The Pulpit Commentary — 1 John — Section 136

''Noman bl\lh stt!ft God at any time." The verb is different here, conveyinp; the idel\ of seeing intently, seeing so 1\8 to iml\ge to the mind what God is through the sense of sight. 1n John i. 18 the invisibility of God is regl\rded as relieved by the Incarnation. Here the invisibility of God is regarded in connection with fellowship with God, aud there is brought into view, not the visible Medil\tor, but our visib?e brethren. How are we to have (not to prove that we have) fellowship with the invisihle God? The way is to ha Ye visible objects for our love, especil\lly to love one another in the Christian circle. Loving one another, on the one band," God abideth in us," so as to be nearer to us for fellowship, than if we beheld him. Loving one another, on the other hand, his love, i.e. our love to him, is perfected. It cannot be brought to perfection unless with the help of love to the brethren. This thought receives further expression at the close of this chapter. 2. Partwipationin the Spirit i.~ the sign offel,lowshipwith God. "Hereby know we that we abide in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit." 'fhe thought is similar in eh. iii. 24. Loving one another leads to mutual abiding. But how is this to be discovered? It is by the distribution to us of the Spirit, He cannot be communicated to us in the full flood of his influence, but only according to our nature and di;;position. It is evident that the Spirit is the common element on which our fellowship with God proceeds. But another question at once arises-How do we know tha.t we participate in the Spirit? The answer, given in what follows, is, our apprecia.- tion of the Incarnation. 3. There can be nofel,lowship with God apart from the Incar- nation. (1) The Incarnation hutorwally attested. "And we have beheld and bear witness that the Father hath sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." Strictly speaking, what the apostles behel,d, was what Christ was iu the flesh. There was thus a good l.iistorical basis for their testimony. Tbey knew, at first hand, tbat Christ was baptized, wrought miracles, was transfigured, died, rose agaiD, and that be claimed to be the Son of God. But the testimony is carried here beyond the actual facts to the meaning of the facts. As here expressed, it is tbat " the Father hath sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." The apostles, ca.refully observing the facts, gave this as their only rational explanation. He with whom they had been thrown into closest contact, was no mere man, but the Son of God. He was the object of the Father's infinite love; but the Father, in a wondrous manner, sent him forth on a mission of a saving na.ture and wide as the world in its reach. John here echoes the Samaritans, of whom he records that they said to the woman with whom Christ had a conversation, "Now we believe, not because cf tby speaking : for we have heard for ourselves, 11.nd know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world." It is well to have a title that sets forth so clearly the impartiality, the universality, of Christ's mission. It is implied tha.t his mission is lasting. He is still to be thought of as sent int-0 the world as its Saviour. Every unsaved person has a right to claim him as his Saviour; 11.nd tha.t is the simple fact with which we have to do. There is hint here of a love that oversteps love of the brethren. (2) The test of confession. "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God abideth in Lim, and he in God." It underlay the apostolic attestation that Jesus is the Son of God. 'l'his, then, is the form which the test takes, in agreement with forms in which it has already been put. The Unitaria.ns escape the application of the test, by retaining the language while taking away from the meaning. "To us," says Cha.nniug, "he is the first of the sons of God, the Son by peculiar nearness and likeness to the Father. In this mighty universe, framed to be a mirror of its Author, we turn to Jesus as the brighest Image of God, and gratefully yield him a place in our souls, second only to the infinite Father, to w~om. he himsel_f direct_s our supreme affection." But the whole aspect of the Incarnation lB changed 1f we thmk of Jesus M only an exalted creature, humb_ling himself to a l~wer _creaturely co;1dition, and not_ ~s the uncrea.ted Son, humbling himself to what was 10fin1tely below him. As an exh1b1- tion of love tbe one humbling is not to be compared with the other. The Son is to be taken as absolutely as the Father, i.e. One in whom the Father sees his perfect. image. Where the Spirit of God works, there is prompting to the confession of the mysterious entering of the Divine Son into our nature; and it is only iu the line of this thought that we can ma.intain fellowship with God. 4, Ezperienre of l01.1e in which there ill fel,lowBhi,p with God. (1) Ezperience of love. "Aud we ~no'_V and ~av~ ~elie~ed the love which God hath in us." The comfort of the Incarnat10n IR that 1t 1s 7D fimte love finding a. lodgment in our nature, and especially in our hearts as believers. .According oa. Il'. 1-21.] TlIE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OE' JOHN. 13-3