Brethren, you ought regularly to bear in mind the intent of this divine institution. It is a memorial of Christ's atoning death: it is an instrument of grace

to the believer in Christ.

PLE TO THE PERSON AND OFFICES OF CHRIST:

A Sermon,

BY THE REV. J. HILL, M.A.,
Vice-Principal of St. Edmund Hall, Oxford.
1 ST. JOHN i. 3.

"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."

THE disciple whom Jesus loved manifests in all his writings his reciprocal attachment to his divine Master. The Spirit of Jesus dwelt within him, and filled his heart with warmest love to his Saviour, and with unquenchable zeal for his honour. The specimen of the feeling and teaching of this beloved disciple which is contained in the text may, under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, profitably serve as the foundation of our present meditations. May that divine Agent shed light and love into our hearts, and endue us with a large measure of the apostle's spirit!

Two important topics receive elucidation from the passage before us, namely—

I. The pre-eminent subject of the apostle's instructions; and

II. The purpose and object which he had in view in giving those instructions.

I. We learn, in the first place, the preeminent subject of the apostle's instructions: "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you." The office of St. John was to announce the Saviour. In the expression, "That which we have seen and heard," he briefly recapitulates that which he had more fully described in the first verse, as "that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked on, and our hands have handled of the Word of life." And, in the parenthetical explanation in the second verse, he confirms his holy determination to make this the great subject of his instructions: "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." His subject, then, was Christ, the Word of life. He preached the eternal Word as being

Early, indeed, did the great enemy aim his shafts against a doctrine which not only infinitely surpasses human comprehension, but is also most essential to the actual accomplishment of man's salvation, and to the secure exercise of faith on the part of those who partake of that salvation. But the truth stands unshaken, and presents a firm basis of assurance to every believer; therefore, the beloved apostle delighted to declare it.

But with equal energy he also declared that the Word was made flesh, and thus became the author and communicator of spiritual and eternal life. St. John had himself heard the sacred voice of the incarnate Word: he had seen with his eyes and looked upon that holy person: his hands had handled the true and actual human body which the Word had assumed. It was not a transient glance, a single interview alone, which had convinced him of the real manhood of Christ. His conviction had been produced by continual opportunities of observation, through a series of years, and under every variety of circumstances; from the time when the Baptist pointed out to him the "Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world" (for it is not improbable that he was the companion of Andrew on that occasion), until the risen Saviour ascended up to his Father. When, a few months after that first interview, he left his nets at the Saviour's call, and followed him; when he accompanied him in the various seasons of weakness and hunger and fatigue; when he witnessed the miracles and listened to the gracious words which he was afterwards inspired to record; when he was appointed to the apostolic office; when he received from his divine Master the solemn reproofs which checked, on one occasion, the ambitious desire of elevated station in the Redeemer's approaching kingdom, and on another occasion, the ill-instructed zeal which would call fire from heaven; when on the mount of transfiguration he beheld his glorythe glory as of the only-begotten of the Father; and when, in the garden of Gethsemane, he witnessed the intensity of his agony and the depth of his humiliation; when he lay in the bosom of the Lord at the last supper; when he witnessed his meekness at the bar of Pilate; when he watched his pangs on the cross, and received his dying

charge; when he again beheld him risen from the dead; when for forty days he traced the successive evidences of his resurrection; when he received the prophetic intimation that he should survive the other apostles, and tarry till Jerusalem should be destroyed; when, finally, he partook with the rest of the apostles in the parting benediction of the Lord, and beheld him carried up into heaven; on all these occasions, and under all these circumstances, he acquired the surest conviction that Jesus Christ was both God and man, the promised Messiah, the all-sufficient Saviour.

And thus he was rendered a competent witness to declare that Jesus is mediatorially, for the benefit of his chosen people, as well as absolutely in his original nature, the Life. Eternal life was, as it were, made visible to human eye by his incarnation. Eternal life was made communicable to those whose sin had forfeited life, by his submission to death on their behalf. This is the promise which God hath promised, even eternal life." "This is the record; that God hath given to us eternal life, and that life is in his Son."

Nor did the opposition of unsound teachers, who dared to deny the real godhead or the equally real manhood of our Lord, or who in any way obscured by human devices the perfection of his work or the efficacy of his grace, induce St. John, under the delusive pretext of candour or courtesy, to suppress or mortify the truths offensive to them. It rather urged him to announce those truths more fully and more frequently-with increased force and more intense interest.

