AN attentive reader of the Scriptures, under the " unction" and "anointing" of which they speak (much more every such worshipping soul, conversant with the Person of our blessed Lord) must have been often detained by certain parts in the Gospel and Epistles of John, and of the Apocalypse too, which reveal to us the intimacies that existed between Christ and the beloved disciple.
I suppose all such would turn with one accord to John 13, and the following chapters, in proof of the nature and character of the divine "fellowship, with the Father and with his Son," in which real christian communion consists. In its blessed outflow too, whether by its holiness and perfectness, or its mutuality, what words, yea, what facts, could so express all these to us, as this one: "Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom, one of his disciples whom Jesus loved "? It can be only in the knowledge of such a love (in the Father, and in the Son) and in the consciousness that we are the objects and subjects of this very love, that we could feel either happy, or at home in " the manner of the Father's love," or with confidence lean our heads on Jesus' breast, in the enjoyment of His own unfathomable grace to us, and of His delight to have us there.
Nor is this all; for while there must needs be happy feelings, as we have said, and confidence on our part, yet we taste likewise (and this is what the love of the bosom carries us out into) the delight and love of the Father to the Son.
He was in the beginning with God, and eternally His delight, even as Jesus said: a That the love wherewith thou hast loved me, may be in them, and I in them."
Besides all the Father's love to us, and the Son's love, and the love of the Spirit, unsearchable as this is, because infinite, there lay outside and beyond ourselves, in its own eternal height and depth, this untold love: " The Father loveth the Son." Moreover, the Son Himself was "the only begotten One in the bosom of the Father," and it was this love which He alone knew, and of which He was the sole object, that He came to declare, because He who lay there knew it as His own. It was out of this springing-well in the bosom of the Father that the water of life flowed; and side by side with this, there was His own sweet love as Jesus, wherewith He loves us "unto the end."
When we are free enough to rest in the bosom of the Lord, as our own proper place, and know the riches of the Father's grace, we shall then begin to taste in communion with Christ (as John did) the higher ranges of the Father's delight in His Son, and the Son's delight in the Father.
Words that are inexplicable in any other connection, and upon any other level, will find their place in this group of chapters from John 13 to 17. Take as an instance: " Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him." It is into this circle of eternal glory, and of divine love, we are introduced in communion by the Holy Ghost, as between God alone in all that " He is," and the Son of man, who when in this world could say, that God had been glorified in Him; and, as a blessed result, and growing out of this, " God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him."
The Son of man's glory, by means of death, and the accompanying fact, that God is glorified in Him, lay not only in the outward sphere of this world and Satan's power, or in that which was dispensational with Israel and the nations, or in what was governmental, as between Adam and creation, on account of sin; but took up also the two irreconcilable extremes of sin in the flesh, our flesh, and the nature and being of God, in His own essential holiness and majesty. So likewise, " God shall also glorify him in himself," is not only by an investiture of his acquired rights and titles, as " Son of man" on earth, or in heaven; but beyond all that was official, whether below or above, and that was relative to mankind; for in any and every stage or condition, there lay what was, and is, personally His with God, and consists in what God is, and in who and what the Son of man is. Therefore we read.: " God shall also glorify him in himself," for it was in and by this very Son of man, that God Himself had been glorified in His own intrinsic perfections, and in all His divine attributes. The prayer of John 17 springs out of this eternal counsel of peace; "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was." Moreover, this desire is founded on the 'attendant fact, " I have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."
Such was the blessed One who formed the center of this marvelous group of chapters in John's Gospel, which give to us the diameter and meaning of " part with me" in our communion and service. It is into this circle of the Father's delight in His Son, and of the Son's delight in the Father's love, we are led under the anointing of the Holy Ghost, as the witnesses and sharers of Christ's joy, and in felt satisfaction and rest of soul in being there, where He dwells.
" Now there was lying on Jesus' breast, one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.;" and the bosom was open to any other as freely as to John. Besides this, and to perfect " His own" for it, Jesus said to another, " If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me;" and this was likewise common to them all. It is the grace and activity of the Lord's love in washing our feet, as well as the confidence and rest of heart we feel, when He lays our heads upon His bosom, which make Jesus doubly precious to us, by what He is, and in what He stoops to do. Indeed these exercises of the grace of Christ over us, are our necessary and constituent qualifications for communion and enjoyment in this unfathomable love and divine fellowship, as having part with Him in what He has ascended up into with the Father. And it is this which the Comforter, who is the Holy Ghost, has come down to declare to us, and connect us with on high, and with Jesus too, while we are below. His one great desire that we should have part with Him where He is gone, is thus formed, established, communicated and enjoyed in the Spirit, with the Father. " God is faithful, who hath called us into the fellowship of his Son."
