When an Apostle Refused a Bath
Since indoor plumbing was nearly unknown in the ancient world, folks would go to the local bathhouse to practice good hygiene. One day the Apostle John was in an Ephesian bathhouse when Cerinthus arrived. John jumped up and exclaimed, “Let us fly, lest even the bath-house fall down, because Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is inside!” as he fled without bathing.
Cerinthus was an influential heretic in the early church, you see, and John separated himself from blatant and serious error. Cerinthus said that Jesus, while wiser than the average man, was no more special than anyone else. Jesus, instead of being born of a virgin, was the biological Son of Mary and Joseph; however, God decided to adopt Jesus. When John baptized Jesus, the Christ descended upon Jesus; at that point, Jesus became the Christ. While he was the Christ, Jesus could teach about the Father and perform miracles. But immediately before the crucifixion, the Christ left Jesus; the human Jesus suffered, died, and was raised, but the divine Christ did not.
John wrote his Gospel largely to combat Cerinthus’ heresy, and he destroyed Cerinthus’ theology from the very beginning: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:1, 14). Jesus didn’t become the Christ when John the Baptizer immersed him; he is the pre-incarnate, eternal Word. That pre-incarnate, eternal Word became a man and lived among men.
Because Cerinthus denied the truth of the Gospel, John would rather go filthy and stink than possibly have any sort of fellowship with him. That’s the inspired counsel he gave the Elect Lady: “Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work” (2 Jn 7, 10-11).
John knew the truth, taught the truth, loved the truth, and sought to live the truth. May we do the same!