Many have called John the apostle of love. Likewise, it is often said that the prominent theme of I John is love. This work will take a slightly different approach to him and to his beautiful, straightforward, and powerful epistle. I consider John to be the apostle of eternal life. In this epistle, he lays out very candidly the essence of the eternal life which we have through God’s only begotten Son, Jesus of Nazareth, the two principal themes being truth and love. With plain-spoken proclamation, exhortation, and warning, he calls us to understand and live out the essence of eternal life. This is nothing other than true, scriptural Christianity.
For purposes of clarity, we shall begin by defining the word “essence.” Webster defines this word as follows: “[The] intrinsic, fundamental nature of something; ... the inward nature of anything, underlying its manifestations; true substance ... A substance that keeps in concentrated form, the flavor, fragrance, or other properties of the plant, drug, food etc. from which it is extracted.” I John reveals to us the “intrinsic, fundamental nature” of eternal life in Christ with its necessary manifestations. These manifestations produce the “fragrance of Christ” the apostle Paul speaks of in II Corinthians 2:14-16: “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?”
I John answers this question for us. That is, he reveals to us the conditions and inner realities which must be prevailing in us, in sincerity and truth, if we are to be real in our profession of faith in Christ before the Father, and manifest that fragrance of Christ with triumphal power to this world.
We are to manifest this essence of Christianity to the Father; to be a sweet-smelling savor of the goodness and loveliness of the Son. We are to reflect the righteousness we have in His Anointed One, Jesus Christ our Lord, who gives us of His anointing in the Person of the Holy Spirit. We are not to be found lying to the Father.
We are to be the essence of eternal life to Jesus. Our profession of faith in Him, if real, must manifest something of His preeminent majesty and righteousness to this world. We must not make Him ashamed of us through hypocrisy or neglect. Through a continual abiding in Christ, as He commands, we should make the message of His cross an aroma of life in this world of sin and death. We are not to be found lying to the Son.
If real, we must manifest this essence of eternal life to our own consciousness, in sincerity and truth. There must be none of that kind of self-deception which relies on an academic knowledge of the facts of Christianity without the inner reality; the kind of self-deception which relies on appearances and not a vital spiritual life through Christ in the inner man. We are not to be found lying to ourselves.
Individually and corporately, the Church of Christ is to exhibit and exemplify what truth is, what love is, to a world bound by sin and death. We are to manifest the fragrance of Christ and show that eternal life is a tangible reality; that biblical Christianity reveals the way to find and abide in eternal life, and that this life is found in the only begotten Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth, who is both Lord and Christ.
Chapter 1:1-4 — “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life – and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us – what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, that you also may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.”
Just as with his gospel account of the life of Jesus, John’s first order of business is to reintroduce us to his subject. That subject is the “Word of Life,” Jesus of Nazareth, the bodily manifestation of eternal life from the Father to us. This is nothing less than a confession of the absolute deity of the man Christ Jesus. He has come from above, the only-begotten Son of God. It is also a statement of the preeminence of Jesus, and the message of salvation to a lost and dying world through Him. To validate these claims, John offers us nothing less than his authoritative, eyewitness testimony.
Regarding John’s testimony, we must be careful to receive it as intelligently and as candidly as any other eyewitness account. We must take John at his word, and evaluate it on the basis of evidence. His claim is that he saw, heard, and touched Jesus of Nazareth, and believes Him to be the Savior of the world, the victor over this world of sin and death, and over Satan who rules that world. We cannot revise his testimony, explain it away, psychologize, philosophize, sentimentalize or spiritualize it. It must be allowed to stand on its own, and one must receive it as true and deal with it accordingly, or dismiss it as the ranting of a liar or someone pitifully deranged, and move on in one’s search for truth.
John offers himself and his fellow apostles as primary evidence. This is corroborated by the apostle Peter in his second epistle. II Peter 1:16 – “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” They believe in Jesus, and believe that they have fellowship with God the Father through God the Son. For them eternal life is a sure and tangible reality. It indicates salvation from sin and that everlasting punishment which is the just recompense for sin. It indicates a positive reconciliation and return to the favor of God. Their faith in Christ is the initiation of their joy. The communication of this message of salvation to us is the completion of that joy, and implies a positive reception of their testimony and an entering into that same fellowship through faith in Christ.
It is assumed here that any serious observer will acknowledge the proven historicity of the man Jesus of Nazareth, regardless of one’s conclusion as to the essential nature of His being and His mission in this world. We can be as confident as to the facts of Jesus’ earthly life as any other established historical fact. But the truly serious and devoted Christian must go beyond that which is merely historical or academic. Eternal life must be, for us, a sure and tangible reality now, and one which we can bear witness to in as powerful and convincing a manner as the apostles and first century Christians. In order to accomplish this we must get past notions of eternal life which are concerned with timeless duration and which make eternal life merely synonymous with heaven and a state of endless bliss in the presence of God.
In this first epistle, John reveals to us that true eternal life is a very definite kind or quality of life now. Throughout we are given statement after statement, test after test, principle after principle which delineates for us the nature and character of true eternal life. And the bottom line is this: Jesus Christ is the eternal life of the soul. He is a sure and tangible reality. He manifests Himself to the one who places full trust in Him through a thorough repentance from sin and faith in His work on the cross. He does this through the promised Holy Spirit. Through His promised agency He manifests in us the nature and character of Christ, that is, the nature and character of Eternal Life. Again, the apostle Peter concurs in this testimony. II Peter 1:3-4 – “...seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”
This is a reality to which the consciousness of the believing soul will bear definite and conclusive witness. It is not merely a matter of intellectual belief in a set of general and academic propositions concerning the human condition, and the Person of Jesus Christ and God, which still leaves the soul empty, lifeless, and unchanged. It is not mere feeling, and certainly not a matter of external sensory perception. It is a conscious inner reality in which the soul daily derives its sustenance through prayer and the ministry of the Word in the name of Jesus, and by the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Apart from this divine reality, the unbelieving soul will find it hard to understand, will be continually frustrated in attempts that are made to understand, and will eventually give up all attempt and be resigned to going through the motions outwardly. The ultimate purpose of the one who is joined to Christ will be in complete harmony with His ultimate purpose. Such a one will yield continually in heart, mind, and hence in conduct, to His rule and instruction. This is nothing other than that fellowship which John intends that we should enter into.
Since, in modern American Christian vernacular, the word “fellowship” indicates an event or meeting more or less social in nature, it is important that we define the term as it is used in Scripture. The Greek word which is translated “fellowship” here in I John means partnership or participation, and is derived from a word which means a sharer or associate, and is the word translated “partakers” in the passage quoted above from II Peter 1:3-4.
John informs us from the outset of his letter that first of all, and foremost of all, our fellowship is “with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” Through the blood of Christ we are born into a partnership with the cause of Christ in this world. Through Him we also inherit “precious and magnificent promises” by which we become actual partakers of the divine nature and “[escape] the corruption that is in the world by lust,” thus enabling us to accomplish His will during our time in this world.