The other half of this mysterious oneness of "part with me," in its actual and vital communion, was revealed when one of His disciples asked: "How is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
Thus, this unmanifested circle of our fellowship, in life, through the Spirit, "with the Father and the Son," is complete and perfect in all its parts, and, though unseen, is vital, and actual, and real. Yea, though not seen, or manifested, or understood by the natural senses, because it is spiritual, yet it becomes more wonderful on that very account, and lies far beyond all that the eye ever saw, or that the ear ever heard, or that even entered into the heart of man to conceive.
" If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him," is become a realized fact in the Person of the Son of man at the right hand of God.
Besides this personal glory with the Father and God, Jesus said to " His own" when leaving them, "All things that the Father hath are mine;" and revealed the great mission and work of the Holy Ghost, "He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you." Moreover, as regards our competency to comprehend and enjoy these things, " God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit; for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God;" and, marvelous fact, " We have received the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God." Objects of the Father's love, and of the Son's delight, we have part with Christ in all that He has now entered into, both in title and in fact, though not yet manifested. It is through this loving ministration by " the Spirit which dwelleth in us," as well as through the living grace of Christ (of which we have just spoken) that this marvelous intercourse is maintained by the Father and the Son, with a people who are in the world, and yet not of it, even as Christ was not of the world.
We are thus in Him, and He in us; we are one with Him where He is, and He has part with us where we are; even as Jesus said, " I will manifest myself to him," " and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." It is into this illimitable and blessed circle of divine and heavenly love, that we are introduced and established in the intelligence of life, by the Holy Ghost.
It is in the light where God dwells that we dwell, as new creatures in Christ, and into which nothing can enter that deceiveth or worketh an abomination, or maketh a lie.
How in keeping with the purity of this communion, and in correspondence with its exclusiveness too, was John's bold question at the supper table! In the presence of the traitor, " he then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it? Which is he that betrayeth thee?" One with his Lord by every affection of his heart, in sweet communion when on the bosom, and drawing from thence every heaven-born motive for testimony or service, how natural was it, that this should make him swifter of foot even, than any other of the disciples, when his Lord's resurrection out of the grave was a question to be settled; or quicker of eye too than all the rest, when, on that eventful morrow, He skewed Himself again to the disciples, at the sea of Tiberias; for it was " the disciple whom Jesus loved" that said to Peter, " It is the Lord."
The bosom of Jesus is thus the birthplace of divine affections for fellowship with the Father and the Son in light; for a love that, in its own integrity, can boldly say, " Who is it?" for swiftness of foot that identifies John with a risen Christ upon the earth; and for quickness of eye that recognized Jesus as the Lord of the seas. As the Lord of all below, He then crowned the disappointment and toil of the fishermen by night, with a plentiful supply on that morrow (typical of a still future day) when they were not able to draw the net to shore for the multitude of fishes. In His love He has thus part with them in every work and service present and to come.
But beyond this, and for deeper reasons too, the constraining love of Christ, or the motives of the breast, must be demanded, and would be found alone adequate, for the patient endurance of" the afflictions of the gospel" in Christ's service and testimony upon the earth, after Jesus had ascended "up where he was before." Indeed, the words, " If I will that he tarry till I come," seem to be only a prolongation of that night of fishing, for which the sea of Tiberias had prepared them. They tarried really for the Lord of the heavens, and the earth, and the seas, till they had a transfer from their empty nets at the dawn of the morning, by the coming of Jesus to fill them with great fish, " a hundred and fifty and three." He will thus begin His millennial intimacies with them, and fill the whole world with the glory of God. If I will that ye " tarry till I come," was true, in fact, during the night upon the sea of Tiberias, till Jesus appeared to them in the brightness of the morning; and is likewise dispensationally true of this church period, during the darker night of Christ's absence from the world, and from " the fishers of men" till He come for us.
