Let us turn once again to God's
Word and I want to direct your attention this evening for a
text to the words that we find in that second epistle of John,
short second epistle of John and verse 9. Whosoever transgresseth
and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. either divided in the doctrine
of Christ, we have both the Father and the Son. We observe in the
punctuation as we have it here in the authorised version that
this short text consists of two sentences, and in each of the
sentences the subject matter is really the same, it is the
doctrine of Christ and that is the theme then that I want us
to consider and in particular we see that it is the doctrine
of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ in particular that the
Apostle John is speaking of. It is in Christ that we find
all the fullness of salvation. Our salvation centers in Him
and in His work. How vital that we are those who
are clear then with regards to the person and the work of the
Lord Jesus Christ. I'm sure we are familiar with
that great work that he accomplished in the fullness of the time we're
told God sent forth his son made of a woman made under the law
to redeem them that were under the law that they might receive
the adoption of sons. That is the great work that he
came to do. He was made of a woman, a real
man but also we're told there in Galatians 4 he was made under
the law he was subject to the holy law of God and he came of
course in his work to honor and to magnify the law of God that
law that his people had transgressed that law that is a revelation
of the very character of God in his holiness and his righteousness
and his justice And Christ honored and magnified it, as we learn
in the Gospels, by that life of perfect obedience. He must be about His Father's
work. That was the reason why He came
into the world. And He was ever about the business
of His Father. He came not to do His own will,
He said, but the will of Him that had sent Him. and to finish
his work and so he was obedient and by that obedience of course
he wrought a righteousness and it is that righteousness of Christ
that is imputed to his people and they are brought to trust
in him but as he honoured and magnified the Lord in living
so too in dying In the first place we see Christ honoring
the law in terms of all its precepts, his obedience to all the commandments,
and then of course in his dying he honors that same law in regards
to all its terrible penalties. He dies, the just for the unjust,
to bring the sinner to God. He bears in his own person all
that wrath of God that was due to those who were the transgressors. He has paid the great ransom
price that the law demands. He has shed his precious blood. What does the law say? The soul
that sinneth, it shall die. And Christ is that one who was
dying. The wages of sin It's been visited upon Christ. He has paid the price borne in
His own person, that terrible penalty. And so the law now honored
and magnified in respect to both its precepts and also its penalties. And there is for His people the
forgiveness of sins. They are a redeemed people. There is something then of the
doctrine of the The work, the work of the Lord Jesus Christ
is obedience, is active obedience, is passive obedience. But here
in the text, the doctrine of Christ that is spoken of is more
particularly that concerning the person of the Saviour. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. Before we come to consider the
person of the Lord Jesus, I want us to consider just to whom this
letter is addressed, and who is the writer of this letter. In the opening verse we're told
the Elder unto the elect lady and her children. Who is the writer? Who is the
elder? Well, this is John. He is, of course, an apostle. One of those twelve that the
Lord Jesus had chosen that they should be with him. In fact,
he was a beloved apostle. He was there on several occasions
together with Peter and James to witness peculiar aspects of
the Lord's ministry. He was that one who was favored
to be near the Lord and to lie on his bosom when Christ instituted
the Holy Supper at his last Passover. He was a greatly favored apostle,
but he was also an elder. How this title, Aldous, as we
have it in the New Testament, seems to be generic. It is applied
to all who hold office in the church. Apostles, then, are Aldous. And we see that not only in the
case of John, but we see it also with Simon Peter. You remember
how in the last chapter of his first epistle, He writes, the
elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder and a witness
of the sufferings of Christ and also a partaker of the glory
that shall be revealed, feed the flock of God which is among
you. He addresses his fellow church
officers. Are they elders? Well, Peter
the Apostle says that he also is, and now I say that the title
is generic. Remember in Acts chapter 6 we
have the appointment of those who now we would recognize to
be exercising the office of a deacon. At the beginning the sole functionaries
in the church were the apostles, but there's some dispute concerning
the ministry to the widows and it's determined that there should
be some appointed to attend to this ministration and it's really
the beginnings of the office of deacon they serve tables but
