lievers they might be proclaiming heresy, and the younger members of the flock be deluded by their specious reasoning. Their action was one of complete apostacy. They went out from the presence of the full blaze of light into a world of eternal darkness. Until they went out it was difficult for an unsuspecting member of the church to see any difference between them and the genuine believ ers. Before they went out they were able to speak with the authority of the whole Church, and it was difficult to see wherein was their error. Now we must notice that the presence of men teaching what is false is a definite peril which faced the Church then and which faces us today. John describes them as “them that seduce you.” Communists in China, for ex ample, have seduced many from the Christian faith. Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Scientists and Spiritualists would do the same today if they could. The reason why they went out is now clearly revealed. They went out from us because they “were not of us.” “In spite of their external membership they had never been true members of the Body” (I.C .C .). “By their fruits ye shall know them,” says Christ (Matthew 7:20). By their actions they showed their identity. They appeared to be sheep, but they cast off their clothing and then were they seen to be but wolves after all. In fact, they were never anything different. A gardener was asked: “Why do so many pears fall off that tree?” He replied: “It is only those that are rotten inside that fall off.” Their declaration shows that their hearts were not right before God. They never shared the inner life of the Church, and so they severed themselves from it. In Judas Iscariot we have an example of the full-length apostate. Though present at the Lord’s Table and reck oned one of the inner band of disciples, he was never a regenerate man at all. Christ said: “Ye are clean but not all,” for when He spoke Judas was still present. But at last he showed his true colors. “He went*out and it was night.” It was night physical and night spiritual. The next time he appeared it was in his true position. In the garden of Gethsemane he was no longer on the side of Christ, but on the side of His enemy. It is said that you can bring up a young tiger on milk and vegetables, but once he tastes blood he has an unquenchable desire to live on flesh. In the final outcome the antichrists entirely throw over all semblance of Christianity. “For if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that it might be made manifest that they were not all of us.” The difference between the true Christians and the antichrists was now clearly seen. The separation was the proof that they were never united to Christ at all. God had given these early believers a great safeguard against, accepting their wrong doctrine. “But ye have an unction from the Holy One.” These believers were anoint ed with the oil of the Holy Spirit. They were blessed with insight through the Holy Spirit. By this means they were able to discern truth from error. In the Holy One they had an unfailing standard by which they could test all principles and suggestions put to them. So John could say: “Ye know all things,” that is, all spiritual truth. The Holy Spirit would lead believers into all truth, and this Church had received a full and comprehensive knowl edge on which they could place the highest and fullest confidence. They had a keen perception of truth through the operation of the Holy Spirit. One safeguard against accepting error is given by our Lord. “If any man willeth to do his will, he shall know of the teaching whether it be of God, or whether I speak from myself’ (John 7:17 RV). John then gives the content of the antichrist’s theology. He “denieth that Jesus is the Christ.” These antichrists
denied that Jesus was the Messiah who had been spoken of by the Old Testament prophets. They denied that the Word had become flesh. But it is not merely the denial of a truth; it is the denial of a Person. “The antichrist denied that Jesus, the definite person whom the apostles had seen, heard and handled, is the Christ. In whatever sense this denial is to be taken .. . there is involved ‘in it a de nial of the Son of God: because it is only as the Incarnate Son that Jesus is the Christ” (Dusterdieck). “He is anti christ, that denieth the Father and the Son.” They deny the manhood of God in Christ, and they deny that God was Christ’s Father, so He could not have been our Father either. The incarnation and the deity of Christ are central truths of the Christian religion. The apostle then exhorts the believer to stand fast in the face of this great opposition. “Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning.” This is an echo of our Lord’s words: “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,. . . no more can ye, except ye abide in me” (John 15:4). “If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you ye also shall continue in the Father and in the Son.” If we con tinue to abide in Christ, we shall remain unshaken by the earthquakes of error. He then looked from the present, and exhorted them to steadfastness in view of what was to come. “And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear’ we may have confidence.” The apostle saw those dark dqys in the light of the Second Advent when Christ is to be manifested. This is the event for which we and the whole creation wait. While we know that antichrist is coming, it is Christ that we look for. In that day we shall either have confidence or shame. This word confidence “denotes the outspoken or fearless declaration of personal opinion which was especially the cherished privilege of the Athenian Freeman” (Law). It is “the fearless trust with which the faithful soul meets God (Plummer). This boldness arises from due prepara tion of heart and life. It depends entirely upon our abid- ing in Christ. “He who abides in Christ will have no cause to shrink away from the presence of the Judge, but may await His verdict with confidence” (I.C .C .). With perfect tranquillity of mind he will be able to give an account of his stewardship. John then stated the sad alternative. If we do not have boldness then we shall “be ashamed before him at his coming.” It is the figure of a little child who, conscious of disobedience, is suddenly brought into the presence of his father. The child does not welcome his father’s pres ence, but shrinks through a sense of guilt. There is no freedom of speech; there is a reluctance to say anything at all. Christ’s appearance should be the Christian’s bright est prospect, but for some it can mean shameful silence. “We see the averted face and the shrinking form which are the result of the shame clearly indicated in the Greek” (Plummer). “Both are phrases of graphic power, vividly suggesting the picture of the judgment-seat before which all must stand, and of the frank confidence with which men turn to their Judge and look upon His face, or the speechless confusion in which they avoid His gaze” (Law). Salvation is not in question. That is secure to every child of God, but there may be intense sorrow when we realize our unfaithfulness. This is the question when the clouds suddenly part, and without warning we find ourselves in the presence of the Lord. Shall we be able to turn our faces to Him with joyful anticipation? We must abide in Christ and purify our hearts that we may not shrink from Him when He comes again. Darkness is coming, but it is the darkness before the dawn.
JANUARY, 1961
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