Here are some words that we all need to contemplate. The crosses we make for ourselves by unnecessary anxiousness about the future are not heaven-sent crosses. We tempt God by our faulty wisdom, seeking to anticipate His arrangements, and struggle to supplement His providence with our provisions. The fruit of our understanding is always bitter. God allows it to be so that we may be frustrated when we forsake His fatherly guidance. The future is not ours. We may never have anything for which to hope. Or, if it comes, it may be entirely different from all we expected. Let us not shut our eyes to what God has for us in the hidden depths of His wisdom. Let us worship without seeing. Let us be silent and be still.[1]
The crosses God lays upon us always bring their special grace and consequent comfort with them. We see the hand of God when the cross rests upon us. But the crosses brought about by anxious worries are beyond what God intended. Instead, we meet them without the special grace adapted to the need of a faithless spirit, which renders grace impossible. And so, everything seems complicated and unbearable. All seems dark and helpless, and the soul that indulges in curiously tasting of forbidden fruit finds nothing but hopeless rebellion and spiritual death.
All this comes from not trusting God, from ignoring the wisdom in His hidden ways. “Tomorrow will worry about itself,”[2] our Lord has said, and the worry and trouble of each day become good if we leave them to God. Who are we to ask Him, “Why are You doing this?” It’s the Lord’s doing, and that is enough. Let Him do what seems good to Him. So, let Him wound, then do the healing. Let Him discipline, and provide comforting. Let Him give life or decide when to call us to our rest: He is Lord! We are His work. Let us remove anything that would slow us down from our lives, [3] and then God’s will, unfolding hour by hour, will satisfy us as to all He does in or around us. Human conflicts, their inconstancy, their very injustice will be realized as the result of God’s wisdom, justice, and unfailing goodness. Then, we will see nothing but that infinitely good God, hidden behind the weakness of blind, sinful humanity.
The most outstanding people are nothing themselves, but God is great in them. He uses their changing ways, pride, pretensions, vanity, and other wild passions to reveal His eternal purposes for His elect. He turns everything within and without, the sins of others and our failings, to our sanctification. God designed everything in heaven and earth to purify and make us worthy of Him, So let us be glad when our heavenly Father puts us to the test with various inward and outward testing.[4] When He surrounds us with external adversities and internal sorrows, let us rejoice, for, in this way, our faith is tried as gold in the fire.[5] It is this crucial experience that snatches us from ourselves and the world. Let us rejoice, for the new self is born in us by such painful work.
In the trials of life, we learn the hollowness and falseness of all that is not God: Emptiness because there is nothing real where not one speck of good is present. And falseness because the world promises and kindles hopes, but gives nothing but emptiness sorrow hearts.
We see that not facing reality rules everywhere. It excites desires and kindles hope but can never fill the heart. That which is itself empty cannot fill another. The weak, wretched idols of earth cannot impart strength or happiness that they do not possess themselves. Do people seek to draw water from a dry well? Surely not. Then why should they look for peace and joy from famous or great people who themselves cannot find contentment while consumed with inward weariness amid their outward display? ‘‘Those who make them will be like them.”[6] So, let us fix our hopes higher, further from the casualties of this life.
All that is not God is vanity and falsehood, [7] and consequently, we find both of these in ourselves. What is so vain as hopelessness in our hearts? What delusions are there that we don’t use to deceive ourselves? Happy is the person who is not deceived. However, our heart is as vain and false as those in the world. Therefore, we must not despise deception without hating ourselves. We are even worse than the world because we have received more incredible things from God. Therefore, let us endure patiently if the world fails or misuses us. Since we have so often forgotten or misused God, grieving His Spirit of grace. The more the world disgusts us, the more it is furthering God’s work, and while seeking to harm us, it will help us.
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”[8] So, cut off every root of bitterness, and cast aside whatever disturbs the simple peace and trust of a child of God. Turn to your Heavenly Father in every care; bury yourself in that tender heart, where nothing can fail you. Rejoice in hope, and casting aside the world and the flesh, taste the pure joys of the Holy Spirit.[9]
May your faith be unmoved during every storm. Always remember the words of the Apostle Paul, but in reverse order, “To those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose, all things work together for their good.”[10][11]
[11] Fénelon, François: Paraclete Giants, The Complete Fénelon, Translated and Edited by Robert J. Edmonson, Paraclete Press, Brewster, Massachusetts, 2008, pp. 48-51; Vocabulary and grammar redacted by Dr. Robert R Seyda
4:6But we are God’s children; that is why only those who have walked and talked with God will listen to us. Others won’t. That is another way to know whether a message is really from God, for if it is, the world won’t listen to it.
The false prophets, notes Finlayson, are Satan’s attempt to provide an enhanced version of Christianity taught by prophets who claimed to have Divine inspiration; the false prophets claimed to be under Divine inspiration as well. The only way they could succeed was to attempt to make their message as close to the truth of the true prophets as possible. Christianity was at that time wonderfully active in many places. How was it to be counteracted? One way was to incorporate Judaism with Christianity. Another method was to integrate Gentile philosophy with Christianity, called Gnosticism.
The general drift of Gnosticism is to replace the plain facts of the Gospel with philosophic myths. Cerinthus, a contemporary of John in a Roman province in Asia, is described as “the intermediate link between the Judaizing and the Gnostic sects.” As a Judaizer, Cerinthus held, with the Ebionites, [1] that Jesus was only the son of Joseph and Mary, born the natural way. As a Gnostic, he maintained that the Anointed One first descended, in the form of a dove, on the carpenter’s son at His baptism; that the dove revealed to him the unknown Father, and worked miracles through him; and then flew back to where he came from and left Jesus alone to suffer.
There is a reason for believing that this was a particular danger, or something not unlike it, invading the circles to which John writes in this Epistle. Therefore, there arose the necessity for discriminating between true and false prophets, that one class might be followed and the others shunned. How was this necessity to be met? Only by the action of the Christians themselves under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.[2]
Richard Rothe (1799-1867) emphasizes that every Christian must keep in mind what the Apostle John says here. In proportion to how much a person has grown in the knowledge of God’s Word, they must assure themselves they have a clear understanding of God’s Word. They must also discern that the disputes they hear concerning God’s Word are often contradictory, not of what you said, but what God said. But Christians must not forget that they have this consciousness and conviction only “in proportion to” their maturity in becoming more and more like the Anointed One. Therefore, they will not always pay attention to the scripture the world has contradicted, but how well they can interpret the Word itself. But they must all keep in mind the world’s faulty reasoning in misunderstanding it.[3]
Alfred Plummer (1841-1926) says we could render the first part of verse six: “He that increases in the knowledge of God.” Once more, we have that magisterial tone of Apostolic authority which is so conspicuous in the first four verses. It is the undercurrent of the whole Epistle, as John’s Gospel. It is the quiet confidence of conscious strength. Compare, “Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God,”[4] and, “Everyone on the side of truth listens to Me.”[5][6] It may be a case of someone thinking that they qualify just because they hear what Jesus said in the Gospels. But there is a big difference between hearing and listening. I remember when my mother would tell us kids to wash our hands, hang up our coats, or stop running through the house, and we didn’t do any of them. She would then raise her voice and ask, “Are you listening to me?” Yes, we heard her, but our lack of response meant we weren’t listing.
Joseph Benson (1749-1821) focuses on those the Apostle John implicates in verses four, five, and six. They are the religious seducers, with all their doctrinal snares and delusions. John wants to show his readers’ that the doctrines they adhere to have prevailed against those who deserve the name of “antichrist.” Today, we are afraid to use this term to identify anyone who preaches a different Gospel than the one they heard from the Apostles. But Benson identifies them as all those who oppose anything the Scriptures say about Jesus or His teachings. His readers should be glad because they have the true miraculous gifts of the Spirit, which these impostors falsely claim. The Christians to whom John is writing should not despair; the advantage is clearly on their side because greater is He that is in them than he that is in the world.[7]
This, says Benson, is none other than the Spirit of the Anointed One who is powerful enough to overcome the spirit of antichrist that is in the world. They are part of Satan’s brood, but they are not strong enough to prevail over God’s Son. These false teachers are a product of the world, namely those that do not know God; therefore, they speak about what is acceptable in secular society. It comprises the principles, wisdom, and prevailing religious philosophy you would expect from worldly people involved in religion. In particular, John did not want the faithful to become discouraged by these false teachers’ success in spreading their errors.