And in the full exhibition of the Saviour, and of all the doctrines and precepts and privileges connected with him, every faithful minister of his gospel will endeavour to be a follower and imitator of this apostle. Taught by the same Spirit, animated by the same love, glowing with the same blessed experience of his grace, the true ambassadors of God will long to recommend him to others. Their feeling will be," I have believed, and therefore will I speak." They have tasted in some measure the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ; and they declare those excellencies to all around them, seeking to stir up the faith and love of many towards him, concerning whom they have themselves felt the truth of St. Peter's testimony, unto you that believe he is precious." But we shall find the character of the beloved disciple and apostle still more fully elucidated, while we endeavour to trace

66

II. The purpose and object which he had in view when he thus declared the nature and offices of Christ.

His desire was, that the privilege which he

himself enjoyed might be shared by all the people of God; that privilege being no less than union and communion with the Father and the Son. "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."

i. St. John was not only an apostle, but a peculiarly distinguished and favoured apostle; yet this exalted office did not induce him to lose sight of that which he was in common with all the other children of God. He felt himself to be one of the branches of the living vine-one of the sheep of the ransomed fold-one of the living stones in the temple of the living God-one of the soldiers under the banner of the Captain of our salvation-one of the citizens of the spiritual Zion-one of the children of that family which in heaven and earth is named from the Lord Jesus Christ. His heart, moreover, was enlarged by the gracious operations of the Holy Spirit. He desired to see many sheep brought from their wanderings to the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls; the branches flourishing with abundance of fruit; the spiritual temple advancing towards perfection; new warriors against Satan and sin and the world and the flesh enrolled in the army of the Lord, the city and family of the redeemed continually acquiring fresh accessions. And he desired that all these might be united with himself and each other in the privilege of Christian fellowship; that is, in community of judgment, of affection, and of privilege.

1. By declaring Christ he sought to promote a fellowship with himself in judg ment. His object was that, taught by the same Spirit, all the people of God might discern, with as much clearness and depth as himself, all the sacred and life-conveying doctrines of scripture; and thus continue stedfast in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, as well as in breaking of bread and prayer; that they might not be misled by the perversions of men or the delusions of Satan; and so be led to rest on false hopes and adopt a fictitious gospel; but that their heart might be established by grace, and that, unitedly maintaining the truth as it is in Jesus, they might abound more and more in all knowledge and judgment.

2. But the apostle also desired by his instructions to promote, on the part of those whom he addressed, a fellowship with himself, and with other believers in affection. He had himself recorded that prayer of our Lord: "That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me and I in thee, that they also may be one in us." It was after his first

recorded persecution, and after he, with his brethren in the apostleship had been "filled with the Holy Ghost," and had spoken "the word of God with boldness," that "the multitude of them that believed" are said to have been "of one heart and of one soul." And the language of another apostle would accurately express his feeling: "Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like-minded; having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." It was not his object to foster that spurious fellowship which embraces all, whether good or bad, whether their doctrines or their conduct tend to the honour or the dishonour of the Saviour. Nor would he be satisfied with a merely external fellowship, tied together by compliance with the same ecclesiastical observances, or by membership with the visible church in its most holy sacraments, and other sacred ordinances. Important as this is, he sought something yet more important. His great aim was to promote a genuine oneness of heart among all those who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, who are really members of his body, even the church of the elect, whom he has purchased by his own blood. With these, so far as they are discerned and recognized, the Christian heart will be united in sympathy and love. With these there may be a cordial interchange of feelings, a mutual communication of joys and sorrows; while, by united prayer and mutual exhortations and warnings and encouragements, they will become helpers to each other in their heavenward journey.

3. But the apostle moreover desired the fellowship of others with himself in the enjoyment of Christian privileges. All the redeemed in heaven and earth form part of the same family; God the Father having chosen them in Christ before the foundation of the world, that they might be holy and without blame before him in love, and having predestinated them unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto himself. They are actually introduced into that family by one and the same regenerating influence of the Holy Spirit; they are alike begotten according to the sovereign will of God by his word, even by that word of the gospel which liveth and abideth for ever. The saine blood of Christ, which cleansed St. John from his sins, is the fountain in which all his people wash and are made clean. The same advocate and propitiation, on which he relied, is the hope of every believer. The same divine righteousness, for the sake of which he was accepted and justified, is the robe which is unto all and upon all them that believe. The same exceeding great and precious promises, the same everlasting covenant ordered in all things, and sure, the same strength and sup

port from above, the same objects of present faith, the same hope of an everlasting inheritance-belong to all who are truly engrafted into Christ, whether they be apostles, or evangelists, or pastors, or private Christians. In these respects all are one, and the desire of the most favoured apostle is fulfilled in thisthat they all might have fellowship with him.

