The Pulpit Commentary — 1 John — Section 12

V. Tim LIFE AUTHORITATIVELY DECLARED WITII A Dl':FINITE AIM. The aim is twofol,l: 1. 'l'hat of a kindred fellowship of souls who are in communion with the L,;fe ! No olher fellowship to compare with this. Jt is (1) pure, (2) undying. 2. That out of the closeness of fellowship there might come a folne8s of joy. Life is the root of joy, Joy is the fruit of life. A plant i~ not in perfection till it blooms. The Christian life is not perfected till it smiles and sings. In conclusion, note: 1. The real and only valid succes~ion in the Church is that of life. 2. There can be no value in forms, except as they express life. 3. Throuo-h the Divine Life men nre reborn to the noblest fellowship with God and with one anothe1· ! Ver. 5.-The mesBage. Connecting link: The Son of God, whom we have seen as manifested Life, has brought ns a message from the invisible and everlasting Father. 'l'opic-The message from heaven brought by the Lord Jesus Christ. A careful study of the text will suggest several points for consideration and expansion. I. "\VHAT THE MESSAGE IS. 1. W-hom it concerns. "God." "The announcement as to the nature of God is a personal revelation, and not a discovery" (Westcott, in loc.). We know something of God by reasoning upward from the works of nat,l!'e. Nature speaks (Ps. xix. 1-4). Her works are a manifestation of God. But not a full or a clear one. We want a testimony direct from God, as to what he is, as to his thoughts towards us; and here it is. 2. What does it te\l us about God? (1) Positively: "God is Light." Physically, light is the splendour in which all else is revealed. Ir.tellectua\ly, light is knowledge. Morally, light is purity. God is the One Being in and by whose existence all else receives an adequate interpretation of its coming into being. He bath knowledge without limit. He bath purity without sfain. Hence the text speaks: (2) Negatively: "No darkness at all." Not the least speck. He is absolutely pure. Infinitely wise. How much is summed up in the three sentences which John has recorded: " God is Spirit;" "God is Light;" "God is Love" I Not all the collective wisdom of man could have taught us so much as this. tI. WHENCE THE MESSAGE CAME. "We have heard from him;" i.e. from the Lord Jesus Christ, as the incarnate Manifestation of the Invisible. Obviously, the value of such a message depends on the Person who brings it. If, then, we ask the ail-important question- Wlio brought this message down to earth? apostles, one and all, join with unwavering tongue in declaring that it was brought by the everlasting Son of the Father, who came from him. 'l'his is the distinctive assertion of Christianity. It is made, not doubtfully, not apologetically, but categorically and positively, for the acceptance and salvation of man. This message was brought to man directly by the greatest Messenger from the eternal throne that even heaven itself could send! III. How THE MESSAGE REACHES us. "We announce unto you." The Lord Jesus Christ asserted hie claims and proved them. He sealed them by his death, confirmed them by his resurrection, and gave to apostles the unwavering certitude of their validity by the gift of the Holy Ghost. They, thus sure of and confirmed in the message, living on it themselves as their own life and joy, preached and taught it, and also put it down in writing, that it might be spread over the world through the after-ages. They gave it forth authoritatively, with the anthority which comes (1) of a Divine commission to declare it, and (2) of adequate knowledge of that which they declare. Thus the mes- sage reaches us. In the Epistles we have the sum and substance of that which in the fir!~ century was orally received. It is utterly useless for the adherents of the mythical school to urge the later authorship and miracle-embellishments of the Gospels with the view of weakening this position; since, whatever be the age af the Gospels, there are known letters of the apostolic age, by Paul, Peter, James, and John, from which alone the ground-plan of the Redeemer's life and the gist of his message could be reprodnced, even if the misfortune of the loss of the Gospels could be supposed possible. The historic po;iition is one which never has been and never can be shaken; that in the Epistles we have the sum of that which apostles gave forth orally-the message which has remained unchan"ed from the beginning of the Christian age. The verse of our text has as much force a~ if the Apostle John were now living and actually uttering the words in our cars : "This is the message," etc. IV. How DOES 'l'HE MESSAGE BEAR uroN us? We can bnt briefly suggest. I. The fact of this truth coming as a message from God unto us, shows us that God is concerned  THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF' JOHN. [err. r. 1-10,