The Apostle John and His Ministry: April 2009
Table of Contents
The Best Wine
When from life’s feast the glory
has departed
And weariness creeps on,
When on thy lips the bread has
turned to ashes
And all the wine is gone.
Then fill the jars once more, though
but with water,
And fill them to the brim;
And to the waiting guests about thy
table
Pour out thy best — for Him.
His power only waits for thy small
effort
To add His mighty touch,
Transmuting thy poor gift to His
rich vintage,
Making thy little — much.
So shalt thou know again the joy of
service
That thou hadst thought was past,
And find the Master of the feast has
given
The best wine at the last.
A. J. Flint
The Apostle John
The Word of God through the Apostle Paul teaches us the truth of the church in its various aspects, such as the assembly of God, the house of God and the body of Christ. The Apostle John teaches the truth of the family of God and our place and privileges as children in that family. We are brought into the family by being born from above, and in that birth we receive “eternal life,” the life of the family, and we partake in the nature of that life, the “divine nature.” As children in God’s family, we learn through John that it is our joy and privilege to have fellowship with the Father and the Son. As children, we start out as babes in the family, but we are to grow and become young men and then to become fathers. As children, we are warned of the spirit of the antichrist that would seek to deprive us of our place and of idols that would turn our hearts away from our Father and God. John, who by the Spirit brings these truths to us, is also an example to us of our place of privilege, joy and safety — he was not occupied with his love for the Lord, but of the Lord’s love for him, and he (and we) may rest in the place of joy and nearness: “Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23).
Theme of the Issue
The Disciple Whom Jesus Loved
Every true believer loves the Lord, yet Scripture recognizes that love to the Lord may be found in very varied measures in different disciples on different occasions. Moreover, our love may wax and wane. Under pressure the love of many may “wax cold.” In the presence of the allurements of the world, this love may become dim, as in the case of a believer of whom Paul said that he “hath forsaken me, having loved this present world.” Thus while love to the Lord is very precious in His sight and very desirable in the believer, it is clear that we cannot trust in a love that is so liable to change. The love that we alone can rest in must be the love that knows no change — the love of Christ for His own.
It is the enjoyment of the love of Christ that awakens our love to Him. “We love Him,” says the Apostle, “because He first loved us.” Our love to Christ will be according to the measure in which we realize His love to us.
The effect of the soul thus delighting itself in the love of Christ is blessedly set forth in connection with the Apostle John, in the closing scenes of the Lord’s life. In contrast, the same scenes depict the sorrowful effects of confidence in our love to the Lord in the case of the Apostle Peter. Both disciples loved the Lord with a true and deep affection. One disciple, however, trusted in his love to the Lord, while the other rested in the Lord’s love to him.
With genuine love for the Lord, Peter can say, “I am ready to go with Thee, both into prison and to death,” and again, “Though all men shall be offended because of Thee, yet will I never be offended.” Later, Peter drew his sword in defense of his Master. Thus, both by words and deeds, he seems to say, “I am the man who loves the Lord.” In contrast to Peter, John says, as it were, “I am the man whom the Lord loves,” for five times, in these last scenes, he describes himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” Blessed, indeed, that we should love Him, but far more wonderful that He should love us! In this wonderful love John delighted, and on this boundless love he rested.
The Upper Room
The first occasion in which John is called the disciple “whom Jesus loved” is in the upper room, as described in John 13. Jesus is there with a love that can never break down, for “having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end.” John is there delighting himself in the love of Christ and resting his head on the bosom of Jesus. Peter is there with real love for the Lord, but trusting in his own love to Him. Lastly, Judas is there with no love to the Lord, but ready to betray Him.
In Jesus we see how near His love has brought Him to us, inasmuch as John can rest his head on the bosom of the One who dwelt in the bosom of the Father. In John we see what the heart of the Saviour can do for a sinner, bringing him to rest in perfect love. In Judas we see what the heart of the sinner can do with the Saviour—betray Him for thirty pieces of silver.
