MAKING GOD A LIAR - 1 JOHN 1:10

 Verse 10: If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

This is John’s fifth and final conditional statement of verses 6-10. It is easy to mistake that this verse seems to repeat the content of verse 8. However, to be clear, verse 8 considers the sin principle—the old sin nature, “the old self” (Romans 6:6; Ephesians 4:22); whereas this verse is regarding sins in particular—deeds which violate “His commandments” (1 John 2:4).

John’s Fifth Premise

Again, the word “if” expresses the probability of someone who may believe that they no longer commit sinful deeds. And just as John stated in verse 8 that the self-deceiving one believes he is no longer controlled by the principle of sin, this is an example of the same self-deception. The Greek tense of the verb ‘sinned’ emphasizes that sinning has current consequences for the believer, specifically the loss of fellowship with God.1 Most likely this believer has been influenced by the heresy of perfectionism and is oblivious of how disastrous this false teaching will have on their spiritual life. Dr. L.S. Chafer correctly observes that:

Scripture gives no basis for the extreme doctrines of personal holiness or sinless perfection advocated by some Christians.2

Nowhere in God’s Word is credibility given to the belief that once a person believes in Jesus Christ, that their old sin nature is eradicated and that they no longer commit sins. Dr. Norman Geisler points out:

[The] belief that we can reach a point of sinless perfection (whether by eradication or not) in this life is unbiblical, unrealistic, contrary to experience—and it minimizes sin. Perfectionism is a quick-fix scheme, can lull a person into a false sense of spiritual attainment, and undermines the God-ordained gradual process of sanctification.3

What Geisler means by the “gradual process of sanctification” is the developmental process for the believer to attain spiritual maturity. Apostle Paul defined this “God-ordained” process as the work of the pastor-teacher:

For the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:12–13 [emphasis added])

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews states that “solid food is for the mature” believer (Hebrews 5:14a). This solid food is what God intended the pastor-teacher to provide the believer. For when they apply (practice) what they learn, their spiritual senses are therefore “trained to discern good and evil” (Hebrews 5:14b).

The question is: would a believer who claimed to be sinless need training to distinguish what is good or evil? Adding to this absurdity, there would also be no purpose for the “God-ordained” pastor-teacher.

John’s Conclusion

John, exercising his apostolic authority, asserts that if we dare to claim that we no longer sin, then we make God out to be a liar. This word ‘make’ means to produce, or to cause, bring about, accomplish.4 Those who claim that they “have not sinned,” they intentionally or unwittingly embrace this heresy of perfectionism. And what is worse, by their nonchalant assertion they are blasphemously declaring that the God of the universe is a liar.

Please note how John concisely explains the reason we can make God a liar if we were to embrace this heresy: “His word is not in us.” By the use of the Greek verb “is”, we have in this phrase an absolute statement of truth. If it were possible to probe the memory center and stream of consciousness of this person, the doctrine of personal sin would nowhere be found. The writer of Hebrews describes that this is exactly what the Word of God is designed to do.

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

Therefore, if we were to say that we have not sinned, then we either have not studied God’s Word or we have not believed and have disputed and disregarded the authority of God’s Word for our lives.

As already mentioned there are no Scriptures to support this heresy; in fact there are many passages in God’s Word that dispute perfectionism. The Word clearly states “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23; cf. Romans 3:9-19). Solomon also declared this:

Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. (Ecclesiastes 7:20; cf. 1 Kings 8:46)

And Solomon incredulously asked:

Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin?” (Proverbs 20:9)

On this verse Dr. Ryrie astutely remarks that “The implied answer is ‘nobody,’ thus teaching the impossibility of sinless perfection.”5 

 Who is the Liar?

