of the Truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him” because“if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things?”. “We know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us”. “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. “They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of Truth, and the spirit of error”. Assurance! That never comes to a man except as he fellowships with a righteous father. The man we trust most is the man we have known longest, and under most trying experiences, difficult conditions, and yet we have never seen him fail—one’s father. When they bring evil reports of him we say, “I don’t believe it.” When they bring good reports, we say, “I know it.”How dare we? Because we have been in touch with him; we know him; we have come into touch with his spirit; his inner life has been laid bare before our eyes, and doubts have driven out and trust has taken their place.The righteous know God more and more after that manner. I shall never forget the sweet story told by Webb-Peploe, in his volume entitled, “The Life of Privilege.” It is after this manner.

In 1860 he had gone for the first time to see York Cathedral, and reaching there about seven o’clock in the evening he had dropped into a corner. Being blind in his left eye he had not noticed a man sitting next to him.

But as he looked upon the cathedral there burst from his lips, “What a grand building! What a wonderful building! How splendid! Thank God!” “A voice at my side said. ‘Yes, it is very beautiful.’ I turned, and there at my left sat an old man about seventy-five years of age, in a smock-frock, with a stick in his hand. He looked very sad. Inquiry brought out the fact that he was poor. And Peploe says, I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out eighteen pence, 36 cents, and gave him. In an instant, as I rose to go, the old man said, ‘You will not be ashamed to take an old man’s blessing, will you?

You have saved my life. I had word last evening that my daughter was dying, so I started and walked into York last night, and arrived with four pence in my pocket. I paid it out for a clean bed and trusted Father to provide me my food. This morning at seven o’clock I came into His House and asked Him to send bread. I knew He would do it, and you are His messenger.’“‘You do not mean that you have been here since seven o’ clock? Have you had nothing to eat?’ ‘No, sir, I have been waiting Father’s time and it has come.” Peploe says, “I put my hand into my pocket and took out all I had—three or four pounds and said to him, ‘Take what you like.’ With a somewhat stern look he said,“‘Sir, how dare you! Father told you what I needed. I cannot touch a penny that Father did not send.

You have given me all that Father wanted me to have, bless you!’ And he gave me such a blessing, putting his hands on my shoulders, and praying God to use me all through life, that it has clung to me all my life, and I bless God for it.”“Brethren, trust in the Living God, who hath delivered and doth deliver, in whom we trust that He will yet deliver.”But let me say this, this morning, that after this injunction is spoken, be it understood that assurance is only in righteousness. The man who lives right before God will look confidently for His continued favor.But to our third point:“GOD IS LOVE” “Beloved, let us love one mother: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1 John 4:7). Let me make seven points briefly in the discussion of this theme.First, The manifestation of His love.“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him”. Oh, what a manifestation! He loved us first! I have read somewhere, of that experience common to all of us who are fathers, of the man who said, “You know I love that little fellow, though he does not love me. He smiles at me. He cries to have me take him in my arms, but it is all purely selfish.His smile is born out of the fact that I am to do something for him, and he has learned that it is comfortable to be in the arms of a man. But if I tossed restlessly in my bed tonight he would not care; if burning with fever he would not be concerned; if I died before morning not a tear would stain his face.

When they carried in the coffin he would only look on the flowers and be pleased with their brightness. And yet I love him! Why? Largely because he is my own.”Ah, beloved, that is the reason God loves us. “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him”.No wonder the Apostle called for the demonstration of our love.“Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. “No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us”. I think sometimes that people get the notion that the best way to prove their love of God is to be telling Him so. Christ did not think it. “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so”, but let them tell it out where it will help their fellows. The Gadarene was dismissed to his home to tell his fellows, not only for the glory of God, but for the good of his fellows. To serve those who are in need is the best demonstration to Him who gave His life for them.I cannot forget what Robert Speer said in the “Sunday School Times” to illustrate the true proof of loyalty to our Lord.“A missionary family was returning after a rest in America, to the work in Tabriz, Persia. As the little party came to the crest of the hills that shut the great plains of Tabriz off from the Aras river and Mt. Ararat and Russia to the north, its members stopped to look across the gray plain, to the gray city and the great rocky hills beyond, which gather up the sun and fling it down like javelins into the city.

