"That Ye May Know"

by Merchant, Paul | Category: General | Mar 1981

John's first letter was written with one clear intention: to expose the lies of a group of false teachers who were denying that Jesus was the Christ (2:22). These false teachers disbelieved Christ to be the Son of God (4:15; 5:10) who had come in the flesh to provide salvation for men (4:2,9-15). How familiar to us today are these false ideas that deride and denigrate the name of the Lord Jesus Christ! Christians are grateful to John for the letter he wrote centuries ago in defence of his Master and Lord. He leaves us in no doubt of the truth. A key word in this first, short letter is "know". In describing the character, actions, commands and promises of God, John uses the word "know" twenty-four times.

Our knowledge of God

"God is light and in him is no darkness at all" (1:5). God who is Spirit reveals to us spiritual light and truth, "Hereby know we that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit." (4:13); God gives us moral light to guide our behaviour: "he that loveth his brother abideth in the light" (2:10). Furthermore, John writes that God is love and thus concludes his revelation of the nature and character of God: He is Spirit, light and love.

Our knowledge of Christ

In his first letter, John writes enthusiastically about the Lord because he had spent years meditating about Christ since that brief time when he lived alongside Him. In the opening paragraph of his letter, John explains why he has such certain knowledge that "the Son of God is come" (5:20); he had heard, seen and touched Him (1:1-4). He had observed the character of Christ, that "He is righteous" and "in Him is no sin" (2:29; 3:5). The Son of God "was manifested to take away sins" and John is in no doubt of the Lord's motive: "hereby know we love, because He laid down His life for us" (3:5,16).

John's letter is written to disciples who believe on the name of the Son of God. He assures them that "these things have I written unto you, that ye may know that ye have eternal life" (5:13), for "we know that we have passed out of death into life" (3:14). Christ has not only given us eternal life but also "an anointing from the Holy One" for "we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He gave us" (2:20; 3:24).

Our knowledge for daily life

A great wealth of knowledge about God and His Son is available to us. Our knowledge of God's loving character is made certain and true by the great act of love of His Son who laid down His life for us. When the magnetic attraction of the love of Christ grips us in compelling obedience, our knowledge of Him is further enriched. "Hereby know we that we know Him, if we keep His commandments". (2:3). His commandments embrace our relationships with other disciples for "we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and do his commandments" (5:2). John constrains his friends to enjoy the love of God in their daily lives because obedient acts of love are evidence of God in action. "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God" (4:7). The constant commitment to service in our local church fulfils in each of us the patient love of Christ and transforms a repetitive life of duty into a life of willing subjection to our Master. Then, our prayer life is renewed, for "whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do the things that are pleasing in His sight" (3:22).

Our knowledge of the future

Even at the time when John was writing, he described the days as the last hour and spoke of many antichrists coming, This was no cause for despair, as John teaches us how to distinguish between the true and false prophets:

"every spirit which confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit which confesseth not Jesus is not of God: and this is the spirit of the antichrist" (4:2-3).

Finally, John assures us of the certain knowledge of the future hope and joy of the Lord returning for all the children of God: "We know that, if He shall be manifested, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him even as He is" (3:2).

Merchant, Paul | Mar 1981
General