The Witness of John in the Scripture of Truth
You have now come to the end of John's gospel. But before you pass on to other things, perhaps you should know that John, like other authors, was concerned about what his readers might think about his book. John knew that his gospel was truthful. What he did not know was that it would become a best seller. He has had readers for roughly 2000 years of the Church age, and he will have readers for 1000 years after that. But what John did not know God did. He moved John to write, in the rich language of the King James Version "this is the record of John." In the common language of our day John's record is his witness or testimony as to the Person and work of the Son of God and, flowing out of that, God's gift of eternal life to us. As the disciple whom Jesus loved, who lay in His bosom, what witness could be greater?
The Range of John's Witness
A theme runs through not only John's gospel but all his writings. It is that he was a witness to Jesus as the Son Of God, that he saw His blood shed at the cross, and that because of this God has given believers eternal life. This theme is supported by his assertion that his witness is true meaning of God, for God is true.
a. John's witness to Jesus as the Son of God and to His finished work: John's witness begins at Jesus' baptism in the Jordan. That was the commencement of His public ministry, when the Spirit descended from heaven like a dove and landed on Him. So in John 1:3434And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. (John 1:34) we read "and I have seen and borne witness that this is the Son of God." John's witness ends in John 19:32-3532Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. 33But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: 34But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. 35And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. (John 19:32‑35). He saw a soldier pierce the Lord's side with a spear after He was dead, and that out of His pierced side flowed blood and water. John was present at the cross and personally witnessed this incident. So John's witness to Jesus as the Son of God ranges from the beginning of His ministry on earth to its end the shedding of His blood without which God could not give us eternal life. In John 1:77The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. (John 1:7) he states this truth "the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
John's witness that God has given eternal life to those who believe on His Son: John has given us in 3:14-16 a record of the Lord's own promise of the gift of eternal life to those who believe in the sin cleansing value of His death and blood shedding. To this John adds his own words in 1 John 5:1111And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. (1 John 5:11) "and this is the witness, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.”
The truthfulness of John's witness as to the Person and finished work of the Son of God: In each of his writings his gospel, an epistle, and the Revelation, John insists on the truthfulness of what he is writing. In John 19:3535And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. (John 19:35) he states that his witness is true, and he knows that what he says is true. In 3 John v. 12 he says "and you know that our witness is true." Then in Rev. 1:22Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. (Revelation 1:2) he discloses the reason why we should accept his witness as true "John, who testified the Word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
John's Witness Is Supported by the Scripture of Truth
John's claim as to the truthfulness of his witness can be easily verified from Scripture. Let us begin at his gospel, which is not only the Word of God but is bonded together with the Word of God in both the Old and New Testaments. John's witness is part of the unity of all Scripture, which is given by inspiration of God. That means it is God breathed; not only every word, but every letter of the original languages.
a. In the New Testament John's witness does not stand alone: John's witness to the Person and work of the Son of God, and that God has given us eternal life, is the kernel of his gospel. This gospel does not stand alone, but is in harmony with the other books in the New Testament.
.. The link to the synoptic gospels through Luke: The Synoptic gospels are Matthew the gospel of the king, Luke the gospel of the Son of Man, and Mark the gospel of God's servant. In spite of these different viewpoints their common ground is a gradual rejection of Christ what we would call a build up in the language of our day. Not so with John, who opens with the instantaneous rejection of Christ the light shining in the darkness which comprehends Him not. That is because eternal life can have nothing to do with Adam life and vice versa. They are opposites. John's great subject, from the very beginning, is eternal life.
However while the manner of presenting Christ varies in the various gospels, they are in complete agreement. To make sure we understand this unity, the Holy Spirit has matched Luke, the gospel of the Son of Man, to John the Gospel of the Son of God. This has been done with a symmetrical beauty which makes its intent unmistakable. Consider these facts only Luke and John tell us why they wrote their gospels Luke at the beginning Luke 1:1-4,1Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, 2Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; 3It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, 4That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed. (Luke 1:1‑4) and John at the end John 20:3131But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. (John 20:31). At the beginning of his gospel Luke tells us of the birth of Jesus, who is the Son of Man at the end of his gospel John tells us that Jesus is the Son of God. Marie de Fleury captured the thought in her hymn:
“Mark the sacrifice appointed,
See who bears the awful load,
`Tis the Word, 'tis God's anointed,
Son of Man and Son of God.”
