Author: Chet Bishop

Chet Bishop is one of the pastors at True Hope Christian Fellowship Church, in Forest Grove, Oregon. He has been a believer since 1973, and has been teaching actively since 1976. He supports himself and his family by making and repairing violin-family instruments.
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Christ the Son of God

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Christ the Son of God

© C. O. Bishop 2011 (revised 2021)

John 1:34 “And I saw and bore record that this is the Son of God.”

Introduction:

We have been reading in the Gospel of John, and have seen several themes, so far; Jesus has been presented as the Word of God, The Creator of all things; the Light of the World; the only source of Life, Grace, and Truth; the Lamb of God, and now, the Son of God.

We have problems with this concept of “Son-ship,” as, in our understanding, it always implies a pre-existing Father, while we have seen from the Scripture that the Son has no beginning—He is the Creator, and He has always existed. To cap our troubles, Jesus is described in prophecy as being called “Wonderful, counselor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6, 7) How can I understand the concept of a Son who is the exact same “age” as his Father, and who, in fact, IS his Father? And, to further compound my confusion, Jesus stated that (John 14:28) “…my Father is greater than I.” This is the mystery of the Trinity. I do not claim to understand it, nor do I expect I ever will, unless it can be understood in eternity.

Jesus, the Son of God in Eternity past

It seems we must understand the concept in terms of relationship, not “relative age.” Apart from understanding the Trinity, all we can do is see that the concept of the Son of God has been in place since ancient times, though dimly seen. In Psalm 2:7, God says, in reference to the king whom He shall set upon Mt. Zion (Jesus), “Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.”

We see that passage through the eyes of our experience, and think “Aha! There WAS a beginning!” But Hebrews 7:3 states, in comparing Christ to Melchisedec, that the latter had no beginning of days, nor end of life, but, made like unto the Son of God, abideth a priest continually.” I have to conclude that the Christ is the eternal Son of God…that “begotten” is not the same as “sired.” Further, in Micah 5:2, God states not only that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem, but that “…His goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting!”

The Hebrew word “yalad”, translated “begotten” in Psalm 2:7, is used over 400 times in the Old Testament—but only in that specific instance is it translated “begotten”. The vast majority of the other usages are translated in the vein of the bearing of children—women in childbirth, or even an egg hatching. In no case is it consistent with the idea of siring a child.

The Greek word used, when that same verse was quoted in the New Testament, is “gennao”—it seems to carry the same idea, but is translated “beget” or “begotten” 49 times, and “born” or related words about 34 times. Most of the time, both words are used in regard to human birth—they are not special “spiritual” words, which were “only to be used in regard to Christ.”

Either way, what has been established is a real relationship. Jesus is really God’s Son…not just called so. When we are born again, we are really God’s children…not just called so.

The Son of God has existed eternally in that relationship with God the Father. The Holy Spirit has existed eternally as God the Holy Spirit. And yet, the Three are One. And yet, they are each individually distinguished from the other by name, and in some instances, by location (consider the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan, with the Father speaking from Heaven as the Spirit is descending in visible form like a dove). The nature of the Divine Trinity does not lend itself to close examination, and simple explanations. I can only tell you that Jesus is and always has been the eternal Son of God, and that he is simultaneously the Creator God who became flesh.

Some weight might be given to the thought that he is the only begotten Son of God—he is the only one so born, physically. He was the Son of God from Eternity, and so, was the Son of God when He finally was born in Bethlehem as well. Further, he is the Chosen Son: born to be King.

I am a child of God, but was not born so, physically. I had to be born again. Jesus is the only one who was born a Son of God. Incidentally, the Greek word for “Son” is “huios”, and denotes a full heir of God. The word translated “child” is “teknon”, and simply means offspring. I am currently a child of God—his legitimate offspring—but will someday be an heir; a Son of God, along with Jesus, the “firstborn”.

Though we will become sons, Jesus is the Eternal Son.

Jesus, the Son of God in Life on Earth

When Jesus was born of Mary, in the Little Town of Bethlehem, we tend to see that as his “beginning.” As we have already seen, that is not the case. That was simply the “right time” in God’s plan, for Him to enter human history as a human. It is possible that this is the day that was referred to when God said “this day have I begotten thee.” But it was certainly not the beginning of the Christ. He is called the Lamb slain from the foundation of the earth” (Revelation 13:8). We saw him appear physically to Abraham, Jacob, and others.

But the Eternal Son set aside the glory of God that had been his for all ages, left behind the worship offered him by myriads of angelic beings, and became a human child. (Hebrews 1:6 tells us that the Angels worshipped Him at His birth…this is the last time they openly worshipped Him on earth.)

He lived out his life in humble submission to the Father. He set an example for us in every way. He was a perfect human, in perfect submission to a perfect God. He had constant fellowship with the Living God. When called upon, he allowed God to work through Him, and miraculous works followed. He healed, taught, corrected, rebuked, and served. He was tired, but kept working; hungry, but fed on the Word; rejected, but not discouraged; denied, but not indignant.

According to Hebrews, Christ the Son was also the ambassador and representative of God. He is compared to the prophets, the angels, the Sabbath, the priesthood, the offerings, the Temple, and the deliverers of the Old Testament. In every case, it is pointed out that the Son exceeds all the earlier emissaries and provisions of God. Ultimately, it is pointed out that to reject the Son is to reject the others as well; and, in fact, to reject the Grace and Mercy of God completely.

Jesus, the Son of God in Death

When Jesus came to live as a Man, though he accomplished many things, he actually came for one specific purpose: He came to die. We see (in Hebrews 10:5-7) that he came in fulfillment of the scriptures, “Lo, I come! In the volume of the book it is written of me.” He further said, “A body thou hast prepared me”, in reference to the sacrifice he was to bring.

Consider the Old Testament figure, Isaac: He walked with his Father, Abraham. There was no dispute between them, but a real love relationship. When God called Abraham, in Genesis 22, and commanded that he sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering, Abraham did not hesitate. We wonder about that, but in Hebrews 11, it states that he simply assumed he would be raised from the dead, since the promise of God had already singled out Isaac by name, stating that he was the promised seed, through whom the progeny of Abraham would come, and through whom, ultimately, the Savior would also come.

So the two of them walked together, toward Moriah. They left the servants behind (Abraham told them, “I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and return unto you.” and just the two of them approached the place of the sacrifice. Isaac was no dummy—he saw the fire, the knife and the wood, but no lamb. He asked his father Abraham about that lack, and Abraham stated that God would provide the Lamb. So the two of them walked on together, we are told.

When they arrived at the place, Isaac evidently rested from carrying the wood (enough wood to burn up a body) while Abraham built an altar. Then Abraham arranged the wood for the fire, and turned to Isaac. Isaac was no weakling—he was not a little child, but a strong, vigorous young man. Had he not been in complete fellowship with and submission to his Father, he could certainly have outrun him, or overpowered him. But he allowed himself to be bound, and to be lifted onto the altar. Who knows what thoughts he may have had? Isaac was simply a picture of Christ, without protest at his crucifixion. But at the moment Abraham lifted the knife, God stopped him, and “in due time” (Romans 5:6) the substitute was seen and implemented. The Ram was the substitute for Isaac. The Lamb of God was and is the substitute for the world. There is no substitute for Jesus. He is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Jesus demonstrated full submission to the Father. In Philippians 2 we are told that he set aside his position as God, and became a servant, specifically a man, a poor man at that. He lived in full submission to the Father, and was obedient unto death, even though it was a demeaning, agonizing, shameful death usually reserved for criminals. He died as a criminal, in place of a race of criminals. We do not like to think of ourselves in that way, but God states in Romans 5:10 that we were all enemies of God.

Jesus the Son of God in Eternity Future

As you know, Jesus was resurrected. His resurrected body was no longer subject to death, nor even to the physical laws of nature. He could transport himself, vanish at will, and yet He was physical…he could be touched, handled, and seen. He could eat if he chose.

He spent forty days reassuring and teaching his disciples before leaving to ascend back to heaven. But they were told that he would return in like manner (literally, physically, bodily, and visibly), and as we read the scriptures we realize that the Old Testament accounts of his coming are frequently in specific reference to that coming—the Second Coming—not the first. He will come in victory and vengeance, not meekness and grace. He will set up his kingdom on Earth and will judge the nations. He will reign for 1000 years on Earth, and then turn over all things to the Father. Then eternally, he will be the light of the City of God…and, eternally, the God-Man.

Jesus the Son of God in Us

We who have received Jesus as our Savior are in him, just as Noah was in the ark…and we are eternally secure in that position. He is also in us as a King is in his kingdom, but, he is not always allowed to reign. We do not always subject ourselves to his rule. He is resident there, but not president.  He is seated on the throne, but we rebel frequently—perhaps constantly.

If we are to truly follow his example and allow him to rule, we must submit ourselves to Him, as he submitted himself to the Father. We must set aside our own agendas and embrace the agenda of God. We must drop our own priorities and choose the priorities of God.

What are the priorities of God? Consider Jesus at the well in Sychar of Samaria (John 4:1-42). When the disciples begged him to eat of the food they had purchased for him, he stated (seeing the crowd coming to him) that there were higher priorities—in fact, that there was a higher food—he said, “…my food is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish his work.” I would like to be able to say that my priorities are set that way, as well, but I am too frequently caught up in what I want to do or accomplish, not what God wants to do and accomplish. Can there be a balance? Yes, I think so.

God knows what we need to live—and in most of our experiences he has provided the means for support, but it requires our work to bring it to fruition. We use our time partly to reach out to the lost around us, and partly to meet our physical needs. There is nothing wrong with that. Had Jesus felt otherwise, the disciples would not have been off in Sychar, looking to buy food. They could have simply waited with Him. But they had gone, with his blessing. However, confronted with two choices—the opportunity to win souls or fill his belly—he chose to win souls. Therein we see the priority of God.

