Down an Unfamiliar Road

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson XCIII) 06/02/22

^4:14 Furthermore, we have seen with our eyes and now tell the world that God sent His Son to be their Savior.

Zane C. Hodges (1932-2008) says that the Apostle John now reaches a pivotal point in his argument. He had just written that “if we love each other,” then the God whom no one has seen abides “in us, and His agápē is made complete in us.” This experience shows that we have seen and testified that the Father sent His Son to be the world’s Savior. Since the first-person plural “we” in verses seven to thirteen is meant to include the readers, the “we” here in verse fourteen also embraces them. The indwelling God, whose presence is manifested in a loving Christian community, thus becomes, in a sense, visible to faith’s eye. Though no one “has seen” (“beheld”) God, [1] believers who abide in Him[2] “see” (“behold”) the Son as He reveals Himself among loving Christians. Believers who behold this manifestation have, in fact, “seen” and can “testify” to the fundamental truth that “the Father sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.” This great truth can be displayed through the instrumentality of Christian love.[3]

John Painter’s (1935) thoughts bring to mind that what the Apostle John said in verse nine that God sent His only Son into the world “that we might live through Him,” is now completed here in verse fourteen that the Father sent His Son “to be the Savior of the world.” As this is the third and final use of the topic of the sending of the Son,[4] it may be helpful for John’s highlighting the three statements using the Greek verb apostellō (“sent”). The first and third in verses nine and fourteen use the perfect tense – meaning to be “complete” – while the second use in verse ten employs the aorist tense – meaning “action without beginning or end.”

While all three refer to the sending of the Son, notes Painter, the first and second refer to God as sender while the third refers to the Father. The first and second make God’s agápē the basis for sending of His Son. No cause is mentioned in the third instance. In verse nine, the purpose/consequence of sending the Son is “that we may live through Him.” His Son is sent “as the propitiation for our sins in verse ten.”[5] Finally, in verse fourteen, the Son is sent “as the world’s Savior.”[6]

Muncia Walls (1937) affirms that the declaration that Jesus is the “Savior of the world” is a remarkable declaration to consider. Foremost, how many people are presently living in this world, yet this statement applies to everyone! The power of His blood is sufficient to cleanse the dirtiest sinner in the world![7] There is a lovely song we used to sing years ago that makes a similar statement:

               Though millions have found Him a friend
               And have turned from the sins they have sinned
               The Savior still waits to open the gates
               And welcome a sinner before it’s too late

               Chorus:

               There’s room at the cross for you
               There’s room at the cross for you
               Though millions have come, there’s still room for one
               Yes, there’s room at the cross for you.[8]

Michael Eaton (1942-2017) hears the Apostle John say, “It is we apostles and those who believe our testimony, who have experience of God. No one knows the experience of God’s presence who does not accept our apostolic message.” John’s words summarize the message:

• The Father and the Son were there before the time when Jesus came into the world (“the Father sent the Son”).
• Jesus was the incarnation of the divine Son (“And we have seen… that the Father sent the Son”).
• His mission in this world originated from God.
• His work was a work of salvation (“With Him as the Savior”)
• His work is available for all, not for a few elites (“the Savior of the World”)[9]

William Loader (1944) says that this statement about God’s sending the Son is formulated in traditional terms and has already appeared in earlier verses.[10] Likewise, Savior of the world was probably a well-established phrase. It was already present in the community’s Gospel.[11] Similar to the tradition mentioned earlier, [12] it is one of the few places in the epistle where the worldwide perspective is expressed. The initiative of God’s agápē was directed not to a particular group, but towards all people. The Apostle John wants to preserve this broader outlook.[13]

I remember attending an evangelism seminar in Amsterdam, Holland, where the main speaker was Dr. Bill Bright, Founder of Campus Crusade for Christ.[14] His vision was that if every one of us delegates were to go out and win two souls to the Lord, then those two people won two more and multiplied, again and again, it wouldn’t be long before the whole world would be followers of Jesus the Anointed One. That was in September 1971, and here over fifty years later, the world seems just as lost as ever. Was there anything wrong with Dr. Bright’s message? No! The only fallacy was in the expectations. Jesus made it clear that no one can come to Him except the Father draws them.[15] So, we may go out by the thousands, but unless we go in the Spirit and the Spirit does the convicting, our efforts will not fulfill our hopes and dreams.

David Jackman (1947) says that we should notice how the Apostle John compresses much of what we have already learned into one short sentence. He is determined to drive nails into the coffin of Gnosticism, again and again. The Father sent the preexistent Son into the world. He came to be its Savior by human death on the cross. These are the facts of the matter. The Spirit’s witness and the apostolic testimony belong together, for there can be no separation between the Spirit and the Word. The One who was the Word inspired its human authors by His Spirit. Now, the Anointed One uses His specially designed tool to bring us life and build us up in the faith. The justification for the Spirit’s work in our lives is seen in commitment to the revelation of God in the Scriptures.[16]

Robert W. Yarbrough (1948) indicates that the primary reference of “we” here in verse fourteen is an apostolic claim that few readers would have viewed Jesus in His earthly days. The unnecessary stated pronoun “we” may be slightly emphatic, marking a contrast between John and his readers. It is not to deny that John “includes the readers with himself.” Yet, writer and readers do not blend into a single indistinguishable voice. We may understand John’s language as excluding those shadowy opponents whose errors his epistle periodically addresses.

John not only “beheld,” says Yarbrough, referring back either to Jesus’s life as a whole or perhaps even to His crucifixion in particular when the divine love was manifest in a climactic way;[17] he also now “testifies.” This action is closely linked with the act of “seeing” or “beholding” that this may be, what Yarbrough calls a “hendiadys.”[18] “Seeing is believing,” goes the old saying; for an appointed spokesperson like John.[19] For the apostles Peter and John, “to see is to testify.”[20] For John the Baptizer, “I have seen, and I testify.”[21]  And for Jesus, “we testify to what we have seen,”[22] “He testifies to what He has seen.”[23] [24] Colin G. Kruse (1950) points out that the concerns of the Apostle John’s First Epistle are different from those of his Gospel. The background of this letter was strife within the Christian community. The idea in the Gospel was to convince the world that Jesus of Nazareth was God’s Anointed One – the Messiah, who came as a Savior to redeem humanity from everlasting death and give them eternal life. The question here in the Epistle was whether Jesus needed to be recognized as Savior. In particular, it was whether belief in Jesus’ death as an atoning sacrifice for sin was necessary. Those who had seceded from the community denied that they had sinned[25] and argued that Jesus’ atoning death was unnecessary and did not occur.[26] Those who, with John, acknowledged their sins confessed the importance of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice, which provided cleansing

---

[1] 1 John 4:12

[2] Ibid. 4:13

[3] Hodges, Zane C., The Bible Knowledge Commentary, op. cit., loc. cit.

[4] See 1 John 4:9, 10, 14

[5] Cf. Ibid. 2:2

[6] Painter, John. Sacra Pagina: 1, 2, and 3 John: Vol. 18, loc. cit.