The Lord's rejection, and His departure out of this world to the Father, together with the descent of the Holy Ghost, and the calling out of the church, as the body and bride of Christ, form " the mystery which was hid in God, from ages and generations," but is now revealed to " His own," and embodied in these central chapters of John, which we are considering. It is obvious that the relations and fellowship with the Father and the Son, which these and other writings unfold to us, who are one with the Head in heaven, are peculiar to the children of this "little while;" and cannot apply to any of the elect of God, who have preceded us upon the earth; or who may follow us, when the church is caught up to meet the Lord, and, when the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride hath made herself ready. What a portion is ours!
Associated thus and having part with a rejected and absent Christ in heaven, and not with a present and triumphant Lord on His throne of government on the earth, everything connected with us as " His own" takes the character of patience and suffering. Therefore Jesus speaks to Peter of the death whereby he should have "part with me," and "glorify God," reaching glory by sufferings like his Lord. So also of John's pathway " If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me." Faithful in this testimony to Christ, and to this fellowship with the Father and the Son in light and love, the beloved disciple exposes every adverse power that either threatens or denies it.
He writes therefore to " fathers, young men, and children," warning them of the Antichrist and the false spirits that are gone out into the world adding: "Ye are of God, and have overcome them, because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." The bosom where John lay, and its motives and constraining love, led him to be as bold as a lion, in this testimony to the Lord whether in his Epistles, or the Apocalypse. There was no other standard or test for him, but "the name of Jesus," whether for light and darkness, or good and evil; and, measured by this standard, he decides the one and the other without reserve: " We know that we are of God, and the whole world letch in the wicked one."
It is blessed to witness how this communion and testimony in "the disciple whom Jesus loved," are consistent and like each other; the height to which love elevated him in fellowship and joy, is equaled by the depth to which faithfulness in testimony carried him, as an outlaw or a victim in this world. And where was this? Hear what He says: " I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." Little did they understand at first, what it was to have part with Him, either as to the Father's house on high, or the isle of Patmos below, for companionship in tribulations; much less " to drink of the cup that he drank of;" but this was before them too!
John had been on the breast at the supper table, as the disciple whom Jesus loved; he had been " breathed upon" by the risen Lord, and had thus received a power of life, that drew him into deeper communion with and service for Christ.
Other and heavenly relations had been formed and disclosed to him, by the ascending One, about to depart to " my Father, and your Father; my God, and your God." This was his portion with the Lord.
After this, John joined the others upon the sea of Tiberias, to learn, it may be, the prophetic lesson of Israel and the Gentiles, during their night of toil and disappointment, without a Christ to direct them, and the happy converse " when the morning was come," and He joined them in their service, to guide and fill their nets with great fishes. It is written of Zion, in the day of the Lord's millennial kingdom and glory, "Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God."
But beyond these personal, and relative, and dispensational associations with the Lord, there yet remained a further and very different one, which the Apocalypse declares to us from "the throne set in heaven." " The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel, unto his servant John." As having part with Him, and bearing "record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw," the beloved disciple was necessarily a suffering witness " in the isle that is called Patmos."
Still, as one with Christ, whilst Christ was on high, John" was in the Spirit, on the Lord's day," and though not like Paul (" whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell") yet does he seem to be in his measure beyond mere time, and nature too, when " he heard behind him a great voice, as of a trumpet."
With this revelation "which God gave unto Jesus Christ," the appearance and revelation of the Lord's own person to John, must necessarily correspond; but what a change this involved, in one and the other! " And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot," &c. What corresponding change can pass upon this beloved disciple 2 Nothing can agree with the appearance of Him, whose " eyes were as a flame of fire," and out of whose mouth went " a sharp two-edged sword," but that which actually took place: " And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead."
Do we comprehend these different relations, of "communion, and testimony, and service" in suffering, which marked the life and pathway of the Lord, and ours, as having part with Him above and below? In the Apocalypse, one need scarcely say, it is not fellowship, and oneness with the Father and the Son, as in the Gospel and the first Epistle, but quite otherwise: it is " the Revelation which God gave unto Jesus Christ." Nor is the nearness that of the beloved disciple leaning on the breast, but, on the contrary, the distance and reserve of the angel; and the prophecies of the Book, which were handed to him. In short, it is neither the disciple whom Jesus loved, in the communion of the bosom at the supper, nor is it John in testimony, as "your brother and companion in tribulation" at Patmos, for the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, and " in the Spirit on the Lord's day." It is the Son of man, and His servant John, in man's day, and the still future day of this world's Antichrist, as written in "the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him to spew unto his servants, things which must shortly come to pass."