Briefly looking ahead, John says that in reality the liar is the one who “does not keep His commandments” and that “the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4). We can conclude that the phrases “His word is not in us” and “the truth is not in him” are synonymous because of the Lord Jesus’ proclamation to the Father: “Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

Notice Our Lord’s confrontation with the Pharisees when He asserted that the devil is the liar:

“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44 [emphasis added])

God is not the liar, as the Apostle Paul maintained “let God be found true, though every man be found a liar” (Romans 3:4).

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[1] Wallace, D. B. (1996) Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the Greek New Testament, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, p. 577f.

[2] Chafer, Lewis Sperry (1976). Systematic Theology, Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, 7.250.

[3] Geisler, Norman L. (2002). Systematic Theology, Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 3.587.

[4] Arndt, W., Gingrich, F. W., & Bauer, W. (1957). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, p. 687.

[5] Ryrie, C. C. (1995). Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Bible, 1995 update. Chicago: Moody Press, p. 996 note.

© 2024 David M. Rossi 

THE "FRUIT OF THE VINE" IN THE KINGDOM

“But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:29)

“Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” (Mark 14:25)

“And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 22:15–16)

“For I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” (Luke 22:18)

On the night when Our Lord was to die on the cross, He shared the Passover meal with His disciples in the Upper Room. He instituted what is now celebrated in most Christian churches as the Lord’s Table or the Eucharist. During this time He made two statements that are of great significance but are often glossed over by casual reading.

First, while contemplating the cup of wine which represented His blood, He stated in each of the synoptic gospels (as noted above) that “I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”1

Second, only in Luke’s account, He expresses His personal aspiration of eating the Passover with them. And then He adds something that many commentators seem to overlook: “I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

What did Our Lord mean by these statements? An analysis of His statements will provide clarity by revealing an aspect of the Kingdom of God that is uniquely Jewish, having absolutely no relationship to the Church of Jesus Christ.

Kingdom of God

The mention of the ‘Kingdom of God’ alludes to the highly anticipated future restoration of David’s eternal kingdom it was promised to him in the Davidic Covenant:

“When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” (2 Samuel 7:12–13)

And it was declared that Jesus Christ would sit on that throne:

“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” (Luke 1:32–33)

One phase of this future Kingdom will last ‘a thousand years’ as it is mentioned 6 times in Revelation 20:1-7. Dr. Ryrie explains by utilizing Old Testament evidences:

Since the Latin equivalent for these words is “millennium,” this period of time is called the Millennium. It is the time when Christ shall reign on this earth (Isaiah 2:3; Daniel 7:14; Zechariah 14:9). Satan will not be free to work (here in v. 2), righteousness will flourish (Isaiah 11:3–5), peace will be universal (Isaiah 2:4), and the productivity of the earth will be greatly increased (Isaiah 35:1–2). At the conclusion of the time Satan will be loosed to make one final attempt to overthrow Christ, but without success (vv. 7–9).2

After the thousand years the Kingdom of God will be ruled by the King of Kings, Jesus Christ into the Eternal State (Revelation 21-22).

The Fruit of the Vine and The Passover in the Millennial Kingdom

Both Matthew and Mark record Our Lord stating that He would drink the fruit of the vine “new in the kingdom of God.” The word ‘new’ does not infer freshly-made or new in time but means new in quality.3 Kenneth Wuest ascertains that in the future Millennial Kingdom the quality of the wine will be spiritual and not material.4

We must not forget that the cup of the Last Supper symbolized the blood of Christ poured-out for the atonement of sin and that Israel in the Old Testament looked forward to His atoning work (Hebrews 10:1ff; John 8:56). While today, all mankind looks back to that event, but in the future Kingdom, there will be no looking back because Jesus Christ will be an ever present reality, a physical attestation of His accomplished atonement. It will signify the fulfillment of the “new covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:20)—the New Covenant as conveyed to the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

The truth that the Passover will be observed in the Kingdom is overlooked by many Bible scholars, but so will the Feast of Booths be observed.

“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.” (Ezekiel 45:21)

“Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths.” (Zechariah 14:16ff)

In fact the Sabbath Day, the new moon and daily sacrifices will be observed during the days of the Kingdom as well (Ezekiel 46).