[7] Walls, Muncia: Epistles of John & Jude, op. cit., p. 76

[8] Written by Ira F. Stanfield (1914-1993) in 1946

[9] Eaton, Michael: Focus on the Bible, 1,2,3, John, op. cit., p. 157

[10] 1 John 4:9-10

[11] See John 4:42

[12] 1 John 2:2

[13] Loader, William: Epworth Commentary, op. cit., p. 55

[14] Campus Crusade for Christ was founded in 1951 at the University of California, Los Angeles

[15] John 6:44

[16] Jackman, David: The Message of John’s Letters, op. cit., p. 127

[17] 1 John 4:10

[18] Hendiadys is the expression of a single idea by two words connected with “and,” e.g., nice and warm. However, one could modify the other, as in nicely warm.

[19] Cf. John 15:27

[20] Cf Acts of the Apostles 4:20

[21] John 1:34

[22] Ibid. 3:11

[23] Ibid. 3:32

[24] Yarbrough, Robert W., 1-3 John (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament), op. cit., p. 247

[25] Cf. 1 John 1:6 – 2:2

[26] Cf. Ibid. 5:6-8

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson XCII) 06/01/22

^4:14 Furthermore, we have seen with our eyes and now tell the world that God sent His Son to be their Savior.

John James Lias (1834-1923) notes that in verse fourteen, we read  “God sent,” in the Authorized Version, (KJV) which is better translated, “God has sent” in the Revised Standard Version. It is the mission of God’s Son. Also, it is not just an historical event, but an ongoing fact. It is necessary that the manifestation of “God as Love” continues.” The two sides of the truth are presented to us. In verse ten, we have the Divine Nature of the Son brought into prominence here in verse fourteen – His Sonship. In these verses, we have an explanation of verses eleven and twelve. Even though any immediate comprehension is missing, God’s presence in the heart is proven by the intermediate agency of His Spirit within us and in the world. [1]

But Lias has more to say. Christians do not merely believe; they know. Unbelievers may tell us it’s only our opinion and that one view is as likely to be accurate as another. They ask for evidence, argument, and logical proof of Christianity’s truth. And they have a right to demand this within certain limits. Humans are reasonable beings, and their faith must be valid. But reason must stay within its sphere. It is finite; God is infinite. Logic can apply to principles already ascertained and conclude from facts already discovered. However, why things are and how they are, in their origin, is beyond its place and power. Logic knows that they are and can, within certain limits, tell what it means to be a Christian, why they are different now, and what they will become. Human reasoning knows, for instance, specific natural laws, such as motion, gravitation, chemical change, and life. It knows their effect, but not their divine origin, their duration, nor can it penetrate beyond a certain distance in its attempts to define them. If logic is powerless in the affairs of the visible world, it is no wonder it fails to penetrate the secrets of the spiritual world?[2]

Marvin R. Vincent (1834-1922) gives us the origin of the term “world’s Savior.” He notes that we should compare the exact phrase in John 4:42 and 3:17. God’s Son as “Savior” only occurs here and in John’s Gospel.[3] Elsewhere it is applied both to God the Father[4] and the Anointed One.[5] The title can also be found in Paul’s Epistles of the Captivity[6] and the Pastoral Epistles, but not in Corinthians, Romans, Galatians, or Thessalonians.[7]

In classical Greek writings, they applied this term to many deities, especially Zeus (Jupiter); also, Hermes (Mercury), Apollo, Hercules, and even female gods, such as Fortune and Aphrodite (Venus). “Zeus Sōtēr (“Zeus Savior”) was used as a formula for drinking at banquets. The third cup was dedicated to Zeus. Greek Philosopher Plato wrote that Socrates once offered this toast at a banquet: Then let us sum up and reassert what has been said, thus offering the third libation to the savior Zeus.”[8] The drinking of this cup was a symbol of good fortune, and the third time came to mean the lucky time. “Well then, that makes two in a row, and twice the just man has been victorious over the unjust one. Now the third, in Olympic fashion, to the savior and the Olympian Zeus.”[9] This gave rise to the proverb, “the third to the savior,”[10] namely, the third or lucky time. Savior was also given later to princes or public benefactors.

The kindred noun “salvation” does not occur in John’s Epistles and appears only once in his Gospel.[11] It is found three times in Revelation.[12] The verb “save” occurs six times in John’s Gospel[13] and once in Revelation.[14] It does not appear in the Epistles. This information will surely help us better understand why the Apostles used the word “Savior” or “salvation” in connection with Jesus, says Vincent. However, it did not make a big impression among the Gentiles.

George G. Findlay (1849-1919) says that all Apostle John’s arguments lead to one conclusion; his appeals have one intent: “Beloved, let us love one another.” Heaven and earth, nature and grace, the old times and the new, resonate in our ears with one strain: “Little children, love one another!” This is the substance of the Epistle and forms the message of the aged Apostle’s ministry. Twice he has broadened the command of love – first, urging it to become the law of true life for a believer, [15] and second, recognizing it as the sign of a new birth from God.[16]

Therefore, notes Findlay, now John must anchor these positions by showing that Love is of the essence of God. The pure affection glowing in human hearts comes from the bosom of the Father; the spark of brotherly love cherished under the chills and obstructions of earthly fellowship has been kindled from the fires that burn everlastingly in the being of the All-holy. The solidarity of love – our love with that indwelling of the infinite God, all love centering in one Divine communion and commonwealth: this thought possesses John’s mind for the rest of chapter four. He holds it up like a jewel to the sun; each turn of expression, like another facet, flashes out some new ray of heavenly light.[17]

Harry A. Ironside (1876-1951) tells us that the Apostle John sums it all up in verse fourteen. “We (the apostolic company) have seen (they who were witnesses who knew the Anointed One personally), and do testify (bear witness) that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” Notice, again, “The Father sent the Son” – the relationship of Father and Son did not begin after His birth into the world. God the Father and the Son have eternally dwelt together. The Anointed One is God’s preexisting Son. He did not become the Son after He was ordained by the Father to be the world’s Savior. It does not imply that everyone will be saved, but that God has provided a Savior for all who desire to be redeemed. So, the personal relationship between God and mankind today is not merely the details about our sins, sinful tendencies, or commission of sins; the unsettled question between humanity and God is this: “What are we doing with God’s gift, the Lord Jesus the Anointed One?”[18]

Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) discusses the various views on the word “Savior” concerning Jesus the Anointed One. That, in its essence, is what the Final Covenant would teach us concerning the Lord Jesus as the Savior of our souls. You can see that He is not a helper or an assistant. He is not merely the One who encourages us; He is not only an example to follow. It’s hard to accept such thinking. He is so glorious, holy, and divine that it makes no sense. And thank God we are not commanded to do so in such a demeaning way. Primarily, this is the message: He is the Savior; He fulfilled the law, satisfied its demands, and offered to share His righteousness with us. He is “working so powerfully in us,”[19] as the Apostle Paul puts it, to deliver me from my sinful tendencies in all its aspects. Eventually, He will take us by the hand and present us to His Father, who will welcome us into His everlasting glory.[20]

F. F. Bruce (1910-1990) Not only is God’s agápē poured into His children’s hearts through the Holy Spirit, but an appreciation for God’s truth was imparted to them by the same Spirit. The Spirit of love is the Spirit of truth. The Spirit persuades and enables us to believe in Jesus as God’s Son; He communicates to us the new life which is ours as members of God’s regenerate family; it is through Him that we remain in union with the ever-living the Anointed One and He with us; it is through His inward witness that we receive the power to bear our witness. Thus, our Lord’s promise in the upper room is fulfilled: “When the Friend I plan to send you from the Father comes – the Spirit of Truth issuing from the Father – He will confirm everything about Me. You, too, from your side, must give your confirming evidence since you are in this with Me from the start.”[21] [22]

