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Scripture Reading: 1 John 2:28-29; 3:1-10a
In previous messages we have covered the first two sections of this Epistle: the fellowship of the divine life (1 John 1:1-10; 2:1-11) and the teaching of the divine anointing (1 John 2:12-27). In this message we come to the third section: the virtues of the divine birth (2:28—5:21). The sequence here is very significant. First, John shows us that in the divine life there is the enjoyment of fellowship, and in this fellowship we enjoy the teaching of the anointing. Following this, John writes concerning the virtues of the divine birth. According to 2:28—3:10a, the virtues of the divine birth are for the practice of the divine righteousness.
First John 2:28 says, “And now, little children, abide in Him, that if He is manifested, we may have boldness and not be put to shame from Him at His coming.” The pronoun “Him” in this verse refers to the Father and the Son. This means that “Him” actually refers to the Triune God. Hence, to abide in Him is to abide in the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
The pronoun “He” in the phrase “He is manifested,” according to the context, must refer to the Son. This understanding is supported by the phrase “at His coming,” found at the end of the verse. Here John is saying that if the Son is manifested, we may have boldness and not be put to shame from Him at His coming.
In verse 29 John continues, “If you have known that He is righteous, you know also that everyone who practices righteousness has been begotten of Him.” “He” here denotes the Triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, all-inclusively, because it refers to “He” and “Him” in the preceding verse, which denote the coming Son, and it also denotes “Him” in this verse, referring to the Father who has begotten us. This indicates strongly that the Son and the Father are one (John 10:30). The pronoun “He” refers both to the Son who is coming and to the Father who has begotten us. It is the Father, not the Son, who has begotten us, but it is the Son, not the Father, who is coming.
In this verse “He” as a pronoun serves two purposes, referring both to Him (the Son) who is coming and also to Him (the Father) who has begotten us. Are the Father and the Son one or two? The best answer to this question is to say that They are two-one. He is both the One who will come and the One who has begotten. As the begetting One, He is the Father; and as the coming One, He is the Son.
In 2:28 the apostle John says, “And now, little children, abide in Him.” The word that begins in 2:13, to the three different classes of recipients, ends in verse 27. Now verse 28 returns to all the recipients. For this reason, the address is again to the “little children,” as in verses 1 and 12.
The word addressed to the three groups of recipients in 2:13-27 concludes in the charge to “abide in Him” as the anointing has taught us. In this section, from 2:28 through 3:24, the apostle continues to describe the life that abides in the Lord. It begins (2:28), continues (3:6), and ends (3:24) with “abide in Him.”
As we have pointed out, here the pronoun “He” refers definitely to Christ the Son, who is coming. This, with the preceding clause, “abide in Him,” which is a repetition of the clause in verse 27 involving the Trinity, indicates that the Son is the embodiment of the Triune God, inseparable from the Father or the Spirit.
In verse 28 John says that if we abide in Him, “we may have boldness and not be put to shame from Him at His coming.” The Greek words translated “at His coming” literally mean “in His presence” (parousia). John’s word about not being put to shame indicates that some believers who do not abide in the Lord (that is, do not remain in the fellowship of the divine life according to pure faith in Christ’s Person), but are led astray by the heretical teachings concerning Christ (v. 26), will be punished by being put to shame from Him, from His glorious parousia.
In verse 29 John twice uses the word “know”: “If you have known that He is righteous, you know also that everyone who practices righteousness has been begotten of Him.” The first use of the word know is a translation of the Greek word eideta, from oida, perceived with a conscious knowledge, a deeper inward seeing. This is for knowing the Lord. But the second use of the word “know” is a translation of the Greek word ginoskete, from ginosko, the outward objective knowledge. This is for knowing man.
The word “righteous” in verse 29 refers to the righteous God in 1:9 and Jesus Christ the Righteous in 2:1. In this word to all the recipients, beginning from 2:28, the apostle turns his emphasis from the fellowship of the divine life in 1:3—2:11 and the anointing of the Divine Trinity in 2:12-27 to the righteousness of God. The fellowship of the divine life and the anointing of the Divine Trinity should have an issue, that is, should issue in the expression of the righteous God.
According to John’s word in verse 29, if we know that God is righteous, we “know also that everyone who practices righteousness has been begotten of Him.” To practice righteousness is not merely to do righteousness occasionally and purposely as some particular act; it is to do righteousness habitually and unintentionally as one’s common daily living. It is the same in 3:7. This is an automatic living that issues from the divine life within us, with which we have been begotten of the righteous God. Hence, it is a living expression of God, who is righteous in all His deeds and acts. It is not merely outward behavior, but the manifestation of the inward life; not merely an act of purpose, but the flow of life from within the divine nature we partake of. This is the first condition of the life that abides in the Lord. It is all due to the divine birth, which is indicated by the word “has been begotten of Him” and the title “children of God” in 3:1.
