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Christ before baptism, and after death, "This is He Who came through water and blood,
Jesus the Christ." He was Jesus the Christ before His baptism. A reference to
John 1: 32-34 will show how vividly this is portrayed in I John 5: All the words of
verse 34 occur in this epistle, and in the same order. The witness that Jesus was the
Christ is in the same manner upheld before, at and after the crucifixion
(cf. Matt. 16: 16; 27: 54; John 20: 28, and Rom. 1: 4).
The Spirit of truth (Matt. 3: 16), the water of Jordan (Matt. 3: 13; John 1: 31, 32), and
the blood of the Cross (Acts 20: 28), are the three-fold witness to the Person of Jesus the
Christ throughout the whole of that wondrous walk on earth. I John 5: 9 declares that this
is the witness of God concerning His Son, and verse 10 breaks in with the antichrist's
denial of I John 4: by shewing that they who reject this witness "make God a liar."
Verses 9 and 11 link the truth concerning the Person and work of Christ with the
believers' assurance of eternal life:--
"The witness of God is this, that He hath borne witness concerning His Son" (verse 9).
"The witness is this, that God hath given unto us eternal life, and this life is in His
Son. He that hath the Son hath life" (verse 11).
Here the apostle gathers up his argument. Chapter 1: 1-3 speaks of Christ as "that
eternal life." Christ is our life, and to know this is to have assurance. The final words of
I John 5: clinch the two-fold teaching of the epistle:--
"We know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we
may know Him that is true, and we are in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ.
This One is the true God and eternal life."
Here we see how the two-fold theme is linked together. He that denies the Son hath
not God, and he that hath not the Son hath not life. Let us notice the force of the final
words of John's first epistle. This One, Who is Jesus the Christ, Who came in the flesh,
this One is "the true God and eternal life."
In John 16: 13-15 and 17: 1-5 are words which must be remembered in this
consideration. "He shall glorify Me" were the words of the promise. This glory is
specially connected with the work of redemption. "I have finished the work which Thou
gavest me to do, and now, O Father, glorify Thou Me" (cf. Also Phil. 2: 6-11 and
Heb. 12: 2). In John 17: 3 Christ links eternal life with the knowledge of God the
Father as the only true God, while the Holy Spirit in I John 5: 20 as definitely links
eternal life with the knowledge of the Son as the only true God.
The Open Letter referred to above says:--
"You have taken the honour, the position, and attributes of my Father--God the
Creator--and have given them to His creature and Servant-Son, the man Christ Jesus."
We believe that to the fair minded reader, a comparison of John 17: 1-5 with I John
5: 20 will shew that this charge must also be laid against the apostle John (and the Holy
Spirit Who inspired the epistle), for He too gives the title and honour of God the Father to
Jesus Christ the Son; both are called "the true God," and a knowledge of the Father and