The time has come for the Lord to utter His farewell words, but for the moment the Lord unburdens His heart to His disciples, saying, “One of you shall betray Me.” Immediately the disciples look one on another, doubting of whom He spoke. Looking one on another will never solve difficulties that arise among believers. We must look to the Lord, but looking to the Lord demands nearness to the Lord. The disciple who was nearest to the Lord can describe himself as “one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.” Peter was not near enough to the Lord to learn His mind; he must beckon to John. Intimacy with the Lord is the happy portion of the one who is resting upon the Lord’s love.
The Cross
The second occasion in which John is described as the disciple whom Jesus loved brings us to the cross in John 19. The mother of Jesus is present with other devoted women, and one disciple is there — the disciple whom Jesus loved. Where is now the disciple that rested in his love to Christ? Away in some lonely spot with a broken heart, weeping tears of bitter shame. Where is the disciple who rests in the love of Christ? As in the upper room, so now at the cross, he is as near to Christ as he can be. And what is the result? He becomes a vessel fit for the Master’s use. The mother of Jesus is committed to his care, for resting in the Lord’s love fits for service.
The Resurrection
For the third time (John 20:14) John is presented as the disciple whom Jesus loved on the resurrection morning, and again he is found in association with Peter. The two disciples, learning from the women that the sepulchre is empty, hasten to the tomb. Then follows the record of what might appear to be an insignificant detail, namely that Peter starts first, that both disciples run together, and finally that the disciple whom Jesus loved outran Peter. Nothing that the Spirit of God has recorded can be unimportant. If we may be allowed to spiritualize this scene, we may learn that while the man of ardent nature may often take the lead in some spiritual enterprise, it is the man who is leaning on the love of the Lord that finally takes the lead.
The Sea of Tiberias
In this instructive scene (John 21:17), Peter and John again have a prominent place, and for the fourth time John is referred to as the disciple whom Jesus loved. As usual, the energetic and impulsive Peter takes the lead and goes back to his old occupation. They went out, toiled all night, and for their pains caught nothing. When the morning came, “Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus.” Having by a question shown them the uselessness of efforts put forth without His direction, He proceeds to show how rich the results when acting under His control. Immediately the disciple whom Jesus loved perceives, “It is the Lord.” The one who is trusting in the Lord’s love is the one who has quick spiritual perception.
“When They Had Dined”
Following the scene at the lakeside, the disciples come to land, finding a fire of coals, with fish and bread laid on it, and an invitation to come and dine. Rich provision had been made for their needs, apart from all their efforts. When they had dined, we have the closing scene (John 21:15-22), in which again Peter and John have a special place, and for the fifth time John is described as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (vs. 20). First we have the Lord’s tender dealings with the man that trusted in his own love. Of the actual denial, no word is said in this touching scene. The solemn breakdown had been dealt with between the Lord and His servant in a private interview. All we know of that interview is the statement of the eleven, “The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon,” confirmed long after by the Apostle Paul, when he wrote to the Corinthians that the risen Christ “was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve.” Wonderful love that with tender mercy gave the first interview to the most failing disciple!
If, however, in the first interview his conscience was relieved, in this scene his heart is restored. There the Lord had dealt with the outward failure; here He deals with the inward root that caused the failure. The root was confidence in his love to Christ, and the threefold question thoroughly exposes this root. It is as if the Lord said, “After all that has happened, do you still maintain, Peter, that you love Me more than these?” With the second question, the Lord says nothing of the other disciples; it is simply now, “Lovest thou Me?” With the third question, the Lord, using a different word, asks, “Art thou attached to Me?” (JND). By his third answer Peter puts himself entirely into the Lord’s hands, saying, “Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I am attached to Thee.” It is as if Peter said, “I cannot trust my love or talk of my love or what I will do, but, Lord, You know all things, and You know my heart. I will leave You to estimate my love and to tell me what to do.”
No longer is Peter telling the Lord in self-confidence what he is ready to do, but it is the Lord, in infinite grace, telling his restored disciple what He will enable him to do. The Lord, as it were, says, “You no longer trust in your love to do great things for Me; you have left it to Me. Then go forth and “feed My sheep” (vs. 17), “glorify God” (vs. 19), and “follow Me” (vs. 19).
But what of John? “Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following.” The man who trusted in his own love needed restoring grace and the exhortation, “Follow Me.” Not so the man who was resting in the love of the Lord, for he was “following.” The one who enjoys the Lord’s love will follow close to the Lord.