Diverse as these relations and positions and their experiences were to John, yet each of them, and all, were necessary for part with Him, who is the Alpha and Omega, " the faithful and true witness."
As Jesus, in His marvelous service was never separated from the Father's bosom, and could always say of Himself, " the Son of man which is in heaven," so John's qualifications, and ours, for these varied employments of communion, or testimony, or service, must ever be connected with the head upon Jesus' breast, and spring from the fullness of love which dwells there. It was this constraining love of Christ which led him out into the suffering testimony of Patmos, but only to be " in the Spirit;" and as to clays and times and seasons, to be characteristically in " the Lord's day." In the truth and power of all this, he perfects his knowledge of the Father and the Son, by " this Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him;" and adds, to what he learned at Bethany and Patmos, this appearance of the Lord as " Son of man," at whose feet he cast himself as dead!
Positionally and relatively, as perfect in one experience as the other; indeed, the head on the breast for fellowship in love, or in the Spirit on the Lord's day for testimony, or in falling at the feet of " the Son of man" as dead, only declare and combine the resources and exercises which belong to us, as sons of the Father and witnesses for Christ, in " the kingdom and patience."
Another presentation of " the Son of man," was yet made to His servant John, as requisite as either of the former; for if " dyes as a flame of fire, and a sharp two-edged sword in his mouth," put the sentence of death upon the disciple who lay in the bosom, and led him to fall at His feet as actually dead, "the Son of man" would, on His part, lay His right hand upon John, and say unto him, " Fear not." Nor was this all, for He made Himself known in a new way, as clad in resurrection titles, saying: "I am the first and the last, I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore, and have the keys of hell, and of death." One with his Lord, by the " right hand" on his shoulder, and associated with Him on the other side of death, in the power of that life, which was victorious over sin and death and hell, the servant could take this new place, as " a brother and companion in tribulation."
Otherwise, how could he (save under this threefold cord) accompany the Son of man into these Apocalyptic visions, as well as bear record of the betrayment at the supper table, yea, the declension and the departure and breakdown of all the disciples (and his own) at the judgment-hall? How speak of the apostasy of the entire dispensation at last, together with the failure of these " seven golden candlesticks," as inspected and judged by Him, who walked through their midst? How could John, otherwise, be a witness to these seven churches of what he saw, or bear record of the Book from the throne, sealed with seven seals, or how declare the mystery of these seven seals, which opened themselves out in the seven trumpets, and the seven thunders, and the seven vials, which emptied themselves out upon the earth? What would even the right hand of power and strength upon the shoulder be against the evil, if apart from the head lying in peaceful rest on Jesus' breast? Or how accept " the book of the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him," unless held thus in closest connection with the words of the Father's love and counsels, which the Son of the bosom had given forth to " His own," as one with Himself and having part in all the Father's counsels of glory?
May the Lord give us, in these last days, to realize the sufficiency of all that the loved disciple started with from the beginning, and thus learn upon the bosom the unfailing love which draws us to itself in full communion, or else, as He breathes upon us, as " the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus," for closer enjoyments in new relations with His Father, and ours. Nothing except what is vital in us, and is realized in the grace of Christ, will be of any avail in carrying us forward by patience and testimony "in the Spirit, on the Lord's day:" or lastly for association with " the Son of man" by the right hand of His might, amidst the decline and ruin of " the seven golden candlesticks;" and in service for God, by testimony against the final blasphemy of the world, where the dragon has his seat and power.
" He then lying on Jesus' breast said, Which is he that betrayeth thee?" What a word, then and now! " Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when He had dipped the sop, He gave it to Judas. And after the sop, Satan entered into him. What contrasts and contradictions are these?
" He then, having received the sop, went immediately out, and it was night." This long night continues, and deepens in darkness, all along the chapters of the Apocalypse, or the book of " the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him to show unto his servants, things which must shortly come to pass." " I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star." "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come." " He that testifieth these things saith, Behold, I come quickly; Amen, even so, come Lord Jesus!"
J. E. B.