At its core, this kind of fellowship is a direct and immediate acquaintance with, and participation in the affairs of the person in question, in this case the risen and ruling Son of God. In this connection, the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 2:11-16 are important and illuminating. He concludes this passage with these words: “But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man. For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD THAT HE SHOULD INSTRUCT HIM? [Isaiah 40:13] But we have the mind of Christ.” The Lord’s words in John chapters 14-16 regarding the coming of the promised Holy Spirit are also extremely important relative to this point.
This takes us far beyond that which is merely historical and academic to a present and living reality. As an example, we may read exhaustively about the life and times of George Washington, but we can never transcend the words of the historians and come into a direct relationship with his mind and the related course of events. Those things are not a present and living reality. The things of Christ are, and John is calling us into a fellowship, a partnership, a living and active partaking in the life and mission of Jesus in this world.
There is an objective, an ultimate purpose, which initiates and sustains this partnership, this corporate Christian fellowship. The central aim defines this fellowship in terms of the means to be used in the pursuit of its mission, and thus reveals its true character. It also supplies the chief expectation, which in turn serves as a test relative to our faithfulness in obeying and realizing our heavenly mandate. What this means is that to be truly faithful we must weigh means, expectations, and results against the light of evidence. We must do this both as individuals and as a corporate Christian fellowship.
What then is the central aim or ultimate purpose of our corporate Christian fellowship? The simplest and most comprehensive definition is given by the Lord Jesus in Luke 19:10 – “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” My definition of the ultimate purpose of Christianity is as follows: The vindication of the honor and majesty of the Name and law of God chiefly through the total evangelization of the human soul. This definition comprehends true repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. For what is repentance but the admission, the confession, that He is all righteous, holy, and just, and we are all wrong, corrupted and sinful? And what is the total evangelization of the human soul but the process which begins with this confession, and the forsaking of self and sin, proceeds to faith in the merciful work of Christ on the cross and in the resurrection, and then seeks to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Him through increasing sanctification, or holiness, wrought in the heart by the grace of God. The soul thus reconciled to God is born from above into the corporate Christian fellowship we call the Church.
Referring again to ultimate purpose, let us consider it from the standpoint of a corporate body or a corporation. According to Webster’s, to be corporate is to be “united; combined,” especially regarding that which is “shared by all members of a unified group...” A corporation is a “group of people who get a charter granting them as a body certain of the legal powers, rights, privileges, and liabilities of an individual, distinct from those of the individuals making up the group.”
Therefore, a corporation or corporate body is defined by the ultimate purpose or charter which gives it its very existence and which defines the “legal powers, rights, privileges, and liabilities” under which they live and operate. As stated above, such a charter will establish the parameters of the operation of that corporate body in terms of the means employed to realize its aim, the expectations which will indicate success in that process of realization, and evaluation in terms of weighing objective evidence to honestly determine whether or not those expectations are being achieved.
What, then, is the charter of this corporate entity we call the Body of Christ? Certainly it is given to us in concise form in what we know as the Great Commission. Matthew 28: 18-20 – “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” It is given to us in a much more intimate and intensive way in His Great High Priestly prayer, found in John 17:17-23 – “Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth. As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask in behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me. And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me.”
What can we glean from these two majestic passages in terms of the means we are authorized to employ in carrying out this mandate under Christ? I can find only three – prayer, the ministry of the Word, and holy, blameless living. The unity of purpose which the Lord is both commanding and praying for in these passages can only become a true corporate reality as we are faithful in the use of these means. What about expectations? Again, we ought to expect nothing other than what our Lord expresses, that is, the making of disciples and giving living proof that the Father has sent His Son into the world as both Savior and Lord. What about the weighing of objective evidence against the supposed results of our church work? Acts 2:46-47 gives us a scriptural standard – “And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.” The bottom line of all true fellowship – “fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ,” and with each other – is comprehended in this question: Is the Lord “adding to [our] number day by day those who [are] being saved?
There is an ongoing battle in the Body of Christ, from generation to generation, between a true Christian union, or unity of purpose and action, and an individualism which simply masquerades as a unified body under Christ. Sadly, individualism is the unspoken governing principle in our American churches today. Apart from an ongoing, active faithfulness to our first love and firstworks, as stated by the Lord Jesus in the passages quoted above, nothing else can reasonably be expected.
One of the definitions of individualism which we find in Webster’s Dictionary is as follows: “the doctrine that the state exists for the individual and not the individual for the state.” Adapting this definition to fit our discussion it would read as follows: “the doctrine that the Church exists for the individual and not the individual for the Church.” The Church exists because of Christ and for Christ. The Church is charged with the duty of faithfully pursuing the accomplishment of the mission which the Father gave the Son, in His name, until He returns. Therefore, the individual Christian exists in Christ for the sake of His body, the Church, and for the realization of the ultimate purpose for which that body is instituted. When the Church becomes merely a conglomeration of individual needs and desires it is inevitable that a self-centered and self indulgent spirit will prevail in the Church.
So, we must close this section by asking some pertinent questions. What is it that is drawing people into the “fellowship” of our churches? What is holding them once they do come? Is it the meat and potatoes of prayer and the ministry of the Word; the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit; the insistence on a life typified by holy, blameless living? Is it family tradition; the quest for personal fulfillment; the congeniality of human interaction; or the fear of losing one’s reputation? Is it the pleasing but empty amusements of concerts, films, potlucks and parties, travel opportunities, gyms and sports programs, and the seemingly endless array of distractions which the human mind is so adept at creating, and then justifying through the application of the thinnest possible “spiritual” veneer? Why do so few professing Christians truly know and understand what they believe so that they can articulate the Christian message to themselves, their fellow Christians, or the lost? Why do so few seem to even care? Why do so few actually practice biblical truth? Why is there no real practical distinction these days between professed believers and nonbelievers? Why is there such an accommodation of, and conformity to, modern American culture in the Church, rather than the demonstration of a divinely powerful alternative? Finally, how would the Lord Himself judge our fellowship, as it relates to prayer, the ministry of the Word, and holy, blameless living?
Chapter 1:5-7 — “And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
In this section, John reminds us precisely who we are dealing with, and with whom we are called into fellowship, through the mediation of the Lord Jesus. This is the God who is Light. He is pure, absolute, infinite, unadulterated truth, revelation, and faithfulness. And in God’s revelation this Light has been manifested in the flesh. John 1:4-5,9: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it... There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.” I Timothy 6:15- 16: “He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords; who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.” This is Jesus, the “Word of Life” incarnate, the Light of the world.
If we know what light is, then we can know what darkness, its polar opposite is.
Light Darkness
Life Death
Truth Falsehood
Love Self
Goodness Corruption
Wisdom Foolishness
Knowledge Ignorance
Understanding Indifference
Insight Blindness
Holiness Depravity
Righteousness Wickedness
Purity Decay
Before our God there is no darkness, there is no hiding place from the blazing intensity of His eternal gaze into the heart, the soul, the mind of every living man, woman, and child. Hebrews 4:13: “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” The serious Christian will do well to retain this truth in his consciousness on a continual basis throughout all his days. The true and living God, this Eternal Spirit, by virtue of the majesty of His light, maintains a continual testing of our claim to be in partnership with Him for the sake of His eternal cause in Christ. In other words, we should heed the admonition which King David gave Solomon in I Chronicles 28:9 to “know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts.” And the Lord Himself confirms this word through Jeremiah the prophet in Jeremiah 17:10: “I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the results of his deeds.”