.. The link to the Pauline epistles: This has been fully covered in the relevant chapters of this book. Consequently only John's general principle is repeated when he treads on Church ground he assumes you are familiar with Paul's doctrine, for he doesn't teach it.
.. The link to his own epistles and the Revelation: This link is based on John's own explanation of why he wrote his gospel "that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life through His Name." He wrote his epistles for those who believe and have eternal life Revelation to inform us of the judgment about to fall on those who wouldn't believe. On them the wrath of God abides. b. In the Old Testament the consequences of accepting or rejecting John's witness: The subject here is blessing or judgment, depending on whether man has or has not accepted, God's offer of eternal life.
.. The blessing of God's people their journey from Egypt to Canaan: John has woven into the fabric of his gospel are run of Israel's desert journey from Egypt to Canaan. He gives us the spiritual counterpart of the actual journey. From the five books of Moses, John retraces the deliverance of God's people, their desert journey, and the tabernacle they built in the desert. Since law cannot take us into Canaan, John draws on other Old Testament sources for the fording of the Jordan, and the building of the temple in the land.
John knows that under Christianity we are entitled to begin where Israel finished. That account will be found in Num. 21:7-177Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. 8And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. 9And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. 10And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in Oboth. 11And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Ije-abarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrising. 12From thence they removed, and pitched in the valley of Zared. 13From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which is in the wilderness that cometh out of the coasts of the Amorites: for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the Lord, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon, 15And at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, and lieth upon the border of Moab. 16And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the Lord spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water. 17Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it: (Numbers 21:7‑17)— the moral end of the desert journey, which is the brazen serpent and the springing well. So John begins with the brazen serpent in his third chapter, and the springing well in his fourth. John is teaching us the end of the man under judgment and the communication of eternal life by the Spirit. John's water scenes follow. These mirror God's work at the waters in Gen. 1, for the God of creation is also the God of new creation. John now takes us into Exodus, where Israel's journey from Egypt to the desert is retraced. We have explained previously how John has mirrored the Passover, the Red Sea, and the Tabernacle in the desert. Next comes Leviticus, which opens with the burnt offering, corresponding to John 18-19. The counterpart of Deut. 27:12, 1312These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people, when ye are come over Jordan; Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin: 13And these shall stand upon mount Ebal to curse; Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali. (Deuteronomy 27:12‑13) is John 3:18-3618He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. 22After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judea; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. 23And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized. 24For John was not yet cast into prison. 25Then there arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying. 26And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. 27John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 28Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. 29He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bridegroom's voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. 30He must increase, but I must decrease. 31He that cometh from above is above all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that cometh from heaven is above all. 32And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. 33He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. 34For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him. 35The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. 36He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (John 3:18‑36) the blessing or cursing on man for accepting or rejecting Jesus as the Son of God. So John has exhausted the Pentateuch. He stops there, so to speak, knowing that law cannot take us into the Promised Land.
Joshua replaces Moses, and the people cross the Jordan and enter Canaan. The Jordan has its counterpart in Mary Magdalene at the tomb. She truly followed the Ark of the Covenant across the Jordan. At the beginning Christ identified Himself with the godly in Israel by being baptized in the Jordan at the end we identify ourselves with His death at the Jordan. We cut ourselves off from the world, a separation of heart which elicits songs of praise as in 1 Chron. 6:31, 3231And these are they whom David set over the service of song in the house of the Lord, after that the ark had rest. 32And they ministered before the dwelling place of the tabernacle of the congregation with singing, until Solomon had built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem: and then they waited on their office according to their order. (1 Chronicles 6:31‑32) "and these are those whom David set over the service of song in the house of the Lord, after the Ark had rest. And they ministered before the dwelling place of the tabernacle of the congregation with singing, until Solomon had built the house of the Lord in Jerusalem." The temple speaks of the throne of God in the land Christ ruling as the True Solomon, with His enemies vanquished. Because He is the first and the last, John presents Him as God's temple at the beginning and end of his gospel. At the beginning we see Him as the True Temple in John 2:18-21,18Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign showest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? 19Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21But he spake of the temple of his body. (John 2:18‑21) where He says "destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up ... but He spoke of the temple of His body." The end is recorded in John 21:1414This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead. (John 21:14) "this is now the third time that Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was risen from the dead.”