David E. Hiebert (1928-1995) points out what few translations, among them, Young’s Literal Translation, show that in the Greek text, the article “the” is missing before the word “Savior.” “The Father sent the Son – Savior of the world.” Hiebert says that the perfect tense “has sent” denotes the significance of sending His Son “to be the world’s Savior.” Thus, “Savior” describes what He is, not merely His mission. The salvation He wrought is inseparably connected with His Person as God’s unique Son. “The world,” steeped in sin and corruption, needs a Savior. He is our Savior, not of Jews only, but the entire world.[23]

Stephen S. Smalley (1931-2018) points out that the term “savior” occurs only here in the letters of the Apostle John. It is also used once only in the Fourth Gospel, [24] in a parallel phrase which includes the definite article “the Savior of the world. ”[25] In the classical Greek world, the title “savior” was applied both to the gods and humans. In the Roman imperial cult, the tendency to incorporate the theme of saviorhood into the designation of Hellenistic rulers found its most potent expression. Starting with Caesar Augustus, it was eventually known as “the savior of the (inhabited) world.”[26] It is possible, says Smalley, that the Christian description of Jesus as “Savior” may have developed in opposition to this usage and as a way of establishing the claim that Jesus transcended all the gods of the pagan world.[27]

---

[1] Lias, John James: The First Epistle of St. John with Exposition, op. cit., pp.325-326

[2] Ibid. With Homiletical Treatment, op. cit., pp. 324-325

[3] John 4:42

[4] 1 Timothy 1:1; 2:3; Titus 2:10; 3:4; Jude 1:25

[5] Luke 2:11; Acts of the Apostles 5:31; 13:23; 2 Timothy 1:10; Titus 1:4

[6] Ephesians 5:23; Philippians 3:20

[7] Vincent, Marvin R. Word Studies in the New Testament, Vol. II, op. cit., pp. 358-359

[8] The Dialogues of Plato, Trans. B. Jowett, p. 1195

[9] The Republic of Plato, ⁋583b

[10] The Mysteries of Adoni by S. F. Dunlap, Williams and Norgate, London, 1841, To Triton (the Third) to the Savior! Philebus by Plato, 66, p. 81

[11] John 4:22

[12] Revelation 7:10; 12:10; 19:1

[13] John 3:17; 5:34; 10:9; 11:12; 12:27, 47

[14] Revelation 21:24

[15] 1 John 2:7-11

[16] Ibid. 3:10-18

[17] Findlay, George G., An Exposition of the Epistles of St. John, op. cit., Chap. XX, p. 327

[18] Ironside, Harry A., The Epistles of John and Jude, op. cit., pp. 157-158

[19] Colossians 1:29

[20] Lloyd-Jones, Martyn, Life in the Anointed One, op. cit., p. 506

[21] John 15:26-27 – The Message

[22] Bruce, F. F., The Epistles of John: A Verse-by-Verse Exposition. Kingsley Books, Inc. Kindle Edition.

[23] Hiebert, David E., Bibliotheca Sacra, op. cit., January-March, p. pp. 80-81

[24] John 4:42

[25] Cf. John 3:17; 12:47

[26] See Odes of Horace, Bk. 4, XV

[27] Smalley, Stephen S., Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 51, op. cit., p. 252

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson XCI) 05/31/22

^4:14 Furthermore, we have seen with our eyes and now tell the world that God sent His Son to be their Savior.

Scottish Presbyterian Church leader, theologian, and philosopher Thomas Boston (1676-1732) says that we should notice some things imported in this testimony of the Anointed One as the Savior of the World.

(1) The world needed a Savior; otherwise, none would have been provided for them by Him who does nothing in vain.

(a) It was a sick world.[1]

(b) It was a cursed world and needed a Savior to remove the curse and bring in the blessing.[2]

(c) It was a lost world.[3]

(2) No one of inferior dignity to the Son of God could be the world’s Savior.

(3) The Anointed One was sent as Savior of the world by heaven’s design. The salvation of humanity was planned entirely without them being involved.

(4) The Anointed One is fully empowered to save a lost world, and being sent in that character speaks of His ability to answer the call.[4]

(5) The salvation of lost sinners of the world is acceptable to our Lord Jesus and the Father; otherwise, He would not have sent His Son to be Savior of the world.[5]

(6) There is no other Savior besides Jesus the Anointed One.[6] [7]

Johann Bengel (1687-1752) highlights “and we”[8] thus – “have seen and do testify,” inferred from verse sixteen, “we have known and believed.”[9] Making acquaintance is denoted by the expression, “we have known,” like the German idiom, kennen lernen, which means the ability to learn and make an acquaintance. A certain degree of knowledge goes before believing, even as believing comes before testifying. But the words “have seen” denote the complete satisfaction of sight in beholding it. The Son – There are two practical tests of our dwelling in God and He in us; these are our communion with the Holy Spirit and our acknowledgment of God’s Son.[10] [11]

Joseph Benson (1749-1821) makes a good point here. Some commentators understand the Apostle John as speaking of the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit. Definitely, these gifts, of whatever kind they might be, never were to any person evidence of their possessing a super union with God. Our Lord Jesus spoke clearly about this when He told His disciples that “On Judgment Day, many will say to Me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in Your name, cast out demons, and performed many miracles in Your name.” So, what did Jesus say? “I never knew you. Get away from Me, you who break God’s laws.”[12]

The ordinary graces of the Holy Spirit, says Benson, are called out by the Apostle Paul as evidence of a person being God’s child.[13] But the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit are in a different category.[14] These personal gifts are not as prominent today as they were back in John and Paul’s time. But no matter how proudly or obstinate they might be in accepting these gifts and graces, these things are the foundation and the criteria of our abiding in God and God in us, namely, the communion of the Spirit, spoken of here in verses thirteen and fifteen.[15] Sadly, even some churches and denominations denounce anyone who might claim to have the same gifts of the Spirit as the Apostles did.

Charles Simeon (1759-1836) says that we can join the Apostles in telling those who will listen that the Anointed One is indeed God’s Son, “Emmanuel, God with us.” We affirm that His errand in coming was to save a ruined world. We confirm that He did all that was necessary for our soul’s redemption; and that “He can completely save those who come to God through Him.”[16] But keep the faith and say as Jesus did to Nicodemus, “We speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen.”[17] The only thing we must do is yearn to know more about Him until we can say with the Samaritan converts, “We have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man is the world’s Savior.”[18] Indeed, you cannot see Him now, as the Apostles did, face to face; but by faith, you may “see Him that is invisible:”[19] and if you only behold Him now by faith, you will one day see Him as you see others. As the Apostle Paul says, “Now I know only a part, but at that time I will know fully, as God has known me.”[20] [21]

William Lincoln (1825-1888) tells us that the Lord Jesus could not stoop any lower than He did, coming so low that whenever anyone hears the Gospel, they hear this message, “We have seen and do testify, that the Father sent His Son to be the remedy for our sins.”[22] Since we could not get to Him, He came to us and took the penalty for our sin upon Himself; He came to be the world’s Savior. After all, there is nothing so comforting as being aware that God did not blink when He saw we were sinners but still made provision for our salvation. Even though one might condemn themselves and oppose the Gospel, the Lord Jesus can hold them into His arms and say, “Child, be of good cheer; I forgive your sins.”[23]

Presbyterian minister Griffith Parry (1827-1901) views Christianity as a spiritual power or a source of enduring influence on the world. It began in a remote location but now is worldwide. As Parry sees it, the Incarnation of God’s Son was the indispensable condition of the reunion of mankind with God. It is the highest magnitude that any creature can attain – that God should “dwell in them, and they in God.” It does not mean to disappear like a ripple in the ocean of the Godhead, as the pantheists[24] imagine, but to become one with God in the unification of holiness and the fellowship of love and yet to preserve our individuality forever in conscious enjoyment of that union. Humanity could not have been saved by ascending with their strength – by the mere development of their natural powers. On the contrary, God’s descent from heaven fashioned our salvation of unparalleled magnitude.