If we can say little of our love to Him, we can safely boast of His love to us. It is the privilege of the youngest believer to say, “I am a disciple whom Jesus loves,” and the oldest and most advanced disciple can say nothing greater, for all blessing is found in His all-embracing love, that led Him to die for us that we too might go forth, in our small way, and feed His sheep, glorify God, and follow Him into the glory where He has gone.
H. Smith
The History of the Apostle John
The official name “apostle” signifies one “sent forth.” “These twelve Jesus sent forth” (Matt. 10:5). This name was given to them by the Lord Himself. “He called unto Him His disciples: and of them He chose twelve, whom also He named apostles” (Luke 6:13). A personal acquaintance with the whole ministerial course of the Lord was the original and a necessary qualification of an apostle. This was stated by Peter before the election of a successor to the traitor Judas. “Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that He was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of His resurrection” (Acts 1:21-22). By this close, personal fellowship with the Lord, they were particularly suited to be the witnesses of His earthly path. He describes them Himself as “they which have continued with Me in My temptations” (Luke 22:28).
The Three Chosen Ones
Peter, James and John, and occasionally Andrew, were always the most intimate companions of the blessed Lord. The first three only were admitted to the raising of Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5; Luke 8). The same three apostles were alone permitted to be present at the transfiguration (Matt. 17; Mark 9; Luke 9). It was the same three that witnessed His agony in Gethsemane (Matt. 26; Mark 14; Luke 22). But the four, Peter, James, John and Andrew, are joined together when they ask the Lord privately about the destruction of the temple (Mark 13).
Like the change in Peter’s name, or the addition to it, the sons of Zebedee are surnamed Boanerges, or, “the sons of thunder.” Great boldness and faithfulness may have singled out James to Herod, as the first to be seized and silenced. It is not a little remarkable that “the son of thunder” and “the rock-man” are the first to be apprehended. But James has the honor to be the first of the apostles who received the crown of martyrdom, A.D. 44. Peter was rescued by a miracle.
A mother’s jealousy and her sons’ ambition led Salome to ask for very distinguished places in the kingdom for her two sons. The Lord allowed the petition to pass with a very mild reproof, but He told the brothers that they should drink of His cup and be baptized with His baptism. James was early called upon to realize this statement. After the ascension, he is seen in company with the other apostles in Acts 1, and then he disappears from the sacred narrative until his apprehension and death in Acts 12. And there we are simply told, in the brief language of the inspired historian, that Herod the king killed James the brother of John with the sword.
The Family of Zebedee
John was the son of Zebedee and Salome and the younger brother of James. Though his father was a fisherman, it appears from the gospel narrative that they were in good circumstances. Some of the ancients speak of the family as wealthy, and even as nobly connected. But these traditions are not reconcilable with the facts of Scripture. We read, however, of their “hired servants,” and they may have owned more vessels than one. And Salome, we doubt not, was one of those honored women who ministered to the Lord of her substance. And John had a house of his own (Luke 8:3; John 19:27). Thus, we may safely infer from these facts that their position was considerably above poverty. As many have gone to extremes in speaking of the apostles as poor and illiterate, we think it well to notice the few hints of Scripture on these subjects.
Of the character of Zebedee we know nothing. He made no objection to his sons leaving him at the call of the Messiah. But we hear no more of him afterwards. We frequently find the mother in company with her sons, but no mention of the father. The probability is that he died soon after the call of his sons.
The Sons of Thunder
The evangelist Mark, in enumerating the twelve apostles (ch. 3:17), when he mentions James and John, says our Lord “surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder.” Doubtless, on one or two occasions their zeal was intemperate, but that was before they understood the spirit of their calling. More probably our Lord so surnamed them as prophetic of their burning zeal in openly and boldly proclaiming the great truths of the gospel, after they became fully acquainted with them. We are certain that John, in company with Peter, in the early chapters of the Acts, displayed a courage that feared no threatenings and was daunted by no opposition.
Judging from his writings, John appears to have been possessed of a disposition singularly affectionate, mild and amiable. He was characterized as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” On various occasions he was admitted to free and intimate fellowship with the Lord (John 13).
