This is a short blog post to look at the question of why the
epistle of 1 John was written. There are generally two views on what John was
trying to convey in his epistle of 1 John, both will be presented below with an
explanation of which view I believe to be correct, and which view I believe to
be totally wrong.
What is the “Test of
Life” view of 1 John?
Put simply the “test of life” view of 1 John is that John
lays out a number of tests in his epistle, if one passes these tests laid out
in 1 John then they can “know they have eternal life”, therefore if someone passes the tests they can know if they are counted as either a "believer" or a "unbeliever".
What is the “Test of Fellowship”
view of 1 John?
The test of fellowship view is very different, this view
says that John was writing to encourage born again believers to ensure they
were in fellowship with God. John does not write a list of tests to see if one
is a believer, in stead the purpose of John’s epistle is to encourage believers
to continue on in fellowship with God.
“Test of Life” in
Arminianism and Calvinism
This blog post won’t address the theological differences
between both Calvinism and Arminianism, all I will say is that both systems
have got things correct and both have got things incorrect. In my experiences
it is generally dortian Calvinism that goes totally contrary to scripture,
however I won’t go into reasons that I believe this in this particular blog
post.
The Arminian view on 1 John is generally similar to that of
Calvinism, they affirm the “Test of Life” view, however add the wholly unbiblical
view that a man can loose everlasting life. So they say that man can know that
he has everlasting life if he passes all of the tests within the book, however
if he fails one of the tests then he cannot know that he has everlasting life
(presently). So a man has to examine himself to see if he posses everlasting
life currently, notice that I added the word currently. As the vast majority of
Arminians affirm that we can be justified (saved) and then loose everlasting
life and have to “get it back” – whatever that means! As I whole heartedly
reject the view of conditional eternal security (which is a bit of an
oxymoron).
The dortian Calvinist view of 1 John is very similar; if the
person passes the tests then they can be “pretty sure” they have everlasting
life. But because of the dortian Calvinist view of “perseverance of the saints”
one cannot know that they are truly saved until they endure to the end of their
life in faithfulness and/or holiness.
Why John Did Not Have
a “Test of Life” View in Mind
I find this view of “test of life” rather fascinating. Does
John have a mini prologue of his epistle to show the reader what ideas he is
trying to convey? It would appear so:
1 John 1:3 (NKJV): that which we
have seen and heard we declare to you, that
you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with
the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
Clearly what John had in mind was to write to the readers
about fellowship and not justification, verse 6 and 7 only strengthen this
point:
1 John 1:6-7 (NKJV): 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in
darkness, we lie and do not practice the
truth. 7 But if we walk in
the light as He is in the light, we
have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son
cleanses us from all sin.
Note in particular throughout 1 John who he says the epistle
is aimed at:
1 John 5:13 (NKJV): These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the
Son of God, that you may know that
you have eternal life,
Since we can forget about the Arminian objection due to
their conclusion that everlasting life is not in fact everlasting, we can turn
to look at the dortian Calvinist view of the verse. Under the “Test of Life”
view this makes little sense for a dortian Calvinist, John is writing to
someone who believes to say that they can know they have everlasting life.
However Calvinism affirms that we cannot actually know until we have preserved,
so John’s statement of their ability to know becomes mute!
Second of all John addresses himself and others as
believers:
1 John 2:12-14 (NKJV): 12 I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. 13 I write
to you, fathers, Because you have known
Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, Because
you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, Because you
have known the Father. 14 I have written to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the
beginning. I have written to you, young men, Because you are strong, and
the word of God abides in you, And you
have overcome the wicked one.
1 John 2:25 (NKJV): And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.
Notice the use of “us”, John included himself here. It would
surely take a brave dortian Calvinist to affirm that John could not know that
he was justified until the end of his life?! Was John just mistaken when
writing under the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit? A view contrary to this
just won’t wash. John continues to include himself in the affirmation that he
and his readers are everlasting possessing belivers:
1 John 3:1-2 (NKJV): 3 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!
Therefore the world does not know us,
because it did not know Him. 2
Beloved, now we are children
of God; and it has not yet
been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
1 John 5:19 (NKJV): We
know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the
wicked one.
It would seem
apparent that John himself knew that he was indeed justified and a possessor of
everlasting life, this is a bit of a problem for the dortian Calvinist who
tries to the epistle into a “test to see if you are saved”.
Why Assurance is
Impossible Under the Dortian Calvinists Terms
If the dortian Calvinist wants to continue to affirm that if
they pass the tests laid out in 1 John that they can be “pretty sure they are
saved” they have to face the problem of interpreting 1 John 1:8,10. The tests
that the dortian Calvinist lays before the reader to “pass” in order to know (a
good bet!) that they have everlasting life are generally something like this:
- TEST 1 – WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH GOD [2].
- TEST 2 – WE ARE SENSITIVE TO OUR SIN [2].
- TEST 3 – WE OBEY HIS COMMANDS [2].
- TEST 4 – WE HATE THE WORLD AND ALL IT STANDS FOR [2].
- TEST 5 – WE LOVE CHRIST AND EAGERLY AWAIT HIS RETURN [3].
- TEST 6 – WE SEE A DECREASING OF SIN IN OUR LIFE [3].
- TEST 7 – WE HAVE A LOVE FOR OTHER CHRISTIANS [3].
- TEST 8 – WE EXPERIENCE ANSWERED PRAYER [4].
- TEST 9 – WE EXPERIENCE THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT [4].
- TEST 10 – WE DISCERN BETWEEN SPIRITUAL TRUTH AND ERROR [4].