So, it follows, says Parry, that the Incarnation and death of the Son of God form the spiritual power to create the world anew and the moral elevator for raising humanity to God. Suppose we see a Christian of extraordinary attainments in godliness. In that case, we may be sure that this is the secret of their strength their thoughts and affections constantly revolve around this great center, “God manifest in the flesh;” They abide by faith and love in the Anointed One, and thereby God dwells in them, and they in God. It is the “secret of godliness.”

Therefore, Parry advises, the facts of our redemption accomplished in Palestine years ago remain in the world yet, as great spiritual forces operating on mankind’s soul to raise them to God. So, in conclusion, let us appreciate the Gospel above all things. Remember that godliness, and all progress in holiness, draws its strength from the Anointed One and His Cross, life, death, and resurrection.[25]

Henry A. Sawtelle (1832-1913) points to the Apostle John, adding a new and additional line of proof of the union of God and His people. We, says John, the Christian Party, through the apostles, have seen the evidence accompanied with careful contemplation.[26] John urges us to continue to do so since testifying to Gospel truths is not a one-time event. God the Father is so named because of His relationship to the Anointed One, rather than John. What God sent in the past still has its influence and effects today.[27]

Furthermore, God’s Son coming to be the world’s Savior is a distinctive title declaring the mission on which He came. He was sent to provide, in person, salvation for the world, which is available and applied through belief and confession.[28] But, to those who receive Him, the Son of God is Savior from what? Delivery from guilt and eternal damnation, despair and sinful nature, error, the body of death, the world, Satan, and eternal hell required a great Savior, with all His deity, humanity, blood, and Spirit.[29]

Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) says that it is a sweet thought that Jesus the Anointed One did not come to us without His Father’s permission, authority, consent, and assistance. We are prone to forget that, says Spurgeon, while there are personality distinctions in the Trinity, there are no distinctions of honor. We too frequently ascribe the glory of our salvation, or at least the depths of its generosity, more to Jesus the Anointed One than we do the Father. Did not His Father send Him? If His speech was impressive, did not His Father pour grace onto His lips that He might teach the Final Covenant? Have you put your confidence in the Man Jesus, the Anointed One? Have you put your trust solely in Him? Then you are united with the Father of heaven.[30]

---

[1] Matthew 9:12

[2] Acts of the Apostles 3:26

[3] Luke 19:10

[4] Hebrews 7:25

[5] 1 Timothy 2:3-4

[6] Acts of the Apostles 4:12

[7] Boston, Thomas: Biblical Illustrator, op. cit., Vol. 22, pp. 97-99

[8] John 15:27

[9] 1 John 4:16

[10] See 1 John 4:13, 15

[11] Bengel, Johann: Critical English Testament, op. cit., p. 321

[12] Matthew 7:22-23

[13] See Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 5:9; Colossians 3:12-17; Romans 12:9-21

[14] See Mark 16:17-18; 1 Corinthians 13:2; Ephesians 4:11-12

[15] Benson, Joseph: Commentary of the Old and New Testaments, Vol. 3, p. 11103

[16] Hebrews 7:25

[17] John 3:11

[18] John 4:42

[19] Hebrews 11:27

[20] 1 Corinthians 13:12

[21] Simeon, Charles: HoræHomileticæ, op. cit., Discourse 2456, pp. 489-490

[22] 1 John 4:14

[23] Lincoln, William: Lectures on 1 John, op. cit., Lecture VII, pp 119-120

[24] Pantheism is a doctrine which identifies God with the universe, or regards the universe as a manifestation of God, and their worship admits or tolerates all gods.

[25] Parry, Griffith: The Biblical Illustrator, op. cit., 1 John 4, pp. 94-96

[26] See 1 John 1:1-2

[27] Ibid. 4:9

[28] See Romans 10:9

[29] Sawtelle, Henry A., An American Commentary, Alvah Hovey, Ed., op. cit., p. 51

[30] Spurgeon, Charles H., Morning and Evening Daily Readings, op. cit., February 5, AM

After listening to all the demands and outrage by politicians and talking heads on TV about the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, I thought of two things in connection with this horrible tragedy and how it might have had a different outcome.

First: Introduce the following changes to federal gun laws as follows: “No individual between ages 18 and 21 will be allowed to buy a firearm without a parent or legal guardian’s approval, signed in person at the place of purchase.”

Second: The misguided outcry that our approach to Mental Health issues in America needs fixing. The real problem behind such a hideous act as that committed by this deranged young man is not Mental Health, but Moral Health.

Therefore, no person should be able to receive a graduation certificate from high school without taking a 2-semester hour class on Ethics in their junior or senior year. With Bible and prayer being taken out of our homes and schools, these young people have no moral compass to guide them in deciding what is the right or wrong thing to do when under stress.

These are just my thoughts, and I wanted to share them with you. Thank you for reading what I have written with an open mind. God bless you.

My computer is down, so I will not be able to post for a while, Thank you for your prayers

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson XC) 05/24/22

^4:14 And furthermore, we have seen with our eyes and now tell the world that God sent His Son to be their Savior.

John stresses that Jesus was God’s Son before He came to earth. He did not become a Son at Bethlehem, and it was for Him to be the world’s Savior, not merely some special messenger. Jesus came to the world as “Savior,” not “social worker.” There are only two instances where the Final Covenant calls Jesus “Savior.”[1]  What makes this so critical is that all humanity needed saving. So, the basic principle here is that Salvation through the Anointed One is the foundation of dynamic Christian living. Faith in the Anointed One produces love for God and ignites a love for other believers. As God showed His love toward us in the Anointed One, we are to show that same love to those who love Him. 

