Yesterday, I was puzzled by the last verse of chapter one of the First Epistle of John, which reads
If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us (1 John 1:10).
I was confused because by definition, a liar lies. If you do not say anything, you cannot be a liar. If you tell the truth, you cannot be a liar. If I lie, I am a liar, not somebody else. I could not understand how John could say that I made God a liar when I denied I have sinned.
If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us (1 John 1:10).
I was confused because by definition, a liar lies. If you do not say anything, you cannot be a liar. If you tell the truth, you cannot be a liar. If I lie, I am a liar, not somebody else. I could not understand how John could say that I made God a liar when I denied I have sinned.
However, my logic missed a crucial point. I should allow for the peculiar thinking process of the Jews who lived 2000 years ago. Actually, I touched upon it yesterday but I missed it. Let me go back to the "liar" in the Gospel of John.
You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).
Jesus criticized the Jews for hardening their hearts and rejecting him despite the fact that he had already performed many signs to show that he was the Messiah. The Jews rejected the truth and Jesus warned them of the seriousness of the consequences. They chose the Devil to be their father!
You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).
Jesus criticized the Jews for hardening their hearts and rejecting him despite the fact that he had already performed many signs to show that he was the Messiah. The Jews rejected the truth and Jesus warned them of the seriousness of the consequences. They chose the Devil to be their father!
"Like father like sons" was a common Jewish aphorism. But it was expressed in a different way.
The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge (Jeremiah 31:29, Ezekiel 18:2).
This proverb expresses the effects of parental influence on children. By extension, it suggests that children would suffer the consequences of the sins of parents. For example, once Jesus' disciples asked him what made the man born blind, the man's own sins or his parents'.
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth.
And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9:1-2)
The children would inherit the parents' sins and their consequences. Therefore, this seemed to be a very common idea among the Jews. This is also the basis for the argument of the Original Sin. It is not our own fault. Yet, we inherit this state of sinfulness because of the disobedience of our first parents.
Return to the proverb above. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel quoted this proverb in order to disprove it. They tried to make the individuals shoulder their own responsibilities. They did not seem to be successful.
The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge (Jeremiah 31:29, Ezekiel 18:2).
This proverb expresses the effects of parental influence on children. By extension, it suggests that children would suffer the consequences of the sins of parents. For example, once Jesus' disciples asked him what made the man born blind, the man's own sins or his parents'.
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth.
And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9:1-2)
The children would inherit the parents' sins and their consequences. Therefore, this seemed to be a very common idea among the Jews. This is also the basis for the argument of the Original Sin. It is not our own fault. Yet, we inherit this state of sinfulness because of the disobedience of our first parents.
Return to the proverb above. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel quoted this proverb in order to disprove it. They tried to make the individuals shoulder their own responsibilities. They did not seem to be successful.
Return to the first Epistle of John. John called his readers no less than 10 times "children", "little children" and "my little children". John was an elder, more or less a father to them all. Therefore, when he wrote about the relation between God and his readers, John was thinking in terms of a father and his sons. In fact, he showed them that they were "God's children" in chapter 3.
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:1-2).
Our making God a liar makes sense to me now. Since God has made us His children. Applying the "like father like son" Jewish proverb, we make God a liar when we tell lies, when we deny that we have sinned. God is our father. We inherit His nature. Applying Jesus' words above in John 8, if we lie, it reveals our lying nature and somehow reflects the nature of God. This is how our lying makes God a liar.
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:1-2).
Our making God a liar makes sense to me now. Since God has made us His children. Applying the "like father like son" Jewish proverb, we make God a liar when we tell lies, when we deny that we have sinned. God is our father. We inherit His nature. Applying Jesus' words above in John 8, if we lie, it reveals our lying nature and somehow reflects the nature of God. This is how our lying makes God a liar.
Suddenly, I begin to appreciate what dangers incarnation entails. The Word became flesh and moved among us in history, in time and space. Though sometimes he defied natural laws to work miracles, he still had to undergo natural growth, experience sadness and anger, hunger and thirst, exhaustion and fear. At last he died. Yes, the incarnate God was able to die.
But what is worst, Jesus has made us all the adopted children of God. God the Father exposes Himself to the danger of becoming a liar! What a contamination of divinity! Here, we are not talking about the pain we inflict on Jesus when we sin. We are talking about the contamination we inflict on God the Father when we lie. Redeeming human beings by incarnation, God the Father opens Himself to malicious risks, making Himself vulnerable to Satan's attack.
But what is worst, Jesus has made us all the adopted children of God. God the Father exposes Himself to the danger of becoming a liar! What a contamination of divinity! Here, we are not talking about the pain we inflict on Jesus when we sin. We are talking about the contamination we inflict on God the Father when we lie. Redeeming human beings by incarnation, God the Father opens Himself to malicious risks, making Himself vulnerable to Satan's attack.
Dear Lord, incarnation is no fun to You. Thank you for believing in human nature. Purify us so that we may be made worthy to share Your eternal life. Amen.
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