John 1:1-5 introduces Christ as “the Word”, “the Word was God”, the origin of creation, “life”, and “the light of men”. How shall we understand Christ? Light represents truth, the knowledge of truth, and the spiritual purity congruent with it. John is here portraying Christ as truth, not just that He created truth but that He is truth.
We often stop with truth and knowledge. Gnosticism focused just on knowledge and became one of the most severe threats in the history of the church. Gnosticism is a heresy and false doctrine because there was no spiritual purity to accompany the knowledge they claimed to possess.
Moral relativism rejects truth on the basis of knowledge and then claims to be morally correct. As we begin to understand this, then we can see that moral relativistic thought is nothing new to humanity. It is, rather, rooted in concepts such as Gnosticism to propose that any behavior is permissible based on a nebulous attainment of knowledge.
However, truth, the knowledge of truth, and spiritual purity congruent with the truth of Christ are inseparably linked. This is why there is such a focus in Scripture on holiness and Christian perfection, namely, that we have received the truth, and that truth demands a response. That response is conformity of conduct, character, and heart to the truth of Christ.
Gnosticism rejects any heart-felt change, while conformity to the righteousness of Christ springs from a transformed heart.
The truth is, in particular, saving truth or the truth which leads to life away from condemnation to hell. We understand that hell is reserved for those who have sinned, remain unrepentant, and refuse to confess their sin. We understand this through conduct, character, and rebellion in the heart.
John 1 introduces the manifestation of God in the flesh and the truth of God represented in earthly form.
Even before we leave chapter 1, baptism is introduced in verses 25 and 26. Baptism in the Old Testament law of Moses was reserved for those who were priests. Baptism represents purification and preparation for service as a priest. That John the Baptist was baptizing represented a shift in the priesthood. The kingdom of heaven was revealed on earth through Christ. All who believed would now become priests, and Jesus Christ became our High Priest.
Baptism very simply cleans the body. Priests were required to be clean and free of dirt when they engaged in temple worship. We are called to present ourselves as a living and holy sacrifice in worship of God. As such, both our bodies and our hearts must be purified.
We come into the presence of God daily as we worship Him through our daily lives, and purity is demanded.
Thus, if we accept the truth of God, we will seek the knowledge of truth, and the spiritual purity congruent with truth is also required. Truth, the knowledge of truth, and spiritual purity congruent with truth are inseparable.
John 1 introduces spiritual purity, and it will continue to be the main theme throughout the entire book of John. John 1:12-13 is key to understanding spiritual purity, and Romans 6:1-14 and 8:1-17 expounds on this concept. Through Christ, we become children of God and are born of God. For a more concise understanding, we can read 1 John 3:9, “No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sign, because he is born of God.”
John 1 is teaching that through Christ a new nature is imparted to us. It is only through this new nature that we can practice spiritual purity. Apart from Christ, any salvation, good, or purity we seek is self-righteousness sought through works. Through Christ, spiritual purity is demanded and made possible because we are born with a new nature.
Before we leave chapter 1, verse 16 is a very important text. “Nothing is of us or our works … all is of God. Nature will not spare us the smallest leaf of laurel. All writing comes by the grace of God, and all doing and having. I would gladly allow the most to the will of man, but I have set my heart on honesty in this chapter, and I can see nothing at last in success or failure, than more or less of vital force supplied from the Eternal.” Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essay on Experience It would seem that Emerson is providing commentary on the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. God is the source of all, as John wrote in verses 1-5.
John Lightfoot wrote that we received grace, so that we can dispense the grace of the gospel to others.
John 1:11-18 should be understood as a unit. What is grace and how do we receive it? When we become children of God, we are born of God with a new nature, and we receive Christ Himself. Christ is grace, as John writes in verse 17. While we have not seen God, we know God through Christ who is “grace upon grace”.
Alexander MacLaren wrote, “The whole infinite Majesty, and inexhaustible resources of the divine nature, were incorporated and insphered in that Incarnate Word from whom all men may draw… The real possession that we receive is neither more nor less than a loving Saviour, to enter our spirits and abide there, and be the spirit of our spirits, and the life of our lives.”
How do we receive Christ, grace upon grace, and a new nature as children of God? It is all and only through faith. What is faith? Hebrews 11:1 defines faith, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Through faith, we are born of God with a new nature, and that new nature receives the fullness of Christ. Christ is truth. Having a new nature, we are to embody spiritual purity congruent with the truth, and the grace of Christ dwelling in us enables the spiritual purity embodied in us.
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