READ:
John 1:1-18.
"And the Word
became flesh, and dwelt [tabernacled] among us... full of
grace and truth." "The Word tabernacled among
us full of grace and truth." The inside
of the verse, as you notice, is a parenthesis: "...(and
we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from
the Father)...." That truly is the heart of the
verse, but the other parts before and after that
parenthesis, being in the continuity of the text, are
what I have more truly on my mind for a key to our
meditation at this time. "The Word... dwelt among
us, full of grace and truth."
"John,"
Peculiarly for the Church
We have often
said, in connection with the Gospel of John, that it is
in a peculiar sense the Gospel for the Church. That does
not mean that the other three Gospels are not for the
Church, but they have their own specific line of
emphasis, as you know. When we come to this Gospel,
however, we move away from anything that is in any sense
particular, as to its application amongst men on the
earth, and we immediately find ourselves in what the
Apostle Paul would call, "the heavenlies." It
is not the note of Matthew, which was peculiarly a note
to the Jews in the first instance; and it is not the note
of Mark nor of Luke, which have their sectional
application in the first instance; but with
"John" it is the note of what is not in time
but in eternity, not on earth but in the whole universe.
Every kind of local limit and application is transcended
when we come to "John," and we find ourselves
very quickly in the realm of the letters to the Ephesians
and Colossians. The atmosphere of "John" is
that atmosphere, the range of "John" is that
range, and the accent of "John" is that. If you
listen to the tones of John you find there is something
wonderfully and strangely akin to the tones of the
Apostle Paul, especially in those two letters which I
have mentioned. And it is in that sense that we see that
this Gospel by John is peculiarly and particularly the
Gospel for the Church.
Two
Main Features
1. The Person of Christ
There are two main
things through this Gospel. The one is the Son of God,
Christ Himself in person. That is the first note and that
runs all the way through. It is struck as the key-note in
the very first sentence of the Gospel. To that key-note
the whole of the Gospel is brought into harmony, it takes
its harmony from that key-note, and with the closing
notes of the Gospel we know that the key-note once again
is heard distinctly, and in a sense exclusively:
"...these are written, that ye may believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God." That is where
he commenced; he finishes there, and the whole of his
Gospel is tuned to that key-note, Christ the Son of God.
That fixes the object of the Gospel.
2.
Union with Christ
The second thing
running throughout this Gospel is union with Christ. That
comes up very early in the Gospel. In the first chapter
you have not got past the introduction before it is
brought in concerning those who received Him, and,
receiving Him, were given the right to become children of
God. Then the nature of that relationship is manifested,
showing that it is an organic union, on the basis of
birth from above. On from those early verses, all the way
through right up to the close, you have the thought and
truth of union with Christ. These are the two dominating
notes or emphases of John's Gospel.
Two
Features of Christ in Manifestation
And then there are two
main features of Christ as the Son of God in
manifestation, and they are grace, and truth. "He
tabernacled among us full of grace and truth." I
take the word "tabernacled" as it is used there
as being a better word in a sense than the word in our
translation, "dwelt." It is to enter into a
tent, and a tent is always the symbol of transience, the
opposite of permanence; and the implication here clearly
is that He came for a time, not to abide forever. He came
for a time as in a tent, in a transient way, and yet in
His transient sojourn among us there was a manifestation
of God in Him, and that manifestation of God was along
the line of grace and truth. The two main features of
Christ in manifestation are grace and truth.
Now these are the two
features which, by reason of its union with Him, the
Church is elected to represent. If this Gospel is
peculiarly the Gospel for the Church, if Christ
manifested as the Son of God and union with Him are the
two main things of this Gospel, then we want to know what
is the object of the manifestation and of the union, for
they both go together; they are held together all the way
through. These are two things which God has joined
together; the manifestation of Himself in Christ, with a
view to bringing a company into union with Him in that
manifestation: two parts of one eternal thought. Then,
what is the object of that two-fold revelation - Christ
in Person as the Son of God manifested, and union with
Christ revealed? The answer is that what He came to show
forth of God in Himself is to be shown forth in and
through those who come into that union with Him, and that
is grace and truth. The Church is eternally elected to be
unto Him, by reason of its union with Him, the means of
the universal manifestation of grace and truth. Carry
that into Ephesians: "...the church, which is his
body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all."
