February 1926
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
86
Outline Studies in the Epistles o f John
T . C. Horton “ A n d w hen he saw th eir faith* he said unto him* Man, th y sin s a re fo rg iv e n thee.” Third,— we are exempt from the punishment of sin (Luke 7:47* 50): “W h erefore* I sa y u n to th ee, H er sins* w h ich a re many* a re fo rg iv e n $ fo r *li« lo v e d much| but to w hom little Is fo r given* th e sam e lo v e th little , • • • And he said to th e woman* T h y fa ith hath sa ved th e e ; g o In peace,” This work in our behalf is accom plished through the merits of Jesus Christ. (Eph. 4 :32 ): “ And be y e k in d on e to another* ten derhearted* fo r g iv in g on e another* even as God* fo r Christ’s sake* hath fo rg iv e n y ou .” “ For His name’s sake” (v. 12) sug gests the fulness and completeness of the finished work of Jesus Christ. In v. 13 we have the expression “ I write unto you, little children,, because ye have known the Father,” i. et, known the Father by faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father (John 14.:«, 7 ): “ Jesu s salth u n to him* I am th e way* the tru th and th e life ; n o man com eth unto th e Father* but b y me, “ I f y e had kn ow n m e, y c shou ld have k n ow n m y F a th er a ls o ; and from h en ce fo rth y c k n ow him* and h ave seen him .” Spiritual strength is derived from a knowledge of Him and of His Word (Eph. 6:10-12): “ Finally* m y brethren* be s tro n g In the Lord, and In th e p ow er o f his m ight. “P u t on th e w h ole arm ou r o f Go4|* th a t y c m ay be a b le to stand a ga in st the w ile s o f the devil.” Again* •‘little children” would indi cate immature life*— where there is most affection. “ Young men”— the prime of life when there is courage and strength. “ Fathers”—maturity of life— knowledge. This suggests three stages of Chris tian experience. “ Little children“ (be ginners)— forgiveness of sin. “ Young men“— victory. “ Fathers“— age—wis dom through the Word. B. The World Warning, vs. 15-17*' “ L ov e n ot th e world* n eith er th e th in gs th a t a rc In th e w o rld . I f an y man love th e world* th e lov e o f the F a th er Is n ot In him . “ F o r all th a t is In th e w orld , th e lu st o f the flesh* and the lu st o f the eyes* and th e p ride o f life* Is nbt o f the Father* but Is o f the w orld . “ A n d the w o rld passeth away* and the lu st th e re o f; but he that doeth the w ill o f G od abldeth fo re v e r.” Here is an admonition to all Chris tians— young and old: “ Love not the world.”
The word “ world” as used here, relates— not to the material world, the earth— but to the world organisation; world society, as organized under Cain — under the curse; the “ God and Christ rejecting world.” The curse is on man; his nature is opposed to God. Man creates an at mosphere of opposition to God’s will which we term “ the spirit of the age.” We see from the Scriptures how God has tested man through different ages, and in every test man has proven a failure. He is alienated from God. (Eph. 4 :18 ): '‘ Having: the anderatandlnac dark en ed, b eta s a lien ated from th e life o f God th ro u sh the Isn ora n ce th at la la them , beeauae o f the bllndneaa o f th eir heart.*9 Whether we consider the business atmosphere, the national atmosphere, the political atmosphere, the social atmosphere, the Intellectual atmos phere, the “ religious” atmosphere, of the world, it is all God-denying. Every- • th'ng and anything that cannot be likened to Jesus Christ is of the world. Satan is the god of this world (2 Cor. 4 :4 ): "In w h om the s o d o f thla w o rld hath blinded the m lnda o f them w h ich b e lie v e n ot, lent the lls h t o f the s lo rlo a a Soapel o f Chrlat, w h o la the lm a se o f God, ahould ahlne u n to them.** He flghtft for supremacy in the hearts of men. God's will is the only unchangeable thing. His law is His will. His love is His will. His grace and mercy are manifestations of His will. The love of the Father and the love of the world are incompatible. We must choose between the two (v. 16). “ Tbe lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life”— these are all contrary to God and will pass away. Our defence and security is foun The First Epistle of John Outline of the Epistle: (1) Introduction (1:1-4). (2) God is Light: Fellowship with God in light (1 :6 to 2:28). (3) God. is Love. The Sonship Qf the believer (2:29 to 3:24). (4) Source of Sonship: Possessed by the Spirit (4:1 to 6:12). (6) Conclusion. The law of love (6:13-21). Outline of Chapter 2: (1 ) The Mediatorial W o r k of Christ, vs. 1, 2. (2) Profession and Practice, vs. 3- 11 . (3) Safeguarding the Saved, vs. 12- • 17. (4) Christians and Anti-Christians, vs. 18-29. LESSON SIX (3) SAFEGUARDING THE SAVED, vs. 12-17. A. Digression, vs. 12-14. 1. The Written Word. 2. Message to the Church Family. B. The World Warning, vs. 16-17. 1. The World Dangers and Se ductions. 2. The Word Defence and Secur ity. A. Digression, vs. 12-14. M1 w rite u n to you . little ch ild ren , b e- raune y o u r nine a re fo rg iv e n y o u fo r hla name’» sake. “ I w rite u n to you*.father», because y e have k n ow n him tk at 1» from tke b egin « n lng. I w rite u n to you* y o u n g men* because y e have overcome the w ick ed on e. I w rite u n to you* little ch ild ren , because y e have k n ow n the F a th er. “ I h ave w ritten u n to you* fathers* be cau se y e h ave k n ow n him th at is from the b eg in n in g , l h ave w ritte n u n to yon* y o u n g men* b ecau se y e a re strong* and the w ord o f G od abldeth In you* and ye h ave ov e rcom e th e w ick ed on e.” There is seeming obscurity here in the expressions: “ I write” and “ I have written.” But a practical solu tion is found in assuming that “ I write” refers to the message which he * is now giving; and “ I have written” to that which he has already said in the Gospel of John, written previously, and which he may have had before him. Three classes are enumerated: • “ Children,” “ young men” and “ fa thers." In v. 12 “ little children” seems to refer to all believers as chil dren of God; while in v. 13 "little children” would seem, rather, to refer to those of any age who are young in the faith, or— as we would say— "young Christians.” So that, in ef fect, he is saying “ I write to all of you that your sins have been forgiven,”— an accomplished fact— a present bless ing. What does this statement imply? First,— that we are free from the guilt of sin (Psa- 32:1, 2 ): “ B lessed is he w h o se tran sgression Is forgiven * w h ose sin Is covered . “ B lessed Is th e man unto w hom the L ord Im puteth n ot In iqu ity, and In w hose sp irit th ere Is n o g u ile .” Second*— we are released from the condemnation of sin (Luke 5 :20 ): Our efforts to "Safeguard the Saved” will be greatly h e l p e d by introducing them to sound Christian literature. The K i n g ’ s Business is such a publica tion. Help us to give it an even wider circulation than it now enjoys among G od ’ s people.
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