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Scripture Reading: 1 John 2:20-27
In the previous message we pointed out that according to 2:20-27 the Father and the Son are one. It is absolutely correct to say that the Son is not separate from the Father, nor the Father from the Son. However, there is still a distinction between the Three of the Godhead, a distinction between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Lord is both Jesus and Christ. Although there is no separation between Jesus and Christ, there is a distinction between these two titles Jesus and Christ. The name Jesus means Jehovah our Savior or Jehovah our salvation. The title Christ means the anointed One. The name Jesus mostly denotes the Lord in His humanity, in His incarnation, human living, and crucifixion. The title Christ denotes the Lord as God’s anointed One and especially what He is in resurrection and ascension. Jesus and Christ both refer to the same Person. Although this Person is inseparable, there is nevertheless a distinction between the two titles Jesus and Christ.
Although the Son and the Father are one, we should not say that there is no distinction between the Father and the Son. There is a distinction between the Father and the Son, but there is no separation. When the Father is present, the Son is present also. Likewise, where the Son is, there the Father is also. The Father and the Son cannot be separated. For this reason, in verse 23 John says that whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either, and that he who confesses the Son has the Father also.
Whenever we speak about the Trinity, we need to be sober and careful with our definitions and illustrations. We have seen from 2:20-27 that Jesus, Christ, the Father, the Son, the Word of life, and eternal life all are one. However, there is still a distinction between them. We have already pointed out that Jesus and Christ refer to the same Person. Nevertheless, there is a distinction between the name Jesus and the title Christ. We should not say that they denote the same thing, for the denotations are quite different. Because our Lord is rich and all-inclusive, He needs different names and titles to describe Him. Therefore, He is Jesus and He is also Christ. As Jesus He is Jehovah our Savior, and as Christ, He is God’s anointed One.
There should not be any doubt in us that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are truly one and are one God. Although we believe in the Trinity, we definitely do not believe in three Gods. Tritheism, the belief in three Gods, is heresy, and we must condemn it. Although God is one, there is a clear distinction between the Father, the Son, and the Spirit in the Godhead.
The truth of the Triune God is twofold; that is, it has two sides or two aspects, the aspect of one and the aspect of three. The twofoldness of the truth concerning the Trinity is embodied in the word triune. This adjective is actually a Latin word composed of two parts: tri-, meaning three, and -une, meaning one. The word “triune,” therefore, means three-one. On the one hand, our God is uniquely one; on the other hand, He is three. In the aspect of God’s being one, there is no separation between the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. But in the aspect of God’s being three, there is a distinction between the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The Lord Jesus said, “I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me” (John 14:10). Because the Father and the Son are mutually in each other, They cannot be separated. But there is still a distinction between the Father and the Son.
Concerning the Trinity we should not drift to either of two extremes, to the extreme of emphasizing the three or the extreme of emphasizing the one. Some Christians have gone to the extreme of emphasizing the three to the neglect of the one. Others drift to the extreme of the one and neglect the three. We need to be balanced. In order to be balanced we need to emphasize both aspects of the Trinity — the aspect of the three and the aspect of the one. Because in the foregoing message we pointed out that the Father and the Son are one, in this message I would like to say a balancing word that although the Father and the Son are one, there is still a definite distinction between them. In the sense of distinction, the Father is the Father, the Son is the Son, and the Spirit is the Spirit. Although there is a distinction between the Three of the Godhead, the Three nonetheless are still one.
In The Principles of Theology W. H. Griffith Thomas says the following:
The term “Person” is also sometimes objected to. Like all human language, it is liable to be accused of inadequacy and even positive error. It certainly must not be pressed too far, or it will lead to Tritheism. While we use the term to denote distinctions in the Godhead, we do not imply distinctions which amount to separateness, but distinctions which are associated with essential mutual co-inherence or inclusiveness....
While, therefore, we are compelled to use terms like “substance” and “Person,” we are not to think of them as identical with what we understand as human substance or personality. The terms are not explanatory, but only approximately correct, as must necessarily be the case with any attempt to define the Nature of God.
I especially appreciate Griffith Thomas’ word that the term “Person” must not be pressed too far “or it will lead to Tritheism,” the belief in three Gods. In the same principle, when we say that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all one, we should not press this too far, or we will fall into another kind of error. Some have used sunlight as an illustration: the sun is the Father, the ray is the Son, and the shining is the Spirit. Another illustration is that of ice, water, and vapor, with these three respectively representing the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Such illustrations may be used for temporary help; they should not be pressed too far or they will lead to error.
Let us now go on to consider again 2:20-27. Verses 20 and 21 say, “And you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth.” In verse 20 John speaks of the anointing, and in verse 21 he speaks of the truth. No doubt, the truth in verse 21 is related to the anointing, and the anointing points to the truth.
In verse 22 John continues, “Who is the liar if not he who is denying that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, who is denying the Father and the Son.” This indicates clearly that if we deny that Jesus is the Christ, we deny the Father and the Son. This also indicates that Christ is the Father and the Son.