“What distinguished John,” says Neander, “was the union of the most opposite qualities, as we have often observed in great instruments of the advancement of the kingdom of God — the union of a disposition inclined to silent and deep meditation, with an ardent zeal, though not impelled to great and diversified activity in the outward world, not a passionate zeal, such as we suppose filled the breast of Paul before his conversion. But there was also a love, not soft and yielding, but one seizing with all its might and firmly retaining the object to which it was directed — vigorously repelling anything whatever that would disgrace this object or attempt to wrest it from its possession, and this was his leading characteristic.”
At the Crucifixion
The history of John is so intimately connected with the histories of Peter and James. These three names are seldom separated in the gospel history. But there is one scene in which John stands alone, and which ought to be noted. He was the only apostle who followed Jesus to the place of His crucifixion. And there he was specially honored with the regard and confidence of his Master. “When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, Woman, behold thy son; then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home” (John 19:26-27).
The Last Years
After the ascension of Christ and the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, John became one of the chief apostles of the circumcision. But his ministry goes down to the end of the first century. With his death the apostolic age naturally closes.
In Asia Minor he planted and watched over several churches in different cities, but he made Ephesus his center. Thence he was banished to the Isle of Patmos, towards the close of Domitian’s reign. There he wrote the Revelation (ch. 1:9). On his liberation from exile, by the accession of Nerva to the imperial throne, John returned to Ephesus, where he wrote his gospel and epistles. He died about A.D. 100, in the third year of the Emperor Trajan, at about one hundred years of age.
A. Miller
The Divine Nature
John presents to us that which is most exalted in communion, or rather in the nature of communion; consequently, he does not touch on the subject of the church, as an object of divine counsels, but of the divine nature.
J. N. Darby
The Writings of John
There is a connection between John’s Gospel, his epistles and the Revelation. The same truth is prominent in each of these three books, but each looks upon that truth from a different perspective.
John was not the one chosen for the communication to us of the heavenly calling, nor of the mystery, nor of the organization of the churches in the wilderness. Such subjects flowed rather from the pen of a Paul. Neither does John present us with the effects of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus upon believers from among Israel, as do Peter and James. John’s subject is eternal life and what flows from it. That eternal life which was in Jesus is the subject which is found everywhere in John’s writings, but each of his works has something by which it is distinguished from the rest. Yet in all of them there is, as the governing truth, the eternal life which was in Christ.
The Gospel
In the Gospel, we have the eternal life which was in Christ Jesus, and the history of the sufferings which were necessarily His, if He would communicate eternal life to poor sinners. The moment that all this is finished, He departs. He left the earth to take His seat as Son of Man at the right hand of God in the majesty of the highest. The curtain drops upon the scenes of His earthly career, and He is lost to the sight of those who are but men upon the earth.
The Epistles
In the epistles, we have the stream of this eternal life which is seen flowing from Him as its fountain—a fountain of living water, placed in the midst of the throne on high. As it flows, it brings into light a heavenly people here below and fills them, as saints of the living God, during their pilgrim course through the wilderness.
The Revelation
In the Revelation, it is the effects of this eternal life. It is not the life manifested in the Gospel in Jesus in humiliation, nor, as in the epistles, made good by faith to a heavenly people who are on earth, but the results of these two testimonies. It deals with the effects of the eternal life, according to God, both upon those not subjected to it and as to those who are so, whether upon the earth or in heaven. The Lord who had eternal life in Himself is He who first manifested it here below; He did and suffered all that was needed either for the communication of this life on the part of God or for the reception of it on the part of poor sinners. Without that which Christ did and suffered, holiness kept closed the way of divine goodness, on the one hand, and, on the other, the poor sinner never could be free before God. When all was done, His grace began at Jerusalem. Rejected there, He gave the blessing to His saints as such, a people prepared for the heavenly places. Finally, there must be manifested what is the glory of His person and what the judgment is which God has formed concerning Him. He must reign upon the earth over an earthly people, to whom He will be manifested in the celestial glory which He has given to His heavenly bride. The final result of the humiliation of the Son will be that everything that will not humble itself under Him will be judged, for it becomes God to make the light of that eternal life shine forth; it is necessary for Him to make manifest both upon earth and in heaven what His judgment is of the work of His Son. If the Son of God became Son of Man, He is the resurrection and the life, and, as such, everything connected with man must be presented in the light of His glory.