.. The judgment of the world John's deep roots in the Old Testament: John's witness that judgment must fall on all Christ rejecters is true. He wrote his gospel as though man's sin in the Garden of Eden was only yesterday. The promised Deliverer comes and is rejected. The gospel follows, and it too is rejected. Wrath must follow. John's witness to this coming wrath is the Book of Revelation.
The Revelation has deep roots in the Old Testament. Indeed its imagery will be veiled from our understanding if we are not familiar with the Old Testament. Daniel and the Revelation go together, as every prophetic student knows. Although Daniel and John lived hundreds of years apart, one might think that the two men collaborated to synchronize much of what they wrote. This strengthens John's claim that his witness is true.
Eternal Life for Man—John's Great Witness
In his first epistle John has much to say about eternal life. In 1 Jon. 5:10, 11 he refers to the witness that God gave of His Son and then explains it "and this is the witness that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son." When men of the world hear about eternal life they think it means deathless life. Since experience convinces them that death is inevitable, they reject John's witness. However the Scriptural meaning of eternal life is much more than an unending life. In Scripture eternal life is the life that the Son enjoyed with the Father before the worlds were. It might be objected that no man could know anything about that at all. This objection is a valid one. It is the reason John wrote his gospel, for eternal life is its great theme.
John's task is to teach us the character and working of eternal life by displaying it in pattern men and women to whom God has given eternal life. In John the woman becomes a symbol of the way eternal life is received and displayed in us as individuals. On the other hand John depicts the man as representative of collective fellowship in the family of God.
a. Eternal life in the individual the gift and its display: The story of the woman links John's witness to Genesis. It begins in the Garden of Eden. By listening to the serpent's fiery voice the woman brought sin into the world, and so death its wages. However, the serpent's venom in targeting the woman did not go unnoticed. God's judgment on the serpent in Gen. 3:1515And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. (Genesis 3:15) was "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. It shall crush your head, and you shall crush His heel." Thus God promised a Deliverer to deal with the serpent in His appointed time. Paul tells us in Gal. 4:44But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, (Galatians 4:4) when this was "but when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law.”
John reveals the woman's seed, the promised Deliverer, in Manhood. He is the lowly Jesus, yet truly God's Son. He sits down at the well site at Sychar, being tired from His long journey. Strictly speaking His journey was from the Father to the Father. But John's gospel gives us another way of looking at His journey. It tells us that His journey began with the woman at the well and ended with the woman at the sepulcher. The end of the Lord's journey at the sepulcher reveals its purpose from God's side to destroy the serpent's power of death over man by dying for our sins and rising from the dead. The beginning of the Lord's journey at the well reveals the purpose of His journey from our side the gift of eternal life to man.
Sin and death had come into the world by a lone woman listening to the voice of the serpent. To get eternal life we must as lone individuals listen to the voice of the Son of God instead. We must be alone with God, and listen to and obey His word, just as Eve was alone with the serpent and obeyed his voice. This truth emerges in the case of both the woman at the well and the woman at the sepulcher. Both were alone, for different reasons. Both listened to the quickening words of the Son of God. In John 5:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24) He Himself said "Amen. Amen. I say unto you he who hears My word, and believes on Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and shall not come into judgment but has passed out of death into life.”
This leads us to the way eternal life is displayed in the individual Christian. First we will consider the woman at the sepulcher. She would be an enigma to the man of the world. He loves the world and its pleasures, but not Christ. Mary knows that the world crucified her Lord. He has displaced the world as the object of her affections. Secondly there is the woman at the well. She leaves her water pot when she finds Christ. She knows that there are no refreshing springs in this world, and wants the water of eternal life instead. The world has nothing to offer Christ has everything. Why not tell this to the world then? She does, saying "is not this the Christ?”
