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PrintThe Doctrine of Christ
Manuel Seibel
Occupation with the Person and work of our Lord fills our hearts with joy and leads to gratitude and worship. But if aspects of His Person and work, as revealed in Scripture, are doubted, this is a dishonour to Him. In this connection it is the privilege of every believer to acknowledge that the Lord Jesus is eternally God and yet has become Man. He did no sin and sin was not in Him. Although He did not know sin, He was judged for the sins of others during the three hours of darkness on the cross at Calvary and, as the wages of sin, He endured death for us. But He did not remain in death. He rose again and went up into heaven to sit at the right hand of God until God makes His enemies the footstool of His feet. If a believer denies one of these important facts concerning His Person and work (for example, His eternal Sonship), then he dishonours God and the Lord Jesus and moves away from the foundation of his faith (cf. for example 1 Cor. 15). It is sad that we are not always sufficiently discerning to discover the roots of such developments, and as a consequence they develop further and become established. Let us always remember that the Holy Spirit indwells the believer and can preserve us by the Word of God.
It becomes especially dangerous if someone teaches in a spirit which is not of God; if someone calling himself a servant preaches something which is fundamentally wrong. We live in a time when many teach what suits them. Because of this we are in danger of being drawn away from the sound teaching of the Word of God. The teaching of John in particular gives us divine guidelines in this respect. In the fourth chapter of his epistle he shows that Satan has sent out many prophets in order to attack the Person and work of Christ and lead believers astray. In this connection he mentions three points by which to test the erroneous teaching and expose the false servants who bring it.
1) The personification of the doctrine of Christ is jesus Christ.
Only the Spirit which confesses Jesus Christ come in the flesh, is of God (v. 3).
2) The origin of the doctrine of Christ is heaven.
The spirit which is of the world, i.e., which speaks according to the principles of the world, is not of God (vs. 4-5).
3) The standard of the doctrine of Christ is the truth of the Word of God.
The spirit which teaches according to the apostles' doctrine, is of God (v. 6).
These three points are so simple that every believer can use them and identify false teachers. They correspond exactly with the three fundamental tasks of the Comforter, the Spirit of God, referred to in John's Gospel chapters 14 to 16.
1) He will testify of the Lord Jesus (John 15:26) and glorify Him (John 16:14). This glorification consists in His making the Person and work of Christ increasingly great in our eyes. We may realise that the eternal Son became Man in order that, as Man, He might glorify God perfectly. Only a man can die for men, and only God Himself can reveal the love which is in the heart of God. Because the Lord Jesus is both god and Man, He can make every facet of the character of God visible and comprehensible for men. As Man, He experienced the two parts of-typically human-life, namely, birth and death. But because He is infinitely more, no less than God blessed forever, He is in both of these very different from other men. God Himself overshadowed the virgin to beget Him (Luke 1:35). And no mere man is capable of giving up his life, but this is what the Lord Jesus did (John 10:17). He became a Man and will remain a Man forever.
When someone testifies of these wonderful facts, the hearts of believers are made glad and bow in worship before the Lord of glory. But where these things are not confessed and taught, we have to do with the spirit of antichrist which is already in the world and wants to dishonour the Lord Jesus Christ. It is important to turn away at once from someone bringing false doctrine concerning Christ; to judge the teaching and have no fellowship with him (2 John 10-11). If we do not know the person concerned, opportunity might be taken to present the true message since it is possible he may accept it. But discussions are unavailing and will lead us astray. They will not lead the person concerned to turn to what is good. Let us remember the earnest exhortations of John's second epistle. He could wait to communicate some matters, but not this point! Fellowship with a false teacher is worse than the false doctrine itself. For against the background of the knowledge of the truth, it is imagined that there can be fellowship with such a person and therefore with his doctrine. But this is to provoke God. Are we stronger than He (1 Cor 10:22)? Only the love of God can free such a soul from the false doctrine.
2) The Spirit reproves the world of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8). If this is the case, how can a doctrine which is based on the principles and spirit of this world be of God? Impossible! The reasonings of the spirit of this world are only logical and philosophical, and by these it is impossible to acknowledge that the Lord Jesus is God and Man in one Person. Similar thinking leads souls to seek salvation through their own works rather than by faith. How wrong that is, since God shows us that salvation can only be obtained in Christ.