“Fulfilled in the Kingdom”

So it should not surprise us to know that Our Lord will celebrate the Passover in the Kingdom of God. For when He states in Luke 22:16 “I shall never again eat it”, it refers to ‘Passover’ in the previous verse.

But what exactly is He implying by the cryptic statement which follows: “until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God”?  The answer lies in the original meaning for the Passover celebration. When the children of Israel were still enslaved by the Egyptian Pharaoh (Exodus 1-12), God brought upon the Egyptians ten plagues intended to encourage Pharaoh to let His people go. The last plague was death to all the firstborn from the Pharaoh to the slave girl and even those of the cattle (Exodus 12:1-28). The Jews were to place the blood of the lamb on the doorposts and lintels of the houses so that the destroyer would ‘pass over’ their houses and leave their firstborn untouched (Exodus 12:22-23; cf. Hebrews 11:28).

This was God’s deliverance of Israel from slavery, which is analogous to the redemptive work of Christ which frees mankind from the enslavement of sin that leads to eternal death (Galatians 5:1; Romans 6:22-23). But for Israel, the Passover signified deliverance from slavery, safety and settlement in the land as promised to Abraham “and to your descendants forever” (Genesis 12:7; 13:14-17; 15:7, 18).

The Palestinian Covenant (Deuteronomy 30:1-10) confirms that in the Millennial Kingdom the Lord will gather the Jews “from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you” (Deuteronomy 30:3; cf. Psalm 147:2; Jeremiah 32:37; Ezekiel 34:13). This will be the conclusive fulfillment of the Passover—the actualization of the everlasting promises made to Israel, of the blessing, the land and the Messianic Kingdom.

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[1] Worded variously, yet the content and meaning is the same in all 3 instances.

[2] Ryrie, C. C. (1995). Ryrie Study Bible: New American Standard Bible, 1995 update. Chicago: Moody Press, p. 2041 note.

[3] Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word Studies in the New Testament. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1.138-139.

[4] Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1.262.

© 2024 David M. Rossi

 

CONFESSION OF SINS - 1 JOHN 1:9

 

Verse 9: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 

John presents one of the most critical doctrines of the Christian faith with his 4th conditional statement of verses 6-10. This doctrine has the greatest impact upon the believer’s most intimate fellowship with God. The correct understanding and implementation of this truth will determine the quality and effectiveness of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Therefore it should be understood that the following verse establishes the definitive basis of true spirituality in the Christian’s life.

John’s Fourth Premise

“If” expresses the probability of our decision in dealing with personal sins—if we decide to confess our sins, then what proceeds will transpire. Sin breaks our fellowship with God, disrupting our moment-by-moment walking in the Light. The Apostle Paul discussed the believers’ sinfulness in Ephesians 4:17-32 and commands, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Ephesians 4:30a). By grieving the Spirit we also quench the Spirit’s empowering presence in our lives (1 Thessalonians 5:19). It then becomes our responsibility to resolve the problem of our relationship with the Lord. By applying the solution that John provides will indicate just how much we recognize and value the importance of fellowship with our Savior. This should be our automatic response to sin, validating how serious we are in desiring to “please God” as Paul explains:

Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more. (1 Thessalonians 4:1) [emphasis added]

To confess means to simply name the sin, it does not imply, require or demand that we feel sorry as the basis for forgiveness. We confess our known sins privately to the Father in prayer, not to anyone else, for our fellowship is broken with the Father and needs to be restored. By doing so, the believer agrees that they have committed a transgression of God’s holy directives. The intent of “confess our sins” is to do so both continually and intermittently—whenever we sin. My first pastor-teacher, Robert F. Armstrong (1925-2001)1 rightly stressed that this means we should “keep short accounts with God.” To remain out of fellowship with God the believer reverts back to their “former manner of life” (Ephesians 4:22). There is a downside regarding this status as Paul explained to the Corinthians: “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men” (1 Corinthians 3:1a) denoting the loss of the filling of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).