The divine glory must be fully manifested, that glory which the eternal life, manifested in Jesus as Son of Man, has vindicated, even in the very moment of His being rejected.
All Committed Unto the Son
What we have in the Revelation seems established in that which we find presented in John 5: “The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent Him. . . . For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself; and hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.” So also in Acts 10:42: “He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is He which was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead.” In Acts 17:30-31, we read, “The times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent: because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead.” The same doctrine is found in other scriptures.
The Son of God became Son of Man in order to reveal the grace of God to poor sinners. Therefore God gives testimonies to Him upon earth, but the results of such testimonies in grace must be fully made manifest. The churches, the state of the earth as a whole, the state of the Jews, the state of the nations, the power of Satan, accredited by the carnal nature of the men of this world, who have denied God both in His government and in His worship — all must be made manifest in its true character by Jesus, and having made it manifest, He will judge it — setting it aside in order to establish the millennial reign. Thus we have eternal life plainly set forth: first, in Jesus, perfectly and according to the claims of God and the state of things upon the earth (as in the Gospel of John); second, by means of His Spirit in a feeble people (as in the epistles); and third, its triumph over all things whatsoever their character (as in the Revelation). Such are the governing truth and the distinctive thoughts of the writings of John.
G. V. Wigram, adapted
The Gospel of John
The Gospel of John has a special character, which has struck the minds of all those who have given it a little attention, even though they have not always clearly understood what produced this effect. It not only strikes the mind, but attracts the heart in a way not to be found in the other parts of the holy book. The reason for this is that the Gospel of John presents the Person of the Son of God — the Son of God come down so low that He can say, “Give Me to drink.” This attracts the heart, if the heart be not altogether hardened. If Paul teaches us how a man can be presented before God, John presents God before man. His subject is God and eternal life in a man, the Apostle following out the subject in the epistle, showing us this life reproduced in those who possess it in possessing Christ. I speak only of the leading features which characterize these books, for many other truths besides those which I have just noticed are to be found in them, it is needless to say. Indeed it is John’s Gospel which gives us the doctrine of the sending of the Spirit of God, that other Comforter, who is to abide with us forever.
Matthew, Mark and Luke
The Gospel of John is very clearly distinguished from the other three synoptical Gospels, and we shall do well to consider the character of these last, especially as this concerns the difference between them and the Gospel of John. The three synoptical Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, afford the most precious details of the life of the Saviour down here, of His patience and His grace: He was the perfect expression of good in the midst of evil; His miracles (with the exception of the cursing of the fig tree) were all miracles of goodness —the expression of divine power manifested in goodness. Here we find good; God Himself, who is love, acting according to the grace which was soon to be plainly revealed. Thus was the blessed Saviour presented to man, to be recognized and received: He was unknown and rejected. It has often been noticed that each of the three evangelists presents the Saviour in a different aspect: Matthew brings before us Emmanuel in the midst of the Jews; Mark, the Servant Prophet; Luke gives us the Son of Man, more in relation with that which exists at present, that is, heavenly grace. But all three, in the main, present the Saviour in His patient ways of grace in this world, that man may receive Him, and man rejected Him! Mark’s Gospel, relating the service of Jesus, has no genealogy. Matthew, in relation with the Jews and earthly dispensations, traces the Saviour from Abraham and David, and it also shows the three things which take the place of Judaism, that is, the kingdom as it exists in the present time (ch. 13), the church (ch. 16), and the kingdom in glory (ch. 17). Luke, which presents to us grace in the Son of Man, follows His genealogy up to Adam. These three Gospels always speak of Christ as a Man down here, presented to men historically, and they follow up their account until He is positively rejected, announcing then His entering into the new position which He has taken by resurrection. The ascension, which is the foundation of our present place, is only given in Luke directly; allusion to it is made in the last supplementary verses in Mark.