Conclusion:

There was a woman at Cornell Estates some time ago, Helen Meade, who had lived her life with those priorities. The deacons in her church were men whom she led to Christ as small children when she hosted “Good News club” in her home. She continued to reach out to others with the good news of salvation as long as she was able, at Cornell Estates, and involved other believers, saying “Come! There’s work to be done!” She was still doing so at one hundred years of age, and beyond.

There is nothing preventing us from doing as she did. We can embrace the priorities of God and pray for opportunity and the wisdom to see it. We can share with others, as she did.

We can watch the Son of God as He walked in scripture. We can observe Him as He walks among us in other believers; and, finally, we can imitate Him as we walk with Him.

Jesus the Son of God still lives. He invites us to become imitators of Him and live our lives in submission to the Father.

So, how will we respond? Let us respond with joyful obedience.

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Christ the Lamb of God

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Christ the Lamb of God

© C. O. Bishop 2011 (revised 2021)

(THCF 2/19/12) Revised 2021

John 1:29 “…Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the World!”

Introduction:

John has already introduced us to Jesus, as the Word of God; the Creator; the Light; the Life; the Source of Grace and Truth. And we have seen him in His incarnation, as the Word made Flesh. Now John (the Apostle) introduces another concept…”Christ, the Lamb of God”.

When I was young (and an unbeliever, by the way), I had no idea what this phrase meant. I knew what a lamb looked like, acted like, and smelled like…and heard people refer to lambs as gentle, or harmless, or cute and cuddly, but I didn’t see how any of those things applied to Jesus, and honestly found the idea somewhat repugnant—silly and sentimental at best.

What I did not understand was that to the Hebrew culture, a Lamb was primarily a sacrificial offering, and that they understood perfectly what kind of Lamb was meant when John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God!”  They probably did not understand how it could apply to a Man, but they definitely knew what a Lamb was all about.

Further, they probably doubted the second clause: “…which taketh away the sin….” They knew that the blood of the lambs they sacrificed only temporarily covered their sins: so the idea that sins would be permanently removed was somewhat foreign, although we will see that the Old Testament scriptures predicted just that.

Finally, I am sure they completely balked at the idea that the blood of the Lamb could take away “the sins of the World”. It was their idea that the Messiah was to come and save Israel—not the world. And yet, the Prophets had predicted that he would be the savior of the Gentiles as well, and that the Gentiles would be given to Him as His inheritance.

So, John the Baptist really said a mouthful:

  1. He said that a Man would be the sacrificial Lamb.
  2. He stated that that Lamb would take away sin; and
  3. Finally, that He would take away the sins of the World.

Let’s see how that holds up in the light of God’s Word.

Jesus in Genesis

In the Beginning, we saw the creation (and Christ was the Creator), and we saw the Fall of Man into sin. The curse that fell as a result of sin included the prediction of the destruction of the Serpent—not the snake specifically; the Serpent— later identified as Satan. (Genesis 3:15, cp. Revelation 20:2) The One who would fulfill that promise was someone called the “Seed of Woman.” And the only one in History who could qualify as being specifically the Seed of Woman was Jesus, in the virgin birth.

Adam trusted God’s promise of a coming Savior, and God sacrificed animals to cover the nakedness of Adam and Eve. This was the first blood sacrifice: it was conducted by God, not Man. The first recorded blood sacrifice brought by a human was by Abel, in Genesis chapter 4. God accepted that sacrifice, and told Cain that if he, too, would do right, then He (God) would also accept his offering. But, Cain refused, and was lost.

Later, in Genesis 23, Abraham was commanded to offer his son Isaac. Abraham had no way to know that this was “only a test.” But he passed the test: he built the altar, laid the firewood, bound Isaac, and lifted him onto the wood. When he picked up the knife, to actually kill Isaac, God stopped him, and provided a substitute…a ram, which had been there all along, but unseen by Abraham or Isaac until the proper time.

Isaac had earlier asked Abraham, “where is the Lamb?” Abraham had answered with a statement of faith: “God will provide Himself a lamb”. God certainly did provide the Lamb, and He has done so once for all time, at the Cross. But, in Genesis, in the cases of Adam, Eve, Abel and Isaac, there was one lamb for one individual.

Jesus in Old Testament History

In Exodus 12, Israel was in bondage in Egypt. God was about to take them out of that bondage and remove them to another land. Pharaoh had refused permission for them to leave, so God sent ten plagues on Egypt—the last being the death of the firstborn of every household. But He offered an escape from that judgment, through the blood of a lamb.

Every family, house by house, was to choose a flawless lamb from their flock: they were to kill that lamb. They were to catch his blood in a basin, and then dip a bundle of hyssop in the blood and strike that blood onto the lintel and the two doorposts of the house. (try these motions—you are making a cross in the air.) They were to stay inside their houses that night, under the protection of that blood. When the destroying angel went through Egypt, He would pass over that house, sparing all who were under that blood. One lamb died for each family, though each individual was to eat of that lamb, personally. In every house without the blood, someone was dead. The blood of those lambs looked forward to the Cross.

The Passover was to be celebrated every year. They celebrated it as a commemorative feast, every year, with one lamb per family. There were other sacrifices, as well: each to cover sin. The Day of Atonement (“covering”) was observed once every year: one animal for the whole nation. Individual lamb offerings were brought for both individual sins, and for the covering of the firstborn.

In every case, these blood-sacrifices looked forward to the one Lamb of God that would come into the world and bear the sins of the human race. One lamb for the whole world. Judgment has fallen on the whole world, because of sin. We are given the option to place ourselves under the blood of God’s sacrifice and be saved. Every soul who fails to place himself under that blood is lost.

Romans 5:6 says that “in due time” Christ died for the ungodly. Revelation 13:8 says Jesus was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the Earth”—he was there all the time, like the Ram in the story of Abraham and Isaac, but we had not seen him. He died at the proper time in history.

Why So Many Lambs?

Over the centuries, millions of lambs had died sacrificially, in hope of the salvation of Man. Obviously, some were offered by unbelieving hearts, only following a “form.” That is true today as well. Many recite catechisms, or creeds, without applying that truth to their own case. They say the words, but they don’t believe. In those days, the lambs died, but to no advantage. In a sense, that is true today, as well. Jesus truly died for the sins of the whole human race (1st John 2:2,) but for those who do not believe, it is to no advantage.

The lambs, bulls, and goats of the Old Testament sacrifices had three major flaws:

  1. Not being human, (unrelated to the sinner) they could not be the Redeemer—and could not cleanse the sinner. The Law of the substitute (and the Kinsman-Redeemer) required a willing, voluntary substitution of a free individual who was a close relative of the sinner.
  2. Even as a “covering,” though ordained by God, the animal sacrifices could only cover sins temporarily. The Day of Atonement was yearly, by necessity. The sin offerings were repeated every time someone sinned. We need a permanent solution for sin, and animals simply cannot serve that purpose.
  3. Though they truly were ordained by God, the animal sacrifices were only effective until the “Real Deal” came through. Once Jesus was offered at the cross, the animal sacrifices no longer covered the guilt of the sinner. If we reject the offering of Jesus at the Cross, then the animal sacrifices are no more acceptable than the sacrifices offered by pagans.

But there was definitely a time of full forgiveness coming, when God said he would remember their sins no more (Jeremiah 31:34.) And, in Isaiah 1:18, God promised that He would cleanse them from their sins: that though their sins had been red like crimson, they would be clean as newly washed wool. Covering and cleansing are two different things. Maybe the Jews thought that this would only happen in the Messianic Kingdom. They were partly right—it only happens in the Messiah!

And when Messiah comes, God promises that the gentile nations would rejoice in his presence. (Isaiah 11:10, 60:3) These things had evidently been passed over or ignored by Israel. I can understand that—I have frequently found passages that I know I must have read dozens of times and suddenly I see it clearly, as if it had not been there before.

Jesus in New Testament Doctrine

Let’s look at Hebrews chapters nine and ten: In Hebrews 9:19-22 (read it), we see the sprinkling of blood in the Old Testament sacrifices. This was ordained by God. He approved this practice. But, in Hebrews 9:23-28, God goes on to show the superiority of the sacrifice of Christ. (Read this, too). Hebrews 10:1-10 continues the thought, and states that it was impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Finally, he points out that if we reject Jesus’ sacrifice then the Old Testament sacrifices are no longer valid. (Hebrews 10:26-31 …remember the context: the comparison of animal sacrifice to that of Christ.) The people to whom he was speaking were believing Jews; they had the history of the sacrifices. They evidently felt that they could always go back to the animal sacrifices if they decided they didn’t like Jesus. God warned them that they could not go back: the old animal sacrifices would no longer do any good.

Now: we can compare this with John 1:29, which we read at the beginning, and see that Jesus came to take away sins. He satisfied the holiness of God, as our propitiation (1st John 2:2) and He took away the sins of the whole world, just as John predicted. So, if the sins have all been taken on Christ, and judged at the Cross, why does anyone still face judgment?

In John 3:18, 19 Jesus said,  “He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that Light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”

Jesus said that the judgment people now face is for not believing the Gospel…not trusting in the blood of His sacrifice. In effect, just as the Egyptians in Exodus, and Cain in Genesis, they have refused to place themselves under the blood of God’s chosen sacrifice—the Lamb of God—and so they fall under the judgment of God, just as if He had not died for their sins.