We read in 1 John 1:8,10:
1 John 1:8 (NKJV): If
we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:10 (NKJV): If
we say that we have not sinned, we
make Him a liar, and His word is not
in us
No one achieves perfection, so how can we know if we are
“continuing to sin”? How can we know that we actually have eternal life? All of
these laid out tests of life are subjective as so we cannot know unless we
persevere to the end – under dortian Calvinism. So can we know we have
everlasting life like John affirms? Not if the dortian Calvinists “test of
life” view is adopted.
What is Behind the
“Test of Life” View?
How does one come to the conclusion that the epistle is
about a test of everlasting life? It is all to do with what the dortian
Calvinist believes is the the purpose statement for the epistle of 1 John, they
maintain that 1 John 5:13 is the purpose statement for the epistle rather than
in 1 John 1:3. Where would you expect the purpose of the epistle to be
addressed? Bob Wilkin puts it well:
“
Those holding the Test-of-Life
view of First John suggest, instead, that 1 John 5:13 is the purpose statement
for the book. That verse says, "These things I have written to you who
believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal
life.” There are several problems with this view. First, the words "these things I have written"(tauta egrapsa in
Greek) refer not to all that precedes 5:13 but only to the immediate context
(i.e., 5:6-12). The same Greek expression occurs on only one other occasion in
the book, in 2:26. There too only the immediate context (i.e., 2:18-25) is in
view. [1].
”
Bob’s point is very relevant! Lets take a look at 1 John
2:26 and the versus preceding each verse, then lets do the same with 1 John
5:13:
1 John 2:18-25 (NKJV): 18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard
that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by
which we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were
not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us;
but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none
of them were of us. 20 But you
have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. 21I have not written to you
because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is
of the truth. 22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus
is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever
denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has
the Father also. 24 Therefore let that abide in you which you
heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in
you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the
promise that He has promised us—eternal life.
1 John 2:26 (NKJV): These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.
1 John 5:6-12
(NKJV): 6This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by
water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because
the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the
Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there
are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and
these three agree as one. 9 If we receive the witness of men, the
witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has
testified of His Son. 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness
in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not
believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 11 And this is the
testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not
have life.
1 John 5:13 (NKJV): These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the
Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life,[a] and that you may
continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
It’s clear from 1 John 2:26 that this is not the overall purpose
statement of the epistle but to the preceding versus (2:18-25). The exact same
phrase of words is used by John in 1 John 5:13, here it is also clear that John
was referencing what he had written in the immediate preceding versus (6-12).
Conclusion: 1 John 5:13 is not a purpose statement for the
whole epistle, just like 1 John 2:26 it deals with the preceding versus. The
preceding versus of 1 John 5:6-12 simply affirm what the Gospel of John
teaches; that we can know now we have everlasting life through our one time act
of faith in Jesus for everlasting life.
Assurance is
Impossible under Dortian Calvinism
John says that we can have assurance we have everlasting
life (1 John 5:13), but John gives no assurance that we can know we are in
fellowship unless we pass the test of the epistle (1 John 1:6-7). Finally to
show that the dortian Calvinists view fails logically consider the following:
1) One
can pass the tests now.
2) Therefore
they can know they have everlasting life.
3) One
can then later fail the tests.
4) Therefore
they can not know they have everlasting life.
Net result: One cannot ultimately know if they have
everlasting life until they persevere to the end in faithfulness according to
the dortian Calvinist, unfortunately for the dortian Calvinist John was sure he
(2:25, 3:1-2, 5:19) and his readers (2:12-14, 3:1-2, 5:19) were believers and
were in fact justified and possessed everlasting life (1 John 5:13). John did not write his epistle to test if his readers were "believers" or "unbelievers" as he has already stated that both himself and his readers were in fact eternal life possessing believers, this epistle is not a "test of life" for "believers", such a view that believers do not have everlasting life flies in the face of all understanding regardless of ones view of assurance (current, future, or now!).
Conclusion
I think I will conclude with some thoughts of Zane Hodges:
“
All of this is extremely simple. There is absolutely no
effort on the Apostle's part to add additional "checks,"
"tests," or "verifications." The believer's assurance that
he possesses eternal life is directed totally and unambiguously toward the
truth of what God says about His Son. In that truth he is invited to rest.
”
Amen to that!
References
[1] Bob Wilkin. (1998). Knowing God By Our Works? 1
John 2:3-11.Available:
http://www.faithalone.org/magazine/y1988/88oct3.html. Last accessed 27th Nov
2013.
[2] Michael K.
Farrar, O.D.. (2007). Eleven Tests in the Epistles of John That
Can Assure Us We are Saved Part One. Available:
http://www.godsbreathpublications.com/11-tests-for-assurance-of-salvation-part-1/.
Last accessed 27th Nov 2013.
[3] Michael K.
Farrar, O.D.. (2007). Eleven Tests in the Epistles of John That
Can Assure Us We are Saved Part Two. Available:
http://www.godsbreathpublications.com/11-tests-for-assurance-of-salvation-part-2/.
Last accessed 27th Nov 2013.
[4] Michael K.
Farrar, O.D.. (2007). Eleven Tests in the Epistles of John That
Can Assure Us We are Saved Part Three. Available:
http://www.godsbreathpublications.com/11-tests-for-assurance-of-salvation-part-3/.
Last accessed 27th Nov 2013.
[5] Zane C. Hodges. (Autumn 1990). We Believe In:
Assurance of Salvation.Available:
http://www.faithalone.org/journal/1990ii/Hodges.html. Last accessed 27th Nov
2013.
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