If, indeed, we claim to be partakers of the divine nature; if we claim to be in vital partnership with Him in the work of the gospel; does our “walk” validate our claims or make us liars? This every professing Christian must answer with sincerity and truth, and in quietness and solitude before the Lord. It is of great importance that we take note of the word “walk” and what it signifies toward us in this regard. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance defines it as follows: “to tread all around, i.e. walk at large (especially as proof of ability); figuratively, to live, deport oneself, follow (as a companion or votary). Webster’s states simply, “to follow a certain course of life; conduct oneself in a certain way.”
We notice, therefore, in this passage, that first of all God is. He inhabits eternity and dwells in unapproachable light. We, however, walk, confined and limited by time, space, and mortality. But the fact that we do indeed walk speaks to the fact that we are free moral agents, possessing the attributes of free moral agency, one of which is freedom to will, or liberty in the act of choosing a desired end and the means of achieving that end. It also signifies accountability to the One who has so created us, and who has given to all men sufficient light to understand this if they will.
Like eternal life, our “walk,” by its very nature, will be a sure and tangible reality of fellowship with God, and a partaking of light and eternal life in Jesus, or it will be a living confession of abiding in the darkness of self-deception, hypocrisy, and willing disobedience. Our fellowship with the Father and His Son must be a living and present reality, a conscious state of being, a “walk,” not merely a belief in an abstract set of biblical propositions one hopes in selfishly for happiness in the after life. By our walk we are either revealing the essence of eternal life in Christ, fragrant with His sweet-smelling savor, or we are lost in the affairs of this world, which may be acceptable to those around us, but is a stench to a holy God, the stench of darkness and death.
Where, then, do we look for conclusive evidence which will either prove or disprove the claim to true fellowship with God; which will vindicate the claim to be “walking in the light as He Himself is in the light?” Is it even possible that such a test can be accomplished with results so conclusive as to certainly convince your soul of its standing before God? II Corinthians 13:5 – “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you – unless indeed you fail the test? Now this is the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, speaking through the apostle Paul. And it is unimpeachable evidence that we can and should indeed “test [ourselves] to see if [we] are in the faith.” This instruction is so straightforward that even though Paul does not go on to give us twenty steps to see to the accomplishing of it, the strong implication is that any honest, willing, and ready heart will find the answer. The Word of God will not direct us to do that which is impossible for us to do, or which the Lord, through His Spirit, will not lead us to effectively do.
We need to know, first of all, where the answer is not to be found. Not in seeking to independently identify or analyze subjective opinions or feelings. Not in participation in, and satisfaction with, the ministries, programs, and activities of a local church. Not in the academic knowledge of the Bible or denominational/theological schools of thought. Not in a sterile reliance upon passages of Scripture you may be directed to for comfort and assurance while deep in your consciousness you know that self and sin still rule your heart.
Where, then, is the answer to be found? Without fail it will involve the faithful use of the means which our Lord has given us to accomplish His work, namely, prayer and the ministry of the Word. I have not listed the third means – holy, blameless living – because that is the issue before us, that is, whether or not we are engaged in a truly spiritual fellowship with Him. If we are indeed in a true spiritual partnership with the Father and Jesus, the result will be a consistently holy and blameless lifestyle.
Here are some questions the professing Christian should consider. Why have you come to Jesus? Do you want the eternal life He has promised but don’t really care to know Him, and to enter fully into His cause right now with all you heart, soul, mind, and strength? In other words, is your Christianity nothing other than the same old selfishness wrapped up in a different, more appealing package? Is the study of the Scriptures and prayer the preeminent interest and activity of your life, or is it choked out by a preoccupation with golf, football, baseball and other sports, hunting, fishing, family, business, travel, television, movies, concerts, and the entertainment and social programs at church? Are you content with the little dab of the Word you get at worship services, organized Bible studies, and a few minutes of daily devotional reading? Do your prayers revolve around issues relating to narrow self-interest? Lastly, is your subjective answer
to these questions and the objective evidence of your “walk” in harmony or do they contradict one another?
Let us hear the words of Jesus from John 7:16-18, quoting from the Amplified Version: “...My teaching is not my own, but His Who sent Me. If any man desires to do His will (God’s pleasure) he will know (have the needed illumination to recognize, and can tell for himself) whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking from Myself and of My own accord and on My own authority. He who speaks on his own authority seeks to win honor for himself. [He whose teaching originates with himself seeks his own glory.] But He who seeks the glory and is eager for the honor of Him Who sent Him, He is true; and there is no unrighteousness or falsehood or deception in Him.”
Here we find our answer to determining the legitimacy of our claim to fellowship with God. Here we have Jesus’ authoritative and definitive teaching, His promise, and His perfect example as the Son of Man. If we want the answer, we need only go to Him to learn whether our claim to fellowship with God is determined on the basis of our own authority and subjective judgments, or through His Word and prayer, under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. In this regard we need to beware of the terrible power of self-deception. Unless we are, in fact, guided by the Holy Spirit, there is a great danger that what we perceive within ourselves as light will be in reality darkness. Matthew 6:22-23: “The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” Anyone who will take the time to meet humbly, quietly, and alone with God before His throne of grace, with a sincere desire and determination to know the truth, will obtain “the needed illumination to recognize” whether or not he is having true fellowship with God; whether or not he is “[walking] in the light as He Himself is in the light.”
In the foregoing discussion we have concentrated on the responsibility of the individual professing Christian. It is of crucial importance that we now consider our fellowship with God as a corporate Christian fellowship, that is, as a spiritual union of individual professing Christians called to a truly corporate cause using truly corporate means to accomplish the mission our Lord has given us. It is of crucial importance that we consider this subject as one which carries with it life and death issues and consequences which are eternal in nature.
The success of any corporate enterprise assumes the integrity and proper functioning of each individual member. Therefore, a corporate examination of the legitimacy and viability of a claim to real and effectual partnership with Jesus in accomplishing the work of His gospel comprehends that kind of individual self-examination which either validates or negates claims of right standing before the Lord. However, just as the corporate body we call the Church is not merely a conglomeration of individual needs and desires, neither is it merely a conglomeration of independent, individualized ideas of how we are to work out the gospel mission. Both the objective and the means of achieving that objective are dictated to us by our Sovereign Head the Lord Jesus Christ. The objective or ultimate purpose of the Church is the vindication of the honor and majesty of the name and law of God chiefly through the total evangelization of the human soul. We are to unite with the Lord Jesus in “[seeking] and [saving] that which was lost.” The means He has put at our disposal are prayer, the ministry of the Word, and holy, blameless living. The faithful use of these means He has promised to bless.