Finally, unlike the Old Testament temporary sacrifices, Jesus’ blood has a permanent effect. In Hebrews 10:14-18, God explained that Jesus’ one offering cleansed forever those who trusted in Him. A believer becomes literally a child of God, and as such, begins to demonstrate the attributes of God. The sins of a believer are already purged at the cross, and are not being held against him/her. God sees you, the believer, as being Holy…exactly as Holy as Jesus.

Conclusion—Jesus in You

When John the Baptist said, “Behold the Lamb of God” it raised some questions in the hearts of those who heard. They probably found it confusing: they thought they knew all about lambs and sacrifices. We may have the same response. The questions we should be asking ourselves are:

  1. If Jesus is truly the chosen sacrifice of God, how can I lay my hands on that sacrifice, and endorse it as the one sacrifice for my own sin?
  2. Am I under the blood of that sacrifice?
  3. Do I care about those around me? Are they under that protection as well, or am I leaving them to be lost? What attributes of God do I demonstrate by my choice?

The answer to the first question, (“…how can I lay claim to that sacrifice?”) is simple: You lay hold by faith; by believing that Jesus died for your sins and placing your dependence on His shed blood as full payment for your sins. Jesus said, “Verily, verily I say unto thee, he that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but has passed from death unto life.” (John 5:24)

The second question is one that only you can answer. Either you already have trusted Jesus as your Savior, believing that his blood alone can take away your sins, or you have not. If there was ever a time in your life when you believed that Jesus was your only hope for salvation, and you trusted in Him, then you are under the blood of His sacrifice, and you will be there forever!

The answer to the third question must be addressed daily: Will I show the love of God, and reach out to the dying lost world around me with the hope of the Gospel? Or will I just let them stay lost? What possible excuse could I offer the Lord for having allowed those around me to perish without my having at least made the effort to reach them?

It seems to me that if I am truly under the blood of that sacrifice, and have become literally a child of God, and if am to be displaying the attributes of His character, as His ambassador, then the care that He extends to the world should be mine as well. Sadly, I have to confess that it frequently is not. I am frequently too caught up in my own issues. Yes, I have shared the Gospel with those with whom I work. I have led a few to the Lord, but not many. And usually, when I pray, I am not praying for their souls, but only that I can “get through the day without collapse or anger.” My first concern should be for the salvation of their souls, not my own comfort and happiness.

When I hear John the Baptist’s cry, “Behold the Lamb…”, I need to consider these things, and remember that his blood was shed not for just my sins, but also for the sins of the whole world. This is a call to faithful service, and evangelism, all to be tempered by humility and love, which are also attributes of God.

Please consider daily the challenge of John the Baptist, and behold the Lamb from the perspective of those who have been born again, and who owe our allegiance to the Cross.

God help us as we step forward by faith.

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What Seek Ye?

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What Seek Ye?

© 2021 C. O. Bishop

John 1:35-39

Introduction:

The passage we are reading, in John chapter one, is really about the initial introduction Jesus had with the men who would become His disciples, and eventually His Apostles. So, it may seem a bit of a “stretch,” to apply it to believers today.

But I think it is appropriate to remember that, except for Judas, these men were already believers, as far as we can tell. They believed the Word of God, even if they didn’t understand it all…just like we do. They were only transferring their worship from a distant, poorly understood God, whose judgment they feared, but whom they timidly “loved from a distance,” to a personal, right-there-with-them Lord who they also did not really understand. And they learned to Love Him personally, fiercely: and, in spite of all their failings, He loved them back.

So, let’s read the context: beginning in verse 35: John the Baptist was standing with two of his disciples…men who had believed his message of the coming kingdom, and had heard him proclaim Jesus to be the “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the World.” We aren’t told how anyone responded to that first announcement, in verses 29-34. But in verses 35-46, we see things beginning to happen: the next day, John the Baptist saw Jesus passing by again, and gave his disciples a bit of a “nudge.” He said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” And that was all it took! Those two men left John immediately and followed Jesus. But Jesus turned around and asked them, “What Seek Ye?” Now, if I had been the one asking that question, my intent would have been to challenge the persons following me to give account for their actions: “Why are you following me?!”

But that does not seem to be Jesus’s intent at all: He was God in the flesh, and He knew their hearts. He knew why they were following Him! So why would He ask? I must conclude that He wanted them to answer for their own benefit: “What am I doing? Why am I following this man? What do I hope to gain by it? What do I hope to learn?”

And their answer was a question, as simple as an answer could be…and necessarily vague: they really had no idea what to expect. They simply asked, in return, “Master, Where dwellest thou?”

What Questions should we ask?

I think that is an appropriate “first question” for each of us to ask as well, but I think we also should ask ourselves, “What am I seeking?”

Why am I seeking to fellowship with God? What am I trying to accomplish? Or, what do I hope to gain? Do I really want to Know Him better, or is this some sort of religious “self-help” experience? Am I just hoping to find some peace and happiness? Am I looking for exciting supernatural experiences? Entertainment? Increased social standing?  “What am I seeking?”

If what you are seeking boils down to a genuine need for a real relationship with Jesus Christ; the Biblical Jesus, who is the Real, Eternal God, living in human form, then the next question truly could echo the Disciples, saying, “Master, Where Dwellest thou?”

“What you are seeking” will direct you to seek in an appropriate place. You have already placed your trust in Jesus as your Savior. But, can you learn how to consciously find His presence on a daily basis and repeatedly come back to that closeness, rather than it being a random experience that “just happens?”

Where does Jesus Dwell?

Looking back in the Old Testament, we have found that every time God showed up in visible form, especially in human form, it was the pre-incarnate Christ. In fact, we were able to determine that the God of the Old Testament who met with Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, and others, was none other than the One we address as Jesus!

With that in mind, let’s look back and see where He says He dwells:

When Jacob saw the ladder, or staircase, leading into Heaven, upon which the angels were ascending and descending, he thought that he had somehow stumbled into God’s House, the Gate of Heaven! He named the place “Bethel,” meaning “house of God,” and offered God a rock to dwell in. Does that mean that God chose to actually live in that Rock? Nope. Honestly, that whole story makes me feel embarrassed for Jacob. How naïve does one have to be, to consider it appropriate to approach the eternal God, the creator of all things, material and immaterial, and suggest that He might like to live in this rock?

1st Kings 8:27 says that the entire Creation, including Heaven proper, cannot contain God. How much less a human-built structure? Isaiah 66:1, 2 says, “The Heaven is My throne and the Earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath My hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD:” (we will address the rest of this verse in a moment…)

Acts 7:48 confirms that God does not live in temples made by Humans.

But God has chosen to live in a few places: One such place was the Tabernacle we read about in Exodus 25:8…but it was long gone by the time of Christ. Another was the Temple Solomon built at Jerusalem (2nd Chronicles 7:1,) also long gone, by Jesus’s time but rebuilt twice over. And Jesus still referred to the temple proper (as rebuilt by Herod the Great, as “My Father’s House.” And that one was torn down completely in AD 70, leaving no Temple in Jerusalem. So where does God dwell, then? Exodus 19:9 and 2nd Chronicles 6:1 say that God dwells in thick darkness.

Psalm 99:1 says that God “…sits between the cherubim.”  The cherubim to which it refers were the two golden images of angelic beings, that were situated on the cover of the Ark of the Covenant, facing one another over the Mercy Seat, so that their wings were touching in an arch over the seat: And God said He sat there! (By the way, that was the only seat within the Holy of Holies: so, when Hebrews 1:3 says that “when He had by Himself purged our sins He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on High…” Where could he sit? In Revelation 7:17, we see the answer: He is seated in the throne with God the Father. The Mercy seat is His place!”

In Psalm 15:1-5, we are told what kind of person can join Him where He dwells: the psalmists asks, “LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy Holy Hill?” At some length, then, He describes a righteous man. But Jesus spoke to the Thief on the Cross, and said, “Today you will be with me in Paradise!” How could such a one be acceptable with God? How could he abide in the tabernacle? How could he dwell with a holy God? He was not a “righteous man: he was in the process of being executed for his sins!

As we readbefore, Isaiah 66:2 continues the question of “where does God dwell,” by stating that all the things with which we might build a house were all created by God, and that none are anything special to Him…but then he says, “…but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my Word.” The thief on the Cross satisfied that description! And with that idea, we are getting closer to the answer!

The Answer Jesus Gave

When the two disciples of John asked “Master (Rabbi…a “master” from whom to learn) where dwellest thou?” Jesus gave a simple answer to a simple question: “Come and see!” That has been His continuing invitation, throughout all the ages: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest! Ho, everyone who is thirsty! Come ye to the waters! Come buy wine and milk without money and without price! If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink! Whosever will, let him take of the Water of Life, freely.”

Did those two disciples know who they were dealing with? Nope. Clearly, they did not: but He invited them to come and spend time with Him, without asking their “credentials.” He did not take them back to Psalm 15 and demand to know whether they were “worthy” to abide with Him. He took them at face value, invited them without further questions of any sort, and they went with Him! Furthermore, it says that they saw where He dwelt, and they abode with Him that day!

If you want to see where Jesus dwells, then walk with Him! Just walk with Him! He isn’t demanding that you “jump through hoops” or “run an obstacle course to get to Him:” He isn’t demanding that you “clean yourself up” before you can walk with Him. He will do the cleansing, as needed, and when obstacles come, He will guide us through that trial. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me!”

When we walk with Jesus, we find out where He dwells…and, if we are willing, we can abide with Him that day, just as those first two disciples did. Abide with Him! Stay and learn from Him. Find out what sort of God He really is! Bask in His presence; don’t just “pop in and touch base:” stay there!