How John Is Different
The Gospel of John regards the Lord in quite another manner. It presents to us a divine Person come down here, God manifested in this world — a marvelous fact, upon which all in man’s history depends. It is no longer a question here of genealogy; it is no longer the second Man responsible toward God (though that is ever true) and perfect before God and all His delight, while we see upon every page that it is no longer Messiah according to prophecy; it is no longer Emmanuel, Jesus, who saves His people; it is no longer the messenger who goes before His face. In John it is God Himself, as God, who in a Man shows Himself to men, to the Jews, for God had promised Him — but first of all to put them entirely aside (ch. 1:10-11), showing at the same time that nothing in man could even comprehend who was there present with him. Then, at the end of the Gospel, we find the doctrine of the presence of the Holy Spirit who should replace Jesus here below in revealing His glory on high and in giving us the consciousness of our relationships with the Father and with Him. It is also to be remarked that all John’s writings, and among them his Gospel, look upon the Christian as an individual and do not recognize the church, either as the body or as the house. Further, the Gospel of John treats of eternal life; he does not speak of forgiveness of sins, except as a present administration confided to the apostles, and, as far as Christ is concerned, he treats essentially the subject of the manifestation of God down here and of the coming of eternal life in the Person of the Son of God; consequently, he hardly speaks at all of our heavenly portion, three or four allusions excepted. But it is time to leave these general reflections, to consider what the Gospel itself teaches us.
The Structure of the Gospel
First of all, then, let us look at its structure. The first three chapters are preliminary. John had not yet been put in prison, and Jesus, although He taught and performed miracles, had not yet begun His public ministry. The first two of these three chapters, up to chapter 2:22, form a whole. Chapter 3 gives us the basis of the divine work in us and for us — that is, the new birth and the cross, this latter introducing heavenly things as to us and as to Jesus Himself. In chapter 4, Jesus passes from Judea into Galilee, leaving the Jews who did not receive Him, and takes the place of Saviour of the world in grace. In chapter 5 He gives life as Son of God; in chapter 6, He becomes, as Son of Man, the sustenance of the life, in His incarnation and in His death. Chapter 7 shows us that the Holy Spirit should replace Him — the feast of tabernacles, the reestablishment of Israel, to take place later on. In chapter 8, His word is definitely rejected; in chapter 9, His works, but the one who has received sight follows Him. Thus, in chapter 10, He will have His sheep and keep them for better things to come. In chapters 11-12, God bears witness to Him, as Son of God, by the resurrection of Lazarus; as Son of David, by His entry into Jerusalem; as Son of Man, by the coming of the Greeks, but this title of Son of Man brought in with it death, a subject which is then considered. Bethany is a scene by itself; Mary seized in her heart the position of Jesus; He who gave life must Himself die. His title of Son of Man closes the history of Jesus down here, introducing Him by death and by redemption into a far wider sphere of glory. But then (ch. 13) the question arose naturally, Was Jesus going to leave His disciples? No; being glorified on high, He would wash their feet. But whither He went the disciples could not follow Him now. In chapter 14 we find the resources of comfort during the time of the Lord’s absence. The Father had been revealed in Him already during His life down here. When He should have gone back on high, He would send another Comforter; by His means, the disciples would know that He was in the Father, and they in Him, and He in them. Chapter 15 shows us the relationship of the disciples with Him upon earth, taking the place of the Jews; the place of the disciples before the world, that of the Jews in rejecting Him, and then the Comforter. Chapter 16 tells us what the Holy Spirit would do when come; what His presence would be the proof of in the world, and what He would teach the disciples, putting them at the same time into immediate relationship with the Father. In chapter 17 the Lord, taking His stand upon the accomplishment of His work and the revelation of the Father’s name, places His own in His own position before the Father and before the world; the world is judged, in that it has rejected the Lord, and His own are left here in His place. Then in chapters 18-19 we have the history of the Lord’s condemnation and crucifixion; in chapter 20, His resurrection and manifestation of Himself to His disciples, as well as their mission. Chapter 21 gives us His interview with His own in Galilee, Peter’s restoration, and the prophecy of Jesus as to him and as to John.
