Homily III.
Homily III.
1 John 2:18-27.
"Children, it is the last hour: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us: 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. But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and know all things.(1) I write unto you, not 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.](2) Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath neither the Father nor the Son: and he that acknowledgeth the Son hath both the Father and the Son. 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 also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life. These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you; that ye may know that, ye have an unction, and that the unction which ye have received of him may abide in you. And ye need not that any man teach you; because His unction teacheth you of all things."
1. "Children,(3) it is the(4) last hour." In this lesson he addresses the children that they may make haste to grow, because "it is the last hour." Age or stature(5) of the body is not at one's own will. A man does not grow in respect of the flesh when he will, any more than he is born when he will: but where the being born rests with the will, the growth also rests with the will. No man is "born of water and the Spirit,(6) except he be willing. Consequently if he will, he grows or makes increase: if he will, he decreases. What is it to grow? To go onward(7) by proficiency. What is it to decrease? To go backward(8) by deficiency. Whoso knows that he is born, let him hear that he is an infant; let him eagerly cling to the breasts of his mother, and he grows apace. Now his mother is the Church; and her breasts are the two Testaments of the Divine Scriptures. Hence let him suck the milk of all the things that as signs of spiritual truths were done in time for our eternal salvation,(9) that being nourished and strengthened, he may attain to the eating of solid meat, which is, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."(10) Our milk is Christ in His humility; our meat, the selfsame Christ equal with the Father. With milk He nourisheth thee, that He may feed thee with bread: for with the heart spiritually to touch Christ is to know that He is equal with the Father.
2. Therefore it was that He forbade Mary to touch Him, and said to her, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended unto the Father."(11) What is this? He gave Himself to be handled by the disciples. and did He shun Mary's touch? Is not He the same that said to the doubting disciple, "Reach hither thy fingers, and feel the scars"?(12) Was He at that time ascended to the Father? Then why doth He forbid Mary, and saith, "Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to the Father?" Or are we to say, that He feared not to be touched by men, and feared to be touched by women? The touch of Him cleanseth all flesh. To whom He willed first to be manifested, by them feared He to be handled? Was not His resurrection announced by women to the men, that so the serpent should by a sort of counterplot be overcome? For because he first by the woman announced death to man, therefore to men was also life announced by a woman. Then why was He unwilling to be touched, but because He would have it to be understood of that spiritual touch? The spiritual touch takes place from a pure heart. That person does of a pure heart reach Christ with his touch who understands Him coequal with the Father. But whoso does not yet understand Christ's Godhead, that person reaches but unto the flesh, reaches not unto the Godhead. Now what great matter is it, to reach only unto that which the persecutors reached unto, who crucified Him? But that is the great thing, to understand the Word God with God, in the beginning, by whom all things were made: such as He would have Himself to be known when He said to Philip, "Am I so long time with you, and have ye not known me, Philip? He that seeth me, seeth also the Father."(13)
3. But lest any be sluggish to go forward, let him hear: "Children, it is the last hour." Go forward, run, grow; "it is the last hour." This same last hour is long; yet it is the last. For he has put "hour" for "the last time;" because it is in the last times that our Lord Jesus Christ is to come.(14) But some will say, How the last times? how the last hour? Certainly antichrist will first come, and then will come the day of judgment. John perceived these thoughts: test people should in a manner become secure, and think it was not the last hour because antichrist was to come, hesaid to them, "And as ye have heard that antichrist is to come, now are there come many antichrists." Could it have many antichrists, except it were "the last hour"?
4. Whom has he called antichrists? He goes on and expounds. "Whereby we know that it is the last hour," By what? Because "many antichrists are come. They went out from us;" see the antichrists! "They went out from us:" therefore we bewail the loss. Hear the consolation. "But they were not of us." All heretics, all schismatics went out from us, that is, they go out from the Church; but they would not go out, if they were of us. Therefore, before they went out they were not of us. If before they went out they were not of us. many are within, are not gone out, but yet are antichrists. We dare to say this: and why, but that each one while he is within may not be an antichrist? For he is about to describe and mark the antichrists, and we shall see them now. And each person ought to question his own conscience, whether he be an antichrist. For antichrist in our tongue means, contrary to Christ.(15) Not, as some take it, that antichrist is to be so called because he is to come ante Christum, before Christ, i.e. Christ to come after him: it does not mean this, neither is it thus written, but Antichristus, i.e. contrary to Christ. Now who is contrary to Christ ye already perceive from the apostle's own exposition, and understand that none can go out but antichrists; whereas those who are not contrary to Christ, can in no wise go out. For he that is not contrary to Christ holds fast in His body, and is counted therewith as a member. The members are never contrary one to another. The entire body consists of all the members. And what saith the apostle concerning the agreement of the members? "If one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; and if one member be glorified, all the members rejoice with it."(16) If then in the glorifying of a member the other members rejoice with it, and in its suffering all the members suffer, the agreement of the members hath no antichrist. And there are those who inwardly are in such sort in the body of our Lord Jesus Christ-seeing His body is yet under cure, and the soundness will not be perfect save in the resurrection of the dead-are in such wise in the body of Christ, as bad humors. When these are vomited up, the body is relieved: so too when bad men go out, then the Church is relieved. And one says, when the body vomits and casts them out, These humors went out of me, but they were not of me. How were not of me? Were not cut out of my flesh, but oppressed my breast while they were in me.
