“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." "My sheep hear"—they have ears to hear; "They follow Me"—they have feet to walk, and "I give unto them eternal life." Do not think that only means "safety"; it is life forever. "They shall never perish," none shall "pluck them out of My hand," and "My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand" are eternal security. We learn that Father and Son are both engaged in holding us. "I and My Father are one." All this is indeed blessed security. We received life in the beginning when born of God, and now we are believers in Christ.
This life now in us is the same life that is in Christ (John 12:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (John 12:24)); it is communicated to us (John 17:33And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3)); it is a life by which we can enjoy and know God as our Father. This life "more abundantly" is found in Christ as the fountain, and flows in us as the stream. In John 20:1919Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. (John 20:19), Jesus stood in the midst of His disciples and said unto them, "Peace be unto you"; He says it again in verse 21, "Peace be unto you: as My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you." Notice who is breathing on the disciples here; it is the same Jesus, but He has died and risen again here, Head of God's new creation. God breathes into Adam and he becomes a living soul. Through sin he forfeited life, and death enters, but here in this new life, death can never enter. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Rom. 8:22For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2). The life in Christ Jesus is not only a risen life, but life in the power of the Holy Spirit; I have, and act under the power of the Spirit of God.
Then consider John's Epistle and see the contrast between the unconverted man and the Christian. So much is said here about eternal life. How wonderful to find it in the believer as in Christ, only in us the flesh hinders, while the Lord Jesus did the will of God. In Him this life was seen in all of its perfection. He walked in obedience to God, so the measure in which a Christian walks and allows the divine nature to be seen in him, in that measure is seen the divine life.
We read in 1 John 2:77Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. (1 John 2:7): "I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning." This is seen in Christ Himself. Notice 1 John 1: "From the beginning," was when Christ was made flesh, as in John 1:1414And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:14). They saw, handled, and contemplated it in the person of Christ. There is one peculiar thing about the Epistle of John. This life is called a "new commandment." Moses says, "Thou shalt" and "Thou shalt not." 1 John 2:77Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. (1 John 2:7) gives us no new commandment, not an order to do something, but a life communicated.
The Fight of Faith
It is like the incident at Bethesda's pool, "Rise, take up thy bed and walk." The power came with the word. "When the fight of faith begins, our strength is as our day.”
In 1 John 2:77Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. (1 John 2:7), we have an old commandment—that is Christ—and in verse 8, a new one, because it is in Him and in you as well. The same thing is to be seen in you, only it is hindered by the flesh. In Christ we see a life that delighted to walk with God, and all that pleased God; the life that was in Him is the very same life that is in you. What is to be seen in you, in character, is the same as seen in Him, and you are in a scene where everything is foreign to that life.
We do not need to walk in the old ways, for we have this power within us. By and by this life will have its home in glory; we could not show the right kind of fruit if we did not have this new life. We have love divine. Love is the activity of the divine nature in the believer; if we did not have this nature we could not bring forth the right kind of fruit.
The old trunk being still there, the tree has to be carefully watched. The careful gardener must be there to keep away every little sprig from growing out of the old trunk.
We are made to feel what it is to be pilgrims, so that we cannot be satisfied down here. There is the Father's house made ready for us and we will not be satisfied until there, and He will not be satisfied until we are there; He has not only called us to this new place and portion, out of a ruined scene but has made us to feel that our surroundings are not home. He points us on to a new scene where we will know the Father and the Son, by the Spirit, where nothing can come in to hinder or mar our fellowship, "He that believeth on the Son," etc. You did not know that all these things belong to that, did you? But they do, and this is what makes us different from what we were before.
“Herein is our love made perfect... because as He is, so are we in this world." 1 John 4:1717Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. (1 John 4:17). Look up and see the Lord Jesus, the delight of the Father's heart. If you can tell me how much He loves the Son, I will tell you how much the Father loves you.
Notes—Montreal 1913