When Moses went into the tabernacle to receive God’s instruction for the people, he also had to leave, to go tell the people what God said. But Joshua had been there with Moses, and Joshua was not tasked with telling the people what God said, at that point in his life. Later, he also was called as the mouthpiece of God. But at that time, when Moses left to go do the bidding of God, Joshua stayed behind in the tabernacle, alone with God! That relationship was becoming central to who he was. And, it had permanent impact on his ministry, as he turned out to be absolutely faithful in his walk with God. We only see two times in his life when something wasn’t right, and in both cases, it was because he made a “snap decision” without first consulting God. Both were fairly minor, as such things go, and he was never “rebuked” by God for sin: God only corrected his error and told him what to do next. I can’t help believing that those early times, alone with God in the tabernacle, must have shaped the years to come, and resulted in the fruit we see in his life.

In John 15:4, Jesus said, “Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, neither can ye except ye abide in me.” Lots of people try to use this passage to teach that a believer can lose their salvation. The passage has nothing to do with salvation: It has everything to do with fruit-bearing! Joshua bore fruit because he had “abided” with God in the tabernacle. The Disciples bore fruit because they had stayed with Jesus and had been shaped by His presence and teaching. They did not do so because they were great students, or because they were clever theologians, or talented individuals, or well-educated. They were none of the above! Jesus had deliberately chosen very average men to be His disciples: what they had in common was faith. Faith is an obedient response to a revealed truth.

Those first two disciples had just two things revealed to them:

  1. Jesus was “the Lamb of God,” and
  2. He invited them to come with Him.

They responded in faith: they took that gentle suggestion by John, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus invited them to “Come and see,” they went…and saw! And they stayed with Him.

Where do We find Our answers?

Each of us has had some level of interaction with Jesus: we call ourselves believers because we have trusted in His sacrifice as full payment for our sins. Romans 3:25 says that it was through “faith in His Blood” that we entered into the relationship initially. Each of us has a history, leading from that initial meeting, and resulting in our being wherever we are now: And Jesus is still inviting us to “Come and See!”

So, how do we do that?

Think back to the meeting between Jesus and those first two disciples: What did it take for them to respond? Obviously, they believed what John had told them, and as Jews, they had already believed that the Messiah was coming. But when Jesus invited them to “Come and See,” what did it take for them to respond?

Can you imagine them having said, “OK, maybe later! We were just going off to play games on the computer!” Or, “Let me check my calendar: I’m pretty sure I could “work you in” on Sunday mornings, usually…unless I’m om vacation….” Or, maybe, “I’m pretty busy, but I will try to make time for you someday soon! Thanks for the invitation!” Those are not appropriate responses to the invitation of Jesus, the Eternal King, to spend time with Him in private!

Those two disciples did not even really understand who Jesus was, but they knew they wanted to know Him, and they understood that it required time with Him! I don’t know what they may have had planned for the rest of the day before he invited them over to His place. The scripture says it was “about the tenth hour.” In other words, about four in the evening. What might they usually have done with their evening? I have no idea; but whatever it was, it was set aside as being of lesser importance: Jesus became their priority, from that day forward. (By the way, we can see, by the next day, at least, they were beginning to have some convictions about His identity: in verse 41, Andrew went and told his brother Simon Peter, “We have found the Messiah!” But regardless of what they did or did not understand, He had become their Priority!

Perhaps we ought to ask ourselves, “Is He my Priority? Or just my “Preference?” Would I just “prefer” to know Him…if it works out that way, and if I can find time? Or is He my priority, and everything else will be set aside as needed, in order to deliberately spend time with Jesus?

When Moses went back to speak to the people the words of God, does it seem strange that Joshua “failed to attend?” Or maybe he arrived late? Joshua may not really have even noticed when Moses left to go back to the camp. He was hearing the Word personally, not second-hand!

When the two disciples stayed with Jesus, was someone else already expecting them elsewhere? (Remember, there were no cellular phones! They couldn’t “call home” and cancel plans.) We are not given any information about their previous plans: but the fact is, whatever they had planned was completely postponed or set aside. They had found the Messiah! He is where they would be finding their answers, and placing their priorities, from that day forward.

How will You Respond?

If you have “Found the Messiah,” and have received Him as your Savior, and have recognized Him as your Lord, your Master, then shouldn’t your priorities have changed, too, just as theirs did? Shouldn’t you be seeking to spend time with Him in the Word and in Prayer, not just talking, but also listening to Him? Shouldn’t we choose, daily, to walk with Him, and see where He dwells? If He has not become your priority, then perhaps you need to go back and ask that first question again: “What am I seeking?” If Jesus isn’t the One you really want, then something is seriously wrong: Something else has taken first place in your life.

Only you can choose to “dethrone” whatever that “something” is, and to reinstate Jesus as your top priority. He still sends us to work every day: He still has us go to bed at a reasonable time so we can function the next day in whatever way He calls us to serve: But the priority has to be Jesus, or we are not walking with Him.

God help us to see clearly where our lives are headed, and to respond as the disciples did, seeking to “See the place where Jesus Dwells,” and learning to “Abide there with Him!”

Lord Jesus, continue to invite us and quicken our hearts to desire to spend time with You alone, and to see our priorities change as a result. Draw us to walk with You daily, continually, and to learn from You, feeding on Your Word. Make us the disciples You have chosen us to be.

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The Word Became Flesh

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The Word Became Flesh

© 2021 C. O. Bishop

The Incarnation (Part Two)


John 1:14; Philippians 2:5-8

Introduction

Last week we introduced the subject of the Incarnation, going all the way back to Genesis, showing that while God the Son had appeared repeatedly throughout the whole Old Testament, until He was actually born as a human, with the express purpose of having a mortal body, so that He could die for us, He could not be the Savior; God’s chosen sacrifice for Sin.

We talked about the concept of the Kinsman-Redeemer, (pictured in the person of Boaz, in the Book of Ruth) who had to:

Jesus became our relative by being born: a genuine human, in a genuine human body, lacking only the sin nature. (Evidently the Sin Nature is passed through the man, as we are all called the “seed of Adam.” But Jesus was born without a human father, as “the Seed of Woman,” sired by the Holy Spirit, and so lacked the inborn slavery to sin—He was Free!) Having that clean Human body, unencumbered by Sin, He possessed the price to be paid. And, finally, He went to the Cross willingly. He told his disciples, “No Man taketh my life from me, but I lay it down of myself.” (John 10:18)

Without the Incarnation, as spelled out in the Scriptures, Jesus could not be our Savior…nor could he be the Messiah, nor the King of the Jews as promised in scripture. But “The Word was made Flesh:” the full, Biblical Incarnation is critical to God’s entire plan of Salvation!

So, we need to consider how that affects our lives. What resources does the Incarnation of God the Son, the Living Word of God, provide for our lives?

The Resources of the Incarnation:

What impact does it have in our lives?

We know Jesus really lived and died, and we know that He really was God in the flesh. So…What now? Is this just “good, fun stuff to know and tell?” No!

The Rebuke of the Incarnation.

The Incarnation, as spelled out by the entire Bible, stands as an eternal rebuke to our wayward hearts, because we have no excuse for our bad responses to our circumstances, or our bad responses to those around us. Our irritations, angers, jealousies, vengeful thoughts, and general self-centeredness have to be set aside if we will embrace the Incarnation of Christ.

His perfect life stands as an eternal challenge to those who follow Him. We cannot surpass Him, but He calls us to emulate Him. Ephesians 5:1 says “Be ye therefore followers (imitators) of God, as dear children.” And, 1st John 2:6 says that he who says he abides in Christ “ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked.”

So, when I am finally able to recognize that my anger, my impatience, and my self-centeredness are all sin, what can I do to change it? If I had been able to clean myself up, by my own efforts, by self-abasement, self-flagellation, self-denial, or other religious works of “do-it-yourself” piety, then I would not need a Savior! Paul said, in Galatians 5:21, “I do not frustrate the Grace of God, for if righteousness is come by the Law, then Christ is dead in vain.”

In fact, Jeremiah 2:22 says that no matter how hard I scrub, and no matter how harsh the cleansing agent is, my sins will still be with me. But Isaiah 1:16-18 says that I can become clean! Psalm 51:7 tells me how: David said, “purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean: wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.”

God has to do the cleansing… the “hyssop” refers back to the Passover, where the blood was struck upon the lintel and the two doorposts, using a bundle of hyssop to apply the blood. The means of our cleansing is still through the blood of the Cross. 1st John 1:7 (speaking to believers only)says that “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin.”

In John 13:8, Jesus told Peter, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me.” Jesus has to do the washing. But then, restored to fellowship, we are free to stand up and walk in the Light with Him again. And that is what we are exhorted to do!

The Exhortation of the Incarnation: Following Jesus

Paul addressed this truth in Philippians 2:5-8

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.


This is the eternal challenge, or exhortation of the Incarnation: Paul first described how we are to live, in verses 1-4,

1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.


Notice what Paul did, here: He spelled out the key issues of self-centeredness and pride, but contrasted then with the Love, and Mercy, and Comfort, and Consolation, and Fellowship, and Unity in Christ, resulting in peace, humility, and unselfishness. Then he capped the argument in verses 5-8 by saying that we are to live the way Jesus demonstrated in His Incarnation:

I have no idea what the future holds for any of us, whether individually, or as a church, but God says that we are to embrace the mindset of Christ, in His incarnation.

Every single child of God is also called to be His full-time ambassador. Romans 8:28 says “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called, according to His purpose.”

