Amongst all the writings of the New Testament, the epistles and letters of the apostle John stand alone in style and thought. What is it that contributes to the immense popularity of John’s gospel? For example, this book has by far the largest sale of the gospels sold as individual books, yet its message is more mysterious, less material than the others. The epistles of John, too, have this deep and strange quality, as of a thinker looking under the surface of life and finding strange and wonderful scenes.
Let us first consider the opening passage of the gospel:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Most of us will know that “Word” is “logos” in Greek, the source of our word “logic”—reason, wisdom.
God is the Beginning of all things, and His logic was and is manifest in creation. Right from the beginning, everything was logically designed, because God is absolutely logical in all His ways; indeed, God and logic are synonymous. So says John, and seems to continue his line of thought in his first epistle.
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes . . .” is the opening phrase of the epistle. John has already told us in his gospel record that God and His Logic were from the beginning. How can he have seen, heard and handled this primeval Logic? Returning to the gospel, we read,
“All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not”.
And then, as a magnificent climax (verse 14),
“And the Logic was made flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and Truth”—”Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ”.
So John led us from his abstract vision of the all-wise Creator doing all things with absolute Logic and Wisdom, to the supreme expression of His logical plan—Jesus Christ, the keystone of the structure being built to His Glory.
Very few people saw beyond the carpenter of Nazareth in his outward form to the purpose of His Creator. John, perhaps, saw more clearly than any other, for he loved Jesus deeply, and detected the Father as he saw the Son. He stood at the cross, he cared for the mother of the Saviour, and had the joy of seeing the Father’s Logic manifest in the risen Christ.
“Our hands have handled the Logic of life (The life was manifest, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested to us).”
Yes, John had touched the Risen Lord, he had seen God’s logical plan take one further step: a dead man had been restored to life. But not just any dead man; that would not have been logical, for all other men are sinners. But this man—yes, it would not have been logical for him to remain dead, for he did not sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.
Is it any wonder that John showed excitement even in his written word, for it is an exciting message, this revelation of God’s logic. Having given us some feeling of the inner meaning of the work of salvation (“We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous”), John leads us to the thought that we also can be a revelation of the love of God (“Whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected; hereby know we that we are in Him”).
John writes of love as the manifestation of our position in the light of the Truth. First, there is the love from the Father:
“Behold, what manner of the love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not”.
The servants of God are not recognised by the unbelieving masses of humanity, because they do not understand the logic of God. But, says John, “We have known and believed the love that God hath to us”.
We should pause awhile at this thought, and ask ourselves whether we do indeed know this love. A little earlier in this epistle (chapter 4. 8) this thought is reversed, when John declares, “He that loveth not, knoweth not God”. We must love to know, and to know the love. Love is a two way traffic: love from God to man, followed by love from man to God.
And, finally, John brings us to an immediate practical application of the way of love:
“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he can see, how can he love God whom he hath not seen.”
“And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God, love his brother also.”
John is somewhat difficult to read and fully understand, but the essence of his message is very plain, is it not? Because God is love, only love can survive to the eternal Unity when he gathers together in one all things in Christ. This essential characteristic of a saint is made plain by John. How well does each one of us measure up to his standards, as so beautifully depicted in his epistles?
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One