“Listen,” says John, “we Apostles are commissioned by God – taught and sent by Him, and have approved ourselves to be so by irresistible evidence.” We are those who know God, who experience the governing influence of His reverence and love, who hears and watches over us. His Word is our Light by which we are taught and guided. But these Christian traitors neither believe nor obey what we preach. They are not interested in hearing messages inspired by the Holy Spirit and verified by miracles and born-again experiences. Now, says Benson, even though the original apostles are all dead, they still speak to us through their divinely inspired writings. John, in this passage, declares that their writings are the test by which the Anointed One’s disciples are to judge both teachers and of their doctrine.[8]
Charles Simeon (1759-1836) warns us that when we go out to preach the Gospel, some with perverted minds prefer arguments and debates instead of seeking the truth. Some are not open to receiving instruction. They have certain principles in their mind, which bias them on all subjects, and they have a certain pleasure in being one-of-a-kind. Things that are plain and obvious to others are not so to them because their minds are packed with objections. These are ideas and concepts they had to go far out of their way to find. For instance, some will lay far greater importance on what Nostradamus had to say than on what the Spirit revealed to Ezekiel, Daniel, John, or Paul. It seems that they are at issue with somebody on every subject, including their closest friends. Their intent is not to compare what they know or believe with what you are quoting from the Gospel, but to prevail in drawing others into the same whirlpool of delusion in which they are drowning.[9]
Roman Catholic George Haydock (1778-1862) again quotes Robert Witham (1667–1738), [10] who said Christians are of God and apostles of the Anointed One because they have received the Spirit and are sent by Him. That is, they who love and serve God and comply with the doctrine of His Son, Jesus the Anointed One, and follow the doctrine which He commissioned them to teach. On the other hand, those who are not of God pay no attention to us. Consequently, they refuse to hear and obey the voice of the Church and those whom the Anointed One appointed to govern His Church, as has been observed elsewhere. So, by this, we identify the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. Here Apostle John gives them the second general mark and rule to preserve them and all Christians from errors and heresies to the end of the world. As such, those who know God, who heard the Apostles, now hear their successors who are invested with the same mission and authority. They have been sent by the Anointed One, as His heavenly Father sent Him, whom He appointed to govern His Church, and with whom He promised to remain to the end of the world.[11]
We must realize that the Roman Catholic Church at that time did not consider itself to be one of many denominations in the spiritual body of the Anointed One, but the ONLY one authorized by God to interpret His Word and shepherd His church, all other churches were outside this exclusive partnership with God and His Son. Today, the Roman Catholic Church is more ecumenical and open toward Protestants. But inwardly, many are still of the same mind as was George Haydock, Robert Witham, and Richard Challoner (1691-1781).[12]
Gottfried C. F. Lücke (1791-1855) is surprised at how easily some people deceive themselves about the divine Spirit in themselves and others, for there is also a spirit of illusion and error, which times of great spiritual revival, when illusions and a hypocritical pretense of the divine Spirit so easily rise, and truth and error are deceitfully blended together – Another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in a different kind of language, and to still another the interpretation what was said.[13] John established using a trial of the spirits as a duty for his readers. In doing so, he gave them the same method to use.[14] John also consoles and encourages them by this sentiment, that they, as true believers, already gained a victory (over the illusive spirits) and that the divine Spirit dwelling in them is greater than the spirit of the world, the spirit of seduction.[15]
[1] The name Ebonites, was first used by bishop Irenaeus of Lyons (Gaul) in the late second century to designate a Jewish Christian sect. They believed in one God and taught that Jesus was the Messiah and was the true “prophet” mentioned in Deuteronomy 18:15. They rejected the Virgin Birth of Jesus, instead holding that He was the natural son of Joseph and Mary. They believed that Jesus became the Messiah because He obeyed the Jewish Law.
[2] Finlayson, Robert: First Epistle of John, Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 22, op. cit., Homiletics, pp. 126-127
[3] Rothe, Richard: The Expository Times, December 1893, p. 126
4:6But we are God’s children; that is why only those who have walked and talked with God will listen to us. Others won’t. That is another way to know whether a message is really from God, for if it is, the world won’t listen to it.
It’s like the story I heard about the well-known infidel, Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll, who traveled around delivering lectures against religion and the Bible. His fame and oratorical ability assured him large crowds of admirers and skeptics. After one very inflammatory speech in which he severely attacked people’s faith in an unseen God, he dramatically took out his pocket watch and held it up. Then he said, “I’ll give God a chance to prove that He exists and is almighty; I challenge Him to strike me dead within five minutes!” A dead silence came over the stunned audience. As the time ticked away, people began to grow uneasy. Some left the hall, unable to take the nervous strain, and one woman fainted. Finally, at the end of the allotted time, the atheist mockingly exclaimed as he put his watch back in his vest pocket, “See! There is no God; I’m still alive!” After the lecture, a young fellow said to a Christian lady he knew, “Well, Ingersoll certainly proved something tonight!” Her reply was memorable. “Yes, he did,” she said. “He proved God isn’t taking orders from atheists!”
COMMENTARY
In writing about avoiding lying, and the repentance of Hermas (circa 100-200 AD)[1] for his dishonesty, God, told Hermas he should love the truth, that the Holy Spirit living in him should inspire him to be truthful with everyone. Didn’t he know that those who lie are denying the Lord have become robbers of the Lord by not rendering Him the fruit of what he received? That’s when Hermas broke down and began to cry. So, God asked him why he was crying, and Hermas told Him that he had always had trouble telling the truth and live an honest life. Yet, no one bothered to contradict him, and he was credited with telling the truth. How can I live, cries Hermas, seeing I have behaved in such a way? That’s when God said to him: “Your feelings are indeed right and sound, for you ought as a servant of God to have walked in truth, and not joined an evil conscience with the spirit of truth, nor caused sadness to the holy and true Spirit of God.”[2]
Didymus the Blind (313-398) explains that if we take the word “hear” literally, it simply means that we hear all kinds of sounds through our ears. But it must be more than that – it implies that we should obey what we hear. Therefore, if someone does not know how to act, they have not listened.[3] To this, Bede the Venerable adds that the worldly person does not accept the things anointed by God’s Spirit; they consider them foolish. Therefore, those who do not want to listen to preachers of God’s love are soon recognized as not knowing God or what’s coming from Him because they have done nothing to imitate His love toward mankind.[4]
John Trapp (1601-1669) responds to the Apostle John’s remarks that those in union with God listen to us, but those with no contact with God don’t even hear us. Says Trapp, the Anointed One’s sheep are rational; they can discern His voice from that of a stranger and will not become hardheaded when listening to His voice, but with the ear of their soul, which tries doctrines as the mouth does meat, [[5] and knows the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.[6]
Daniel Whitby (1638-1726) tells us that when the bishops of Rome once prove they are of God, as the Apostle did, it will be time to consider the inference of Esthius.[7] “He that is of God must hear their bishops and church, come to them, and resolve any doubts about their faith.”[8]
Matthew Henry (1662-1714) says that Christians who are well acquainted with Scripture may, with the Holy Spirit’s help, discern those who present doctrines according to the apostles and those who contradict them. The sum of revealed Christianity is in the doctrine concerning the Anointed One, His person, and office. The false teachers spoke of worldly philosophy according to its maxims and fleshly desires to not offend worldly-minded people. The world approved of them; they made rapid progress and had many followers like themselves; the world will love its own, and its own will love it.
The true doctrine of the Savior’s person leads sinners from the world to the Word. It serves as a mark of the spirit of truth in opposition to error. The more pure and holy any doctrine is, the more likely to be of God; nor can we by any other means try the spirits whether they are of God or not. And what wonder is it that people of a worldly spirit should cleave to those like themselves, who suit their schemes and discourses to their corrupt taste?
Thomas Pyle (1674-1756) says there should be little difficulty in seeing the mark of distinction between these heretics and a true Christian prophet. The others have no vision, only momentary power, greatness, and dominion. They have no other notions of the Anointed One, but that He is a time-based monarch to raise and magnify the Jewish nation by destroying the rest of mankind. On the other hand, a faithful Christian is motivated by the hope of spiritual good and the love of true virtue. However, all who delight in knowing God and true goodness must approve of them. On the contrary, it is no wonder to see the false teachers of these times followed and thronged by the majority that shares the same temperament.[9]
John Gill (1697-1771) talks about what it means to know God. Those personally acquainted with God know Him as the divine protector or as a spiritual power. But as in the Anointed One, not only professionally, but practically; has experimental knowledge of Him, as exercising lovingkindness, having tasted of His grace and goodness; so as to trust in Him, and love Him; for such a knowledge of God has true real affection for Him joined with it; so they love His name, His glory, His truths, and His ordinances.[10] So many know about God, but they do not know Him as one of His children.
