Continue in the Son and in the Father

«Little children, it is the last time; and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.» Jesus has left us a warning upon this very point. He said, «Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.» «For there shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before.» John continues, «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.»

These deceivers will come, and, while claiming to be doing a special work for God, while professing to have advanced piety, to be sanctified, to see visions, and to have dreams, they will be doing the work of the enemy, and be found breaking the commandments of God. We should be on our guard, and bring these pretenders to the test; «to the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.» Shall we take heed to the solemn warnings of Christ, of Paul, and of John upon this point, and not be deceived by the subtle devices of the enemy, for Christ has said that the signs and wonders wrought by these deceivers will be so great that if it were possible they shall deceive the very elect.

Of the elect, John writes: «But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.» «And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him; for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers.» Those who have heard the voice of God proclaiming his holy law on Mount Sinai, in the hearing of the people, know his voice, and when men claiming to be led by Christ, and professing to be entirely sanctified, assert that the law of God is abolished, and ridicule and make light of the great moral standard, and set at naught the testimony of prophets and apostles, we can confidently say that we hear not in their teachings the voice of the true Shepherd. The true Shepherd’s voice has been heard, bearing a different testimony. Jesus says: «Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.» The voice that magnifies the law of God we recognize as the voice of the true Shepherd; but we know that those who would make of no effect the commandments of God, are false shepherds, who would exalt tradition above the commandments of Jehovah.

John writes: «I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.» There are those who claim to have great light, who say that they have communication with the spirits of the dead, who deny the divinity of Christ, and in so doing deny the Father, whom Christ represented on earth. «Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father; [but] he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.» The class which denies the Father and the Son is rapidly increasing in the world, and the name given to this class by the Bible is antichrist. There are many who have their names upon the church records, who claims to possess superior piety, and yet should Christ appear among them, they would rebuke the Son of God. There are men who profess to be ministers of the Gospel who are teaching heresy, and deceiving many, and leading thousands in the way of apostasy.

But John writes to the true followers of Christ, saying: «Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.» We have here a most precious promise, which will be fulfilled to those who let the truth abide in them. Then hold fast to the truth, and be not beguiled from steadfast adherence to the truth by any of the arts of the deceiver. «These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you; but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.» Our character is to be moulded after the character of Christ. O what humiliation he endured in our behalf! While in this world he lived a life of obedience to the commandments of God, leaving us an example that we should follow in his steps. We must wait for God to reveal his plan, that our life may be the unveiling of the character of Christ. We can be sanctified only as we render obedience to the truth as it is unfolded to us. We cannot live in conscious disobedience of any precept of God, and not be on the losing side. We need to behold the character of Christ, and by beholding become changed into his image.

«Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.» «But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.» «For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.»

John cannot find adequate words wherein to describe the amazing love of God to sinful man; but he calls upon all to behold the love of God revealed in the gift of his only begotten Son. Through the perfection of the sacrifice given for the guilty race, those who believe in Christ, coming unto him, may be saved from eternal ruin. Christ was one with the Father, yet when sin entered our world through Adam’s transgression, he was willing to step down from the exaltation of one who was equal with God, who dwelt in light unapproachable by humanity, so full of glory that no man could behold his face and live, and submit to insult, mockery, suffering, pain, and death in order to answer the claims of the immutable law of God, and make a way of escape for the transgressor by his death and righteousness. This was the work which his Father gave him to do, and those who accept Christ, relying wholly upon his merits, are made the adopted sons and daughters of God, are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. «Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.» Let no one be so deluded by the enemy as to think that it is a condescension for any man, however talented or learned or honored, to accept of Christ. Every human being should look to heaven with reverence and gratitude, and exclaim with amazement, «Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.» —