You know, it is strange: I have never heard anyone quote that verse and then say, “Well, yeah, but I don’t feel called!” Furthermore, we often forget the next two verses which clearly state that if you belong to Him, then you are called! There is no “special” order of believers who are “the called” and others who are just saved, but not called to function. We are all called to grow into the full stature of Christ, to become His hands and His feet in this sin-ruined World, and to offer Him as the living Bread and the Living Water to all who will receive Him. We are all called to offer our bodies a living sacrifice to God, which is called our “reasonable service of worship.”

Answering the Call of the Incarnation

If you can grasp the fact that you are called by God, then the only remaining question is “How will I respond to the Call of God?”

Isaiah responded (in Isaiah 6:8) with the famous “Here am I, Lord, send me!”

Jonah, of course, ran away, and tried to hide: God gave him a “free water-taxi ride” back to the beach, so he could reconsider the call.

Balaam obeyed, initially, but then went and acted as a traitor to God’s priorities, trying to make money in the bargain, and sell out the nation of Israel.

Jeremiah was called by God, but tried to beg off, saying he was too young to serve. God told him, “Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee and ordained thee as a prophet to the nations.” And Jeremiah reluctantly obeyed the call. He had a rough ministry, too: very few responded well to his ministry.

Saul of Tarsus got “slapped off his mule” by the vision of Christ and the brightness of his glory: But, when Jesus identified himself, Saul gave the straight-forward reply, “What wouldst thou have me to do, Lord?” He committed himself to obedience, carte-blanche…sight-unseen. He accepted the call unquestioningly and took his marching orders immediately thereafter. He eventually became the Apostle Paul. (Incidentally, the name “Saul” means “asked for:” He was named after the first king of Israel. But he abandoned that name and was called “Paul,” meaning, “little” or “insignificant.” That is an interesting transformation: Paul never sought personal glory or pay for his service: He obviously remembered that it was Jesus whom he served.

So…How will you respond? Like Jonah? Like Jeremiah? Or like Isaiah and Paul? One way or another, each of us have been called to serve the Risen Christ. You have to choose how to respond. God help each of us to consistently respond in such a way as to become the men and women of God we have been called to be.

Lord Jesus, add Your divine Mercy and encouragement to the preaching of Your Word, and raise us up as disciples, honoring you in our lives, acting as your ambassadors, Pouring out your Grace to the World around us.

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The Word Became Flesh

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(The Incarnation: Part One)

© C. O. Bishop 2013 THCF 8/17/13 Revised 2021

John 1:14 “And the Word became Flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father) full of Grace and Truth.”

Introduction:

If we consider the question, “What we are to offer to the world around us?” our first answer might be, “The Gospel!” And that is completely correct. But what sort of things are we presenting as part of the Good News of Christ? If people know nothing about who God is, or why we needed a Savior, then why would the death and burial and resurrection of Jesus be good news at all? I would like to present a series of messages regarding the message itself.

The theme today is the Incarnation. Without the incarnation (that is, the real God becoming a real Man, fully human, and living a physically limiting, sometimes painful and often demeaning life on planet Earth) we would have no savior. All the attributes of God become meaningless to us if that God did not also become human, taking on the nature of a servant, and sacrificing Himself in the place of the condemned human race.

The Concept of the Incarnation: Back to Genesis

We can trace the concept of the incarnation back to Genesis, though it is not spelled out there, as such. It is there, but illuminated under a rather dim light, if you will. Genesis 3:8 gives us a tiny glimpse of something unique in the living God: He walked in the Garden in the cool of the day. And, He spoke as he walked, evidently calling to Adam and Eve, the intelligent representatives of His earthly creation. As it is phrased, it seems that His presence there was a normal thing…the guilty couple were not afraid because He was doing something new…it was because they had done something new. They had sinned.

God’s presence in the Garden was normal. His speaking was normal. Sin is NOT normal. And yet, the sin they committed was no surprise. I don’t have to guess about this…I can say it with absolute certainty, because far away in the other end of the Bible, Revelation 13:8 states that Jesus was the “Lamb slain from the Foundation of the Earth”—not “from the Fall of Man”. He knew exactly what they would do, before they did it, and had already moved to correct the damage. The promise of a Savior is first made in Genesis 3:15, concerning a person called “The Seed of Woman.” And Jesus is the only one who could fulfill this as He was the only one who only possessed a human mother…His Father was God.

In Genesis 7:1, which is part of the account of the worldwide flood, a small point is raised that when God instructed Noah and his family to embark, he specifically called them to “come” into the Ark. Not “go”, but “come” (the Hebrew word is “bo” and this is its first use in scripture, though it is used hundreds of times in later passages, and it is usually translated “come.”) The implication was that God was already aboard. In physical form? No… I don’t think so. But He was there.

In Genesis 14:18-20 an interesting character appears: Melchizedek. He was at least a picture of the Christ, and I think there is ample scriptural evidence to hint that he may have actually been the pre-incarnate Christ, already acting as the mediator between God and man…the Priest of the Most High God. (See Psalm 110 and Hebrews 7 for more information.) Most commentators would probably disagree with me on that point. That is OK. I could be wrong, and I would be happy to discover that I am wrong from the scripture, but, in the meantime, I have to preach it the way I see it.

In Genesis 18 God appears to Abram, at Mamre. Initially, Abram did not recognize him as Deity, but thought that he (Abram) was simply exercising hospitality toward a fellow man. He was corrected when God made the promise of a child, a son, to be born the following year. From that point forward, Abram approached Him in a different way, though still with remarkable boldness, as he “dickered” for the life of Lot, trying to dissuade God from destroying Sodom, where his nephew Lot still lived. An interesting point is that Abram addressed Him as “the Judge of all the Earth.” John 5:22 tells me that had to be Jesus.

In these instances, and others, the Lord appeared in either human form or at least a physical form such that no one questioned his presence. He wrestled with Jacob, as we mentioned a few weeks ago; he confronted Balaam, the wayward prophet, and threatened to kill him because of disobedience. In Daniel’s account, He joined Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace, thus shielding them from the deadly flames; and he was seen there by Nebuchadnezzar, and many others.

The Fact of the Incarnation: The Word Became Flesh

So, if God has been appearing on planet Earth since the beginning… what is so different about the incarnation? The answer is simple: He had to be able to die. Hebrews 10:1-10 (read it).

This is primarily a quote from Psalm 40:6, 7 (read it) —with a minor change thrown in. Remember that God is the author of both, and He has inserted a parenthetical remark (“a body thou hast prepared me”) into his earlier statement, thus making it clear what was meant. David was inspired to write Psalm 40. Probably Paul was the human agent used to write the book of Hebrews. But Psalm 40 mentioned nothing about the body prepared for the sacrifice. It only stated that the sacrifices of the animals did not solve anything…those covered by that blood were still possessed of their sins, though the sins were covered. The speaker recognized that the animal sacrifices could not remove sin, and in contrast stated, “Lo, I come! In the volume of the book it is written of me”. It was absolutely not talking about David, or any other son of Adam: it could only refer to “the Seed of Woman”…The promised Messiah…The Promise of the Ages.

The only way that particular promise could be fulfilled was for the Messiah to become a complete human…Gestation and childbirth, physical mortality and all: Flesh and blood. Hebrews 10:9 reiterates the contrast, and states the divine upgrade from figure to reality.

The countless animals throughout the ages that have been sacrificed as substitutes for fallen Man, while their deaths were not “in vain,” were woefully inadequate to complete the job of salvation. The animals only fulfilled a portion of the “law of the substitute;” the law of the Kinsman-Redeemer. They were innocent, all right, but were unrelated to the sinners, and certainly did not voluntarily substitute themselves for the guilty party.

The only true substitute had to be human. He had to be free from sin. He had to have a physical life to offer, and he had to be willing—intelligently willing— to take the place of the rest of the fallen world. Before the Incarnation, the God of the universe had proven himself willing, according to Revelation 13:8. He was certainly sin-free, but (a) he was not yet human, and (b) He had no body—no physical life—to offer.  So, the last two pieces of the puzzle came together in the Incarnation. “A body thou hast prepared for me”…and “Lo! I come! In the volume of the book it is written of me!” The prophecies had been there for hundreds of years…some for thousands of years. Abel’s sacrifice was called a prophecy, according to Hebrews 11:4 (“…and by it, he yet speaks”). That was about 4000 years before Christ. All the prophecies of the Savior were fulfilled in the Incarnation of Christ.

The birth had to be there, and it had to be a virgin birth. There is only One person in history who is truly the “Seed of Woman”…all the rest of us have a human father. His birthplace, his poverty, his travels to Egypt, his growing up in Nazareth, his miracles, the outpouring of wisdom when He taught, the affliction of his soul because of the sins of the Human race, and, of course, his eventual crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection were ALL prophesied in detail, and all had to be fulfilled. The casting of lots for his undergarment was specified. The vinegar they offered him to drink, and the fact that he would die with the wicked, but be buried with the wealthy (now there’s a paradox!) all had to be fulfilled in the same man. You see, the wicked were usually disposed of like garbage: thrown into the city dump to be eaten by scavengers. The wealthy (even the wicked wealthy) were carefully entombed in rock. But crucifixion labelled him as accursed, and he would not usually have been buried at all, let alone in a brand-new hand-carved stone tomb.

“In the volume of the Book it is written of me!”

The Credentials of Christ were in the scriptures he was fulfilling. The Credentials of God and the Pedigree of the Messiah are the fulfilled prophecies of the Bible. Either they are completely true, or we have no hope! God presents the fulfillment of prophecy as being his primary credential, throughout the book of Isaiah. Look at some of the claims he makes: Isaiah 41:4, 46:5-10; 48:16, etc. “I am He who tells the end from the beginning. Who else is like me?”