James Lindsay (1710-1796) sees the Apostle John speaking against mistaking fanaticism for the move of the Holy Spirit. He says that above all, we must not mistake temporary feelings, which are the offspring of intense spiritual circumstances, with that devoted custom of the mind. Though less passionate, it is more beneficial because it acts by a steady and permanent influence. As to what regards our practice, says Lindsay, let us be equally careful to avoid loud sermon proclamations on the one hand, but never shrink from the open but modest testimony of what we deem essential truths. Let us examine our opinions by the standard of the Gospel and try their practical effect on our temperament and conduct. Let us never rest in emotions, however strong, however religious, until they mature into good spiritual fruit of the spirit. But let us also be careful not to discount extreme zeal so that we do not develop insensitivity and indifference to any move of the Spirit.[11]
James Macknight (1721-1800) notes that the Apostle John appeals to the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit[12] that God bestowed on the Apostles and continued with them as proof of His abiding in them. At the beginning of chapter four, John implied that the inspiration of the Spirit inspired the doctrine they taught. John asserts, in verse four, that God commissioned him and his brethren to teach the world. Therefore, all Christians were bound to acknowledge their authority and receive their doctrine; and if any teacher did not accept their authority, it was proof they were not one of God’s chosen servants.[13]
John Brown of Haddington (1722-1787) says that anyone who preaches an incarnate crucified Savior as the only way to everlasting joy is enlightened, approved, sent, owned, as well as born of God. Whoever then truly knows anything about God according to the discoveries they’ve made of the Anointed One in the Gospel will diligently pay attention to and heartedly receive the divine truths we preach under the direction of the Holy Spirit. But those who have not been enlightened and renewed by God pay no attention to our message concerning the Anointed One as the only true Messiah, nor to us who preach it. By this, we easily and clearly discern whether people preach under the anointing of God’s Spirit of truth or the influence of the erroneous spirit of the devil.[14] In other words, the message we preach of God’s plan of salvation is only effective for the speaker and hearer, only with the Holy Spirit’s anointed. It’s not our talent, eloquence, persuasiveness, nor our intellect that draws a soul toward salvation, only the presence of God’s Spirit on the message.
Once again, says Robert Finlayson (1793-1861), the Apostle John’s heart warms toward his readers as his beloved at the thought of danger. It is necessary to bear in mind the circumstances in which they were placed. They had the help of true prophets. The apostolic age had not come to an end. John was still living; others had inspired words to deliver. They had what some minds still craved – unfailing guidance on the spot. But they were not placed beyond danger, as minds never are in this world. Many false prophets had gone out into the world and were in their neighborhood, as they are in all communities where the Anointed One’s truth is published and finding acceptance.
[1]Hermas was a well-to-do freedman and earnest Christian, who lived in Ancient Rome. He was a freed Greek slave living in Rome about the middle of the 2nd century. (Some later writers confuse him with Hermas of Dalmatia, mentioned in Romans 16:14) His writings were accepted as Scripture by Irenaeus (130-202 AD) in his “Against Heresies” (Book IV, Chapter 20:2) by quoting from the Shepherd of Hermas (Book 2, Command I) and Tertullian (ca. 155–230 AD) in his De pudicitia (“On Modesty”) Chapters 10 and 20.
[2] Shepherd of Hermas, Second Part of the Book of Hermas, Command III
[6] Trapp, John: Commentary upon all books of New Testament (1647), op. cit., p. 476
[7] Esthius, a Jewish convert who was a Medical Doctor and Religious writer, died in 1606
[8] Whitby, Daniel, A Critical Commentary and Paraphrase of the Old and New Testament and the Apocrypha, Vol. VI, J. F. Dove, London, 1822, pp. 302, 467
[9] Pyle, Thomas: Paraphrase, op. cit., pp. 395-396
[10] Gill, John. John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible (Kindle Locations 341265-341269)
[11] Lindsay, James: The Biblical Illustrator, op. cit., 1 John, p. 15
4:5These people belong to this world, so, quite naturally, they are concerned about worldly affairs, and the world pays attention to them.
The references to light and darkness further allude to the prologue of John’s Gospel. The Word [Jesus] “was God” and was the Light which shone in the spiritual darkness of the Jewish world, to which the Jewish world would not come because they preferred the darkness. John’s converts were Jews, and the temptation to return to Judaism, or compromise with it, was strong. Therefore, he presents the light of the Anointed One as God’s light, and compromise with the darkness was by nature impossible.
David Legge (1969) urges us, never let the world’s approval determine our message. Whether the world accepts what we say or not doesn’t matter! It doesn’t matter whether our President, government or political parties have their platform. They are not to be busy with focus groups’ mentality to determine what the people want and then direct their policies accordingly. It doesn’t matter whether the philosophical mindset is one of relativism, that “your truth may not necessarily be my truth, but I live and let live, and there’s no absolute right or absolute wrong.” The world’s approval must mean nothing to us in relation to our message. Our message is historical; our message is eternal; it is rooted and grounded in the truth of whom the Anointed One is, the Jesus of history, the Son of God. His Words are the ultimate standard by which we live and preach.[1]
Douglas Sean O’Donnell (1972) points out there are many verses in Scripture that start with “God is,” and then add an attribute (e.g., “mighty,”[2] or “merciful,”[3] but only a few speak of God’s essence. John gives us the three most memorable. In his Gospel, John records Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman, “God is spirit.”[4] The Apostle John begins his epistle saying that “God is light,”[5] and now toward the end that “God is love.”[6] We might say of others, “They are a very loving person,” but what is said here is different. John is not saying that love is a characteristic God possesses; rather, he says that love is the essence of God’s divine being. The eternal love between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that existed before creation[7] spills over into His creation, as God perpetually gives of Himself for the benefit of His creation. That is what makes the statement “God is love” so remarkable.[8]
4:6 But we are from God. So, if we have a personal relationship with God, He listens to us. But the people who are not from God don’t listen to us. This is how we know the Spirit that is true and the spirit that is false.
EXPOSITION
So, the Apostle John cautions his readers. Here’s Isaiah’s description: “The Lord will make you sleepy, He will close your eyes (The prophets are your eyes), He will cover your heads. (The prophets are your heads).”[9] It is not a reference to those who fall asleep in church while the pastor is preaching, but rather, when they stop listening to the messengers that God has sent, they will get sleepy spiritually speaking. Hosea puts it more bluntly, “My people are asking idols made of wood for advice. They think those sticks will answer them! They have chased after those false gods like prostitutes and have left their God.”[10]
Micah explains the dilemma this causes: “These people don’t want to listen to me. But if a man comes telling lies, they will accept him. They would accept a false prophet if he comes and says, ‘There will be good times in the future, with plenty of wine and beer.’”[11]The Lord also had some harsh words for the prophet Isaiah to pass on to those who fell for such teachings. “These people are like children who refuse to obey. They lie and refuse to listen to the Lord’s teachings. They tell the prophets, ‘Don’t see dreams about things we should do. Don’t tell us the truth. Say nice things to us and make us feel good. See only good things for us. Stop seeing things that will really happen. Get out of our way. Stop telling us about the Holy One of Israel.’”[12] John expected God’s people to make a note of what he was saying.
It is important to distinguish between truth and error. Those with the “spirit of error” do not respond to the truth; they do not hear the Bible as God’s Word. Those with the “spirit of truth” have God’s truth at heart. The Bible is characteristically their criterion of truth. They will acknowledge that Jesus came out of heaven as the Son of God and stepped foot into a human body. Protection from error is found in loyalty to the principle of truth in God’s Word.
The Greek pronoun hēmeis “we” here refers to the apostles who authored books in the Final Covenant. They clearly understood that genuine believers respond willfully to anointed teachers.[13] The Gospel rings true to them. There are kinship and correspondence between God’s people and God’s Word. The words “he who knows” are literally “the one knowing.” It is a person clearly described as a believer. Fakers do not respond to the truth because the Devil’s domain darkens their hearts. We can discern the truth of whether someone is a genuine believer by their response to the truth.
The “we” is set in contrast to the “they” in verse five. The Holy Spirit inspired the apostles’ writings with special revelation. The apostles clearly understood that. He who knows God hears us. Genuine believers respond with positive volition to true teachers. The Gospel and the Word of God ring true to them. There is a kinship and correspondence between God’s people and God’s Word. The words “he who knows” are literally “the one knowing.” This is a person clearly described as a believer. Fakers do not respond to the truth. They do not witness the truth because the Devil’s domain darkens their hearts. We can discern the truth of whether someone is truly a believer by their attitude to the truth.