The Great Commission the Lord has given to His Church can only be accomplished through truly united corporate action; the harmonious blending of individual and corporate responsibility. Hear again the words of our Lord in His Great High Priestly prayer in John 17:21 as He asks the Father “that they [His Church] may all be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me.” And again in John 17:23, “I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity [literally, into a unit] that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me.” Again, the means Jesus has passed on to us, and put at our disposal with His promise of blessing are simple – prayer, the ministry of the Word, and holy, blameless living. Are they too simple for the modern American ecclesiastical mind? Examples abound, and there are “experts” aplenty, who are well able to devise all manner of methods and tactics to attract “seekers” into our churches and hold them once they come. But what are the results? Churches filled with people who know little of the gospel, of Jesus’ conditions for the true disciple, of Bible doctrine or theology, and who cannot articulate for themselves what they profess to believe; people who need an endless array of varying enticements to keep them interested. And what has been the fruit of this way of “doing church?” A Church in America which has overseen the squandering of the spiritual heritage our forefathers wrought in this land by God’s grace through the power of His Holy Spirit.
Let us consider the early Church, as documented for us in the book of Acts, as an example. From the outset a heavenly kind of unity sustained them, blessed them, and increased their numbers. Acts 2:46-47: “And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity [or simplicity] of heart, praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.” The apostle Paul reiterates this principle of corporate unity expressly or by implication throughout his epistles, of which Romans 15:5-6, I Corinthians 1:10, and Philippians 2:2 are three examples. Indeed, the overarching context of the New Testament is the harmonious blending of individual Christian duty for a united corporate purpose in Christ. Even the first century enemies of the gospel had to confess this when they cried out in Acts 17:6b-7: “These men who have upset the world have come here also; and Jason has welcomed them, and they all act contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”
The goal of holy blameless living, wrought in our lives by the Holy Spirit, using prayer and the ministry of the Word, is to spiritually facilitate the successful pursuit of our corporate mandate to “seek and to save that which was lost,” not to receive blessings from the Lord which we then consume upon ourselves either individually or corporately. Without a sustained and spiritually militant evangelistic thrust; apart from a reality wherein the Lord is “adding to [our] number day by day those who [are] being saved,” it is inevitable that the Church will descend into a culture of self-absorption and self-satisfaction. The result of a truly Spirit-filled and spiritually effectual Church today will be the same as it was for those first century disciples, namely, souls converted to Christ and increasingly sanctified, and the exertion of a powerful, undeniable, and heavenly influence upon society and culture.
All this highlights the absolute need for faithful and truly spiritual leadership in our churches. It is easy to point the finger at those mainline denominations who have long since descended into apostasy and take pride in the fact that we are not like “them.” But what is the overall status of leadership in our Bible-believing churches in America, across the denominational/theological spectrum? I will not even begin to attempt to recite what could possibly be pages of statistics and quotations which would serve only to accentuate what is obvious to the serious and concerned observer, perhaps even to the casual observer, namely, that the state of society, culture, and the Church in America is a reflection of an ineffectual and negligent spiritual leadership.
What I will offer is an extended quotation from that highly esteemed preacher and man of God A.W. Tozer. He says, “...the fellowship of the Church has degenerated into a social fellowship with a mild religious flavor. For me, either I want God or I do not want anything at all to do with religion. I could never get interested in some old maids social club, with a little bit of Christianity thrown in to give it respectability. Either I want it all or I do not want any. I want God or I am perfectly happy to go out and be something else. I think the Lord had something like that in mind when He said, ‘I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot; I would thou wert cold or hot,’ (Revelation 3:15 KJV).
Another result of the failure to honor the Holy [Spirit] is that so many non-spiritual, un-spiritual and anti-spiritual features have been brought into the church. The average church could not run on a hymn book and a Bible. The church started out with a Bible and then developed a hymn book, and for years that was enough. Now, some people could not serve God without at least one van load of equipment to keep them happy. All this attraction to win people and keep them coming may be fine, it may be elevated, it may be cheap, it may be degrading, it may be coarse, it may be artistic; but it all depends on who is running the show. Because the Holy Spirit is not the center of attraction, and the Lord is not the one in charge, we must bring in all sorts of antiscriptural and un-scriptural claptrap to keep the people happy and keep them coming.
The horrible part is not so much that this is true, but that it needs to be at all. The great woe is not the presence of religious toys and trifles, but the necessity for them because the presence of the Eternal Spirit is not in our midst. The tragedy and woe of the hour is trying to make up for His absence by doing these things to keep our own spirits up.” (from the book “Tozer: Mystery of the Holy Spirit,” page 24)
These words were preached and written down for posterity more than fifty years ago. I wonder if anyone would question their relevance in the day they were proclaimed. That is, would anyone doubt the legitimacy of Brother Tozer’s observations at that time? Has anything happened in the meantime to mitigate those observations, or has the life of the Church in America continued its downward spiral? Apart from true spiritual leadership, the lack of which grieved the tender heart of this man of God, the Church will inevitably be turned in upon itself and consumed with all manner of activities, programs, and busy-work, the success of which is due to the ingenuity, charm, and invention of man, and not the promised power from on high.
In a day when the ministry of the Word and even the spirit of prayer has become merely a feel good means to self-fulfillment, health, financial well-being, successful family life and the like, or a dry academic exercise, the soul that yearns for a greater understanding of eternal realities is truly on his own. The soul that needs the spiritual rigor of self-examination through the discipline of faithful prayer and the ministry of the Word is left languishing under a consciousness that something is wrong. A similar situation prevailed in the days of our Savior, our Good Shepherd. Matthew 9: 35-38: “And Jesus was going about all the cities and the villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. And seeing the multitudes, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’”
The situation which prevailed in our Lord’s day, and which prevails today in America, was seen by the prophet Ezekiel many centuries ago. Ezekiel 34:1-5, 11, 15-16: “Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, ‘Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD, Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and severity you have dominated them. And they were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered... For thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out... I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment.’”
With respect to corporate claims of fellowship with the Lord Jesus in His mission of seeking and saving that which was lost, it is time to separate the truth from the lie. It is time for the Church at large generally, and appointed spiritual leadership particularly, to pay more than casual lip service to the message of II Chronicles 7:14, so often quoted on the National Day of Prayer and then promptly forgotten. It is time to sincerely confess that there is sin in the camp which needs to be cleansed or nothing but increasing decline and eventual judgment awaits us. It is time to humble ourselves corporately and confess that all the slick methods, programs, and activities by which we have enriched ourselves; all the adaptation of the Word and prayer to self-centered ends by which we have strengthened ourselves; and all the championing of a church, denomination, and/or theological school by which we have so greatly satisfied ourselves, has been “weighed in the balances and found wanting.” The Lord is thus calling His people to repentance and reformation, not the nation at large. He is calling His people to repentance and reformation in order to reap a fresh harvest of souls from society, which will in turn be effectual in reforming that society. And, He is calling appointed spiritual leadership to repent and truly lead in this matter.
In separating the truth from the lie with regard to the legitimacy of our fellowship “with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ,” we must be willing to “walk in the light as He Himself is in the light.” Along with confession there must also be a willingness to forsake, or confession is an empty and worthless exercise. If we are willing to cast off our bondage to the vanities that constitute the prevailing attitudes and programs in our churches, and reinstate prayer, the ministry of the Word, and holy, blameless living – plus nothing – as entirely and absolutely sufficient to effectually labor in our Lord’s harvest, then we can be assured that the “blood of HSon cleanses us from all sin.”