COMMENTARY

Œcumenius (800-900 AD) comments that since we have fellowship with God in agápē, it is also by agápē that the Apostles who saw Him in the flesh acknowledged Him and bear witness that the Father sent Him to be the world’s Savior. But above and beyond their testimony, Jesus instructed them to teach us about this, thereby leading us to a perfect understanding of Him, as when He said: “I went out from the Father and came into the world.”[2][3]

John Calvin (1509-1564) points out that the Apostle John now explains the other part of the knowledge of God, by which He communicates Himself to us through His Son and offers Himself to be enjoyed. It follows that we receive Him through faith. John’s design shows that God is so united to us by faith and love that He dwells in us and manifests Himself in a manner visible by His presence. Otherwise, we would not know God was there. Therefore, when John says that we have, seen, and testify, he refers to himself and others. And by seeing, John does not necessarily mean only by visible contact, but by the spiritual enlightenment found in faith by which they recognized the glory of God in the Anointed One. So then, according to what John goes on to say, Jesus was sent to be the world’s Savior; and this knowledge flows from the illumination of the Spirit.[4]

John Brown of Haddington (1722-1787) feels that since the Apostle John tells his readers that he and other Apostles were eye-witnesses to the personal life of the Anointed One, His preaching, miracles, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension back into heaven’s glory, that upon such infallible evidence can attest to the fact that God the Father sent His only begotten Son to be born in human flesh and thereby qualify Himself as the Lamb of God to be the Redeemer of both Jews and Gentiles so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.[5]  

William E. Jelf (1811-1875) notes that the Apostle John, for a moment, recalls what he said before as the source and foundation of Christian love, [6] the source from which it springs, the foundation on which it stands – God’s agápē in sending His Son as reconciliation with God for our sins. He now puts his personal and visual evidence of the certainty of this doctrine to confirm it and show the importance of a genuine belief as the sound foundation for practice for himself and the other apostles.[7]

William Kelly (1822-1888) points out that the Spirit of God glorifies the Anointed One by receiving His words and explaining them to us. He was to guide us into all the truth. Many religions recommend a kind of mysticism that glorifies self; it is occupied with feelings. Therefore, it exposes some souls to self-worship and others to dejection. People are not easily satisfied with what they get from such meditation. It is wholesome to learn that there is nothing in ourselves to yield spiritual satisfaction, to make the Anointed One our all-in-all. But to be occupied with one’s heart, save for humbling ourselves on account of it, is as dishonoring to Him as it is dangerous to ourselves. Occupation with ourselves is not merely unprofitable, but hinders growth in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Anointed One.

Yet, says Kelly, there is no doubt that many Christians get drawn into this human philosophic view which substitutes occupation with self instead of the Anointed One, Jesus, and being happy instead of always delighting in the joy of the Lord.[8] So, how can we correct such inward-looking? John says here, “And we have seen.” Here are the emphatic words of the inspired witnesses, “and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.” Whatever others may occupy themselves with, “The Father sent His Son as the world’s Savior.” What is, what ought to be, the effect of such a truth?

Does this not fill us with the praise for the Father and the Son? Does it not shame us into nothingness as to ourselves? We are shown that we were sinners saved by faith through grace—timid faith questions whether we were so bad or God was so good. But if we simply believe through the Holy Spirit, we cannot assuredly find anything in ourselves worth talking about compared to grace, so rich and everlasting. It’s how God weans us from ourselves, the world, and every other object, to delight our souls in Him and His Son. Knowledge may puff up, but the Father’s and Son’s love builds up.

Kelly adds that he hardly knows of anything that should affect us more profoundly than these words in verses thirteen and fourteen. How can we conceive of being near God if it is not dwelling in God and God in us? No image paints a more graphic picture of intimacy and mutuality, so to speak, than this. And when we think about who and what God is and what we are, it is indeed a great testimony. But who is the Apostle John talking about? Very high and pious believers? Only ministers and theology professors? Perhaps devoted saints like Mother Theresa? No! He speaks of every Christian. We are all fruit of the same Gospel.

Kelly concludes that the best way to know that we dwell in Him, and He in us, is because He gave us His Spirit. This goes farther than the last verse of chapter three, “The one who keeps God’s commands lives in Him and He in them. And this is how we know that He lives in us: We know it by the Spirit He gave us.” But now, John adds that we have seen and testified that the Father sent His Son to be the world’s Savior. Therefore, whoever will confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in them, and they in God.[9] So what John says connects what we do to show God’s Spirit is in us rather than what we say about Him dwelling in us.[10]

James Arminius (1560-1609) comments on the testimony of the Samaritan village people who learned about Jesus after revealing Himself to the woman at Jacob’s Well who said: “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man is the world’s Savior.”[11] Arminius says that the Samaritan’s word was confirmed by the Apostle John, who stated: “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the world’s Savior.”[12] He focuses on the word “world” and says that all people, in general, are to be understood as part of the world in these passages. For there is, in my judgment, says Arminius, no passage in the whole Bible in which it can be proven beyond controversy that the word “world” signifies only the Elect. Again, the Anointed One is said to have died for all.[13] Paul explains that He is said to be “The Savior of all people, especially those who believe.”[14] [15]

John Bunyan (1628-1688) writes concerning the individual who comes to the Anointed One and their advantages. Those who come to the Anointed One are nearer to Him than those still choosing to go to Him; They are like the prodigal son, “And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming.”[16] Now the one nearest to God can see Him clearly. It helps them make the best judgment of His amazing grace and beauty; as God said, “Let them approach; then let them speak.”[17] And as the Apostle John says, “And we have seen and testify that the Father sent His Son to be the world’s Savior.”[18] Those who have not decided to come to the Anointed One, though He is coming back, is not fit, (incapable of judging the worth and glory of the Anointed One’s grace), as those who have come to Him, and have seen and observed it. Therefore, sinner, suspend your decision-making until you decide to draw nearer to God.[19] [20]

William Burkitt (1650-1703) says it’s as if the Apostle John said, although no one has ever seen God with their physical eyes at any time, yet, the apostles, who preach the doctrine of faith and the duty of love, have seen Him with their natural eyes through the Lord Jesus the Anointed One, and do testify, that God the Father glorified His agápē, by sending His Son to be the Savior of a perishing world; not of Jews only, but also of the Gentiles.

And John further declared, says Burkitt, that whoever believes the apostle John’s testimony will confess with their mouth and believe in their heart that this Jesus, whom we preach, is the Son of God and will evidence the truth of his faith by the sincerity of His agápē. God dwells in them by His Spirit, and they abide in God by repeated acts of love. We apostles, says John, know well and firmly believe the love, the incredible great love, which God manifested towards us, in and through His Son Jesus the Anointed One; we again affirm and conclude that God is love.[21]

---

[1] 1 John 4:14 & John 4:42

[2] Ibid. 16:28

[3] Œcumenius: Commentary on 1 John, loc. cit.

[4] Calvin, John: Commentary on the Catholic Epistles, op. cit., loc. cit.

[5] Brown, John of Haddington: Self-Interpreting Bible, op. cit., p. 1328

[6] 1 John 1:1

[7] Jelf, William E., First Epistle of St. John, op. cit., p. 63

[8] Philippians 4:4

[9] Kelly, William: Lectures on the Catholic Epistles of John, op. cit., p. 327

[10] Ibid.

[11] John 4:42

[12] 1 John 4:14

[13] See Hebrews 2:9

[14] 1 Timothy 4:10

[15] Arminius, James, op. cit., An Examination of the Treatise of William Perkins (1558-1602), p. 312

[16] Luke 15:20

[17] Isaiah 41:1 – Complete Jewish Bible

[18] 1 John 4:14

[19] Reminds me of the song the ship’s string ensemble on the Titanic, as it sank. “Nearer to Thee; E’en though it be a cross that raises me, still all my song shall be Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer, my God, to Thee, Nearer to Thee.”

[20] Bunyan, John: Practical Works, Vol. 2, Come and Welcome to Jesus the Anointed One, pp. 153-154

[21] Burkitt, William: Notes on N.T., op. cit., p. 432

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson LXXXIX) 05/23/22

^4:13 And He has put His Holy Spirit into our hearts as proof that we live in Him and He with us.