In summary eternal life in the individual takes two forms. In one I am occupied with the things of God and reject the things of the world. In the other I go out to the poor world offering it what I personally enjoy.
b. Eternal life in the family of God: The family of God is the dominant theme in John's ministry. It is true that at times he touches on the Church, but when he does especially in his gospel it is almost in a subliminal way. In other words when he does write about the Church he assumes we understand Paul's epistles, which give us the doctrine of the Church. His characteristic ministry is the family of God.
.. The family of God what is it?: The family of God is a term of convenience much like the Trinity, the eternal Son, and so forth. The family of God is made up of God's children over the ages. Its head is Jesus, the Captain of our salvation. In Heb. 2:1313And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. (Hebrews 2:13) He says "behold I and the children whom God has given Me.”
By natural birth we enter the family of man and man is a sinner, subject to death and judgment. But God wanted us back, and from the dawn of the human race sought out a family. The first man to enter God's family, as far as the record shows (1) is Abel. We read about him in Heb. 11:44By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. (Hebrews 11:4) "by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts and by it he being dead yet speaketh." The family of God transcends God's dealings with man in corporate ways such as Israel and the Church, and the coming and going of countless generations. Peter expressed the thought in Acts 10:34, 3534Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. (Acts 10:34‑35) when he said "of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he who fears Him, and works righteousness, is accepted with Him." Still the question arises how can God, who is holy, forgive a sinner and bring him into His family, before the death of Christ took place? Paul answers this question in Rom. 3:2525Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (Romans 3:25) "to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God." This clears up the question of how God called Abel righteous long before Christ came. In our days we enter God's family through trusting in the finished work of Christ on the cross.
.. John's views of the perfection of the family of God: In his gospel and his epistles, John gives us what appear to be abstract views of those in the family of God. By abstract we mean theoretical, without failure in walk God's view of us from the mountain tops. Actually, what John writes about is what God wants from us, but seldom gets. Even so we are to strive for the standard He sets up. He gives us every help to keep our state of soul congruous with our perfect standing in Christ.
John begins each of his epistles with someone in the family of God. His first epistle opens with the head of the family "that which was from the beginning" the opening salutation of the second epistle is to "the elect lady and her children" while the third epistle opens with a greeting to a man Gaius. So we have Christ, the head of the family of God a man, Gaius, and the elect lady and her children all commended in the truth. Similarly the gospel of John opens with "in the beginning was the Word" soon to become incarnate and the head of the family of God. Then as the gospel opens up the family of God appears Lazarus, Martha, and Mary.
A chart will be found in this chapter with the caption the family of man to the family of God. From this it will be clear that those in God's family are given eternal life, and this life is displayed in power in the world and in God's house. The picture John paints of the family of God both in his epistles and in his gospel does not allow for the failure we so often find in God's children. Does John then entirely ignore this side of things?
.. John is aware of failure in God's children: It is clear from the examples given the elect lady and her children, Gaius, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, that God's children can walk in ways that are pleasing to Him. But what about the sin which does so easily beset us? In 1 John 1:88If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8) the Apostle faces this question squarely "if we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Furthermore, "if we say that we have not sinned we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." If a child of God sins, communion is interrupted. On our side we are to confess our sins, knowing that He is faithful and just to forgive them on God's side "if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Sinning, however, is not normal Christianity, but more like an eclipse of the sun. So John says "my little children, these things I write to you that you sin not." In a way then, we might look at the loss of communion which sin causes as a temporary breakdown in communication between the head of God's family and His children.
.. Unbroken communication in the family the essence of fellowship with the Father and the Son: It has often been noted that God's children have a two way communication system in prayer they speak to God, but in reading the Bible God speaks to them. While true, this is too simplistic, for the Living God is actively communicating with us and with God as well. When we read the Bible in communion with God the Holy Spirit our Teacher opens up its meaning to us. When we pray we are not alone. We have a High Priest who upholds us before the Father, interceding for our infirmities. It is with helps such as these which God has provided that eternal life in man triumphs over the storms of life, making us like Gaius and Lazarus, the elect lady and her children, Mary and Martha.