John’s writings on the mysteries of the eternal divine life place much emphasis on the divine birth (1 John 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, 18; John 1:12-13), which is our regeneration (John 3:3, 5). It is the greatest wonder in the entire universe that human beings could be begotten of God, and sinners could be made children of God! Through such an amazing divine birth we have received the divine life, which is the eternal life (1 John 1:2), as the divine seed sown into our being (3:9). Out of this seed all the riches of the divine life grow from within us. It is by this that we abide in the Triune God and live the divine life in our human living, a life that does not practice sin (3:9), but practices righteousness (2:29), loves the brothers (5:1), overcomes the world (5:4), and is not touched by the evil one (5:18).
First John 2:28-29; 3:1-10a indicates that we can abide in the Lord. We have pointed out that certain pronouns used in these verses indicate that to abide in the Lord is actually to abide in the Triune God.
It is not a simple matter for us to abide in the Triune God. How can human beings abide in God? To abide in God is different from walking with Him. Genesis 5 tells us that Enoch walked with God. But what does it mean to abide in Him? Here John does not speak of walking with God, but speaks of abiding in God. To abide in God means to dwell in Him. We may find it rather easy to understand what it means to abide with God or dwell with God. But according to the natural mind it seems that it is impossible for human beings to dwell, to abide, in God.
Abiding in the Triune God is a matter that involves the divine birth. The third section of this Epistle emphasizes the divine birth. We have the words “begotten of Him” in 2:29 and the phrase “begotten of God” in 3:9; 4:7; 5:1, 4, and 18. By this we see that John repeatedly refers to our divine birth. In order for us to dwell in God, we need to realize that we have had a divine birth, that we have been born of God. Through this divine birth we have received the divine life, which is the divine seed. How wonderful that a divine seed has been sown into our being and that we have been born of God!
When a child is born of his parents, he automatically has a human life. We may say that this human life came from the sowing of a human seed, that the child’s being came from a human seed. This seed means a great deal to a child’s living, for it causes him to be different from any kind of animal. Because a newborn child has a human seed, the child can dwell in humanity. He has been born of humanity, and he has a human life from that seed. Therefore, it is easy for the child to remain, abide, dwell, in humanity. Actually, for a child to dwell in humanity is natural, spontaneous, and automatic. He can abide in humanity because he has had a human birth and possesses a human life from the human seed.
Suppose someone commanded a dog to abide in humanity. A dog may pretend for a little while to stand upright like a human being. But eventually he will go back to standing on four feet and spontaneously live according to the dog nature within him. Because a dog has not had a human birth, he does not have the human life, the human seed, to enable him to abide in humanity.
Do you know what makes it possible for us to dwell in the Triune God? We can dwell in Him because we have been born of Him. It is the wonder of wonders that human beings can be born of God. Although God is divine and we are sinners, we have nevertheless been born of the divine Being. Nothing could be greater than this.
This divine birth is not merely a doctrine or something experienced psychologically. On the contrary, this birth has actually taken place organically in our spirit. In John 3:6 the Lord Jesus says, “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Praise the Lord that we have experienced such a birth! This divine birth brings us a divine life, and the divine life is the divine seed which is now in our being. In this divine life we spontaneously abide, dwell, in the Triune God.
We are already dwelling in the Triune God. There is no need for us to exercise ourselves to dwell in Him since we are already in Him. However, we need to be careful not to allow this abiding in the Triune God to be interrupted.
We have been born of God, and God’s seed abides in us. By this seed we are in God and can abide in God. There is no need for us to do anything. But we should not let our abiding in Him be interrupted. This is the reason John charges us again and again to abide in Him.
In 3:24 John says that we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He gave to us. This indicates that the Lord’s abiding in us and our abiding in Him is altogether in the Spirit.
Because we have been born of God and because His life as a divine seed abides in us, we can abide in Him. As we abide in Him, He saturates us. Of course, John does not use the word “saturates.” But if we experience what is written in this section of 1 John, we shall realize that what John speaks of actually involves being saturated with the Triune God. The Triune God is not a theory or theology; He is the living Spirit, the anointing. Therefore, when we abide in the Triune God, He as the all-inclusive, compound, indwelling, life-giving Spirit will saturate us, and we shall be soaked with Him.
