Themes in 1 John 1 (4): Gnosticism

"Gnosticism." 

It's name is Grecian (gnosis), but its origin is Asiatic. It is difficult to define this heresy. It is a conglomerate. Arising in the East, it rolled westward, incorporating into itself both Hebrew and Grecian elements. 

It is not a proper philosophy, a patient collection and study of facts. It ignores facts when, after the manner of all the Greek philosophies, it assumes a theory by an effort of the imagination and in a priori style arrives at fanciful conclusions, instead of patiently accumulating and studying facts and reasoning backward a posteriori to the fundamental principles.

 While professing to have no hostility to the Gospel, Gnosticism proved one of the subtlest and most dangerous enemies which it has ever encountered. On the plea of interpreting Christian doctrines from a higher standpoint, it really disintegrated and demolished them; in explaining them, it explained them away. With the promise of giving the Gospel a broader and more catholic basis, it cut away the very foundations on which it rested — the reality of sin, and the reality of redemption.

It is a series of imaginative speculations respecting the origin of the universe and its relation to the Supreme Being. Its idea of the sinfulness of man's physical organism still clings to a large section of Protestantism and is the doctrinal ground of their hostility to perfect holiness as a present experience. In addition to the utter and incurable evil of the material universe, the second element of Gnosticism was esoteric knowledge. This was regarded as the main thing, and indeed, the only requisite to Christianity of the highest type. Hence the advocates of this error felt much flattered by the name, Gnostic, a knowing one, as some modern skeptics are pleased to style themselves Agnostics, ignoramuses. Their pride of knowledge was exceedingly offensive, making them supercilious and contemptuous toward the unlearned mass of believers in Christ within the reach of whose humble intellectual powers were the facts, truths and moral precepts of his Gospel. This explains Paul's declaration that "knowledge puffeth up," for even as early as his day the Gnostic microbe was in the very air of Palestine and Asia Minor. 

In the estimation of these brain worshippers spiritual excellence did not consist in a holy life, but in beings initiated into the mysteries of this esoteric knowledge and in belonging to the high caste of intellects who "knew the depths" and could say in a self-congratulatory style, "This is profound." They not only placed knowledge above virtue, but they knew that the moral code which ordinary believers understood literally was to be so transcendentally and vaguely interpreted as to mean little or nothing. 

They insisted that the benefits of revelation were the exclusive privilege of a select band of philosophers, because they alone had the key to the true meaning of the Scriptures. John was in strong sympathy with the common people whom, in his old age, he called "my little children." It was his love for them that prompted the epithets liar, deceiver and children of the devil when speaking of this unnamed and arrogant set of disturbers and corrupters of the church of Christ.

The moral effects of this doctrine were indeed deplorable. Sin existed only in the body while the soul was perfectly holy, hence all kinds of sin could be committed with impunity. The golden jewel in the dunghill was not defiled. Thus was it with the soul of the glutton, the drunkard, and the adulterer. None of these needed cleansing, for the spirit, the real personality, was sinless.