Having the Son

“He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” (1Jn. 5:12).

 

He that hath the Son. Hath the Son? What does that mean, to “have” the Son? Morris Venden said that it means to have a relationship with Jesus.

 

 I couldn’t agree more. But, I needed a “Thus saith the Lord” to prove that premise, and feel right about using such an interpretation. See if the following texts don’t illustrate Elder Venden’s typical shootin’ from the hip exegesis.

 

“And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.” (1Sam. 18:1-4).

“And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded. And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city.” (1Sam. 20:41,42).

 

What do we see happening between David and Jonathan? We see more than the oft bandied “relationship”. We see more than an idea or an abstract. We see more than the explanation of love. We see love illustrated, love exemplified. David “had” Jonathan because he clutched Jonathan, he had a hold of him. And vice versa. They wept on each other’s shoulders. And why? Because they knew they wouldn’t get to be with each other again. They had shared everything. Their hearts were bound together. And they had to be permanently separated. (Can this scene give us a glimpse into the most holy precincts of the Godhead as the Son was leaving His Father to don a corporeal human form that the Son must carry forever and ever and ever and ever?)

 

“And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20).

 

“For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry…. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.” (Luke 15:24,32).

 

Did the father “have” the son? Did the son “have” the father? Yes. They fell on each other’s neck. They ran together and not away from each other. The father had compassion, and the son had repentance and reverence. Therefore, they made merry together.

 

“Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.” (Acts 17:34).

 

Did the small remnant at Mars’ hill “have” Paul? They “clave unto him.” I like that. They clung to Paul; they grabbed him and wouldn’t let go of him. Not that Paul minded it. I get the impression that with Paul, the more friends the merrier. “O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged.” (2Cor. 6:11).

“And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel.

Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me.

I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all.

And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him,

Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship.” (Acts 20:32-38).

 

Did the believers of Ephesus “have” Paul? Yes, they all wept sore and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him. They were sorrowing most of all that they would never see him again. Paul would eventually find himself imprisoned and bound for Caesar. So, it’s good that the Ephesian brethren sorrowed for Paul while they had him. If they had refrained themselves, then when Paul was deceased they would forever regret their missed opportunity to cling to him.

 

To have is to bind and to bond. “The soul of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the LORD thy God; and the souls of thine enemies, them shall he sling out, as out of the middle of a sling.” (1Sam. 25:29).

 

Is this what it means to have Jesus? To be bound in a bundle with Him? To bond with Him? Or to bind ourselves to Him? That does sound good.

Another definition of to “have” is to possess, as in possessiveness. But, that is obviously a selfish attempt to “have”. Maybe you’ve seen a girl who sticks close by her boyfriend because he’s good-looking, or because he comes from a family with money, or because he wins football games, etc. In other words, such a boyfriend is only a good-luck charm or a brooch on her coat. And if he leaves the girl, evil jealousy rears its very ugly head. Fights break out and turn seemingly civilized women into animals. The same can happen by switching genders in this hypothetical situation.

 

So, this kind of “having” is the opposite of what John means by having the Son. Jesus isn’t interested in possessiveness, selfishly clinging to Him just for public reasons. But, He does happen to like clingy friends. Everyone is clingy to Jesus when they get to know Him. He isn’t about undue familiarity; but He is about close fellowship. And that demonstrates the kind of unity Jesus has always had with His Father. So, He is right at home with that kind of “having” Him. Justification means being clingy, or atonement; otherwise spelled: at-one-ment. That sounds like the prayer Jesus had the night of His capture by the motley crowd.

 

“And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.

I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world: Thine they were, and Thou gavest them Me; and they have kept Thy word….

For I have given unto them the words which Thou gavest Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from Thee, and they have believed that Thou didst send Me….

And all Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified in them.

And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, as We are….

Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word;

That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.

And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one:

I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.

Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me: for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world.

O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me.

And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:5,6,8,10,11,20-26).

 

The oneness between the Son and those who have Him, is but a gleam of the glorious oneness between the Father and His only begotten Son.

 

“And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.” (John 17:5). This gives the impression that God enshrouded Jesus with Himself from the days of eternity until Jesus came out of the Father to come here. That’s unity. Truly the Father had the Son. (Could that also mean as when a woman has a baby? First, she has a baby by giving it birth; then, she gives it food and protection because she still has a baby, and will have her baby until her sunset years.)

 

What is it about having the Son that gives life? Why does the Son give life?

 

“To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, for the sons of Korah, Maschil, A Song of loves. My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into Thy lips: therefore God hath blessed Thee for ever.

Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O most mighty, with Thy glory and Thy majesty.

And in Thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and Thy right hand shall teach Thee terrible things.

Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under Thee.

Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of Thy kingdom is a right sceptre.

Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows.” (Ps. 45:1-7).

“Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: Thou hast the dew of Thy youth.” (Ps. 110:3). “For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.” (Isa. 53:2). Jesus, from the days of eternity, never saw power as political, something to be grasped, or something to jockey for and jab to get. He was perfectly happy with simplicity and love. His chief needs were to love and to be loved, by His Father and His children.

It was His love of righteousness and hatred of wickedness, it was truth and meekness that made David “gush” out this psalm. It was the fairness and trustworthiness that gave David a tongue ready to delineate the goodness of Christ. David found that in the atmosphere of equal rights before a God who never played favorites, he could trust in Christ to never promote self-aggrandizement. He found that God was no respecter of persons; His government was no good ol’ boy rabble or God-father kabbala. And, isn’t equity what we desire of God and His eternity? Isn’t that we mourn for in this life? Fairness, justice, mercy, love—these are why Jesus was loved by all the hosts in the courts of God. Caught up in the joy of heaven is why David gushed forth this “song of loves.”

 

“He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” (1Jn. 5:12). To have the Son is to have life. It is to have the righteousness and love that comes down with His Spirit.