This is a unique attribute of the God of the Bible. Others may claim 60% accuracy, or even 90%, but God said that His prophets had to be 100% accurate, or they were to be stoned as a false prophet. Ironically, virtually all the true prophets were ultimately killed by the people to whom they were sent, and the false ones were revered, as a rule. Why? Because God’s prophets brought an unpopular message (the truth) and the false prophets simply told people what they wanted to hear.

Jesus addressed this issue (John 3:19) “And this is the Judgment, that light has come into the world, and Men loved Darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil!” Many false prophets have claimed 100% accuracy, but history (immediately subsequent to their prophecies) has proven them liars, and hopelessly wrong. God’s prophets were accurate to the smallest details… and the Incarnation brought all the promises of God to a focal point. The Kingdom was actually offered to Israel while Jesus was on Earth; had they received Jesus as their Messiah, I have no idea how God would have worked out the rest of the fulfillment of prophecy. But there was no danger of that, as their rejection was also predicted. God knew exactly what they would do when offered the Kingdom. The offer was genuine and sincere. He mourned their rejection even back in Isaiah (Isaiah 48:18). So, the fulfilled Incarnation included the rejection by His people the Jews. It included the beatings, the scourging, the piercing of the hands and feet, and all that was involved in His death. It included the three days and three nights in Sheol—the place of the Dead. But what else did it include? The Incarnation also included the positive side of the story, of course:

It included the resurrection. It included the promise of Salvation by Faith alone. And included the full portrait of his character, his Grace and Mercy and Truth.

The Result of The Incarnation:

He…Dwelt among us… Full of Grace and Truth (John 1:14)

 “…and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of Grace and Truth” Jesus’ life was full of Grace and Truth. We can still read the Bible and see how his life reflected the truth at all times and in every sense, and that Grace was the heartbeat of the incarnate God. But He didn’t do it off by Himself somewhere, or in a monastery, or a desert island. He dwelt among us. He had to live with the same sorts of smelly, rude, frustrating, self-centered, short-sighted idiots as we do (and are). He was with people who had no idea of him being anything special and treated him pretty disrespectfully. He was with those who had already broken his laws too many times to count…and/or those who were actively mistreating others. He lived in the presence of his friends and his enemies…and the friends were unreliable at best.

We can see His Grace extended to the Woman at the Well, a lost, sinful, half-breed Samaritan, seriously confused about God, and seriously soaked in sin, rejected even by her own people.

We can see His Grace extended to the Thief on the Cross, as He responded with encouragement and promise to someone who, a short time earlier, had joined with the crowd in reviling him, but who also, just a moment before, had sought his forgiveness and Mercy.

We can see His Grace, a few years later (I’m not sure of the time frame) on the road to Damascus, when a young man named Saul of Tarsus was recruited. Saul had been severely persecuting the church. If I had been a believer at that time, I am sure I would have been praying for God’s vengeance on Saul, and God’s protection for the believers.

But Jesus went a step further: He made Saul of Tarsus (later known as the apostle Paul) a child of God, and a powerful tool in His hand. Wasn’t that a better solution? Of course! But what about Paul’s sins; shouldn’t they be dealt with? They were! Those sins were purged at the same time as yours; at the Cross. That is one of the results of the incarnation. And we can rejoice in that result in our own lives and the lives of those around us.

Next week we will talk about the Resource that the Incarnation provides in our lives, as well as the Rebuke and the Exhortation, in the Incarnation of Christ.

Jesus, make us alive to you and remind us that we are dead to the world, both as a result of your ministry as God in the Flesh.

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The Woman at the Well

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The Woman at the Well


© C. O. Bishop 2010 THCF (SS) 11/18/2012 revised 2021

John 4:4-43

Introduction

Walking to Galilee from Judea, Jesus had to travel through Samaria. The entire 4th chapter of John is about the exchange he had with the Samaritan woman at the city well outside of Sychar. (There are many sermons’ worth of content in John 4:3-43, but we will only hit the highlights.)

It is approximately a thirty-mile hike from Jerusalem to Sychar, through fairly rough country. I don’t know whether Jesus and the disciples did it in one day—ten solid hours of brisk walking—or in two days. I rather suspect two, because of the hour of the day—assuming the Jewish manner of keeping time was in view, it was noon. Jesus had been walking all morning and was tired. The disciples had gone on into the city to buy food.

Usually, the women hauled the water for their families in the early morning and evenings, when it was cool outside. Jesus was alone at the well when the woman—also alone—came to draw water.  My guess would be that she probably came at a time when no other women would be present, so that she did not have to endure their hostility toward her. We will see in a few verses that she had a rather checkered marital history, and most likely was viewed unfavorably by the other women. Jesus treated her remarkably gently, as he seemed to always treat women. But it is still in rather sharp contrast to how he had treated Nicodemus, in chapter 3.

Jesus knew who he was dealing with, and also knew that he was ignoring several customs of the time, in asking her for water. I think it was likely that a man would not have dealings with a strange woman, anywhere, as a rule…it wasn’t safe…beside the fact that in that culture as a whole, women were not usually treated as first-class citizens, and some men considered it beneath their dignity to speak to a woman at all. But, beside the male/female issue, we know from reading, here, that the Jews ordinarily had no dealings with the Samaritans (v.9). The Samaritans were a half-Jew-half-gentile nation, with a muddled idolatrous religion based on a half-understood concept of the God of Israel, but mixed with a lot of falsehood. They were the long-term result of forced evacuation of most of the Jews who once lived there, and the intermarriage of the remaining Jews with heathens who were forcibly transplanted there by the same Assyrian king.

Now, Jesus had also already bypassed a local prejudice by sending the disciples to buy food from Samaritans. (I’m sure the disciples were uncomfortable about it.) But, He further stretched the boundaries by talking with the Samaritan woman, and asking for water. It is pretty intriguing to watch and learn how Jesus practiced personal evangelism.

Jesus and Personal Evangelism

Jesus asked for water, and she sidestepped the request, remarking on how odd it was that he would even ask. Jesus persisted, and appealed to her curiosity, saying, “If you knew who it was who asked, you would ask me for a drink—and I would give you living water.” Now there are several possible understandings. “Living water” was what they called a spring, or a river, as opposed to a cistern or a well. And yet they also recognized a “living water” (see Ezekiel 47), that made things come alive; but I doubt she knew of it. Her confused response suggests that she was still thinking literal, physical water. She observed that:

  1. the well was deep, and
  2. Jesus had no means by which to get the water out of the well.

She was kind of confrontational, too, though: asking whether he was greater than Jacob—it seems to be a type of “who do you think you are?” question, not an honest query. Jesus took no offense, but answered regarding the water: “Whoever drinks from this well will thirst again—whoever drinks the water I supply will never thirst again.”  Now there should have been little or no question that he is not talking about literal water; but she still gets confused, apparently thinking the water is literal, but has “magical qualities,” or something. She would like to have some of that wonderful stuff, but she saw it simply as an end to the chore of drawing water.

Jesus cut off the exchange at that point, and sent her to get her husband. Remember, Jesus knew who he was dealing with…he knew she had no husband. But this put her in the position of having to admit what she was. She could have said, “Yes Sir”, and walked off and simply never come back. Instead, she chose a half-truth. She (correctly) stated that she had no husband. Jesus answered and told her that that was certainly a true statement, as she had had five husbands, and was now “shacked up with” a sixth man, without benefit of marriage.

An important point to glean from this is that while God ordains marriage, and hates divorce, He nevertheless recognizes divorce…and remarriage. Jesus did not say, “…you once had a husband, but have lived in adultery with five men since then”, or anything of the kind. He recognized all five marriages, and their broken ends, and did not condone the adultery in which she was now embroiled. He also made no overt judgment: He simply stated it as a fact.

The woman tried once more to sidestep the truth by opening a religious debate. Jesus effectively told her that she did not know enough to begin that conversation, but that there was coming a time when all such discussions and arguments would be pointless, anyway, as each true worshipper will worship in spirit and in truth: the location or method will become irrelevant.

Her final hedge was: “I know that Messiah comes! He will tell us everything…” And Jesus plainly told her “You are talking with Him…”

The Response: Faith

It is good to see that she had recognized his person, admitted that she was a sinner, and professed faith in a coming Messiah. Perhaps she had believed all along, in one way or another, hoping that somehow the coming King would not reject her. We cannot see her heart, but only her actions. God sees the heart, and accepts the faith of the simplest person. I don’t know at what point in this passage she actually believed and was saved. God knows. What she did in this situation was the important thing for us to see, because it demonstrated her faith: she obeyed, and, lacking a husband, she went and found the men of the city.

Faith is an obedient response to a revealed truth.

Faith and obedience are linked in this way: Faith is an obedient response (sometimes simply believing) to a revealed truth. Obedience is what demonstrates faith. Jesus said, in John 6:29, “This is the work of God; that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.” That is the obedient response to the Gospel that brings us into the family of God. Noah obeyed by faith and built an ark…he obeyed by faith and got aboard that ark, and then he saw God bring all the animals aboard. Then he saw God close the door. At that point, he was closed in. Whatever he thought, during the next thirteen months, it really had no effect on his position—he was in the ark, and that was what counted.

At some point this woman became a believer. We see her faith in her response to Jesus’ command. She went and found the men of the city, and told them that there was something very strange going on at the city well. Her message was simple, and as complete as she could make it: “Come see a man who told me all I have done —is this the Messiah?” She didn’t pretend to be an expert: she just told the message as best she could, and called on them to make a judgment.

