The Pulpit Commentary — 1 John — Section 35

those who entrust their cause to him (Heb. vii. 25). As \Vestcott beautifully remarks, "He is not nn Advocate who wishes to set aside the Law, but to carry it out and. nprly it." II. How DOES ALL THIS BEAR ON TRE DOING AWAY OF SIN IN us? The action or tbo Sa.-iour's work is twofo!d. 1. Objectively. For us-God ward. It fulfils the Law. It Yindicntcs rightrourness. It reveals lhe purity of the great white throne, and tho lovo of the eternal FaLher. It thus declares God's rectitu<le in lho remission of sin. All that is necdrd to clear the way for the sinner having access to the Father righteously, is <lone. "It is finished!" 2. Subjectively. In us-manward. (1) It awakens hope, and thus banishes despair-an imperative condition, without which no further step can be gained. When hope dawns it is a sure sign all is not lost. (2) Faith is called forth. When the Spirit of God shows the glory of Christ to a sin-mourning spirit, then the Object of trust is disclosed, and trust reposes in that Object, and pardon is received. (3) Penitence is awakened. "A sense of blood-bought pardon soon dissolves a be.art of stone." (4) Love is called forth to a living and loving :Redeemer. The warmest affections of the soul go out to the Son of God, as to One "who loved us, and gave himself for us." Then (5) there is henceforth a constant and increasing loathing of sin. Dy means of" the expulsive l)Ower of a new affection" the poison of sin is driven out from the heart. What was once loved is loathed, what was once hated is loved. The new man declares a lifelong war against the sin which mado his Saviour bleed. (6) The life is now devoted to the Lord Jesus, who, in the new kingdom of his grace, gives full scope for every power and faculty of the man, giving them "loved and Divine employ." And the more ardently the Saviour's service is entered on, the more rapidly doth sin perish and holiness adorn the life. And in this course the new career is entered on, in which, sustained by Divine grace and inspired by Divine love, the sin which once was his plague shall come to be for ever and for ever dead! Vers. 3-5.- Verijication verijied; or, knowing that we know God. <Jonnecting link: The redemption effected hy Christ in doing away with sin restores the lost fellowship between us and God. In the act of fellowship we come to a heart-know- ledge of God; and this true kcowledge of God is constantly being verified by a life or obedience. 'l'opie-Certitude in the knowledge of God. The closer our study of the Word of God, and the more minute our investigation of its phrases and words, t'1e rcore striking 'l>ill the far-reachingness of its teachings appear, and their adaptedness t,o meet the exigencies of modern times. And among the New Testament writers none of them is more adapted to :m agnostic age than the Apostle John. Albeit there is a great difference between the despairing ::ignosticisrn of ancient days and the definnt Rl);nosticism of our own, nevertheless, the words or the Apostle John do as really ad.minister a rebuke to the l)ride of the later, as they supply the information yearned for by the earlier, age. His key-words being "life," "love," "knowledge," "fellow- ship," he is constantly throwing such flashes of light on the pathway of Christian thought, as to lead the devout student often spontaneously to cry out, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,'' even in the fierce glare of nineteenth-century criticism I If the true way of knowing God, and of knowing that wo know him, be disclosed, either of the three following false theses will thereby be overturned: Whether it be maintained (1) that we know God apart from a supernatural revelation; or (2) that we cannot possibly know God at all; or (3) that knowing is an end in itself. The apostle's teachings demolish each and all! The first, by his showing that the true know- led<Te of God has been brought by the Son of God. 'l'he second, by showing that, even if ,~e cannot rise to God, God has come down to us. The third, by declaring that God has come down to us in order to bring us into fellowship with himself. But even beyond these glorious truths does the apostle lead us. He shows us not only that wo can know, but that we can lmow that we know (ver. 3). How? Let us carefully follow his tracks of thought. I. THERE ARE" COMMANDMENTS,, BROUGHT RY THE Lonn JESUS CnmsT FOR THE OBEDIENCE OF MEN, (Vere. 3-5.) "His commandments." 'l'he tendency of many is to be impatient and erratic truth-seekers. 'l'he Lord Jesus Christ teaches UH that, if we want to know the truth which as yet lies beyond us, there is one snre way thereto, even by the discharge of the duty which we already know; the truth we already posses■ OIi, Il, 1-20.) 'l'HE FIRST EPIS'l'LE GENERAL OF JOHN.