Collected Writings of J. N. Darby
The Epistles of John
In the deeply interesting first epistle of John we have the intrinsic evidences of the power of Christianity as flowing from God. We have its essential and internal abiding character; our strength in it, as giving fellowship with the Father and with His Son Christ Jesus, and in the knowledge of His love, security against the haughty assumption of antichristian seduction. This is effected internally by the two personal evidences, in that He laid down His life and “by His Spirit dwelling in us.” Externally, we keep His commandments, and we love the brethren. The unity of the testimony to Christ’s glory, in the Spirit, the water and the blood, is stated in this epistle, and the internal and external witness distinguished. The one is the blessing of the believer; the other, the condemnation of the world. The book closes with the general contrast, “We are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” “We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding.” The next point is, “To know Him that is true,” and the next, “We are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ.” He is the “true God and eternal life.” Amen. All else is but “little children, keep yourselves from idols.”
How blessed is the testimony that in Jesus we are in the true God and —which is our interest, and blessing and everlasting comfort in it—eternal life in Him! In Jesus we have eternal life, and in association with Him we are thus capacitated for understanding and enjoying all that is in Him, the Lord and true God. In the second and third epistles we have the individual, living and faithful care of the Spirit in the Apostle against any falling into the seduction of losing the true doctrine of Christ: Whoever fails here, that is, abides not here, has not God, and direction is given for the uncompromising boldness in rejection of such as partake of his evil deeds, the direction being, in the one, not to receive seducers, or we are partakers of them; in the other, to receive faithful witnesses of truth, because in them we are partakers in the truth. Both rest on this: “Walking in truth”; they are the details of Christianity, such as develop themselves in service.
J. N. Darby
John and the Revelation
Let us examine what is the nature and character of the Book of the Revelation. It is a book of judgments, but it is specially John who brings forward this point of view, while speaking of the truths connected with our salvation, especially the presence of the Holy Spirit and, in the epistle, of propitiation. In his Gospel it is the Son who is come as life, the life being the light of men. In the epistle this is taken as the groundwork, and the life communicated to us, and its existence tested by its true character to guard us against deceivers. It is remarkable that, except in a few passages coming in to complete the truth here and there (and they are very few and short), John never sees this life carried up to its ultimate result in the purpose of God, but manifested in this world, whether in Christ Himself or in us. The fact that we shall go up on high to the Father’s house is blessedly stated in the beginning of John 14 and desired in the end of chapter 17, but it is nowhere the general subject.
John presents the divine person of the Son in life (and that in grace in flesh, divine love showing itself and the Father), in His blessed superiority to evil, and hence the exceeding sweetness of the writings he has given to us by the Holy Spirit — and as divine love does, adapting itself to the want and sorrow around it, to everything the human heart could need, yet light all through. We do not get man taken up to heaven, so to speak, in John, but we get God Himself in grace, the Son revealing the Father down on the earth. The Gospel and epistle, as we have seen, reveal this life in itself or in us, but the Gospel (for the epistle gives us the life between the departure and return of the Lord) gives us at the end a hint of the Apostle holding a testimony to the coming of Christ. He did not say he should not die, but if He would that he tarried till He came. Paul might build the church, lay its foundation as a wise master-builder; Peter might teach a pilgrim how to follow Him that was risen and had begotten him again to a lively hope by it — how to follow his Master through the wilderness, in which, after all, God still governed. These, and others, warn too of coming evils. But he who was so personally near to Christ — such a one (the disciple whom Jesus loved) could watch, with the power of divine love, over the departing glories of the church on earth in the energy of a life which could not fail in it. And he could pass on with prophetic vision to establish the rights of the same person (out of and on the part of heaven, yet still) on earth — rights, whose establishment should bring peace on the earth and set aside the evil and make these rights good, where the prophet had seen them despised, in One he so loved, as manifested on earth, and connect the excellence of the glorified Sufferer with the blessing of a rescued world, which grace could bless through Him, though it had once rejected Him. The way of bringing about this, with the failing church’s previous history, is what is given to us in the Apocalypse, with the prophetically known person and glory of Christ connecting itself, first with the responsible assembly on earth, though then judicially, and then with the earth.