5. "They went out from us; but," be not sad, "they were not of us." How provest thou this? If they had been of us, they would doubtless have continued with us. Hence therefore ye may see, that many who are not of us, receive with us the Sacraments, receive with us baptism. receive with us what the faithful know they receive, Benediction, the Eucharist,(17) and whatever there is in Holy Sacraments: the communion of the very altar they receive with us, and are not of us. Temptation proves that they are not of us. When temptation comes to them as if blown by a wind they fly abroad; because they were not grain. But all of them will fly abroad, as we must often tell you, when once the fanning of the Lord's threshing-floor shall begin in the day of judgment. "They went out from us, but they were not of us; if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us." For would ye know, beloved, how most certain this saying is, that they who haply have gone out and return, are not antichrists, are not contrary to Christ? Whoso are not antichrists, it cannot be that they should continue without. But of his own will is each either an antichrist or in Christ. Either we are among the members, or among the bad humors. He that changeth himself for the better, is in the body, a member: but hethat continues in his badness, is a badhumor; and when he is gone out, then theywho were oppressed will be relieved. "Theywent 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." That he has added, "that they might be made manifest," is, because even when they are within they are not of us; yet they are not manifest, but by going out are made manifest. "And ye have an unction from the Holy One, that ye may be manifest to your own selves.(18) The spiritual unction is the Holy Spirit Himself, of which the Sacrament is in the visible unction.(19) Of this unction of Christ he saith, that all who have it know the bad and the good; and they need not to be taught, because the unction itself teacheth them.
6. "I write unto you not because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth."(20) Behold, we are admonished how we may know antichrist. What is Christ? Truth. Himself hath said "I am the Truth."(21) But "no lie is of the truth." Consequently, all who lie are not yet of Christ. He hath not said that some lie isof the truth, and some lie not of the truth. Mark the sentence. Do not fondle yourselves, do not flatter yourselves, do not deceive yourselves, do not cheat yourselves: "No lie is of the truth." Let us see then how antichrists lie, because there is more than one kind of lying. "Who is a liar, but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?" One is the meaning of the word "Jesus," another the meaning of the word "Christ:" though it be one Jesus Christ our Saviour, yet "Jesus" is His proper name. Just as Moses was so called by his proper name, as Elias, as Abraham: so as His proper name our Lord hath the name "Jesus:" but "Christ" is the name of His(22) sacred character. As when we say, Prophet, as when we say, Priest; so by the name Christ we are given to understand the Anointed, in whom should be the redemption of the whole people. The coming of this Christ was hoped for by the people of the Jews: and because He came in lowliness, He was not acknowledged; because the stone was small, they stumbled at it and were broken. But "the stone grew, and became a great mountain;"(23) and what saith the Scripture? "Whosoever shall stumble at this stone shall be broken;(24) and on whomsoever this stone shall come. it will grind him to powder." We must mark the difference of the words: it saith, he that stumbleth shall be broken; but he on whom it shall come, shall be ground to powder. At the first, because He came lowly, men stumbled at Him: because He shall come lofty to judgment, on whomsoever He shall come, He will grind him to powder. But not that man will He grind to powder at His future coming, whom He broke not when He came. He that stumbled not at the lowly, shall not dread the lofty. Briefly ye have heard it, brethren: he that stumbled not at the lowly. shall not dread the lofty. For to all bad men is Christ a stone of stumbling; whatever Christ saith is bitter to them.
7. For hear and see. Certainly all who go out from the Church, and are cut off from the unity of the Church, are antichrists; let no man doubt it: for the apostle himself hath marked them, "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." Therefore, whoso continue not with us, but go out from us, it is manifest that they are antichrists. And how are they proved to be antichrists? By lying. "And who is a liar, but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?"(25) Let us ask the heretics: where do you find a heretic that denies that Jesus is the Christ? See now, my beloved, a great mystery.(26) Mark what the Lord God may have inspired us withal, and what I would fain work into your minds. Behold, they went out from us, and turned Donatists: we ask them whether Jesus be the Christ; they instantly confess that Jesus is the Christ. If then that person is an antichrist, who denies that Jesus is the Christ, neither can they call us antichrists, nor we them; therefore, neither they went out from us, nor we from them. If then we have not gone out one from another, we are in unity: if we be in unity, what means it that there are two altars in this city? what, that there are divided houses, divided marriages? that there is a common bed, and a divided Christ? He admonishes us, he would have us confesswhat is the truth:-either they went out from us, or we from them. But let it not be imagined that we have gone out from them. For we have the testament of the Lord's inheritance, we recite it, and there we find, "I will give Thee the nations for Thine inheritance, and for Thy possessions the ends of the earth."(27) We hold fast Christ's inheritance; they hold it not, for they do not communicate with the whole earth, do not communicate with the(28) universal body redeemed by the blood of the Lord. We have the Lord Himself rising from the dead, who presented Himself to be felt by the hands of the doubting disciples: and while they yet doubted, He said to them, "It behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name"(29) -Where? which way? to what persons?-"through all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." Our minds are set at rest concerning the unity of the inheritance! Whoso does not communicate with this inheritance, is gone out.