when we come to Acts chapter 11 and a collection is taken
because there's a terrible famine at Jerusalem as we see there
at the end of Acts chapter 11 when the funds, the money that's
been raised to minister to these it is sent we're told to the
elders in those last two verses, Acts 11, then the disciples,
every man according to his ability determined to send relief unto
the brethren which dwelt in Judea which also they did and sent
it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. Who were
these elders who would be distributing funds attending to this ministry? Well it's those persons spoken
of previously there in the sixth chapter. It's the deacons. I say that the title Elder then
is generic. It's applied generally in the New Testament to those
who are exercising a ministry in the church. And so the Elder
here is John. and he uses the same expression
when he writes his third epistle, the Elder, unto the well-beloved
Gaius, whom I love in the truth. But if we can identify the human
author as the Apostle John, and he was the Elder, of course also
in the sense that he was now an aged man, He was the last
surviving of all the apostles. What are we to make of this reference
to the elect lady, the elder unto the elect lady? Is this an individual that he
is writing to? We're told by Paul, not many
noble are called. He doesn't say not any. But it
certainly says not many, but there have been those ladies,
ladies of high birth, who have been called by the grace of God. If we know only a little of church
history, we've probably heard of Selina, Countess of Huntingdon
in the 18th century and the ministry that she exercised at the time
of the Great Awakening. There was a lady raised up by
the Lords to serve His cause and In the following century,
in the 19th century, we read of another gracious woman, Lady
Lucy Smith, who also had a very kind ministry amongst many strict
Baptists. It's not many noble, but it doesn't
say not any. There are some of high birth
who have been caught. And it could be that this is
an individual. But then on the other hand, And
I believe this is right. We should take the title, the
elect lady, in a figurative sense. It says, the lady and her children. Isn't this a reference really
to a church? A local church? We see how the
church is certainly in Scripture spoken of in terms of Christ's
bride, when In Ephesians chapter 5, Paul is giving practical exhortation,
dealing with relationships, and speaks of husbands and wives. As he gives these directions,
so he speaks of the wife in terms of the church, as the bride of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Here is the exhortation in verse
22 there, Ephesians 5, 22. Wives, submit yourselves unto
your own husbands as unto the Lord. For the husband is the
head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and
he is the Savior of the body. Therefore, as the church is subject
unto Christ, So let the wives be to their own husbands in everything."
And then at verse 31, for this cause, he says, "...shall a man
leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his
wife, and they too shall be one flesh." This is a great mystery,
but I speak concerning Christ and the Church. The Elect Lady
then, can it not be understood in terms of Christ's Church,
Christ's Bride? In Revelation 21 and verse 9
we read of the bride, the lamb's wife. And so we can understand
the epistle in terms of the elder John addressing himself to a
particular church, a local church, the elder unto the elect lady
and her children. And then At the end, he says,
the children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen. So he's conveying greetings,
as it were, from one local church to another local church. There were these churches. These
churches that had arisen, of course, as a result of the ministry
of the apostles, and particularly the ministry of Paul, as we have
it recorded there in the Acts. churches sprang up and so when
we come to the very last book of Scripture, the book of the
Revelation and again that is what is given to John now in
exile on the Isle of Patmos and remember out there in Revelation
2 and 3 we have an address to the seven churches John to the
seven churches which are in Aisha it says. He addresses himself
time and again to churches. And so we can say here that this
second epistle is addressed to a church, a local church. But
not only to a particular church, is it not addressed to every
church? Is it not addressed to all believers? Is it not God's
words to the one true Church? It's part of Scripture. It's
not just the writing of John, the Apostle, the Elder. It is
the Word of God and all Scripture is given by inspiration of God
and is profitable. It's God's words then here that
we have to His Church. And what does God say to his
people in the text? "...whosoever transgresseth and
abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son." So I want us to
turn now from the bride of Christ, from the Church, that's being
addressed here to consider the bridegroom himself, to consider
the Lord Jesus Christ. And as I said, the doctrine of
Christ that is particularly before us in this text is that of the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And there is a great mystery.