J. N. Darby
Children of God
It is only by the surpassing riches of the grace of God that any of us are His children, and because it is wholly of grace, it must be therefore on the principle of faith, and not of works. It is, however, very blessed to know it on the authority of the Word of God as a divine certainty, but more blessed still to have the enjoyment of this new and everlasting relationship by the truth brought home to our hearts in the power of the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” Another inspired Apostle says, “Beloved, now are we the [children] of God” (Rom. 8:16; 1 John 3:2). It is scarcely possible that anything can be more simply or more definitely stated. There is no “if” or “but” in the sentence; no “hoping to be” or room for the shadow of a “doubt.” The fact is unmistakably set forth that all who truly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, are “children of God.” Let us never forget that this is what the Spirit of God teaches, and it is therefore God’s truth, and not man’s opinion.
After we hear and believe the gospel of our salvation, we receive the forgiveness of sins, and the Holy Spirit is given to indwell us as God’s seal, His anointing, the earnest of the inheritance, to lead us also and teach us, so that we might know and enjoy, on the authority of Scripture, our new and everlasting relationship of children. He witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God, and it is a never-ending source of holy enjoyment, thanksgiving and praise. In this way the soul begins to know God as Father.
Heirs
This is not all, for we are further instructed, “If children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together” (Rom. 8:17). Let us not lightly pass this by, but consider how far we know and enjoy this blessed relationship to God into which we have been brought. Let us remember that we have “joy and peace in believing,” not in knowing the doctrine merely, but in receiving the truth of it into our hearts as from the mouth of God. Thus, eating the words of God for ourselves, making them our own, we live day by day in the comfort of this unchangeable and everlasting relationship. However pious we may appear, we cannot walk as children of God unless we know we are His children. Many will say, “Yes, I see it,” or, “I have known it for some years,” but to live day by day in the enjoyment of it as a settled reality and look on to the blessed prospect laid out before us produces gladness of heart and holy liberty as nothing else can. Let us then not fail to receive from God by His Word and enjoy before Him the astounding truth that His own unfathomable grace has made us His children to care for and comfort forever to His own everlasting praise and glory.
The Holy Spirit
Observe, too, that the Spirit given to us to make us know that we are God’s children is spoken of as “the Spirit of His Son,” that we may have in our measure His own feelings and affections, and that He is also spoken of as “the Spirit of adoption,” to make us realize our position and give us thoughts, feelings and affections suited to Abba, Father. Our Lord prayed that the love wherewith the Father loved Him may be in us, and He also referred to a time when the world will know that the Father has loved us as He loved Him. Precious grace! The Holy Spirit is also our leader. “As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” And be it remembered that He is here also to guide us into all the truth. He is never spoken of as driving us, but in all the tenderness of a loving nurse leading the little children. This is in full keeping with divine love, and being led by Him is a mark of sonship.
As to this leading of the Spirit of God, it is easy to say, “I am led of the Spirit to do this or that,” but it is certain that He never leads us to have confidence in the flesh or to covet a position in the world which has crucified the Lord of glory or to do anything contrary to His Word. Doubtless His usual way of leading is by the written Word, though as to time, place, circumstances and other details, if we walk in the truth, watch His eye and hand, having no will of our own in activity, but with all humility having an eye to His glory, He will assuredly guide. The Spirit is the glorifier and testifier of the Son of God, and He takes of the things of the Father and of the Son and shows them unto us. These are important landmarks never to be lost sight of. To separate, therefore, the operations of the Spirit of God from the testimony of the written Word and from the person of the Son would be misleading and unsound.
Fellowship
The Holy Spirit brings us into conscious association with Christ. Even if He occupies us with ourselves to reprove us for sin, it is to bring us with self-judgment into the presence of God. As we are called into the fellowship of the Son of God, to have parted company with Him is to have descended to the thoughts of the flesh. Communion with the Father and the Son is the normal state of the child of God, and it is maintained only in the power of the Holy Spirit. The world does not receive the Holy Spirit because, as our Lord said, “it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him.” To His disciples, however, He blessedly added, “But ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:17). All believers who know they are God’s children know, in some feeble measure, the Holy Spirit and something of His gracious operations and ways. Those who have the Spirit of God dwelling in them have a personal consciousness of God’s love, for it is shed abroad in their hearts; they delight to bow to Jesus as their Lord as well as their Saviour. They know that they are God’s children. They realize also His power in ministering the precious things of the Son of God to them, while drawing their hearts upward to Christ and outward for Christ.
H. H. Snell from
The Christian Friend, 17:18