Then it is to be to Him the vehicle for making known the
manifold grace of God. There is your "grace,"
but the other thing is running parallel all the time.
"...As truth is in Jesus." The Church is called
for the display of grace and truth as it is in Jesus.
(This is only working toward the object of our
meditation. I trust it is a helpful foundation for our
coming into our place in the eternal purpose of God.)
A
Living Testimony Amidst Religious Death
I want us to remember -
for it will help us toward our object if we do so - that
John in his Gospel and its content especially relates to
Judea. In this Gospel what is being said and done is, in
the main, within the compass of Judaism. The other
three Gospels mainly have to do with Galilee, but here
the Lord is moving and working and speaking mainly in
relation to Judea. That carries with it this
significance, that it is the religious world in the midst
of which the main part of that which is in John's Gospel
is being enacted. Judea especially represents the
religious world; and as it was in the time of this
Gospel. There was a state of religious intellectual
antagonism to Christ. To say the least of it Judea was
out of sympathy with Christ. And you see John's
tremendous emphasis was upon Who He was, and that
emphasis has its own implication; that the religious mind
was not recognizing and accepting the ultimate fact of
the Person of Christ as the Son of God; that the
religious intellectual world was estranged from that
basic fact of Who Christ was; and the emphasis here was
in that realm; firstly, Whom Christ is, and secondly,
what the Church's business is.
I see in that this for
ourselves: that it is, at any rate, not nearly so
difficult to establish the fact of the Person of Christ
amongst those who have never heard and never known, as it
is to establish the whole Testimony of the Lord Jesus
amongst those who are full of religious history. It is in
the realm of religious tradition, religious history,
religious intellectualism, much knowledge of religious
things, that the greatest difficulty arises in
establishing the Testimony of Jesus. And if you read
through this Gospel with that thought in mind you will be
tremendously impressed. When you get on to chapters
eleven and twelve you get into an atmosphere of
tremendous spiritual antagonism to Him, coming from the
religious people. They sought to stone Him; He went away
beyond Jordan, and then the news of Lazarus came to Him.
He tarried, then He said: "Let us go," and the
disciples said: "Lord, will You go back there into
Judea where they sought to stone You?" You remember
His reply, and then poor Thomas' - "Well, let us go
that we may die with Him. It is certain death if He goes
back to Judea; perhaps there is nothing better for us
than to go and die with Him." Perhaps Thomas thought
it better to die with the Lord Jesus than to live without
Him. He saw that to go back to Judea was certain death,
as it proved to be in the end. You see it is there, in
the realm of religious tradition, of religious
intellectualism, that you find the lack of sympathy.
It arises early in the
Gospel. You have, in Nicodemus, the intellectual class
represented, and it is made clear within that realm that
religion - as such - may be rather a hindrance than a
help. It is true what the Lord said to the prophet:
"Son of man... thou art not sent to a people of a
strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house
of Israel; not to many peoples of a strange speech... if
I sent thee to them, they would hearken unto thee. But
the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee." And
our hardest work, and yet the thing which is being put
upon us by the Lord, is the recovery and establishment in
finality and fullness of the Testimony of Jesus amongst
those who have all the traditions. The whole Gospel of
John gives us a comprehensive presentation of the
Testimony of Jesus. I want you to remember that Judea
represented the religious intellectual realm, out of
sympathy with Who Jesus was, and therefore out of
sympathy with those who are out for the Testimony of
Jesus, that is, to establish the fullness of meaning of
Christ having come to reveal the Father.