However, it leaves no room for hearers if it is considered broad enough to include those who have truly received the Anointed One by faith. Therefore, “They who know God will hear us” will mean that we hear ourselves. But John’s meaning seems rather that they who acquire knowledge of God are ready to listen to further apostolic instruction. But this need not be confined to verse six; it may apply to the whole passage, related to the Spirit of truth.[14]
Perhaps John felt the same anointing that Micah experienced when he said, “But the Lord’s Spirit has filled me with power, goodness, and strength. So, I can tell Jacob about his crimes, and so I can tell Israel about his sins!”[15] But John has one more piece of advice to offer on this subject as his conclusion, knowing who-is-who is essential when it comes to our spiritual lives.
Once in the temple, the religious leaders asked Jesus, “Where is your father?” Jesus answered, “You don’t know My Father or Me. But if you knew Me, you would know My Father too.”[16] I experienced a similar eureka moment after my father passed away. I was privileged to go and preach in some of the churches he pastored. I got used to the old-timers coming up to me and saying, “You don’t have to tell me whose son you are; I could tell it right away. You are the spitting image of your father.” That made me feel both humble and proud.
It is the same in the spiritual world. Jesus said this by way of illustration: “My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me.”[17] In other words, you can tell the validity of the messenger by the validity of the message. Once, when I was visiting England for a youth convention, I stayed at the home of one of the pastors. After our meal, they turned on the “telly,” as they call the TV, to watch the news. After the news, someone always reads the horoscope for the next day.
The horoscope reader made this pronouncement for those born under a certain astrological sign: “Tomorrow you will receive a parcel from the postman, and in this parcel, there will be good news announcing a certain amount of money coming your way.” I started to laugh because all the postal workers in England were on strike, and there would be no mail delivered tomorrow or many more days. So, I asked the pastor about this obvious error. He told me that these readings are often recorded ahead of time and simply being played back from the tape. So, as you can imagine, my low trust in the horoscope and astrologists dropped even lower.
While this is amusing to me, and although I have nothing against studying philosophy and psychology, whenever I find where their tenets disagree with Scripture, I accept the Word of God as preeminent. I have listened to professors who treat the Word of God as though it is the property of the unenlightened. They have more or less said that Christians are closed-minded. The truth is that they do not understand there is a level higher than human intellect called “faith.” Suppose I still believe there is such a thing as love. However, I can’t see it or accept the wind but only have the swaying branches of a tree to show its presence or trust that there is a thing called joy, even though it cannot be held in my hand. Why can I not believe there is a God whose love I feel, whose presence I sense, and whose power has been demonstrated through signs, miracles, and wonders?
The world does not acknowledge this because the Holy Spirit has not transformed their minds to accept the spiritual truths. For example, put two people in an audience: a born-again Christian and an unchurched individual who has never heard the Gospel or read the Bible. Let the speaker stand up and say: “The Holy Spirit is in this place; I can sense His presence.” The unchurched individual might lean over and say, “What’s he talking about?” The believer will smile and say, “I know exactly what he’s talking about, and I agree with him because I feel the Spirit’s presence too.”
[1] Legge, David: 1,2,3 John, Preach the Word, “Discerning Christianity,” op. cit., Part 12
4:5These men belong to this world, so, quite naturally, they are concerned about worldly affairs, and the world pays attention to them.
However, those people who are not from God do not listen to the proclamation of His Word. They refuse to believe the truth: instead, they prefer “the spirit of falsehood.” They also accept full responsibility when they willfully reject the call to repentance and faith in the Anointed One. Believers are able to recognize the Spirit of truth and the lying spirit by observing a listener’s reaction to the preaching of God’s Word. The Apostle Paul gave God thanks, who always leads us in victory through the Anointed One. God uses us to spread His knowledge everywhere, like a sweet-smelling perfume. Our offering to God is to be the perfume of the Anointed One that goes out to those who are being saved and to those who are being lost.[1] To those who are being lost, this perfume smells like death, and it brings them death. But to those who are being saved, it has the sweet smell of life, and it brings them life. So, who is good enough to do this work?[2][3]
Stephen S. Smalley (1931-2018) points out that “out of the world” denotes their origin and membership: the spiritual origin and allegiance of the heretics are worldly, which the Apostle John attacks.[4][5] To put this another way, they came out of the world to be part of the church, but the world never came out of them. They looked for salvation but were never interested in sanctification. Since these are mandatory in order to speak with the anointing of the Holy Spirit, they proclaimed their message in the spirit of the world.
Edward J. Malatesta (1932-1998) convinced that the Apostle John sees the spirit of antichrist acting contrary to the faith proclaimed by the community. Its number one goal is to turn believers away from listening to God’s voice and persuade them to pay attention to what the world likes. In so doing, they isolate them from Jesus and the Father and the truth. They begin by wandering away from the fundamental doctrines they were taught and end up drifting apart from the fullness of loving, personal communion with Jesus, the Father, and the believing community into the emptiness of the world’s selfishness and hatred.[6]
Zane Clark Hodges (1932-2008) has no doubt that those with antichrist spirits are from the world and speak from the world’s viewpoint. For this reason, they get a good hearing from the world. It is always true that satanically inspired thought has a special appeal to worldly minds. But people who are from God or are “of God;” and those “from the world belonged to the evil one.” The “of God” people listen to the apostles; the “of the world” won’t listen at all. The pronouns which begin verses four, five, and six – (You, They, and We) are emphatic in the original and mark off three groups: the readers, the antichrists, and the apostles. Each one who can be described as “from God” (that is, motivated and influenced by God) and thus knows God listens to the apostolic voice. In Church history, the apostolic doctrine has always been how the Holy Spirit of truth and spirit of falsehood can be effectively distinguished. True Christianity is godly Christianity, not ungodly Christianity.[7]
James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000) fears that the tragedy of our time is that we do not have enough men and women to proclaim and defend sound doctrine. So, the Truth is not clearly defined, and the Way is not correctly illuminated to envision the Life we have in the Anointed One. The Apostles’ Creed, the only true teaching of the church, illuminates it; and the incarnation of God’s Anointed One defines and gives a focal point to those beliefs. It is for whether we believe that dogma and, if we do, to respond to it. There are not three ways, according to the Apostle John. There are only two ways: the straight way of the Anointed One and the crooked way of antichrist. We are called to serve the Anointed One, and those who are true to God will do so.[8]
John Painter (1935) notes that to say “they are of the world” means that they are the world’s inhabitants rather than the children of God. To call them the world’s offspring is the equivalent of calling them generation of the Evil One or the devil’s brood.[9] They are the world’s descendants because they speak from the determining reality of the world. The world determines the subject and values expressed in their speech. Naturally, the world, whose speech and values are expressed here, listens to them; that is, it receives and approves of what it hears.[10] The people of the world are so anxious and pleased to hear what these evil-spirited speakers have to say because it validates their lifestyle, and they need not fear any retribution from God. That’s why they hated it when a Holy Spirit anointed preachers to tell them the truth.
Muncia Walls (1937) says success in the world’s eyes is calculated by how much one possesses, how many followers one has, how much one has accumulated. But, according to God’s Word, success in God’s eyes is predicated on obedience to the Word of God and obeying the leading of the Spirit with our life. Just because some present-day religious leader boasts of a large following does not mean success in the view of the Word of God. Many such ministers today have tremendous crowds who follow them, but this is no scriptural indication of their message being true. The majority follow them because the greater number are not interested in the truth. Truth brings change, and the masses are not willing to change. They would rather hear Words that comfort them and make them feel good rather than listen to words that cut to the heart and bring about conviction, resulting in repentance.[11][12]
William Loader (1944) notes that it is obvious that the opponents of the Apostle John and his community had gone the way of the world. Doubtlessly, they did not see themselves as rebels or traitors. On the contrary, they probably formed their community and successfully carried their kind of mission in the world. Maybe the reason the world listens to them indicates the success of their mission. But, on the other hand, perhaps John is simply reinforcing his assertion that their beliefs are a sell-out to the world’s values. John does not elaborate how this is so, but he may see their defamation of the Anointed One’s flesh and their neglect of practical love as symptoms of the world’s system of self-indulgence. From John’s perspective, religion without justice, spirituality without engagement in life’s flesh and blood issues is just another form of the world’s depravity.[13]
Judith M. Lieu (1951) reminds us that the assurance of victory does not mean that hostility and danger belong to the past. There continues to be a division between those whom the Apostle John identifies only as “they” and those whom, in the previous verse, he labeled “you” and “we” of the text. “They” have their origin in and belong to the world; first “you,” then “we,” are aligned with God. Why should this opposition continue to matter if the readers are already confidant of the outcome? Apparently, because the expected consequences of their supremacy had not been realized.