The more we are anointed with the Triune God, the more we are saturated with Him. Let us use as an illustration a piece of cloth that has paint applied to it. The more the paint is applied to the cloth, the more the cloth soaks the paint in until it is saturated with it. Eventually, the entire cloth will be saturated with the paint. The anointing is a divine painting. We have seen that the anointing is the moving within us of the compound, all-inclusive, life-giving, indwelling Spirit, who is the processed Triune God. Just as paint is composed of different elements, so this anointing, the processed Triune God, includes a number of different elements: divinity, humanity, incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection. All these elements have been compounded into the all-inclusive Spirit, who is the divine paint with which we are being painted. Now this Spirit is within us anointing us, painting the elements of divinity, humanity, incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection into our being until we are saturated with them.
My burden is to show the children of God that the Christian life is not a matter of religion or doctrine. The Christian life is altogether a matter of being saturated with the all-inclusive Spirit. This saturation cannot be accomplished by doctrine or theology. This is possible only through the processed Triune God, who is the all-inclusive Spirit.
Many Christians do not have a proper understanding of the Spirit. Some regard the Spirit merely as a force; others claim that the Spirit is in the believers to represent the Father and the Son. Such an understanding of the Spirit is far off from what is revealed in the Bible. In this kind of teaching concerning the Spirit there is no place for the elements that are included in the life-giving Spirit. According to this kind of understanding, at most the Spirit is merely a force or power or a representative of the Father and the Son. Those who hold this concept concerning the Spirit do not realize that according to the Bible the Spirit is the ultimate consummation of the processed Triune God. Many elements have been compounded into this one Spirit. Hence, when this indwelling Spirit anoints us, He saturates our being with all the elements of the processed Triune God. It is in this way that we are regenerated, transformed, and glorified.
Doctrine cannot regenerate us, and theology cannot transform us. Doctrine may be compared to a menu. When you go to a restaurant, you may read the menu. However, your purpose is not to study the menu — your purpose is to eat a nourishing meal. The menu cannot transform you by nourishing you. Only the food you eat can do this.
Suppose a person is undernourished and as a result has a pale complexion. The way to improve his complexion is not to apply cosmetics. To do this would be like doing the work of a mortician. The proper way is to feed him with nourishing food day by day. Eventually, this food will cause an inner transformation, an organic, metabolic change, that will be expressed in a healthy complexion. In the same principle, our transformation can be brought about only by the Spirit, not by doctrine. However, many Christians today care for doctrine and not for life in the Spirit. There are not many Christians who care for the experience of the divine life in the regenerated spirit. We need to be impressed with the fact that in this section of 1 John the experience of the divine life is a matter of the Spirit of God in our spirit.
In 2:28—3:10a we see that we have a divine birth. Through this divine birth we have received the divine seed. Now it is possible for us to dwell in God, and we need to dwell in Him. When we dwell in the Triune God, He saturates us. This is not a matter of correction or regulation — it is a matter of saturation. Referring to the illustration of the cloth and the paint, our being saturated with the Triune God is like the cloth having paint applied to it until it is thoroughly saturated with the paint. Our God today is the anointing, the divine paint. What we have within is not only the ointment but the anointing, not only the paint but the painting. As this painting takes place within us, it saturates us until we are soaked with the paint. Eventually, we shall be thoroughly saturated and permeated with the paint. This certainly is not a matter of religion, doctrine, theology, or teaching. This is a matter of the Triune God as the compound, all-inclusive, life-giving, indwelling Spirit in our spirit continually anointing us. Through this anointing the very fibers of our being will be saturated with all that the processed Triune God is.
As the result of being saturated with the Triune God, we become His expression. Because we have been saturated with Him, we express Him. In a sense, after the cloth has been saturated with the paint, it becomes the paint and expresses not itself but the paint with which it has been saturated. Likewise, as the result of being thoroughly saturated with the Triune God, we shall express Him. In particular, because God is righteous, when we express Him, we shall express His righteousness.
We have seen that the word “practices” in 2:29 means to do something habitually and continually. In 2:29 John speaks not merely of doing righteousness but of practicing righteousness, that is, of doing righteousness continually and habitually as a way of life. A dog, for example, habitually, continually, and unintentionally stands on four legs. For a dog to try to stand upright on two legs and walk like a man would not be a practice but an attempt to act like a human being. Likewise, an unbeliever may do something righteous for a particular purpose. However, as children of God, we practice righteousness spontaneously, habitually, automatically, continually, and without a purpose. This means that we do not purposely intend to do righteousness; rather, we practice righteousness because this is the living of the divine life that is within us. Because we abide in the righteous God and He is saturating us with what He is, we express His righteousness by living a righteous life unintentionally and habitually.
May we all be deeply impressed with the fact that through the divine birth we have received the divine seed. Now through this divine seed we can dwell in our God. As we dwell in Him, He will saturate us with what He is. Because He is righteous, we shall continually express the divine righteousness by practicing righteousness habitually and unintentionally. This is to practice the divine righteousness by virtue of the divine birth.