Isn’t that pretty much what we are called to do, as well? We do not have to be experts, and we are certainly not to “pretend” anything at all. But everyone who has trusted Jesus as his or her savior knows enough to say, “Come and see…” You can invite a friend to read a book that you have read. You can invite them to visit your church or Bible study. You can testify to the fact that Jesus paid the full price for your sin, and that all God asked you to do in return is believe. You can share this good news with a neighbor, not “pushing” anything on them, but simply sharing with them the help you have found in Christ. All the woman really told the men of the city was to “Come and see….” There is nothing wrong with that message.

I don’t know how long it was before Jesus got his water…probably he helped himself, as she left her water pot, when she went back to the city. Incidentally, this is the scene into which the disciples returned, just before she left. And they were even more amazed than she had been, to see Jesus talking with her, but they said nothing. This is a good example for us to think about—they did not interfere with what Jesus was doing, but watched, and were amazed. They did not question his wisdom, though they did not know what he was doing. A good example….

The Priority of the Harvest

The men of the city were at least interested enough to go back out to the well and see this man the woman told them about…evidently not just a few, either, but a whole crowd. They knew who she was: they could simply have dismissed her as the “village tramp”, telling tales. But part of the interest may have been because they knew her, and this was something new: it was not her usual way of dealing with men, apparently. A few verses later, we see the end results.

In the meanwhile, before they had come, the disciples were trying to get Jesus to “break for lunch.” They had no idea what he had started, in sending the woman back to get the men, and had no idea that, as a result, there would now be no time for a meal. Jesus said, “I have food you do not know about.” Notice the parallel…he told the woman, “I have water you don’t know about”, and the disciples were told of hidden food. The woman needed salvation—the disciples needed to learn to serve God’s priorities.

We tend to serve our own priorities—we see the need in our own lives, and work to meet those needs. We serve ourselves, and miss out on the ultimate fulfillment of following God’s priorities.

Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work.” I really wish that were true in my life, but too frequently, my food is to do my will, and to fill my belly, or my pocket, or my ego, or whatever I currently am pursuing. If Jesus found His primary fulfillment in doing what the Father wanted done, I think I should do the same.

Jesus went on to admonish the disciples to “lift up their eyes” and see the harvest. The harvest of souls was coming to them at that very moment. They needed to readjust their priorities to match those of God. So do I. The harvest of souls is going on continually, and people don’t wait—they move away, or they die, or in some other way become inaccessible. Incidentally, the enemy does not wait, either, but brings someone to distract them, and to convince them that the Bible is untrue, or unimportant, or simply, that “there is no hurry.” When a person delays a choice to receive the Savior, it is a choice, for the moment, to reject Him.

I frequently miss the opportunities God supplies, simply because that is not where my treasure is, thus, not where my heart is, either. In Matthew 6:21 Jesus said “…where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Notice it is not the other way around.) I have not made God’s priorities my own, so as to be always looking for the harvest. Instead, the harvest surprises me, when fruit falls on my head, or something of that sort. The disciples were concerned with their own needs, and those of their master, wholly on a temporal plane. It had not occurred to them that the Samaritans were even part of God’s concern, and they were amazed to see Jesus talking with the woman. So, when she left, their only thought was “Finally! Time for lunch!”, whereas Jesus was looking to things of eternal value, rejoicing at the opportunity to harvest souls for God’s glory, and their eternal joy.

We, too, need to embrace the priorities of God. Jesus invited the disciples to join Him in His work. He invites us to do the same. The day is coming when rewards will be given to those who served with the master. Salvation is a gift, not a reward. You cannot earn it, and, having received it, you cannot lose it…but rewards are in response to obedience, and a labor of love. Rewards can be earned, and/or they can be missed out on.

So, what happened in Sychar?

What was the “rest of the story”? The woman “went and told,” as Jesus had commanded, but what was the result? The initial result, we already saw: they went to see Jesus. But, then it says that many had believed because of the woman’s testimony, and many more believed later, after hearing him personally. They went because she testified, but believed because He spoke to them.

The end result in Sychar was that many were saved. They asked Jesus to stay, and he did. (I am sure the disciples were not pleased, at least not initially.) He stayed there for two days, and evidently taught the people (v. 41 says they believed because of His word).

What a privilege they had, in Sychar, hearing Jesus in person! What a privilege we miss, in not subjecting ourselves to God’s will and His direction.  We could be a part of that harvest, and rejoice with the reapers as we draw people to Christ.

All it takes to be part of that harvest is:

  1. Confess that your priorities are not the same as those of God.
  2. Decide to adopt the priorities of God.
  3. Begin to learn those priorities (one is the redemption of a lost world)
  4. Begin to look for ways to implement them in your own life.

To share the Good News with others, you need to know two things: that you yourself are saved, and how you got that way. That’s it!

To make it an authoritative message it makes sense to have the backing of God’s word, the Bible. So, you can write down passages that explain how you were saved. Memorize them, if you can. Then, pray for God’s direction, and be looking for someone to share with.

They are all around you: “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields!” That’s what Jesus said!

Lord Jesus, we ask that you open our eyes to the lost souls around us and make us aware that each of them is a precious soul for whom you gave your life. Fill us with compassion for the lost, and a desire to share the gift of eternal life with those around us.

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Christ the source of Grace and Truth

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Christ the source of Grace and Truth

© C. O. Bishop revised 2021

John 1:17 “…but Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ.”

Introduction:

John has already identified Jesus Christ as the Word of God, the Creator God, the Life-giver (in fact, Life, itself), and the Light of the World in every sense. The total concept is so overwhelming that one might think, “What else could there be?” And yet, John is nowhere nearly finished introducing the person of Christ.

In John 1:14 (read it) John introduces the concepts of Grace and Truth, as associated with the Messiah, Jesus. He says that “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us… And we beheld His glory; the glory as the only begotten of the Father, full of Grace and Truth.” The fact that God would become Man at ALL is an incredible act of Grace. Stepping down from the throne where he had been worshipped throughout eternity (as far as we understand it—but who knows how long there have been angelic beings?), to be born as a lowly human being in a poor village, to a family that was poor even by the standards of that village, and then to allow the outrageous behavior of his creation to destroy him as a human…that was not a simple condescension, as if some rich college-kid were slumming in a poor country village, but real, Divine Grace, as He came to die! That was his purpose in coming at all. It was not a tragedy, but rather a victory

Grace from the Foundation of the Earth

We see the beginning of God’s Grace exhibited in Genesis (where else?), the book of beginnings. Adam and his wife had been warned of the consequences of disobeying the one, solitary commandment they had received. God could have simply wiped them off the globe and begun again with fresh clay, so to speak. But, having begun a good thing in the creation (remember, at every step of the way, God declared His creation to be good), God was not willing to abandon His work.

He revealed His Grace in the Law of the Substitute: God first declared that there was coming a person called the Seed of Woman, who would undo the damage done by Satan. Then upon Adam’s statement of faith, God clothed the fallen couple in the skins of slain animals—the first blood sacrifice.

The Law of the Substitute provided that if a truly Righteous person (try finding one!) were to substitute himself for the guilty person, the punishment, along with the guilt, could be transferred to the righteous person, and the sinner would go free, with the righteousness of the Substitute being imputed to the sinner. This concept was only partly developed in the Old Testament. The believers saw the Lamb of the Sacrifice, a truly innocent party, being killed in the place of the ones doing the killing. The true believers transferred their sin, by faith, to the innocent Lamb, and took his life, in faith that God would accept that sacrifice on their behalf.

Just as today there are people who recite creeds, but have never made it personal, there were folk then, who went through the motions of a sacrifice, but never personally acknowledged their guilt. They saw that they had done something “meritorious” by performing the ritual. This defies the concept of Grace. Grace is specifically unearned favor. If you think you have earned good treatment, then you are demanding wages. If you recognize that God not only owes you nothing, but that you deserve his judgment, then you are throwing yourself on the Grace and Mercy of God. Grace and Mercy are the “flip side” of one another. “Grace” is God giving me favor I do not deserve. “Mercy” is God not giving me the judgment I really do deserve. So, let’s think back:

  • Did Adam and Eve deserve God’s Favor and Mercy? Of course not—they had chosen to disobey a command for which the penalty was death. And they knew it.
  • Did Abel deserve God’s favor? Evidently not…he recognized his lostness as a sinner, and brought a blood sacrifice as a substitute for himself, looking forward, by the way, to the Cross of Christ. It looked forward to the time when the one known as “the Way, the Truth, and the Life”, would die, to undo the work of the deceiver—the Liar, and Father of Lies.
  • Paul, one of the most powerfully used servants of God in history, declared his own unworthiness, and explained that Grace was unearned favor, using Abram as an example.
  • Mary, long exalted by the Roman Catholics as the “Mother of God” (among other titles), actually claimed Him as her Savior, recognizing that she too, was a sinner. It is important to remember that the only command Mary ever uttered was to instruct some servants to do whatever Jesus said. She claimed nothing for herself beyond God’s Grace.

When we finally get to the book of the Revelation (Revelation 13:8) we find that Jesus was the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the Earth.” Now…was he literally the animal that was slain to cover the sins of Adam and Eve? I seriously doubt it, as it specifically says “skins” (plural, not singular). But if it turned out that somehow it really was Jesus, it wouldn’t hurt my theology one bit. Jesus is the only substitute for the sinner, and there is no substitute for Him. All the sacrificial lambs of the Old Testament were simply pictures of the One Lamb of God in the New Testament.

The truth is even more profound than something like “the lamb really having been Jesus.” I believe that literally, before the creation, God the Son (who is the Creator, you remember, and the same God who walked in the Garden in the cool of the day), knew exactly what was going to happen, and substituted himself in advance, for the lost race of Man. The only people who benefit by it, personally, are those who trust him as their Savior, personally, but He died for the entire race. He was literally “the Lamb slain” from the foundation of the earth…not just from the Fall of Man.