Some forms of future, says Lieu, hope imagined the final defeat of evil and the consequent acknowledgment of God by all. Isaiah saw in a vision, “There will be a steady stream of people from all nations going to Zion.” At the same time, early Christians’ hope anticipated the universal confession of Jesus as Lord.[14] Others were less optimistic: perhaps only the elect would be preserved.[15] In the meantime, if the vast majority failed to respond or even preferred other sets of ideas, this too might itself be part of God’s purpose.[16] For John, the outcome had yet to be fully realized.[17] But he gave one good piece of advice to the community, pay no attention to or believes what the world has to say about Christianity’s future, listen only to those anointed by the Holy Spirit.
Peter Pett (1966) believes that the Apostle John is confident that false prophets will not mislead true Christians because they have “the anointing as true Christians.”[18] The Holy Spirit is within them. And He will lead them into truth. And the Father and the Son also abide within them.[19] They are, and therefore, as John says here in verse six, very much “of God.” So, “greater is He (the Triune God) that is in them than the one who is in the world.” That is why they overcome “them” by not being deceived or led astray, but by holding firmly to the truth and continuing to win souls to such truth. John’s Christian community may sometimes seem to be back on its heels but is not. Remaining in Him will propel them forward to victory.[20]
Duncan Heaster (1967) states that there is a negative aspect attached to all truths; if something is true, then, therefore, other things or ways of life are not true. There are several Bible passages that bring out this dualism.
“God is light,and in Him, there is no darkness”(1 John 1:5)
“God is faithful,and there is no unrighteousnessin Him” (Deuteronomy 32:4)
“God is righteous, and there is no unrighteousnessin Him”(Psalm 92:16)
Therefore, it is quite valid to understand that a set of true teachings by their very nature give rise to a set of untrue ones to be rejected. But more personally relevant for each of us, each truth we perceive leads to things we should do and things we should not. This seems to be good thinking and adherence to God’s Word. But hidden in Unitarian Heaster’s writings is that there is no recognition that when the Apostle John talks about God being light, he’s quoting Jesus, thus showing a distinction between the two. We see this in what Heaster goes on to say in the next paragraph.
4:5These people belong to this world, so, quite naturally, they are concerned about worldly affairs, and the world pays attention to them.
William E. Jelf (1811-1875) says that the difference between the sphere in which the false teachers and Christian teachers move enforces the necessary difference between their teaching and the Church. The false prophets belong to the pagan world and view things from a heathen viewpoint. They teach mere principles of reasoning for belief and conduct. Even in the hands of astute heathen philosophers, they were false and inferior. They were simply secular views and sinful habits acknowledged and acted upon in the practical sense. The world naturally receives and approves these spewed principles, and would probably receive Christianity as a mere human scheme of religious belief and practice if it were the way they wanted it to be.[1]
Johannes H. A. Ebrard (1818-1888) points to the essence of the teaching of those infected with the antichrist spirit. Instead of repentance, they teach carelessness is okay; instead of humility, they advise that pride is alright; instead of love, they explain that lustof the eye is acceptable; instead of renunciation of the world, instruct that pride of life can be tolerated; instead of the crucifixion of the flesh, and they lecture that the lust of the flesh is manageable. And therefore, the core of their teaching, despite all its pretend Christianity, infatuates the whole world. Thus, “the world loves to hear them;” to swallow these so-called theories of wisdom as sweet morsels. It makes them rejoice in retaining its worldly nature while it is secure and receiving double honor – first, the Christian name, and then recognized as a Christian over and above the world. But, indeed, it is only the world which such fanatics can deceive.[2]
William B. Pope (1822-1903) points out that the indwelling God of chapter three, verse twenty-four, by their excellent faith in the strength of Him who is greater than he that is in the world, gave the believers the victory over all the seducers who left the congregation. Its prince is the antichrist spirit. But now, they needed to be warned that this antichrist spirit was attempting to invade the Church. So, the true believer’s victory over this worldly doctrine will be by the same faith that helped them triumph before as taught by those whom the world loves to hear, this kingdom of darkness principles breath the spirit of human reason. So, since they are not of the World, don’t bother to listen to them.[3]
Brooke F. Westcott (1825-1901) says that if we look at the characteristics of those who listen and believe these worldly speakers, we can see through their speech what these speakers’ character looks like. These impostors draw the spirit and the substance of their teaching from the world’s mindset and, therefore, it finds acceptance of like nature. As the old saying goes, “Birds of the same feather flock together.”[4] In the order of the original: “They are of the world, they speak of the world, and the world hears them.” Even today, those so-called religious experts constantly borrow from the world’s logic, philosophy, and ethics yet claim that they are not of the world.[5] They fail the Apostle John’s test miserably.[6]
In speaking of those in the world, Henry A. Sawtelle (1832-1913) calls “being of one nature with the world,” implying that words belonging to false teachers are now expressly stated. They may be enrolled in some church bearing the Christian name; they may profess to be the only consistent expounders of Christianity; they may even claim the anointing of the divine Spirit. But in truth, they are wholly immersed in worldly influence, still unconverted, still in their sins. They may have an intense religiosity, but not God’s Spirit.[7]
Marvin Vincent (1834-1921) says that this verse contains some unclear rendering of the Greek. It might be interpreted as “they speak concerning the world.” But literally: “they speak out of the world.” That is, the character of their utterances corresponds to their origin. The Revised Version has, “speak they as of the world.” The position of the world in the sentence is emphatic: “it is out of the world that they speak.”[8]
Alfred Plummer (1841-1926) says that these false prophets have gone out into the world on a mission of evil from their cave of ignorance. This world is regarded as the sphere in which they are to propagate their repudiations of the Apostle John’s Gospel. This is but one of the many forms in which Scripture sets forth the mysterious conflict between good and evil, with the world as its theater and the witness. The struggle is between (1) the serpent’s seed and Eve’s seed; (2) the Anointed One and the tempter; (3) the Anointed One and the world; (4) the tempter and the individual; (5) error and truth; (6) the Church and the world; (7) the Church and antichrist spirit; (8) the antichristian delegation and the body of believers.[9]
Professor F. F. Bruce (1910-1990) asks why leaders, with their followers, of the opposition party, said to be “of the world,” and is it relevant for today? Yes, he says because the philosophy they endeavor to harmonize with the Gospel, depriving it of what makes it the Gospel, is current secular philosophy, the prevailing climate of opinion; as we say in German, “Zeitgeist.”[10] We have already seen that there is no form of “worldliness” so unfriendly to Christianity as this kind of “restatement.” Such a restatement is pleasant to “the world” because it aligns with contemporary fashion. Nevertheless, it is doomed to pass away because it loses its appeal with a change in style, which the Gospel never does. The Gospel, like its faithful preachers, is “of God,” and the people of God recognize it through the inward witness of the Spirit.[11] They are thus in no danger of confusing “the Spirit of truth” with “the ghost of error.”[12][13]
John Phillips (1927-2010) notes that a great divide exists between those with secular interests and those with spiritual interests. The Apostle John mentions, first, those with worldly interests. He says here in verse five, “Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them.” The world is Satan’s sphere of operation. Many are actually lying in his lap.[14] A sharp line was drawn between the world and the Church during the early church days. So long as the world turned a glaring face at those who loved Jesus, it was not hard to visualize the world as a foe. When, however, the world began to turn a smiling face toward the Church, it was not easy recognizing them as foes. For the first three hundred years of the Church, the world sent tidal waves of persecution against the people of God. Then, as a result of the work of Roman Emperor Constantine, after that, the world was in Church. And as a result, the Church’s influence on the world became political rather than spiritual. Thus, John writes in terms of “they” and “we.”[15]
Raymond E. Brown (1928-1998) points out that the phrase, “therefore speak they of the world” (KJV); “therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world” (NIV). It points to “the message they bring is established by where they come from.” It should be no bigger surprise than knowing that a person speaking English comes from Germany, France, England, Australia, or Jamaica by their accent. Likewise, in the case here, says Brown, what these outsiders are saying can easily be detected speaking worldly things because they are using a worldly dialect. This clearly establishes the relationship of speech to the origin of the speaker. And besides affirming that this language belongs naturally to the world, it also helps us understand why the world recognizes it. We had a comparable situation when the Pharisees complained about the success of Jesus in somewhat similar terms: “Look how the whole world has gone after Him!”[16] That was because they recognized His place of origin – Galilee. The same was true of these secessionists in following the worldly speakers. The Greek verb akouō implies “hears” (KJV) “listens” (NIV). Thus, John shifts from “speaking” to “listening,” and that theme will dominate in the next verse.[17]
David E. Hiebert (1928-1995)says that their message defines them because these secular speakers are rooted in the world. They draw the substance of their teaching from the philosophy of the godless world, indicating that they have no connection with the divine fountain of revealed truth. The present tense verb “they speak” portrays them as continually presenting their message from the world’s viewpoint. They confirm the words of Jesus: “The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all.”[18] In adjusting and restating the content of their message to harmonize with the spirit and philosophy of the world, they distort and deform God’s message. The truth of the matter is this; there is nothing more harmful to Christianity in this world than their reinterpreting the Gospel.[19]
Simon J. Kistemaker (1930-2017) says that John voices the quiet confidence in these verses of knowing that God and His people are one. However, John does not minimize our responsibility to do God’s will in this assurance. We, who are from God, have received the knowledge of God’s truth has the duty to tell people about it are His representatives. John stresses the word “we” by placing it at the beginning of the sentence. We, who are God’s children, proclaim the Word. When we do so, we receive a hearing from everyone who knows God. John echoes the words of Jesus: “Whoever is born of God listens to God’s Word.”[20] Why do God’s people listen to preachers? Because preachers proclaim God’s Word and that Word has divine authority When the preacher speaks, His people hear God’s voice.