 The Outcome of Confession

With the confession of sin we experience the marvelous grace of God. He is continually faithful, being “true to His own nature and promises,”2 (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:9) and He is continually righteous, “because He has found a righteous basis for forgiveness in the substitutionary work of the Lord Jesus on the cross.”3 And James concurs that He never varies from His character of being continually faithful and righteous (James 1:17).

Based upon His character, John maintains that He customarily (routinely) does two things: forgive and to cleanse,4 expressing His Divine purpose for being faithful and righteous. He forgives our sins every time we confess and at the same time He cleanses us from all unrighteousness. It’s not difficult to understand His forgiveness of our sins since they had already been judged on the cross by Jesus Christ. But the cleansing of all unrighteousness needs additional clarification.

Since sin breaks our fellowship with God, confessing our known sins demonstrates our obedience and conveys our desire to “walk in the Light” and recover our fellowship with Him. However, there are many sins we commit that we may not be aware of (especially mental attitude sins) they are regarded by Him as unrighteousness—unknown sins. And because the Father has made provision for us to have fellowship with Him, He provides cleansing of all our unknown sins. This does not mean we are to be careless and unconcerned about learning all which God deems sinful, for our ambition should be to obey and please Him (2 Corinthians 5:9).

True Spirituality

As mentioned at the outset, this doctrine of confession of sin defines the Christians’ status of spirituality. Dr. Chafer explains that “spirituality represents that manner of life which is wrought in (not, by) the believer by the unhindered, indwelling Spirit of God.”5 This presupposes that the believer is not grieving or quenching the Spirit because of unconfessed sin. When the Apostle Paul stated that “he who is spiritual appraises all things” (1 Corinthians 2:15) he was emphasizing the believers’ position of being in fellowship with God. The believer unhindered by sins is now in a ‘spiritual’ position and has the ability to appraise (evaluate, assimilate and understand) spiritual phenomena—Divine truths of Scripture.

A ‘natural’ man, the one who has not believed in Jesus Christ, is unable to understand spiritual phenomena, as Paul observed:

But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. (1 Corinthians 2:14)

Paul declared that the Corinthians in their sinful condition were not “spiritual men” but “men of flesh” (3:1; carnal in the King James Bible) and that they walk “like mere men” (3:3). In other words, to walk “like mere men” is synonymous to “walk in darkness” (1 John 1:6)—believers emulating the unbeliever (natural man) whose life is driven by fleshly (carnal) desires.

The Apostle Paul catalogs the “deeds of the flesh”: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these (Galatians 5:19–21a). Whenever a believer involves themselves in any of these sinful deeds he emulates the unbeliever and walks in darkness and not in the Light.

In conclusion, it is not what the believer does or doesn’t do that classifies him as being ‘spiritual.’ Therefore, true spirituality characterizes the believers’ manner of life—led by the Spirit (Galatians 5:18)—accomplished by the unhindered, indwelling Holy Spirit. It is the status of being unimpeded by sin that grieves and quenches the Holy Spirit.

The Challenge

Are we believers who desire to please God? To live a Spirit empowered life to walk in His Light? Then this passage provides the mechanics necessary to maintain our moment-by-moment fellowship with God. To become aware of our sins, we need an in-depth knowledge of His Word. And above all else, we need to keep short accounts with God.

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[1] Pastor for 49 years of Warrendale Community Church of Dearborn, MI.

[2] Vincent, Marvin R. (n/d). Word Studies in the New Testament. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2.321.

[3] MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments (A. Farstad, Ed.). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, p. 2310.

[4] Wallace, D. B. (1996) Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the Greek New Testament, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, p. 472 & 562.

[5] Chafer, Lewis Sperry (1976). Systematic Theology, Dallas, TX: Dallas Seminary Press, 7.292.

 

© 2024 David M. Rossi