It was a dreary sight after the green fields of home, and one of the little girls at last looked up into her mother’s face, and said, Tt is not nearly so nice as America, Mother, is it?’ ‘No, my child,’ the mother replied; ‘that is why we’ve come.”There was love in those hearts, and so there was loving service in those lives. That is love’s way of showing itself and of being love.The fellowship of God and man.“Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit”. I have spoken of the fellowship beyond that of birth to common parents, namely, the fellowship that is “in Christ”. There is a fellowship that is sweeter still, and that is fellowship “with Christ”. That God and man should ever be brought together upon the basis of mutual love is indeed of grace.When a young Quaker inveighed against priests and war, Oliver Cromwell replied, “It is true, If thou and I were but an hour of a day together, we should be nearer one to the other.”And the more time a man spends in the presence of the Father the more surely will affection for Him grow up, and for Him be felt. That is doubtless the reason that the same great Oliver wrote to his daughter,“My dear, be you frequently calling upon God that He would manifest Himself to you in His Son; and be listening what returns He makes to you, for He will be speaking in your ear, and your heart if you attend thereunto.”The victory over fear.“Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, even so are we in this world. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment: He that feareth is not made perfect in love?” I confidently believe that many of the bugbears that curse the lives of the professor are born out of failure to see the great truth, “God is love”, and to put the consequent trust in Him that belongs to One who “doeth all things well”Irving Goldsmith tells how when Columbus was on the high seas, there came a time when he was two hundred leagues from the island of Ferro, and that a variation of the needle occurred. It was a phenomenon with which no man aboard was acquainted. As the night fell the needle was between five and six degrees to the northwest. The next morning it had made additional advance. They all thought they might be entering another world and the compass would lose its virtues.But Goldsmith says, “The high opinion which they entertained of Columbus as a profound mariner dismissed their fears.”The man who knows that God holds the heavens and the earth in His hands—who knows it, I say, escapes the punishment of fear.When George Muller, the modern apostle of faith, was undertaking his great work in behalf of children, he said, “I look to the Lord alone for helpers, land, means, and everything else needed. I have pondered the difficulties for months, and have looked steadily at every one of them; but faith in God has put every one of them aside.”The fellowship of man with man.“We love Him, because He first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? “And this commandment have we from Him, That he who loveth God love his brother also”. So long have men assented to this as the Truth that one need hardly to elaborate it. Laetitia Barbauld expressed what we feel about it when she sings:“How blest the sacred tie that binds, In sweet communion, kindred minds! How swift the Heavenly course they run, Whose hearts, whose faith, whose hopes, are one! “To each the soul of each how dear! What tender love, what holy fear! How doth the generous flame within Refine from earth, and cleanse from sin! “Their streaming tears together flow, For human guilt and human woe; Their ardent prayers united rise, Like mingling flames in sacrifice. “Nor shall the glowing flame expire, When dimly burns frail nature’s fire; Then shall they meet in realms above, A Heaven of joy, a Heaven of love.” The relation of faith to fellowship.“Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth Him that begat loveth Him also that is begotten of Him. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous. “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. “Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? “This is He that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is Truth. “For there are three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. “And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which He hath testified of His Son. “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. “And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:1-12). People often come to me and ask, “How may I know that I am saved?”Question yourself about your fellowship. Inquire concerning their fellowship. It is not difficult to love attractive people whether they are in the world or in the church; but this one thing I know, that the day my heart was visited by the Spirit of God, new love for God’s people sprang up there, and in the process of time it has flowered and fruited. When disturbed from time to time with this question I have turned to this text with the utmost consolation. “Whoso * * loveth Him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of Him”.And if one feel uncertain as to whether he loves Him or not, here is the further text,“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep His commandments”. For after all, beloved, it comes back to the test call of obedience to the Divine will.The relationship of fellowship to knowledge.“These things have I written unto you that believe on the Name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the Name of the Son of God. “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us: “And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him. “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and He shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. “All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true, and are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the True God, and eternal life. “Little children, keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:13-21). No agnostic was John. This Epistle is an Epistle of affirmations. Christianity was not “a series of tentative suggestions” with the inspired Apostle. It was not an interrogation point in theology; it was the revelation of God, the Father, through His Son Jesus Christ, revealed unto us by the Spirit. Such it ought to be this morning to you and to me.Phillips Brooks says, “In these days when a whole school of philosophy takes upon itself not merely to disparage the poor flickering knowledge of God which man has yet attained, but to draw a sharp line, to build a high wall, beyond which the knowledge of man can never go, it is good to resort to the assured confidence of this great soul. To dwell upon how much is unknown may be often very good for us.

To declare anything of God to be intrinsically and eternally unknowable by man, is unreasonable. May we not even say that it is insolent, insulting both to God and man. Paul affirmed, The time will come when I shall “know even as also I am known”. The unknown is not therefore by any necessity the unknowable. I know there is mercy holding me of which I hardly know more than that it is there, and that it is merciful. There is wisdom guiding me of whose existence I am certainly aware, but whose ways I cannot comprehend.

But it shall not always be so. Now I am known perfectly, but I know in part, in the very least and weakest and dimmest way. But the time shall come when I shall know as I am known.Let me be sure of that, and with what hope I live. Nay, it is more than hope. For to be sure that such a knowledge shall be mine some day, is in a true sense to know now. Such a hope for the future is a possession in the present.“Unshaken as the sacred hill, And fixed as mountains be, Firm as a rock the soul shall rest, That leans, O Lord, on Thee! “Not walls nor hills could guard so well Old Salem’s happy ground, As those eternal arms of love, That every saint surround. “Deal gently, Lord, with souls sincere, And lead them safely on To the bright gates of paradise, Where Christ, the Lord, is gone.”