Chapter 1:8-10 — “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous 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.”
These verses are regularly applied to the individual professing Christian as a member of the Body of Christ; as having a certain position to fill and a particular service to perform; and as needing to do so in a sanctified or holy manner. No doubt this is a valid interpretation and application. We are all sinners reconciled to the Father by the blood of Christ. Through His precious blood we are restored to favor with God and are qualified to enter into His service. Thereafter, with respect to sin in the believer’s life, there can be no excuses, no rationalizations, no self-justification, and above all no presumption regarding the grace and mercy of God. We must call it as He sees it. One is reminded of the Lord Jesus’ words as He concluded a time of deep and challenging instruction to His disciples – Luke 17:10: “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”
This being said, I would submit that the primary application of these verses, in keeping with the immediate context, is the maintenance of corporate unity, purity, and integrity. The primary concern of this first chapter is having and maintaining a true, and truly spiritual, corporate fellowship with our Lord, and then with each other. This will be seen more clearly as we proceed into the first section of chapter two.
We all know the sting of conviction. We all know how tempting it is to attempt to explain away divine conviction by means of excuses, rationalizations, justifications, or by presuming on the grace and mercy of a faithful God. It is a dangerous thing to fail to recognize the tremendous subtlety and power of self-deception. What is true in this regard, relative to the individual Christian, is only amplified when considering the corporate Christian fellowship. When the corporate life and functioning of a local church has become adapted and habituated to refusing to hear and heed a divine call to repentance and reformation, through the exercise of some form of self-satisfaction and/or self-justification, real change becomes more and more difficult. A truly united and fixed corporate mind is a powerful thing indeed, whether it is maintained and used for good or for evil. In this regard we would do well to remember the words of the LORD concerning the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:6 – “And the LORD said, ‘Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.’”
We would also do well to remember the sad testimony of rebellious and intransigent Israel, as recorded in II Chronicles 36:15-16: “And the LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, until there was no remedy.” And what were some of the messages rejected by the children of Israel? Isaiah 30:1: “Woe to the rebellious children, declares the LORD, who execute a plan, but not Mine, and make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, in order to add sin to sin.” Jeremiah 6:16: “Thus says the LORD, Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you shall find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’” And Jeremiah 18:11-12: “So now then, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, Thus says the LORD, Behold, I am fashioning calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh turn back, each of you from his evil way and reform your ways and your deeds. But they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’” These are but three examples out of many which could be cited.
As these verses make abundantly clear, as well as our text from I John, there are only two options, two ways in which we, the Church in America, can go. We can at last hear and heed His call to “repent and turn to God, performing deeds appropriate to repentance,” (Acts 26:20) or continue to explain it away in one way or another, and “make Him a liar.” This brings us again to the indispensable need for authentic, Spirit -filled leadership in our churches. We need leaders who will not merely pay lip service to our ongoing decline and need for repentance and change, but who will embrace that call with yieldedness and fervency of spirit, bringing the message plainly and without apology to our churches. The status quo must not only be lamented it must be challenged, confessed, and forsaken. Heretofore the act of confession has been looked at as tantamount to actually doing something about the situation, while we stubbornly continue to “follow our own plans.” That kind of confession is an empty and ineffectual exercise. It is tempting the Lord our God. Confession must be accompanied by concrete action or it is a repentanceless confession, which is no confession at all. Heretofore confession has been followed by a return to that same old self-satisfaction; that same old attitude that all is well with “my” church. Others may need to change but “we’re” just fine. In true repentance and in true reformation, we must move backward before we can move forward under the blessing of God through His Holy Spirit. That is to say, we must leave behind the programs and policies by which we have built “our” churches but not His Church. How is this to be done? What is the substance of such a move?
First of all, in all of our busy-ness, the Church in America must learn afresh the lesson of Gideon and his army in Judges 7, namely, that less is more. In trusting the living God, and in fighting the good fight of faith, we must realize that cutting away the superfluous is an advance and not a retreat. To do this we must be willing to humble ourselves and admit that much of what we have come to value and rely on in the life and ministry of our churches is in fact superfluous, ineffectual, and worthless according to the will and purpose of God in Christ. We must be willing to admit to ourselves, and confess to our God, that much of what we have considered the blessing of God has only been our own self-deception. Then we must truly bring forth “deeds appropriate to repentance” by abandoning anything and everything which has been a distraction, dilution, or hindrance to the powerful working of our Lord in our midst, regardless of the cost in terms of church membership and church finances.
This is the only way we can truly bring our corporate motive, intention, and expectation into harmony with His. In other words, our desired end, the means we use to realize that end, and the expectations which animate our ongoing service, must be one with the Lord Jesus Christ. He still has but one singular all-encompassing aim, namely, to “seek and to save that which was lost.” “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) His Great Commission and His Great High Priestly prayer announce to us both His aim, and the means He would have us employ in seeking to realize that aim, by faith in His great and precious promises. In Him, through the promised power of the Holy Spirit, we have prayer in His name, the ministry of His word according to His authority, and the testimony of holy, blameless lives, lived out in true oneness with Jesus and each other, and this is more than sufficient to realize our aim.
We are to be exclusively and wholeheartedly engaged in laboring for the vindication of the honor and majesty of the Name and law of God primarily through the total evangelization of the human soul, which is to say, in making disciples. This is that “Highway of Holiness” spoken of in Isaiah 35. This is the “narrow way” the true disciple takes from conversion to Christ to full conformity to His glorious image. This is the true fellowship of the Church, first with the “Father and with His Son Jesus Christ,” and then with each other. This is the essence of eternal life through which we partake of His divine nature and character by faith, and by which our lives emit that heavenly fragrance of Christ to the world. This is to be both our first love and our first works. This overarching corporate mandate and activity is to influence and direct our lives as individualChristians and not the other way around. Away with this individualistic church culture of self absorption and self-indulgence in which the Church seemingly exists for the sake of the individual, and is tasked with attempting to meet all the various needs and desires which incessantly arise.
Along these lines, the testimony of Martha and Mary, as related in Luke 10:38-42 is very instructive. “Now as they were traveling along, He entered a certain village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. And she had a sister called Mary, who moreover was listening to the Lord’s word, seated at His feet. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, ‘Lord do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.’”
The contemporary Church in America, across the denominational/theological spectrum, is playing the part of Martha. A perceived need arises and soon an applicable “ministry” pops up. It may be medical, legal, financial, marital, or familial; it may have to do with business, education or politics, but when the need arises the Church rises up to meet the need. In this we are indeed like Martha, “distracted” and “worried and bothered about so many things.” In this we see the breakdown of the rightful interplay between corporate responsibility and action and individual responsibility and action. Are there not professing Christians called into service as lawyers, doctors, teachers, writers, and artisans of all kinds? Why should the duties and resources of the Church of Christ be distracted, divided, and taxed corporately? Has not the Lord Jesus called his people into all the various occupations of life in order that all the various and sundry needs of this life might be addressed in His name?