Verses 23 and 24 say, “Everyone who denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who confesses the Son has the Father also. As for you, that which you heard from the beginning, let it abide in you. If that which you heard from the beginning abides in you, you will abide both in the Son and in the Father.” Some who disagree with our understanding of these verses may say, “These verses mean that the Son is the way. In John 14:6 Jesus said that He is the way and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. These verses in 1 John mean that if we do not have the Son as the way, we shall not be able to reach the Father as the destination. Therefore, to deny the Son is to deny the way, and this results in not having the Father as the destination.” However, according to verse 24, if we take the Son as the way to reach the Father, eventually we reach both the Son and the Father. In this verse John speaks of abiding both in the Son and in the Father. It may sound logical to say that Christ as the Son is only the way for us to reach the Father as the destination. Therefore, if we do not take the way, we shall not arrive at the destination. If we take the way, we shall reach the destination. However, here it says that if we take the way, we shall have not only the destination, but we shall have both the destination and the way. Here John indicates that we shall abide not only in the destination but also in the way, that is, both in the Son and in the Father. This proves that both the Son and the Father are the destination. Not only is the Father the abiding place, but the Son is also. This means that the Son is both the way and the destination, both the way to enter into the dwelling place and the dwelling place itself.
In verse 25 John goes on to say, “And this is the promise which He promised us, the eternal life.” In this verse John does not say, “They promised us”; he says, “He promised us.” The singular pronoun “He” in this verse refers to both the Son and the Father in the preceding verse. This indicates that the Son and the Father are one. As far as our experience of the divine life is concerned, the Son, the Father, Jesus, and Christ are all one. It is not that only the Son and not the Father is eternal life to us. It is that Jesus being the Christ as the Son and the Father is the eternal divine life to us for our portion. The point we are emphasizing here is that the antecedent of the pronoun “He” is the Son and the Father and that this indicates that the Son and the Father are one.
Verse 26 says, “These things I have written to you concerning those who are leading you astray.” This verse indicates that this section of the Word is to inoculate the believers with the truth of the Divine Trinity against the heresies concerning Christ’s Person. The Greek words rendered “leading you astray” can also be translated “deceiving you.” To lead the believers astray is to distract them from the truth concerning Christ’s deity and humanity by deceiving them with heretical teachings concerning the mysteries of what Christ is.
In verse 27 John says, “And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you; but as His anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and even as it has taught you, abide in Him.” I would call your attention to the pronouns “Him” (used twice) and “His.” As was the case in verse 25, these pronouns refer to both the Son and the Father. This use of singular pronouns proves strongly that the Son and the Father are one.
It is significant that in these verses the pronoun “they” is not used with respect to the Father and the Son. Rather, John uses singular pronouns to refer to both the Son and the Father. Nevertheless, the expression “in the Son and in the Father” (v. 24) points to a distinction between the Son and the Father. If there were no distinction, there would be no need for John to say, “abide both in the Son and in the Father.” Although there is a distinction between the Son and the Father, there is no separation, because the Father and the Son are one. Therefore the Father and the Son are distinct but inseparable.
In verse 27 John says, “You have no need that anyone should teach you.” Concerning the indwelling of the Divine Trinity (John 14:17, 23), we do not need anyone to teach us. By the anointing of the all-inclusive compound Spirit, who is the composition of the Divine Trinity, we know and enjoy the Father, the Son, and the Spirit as our life and life supply.
According to verse 27, the anointing of the all-inclusive compound life-giving Spirit teaches us concerning all things. This is not an outward teaching by words, but an inward teaching by the anointing through our inner spiritual consciousness. This teaching by the anointing adds the divine elements of the Trinity, which are the elements of the anointing compound Spirit, into our inner being. It is like the repeated painting of some article: the paint not only gives color; its elements are also added to the thing painted, coat upon coat. It is in this way that the Triune God is transfused, infused, and added into all the inward parts of our being so that our inner man may grow in the divine life with the divine elements.
According to the context, “all things” refers to all things concerning the Person of Christ related to the Divine Trinity. The teaching of the anointing concerning these things keeps us that we may abide in Him (the Divine Trinity), that is, in the Son and in the Father (v. 24).
In this verse John also says that the anointing is true. The anointing within us of the compound Spirit as the composition of the Triune God who is true (5:20), is a reality, not a falsehood. This can be proved by our actual and practical experience in our Christian life.
John concludes verse 27 with an exhortation to abide in the Triune God. The Greek word translated “abide” is meno, a word that means to stay (in a given place, state, relation, or expectancy); hence, abide, remain, and dwell. To abide in Him is to abide in the Son and in the Father. This is to remain and dwell in the Lord (John 15:4-5). It is also to abide in the fellowship of the divine life and to walk in the divine light (1 John 1:2-3, 6-7), that is, to abide in the divine light (1 John 1:10). We should practice this abiding according to the teaching of the all-inclusive anointing so that our fellowship with God (1:3, 6) may be maintained.