Ben Witherington III (1951) suggests that we connect verse thirteen with what the Apostle John said earlier.[1] The phrasing here is a bit odd, and it raises interesting questions. It says that we know we are in God, and vice versa because He has given us, literally, “from His Spirit.” If this simply meant, “We know God is in us because He gave us His Spirit, which is the manifestation of the divine presence in a human life,” it is a strange expression. One possible explanation is that Jesus received the Spirit without limits. By contrast, believers only receive a portion “of His Spirit.”[2] It could be a reference to spiritual gifts, although John does not focus on that in the way the Apostle Paul does.[3]

Duncan Heaster (1967) states that what the Apostle John says here complements his statement in verse twelve that we know He abides in us if we live in love. The presence of the Spirit will produce love, the love of the Anointed One, which is the cardinal feature of His entire Spirit. In Biblical exposition, the Spirit is a gift, given – and not cultivated by our steel-willed effort or pleasure. The Spirit came after the Lord ascended back into heaven, [4] giving each believer a specific gift.[5]

Karen H. Jobes (1968) says that the Apostle John’s concerns are the Christian testimony that God sent His Son to be the world’s Savior. This flow of thought closely follows what we find in John’s gospel.

            John 17:18: “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”

            John 17:21: “… that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me, and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

            John 17:26: “I have made you known to them … so that your love for me may be in them.”

Christian love, therefore, is the expression of us being in God (who is agápē) and Him in us. That unity also has an evangelistic and revelatory purpose so that the world might see the presence of God’s love in the Anointed One. The Spirit is the assurance of God’s presence in us and us in Him.[6]

David Legge (1969) laments that what is lacking in the preaching today is the cross – the practical agápē of the dying Jesus. That is not possible of ourselves; it is God’s agápē – and verse thirteen shows us that this happens only by the Spirit of God if we look at it. Don’t you think you can just go out and throw your arms around drunks and hug them – it doesn’t work like that! It has to be God’s agápē within your heart; only God’s agápē will do – but what we’re saying here is that the first way that agápē is presently demonstrated, as it was in the past at the Anointed One’s death, is through Christlike lives of Christians who are Spirit-filled, filled with the agápē of Jesus. It doesn’t matter what you say with your mouth; it’s what you do with your love?[7]

4:14     We have seen that the Father sent His Son to be the world’s Savior, and this is what we tell people now.

EXPOSITION

When Jesus was talking to Nicodemus, He pointed out, “The truth is, we talk about what we know. We tell about what we have seen. But you Jews don’t accept what we tell you. I have told you about things here on earth, but you do not believe me. So, I’m sure you will not believe me if I tell you about heavenly things!”[8] So later on in this same chapter, John the Baptizer confirmed this when skeptics were questioning him, “He tells what He has seen and heard, but people don’t accept what He says. Whoever accepts what He says has given proof that God speaks the truth. God sent Him, and He tells people what God says. God has anointed Him to do this.”[9]

And this is not new; in talking to the religious leaders who were disputing His claims about being the Messiah. Jesus tells them what they missed, “You carefully study the Scriptures. You think that they give you eternal life. These same Scriptures tell about me!”[10] So while they were looking at Jesus to find fault, they were not looking to see what God had said about Him.  Here John tells his readers that they must not make the same mistake.

John and the Apostles saw and testified of the Son of God’s presence in His time on earth. The words “have seen” mean that the apostles deliberately contemplated the reality of the Incarnate Anointed One on earth, the Son of God, in the incarnation.  It was not simply a moment-in-time, but a process of seeing and testifying. The apostles gave continuing testimony to the incarnate Anointed One. John puts stress upon Jesus as the Son.  The Son was the Son before He came into the world.  Our Lord always was the eternal Son of God.  He did not become God’s Son at Bethlehem.

As John recorded in his Gospel: “God sent Him.”[11]  The Pharisees and scribes were upset that Jesus had appointed Himself as the Messiah.  They kept calling for proof that God was behind His coming.  Jesus was very outspoken about this and was not hesitant to tell His distractors, “But I have a proof about Myself that is greater than anything John the Baptizer said. The things I do are My proof. These are what My Father gave me to do. They show that the Father sent Me. And the Father who sent Me has given proof about Me Himself. But you have never heard His voice. You have never seen how He appears. The Father’s teaching does not live in you because you don’t believe in the one the Father sent.”[12]

It wasn’t so much that there was no evidence that the Father was behind Jesus’ coming; they refused to look and accept the evidence.  What would your answer be if someone asked you to prove that Jesus was living in you and that the Holy Spirit was leading you?  Would you use some theological defense or dogmatic creed?  No!  You would produce evidence to show the difference they’ve made in your life.  Like the blind man being questioned about the claim that Jesus healed his eyes said, “All I know is this, once I was blind, but now I see.”  So, when the religious leaders argued with Jesus over His being the Son of man, He asked them, “So why do you accuse me of insulting God for saying, ‘I am God’s Son?’ I am the one God chose and sent into the world.”[13]

Therefore, the dispute was not with Jesus, nor is it with us; it ends up being with God.  I have learned through debating that we must always keep this in mind when someone challenges us about our faith or beliefs.  Always inform them that their argument is not really with you; it’s with the Scriptures, upon which your faith and beliefs are founded.  So, each time they point to you, you point to the Scriptures.  Eventually, you can establish this rule for any further debate: Their argument is with the Scriptures, and your argument is in defense of the Scriptures.  Where did I get this brilliant idea?  From Jesus the Anointed One, my ideal debater.  John now wants to add after his readers saw that the heavenly Father was involved.

John the Baptizer was the first to see this.  We hear him announce as he saw Jesus walking toward him during his baptismal services: “Look, the Lamb of God. He takes away the sins of the world!”[14] And after telling the story about Nicodemus coming to Jesus to learn more, John concludes that “Yes, God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son so that everyone who believes in Him would not be lost but have eternal life.”[15]

Not only that, but so impressed were the townspeople where the woman who met Jesus at the well in Samaria lived that they told her this, “First we believed in Jesus because of what you told us. But now we believe because we heard Him ourselves. We know now that He is the one who will save the world.”[16] And Jesus concurs with their words when He tells those who came out to welcome Him as He rode from Bethany toward Jerusalem, “I did not come into the world to judge people. I came to save the people in the world.”[17]

Jesus was the Redeemer of the world, not merely the elect.  Jesus came to the world as “Savior,” not as a social worker. There are only two instances where the Final Covenant calls Jesus the “Savior,” here and in John 4:42. That means that all people are savable (2:2).[18] Salvation in the Anointed One is the foundation of dynamic living in Christianity. 

Thus, “we” clearly means apostles, and “beheld” implies contemplation with bodily eyes.[19] The invisible God can only be “invisibly seen” with a pure heart. The language of this verse fourteen would be strained and unreal for someone who had not seen the Anointed One in the flesh. Note that “Savior” has no article. The “world,” as commonly used in John’s writings, is primarily unregenerate sinners among the human race.

It is good to keep in mind that the Apostle John and other apostles saw and testified of the Divine Son’s presence in time on earth. The words “have seen” mean steadfastly and deliberately contemplating the very existence of the Anointed One in human form on earth.  It was not a momentary event, but a process of seeing and testifying. The apostles gave continuing testimony that the Anointed One was alive and, in the flesh, while He was with them.

---

[1] 1 John 3:24

[2] Cf. Ephesians 1:13-14

[3] Witherington III, Ben: Letters and Homilies for Hellenized Christians: op. cit., loc. cit., (Kindle Locations 7216-7223)

[4] John 7:39

[5] Heaster, Duncan: New European Commentary, op. cit., 1 John, p. 33. Heaster does not reveal what that special gift is. We can only assume that he means “eternal life.”