[1] Jelf, William E., Commentary of the First Epistle of St. John, op. cit., pp. 58-59
[2] Ebrard, Johannes: Biblical Commentary on the Epistles of St. John, p.284
[3] Pope, William B., Popular Commentary, op. cit., pp. 314-315
[4] The phrase ‘birds of the same feather flock together’ is at least over 476 years old. It was in use as far back as the mid-16th century. Early British Anglican Reformation leader Dr.William Turner is said to have used a version of this expression in The Huntyng and Fyndyng out of the Romish fox, from the year 1545: “Byrdes of on kynde and color flok and flye allwayes together.” He was speaking of the Roman Catholic Church.
[5] For instance: The Secular City by Harvey Cox; Situation Ethics by Joseph Fletcher; The Nature and Destiny of Man by Reinhold Niebuhr, et., al.
[6] Westcott, Brooke, F., The Epistles of St. John, op. cit., p. 145
[7] Sawtelle, Henry A., An American Commentary, Alvah Hovey Ed., op. cit., p. 47
[8] Vincent, Marvin R: Word Studies in the New Testament, Vol. II, op. cit., p. 356
[9] Plummer, Alfred: First Epistle of John, Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 22, Exposition, op. cit., p. 107
[10] Zeitgeist means the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time – “spirit of the time”
How many times have you heard someone say, “I’m determined to get this done?” etc. The dictionary defines determination as: “the act of deciding definitely and firmly; having a firm or fixed intention to achieve a desired end or goal.” Sometimes if it weren’t for our determination, the essential things in life would never get done. In psychology, self-determination is an important concept that refers to each person’s ability to make choices and manage life. This ability plays a vital role in psychological health and well-being. Self-determination allows people to feel that they have control over their choices and lives.
Gabriel Lopez-Garrido, a Puerto Rican student at Harvard University, explains that Self-determination is a theory of human motivation and personality that suggests that people can become self-determined when their needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy are fulfilled. The presence versus absence of conditions that allow satisfaction of these basic needs (in people’s immediate situations and in their developmental histories) is a key predictor of whether people will display vitality and mental health. People tend to become happier when pursuing intrinsically motivating things and are aligned with their goals – it not only makes them feel more responsible about the outcomes, but also helps them really focus their time on what they want to be doing. Self-determination theory itself can be helpful in understanding the things that might motivate a given individual’s behavior. Feeling like one has both the autonomy and the capabilities required to make choices on their own is something that most, if not every, individuals would want to have.
Then Research Coordinator for New York University, Sarah Sperber, tells us that determination can be defined as the energy for action. The main question that inspired research into such motivation is why people act or don’t act in certain ways. Earlier psychologists in the behaviorist school of thought theorized that learned associations drive human behavior: we engage in behaviors associated with reward and avoid behaviors associated with the lack of reward. This is the theory underlying the way we train dogs and other animals – we praise and reward behaviors that we want to see more of. The developers of self-determination theory felt that this behaviorist perspective did not account for humans’ complex thoughts, and that they believed they could uniquely influence determination for certain behaviors. Additionally, they didn’t believe that motivation should be considered a “unitary” concept whereby you either have more or less of it – instead, they highlighted that there could be different types of determination, specifically intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Finally, they believed that the type of determination underlying behavior had significant consequences for performance and well-being.
Also, Clinical Psychologist Livia Freier adds that research suggests that psychological needs are at the heart of determination, and if those needs aren’t met, our mental health and well-being may suffer. But there’s a way to increase motivation and boost our productivity at home or work. According to Self-Determination Theory (SDT), in order to achieve optimal motivation, our work conditions need to satisfy three basic needs:
Competence: Are you using your skills and knowledge as best you can? Are you seeking out challenges? Is there an opportunity for maturing?
Autonomy: Do you have the freedom to operate in a way that suits you? Do your duties provide you with a structure that supports autonomy?
Relatedness: How connected are you to the people you interact with? Is there meaningful exchange amongst family, colleagues, or clients?
Given the number of hours we spend at home, church, or work, we can benefit from using a self-determination approach to boost our motivation and establish daily habits that help us gain greater satisfaction from our work.
Firstly, it’s important to consider how well our work conditions support our personal growth across the three SDT categories.
Secondly, we need to identify ways to achieve greater competence, autonomy, and relatedness at home or at work. Picking up new skills or mingling with family or coworkers might seem too far outside your comfort zone, or might simply require more energy than you have been able to muster. Sometimes tasks just seem difficult or unrewarding. There is no doubt that getting started is the hardest step when implementing change. Falling into a passive pattern has negative effects that fuel self-doubt and can make you feel stuck. People around you might notice a lack of productivity and react with concern or disapproval. More often than not, the result of prolonged inaction is that our self-esteem suffers, and we wonder whether change is possible for us at all. After a while, we might believe that we really are incapable and unproductive. It’s important that you don’t shame yourself into action and self-discipline. Rather, focus on the reward. I urge my patients to acknowledge the inner tension early on and take gentle but meaningful action.
All of this information and instruction is very helpful, but what does the Bible say about determination for a Christian. For instance, God told a discouraged Jeremiah, “I say this because I know the plans that I have for you. This message is from the Lord. I have good plans for you. I don’t plan to hurt you. Furthermore, I plan to give you hope and a good future.”[1]
When we talk about determination, we cannot ignore the example given to us by Ruth. When her mother-in-law Naomi suggested that she stay back in her home country instead of accompanying her mother-in-law to the foreign land of Israel, here was Ruth’s reply, “Don’t ask me to leave you and turn back. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Wherever you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord punish me severely if I allow anything but death to separate us!” When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she said nothing more.”[2]
There was no one more determined to reach the finish line to complete His mission here on earth than Jesus. So, when it came to someone leaving their family behind to follow Him, our Lord told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”[3] That is what we can call, following Jesus with determination.
The Apostle Paul also recognized this determination factor when talking about maintaining our loving relationship with God. The apostle asked, “Can anything ever separate us from the Anointed One’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, persecuted, hungry, destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, ‘For your sake, we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.’ No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through the Anointed One, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation, will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”[4]
Paul also addresses one major factor in our determination to give our all to the Lord for service. He wrote, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”[5] Added to this, Paul also mentions His source of information for such an appeal by saying, “Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. Those things were written so that we could have hope. That hope comes from the patience and encouragement that the Scriptures give us.”[6]
Then, using himself as an example of determination, Paul tells his readers, “You know that in a race all the runners run, but only one runner gets the prize. So run like that. Run to win! All who compete in the games use strict training. They do this so that they can win a prize—one that doesn’t last. But our prize is one that will last forever. So, I run like someone who has a goal. I fight like a boxer who is hitting something, not just the air. It is my body. I fight to make it do what I want. I do this so that I won’t miss getting the prize myself after telling others about it.”[7]
Then Paul testifies to his determination to be faithful to the end, “I don’t mean that I am exactly what God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal. But I continue trying to reach it and make it mine. That’s what Messiah Jesus wants me to do. It is the reason He made me His. Brothers and sisters, I know that I still have a long way to go. But I do one thing: I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me. I keep running hard toward the finish line to get the prize that is mine because God has called me through Messiah Jesus to live up there in heaven,”[8] “because the Anointed One gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do.”[9] “That’s why,” says Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”[10]
So, like the writer of Hebrews, we should all ask ourselves. “With all these great people around us as examples. Their lives tell us what determination means. So, we, too, should run the race that is before us and never quit. We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down and the mistakes that so often make us fall.”[11]
After dealing with the problem of people not being who they genuinely are, French Archbishop François Fénelon (1651-1725) felt the need to call for taking time to meditate on all God’s goodness. Sometimes we get so busy for God that we don’t have time to be with God. Not only that, but when we contemplate being alone with God, we allow ordinary everyday things to steal that time from us. So, here is what the archbishop has to say to them:
You need to take time and give yourself the opportunity for prayer and remembrance. So, set aside some such hours, and be sure that these little parings of time will be your best treasures. But, above all, try to save your chosen times; defend them like a besieged city! Make every effort to reject any interruption, be sure that all necessary duties are taken care of, and then close the door for a period of quiet devotion in reading, meditation, and prayer!