There is a great mystery when we come to consider the person
of the Saviour. There is, of course, a great
mystery when we come to consider God Himself, the doctrine of
God, revealed to us here in Holy Scripture. We see that God is
One. Here, O Israel, the Lord our
God is One Lord. And yet, when we come to that
fullness of the revelation that we have certainly in the New
Testament, we see that there are three persons. who are God. God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. And doesn't John himself make
mention of those three persons in that text that many would
dispute and try to strike out of scripture. In chapter 5 of
his first epistle, he says, there are three that bear record in
heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these
three are one. Oh, what a mystery! And we have to bow before that
mystery. We cannot explain it. The hymn
writer says, where reason fails with all her powers, their faith
prevails. and love adores. We bow before
the mystery which is God. One God in three persons. Not three gods, one God subsisting
in three persons. And then this other great mystery,
the doctrine of Christ, the person of the Savior. He is God and
He is man. There are two natures in the
person of Jesus Christ and they are distinct natures. They are
not mixed, they are not mingled, they are distinct. He is God
and He is man. Unto us, says Isaiah the prophet,
the mouthpiece of God, unto us a child is born. Unto us The
Son is given. The Son is not born. The Son
is given. He is the eternal Son. But the
child is born. The human nature, that that is
created by the Holy Ghost in the womb of a virgin. The virgin
shall be with child and bring forth a son and they shall call
his name Immanuel. Which is by interpretation God's
with us. The Holy Ghost shall come upon
thee, the power of the highest shall overshadow thee, says the
angel to Mary. Therefore also that holy thing
that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. That holy thing, that's the human
nature. That's the child born that is joined in that great
mystery of the Incarnation, joined to the eternal Son of God. And how vital this is! Look at
the words of the text. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. Consider then, with regards to
the person of Christ, first of all the human nature. John is
very much dealing with this. There were those heresies that
were already beginning to manifest themselves amongst the early
churches. There were such groups as the
Gnostics, who taught that the physical world, that matter,
is essentially evil. And therefore, in a sense, they
were denying the reality of that human nature in Christ. You see,
there were those strange sects that were growing up who were
saying that he was never a real man, it was just some sort of
phantom spirit that had appeared. Verse 7, he says, many deceivers
are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Those who denied the reality
of the human nature of the Lord Jesus, as I said, John was that
favoured apostle, he was there leaning upon the Lord's bosom
when he instituted the Holy Supper. He knew how real that human nature
was. No wonder he begins his first
epistle as he does He says, "...that which was from the beginning,
which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which
we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word
of life. For the life was manifested,
and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that
eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested
unto us. That which we have seen and heard
declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with
us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His
Son, Jesus Christ." Now, he knew by his very senses, you see,
the reality of what he had witnessed in the human life of the Lord
Jesus. He heard Him speak, he saw Him
with his eyes, he touched Him, he handled Him. This was no phantom,
this was a real man. And John, I say, in his epistles,
he contends very earnestly for that truth of the reality of
the human nature. Christ could only redeem those
of humankind if he himself became a real man. He did not take upon
him the nature of the angels. He took upon him the seed of
Abraham. And because the children were
partakers of flesh and blood, Paul tells us, he likewise took
part of the same. Oh, he came where his people
were. Bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh. The truth then
of the human nature of the Lord Jesus. But then also, the divine
nature. The divine nature. If God is
Father, He must therefore have an eternal Son. He cannot be
an eternal Father if there was a time when He did not have an
eternal Son. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. Now, Not only in
this epistle, but John in all his writings, in a sense, is
contending for the truth concerning the person as well as the work
of the Lord Jesus Christ. How even his gospel is different
to the other synoptic gospels. He doesn't always record the
same things that are recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Certainly in Matthew and in Luke
we have some detailed account concerning the coming of Christ
into this world, His birth. But remember how John's Gospel
opens, in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God
and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God, all things were made by Him. Without Him was not anything
made that was made. How He asserts the truth of His
deity. He's there, He's the Creator
of all things. And then He goes on to declare,
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld
His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. And then we have throughout those
great I Am statements, in which The Lord Jesus is clearly declaring
himself to be the Great Jehovah, the Great I Am. John, I say in
his Gospel, John in his Epistles, very much contends for the truth
of the Day of Aton. That this person, this man, Jesus
of Nazareth, is nothing less than true Almighty God. And so in that portion that we
read, in the first epistle, there at
verse 22 in chapter 2, who is a liar, but he that denieth that
Jesus is the Christ, he is antichrist, but denieth the Father and the
Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the
same hath not the Father, but he that acknowledgeeth the Son
hath the Father also. He speaks of Him then, here in
this second epistle, the end of the third verse, He says,
He is the Son of the Father in truth and love. He is truly the
Father's Son, the Eternal Son of the Eternal Father. Now, I'm sure some of you are
very much aware that there was a great controversy in the 19th
century, even among strict Baptists, concerning this matter of the
true, proper and eternal Sonship of the Lord Jesus Christ. There
were some who denied that He was the Eternal Son. They didn't
deny that He was God, but they spoke of Him as the Eternal Worth. and they said that he became
a son by office, not the eternal son. It's important that we notice
that they're not denying the doctrine of the Trinity, they're
not denying that Jesus of Nazareth is God, but they spoke of him
as the eternal word, and of course we have that in John's writings,
in his gospel, and as we saw When he makes that statement
in the first epistle in chapter 5, the three that bear record
in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these
three are one. It's amazing really when we consider
events in those days amongst strict Baptists, how they were
very careful with regards to their doctrine. They examined these things, they
studied these things, they applied their minds to these things.