8. But let us not be made sad: "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."(30) If then they went out from us, they are antichrists; if they are antichrists, they are liars; if they are liars, they deny that Jesus is the Christ. Once more we come back to the difficulty of the question. Ask them one by one; they confess that Jesus is the Christ. The difficulty that hampers us comes of our taking what is said in the Epistle in too narrow a sense. At any rate ye see the question; this question puts both us and them to a stand, if it be not understood. Either we are antichrists, or they are antichrists; they call us antichrists, and say that we went out from them; we say the like of them. But now this epistle has marked out the antichrists by this cognizance: "Whosoever denies that Jesus is the Christ," that same "is an antichrist." Now therefore let us enquire who denies; and let us mark not the tongue, but the deeds. For if all be asked, all with one mouth confess that Jesus is the Christ. Let the tongue keep still for a little while, ask the life. If we shall find this, if the Scripture itself shall tell us that denial is a thing done not only with the tongue, but also with the deeds, then assuredly we find many antichrists, who with the mouth profess Christ, and in their manners dissent from Christ. Where find we this in Scripture? Hear Paul the Apostle; speaking of such, he saith, "For they confess that they know God, but in their deeds deny Him."(31) We find these also to be antichrists: whosoever in his deeds denies Christ, is an antichrist. It listen not to what he says, but I look what life he leads. Works speak, and do we require words? For where is the bad man that does not wish to talk well? But what saith the Lord to such? "Ye hypocrites, how can ye speak good things, while ye are evil?"(32) Your voices ye bring into mine ears: I look into your thoughts. I see an evil will there, and ye make a show of false fruits. I know what I must gather, and whence; I do not "gather figs of thistles," I do not gather "grapes of thorns;" for "every tree is known by its fruit."(33) A more lying antichrist is he who with his mouth professes that Jesus is the Christ, and with his deeds denies Him. A liar in this, that he speaks one thing, and t does another.
9. Now therefore, brethren, if deeds are, to be questioned, not only do we find many antichrists gone out; but many not yet maninfest, who have not gone out at all. For as many as the Church hath within it that are perjured, defrauders,(34) addicted to black arts, consulters of fortune-tellers, adulterers, drunkards, usurers, boy-stealers,(35) and all the other vices that we are not able to enumerate; these things are contrary to the doctrine of Christ, are contrary to the word of God. Now the Word of God is Christ: whatever is contrary to the Word of God is in Antichrist. For Antichrist means, "contrary to Christ."And would ye know how openly these resist Christ? Sometimes it happens that they do some evil, and one begins to reprove them; because they dare not blaspheme Christ, they blaspheme His ministers by whom they are reproved: but if thou show them that thou speakest Cnrist's words, not thine own, they endeavor all they can to convict thee of speaking thine own words, not Christ's: if however it is manifest that thou speakest Christ's words, they go even against Christ, they begin to find fault with Christ: "How," say they, "and why did He make us such as we are?" Do not persons say this every day, when they are convicted of their deeds? Perverted by a depraved will, they accuse their Maker. Their Maker cries to them from heaven, (for the same made us, who new-made us:) What made I thee? I made man, not avarice; I made man, not robbery; I made man, not adultery. Thou hast heard that my works praise me. Out of the mouth of the Three Children, it was the hymn itself that kept them from the fires."(36) The works of the Lord praise the Lord, the heaven, the earth, the sea, praise Him; praise Him all things that are in the heaven, praise Him angels, praise Him stars, praise Him lights, praise Him whatever swims, whatever flies, whatever walks, whatever creeps; all these praise the Lord. Hast thou heard there that avarice praises the Lord? Hast thou heard that drunkenness praises the Lord? That luxury praises, that frivolity praises Him? Whatever thou hearest not in that hymn give praise to the Lord, the Lord made not that thing. Correct what thou hast made, that what God made in thee may be saved. But if thou wilt not, and lovest and embracest thy sins, thou art contrary to Christ. Be thou within, be thou without, thou art an antichrist; be thou within, be thou without, thou art chaff. But why art thou not without? Because thou hast not fallen in with a wind to carry thee away.
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