I"ers. 13-17.-.Assurance. I. TrrE AIM OF TBE EPISTLE CONNECTED WITII ASSURANCE. "These things ban I written unto you, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, e,en unto you that believe on the Name of the Son of God." At the beginning of the Epistle, the apostle's aim was stated to be Divine fellowship a.nd compliited joy. In looking back, he feels that lie has kept his end in view. In the restatement of his aim, he goes the length of completed joy. Beyond the quickening of their spiritual life, he has aimed at their having the joy of knowing that they had the life eternal actually begun in them. He bas given them certain marks (usually introduced by "herein") by which to make clear to them their Divine birth, or possession of the Divine life as believers on the Name of tbe Son of God. When we have the right elements in our life, and can make a correct diagnosis of them, we have comfort. We are indebted to the apostle yet for the help he has given us, in this Epistle, to the right reading of our life. II. AssURAJ<CE IN nELA TION TO PRAYER. 1. Confidence of being heard. "And this is the boldness which we have toward him, that,' if we ask anything according to his will, be bcaretb us." Knowing that we have the Divine life, we are reasonably bold toward God, as children are bold toward their parents. Our boldness comes out especially in our asking. We are full of wants, and so we need to be constantly asking. We ask in the confidence of being heard. If we ask anything, he heareth us- which l1as only this limitation, that we ask according to God's will (not properly a limitation; for God's will is our highest good). If we are to ask according to God's ,vill, then the meaning of that is that we are to have our desires in a proper state-to have them educated up to God's will. We are to have them chastened by proper sub- mission to God's appointments; and we are to have them thoroughly enlightened, eo that we desire with God, and up to the largeness of the blessing that he holds out to us. As Jesus was praying in a certain place, after he ceased, the disciples, filled with a sense of their own deficiencies, said, "Lord, teach us to pray." It is not the language of our prayers that we need to have improved, so much as our simple responsiveness to the Divine will. 2. Certainty of having our petitions. "And if we know that he hcaretb us whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions which we have a~ked of him." We have actually presented our petitions in confidence of being heard: how do we stand? We know that we are richer than we were before. Hannah rose to accord with the Di"l"ine will, and, knowing that she ha.d her petition, it happened to tlie "woman of a sorrowful spirit" that "her countenance was no more sad." The Master was in perfect accord with the Divine will; and he had his every petition. "And I kuew that thou hearest me always" (John xi. 42). In so far as we resemble him, in confidently expressing the DivlDe will, shall we know ourselves to be richer for our prayers. III. ASSURANCE IN SPECIAL T:ELATION TO mTEllCESSION. 1. Promise. "If any man see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and God will give him life for them that sin not unto death." This is asking suggested by the brotherly love which the apostle has been inculcating. Have we any ground of confidence to go upon iu &.eking for a brother? We have here very distinct ground pointed to, even in the case of a brother who is seen sinning a sin. It is not a sin by which he is wholly deprived of life, but a sin by which his life is regarded as in pa1t suspended. He is DII, V, 1-21.] THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN. 173
eeon by one who is united to him by the tie of Christian brotherhood, who does not reg11rd him with unconcern, who is moved by the sight to ask for him restoration of lifo, '!'he promise is th11t the asker will be the instrument of giving life to those within the brothol'hood of whom it can be said that they sin not unto death. 2. Limitation of the JJromise. "'l'he~e ~e a sin unto death: not concerning this do I say that he should make request." rh1s must be taken in close connection with th6 context. 'l'he reforence is simply to the brotherhood, Are we warranted in all cases to pray for nn erring brother, in the P,Xpectation that we shall be the means, under God, of giving him life? Tho promise does not go that length. A (hitherto) recognized member of the brotherhood may unbrother himself, may cut himself off from fellowship with God, by denying (let us say) the force of the Incarnation. In such a case, the apostle does not say that we are to make request (familiarly) for him as for a brother. 'l'he virtue that there is in brotherhood and in brotherly intercession is there lost; and he is really to be dealt with as one unbrothered. That is not to say that we are not to pray for him at all; for we are to pray for all men. 3. Large scope of the promise. "All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death." "Sin" is a wide word; it includes all violation of 1·ight. Every unbrotherly expression that we use is an offence against God. There is thus abundant room for the exercise of intercession. There is sinning through many degrees without sinning mortally. Let us, then, realize what is in our power. A brother, to our knowledge, sins even seriously. He does not sin, in our judgment, so as to put the Incarnate One decisively away from him; but he sins so as seriously to interrupt fellowship with God, which is his life. As belonging to the same privileged circle, we have a part to perform. We have to intercede with God on his behalf. We have to intercede confidently; for the promise of our giving him life is clearly applicable, In answer to our intercession there will be a wakening of him up out of the slumber that has been upon him, so that he enjoys renewed fellowship with God.-R. F,