[6] Jobes, Karen H., 1, 2, and 3 John (Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on The New Testament, Book 18), p. 195

[7] Legge, David: 1,2,3 John, Preach the Word, op. cit., “Christian Love: Its Source and Sign,” Part 13

[8] 1 John 3:11-12

[9] Ibid. 3:32-34

[10] Ibid. 5:39

[11] Philippians 3:34

[12] Ibid. 5:36-38

[13] Ibid. 10:36

[14] Philippians 1:29

[15] Ibid. 3:16

[16] Ibid. 4:42

[17] Ibid. 12:47

[18] Ibid. 2:2

[19] 1 John 4:12

CYNICS may ask, why don’t people follow the advice of numerous proverbs and maxims of forethought available for centuries? Instead, they conclude that these are only used after some rightful venture has gone “horribly wrong.” When, for instance, a person gambles and loses all they have, including their house, why did they not remember the old Scottish proverb which declares “willful waste leads to woeful want?” But didn’t the gambler know this well-worn saying from earlier years? However, what good, then, did it do? Are the maxims of morality useless because people disregard them? For Christians and Jews, the Book of Proverbs is a great example. Yet, what about other religions and philosophers?

The most widely read French poet of the 17th century, Jean de La Fontaine, said, “Let us not strain our abilities, or we shall do nothing with grace. Whatever he may do, a clown will never pass for a gentleman.”

It sounds a lot like the Apostle Paul thought when he wrote, “Let your conversation be graceful and properly seasoned so that you will have the right response for everyone.”[1]

---

[1] Colossians 4:6

SOMETIMES IT’S ALRIGHT TO BE HATED

Hélder Câmara was an unlikely folk hero. Standing barely five feet tall and weighing about ninety pounds soaking wet, he was a tiny person – entirely unimposing. But more so than his physical stature, what made him an unlikely folk hero was after he began his ministry as a young priest in Brazil as part of the far-right Integralist Party.

As an Integralist member, Father Câmara spearheaded a campaign to eradicate the shanty towns located on the hills around Rio de Janeiro and forcibly relocate their residents to new housing in the city. But, Father Câmara’s campaign did not go quite as planned. Yes, the Integralists managed to bulldoze down those shacks and shanties and move their inhabitants into the city. However, once there, the folks they uprooted were reeling from the forced relocation and without jobs to support themselves.

Backed into this Câmara-made corner, they did what they had to do to survive. Namely, some pulled the electric and water fixtures out of their new abodes and sold them. Others moved their families out onto the streets and sublet their apartments so that they could have money to buy food. Suffice it to say, Father Câmara’s campaign was an abject failure.

This campaign succeeded in bringing Father Câmara face-to-face with the poorest of Brazil’s poor for the first time. And he was forever changed by it. Because of this experience, he left the Integralist Party and began to talk about “unjust policies of poverty” and how the Church needed to work not just for the people but also with the people. He took this perspective with him when he was appointed archbishop of Olinda and Recife, a particularly impoverished area of the country.

Discarding all the usual trappings of that office – a palace to live in, bright-colored robes to wear, and gold jewelry to enhance himself – he chose instead to live a life of solidarity with the poor. He took up residence in a small house behind a church, wore only a brown cassock and a wooden cross around his neck, and ate his meals at a bar on the corner surrounded by construction workers and alcoholics. That same year Câmara was appointed archbishop, a fascist military dictator took over the Brazilian government. Câmara observed that the poor were suffering even more than before under their rule.

In response, he instituted social programs to help meet the primary material and spiritual needs of the masses living in poverty in his archdiocese. He initiated feeding programs and various housing projects. He established a permanent campaign of charity for the needy. Furthermore, he even advocated for industry to move into that area of the country to create jobs with which people could support their families.

At the same time as he worked to alleviate the suffering of the poor, Câmara also became an outspoken critic of the regime. In weekly radio broadcasts, he would speak in favor of governmental reform. While this ministry engendered a great deal of love among the common people, it produced a great deal of hatred among those in power.

At first, Father Câmara was simply blacklisted. He was labeled a communist by the regime, and censors forbade the media from interviewing or quoting him. Yet, every Sunday in the pulpit, he persisted in agitating for reform. His sermons were described by those who heard them as “lyrical cries for social justice.”

Then one day, Câmara opened the door of his little house to find a man standing there – a hired killer with his gun drawn, he announced matter-of-factly. “I have come to assassinate you, Dom[1] Hélder.” With Mahatma Gandhi’s calmness, Câmara responded, “Then you will send me straight to the Lord.” Astounded by this reply, the assassin – himself from the impoverished classes – lowered his gun and let loose his tears. “I can’t kill you,” he sobbed, “You belong to God.”

It’s not often we get the opportunity to say this, but: that assassin was RIGHT! Hélder Câmara belonged to God. He was a faithful follower of Jesus who told us not to be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.[2]

In a day and time when so many portray themselves as victims rather than accept responsibility for their poor decisions and bad behavior, Hélder Câmara shows us what it looks like to be hated for all right reasons. His ministry was a bold testament to God’s special care and concern for those struggling under poor economic conditions and powerless to bring changes. And for it, Câmara was hated, just like Jesus had said his followers would be. In his famous words, Hélder Câmara said, “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. But, when I ask why so many people are so poor, they call me a communist.” The world would be a better place if more of us were hated for those same reasons! 

---

[1] Dom in Portuguese is a title of honor

[2] Matthew 10:28

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

By Dr. Robert R Seyda

FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN

CHAPTER FOUR (Lesson LXXXVIII) 05/20/22

^4:13 And He has put His Holy Spirit into our hearts as proof that we live in Him and He with us.

Hiebert notes that John first mentioned the reality of this interrelationship here in chapter three, verse twenty-four. There the mutual indwelling was presented as the experience of the individual believer. Still, the use of the plural pronouns, “we/us,” underlines this relationship as the experience of the Christian community. In this verse, John asserts the community wide scope of this connection between God and His people.[1] So, not only is this enlightening verse expressive, but it is self-explanatory. There are many such verses in the Bible, notes Hiebert, but we don’t take the time to look at them for an explanation.

Simon J. Kistemaker (1930-2017) notes that the New International Version has “we know,” but the Greek text says, “By this we know.” The words “by this” refers to the context where John tells us that God lives in us if we love one another. Therefore, the Apostle John’s discussion of the subject of love is the backdrop for the confidence John expresses in God. But what is that confidence? First, John says, “we know that we live in Him and He in us.” Because of God’s presence in our lives, we know that we are in union with Him, and He in us. However, there must be more than that. How do we know that we are in partnership with God? “Because He gave us His Spirit to live in us.” Earlier in his narrative, John makes a slightly different point. He says, “We know it by the Spirit, He furnished us,”[2] and that divine blessing flows to us through the work of the Holy Spirit.[3] Herein verse thirteen, John writes, “He has given us of His Spirit.” Thus, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are God’s gift to us, and we are the recipients.[4]

Stephen S. Smalley (1931-2018) sees three truths about the nature of God’s agápē in verses seven to twelve, where the Apostle John presented these as “inducements to brotherly love.” First, we are to love one another as a condition for living as the Father’s children[5] because God is love and the source of agápē. Secondly, because God loved us first. And thirdly, if we love others, spiritual benefits follow. The first of these results, the fact that God indwells the believer, is now taken up and developed here in verse thirteen.[6] This certainly gives those who think that singing or saying, “I love you, God,” or “I adore you, Lord,” express their love to Him. But according to John, it is of no value when it is not practiced.