John's
Favorite Word for Miracle
There is another thing
in John's Gospel to be noted in this connection. It is,
that of the various words translated into the one English
word "miracle" or connected therewith, John has
one favorite. The six words are: Terata=portent, or omen;
Dunameis=powers; Thaumata=wonder; Paradoza=contrary to
expectation; Erga=deeds; Semeia=signs. This last word is
John's particular word. In Judea - the world of religious
and intellectual antagonism - Christ is not out to
capture by wonders, or impress by powers, or hold by the
unexpected, etc. No, it is something with a deeper
implication, a profounder significance. He is teaching
something by what He does. There is a great truth hidden
in His act, and only a heart of faith and sympathy will
come to see that truth.
The first miracle in
Cana of Galilee: "This beginning of his signs did
Jesus." You want to get the significance of the
turning of water into wine at the marriage. And the
miracle of the loaves and fishes, a sign. (You have the
significance given almost immediately after: "I am
the bread of life.") The Lord is seeking to get to
His own people the knowledge of Who He is, and what He
is, and He is bringing into fellowship with Him, into
union with Him, a company who know Him in that sense. The
effort of John is in that direction, to get a company who
know Him, to be the continuous instrument and vessel of a
manifestation of Who the Lord Jesus is. John is not
dealing specifically with sinners, he is dealing in
principle with the religious. You have not got
"repentance" in John; the word does not occur.
You have not got that realm at all. This is all in
keeping with the thought that this Gospel is to bring the
Church into a place of union with the Lord in order to be
for Him the instrument of His manifestation.
John's
Theme - The Testimony of Jesus
Now the theme of John
throughout, not only his Gospel but his Epistles and the
book of the Revelation, is the Testimony of Jesus:
"These are written, that ye may believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God." The letters of John
are all upon that note; and then we know the Apocalypse
contains that very sentence repeatedly used - "The
testimony of Jesus." John's theme is the Testimony
of Jesus.
What is the Testimony
of Jesus? Well, what does John say the Testimony of Jesus
is? Jesus Himself! He is Himself the Testimony. There are
things said, and there are things done, there are great
facts presented, but you never get anything in
"John" as something apart from the Person. I do
want you to notice how everything is related to the
Person in "John." He introduces the Person, and
keeps to the Person all the way through.
Take one or two
illustrations. Chapter four. The question of the water;
the incident of the woman at the Sychar well. The water
there is vitally and inseparably linked with the Person
of the Lord Jesus. Take the bread of chapter six. It is
not something that He gives, it is giving Himself:
"I AM the bread"; giving Himself. Take the
raising of Lazarus. He says: "I AM the
resurrection." It is not that He performs an act of
raising the dead. The Testimony of Jesus is not that He
gives you life, but that HE IS the Life. It is not that
He gives you bread, HE IS the Bread. It is like that all
the way through. The Testimony of Jesus is what He is
Himself. And when we have said that we have got right up
close to the whole matter. "Full of grace and
truth." The Testimony, beloved, is carried on not by
teaching, it is carried on by living union. Oh, that is
where the breakdown has come about. The Lord has had in
some life, or lives, such a union and such a fellowship
with Him as to be able to make Himself known there in a
very rich, wonderful and blessed way with some tremendous
spiritual results in that life, or those lives, which has
meant that there has gone out from them a revelation of
Him, a living revelation of Him; and in that day many
have been brought into a living revelation of Him, have
come into that living touch with the Lord and rejoiced,
not in a doctrine, not in a teaching, but in some real,
new experience of the Lord. The next generation has taken
it up in its teaching and sought to carry that thing on
in the terms of its doctrine; and generation has
succeeded generation with the doctrine of that thing, and
they have called it "carrying on the
Testimony." You cannot enter into that original
thing by accepting its teaching. You have to enter in the
way those first entered into it. It is not only full of
truth, it is full of grace as well as truth. Truth may be
light; grace is love.
Some
Great Words of "John"
Take John's three great
words: life, light, love. These are the great words of
John, all as in the Lord Jesus, bound up in His own
Person. They are the great strong notes that run through
this Gospel. Now you can have light, but if you have not
got love and life you are unbalanced and you have not got
the Testimony. You cannot have the life without the
light. The Lord Jesus combining all three means that in
spiritual fellowship with Him, and possessing of Him, you
should have these things in equal measure, in balance;
life, light, love. The Testimony of Jesus is not only
carrying on the light, it is just as much carrying on the
life and the love. It is possible to take up a system of
truth that is undoubtedly New Testament doctrine to the
full, but being without the life and the love you have
not the Testimony of Jesus. The Testimony of Jesus is
Himself. Life, Light, Love, that is the Testimony of
Jesus.