The Church in America has allowed mere human sympathy and a false sense of compassion to bring about unfaithfulness, which is to say, disobedience, in the pursuit of our corporate calling; a calling which if properly and faithfully proclaimed and adhered to will go a long way in answering the very “needs” which have caused the rift. Oswald Chambers, in his highly acclaimed work, “My Utmost for His Highest,” has addressed this very thing in his remarks for October 26, when he says that “the great danger is that God’s call is effaced by the needs of the people until human sympathy absolutely overwhelms the meaning of being sent by Jesus. The needs are so enormous, the conditions so perplexing, that every power of mind falters and fails. We forget that the one great reason underneath all [gospel] enterprise is not the elevation of the people, nor the education of the people, nor their needs; but first and foremost the command of Jesus — “Go ye therefore and teach all nations.”
The Church, as a corporate body pursuing its corporate mandate, is called to be a “house of prayer” (Lk..19:46, Is. 56:7) and not a “robbers’ den.” (Lk..19:46, Jer.7:11) We are called to minister the Word with “power from on high.” (Lk. 24:49) In this pursuit every heart and mind is to be completely invested, active, and expecting the Lord to reveal Himself in saving power. And, we have but one message to proclaim, with united hearts and minds, the substance of which is “repentance for forgiveness of sins...proclaimed in His name to all the nations.” (Lk. 24:46-49)
In a time when the programs of our churches have become mere performances to be consumed for our own enjoyment, or occasions more reminiscent of a social club rather than the Church of the living God; when our churches must cater to the ease, convenience, and desires of the membership to sustain that membership, we need leaders, and indeed all professing Christians, to be authentic “Mary’s.” We need those who are willing to choose the “good part,” seeking only the Lord’s commendation; who are willing to be “seated at the Lord’s feet,” to hear His word receive His counsel and direction, and then act accordingly, depending solely upon His promised Holy Spirit to make our labors effectual.
I would submit that a return to a true, sincere, and truly fruitful corporate fellowship within our American churches will manifest itself in the following ways:
a) Vitally active and fully developed personal prayer lives in which the will and purpose of God, as expressed by Jesus, is preeminent, ruling not only over the time which is devoted to prayer, but also the priorities and substantive content of our prayers.
b) Ongoing study of the Scriptures as well as supplemental materials which, in conjunction with prayer, will produce the fruit of consistent growth in grace and in the knowledge of God, along with the ability and willingness to articulate the truths of the gospel to our fellow man.
c) Individual Christian lives which continually demonstrate that Jesus Christ is the eternal life of the soul. Lives, in other words, which demonstrate the essence of eternal life and which emit something of the fragrance of Christ to the world around us.
d) Individual Christian lives therefore which, in the corporate church setting, are content with and fully engaged in those activities which are truly and preeminently corporate in nature – prayer and the ministry of the Word – resulting in the following:
e) An all-encompassing dependence on prayer. A corporate spirit of prayer which extends far beyond a continual preoccupation with “my” or “our” needs to a preeminent concern for the vindication of the glory of God and a God blessed harvest of souls. A reviving of the prayer meeting such as our spiritual forefathers knew, and a return to the kinds of blessing those meetings produced according to the will, grace, and promises of God.
f) A corporate reality centered on the preaching and teaching of the Word. This would involve a return to regular evangelistic preaching weekly, supplemented by Bible classes designed for those in whom the Holy Spirit is working a conviction of sin, righteousness, and judgment. This would also involve a return to an emphasis on a genuine and thorough repentance, born of a “godly sorrow,” which must precede genuine faith in the finished work of Christ.
g) Weekly preaching focused on issues related to the ongoing sanctification of the professing Christian which not only informs but also tests the reality of those professions. Supplemental Bible classes dealing with doctrinal/theological issues as well as related applications to our current societal/cultural situation.
These things are the foundation and foremost substance of a true corporate Christian fellowship. These things are comprehended by and in accordance with the testimony we are given in Acts 2:42, 46-47 of those early disciples, which I will quote from the Amplified Version: “And they steadfastly persevered, devoting themselves constantly to the instruction and fellowship of the apostles, to the breaking of bread [including the Lord’s Supper] and prayers... And day after day they regularly assembled in the temple with united purpose, and in their homes they broke bread [including the Lord’s Supper]. They partook of their food with gladness and simplicity and generous hearts, constantly praising God and being in favor and goodwill with all the people; and the Lord kept adding [to their number] daily those who were being saved [from spiritual death].”
Jesus, as we saw earlier, is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is still mindful and intent on a harvest of souls. I believe that He is calling the churches of America, across the denominational/theological divide, to join Him again in that mission. He is calling us to do this first through a spirit of repentance, confessing that we have strayed from the “simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” (II Cor. 11:1-3) He is calling us to do this through that kind of forsaking and concrete reformation which demonstrates the legitimacy of the profession of conviction and repentance. (Acts 26:20) He is calling us to do this through an abiding in Him and His Great Commission by faith, taking the “sword of the spirit which is the Word of God” (Eph. 6:17) and His “great and precious promises” (II Pet. 1:4) which are yea and Amen! in Him to the glory of God. (II Cor. 1:20)
We can only do this by transcending that self-absorbed, navel gazing kind of individualism which prevents a view of the Body of Christ, and a vision of the function of that Body which is in harmony with the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Head of the Body; which is willing to truly sacrifice something of the individual life, defined as a wide assortment of needs and desires, for the sake of the corporate life, defined as duty and fidelity to His calling and commission. And we can only do this by means of a renewed spiritual leadership who must first of all be fully persuaded of these things, and then be willing to guide and shepherd His Church through these times, where the eternal destiny of souls stretches out before us as the ultimate reality.
His call to us is not unlike His call to the seven churches of Asia Minor in the first century, specifically the Church at Ephesus as found in Revelation 2:1-7, and the Church at Sardis as found in Revelation 3:1-6. What we do now, with respect to that call, will have far reaching repercussions for us as the Church here in America, and for that kind of America whose memory we cherish, and for whose return we would pray and work for.
vs.1) Paul, a bond-servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness
First of all, we notice Paul’s description of himself – a bond-servant and an apostle. The Greek word for bond-servant is doulos. Some versions translate it servant, some bond-servant. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance gives us the following definition: “a slave (literally or figuratively, involuntarily or voluntarily; frequently therefore in a qualified sense of subjection or subserviency). Paul was first of all in subjection to Christ as Lord, and then he was a “sent out one,” or an apostle, according to his Lord’s calling upon his life.
But, was Paul a slave in a literal or figurative sense; was he made a slave of Christ by voluntary or involuntary means? In Acts 26, after relating to King Agrippa his conversion experience on the road to Damascus, and the Lord’s subsequent words of command and commission, in verse 19 Paul says, “Consequently, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision...” If these words mean anything, they must mean that Paul submitted himself voluntarily to the Lord Jesus. Even after the glorious manifestation on the road to Damascus, there was still room for voluntary disobedience. This is reminiscent of the truth taught by our Lord in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, in Luke 16:19-31. In verses 27-28 the rich man pleads with Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to warn his brothers. In verses 29-31 we have the following exchange:
But Abraham said, “They [the rich man’s brothers] have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.” But he [the rich man] said, “No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead they will repent!” But he [Abraham] said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.”