We live in a different age where there's such indifference now
to doctrine at all. And of course at that time we
were aware that it was Mr. Philpott who was raised up to
contend for the true, proper and eternal sonship of the Lord
Jesus Christ, that he is more than a son by office, that he
is the eternal son of the eternal Father. Now, doesn't Paul declare
these things in those opening words of his epistle to the Hebrews. Remember that opening section
of the epistle? He says, God who at sundry times
and in diverse manner spake in time past unto the fathers by
the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son,
whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made
the worlds, who being the brightness of His glory, and the express
image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His
power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on
the right hand of the Majesty on high, being made so much better
than the angels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent
name than they. For unto which of the angels
said He at any time, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten
thee. Again I will be to him a father,
and he shall be to me a son. Here in verse 5 he is quoting
of course from the Old Testament. He quotes from the 2nd Psalm
and he quotes also from 2nd Samuel 7.14. Now we recently considered
that statement in the 2nd Psalm Thou art my Son, this day have
I begotten Thee. Remember what we said on that
occasion, and Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, brings
out that great truth concerning Christ's eternal Sonship, His
eternal generation, from that statement. Thou art my Son, this
day have I begotten thee? Luther says it implies neither
yesterday nor tomorrow but always a present time today this day
in other words says Luther he never began to be born nor will
ever cease to be born but he is ever being born this day today
Luther says it is a present nativity. He is always being born. This
is the eternal generation, you see. He speaks, does the Lord
Jesus there in Proverbs chapter 8. We see him revealed as the
wisdom of God, just as John speaks of him as the Word of God, he
is the wisdom of God. And what does he say? When there
were no depths, I was brought forth before the mountains were
settled or the hills was I brought forth he was ever being brought
forth eternally begotten it is eternal sonship and he
must be the eternal son if there is an eternal father if there
is no eternal son there must have been a time when there was
no father He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ. He hath
both the Father and the Son. Now, today there are those who
would deny eternal generation. They deny that He is the Eternal
Son. They don't like the expression.
And we have it, of course, often times in the Scriptures. We've
already referred to those words in John chapter 1. The Word was made flesh, and
we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father." There it is, you see. The only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth. Again, in the familiar words
of John 3, 16, God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son. that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life." To believe in the only
begotten Son. Now, you don't find it, you see,
in the modern versions. Look at the NIV. They don't like
the expression, only begotten. What they say is this. They use
the expression, the one and only Son. And you say, well, what's
the difference? It's a denial of His eternal
generation. They're denying that he is eternally
begotten. They give him the title son,
yes. But they just say he's the unique son. Well, he is that.
But he is more than that. There is a relationship between
the persons in the Godhead. The Father is begetting. The
Son is begotten. The Holy Spirit is proceeding
from the Father and the Son. God is three, but God is one.
And it's interesting to examine the actual word that is rendered
only begotten in those passages in John. It's one of those compound
words. We often find that with regards
to the words that are used in Holy Scripture. And here we have
one of them. And the first part of that word,
monos, in which we get mono, it means alone, solitary. The
only one, you say? But what of the other word? It's
the word genos, which means offspring. It's derived from the verb that
means to come into being, to be born. He is the only born,
the only begotten. That's the literal meaning of
the word that is used to describe the Lord Jesus Christ. He is
God's Son. And is God's Son not by adoption? Nor is He God's Son by office? He is God's Son by generation. He is the eternally begotten
Son of God. Whosoever abides not in the doctrine
of Christ, if he doesn't abide in that doctrine,
he doesn't have God at all. If he abides in the doctrine
of Christ, the text says he has both. He has the Father and the
Son. It's a vital doctrine. It's a
vital doctrine. And that's the truth that stands
before us tonight, I say, in this text of Holy Scripture.