Doctrines which are earthly in character and of this world in content and aim cannot come from God. All believers have the Holy Spirit. Through the new birth we are a new creation and are no longer of this world (John 17:14). For these reasons we have the capacity to know whether a doctrine is heavenly or earthly in origin. Often we do not consider this danger to be very great, and overlook the fact that the foundations of our spiritual lives are being attacked. In principle, the three tests of 1 John 4 really show us three different aspects of the same error. Perhaps we recognise false doctrine concerning the Person of Christ, but think that doctrine which comes from the world is not so dangerous. However, by this second means Satan attacks exactly the same foundations, perhaps in a more subtle way, but just as effectively.
3) The Spirit will lead you into all truth (John 16:13). This statement was first made to the disciples and apostles. What the Spirit taught them has been communicated to us through the apostles' teaching, of which we read in Acts 2:42 and, in terms of the personification of it, in the first verses of 1 John. It is precisely this doctrine which the false teachers do not bring. What does it consist of? In its entirety it is the content of the whole New Testament, but one can find it especially in the epistles of the apostle Paul. It is personified in our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the centre and substance of this doctrine. This makes it evident that there is a direct link with the first two tests. Since John generally writes in his letters in an absolute and abstract way, this third aspect does not refer to specific parts of the doctrine. Rather, the apostle refers to the foundation of the Christian faith. It is absolutely necessary for us to value every single aspect of the apostles' teaching, but in connection with the consequences which are mentioned here, the fundamental point seems to be in view. This again concerns the Person of our Lord, the teaching that He is God and Man and that this was necessary if He was to be the Saviour.
John gives a summary at the end of 1 John 4 verse 6. There are two diametrically opposed doctrines. One has been set forth by the Spirit of Truth and is referred to in 2 John as the teaching of Christ. The other has been propagated by the spirit of error. When the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, is working, the Person of the Lord Jesus and the glorious fact that He came in the flesh, will be magnified in our hearts (v. 3). We understand that this doctrine has a heavenly origin (v. 5), and that it is in accord with the revealed truth and teaching of the New Testament (v. 6). When for the contrary purpose the spirit of error sends out prophets working through Satan, one or more of these three tests will be contravened, even if at first glance this does not seem to be the case. Great care and watchfulness are necessary if it is not to become necessary to confess that the spirit of antichrist has been successful among us.
In this context one has to point out that it is not a question of believers seeing every aspect of New Testament teaching exactly as we see it. That is not the criterion for judging between the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of error. Just as John writes in absolute terms of believers walking in light and love, he points here to error. He deals with the denial of fundamental facts concerning the Person of our Lord. Other passages of Scripture, such as Philippians 3:15, show that growth is needful for every saint. However, when the Person of our Lord is concerned there is no room for leniency. Either the person concerned confesses his false ideas, or we must turn away from him. Furthermore, if we turn away, then this is indeed a sign of love-love to our Saviour who has loved us and given Himself for us-the One to whom we want to cling in the light.
Perhaps we believe that we have nothing to do with these things. Through God's grace we may know the truth and rarely be confronted with such false teaching. But let us be on our guard. John has given us this instruction that when we are confronted by such wrong teaching we may be prepared against it. The enemy always comes when believers are sleeping, and he has been very successful with this strategy. Why is our moral condition today so low and weak? One reason may be that we are blind to our real condition while thinking we know much and supposing ourselves faithful and humble. "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man" (Prov. 24:33). Spiritual poverty follows spiritual wealth because we attribute these things to our own works and strength and not to the never-changing grace of God. Let us be watchful and then we will be able to discern the spirit of error.
God does not want us to be occupied primarily with a search for error. He wants us to be occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus and to be joyful in Him. Then we will also, when necessary, expose the spirit of antichrist. Let us therefore encourage one another to discover afresh the glory of the Person of our Saviour. That will make our hearts happy and lead us to respond to the activity of the Holy Spirit and to glorify the Father.
M. Seibel
