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I John
3:14, "We know that we have passed from death
unto life, because we love the brethren. He that
loveth not his brother abideth in death."
This morning, many texts are worded or structured
differently based on the context of the setting. For
instance, is the context personal (individual) or
church based? Is it an eternal or timely context?
Based on the answers to these questions, we find
language that more adequately describes these lessons
to us. Therefore, the context of things is greatly
important, and when language is scrutinized, it is
always beneficial to understand the setting that the
language is surrounded by. Therefore, let us look at
this verse that has a different wording than other
Biblical texts and see why the language is different.
The striking thing about this text is that John
employs the word "know" in relation to our
understanding of being alive in Christ. The reason
that this is interesting is that the Bible is replete
with examples that talk of our eternal life as a
"hope." Now, since there are no contradictions in
Scripture, let us see what the difference is. Hope,
by its very nature, is unseen. Paul describes this in
Romans 8 by asking why a man would hope for something
that he sees. If we see something, then there is no
need to hope for it. One hope that I have while
writing this is to make it home this evening, see my
wife and son, and find all things well. Since I
currently do not see that, it is a hope. But, Lord
willing, this evening I will not have to hope for it
as I will see it before me. After work this evening,
I can say I know that my family and things are well.
So, the hope that we have in Christ Jesus our Lord
stems from the fact that we have not beholden Him with
our own eyes (yet). Our bodies have not been
fashioned and changed like unto His glorious body
(yet). We have not yet seen heaven's pure world, and
since our sight of these things is absent, we
patiently wait and hope for it. However, it must be
stated that this hope is not a flimsy, could be, might
be, wish, or pipe dream. This hope is the earnest
expectation of our desire. We firmly believe that it
will come to pass, even though not yet manifest. As a
matter of fact, as confident as I might be of the hope
of seeing my family this evening, the hope in Christ
is stronger and more sure than that or anything else
in this world that a man may hope for. So, if our
reference to eternal life, seeing our Saviour, and
walking through our inheritance is called a hope, what
does John mean by using the word know?
Shortly before our verse above, John makes the
statement, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit
sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin,
because he is born of God." (verse 9) John makes the
clear and bold statement that what God has planted
within us is pure, holy, without spot, and incapable
of sinning. Other places call this seed the new man,
inner man, new creature, and sometimes the creature.
So, when God vitally enters one of His own in
regeneration, His seed of planting can never fall away
or sin. Even though our old man (body of death) is
totally given to sin, the new man cannot (has not the
capacity) to sin. This is of utmost importance, for
could our new man sin, we would have no hope in the
doctrine of eternal security. But, John clearly
states the impossibility of falling from the gracious
state of God's union to us. So, let us see what can
be observed in verse 14 from verse 9.
When God's children are born of Him, they are
commanded to work out what God has worked in.
(Philippians 2) There is no greater display of this
working out than the assembling of the saints together
in the house of the Lord. When the congregation comes
together in one accord in one place, the love of
Christ that has been shed abroad in our hearts comes
flowing out from breast to breast and faith to faith.
During these happy seasons and times of feasting, the
display of love that is brought forth shows us
something that we can perceive. What we are
perceiving is the image of Christ coming out in the
faces of the saints of God. (Colossians 1:27) The hope
of glory is coming out manifestly by our conduct and
loving affection one to another. Since we can see
these things, we can say that we know some things. We
do not have to hope for what we are seeing.
Therefore, if we are seeing the image of Christ (by
faith) coming out through the bonds and chords of
love, we have the evidence to say, "I know that I have
passed from death unto life." The love that we feel
one for another is our evidence that gives the
knowledge of the blessed state we are in. When we see
these things, we can rejoice to be able to say one
more time, "I have seen the face of the King in the
faces of His people. Surely the Lord is in this place
and in our midst." This is one of the primary reasons
that one cannot get as much outside of church as one
can inside church being a visible member of the body
of Christ.
And oh how sad the times of parting from these
scenes becomes! While the flesh is weary sometimes
after exercises of worship, the parting hand is one
that makes me yearn immediately for the next occasion
to meet together. When we leave these scenes of
fellowship, our evidence of the image of Christ in our
brethren's faces leaves as well. It is the times when
not around the Lord's saints that we must (at times)
say, "I hope that I have passed from death unto life"
as the things seen are not presently visible. May our
hearts yearn and long for these times to visit
together and see our Lord high and lifted up. Truly,
the Lord's people have been a help and blessing to me
all the days of my life. My humble prayer is that the
face of my Saviour has been seen in glimpses in my
efforts to give the same assurance and rest to the
brethren as their faces have given me. Finally, may
we all seek to show forth the love of Christ more and
more with each passing hour.
In Hope,
Bro Philip
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