Remembering is the only cure for conceit: always being critical, anxious over what may happen, impatience with others, love of your sacred “me time,” and all your other shortcomings. It is an excellent remedy, but it needs frequent repetition. You are like a good watch that needs constant winding. Read the Bible and books that helped motivate you: they will do so again, with more significant benefit than the first time. Be patient with yourself, avoiding both self-deception and discouragement. This is a medium that is rarely attained. Either people look complacently at themselves and their good intentions, or expect nothing of themselves. Instead, hope in all things from God to cope with the knowledge of your hopeless, persistent weaknesses by having unreserved confidence in God’s power – these are the solid foundations of all spiritual life.
If you do not have much time at your disposal because of work, family, or civic duties, do not fail to make good use of every moment you do have. It does not require long hours to love God, to renew the consciousness of His presence, to lift your heart to Him or worship Him, to offer Him all we do or bear. This is the true kingdom of God within us, which nothing can disturb.[1] As God told His children a long time ago, “Remember the things I have done for you in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me.”[2]
[1] Fénelon, François: Paraclete Giants, The Complete Fénelon, Translated and Edited by Robert J. Edmonson, Paraclete Press, Brewster, Massachusetts, 2008, p. 48; Vocabulary and grammar redacted by Dr. Robert R Seyda
4:5These people belong to this world, so, quite naturally, they are concerned about worldly affairs, and the world pays attention to them.
History tells us that Jewish rebel Theudas (died 46 AD)[1] came on the scene a few years after Jesus’ ascension, but I’m sure Jesus knew about this, and that’s why He warns His disciples here about false Messiahs. Jesus wanted to emphasize this difference between Him and those who claimed to know the truth. He said to His accusers once, “You people are from here below, but I am from above. You belong to this world, but I don’t belong to this world.”[2] Many believers think that Jesus was the only prophet around during His day, but these scriptures prove otherwise. Jesus knew that these pseudo-Messiahs could persuade others, but He did not want them to mislead His disciples.
False prophets find the source of their teaching in the satanic world system. They do not understand God’s viewpoint on life. God’s apostles are “of God” and speak from God. Note the contrast between “of the world” and “of God.”[3] These phony teachers talk from the world system perspective. Their message is consistent with the character of its satanic source. Those who reject the Anointed One find comfort in deceitful teaching. These bogus teachers produce proselytes who relate because of shared values. Such misinformed teachers tell people what they want to hear. It makes their message invariably fashionable and popular. The world loves their language, but their ideas never rise higher than human logic. Therefore, dishonest popularists consistently conform to the world system. The source of their character and teaching is the world from which they derive their inspiration. So, once again, [4] we have an echo of the Anointed One’s last discourses: “If you are worldly, the world will love you as one of them.”[5]
COMMENTARY
Bede the Venerable (672-735 AD) seems to summarize verse five very well. He starts by saying that the antichrists are worldly minded; they belong to those familiar with worldly things, who look for the lowest-of-the-low, and who willingly but ignorantly turn their backs on all that God has revealed. Therefore, they talk like sophisticated people, using human reason to oppose the Christian faith. For example, they say that the Son of God cannot be coeternal with the Father. They also reject that a virgin can give birth, that flesh cannot rise again from the dust, that a person born on earth cannot inherit a heavenly home, that a newborn baby cannot be tainted with the guilt of original sin. The world listens to them because they are unable to win spiritually minded hearts away from the simplicity of their faith and call them back into fleshly desires.[6]
John Calvin (1509-1564) tells us that it is no small consolation that they who dare to assault the God in us, only have the world to aid and help them. And by “world,” the Apostle means that portion of humanity over which Satan is the prince. Another consolation is added when he says that the world embraces misleading prophets that it acknowledges as its own.[7] We see what great tendency to self-importance and untruthfulness there are in people. Hence, fictitious doctrines easily penetrate and spread far and wide. Nevertheless, the Apostle John is confident that there is no reason we should let this disturb us, for it is nothing new or unusual that the mistaken world should believe such misleading teachings.[8]
John Trapp (1601-1669) looks at the Apostle John’s mention of those in the world who follow the will of the antichrist spirit. To call them seducers is very appropriate. They are from beneath; we are from above, with faith in the Anointed One.[9] They are like water. Water does not rise (unless forced) above its source. Secular teachers gratify their hearers by always being on their side. The Vatican, in their petition to King James for tolerance, plead this as an argument: Their religion is agreeable to human nature: and indeed, it is an alluring, tempting, bewitching religion, giving way to all licentiousness and lust. Mohammed, in his Koran, tells his followers concerning immorality[10] that God did not give humans such appetites for them to be frustrated; instead, enjoy them. They were made for mankind’s pleasure, not for their torment, and a great deal more of such worthless talk. [11]
Matthew Poole (1624-1679) reminds us that just like the Apostles, our doctrine and methods proceed from God and are only meant to serve, please, glorify, and draw listeners to Him. Therefore, those who personally know God are His children and talk to Him regularly. These words are grateful and delicious[12] because we have no other aim than to promote serious godliness. This is the only way they will be able to spot the spirit of truth and the spirit of error in matters of this nature. The spirit of truth is next to purity, holiness, and a godly life; the spirit of error is related to sensuality and designed only to gratify our animal instincts.[13]
Daniel Whitby (1638-1726) states that the hopes of dominion over the heathens encouraged some of them to get ready for the Messiah and others to fight. See the testimonies of Josephus, [14] and note what the Apostle James had to say.[15] And for this reason, they rejected the true Messiah because His kingdom was not of this world.”[16]
William Burkitt (1650-1703) explains that those worldly teachers preach a doctrine suitable to the lusts and inclinations of sophisticated people, who are anxious to hear them and easily believe them. Ordinarily, our words tell others what we are. But those of the world must speak of worldly, things, for they have nothing else to talk about. So, the envious person speaks with bitterness and the proud individual with conceit.[17]
John Brown of Haddington (1722-1787) alerts us that these imposters’ views, interests, and doctrines are related to the riches, honors, and pleasures of this present sinful world. Therefore, they propagate such secular dominion and grandeur and make it acceptable to nonspiritual people. As a result, it follows that those who listened to this materialistic gospel and placed their happiness in worldly things drink in their false doctrine because it fits the taste of their sinful tendencies’ appetite.[18]
Richard Rothe (1799-1867) notes that the Apostle John tells us that the world listens to these false prophets. Why would they be so interested to hear what they have to say? In the first place, says Rothe, the world understands them, and, secondly, they applaud them. The world only understands the Gospel concept when it is lowered to their level of faulty thinking. The world is unaware of how such flawed thinking can lead to a conflict of thought and miscomprehension of the Gospel. They will find no level ground in which to come to a realistic understanding of the Gospel’s truth and mission. The fact that the world persuades itself that the Gospel is nonsense from the mind of the Anointed One is a delusion. They are not satisfied that the Gospel is bonậfide (French for “good faith”) and can be trusted. It is the world’s responsibility to take that leap of faith and say, “I will believe it until someone proves it false.”[19]
Alfred Plummer (1841-1926) says that the phrase in the KJV “therefore speak they of the world” could also be rendered as “therefore of the world they speak.”[20] The Greek word order is impressive and worth preserving. It literally reads: “they OUT Of-THE-SYSTEM are THROUGH this OUT OF THE SYSTEM THEY-ARE-TALKING AND THE SYSTEM OF-them IS-HEARING.”[21] The remarkable repetition of “the world” is very characteristic of the Apostle John’s writing style.[22] Compare, “the one who is from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth.”[23] However, “to speak of the earth” or “earthly things”’ is to speak of God’s work on earth, whereas “to speak of the world” is to communicate what is unfamiliar with God’s work and opposed to it. “To speak of” is not the same as “to speak concerning.”[24] “To speak of the world” is to have the world as the source of one’s words so that one’s inspiration flows from it: and of course, the world “hears” what it loves to hear, logic that defines itself.[25]
Albert Barnes (1798-1870) notes that those the Apostle John implicates as speaking of the world must mean that their conversation pertained to the things of this world. They were influenced by the love of the world in the doctrines they taught, and not by the Spirit of God. The general sense is that they had no higher ends and aims than they have, influenced only by worldly plans and expectations.[26]
[6] Bede the Venerable, Ancient Christian Commentary, Vol. XI, Bray, G. (Ed.), James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John
[7] Footnote 85: The clause, “therefore speak they of the world,” is hardly a true rendering, “for” never means “of,” in the sense of “concerning.” Macknight renders it “from.” Grotius paraphrases the sentence this way, “They preach things agreeable to the dispositions of the world;” and Doddridge thus, “They speak as of the world, as taking their instructions from it.” But ἐκ, like ex in Latin, sometimes means “according to,” as in Matthew 12;37, “For by (or, according to) thy words thou shalt be justified.” See also verse 34, “but of (or, according to) the abundance,” etc. Then this sentence may be rendered as follows: “Therefore they speak according to the world:” that is, according to the views and principles of the superstitious and ungodly people of the world. — Ed
[8] Calvin, John: Commentary on the Catholic Epistles, op. cit., loc. cit.