To bring that all back
to one application, the answer to everything is our
possessing of the Lord, or in other words, our vital
union with Him. We can explain everything of failure and
breakdown by the absence of that, whether in ourselves or
in others. We may have the tradition, and we may have the
doctrine; we may have the truth, and yet there may be the
most appalling inconsistencies, contradictions and
breakdown because we have not got the life and the love
in the same proportions. What we need is not more light,
it is life commensurate with the light, and love in equal
proportion to the light. So many who have a lot of light
are so loveless, as it is true that many have a lot of
light without much life. "FULL OF GRACE AND
TRUTH." He was manifested thus; the Church is
elected eternally to be in union with Him for the purpose
of carrying on His Testimony, and the Testimony the
Church has to carry on is not something about Christ, but
to carry Christ on. Our business in this world as the
Lord's people is to carry on Christ, full of grace and
truth.
All that has to be seen
through this Gospel in its own respective connection.
That is a basic statement for our thought. Our need is
more of the Lord Jesus. That is a very simple statement,
but it goes to the root of everything. You say: "I
want more light." No, you need more of the Lord. You
say: "I want more love." You need more of the
Lord. It is not things, it is Himself; that is the
Testimony with which we are entrusted.
This, of course, will
smite our hearts if we are at all sensitive spiritually.
It will at once set up a standard by which to judge
everything. It will mean we have to go to the secret
place with the Lord and say: "Now, Lord, life and
love must be commensurate with the light." It is
this that the Apostle means when he uses that particular
phrase: "as truth is in Jesus." It means truth
is not something to be had intellectually. You need the
Person and then you get the truth. This carries with it
its own challenge, and it is intended to be an
introductory word for these meditations. We are not
seeking to get a great deal more light as such; we are
seeking to get more of the Lord, to see the Lord, to know
the Lord, and unless the issue of these meditations is
that our union with the Lord is deeper and stronger and
fuller, then we have spoken in vain, our work is all to
no purpose. Oh that all our messages might have that
issue, more of Himself! We want to meet the Lord, and
when it comes to a personal matter the result of the
study ought to be that more of the Lord in the fullness
of grace and truth should be met in us by others. You
notice what the Apostle here says: "For of his
fulness we all received, and grace for grace [or, grace
upon grace]." That must be the result of our
meditation together, even of this introductory word. The
only justifying reason for our consideration is that in
us others should meet more of the Lord in grace and
truth. We should not be a people known as having a good
deal of light alone, but that it might be said always
that with the light there is life, and with the life
there is love; that it is not the light that scorches and
blazes and is intolerable; that it is the light of those
tender tones which are seen in Christ incarnate. That is
the meaning of the Incarnation. God, to be seen nakedly,
would mean destruction; but God manifest in Christ means
that something has come between the blazing light to
break it up in its components and give us the effect of a
prism, so that the blazing white ray is now seen in all
its manifold hues. The body of Christ was like a prism,
breaking up for us the rays of infinite holiness, and we
are able to see what God is, in Christ. That is what we
are to be in turn, as members of the Church; a prism that
others shall see God. The all terrible God, the
intolerable God? No, God full of grace and truth. God Who
is life, God Who is light, God Who is love. Let us pray
that there may be more of Him in Christ seen and known in
us. We must make that a real quest before Him; Christ
more to us; Christ more to others through us. If you want
the solution to all your problems it is there. You want
to know more? Do not think of knowing more in the matter
of truth, as truth. It is a personal knowledge of our
union with the Lord Jesus that goes to the root of
everything, answers every question, and solves every
problem. "That I may know Him," not this and
that and something else. Having Him we have everything.
It will be a blessed thing if we can say after these
hours together: "Of his fulness we all received, and
grace upon grace."