Mere external circumstance, however majestic, is not sufficient to humble the intransigent heart. The heart must be totally convicted by the power of the Word of God, and then fully persuaded to voluntarily yield by the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we must conclude that Paul was made a slave of Christ (or a prisoner of Christ as he states in Philemon 1) voluntarily, by being thoroughly convicted and persuaded by the power of the Word and Spirit of God. He was a slave of Christ in a figurative sense; as being voluntarily taken captive by the power of the Word through the power of the Holy Spirit.
What is being communicated here is somewhat illustrated by Moses’ instructions concerning the Hebrew slave whose time to be set free has come, but who freely chooses to remain with his master, which we find in Exodus 21:1-6 and Deuteronomy 15:12-17.
In this verse Paul sets forth his overarching purpose in writing to Titus. The Amplified Version of the Bible sheds light on this as follows:
Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle...of Jesus Christ...to stimulate and promote the faith of God’s chosen ones and to lead them on to accurate discernment and recognition of and acquaintance with the Truth which belongs to and harmonizes with and tends to godliness.
This is our prayerful aim as we make our way through this epistle.
vs. 2) in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,
Here we are introduced to the idea of hope, in a biblical sense. Biblical hope is a confident and certain expectation of something as yet unseen or unrealized, thus distinguishing it from worldly hope which is merely a wish or a desire. We are also shown the basis or foundation of this unique kind of hope – the God who cannot lie, or more specifically, the word of the God who cannot lie. None other than the fatally flawed Balaam reveals this in Numbers 23:19 –
God is not a man, that He should lie, nor the son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Whatever a Christian may be in this life, in terms of geography, or culture, or vocational calling etc, the length and breadth of his hope is grounded in the command and promise of God respecting the eternal life of the soul, which is only found in the Person and work of Jesus Christ our Lord.
John 17:3 – And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.
vs.3) but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the p
The eternal God is concerned with, and intimately involved with, “the proper time,” the “fulness of time,” (Galations 4:4) the “consummation of the ages.” (Hebrews 9:25-26)
The Greek word translated “proper,” or “due” in the King James Version, is the word idios. Strong’s defines it as follows: “pertaining to self, i.e. one’s own; by implication private or separate.” Kenneth Wuest, in his work, The New Testament: An Expanded Translation brings this out as follows: “...but in His own private, strategic seasons He made know His Word...”
Our omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent God rules over both time and eternity with absolute authority. His foreknowledge and ability to sovereignly predetermine or foreordain, comprehends what freely happens in history. His purpose and providence rules over all the events of history. This does not mean that He is the first cause of all events. But it does mean that He governs all events notwithstanding the first or ultimate cause of any event. This establishes the free moral agency and responsibility of mankind. This is also a broader and deeper subject than can be fully explored here, but I will quote a passage of Scripture which I believe validates this position.
In Genesis 22, Abraham is called of God to sacrifice his son Isaac. He is in the process of fully obeying this command when he is stopped by the Lord with the following words in Genesis 22:12 –
And He said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
Why does the Lord use the phrase “for now I know?” Did He not know it before? What is the significance of Abraham’s action which results in this kind of expression from the Lord?
The basis of our hope, and of our living out and proclaiming the gospel is the sovereign authority of God. This Paul brings out with the words, “according to the commandment of God our Savior.” Everything we do in the Christian life must be accomplished under His authority, and this can only be accomplished through the fullness of His Spirit. In the promised Person of the Holy Spirit we are to be clothed with His authority. We have and are nothing in and of ourselves; we must be filled with His Spirit. The Lord Jesus said in John 15:5, “apart from Me you can do nothing.” He commands us to abide in Him, and this abiding is nothing less than the fullness of His Spirit. This every Christian must be conscious of or something is dangerously wrong. Likewise, all who preach, teach, or in any way handle the Word of God (which is all Christians to some degree) must do so “according to the commandment of God our Savior,” through the fullness of His Spirit.
At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew provides this epilog in Matthew 7:28-29:
The result was that when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
We live in a time in America where this kind of preaching and teaching is sorely lacking across the denominational/theological spectrum. And, this is the only thing which will prove sufficient to turn America back to the way of righteousness, justice, and equity. Political/governmental solutions from the right, left, or middle will prove woefully inadequate, and absolutely ineffectual in delivering us from ourselves as a nation.
vs. 4) to Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior
What we need to see and be assured of in this verse in conjunction with the last phrase of verse three, is this: the absolute deity of Jesus of Nazareth, the only begotten Son of God; He is both Lord and Christ. He is “God our Savior.”
vs. 5) For this reason I left you in Crete, that you might set in order what remains, and appoint elders in every city as I directed you,
God is a God of order, in creation, in His governance over the nations of this world, and especially over His holy nation, the Church. We can be confident that all His providential dealings with men and nations serve His overarching eternal purpose in Christ Jesus, and that He “works all things after the counsel of His will.” (Ephesians 1:11)
To this end, Paul is instructing Titus to be completing what has been started in Crete by setting in order what has thus far been left undone. The leaders of our churches, and indeed all serious Christians, must be vigilant, must be constantly and prayerfully on the lookout for that which may be lacking in a church, and thus impeding the realization of God’s purpose in that church. When the Lord, through His Word and His Spirit, puts His finger on an issue or issues which need to addressed, we cannot let that which is currently fashionable, human “expertise” or opinion, a spirit of presumptuous self-satisfaction, or peer pressure from any quarter, to foment rebellion in the Church by failing to hear and obey our Lord.
With respect to Titus and his ministry in Crete, Paul is here directing him to appoint qualified leadership in the cities of Crete, in order that the Church there would be living out and proclaiming the gospel in a way which is pleasing to our God, who wants “all things to be done properly and in an orderly manner.” (I Corinthians 14:40)
vs. 6-9) namely, if any man be above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion. For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, that he may be able to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict
Leaders are to be living examples of what they teach and insist upon, by way of priority and conduct in the Church. They are to be people who are worthy of emulation. Hence, we have in Paul’s instructions to Titus, with respect to the appointing of elders, a framework set before us for order, peace, satisfaction, happiness, and true spiritual success in a life, a family, a church, and a nation. Paul’s instructions apply not just to those who would be, or are, called upon to fill the office of elder, but to all who name the Name of Christ. The objective principles which represent the objective standard to which leaders are to be in consistent compliance, is merely a representation, in part at least, of that image of Christ to which all Christians are to be conformed.
What we have laid out before us in these verses comes down to a spiritual contest between self-will and self-control. We see in these verses a description of the one who is self-willed – dissipated, rebellious, quick-tempered, addicted to wine, pugnacious, fond of sordid gain. One who is living the life of voluntary slavery to self is continually exhibiting self-will, self-rule, self-indulgence, and self justification. On the other hand, the one who is self-controlled, in a uniquely Christian sense, is yielded to his Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will be truly hospitable, a lover of what is good, sensible, just, devout, and one who holds fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching. In short, this person will be abiding in Christ; he will be continually walking with his Lord in fellowship and in the fullness of His Spirit.
