Editorial March 22, 1930 Issue

Purity and Power

Clifford P. Smith

Which of the chosen disciples of Christ Jesus was most receptive to his teachings is a debatable question; but there is no doubt that the beloved John was one of the few who were nearest in thought to the great Teacher. For Christian students, then, the parts of the New Testament contributed by this disciple are among the very best sources for authentic history and dependable interpretation. Even when John alone records a saying, or when he alone gives an interpretation, it is not to be discounted for this reason. On the contrary, he especially may have been able to appreciate the saying or to give the interpretation.

Here is an instance: John's Gospel, much more than the other Gospels, records Jesus as using the word "light"; John alone records Jesus as using this word in connection with healing (John 9:1–7); and John is the only New Testament writer who gives the following summary of the Master's teaching: "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (I John 1:5). Presumably, this passage does not contain a saying by Jesus, but is a conclusion or deduction by John.

"God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." Into these words, John condensed the message which he had heard from the Master. Probably, he alluded to such sayings as John 6:63; 5:26; and 3:5–8. In them, the Messiah had declared, in effect, that the Spirit gives life, its opposite avails nothing; that God imparts His own Life to man; that the human self must be purified until the actual identity is the pure reflection of Spirit; and that this is the way, the only way, by which a person can enter the kingdom of God.

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