Ian Howard Marshall (1934-2015) says that it would seem that John lists additional characteristics of the faithful Christian, by which he differs from those who rest their claims simply on charismatic experiences. The test for the reality of spiritual gifts is whether those who possess them also hold to the apostolic faith. So, John goes on to state that he and his readers have seen and now bear witness that the Father sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. Although the wording is close to that of 1 John 1:1ff., it seems likely that we have the church’s testimony as a whole rather than merely of the original eyewitnesses of the earthly ministry of Jesus. The confession is similar to the statements made in 1 John 4:9ff. But where the previous comments described Jesus as an atoning sacrifice for sins, here He is called the “Savior of the world.” The confession should remind us of the words of the Samaritans, who discovered for themselves that Jesus “really is the world’s Savior.”[7] [8]

John Painter (1935) believes that the reason God gave or has given us His Spirit is to provide evidence that He abides with us and of our mutual abiding. It is noteworthy that these two tests are embedded in affirmations that broaden the basis of evidence. First, it asserts that “the person keeping His commandments abides in Him and He in them” (mutual abiding).[9] Then it declares that “if we love one another, God abides in us.”[10] Keeping the commandments and loving one another broaden the base of the evidence. We must note that John says the only basis for our mutual abiding is “that He abides in us.”[11] Meanwhile, there is evidence that God abides in us, and we in Him.[12] It suggests that there is only mutual abiding in John’s thinking, which can at times be spoken of from one side only. Thus, God’s Spirit abides in those who enjoy union with God. If we remain in contact with Him, He will remain in fellowship with us.

Muncia Walls (1937) says that by the Anointed One dwelling in us by His Spirit, we know He is within us because of the witness of His Spirit. His Spirit brings agápē into our life that the Apostle John has just written about. The coming of His Spirit into our hearts is an actual activity that is undeniable and convincing to all who receive the Spirit. The evidence that accompanies the Spirit coming into one’s life is compelling. The individual loses control of their vocal cords, and the Spirit begins to speak through them in His language. Yes. Those filled with the Spirit know that the Spirit dwells within![13]

For Michael Eaton (1942-2017) the Greek verb ginōskō (“know”) does not refer to deductive logic but to conscious enjoyment of God’s working in our lives in a way that we can understand. Some expositors take ginōskō to mean to “deduce” or “prove,” but there are objections to this approach. This is the Apostle John’s picture of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a witness to our being in God and God in us. The bi-directional flow of love and communication between God and us occurs through His working within us. On our side, our prayers to God are directed by the Holy Spirit. He causes our spirit to stir and bubble up within us on God’s side. They include His guidance, prompting, illumination, encouragement, empowering, and impartation of Gifts. By this same Spirit, we remain in union with God.[14]

David Jackman (1947) notes that with the living God abiding in His people, it will always produce the characteristics of His essence – holiness and righteousness, mercy and love. When a believer experiences that inner constraint to love others unselfishly, whereas before, they might have feared, ignored, or rejected them, that is evidence that the Holy Spirit is at work within. It is a real assurance of salvation. But we must not avoid the negative implications. Where someone claims to be a Christian but has no time for fellowship with others, criticizing the Church and writing it off, practicing a solitary devotion, should we not inquire whether that person is deluded and God really does live in them? Where the Spirit of God is at work, it sweetens bitterness, melts hardness, and multiplies love.[15]

Robert W. Yarbrough (1948) notes that here in verse thirteen, the Apostle John speaks of the Spirit’s role in the believers’ assurance that God is in their midst as they reach out to others with the divine love that has touched them. When it comes to the doctrine of salvation, John is not a proponent of “groupthink,” but this does not mean there is no cooperation between God and His people as He gives and they, receiving, respond. The Spirit is the link, even agent, who permits believers to see this interchange for what it is: a token of God’s very presence among them, assuring them of the integrity of the message they have received and the importance of the ethic they are called upon to embrace.

Here John encourages them, then, with the apostolic insight that divine presence and not merely human impulse move them to selfless regard for each other. Within John’s discourse, this is not simply an interesting theological observation; it rather raises the stakes of the earlier essentials[16] by implying that failure to love would be to grieve if not completely spurn the Spirit of God. In John’s sphere of reasoning, allowing for a divine being’s connection with humans would be to reject the Father, Son, and Spirit as well.[17]

Colin G. Kruse (1950) explains that it is difficult to know whether this verse should be read with what precedes or what follows it. This theme is found in both what precedes in verse twelve and what follows in verses fourteen and fifteen. The difference between what goes before and what comes after is that verse twelve emphasizes love for fellow believers. In contrast, in verses fourteen and fifteen, the testimony supported by eyewitness accounts that God’s agápē was expressed in sending Jesus to be the world’s Savior.

The question we are left with is: When John introduces the giving of the Spirit as the ground of assurance in verse thirteen, is he implying: (a) that the Spirit motivates love for fellow believers and the objective practice of love is the basis of their assurance or (b) that the Spirit teaches the truth about God’s sending Jesus as the Savior of the world and knowing this provides believers with the basis of assurance, or (c) that the very presence of the Spirit Himself in believers creates the sense of assurance?[18]

Judith M. Lieu (1951) imagines that just as the Apostle John’s readers may be getting complacent in their gentle caresses of self-affirming love, and are not awakened to the dangers that still lie ahead. Logically, this might expose the argument as flawed: how can the experience of God’s Spirit be any more secure than the experience of God’s indwelling or His residing in us? How can the former be the grounds for knowing the latter? The beginning of the chapter provided something of an answer: the experience of God’s Spirit is established by the confession of Jesus as God’s Son. Now it has become more apparent why all this should be so. The God who indwells us and is indwelt by us is the One whose fundamental nature of love was demonstrated and experienced by sending the Son.[19] That makes the formula clear. By confessing that Jesus is God’s Son, we also accept Him as a part of God’s agápē. So, unless you first accept Jesus, there can be none of God’s agápē in you.

---

[1] Hiebert, David E., Bibliotheca Sacra, op. cit., January-March 1990, p. 79

[2] 1 John 3:24

[3] Cf. Roman 5:5

[4] See John 20:22

[5] John 13:35

[6] Smalley, Stephen S., Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 51, op. cit., p. 249

[7] John 4:42

[8] Marshall, Ian Howard. The Epistles of John (The New International Commentary on the New Testament) op. cit., pp. 219-220

[9] 1 John 3:24

[10] Ibid. 4:24

[11] Ibid. 3:24

[12] Ibid. 4:12-13

[13] Walls, Muncia: Epistles of John & Jude, op. cit., p. 75

[14] Eaton, Michael: Focus on the Bible, 1,2,3 John, op. cit., pp. 154-156

[15] Jackman, David: The Message of John’s Letters, op. cit., p. 126

[16] 1 John 4:7, 11

[17] Yarbrough, Robert W. 1-3 John (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) (pp. 246-247). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

[18] Kruse, Colin G., The Letters of John (The Pillar New Testament Commentary (PNTC)), op. cit., loc. cit., Kindle Edition

[19] Lieu, Judith: The New Testament Commentary, op. cit., p. 187