In verses 12 and 13 we have the conclusion of this Epistle. In verse 12 John expresses the hope of closer fellowship for more joy: “Having many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink, but I am hoping to be with you and to speak mouth to mouth, that our joy may be made full.” Here the apostle expresses his desire for a deeper and richer fellowship with the church member for fullness of joy in the enjoyment of the divine life (1 John 1:2-4).
On the one hand, John’s writing is divine; on the other hand, he is very human in his behavior. We see this humanness in verse 12, where John expresses his hope for fellowship that He describes as mouth to mouth.
In verse 13 John says, “The children of your chosen sister greet you.” This indicates what an intimate fellowship with the church members and what an endearing care for them the aged elder had.
We have pointed out that the sister to whom this Epistle was written may have lived near Ephesus and that her sister lived in Ephesus, where there was a church under John’s care. In this Epistle John greets the one who received this Epistle on behalf of the children of her chosen sister. That she was not included in the greeting may indicate that she was deceased. However, her children were still in the church at Ephesus under John’s care. In this verse we can see the endearing care of the apostle John for the saints.
The three Epistles of John are arranged in a good sequence. No doubt, the writing of the second Epistle was based upon the first. In the first Epistle of John we see what the divine truth is.
In 1975 I gave a series of messages on the seven mysteries in 1 John: the mystery of the divine life, the mystery of the divine fellowship, the mystery of the abiding, the mystery of the anointing, the mystery of the divine birth, the mystery of the divine seed, and the mystery of the water, the blood, and the Spirit. Recently, I have been deeply impressed with the divine reality in John’s first Epistle. The central factor in 1 John is the divine reality. This reality is actually the Triune God. The divine reality is the Triune God not merely in theology or doctrine; this reality is the Triune God in our experience, that is, the Triune God dispensed into us for our enjoyment. This is the divine reality in 1 John.
If you review the messages given in the Life-study of 1 John, you will see that in those messages the divine reality is ministered to you. Of course, in those messages there is ministered to us the eternal life, the fellowship of the divine life, the abiding in the Lord, the anointing, the divine birth, the divine seed, and the water, the blood, and the Spirit. When all these divine factors are put together, what we have is the enjoyment of the Triune God. Hence, the Triune God is the reality, the truth, we are enjoying. What are we doing day by day in the Christian life? We are enjoying the Triune God. If you were to ask me what I have been doing for more than fifty years, I would answer that I have been enjoying the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. As a result of my enjoyment of the Triune God, I have been burdened to share this enjoyment with others. However, because of the influence of traditional teaching, certain ones are not open to hear about the enjoyment of the Triune God.
People everywhere need to hear of the divine reality in the Epistle of 1 John. Do you not believe that this is what others, including religious leaders and Bible teachers, need today? Some recite the Apostles’ Creed in their services every week, yet they are not saved and do not have any experience of the Triune God. We thank the Lord for opening to us the Epistle of 1 John, a book that contains course after course for our spiritual nourishment. Oh, what riches of our Triune God are revealed in this Epistle for our experience and enjoyment!
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