Again, sound leadership must be able to replicate itself through sound preaching and teaching of the Word, which is consistently supported by personal example. Paul states very simply in I Corinthians 11:1, Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ. He expands upon this statement when he writes the following to the Thessalonians in I Thessalonians 1:5-7 –
...for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.
At the same time sound leadership, leadership which the Lord commends, must be able to “refute those who contradict.” True, and truly spiritual church leadership, must be able to vindicate the things we say we believe and live for, in the power of the Holy Spirit. This can only be done if eternal life is a sure and present reality, and fellowship with the Lord is a present and living reality, and there is a consciousness of walking with the Lord Jesus, so that these words of the apostle John are the vital reality of the heart, mind, and life:
I John 2:6 – … the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.
vs. 10-11) For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach, for the sake of sordid gain.
A primary goal of the preceding verses is outlined for us in verses 10-11, namely, the silencing of the rebellious, of deceivers, and “empty talkers,” whose lies and deceptions disrupt the order, peace, and unity of families and the Body of Christ. This is an ongoing problem as long as this world continues. In Paul’s day it especially involved “those of the circumcision.” In our day there are many voices which seek to draw away the professing Christian, and keep the unbeliever under a cloak of terminal darkness. There are many “isms” out there – postmodernism, humanism, communism, socialism, atheism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, rationalism, Islamism, Darwinism, hedonism, Americanism – all vying for the souls of men. As the Church in America has declined in her influence these voices have increased, and will continue to increase in power and influence, unless and until there is repentance, reform, and genuine revival in the Church of Christ. For an in depth discussion of this situation I would refer the reader to my work, American Babylon.
To return to our text, Paul is writing to and instructing Titus in a day when the gospel and the Church was prevailing in the hearts and minds of men all over the Roman world. From this vantage point, how are those who oppose the gospel to be silenced? They are to be silenced through the proclamation of the Truth in the power of the Holy Spirit, not by external force, that is, by literal coercion. External force is the realm of civil law and government. It is also the realm of all those isms which seek to enforce external compliance over men through governmental or extra-governmental means. In the realm of civil law and government there need be no moral persuasion or inner conviction regarding the veracity and legitimacy of the law. Ignorance of the law is no excuse. A rebellious refusal to acknowledge and obey the law is no excuse. The law will be upheld, by external force if need be, and that is the end of the debate. There is, no doubt, a philosophical foundation back of the law, but that is beside the point. Who cannot see that this is precisely what is happening today in America with respect to all the prominent isms which seek control over the souls of men. Who cannot see that it is the height of folly for the Church in America to seek to use the arm of government to reestablish and enforce principles and laws which once held sway in this nation, without first subjecting herself afresh to the Lord in repentance and reformation. For further consideration, I would refer the reader to I Timothy 1:5-11 for prayerful meditation.
Christianity must operate primarily in the arena of Truth; the proclamation and explanation of Truth, Holy Spirit wrought conviction and persuasion regarding the Truth, voluntary compliance with the Truth, and finally and most importantly, a love of the Truth, and of being subject to it. Christianity can operate only secondarily in the realm of human law and government. In a nation where Christianity prevails over the hearts and minds of a majority of the people, the laws which define that government will reflect that fact. In such a government, those who oppose Christianity will no doubt feel discriminated against, and will, in fact, be discriminated against in a manner consistent with Christianity. The idea that there can be a discrimination free nation in this world is a myth. That ideal would require that everyone residing in that nation be in complete philosophical agreement with the principles which undergird it, and that everyone residing in that nation conducts himself with perfect or habitual obedience to those principles.
vs. 12-14) One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. For this cause reprove them severely that they may be sound in the faith, not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth
The first thing we must notice here is that an opponent or enemy of the gospel can sometimes offer true criticism regarding the character and behavior of Christians individually, and as a corporate body. When the providence of God brings such a thing to pass, and we have the witness of the Word and the Spirit confirming the veracity of the criticism, we must receive it with humility and vindicate the gospel and our Lord through repentance, restitution if necessary, and a return to obedience.
This is precisely what the apostle Paul is instructing Titus to do when he says to “reprove them severely that they may be sound in the faith...” The kind of sobriety, watchfulness, and genuine concern which is required to fulfill this charge from the apostle, can only be found in those who are consistently exhibiting the truly spiritual traits outlined in verses 6-9. And, as was said before, these are traits which are not optional for those who lead in the Church, and for all true Christians, who are equally subject to the two great commandments to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves. Something to ponder – To what extent are our American churches living up to this very plain responsibility, or failing to live up to it? I fear that our churches – our “Biblebelieving churches” – are opting for something more socially fashionable and acceptable. However, we cannot explore this question at this time.
vs. 15-16) To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient, and worthless for any good deed.
Many commentaries understand the opening words of verse 15 to be referring to the distinction between Jewish law and Christian liberty respecting food, and by extension other aspects of ceremonial “cleanness” or purity, as opposed to Christian purity which begins in the heart. This no doubt is true, but I believe we need to go somewhat deeper to arrive at the core meaning of Paul’s words.
We must begin by asking this question – Who are the pure in heart? What kind of an individual would fit this description? The pure in heart would be anyone who has renounced sin, namely, a life of self will, self-rule, self-indulgence, and self-justification. He must, therefore, be someone who has yielded himself to the righteousness of God by faith, by virtue of the life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is now dead to sin and alive to God. The ultimate intention of his heart is to glorify God, to vindicate the honor and majesty of His name and law through a life of willing and joyful obedience. His aim is to always maintain a blameless conscience before God and man. (Acts 24:16)
Someone fitting this description will view all things from the standpoint of a regenerate man, a man who is pure in heart. With the help of the Word and the Holy Spirit, he will assess and judge all things with the mind of Christ. So then, we can say that to the pure all things are pure, in that they are seen through purified eyes; they are assessed and judged truthfully relative to the purity of Christ and His Word. That which is defiled and sinful is not all of a sudden pure for the Christian, contrary to the plain dictates of Scripture, but it is seen accurately and truly for what it is in reality, defilement and sin.
Next we have the case of the one who is defiled and unbelieving. The language which describes this person indicates that which is contaminated, disgusting, idolatrous, and reprobate. In short, we have here a person abandoned to self, and to that which indulges and gratifies the self. This person is walking in darkness, and as the apostle John says in I John 2:10, he “does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” It is not the case that he is unable see, but that he refuses to see; he is unbelieving, disobedient, defiled, and ultimately self-deceived. The text indicates that Paul is concerned with people who are thus walking in darkness who at the same time make a profession of knowing God. They say they have faith, but they do not have the works which validate such a claim.
While the ultimate intention of their heart is given over to the idolatry of self, they cannot but act in conformity to that ultimate intention – the worship and glorification of self. Hence we see from this text that Paul and James are in complete harmony – the profession of saving faith without the corroborating works is dead.
James 2:26 – For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. The reader would do well to consider the serious implications of this statement.
Paul is stressing the importance of deeds, especially good deeds, on the part of those who claim to know God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son. This he has already done implicitly in his instructions concerning elders. This he will continue to do throughout the rest of this epistle either expressly or by implicit example.
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