To the eye of carnal reason, indeed, it might appear that fellowship with St. John and other holy apostles could not be desirable, inasmuch as it must involve an imitation of their self-denial and separation from the world, and a participation with them in poverty and contempt and persecutions. But they who are enlightened from above will not find these to be just grounds of objection. They know that all that are Christ's must crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts; and that whosoever is born of God overcometh the world: these, therefore, they justly feel to be privileges. Nor should any true followers of Jesus be surprised if persecution should be their portion. It seldom occurs that, even in a peaceful state of the church, a genuine disciple of the Saviour escapes some share of trial for the sake of his divine Master. His doctrines or his practice will excite the opposition of the world, even of that part of the world which in name and profession amalgamates itself with the church. "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But even this branch of fellowship with the apostles and martyrs is a high and honourable privilege. Such is the united testimony of all who have suffered for the truth of Christ. Such was the testimony of those blessed martyrs of our own church, who in this place yielded their lives to the flames, in testimony of their firm adherence to the pure truth of the gospel, and of their solemn protest against the souldestroying errors of popery.

ii. But the affectionate and beloved apostle states the reason for which he desired that others might be joined in fellowship with himself. It was because fellowship with him involved that highest of blessings fellowship with God himself. "And truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ."

This exalted privilege consists in the reciprocity of mutual affection, interests, and intercourse.

1. It implies a reciprocity of mutual affection and love. On the part of God towards his people, the operations of his love are manifest. Amidst ten thousand evidences of the love of God the Father, and eclipsing them all, stands that great gift of which our Saviour testifies: "God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that who

soever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The same act evinces also the love of the Son. He is the good Shepherd who gave his life for the sheep. "Hereby," again testifies St. John, "perceive we the love of God;" that is, the eternal Son, "because he laid down his life for us."

But where, it may be asked, shall we find the reciprocity of fellowship in this respect? Not in the natural tendencies of man, for the carnal mind is enmity against God; but it will be produced in the renewed man when the Lord our God has so circumcised the heart, that we may be enabled to love him with all our heart and with all our soul. The Holy Ghost first sheds the knowledge and experience of divine love in the heart, and then inspires the sensation of love to the Father and to the Son: "We love him because he first loved us."

2. But this sacred and mysterious fellowship comprehends also a reciprocity of mutual interests. The true believer has an interest in Jehovah. He may say, "O God, thou art my God." The power, the wisdom, the holiness, the justice, the sovereignty, the veracity, the compassion, the love of Jehovah, are all engaged for the security and salvation of his chosen people. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is their God and Father; and Jesus himself is their wisdom, their righteousness, their sanctification, their redemption. If we are truly his, we are conformed to his death, and crucified with him; we partake the power of his resurrection, and live in his life.

And God, on the other hand, condescends to represent himself as feeling an especial interest in his people. He calls them his peculiar people, his purchased possession, his jewels, his inheritance. The blessed Saviour claims them as a gift conferred on him by the Father. He hath taken from them all that was their own-their sin and sorrow; and communicates to them his peace and his righteousness. And, unprofitable as they are in themselves, God vouchsafes even to accept the result of his own gifts. He demonstrates the interest which he feels in his people, by claiming their heart-by enjoining on them to present their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to him, and to glorify him in their body and spirit, which he hath bought with a price. This mutual interest, then, is one essential branch of the sacred communion which the apostle commends.

3. The fellowship of believers with the Father and the Son consists, moreover, in the freedom of mutual intercourse. God speaks as it were to his beloved people by his revealed word, which he renders profit

able for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. In subordination to the inspired scripture, he communicates through the medium of his faithful and enlightened ministers, and by the sacraments and other appointed ordinances. The dispensations of his providence, whether in the way of comfort or of affliction, are among the methods by which God holds communion with his people. Especially he maintains intercourse with them by his Holy Spirit; by whose influence all the other modes of communication are rendered effectual. The Spirit is truth. He reveals" the deep things of God," even "the things which he hath prepared for them that love him." He glorifies Christ by the revelation of his excellencies. He bears testimony to our interest in Christ and our adoption into the family of God.

And that Spirit also enables the children of God to maintain free intercourse with their heavenly Father. By him we have access, through Christ, to the Father; whom we therefore approach with confidence, crying, " Abba, Father." By him we may pour out our hearts before God, with filial confidence disclosing to him all our wants, our cares, our fears and our desires, our sorrows and our joys; fully aware that, while he knows far more than we can describe, yet as a tender Father he loves to hear the voice of his beloved children. So. extensive, so valuable, so enduring are the blessings and privileges comprehended in "fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ." The Father and the Son make their abode with those who love him. Is the fellowship of brothers cheering and profitable? Christ" is not ashamed to call his people brethren." Is the union of heart between parents and children sweet? "I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." Is the conjugal union more close and inviolable? Jesus Christ is the heavenly bridegroom who hath loved the church, and given himself for it, and united it to himself in indissoluble friendship.

The subject thus presented to us may suggest several practical topics of reflection.

1. If we are partakers of this sacred fellowship, we need not regret the absence of those opportunities of seeing and hearing the incarnate Saviour which St. John enjoyed. His testimony, in conjunction with that of the other inspired writers, is the sufficient, and the only external, warrant of our faith. To them we may trust implicitly as the expounders of the facts and doctrines essential to salvation. As to all others, we may more or less derive benefit from their assistance; but we yield no reliance on them as authorities. Faith in the pure testimony of God,