Truth and Boldness (1 John 3.16-24)

Truth and Boldness (1 John 3.16-24)

Thus far in looking at this passage in 1 John we have purposely not dealt with two significant words – truth and boldness. John uses both these words frequently and they are important in our understanding of his thinking and his message. John’s teaching relates particularly closely to today’s world and should form the basis for the Gospel/Good News in our 21st century. So it is specially important that we look carefully at the key words he uses to convey the heart of his beliefs concerning our relationship with God.

Truth (3.18/19)

Pontius Pilate’s desperate question at the trial of Jesus rings in our ears. “What is truth?” (John 18.38). In its definition of ‘truth’ the Oxford Dictionary not only refers to accuracy, but also uses such terms as honest, sincere and loyal. We may wish to add the concept of being absolutely real. So the word ‘truth’ covers a wide variety of meanings. It does signify factual accuracy, but it also touches on positive relationships. And because it denotes total reality it denies the emptiness of meaningless life, often expressed in superficial make-believe. For John, truth and reality stem from God himself, for truth reflects the very nature of God as the one who is true. As the perfect image and likeness of the Father, Jesus has no hesitation in affirming that he himself is the truth. John frequently also calls the Holy Spirit “the Spirit of truth”, for Jesus promises that the Spirit will lead us into all truth (John 16.33).  Likewise John assures us that God’s word is truth (John 17.17) and as Jesus’ followers we are called to “do truth” (John 3.21, 1 John 1.6), to worship in truth (John 4.23), to be sanctified by the truth (John 17.17), to witness to the truth (John 5.33) and indeed to love the Lord and our fellow Christians in truth (1 John 3.18). It is also by the Spirit of truth that we can gain true freedom, for he “will set you free” (John 8.32).

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In John’s Gospel Jesus repeatedly asserts that he tells people the truth, that he says the truth (e.g. John 8.44/45 and 16.7). Through Jesus, by his Spirit and Word we can come into the fullness of truth, experiencing those honest, sincere and loyal relationships of which the Oxford Dictionary speaks. As Christians we are to be known as people who are totally trustworthy, whose words speak truth, whose lives consistently demonstrate meaningful reality.

John’s emphasis on truth strikes home as particularly relevant and needed by the church and our world today. Political double-talk and the common acceptance of deceptive untruth makes us doubt what people say or promise. How vital truth and therefore trustworthiness is for the well-being of society! Marriage and every other relationship depend on such truth. And we all long for that reality which makes our lives truly meaningful. What ‘good news’ we have in the ‘Gospel’ of Jesus!

Boldness (Greek parrhesia)

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In our blog on John 7 (to be found in the ‘Archives’ for September 2018) we noted John’s use of the Greek word ‘Parrhesia’/boldness. This word comes frequently both in John’s Gospel and in his first letter. It signifies such confidence in what one believes that boldness of speech and action ensues.

In his Gospel John refers to Jesus speaking ‘openly/boldly’ (7.26) and in 10.24 the Jewish people around him complain that Jesus is keeping them in suspense and demand that he tell them ‘plainly/boldly’ whether he is indeed the long-promised Messiah. Jesus himself assures his disciples that at some future stage he will “tell you plainly/boldly about my Father” (16.25). There are times when Jesus cannot walk ‘openly/boldly’ because of the fierce opposition of the leaders in Judea, knowing that the hour had not yet come for his death and resurrection (e.g. 11.54). On the other hand Jesus did some times speak boldly, as for example when he told his disciples ‘plainly/boldly’ that Lazarus was dead (11.14). Supremely at his trial he defends himself against the questioning of the high priest, declaring that “I have spoken openly/boldly to the world” (18.20). Jesus’ brothers had previously urged him not to do things in secret, but rather to live in openness/boldness (7.4).

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In John’s first letter too the word ‘parrhesia’ comes four times. In 1 John 5.13 the aim of this letter is declared “that you may know that you have eternal life”. In having eternal life we have ‘confidence/boldness’ in coming to God (1 John 5.14). Although the full perfection of eternal life lies in the future, we already have received its first fruits. The present tense of “you have eternal life” is matched by a further present tense “the confidence we have in coming to God”. We have such confident assurance of his gift to us of new life and eternal life that we can now come boldly to almighty God in all his glory and holiness. This is John’s emphasis each time he uses the word ‘Parrhesia’ in this letter. We have confidence/boldness before God as we follow Jesus in obedience to his command to “believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ” and “love one another” (1 John 3.21). These two fundamental elements in God’s command to us undergird the whole teaching of this letter and form the essential mark of the fact that we have eternal life as his children. So we are encouraged to continue and abide in him, “so that when he appears we may be confident/bold and unashamed at his coming” (2.28). In the context of God’s gracious love to us “we will have confidence/boldness on the day of judgment” (4.17). Indeed, we should have such definite assurance in Jesus Christ that as a result we have truly confident boldness in coming to him both now in this world and finally at the judgment when he comes again.

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The opposite of confidence/boldness is fear. So John continues by asserting that ‘perfect love drives out fear (4.18). Of course God’s love for us preceded our love for him and for our fellow believers (4.19). His love for us inspired the love we have for him and for each other. So our love for God must go hand in hand with love for each other (4.21). God not only loves, but he is in his very nature love. We may say therefore that God’s nature compels him to love. We can therefore have absolute confidence/boldness in his love for us through Jesus Christ and by his Spirit. Consequently we need have no fear of the final judgment because his perfect love does drive out fear (4.18). Love and confidence/boldness are happily married, but love and fear never sleep in the same bed.