ASHAMED AT HIS COMING (1 John 2:28)

“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”

As previously in his letter, John addresses the saints as “dear children” (Newberry), a term inclusive of all the people of God. His exhortation is to go on abiding, that is to go on to full growth and knowledge as a (spiritually) developing family, having in view the Lord’s impending manifestation – “… when He shall (aorist tense: once-for-all) be manifested…”. The present time for the family of God is to be characterised by abiding in Him who is in the light. In so doing they fulfil their present function and service of glorifying the Father and the Son by entering into full knowledge of the Persons of the Deity.

This is also set forth by Paul in the Ephesian letter – “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God”, Eph.3:14-19.

Again, “For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ”, Eph. 4:12-13.

The Holy Spirit’s anointing is for this purpose, Eph. 3:16.

John desires that the dear children of God will attain to such a state of spiritual maturity that, when the Christ shall be manifested to the world in all His glory, they may feel confident and bold in their acquired glory. The people of God have a most solemn responsibility in relation to the Lord’s coming in power and glory. The ideal is to be spiritually competent now in order to be spiritually confident then, the day when all that God has wrought for the establishing of His ultimate intentions will be manifested. Peter refers to this in his first epistle – “But rejoice, inasmuch (to the extent that) ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” The benefit the saints have reaped from this present age of spiritual opportunity will then be apparent.

Some have thought that John refers to the rapture, with saints being found in worldly circumstances that would cause them to be ashamed at His appearing, but this is a mistaken notion as it is clearly the manifestation (Newberry) that is in view and spiritual fitness. It has nothing to do with what we may or may not be according to the flesh.

John writes that “WE may have confidence”, evidently including the apostles. God gifted and sent them forth to complete the Word of God and to establish local assemblies, which in turn received the written oracles. God has determined that by this means divine purpose will be achieved. He has revealed Himself and decreed that this full revelation of truth will become fully known by His people before the establishing of the age of universal blessing.

However, there is the grim possibility of evil intervening to prevent them attaining to the ideal, with the sad consequence that they find themselves ashamed before Him on the occasion of His coming in power and glory, ill-prepared for millennial service. This warning of ultimate inadequacy applies to any local assembly at any time in the outworking of divine purpose.

If God’s people are not devoted to the task of acquiring divine knowledge, with the view to the day of manifestation, then they have received the grace of God in vain. They are not contributing to what is of ultimate importance to God for the full and final blessing of earth. Christianity’s contribution to improving the world lies not in present intervention in its affairs – that is the doctrine of Christendom – but in abiding in Christ, in the things that are of God.