It is the doctrine of Christ. Oh God grant that we might be
those who have a clear view of it. And how can we obtain that?
How these things have to be made real to us, of course. How ultimately
God has to show us these things, reveal these things to us. This
precious truth concerning the person of Christ. We make much
of the work of Christ. That's good, that's right, that's
proper. We must not lose sight of all that Christ has done,
both in living and in dying. Oh, but let us have high views
with regards to his person. As God's man. very God of very
God, begotten not made, of one substance with the Father, to
use the language of the Nicene Creed. Now these things had to
be hammered out in controversy in those early centuries of the
Christian era. It is, I say, a vital doctrine. And so what do we say when we
take account of the context here. We see a need for separation. He says in verse 8, look to yourselves. He has spoken of deceivers in
verse 7 and antichrists. Look to yourselves that we lose
not those sins which we have wrought but that we receive a full reward
and we have to look to ourselves, examine ourselves, prove ourselves,
know ourselves as if Jesus Christ is in us. Who is this Jesus Christ
who is in us? Is it the true Christ, the Christ
revealed in Scripture, the Eternal Son of God? And then see how
he continues after the text. If there come any unto you, and
bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither
bid him God's speed, for he that biddeth in God's speed is partaker
of his evil deeds." What is the mark of a true church? And I
said that the elect lady and her children, that's the church.
What is the mark of a true church? Purity of doctrine. How important
it is. You say, well, you're only splitting
hairs. I'm not splitting hairs. These
things are vitally important. This is the truth, is it not?
If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema. Maranatha says that. And what
do those words mean? Well, anathema means let him
be a curse. He's under a curse. And what
does maranatha mean? It means our Lord is God. Our
Lord is God. If any man love not the Lord
Jesus Christ, let him be under a curse. Our Lord is come. And we are to be those who are
faithful to the Lord. How vital are these doctrines,
friends, that we're to contend for. Jude, in his short epistle,
reminds us of that. He says there at verse 3, Beloved,
when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common
salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you and exhort
you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was
once delivered unto the saints." What is the faith? It's not the
grace of faith, it's not believing. It is the body of truth that
we believe that he is speaking of. Contend for the faith Once
delivered unto the saints, for there are certain men crept in
unawares who were before of old ordained to this condemnation
ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness
and denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ." Oh,
there is a need, you see, for separation. Are we not bidden
to it? How the Apostle gives that exhortation,
writing in 2nd Corinthians, wherefore he says, come out from among
them and be a separateth the Lord, and touch not the unclean
thing, and I will receive you and will be a father unto you,
and you shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. Having therefore these promises,
dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness
of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord."
When we come to that last book John's last writings in the Revelation,
coming to the end of the book of the Revelation, what does
he say? Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her
sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. There is a call
to separation, costly as it is. We find ourselves such a poor,
such an afflicted people, just a handful. But what matters is
if we are those who are contending for the doctrine of our Lord
Jesus Christ. It's so vital. And we see it
in the writings of Paul when he writes to the Galatians. What
does he say? Look at the strength of his language.
Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto
you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed
and atonement. As we said before, so say I know
again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that
you have received, let him be accursed. This is the language
of the Apostle, this is the word of God. There is a call then
to separation. What happens often times of course,
where there is that faithful declaration of these things,
there is a separation. There is a separation. we read
those words did we not in that second chapter of the first epistle
little children it is the last time as you have heard that antichrist
shall come even now are there many antichrists whereby we know
that it is the last time they went out from us but they were
not of us for if they had been of us they would no doubt have
continued with us but they went out that they might be made manifest,
that they were not all of us. O God, help us, God, grant us
His grace, that we might rightly contend earnestly for this faith.
Whosoever transgresseth, and divideth not in the doctrine
of Christ, hath not God. He that divideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father And if they come unto you, any
unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into
your house, neither bid him God's speed, for he that biddeth him
God's speed is partaker of his evil deeds. The Lord help us. Amen. My soul shall bless the Lord
of all. My praise shall climb to his
abode. The Saviour by that name I call
thee.