4:4Since you belong to God, my dear children, you have already won a victory over those worldly people because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in them.
Judith M Lieu (1951) notes that the emphatic “you” at the beginning of the verse contrasts with “them” at the end. The contrast is reinforced by the emphatic “you have won a victory.” “They” in verse five are not identified; although it may point back to the false prophets, these were symbolic figures of the antichrist spirits who intervened. More immediately, within the unit formed by “them,” anticipates their description in the next verse. Victory over “them” in verse four is already a foregone conclusion, just as was the victory over the evil one assured to young Christians.[1] The parallel does not mean that the readers won the argument or succeeded in driving the other out; neither may have been the case. Rather, the confidence that those who presumably make the same confession as the Spirit has His origin in God. Therefore, it confirms that they share God’s ultimate victory. It is not something for which they can take credit; rather, they are at the place where God’s conflict with the powers opposing “them” is being played out.[2]
Bruce G. Schuchard (1958) notes three emphatic statements in verses four, five, and six, “You are of God,” “they are of the world,” and “are of God.” They underscore the stakes of being on one side or the other “You” sharpens the contrast between that born of the Spirit of God/Truth[3] and the spirit of antichrist/deceit.[4] The first of three instances “of God” with a form of the copula “is/are[5][6] underscores again that one is either of God or not of God. If not of God, one is “of the world.”[7][8]
Today there are many multi-religious gatherings and seminars, Schuchard tells us. For example, Pope Frances once called on Catholics and Buddhists in Myanmar “to be united” in order “to heal the wounds of conflict that through the years have divided people of different cultures, ethnicities, and religious convictions.”[9] The question is, did the Pope make this statement based on the test of the Apostle John to try the spirits to see if they are of God? As John says here in verse five, the world loves to hear that, but they won’t listen to us who preach the Gospel of Jesus the Anointed One.
Schuchard goes on to say John views mankind as being divided into two groups. The division of “for this reason they speak of the world, and the world hears them,”[10] and “by this, we know the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of deceit.”[11] The initial use of demonstrative “this” marks each that frames that which distinguishes the one who “knows God” from the one who is “does not know God.” The one who knows God listens.[12] The one who knows God heeds those (“us”) whose fellowship with one another, in fellowship with the Father and the Son in the Spirit, is founded upon the word of the Apostle John, which is God’s word. To heed or not to heed the voice of the Good Shepherd in His under-shepherds – His faithful pastors.[13] That is the question; that is John’s dividing line, The one who heeds knows God; the one who does not is ignorant of God.[14]
Karen H. Jobes (1968) says that the Apostle John now gives a reason for his readers’ persistence in the truth: “because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world” (KJV). Who is this He and he? The masculine article does not allow any reference to the Greek neuter article ho (“one”) spoken of here. The NIV has it properly rendered, “the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” The One who has overcome the world is Jesus the Anointed One, [15] and it is His presence by the Spirit in and among the true children of God that enables them to understand His identity and remain in the truth. The opposition to the Anointed One, namely, the antichrist, is the one who is in the world. If John’s gospel is allowed to inform the question, we find reference to the “prince of this world,”[16] which stands judged by the Anointed One. Those who left the truth and went out into the world were not born of God but drawn into the darkness of ignorance, despite what they may have thought.[17]
Duncan Heaster (1967) tells us that by being born of God by the Spirit, [18] what was in them (the Spirit) was greater than the supposed “spirit” in the Jewish world. The believers were “little children” of God, born of Him by the Spirit. The Spirit is personified [“he”] not because the Holy Spirit is a personal being [Unitarianism], but because the presence of the Spirit would be as real for the believers as if the Lord were physically present with them as a person.[19] John makes such a fuss about believing that the Lord Jesus came in the flesh because he wants his brethren to have the same Spirit in Jesus’ dwelling in their flesh.[20] He wants them to see that being human is no barrier for God to take up his residence. As He was in the world, so are we to be in the world.[21] This is why it’s so important to understand that the Lord Jesus was genuinely human.[22]
David Legge (1969) says that almost unplanned comment, the Apostle John says: “You belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.” It’s a bit reminiscent of what Moses said about false prophets: “If a prophet says he is speaking for the Lord, but what he says does not happen, you will know that the Lord did not say it. You will know that this prophet was speaking his ideas. You don’t need to be afraid of him.”[23]
John writes these believers, says Legge: “It doesn’t matter what these false teachers have taught you, claiming it comes from God’s Spirit when it’s from the evil one. Don’t feel intimidated by their superior knowledge, by their charismatic powers! There are many running around; they may have high degrees and all the rest – and for that reason, many people listen to them – and that can be dangerous – because of their superior knowledge and intellect, people quickly submit to them. Others claim revelations from God, new truth, and unsuspecting people may say: “Well, God has never shown me anything like that, and I believe that this is a good person, and they’re such a powerful teacher I have to listen.” Then others claim great experiences, and you can be overwhelmed if you haven’t had them.[24]
4:5 These false prophets belong to the world’s system, so what they say is from that system as well, and that’s why secular society listens to what to them.
EXPOSITION
When some of John the Baptizer’s supporters began to follow Jesus, they may have wondered what made Him different from the Baptizer, or other prophets speaking at that time. Jesus left no doubt in their minds when He told them, “The One who comes from above is greater than all others. The one who rises on earth belongs to the earth. He discusses things that are on the earth. But the One who comes down from heaven is greater than all others.”[25]
Before, we have mentioned some of these false Messiahs, such as Simon of Peraea, Athronges, and Menahem ben Judah. As a matter of fact, Flavius Josephus, the famed Jewish historian, tells us the following story about a little-known person named Izates (born in 1 AD and died in 55 AD), who was introduced to the Jewish tenets by a Jewish merchant named Ananias. He later discovered that his mother had already converted to Judaism. Nevertheless, he became greatly revered because of his devotion to God, and many wanted to join him as their leader in Judea. Izates was from a small kingdom called Adiabene, part of the Persian empire in northern Mesopotamia (now Iraq), with its capital Arba-ilu, modern-day Irbil, Iraq.
The royal family embraced the Jewish religion, and the queen mother Helena became famous for her generosity to the Jews and the Temple in Jerusalem. The nobles of Adiabene became so upset at the royal family’s switch to Judaism that they persuaded Abia, King of Arabia, to declare war against Izates, who defeated Abia, who, in despair, committed suicide. The nobles then conspired with Volageses, King of Parthia, but the latter was prevented from carrying out his plans at the last moment, and Izates continued to reign undisturbed for twenty-four years. Helena was so honored that her two grandsons, Monobazus II and Izates II, were buried in the Tombs of the Kings at Jerusalem.[26] It happened during Jesus’ lifetime.
Then Josephus chronicles another story of a pretend Messiah: “Now it came to pass, while Fadus was proxy for Caesar in Judea, that a certain magician, whose name was Theudas, persuaded a great part of the people to take their effects with them, and follow him to the river Jordan; for he told them he was a prophet, and that he would, by his command, divide the river, and afford them an easy passage over it; and his words deluded many. However, Fadus did not permit them to take advantage of this wild attempt but sent a troop of horsemen out against them, who, falling upon them unexpectedly, slew many of them and took many of them alive. They also took Theudas alive, cut off his head, and carried it to Jerusalem. This was what befell the Jews in the time of Cuspius Fadus’s government.”[27]
[8] Schuchard, Bruce G., Concordia Commentary, op. cit., p. 426
[9] Pope Francis greeted Bhaddanta Kumarabhivasma, chairman of the supreme council of Buddhist monks, during a November 29, 2017 meeting with monks of the council at the Kaba Aye Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar.
Down an Unfamiliar Road 