Grace in the Old Testament

We tend to think that Grace was invented at the day of Pentecost or thereabouts, as we call the Church Age the “Age of Grace”. There is nothing wrong with so calling it, but we should recognize that Grace is a personal attribute of an unchanging God, who we know primarily through the incarnation … God in flesh… Jesus Christ. Grace was demonstrated from Genesis onward, and described by the Prophets, including the Psalmist, David.

Psalm 32:1, 2 says “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity…” We still have the concept of imputation in our society, but we no longer call it by that name. In banking, they used to have a phrase, “Post it to my account”. It carried the idea that this deposit will be recorded as a credit to my account immediately, not waiting until some clerk gets around to it. We would rather not have debits posted to our accounts even though we accrue them ourselves, but we would like to have credits imputed immediately. The psalmist was saying how blessed the person was to whose account God would not post their sin debt…not “how blessed the person who had never accrued such a sin debt.”

Grace Extended to the Nation of Israel

In Numbers chapter 16, 14,700 people died because of sin. In Numbers chapter 21 “much people” of Israel died because of sin (no specific number). But in Numbers 23:21 it says, “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a King is among them.” The only way that can be true is Grace—God clearly DID see sin in them and dealt with it rather harshly, from human perspective. But regarding Israel as a nation, He chooses to see them in the light of Grace. He is not imputing Sin to his people.

Later on, regarding Israel, God said, “I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins” (Isaiah 43:25) and, “…I will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34), but each of these were future tense, and are specific to the second Coming of Christ and the subsequent Kingdom Age. Notice, though: it specifically states that it is not for the sake of the sinner that he chooses not to remember sin—it is for HIS sake—the sinner has NOT earned forgiveness…God forgives to satisfy His own agapé Love, and Mercy. That is Grace.

Positionally, God sees Israel, on a national basis, as being separate from sin. Conditionally, he says blindness has come, in part, to Israel. They are blind to the reality of their lost condition and position, on an individual basis. Those whose eyes miraculously open (and who see Jesus as their Messiah) become part of the Bride of Christ. Then, their sins are truly forgotten, and He places His Spirit within them, and their sins he remembers no more, just as he promised. And it is the same for us.

Grace in the New Testament

When Jesus went to the Cross, he took all our sins with him. 2nd Corinthians 5:21 (read it) states that Jesus literally became sin for our benefit; and the result was that we became the righteousness of God in Him. I have a hard time with that statement. I see my sin every day of my life. I am surrounded by the evidence of my sin and failures. I fail to see myself through the eyes of God. And, the truth is, I am a sinner. But God has declared me Righteous.

I certainly have not earned this precious standing: I am a sinner by birth, by predisposal, by inclination, and by choice. I was on God’s death row, and the only reason I do not now stand condemned, and lost before him, is that Jesus stepped in and was executed in my place. That is what Grace is all about. It is the fact that, utterly without my merit, God extended His eternal favor to me. So, what did I do to get it?

NOTHING! I did nothing. He did it all. I had no part in the work of Salvation…I received it as a gift from him, by faith. Faith is simply believing God…trusting His character, and His Word.

Jesus said, “He that heareth my Word, and believeth on him that sent me Hath everlasting Life, and shall not come into condemnation, but has passed from death unto Life.” (John 5:24)

Grace and Truth

There are several aspects of the concept of truth:

  • No deception (God is light and in Him is no darkness at all…1st John 1:5)
  • Full disclosure (then shall I know fully, even as I am fully known…1st Corinthians 13:12)
  • Full self-revelation (a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart…Hebrews 4:12)

We like the idea that God will not deceive us. We like the idea that “…we’ll understand it all, by and by”. But we are not really happy that the intents and thoughts of our hearts are (and will be) revealed.

Jesus said “I am the way, the Truth and the Life—no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” What part of Jesus do you not feel comfortable with? He says he is the only way to get to God. Are you comfortable with the fact that God has not provided a multiplicity of ways to approach Him? And, as He is the Word, as well as the Truth, we can look to Him to refute the lies of the Enemy.

He says that the Way includes the Truth about us and God, as well as a changed Life, which ours by imputation, but is also ours to actually live out on earth. Are you comfortable with the fact that He is THE truth? That he will not “wink at sin”, but will deal with us completely honestly, now and in the future? Our sins were dealt with at the cross, it is true. But complacency about sin will cost us dearly, in terms of lost reward.

He says he is “the Life”. For us to experience God’s love and power and guidance, we need to embrace Him as the Life. Not only our “get-out-of-jail-free card”, as if He were just our “eternal Life insurance”, but THE life—the source of our daily life, and the only real reason for our lives to continue at all.

In the Psalms (Psalm 85:10, 11) it says that “Mercy and Truth are met together; Righteousness and Peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth, and Righteousness shall look down from Heaven.” I would suggest that this could only be fulfilled at the Cross, as the Mercy of God extended itself to the Truth of our sin through the person who IS the Eternal Truth. The Truth, in the person of Christ, looked up from the Earth, and Righteousness in the person of the Father, looked down from Heaven. At that point in history, the Righteousness of God could be at Peace with the fallen creature, Man. Righteousness and Peace truly embraced at the Cross.

Grace in Our Lives

So, how do I apply any of this to my own life? I needed Grace to be born again, obviously, but I also need Grace by which to live. Every Pauline epistle, except one, begins with the greeting, “Grace be to you, and Peace…” (and always in that order.) Initially, of course, we received the saving Grace of God in order to experience Peace with God. Romans 5:1 says, “…therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God” As believers, however, we need the sustaining Grace of God to experience the Peace of God. (Philippians 4:6, 7)

We were saved by Grace through faith, and we are encouraged to walk by faith: “as ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him.” (Colossians 2:6)

We confess our sins daily: moment by moment, sometimes. We confess that we deserve nothing of His Love and Care…and He extends His Grace to us…unearned. We ask for wisdom, intending to walk by that light…and He extends his Grace to us: His wisdom and the will to walk in it.

Paul sought healing, (2 Corinthians 12:8, 9), but was admonished that “My Grace is sufficient for thee.” We may seek a better life, and may even receive it…but the admonishment stands: “My Grace is sufficient for thee.” God does not owe us anything, and the things we desire in addition to his Grace, may, in some cases, be contrary to his Will, as it was when Paul pleaded for healing.

Do you really want to experience the Grace and Truth of God in your life? The Grace and Truth of God came to us (and they still come to us) through the person of Jesus Christ. He is the only source.

  • Read his Word daily to seek his Grace by which to live. Remember Who really is the Word.
  • Pray, seeking His Grace, and His will. Make sure you decide in advance to obey it.
  • Give thanks for the Grace that he liberally pours out.  (He always does, even when we don’t recognize it.)
  • Depend upon the Truth of His Word, and the Truth that is His character, as you feed on His Word, and live in His Grace. His Truth is the foundation of our Security. (Ephesians 6:14)
  • Serve by his Grace. “…For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)

Finally, be tender-hearted toward one another as fellow-heirs of the Grace of God.

Extend the Grace of God to those around you, through Evangelism, through speaking the Truth in Love, and through Mercy in your dealings. Forgive others as you have already been forgiven. Don’t wait for them to “deserve it:” Grace means giving when it is not deserved. Extend to others the Mercy, Grace and Truth that have already been extended to you.

And, in so doing, you will more deeply experience His Grace in your own life.

May the Lord bless us all and lead us to grow in His Grace.

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Christ the Light:

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Christ the Light: “I am the Light of the World.”
© C. O. Bishop, 2011 Revised 2021

John 1:4, John 8:12

Introduction

The Gospel of John has one central theme: “The person and work of Jesus Christ; God in the flesh.” John makes no apology for presenting Jesus Christ as God. He is God! He makes no attempt to “prove” his existence nor does he try to “justify” his claims. He simply presents Him as He is and tells the narratives in such a way as to demonstrate the truth of those claims.

He began with Jesus Christ, as the Word of God. It’s an odd statement, but one supported throughout the Scriptures. He progressed to presenting him as God, specifically the Creator. Again, it turns out, this is supported throughout the Scriptures. He presents Him as the one source of life, and, ultimately as The life. It turns out that this, too, is supported by the Scriptures from Genesis, onward. Now he presents Him as The Light.  John 1:4 “…in him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.” And Jesus confirms that claim, saying that He, Himself, is the “Light of the World.” (John 8:12)

So, let’s go back to the beginning of time and see whether the Scriptures also support this notion.

The Light at the Beginning of Time

Genesis 1:3 “…and God said let there be light, and there was light, and God saw that the light was good…” God created physical light, without a source other than Himself. The light was good: God said so. Then (Genesis 1:4) God separated the light from the darkness. Light is by its nature separate from darkness—in fact, darkness can only be defined as the relative absence of light. So evidently when God said “let there be light” there was light everywhere. It permeated the universe. Then, for God to separate the Light from the darkness, He must have limited the light to a discrete source or sources, so that shadows could exist. In terms of our solar system (which was not yet created) it meant that there was a single source of light in relation to which the world rotated on its axis, and, as the Scripture says, “…there was evening, and there was morning, the first day.” The sun was not yet created: God was the source of the light. He will again be the only source, after the end of time as we know it. Revelation 21:23 says “…the city will have no need of the Sun or Moon, as …the Lamb will be the light…”

The Light in the World, Today

The New Testament spells out this truth, in a variety of ways. 1st John 1:5 says “This is the message that we have heard of him and declare unto you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” In this instance it is not about the physical light so much as the moral and spiritual light, as the context goes on to talk about our response to the light, and how it affects our relationship to God.

Different creatures respond differently to physical light. Green plants thrive on it and will bend toward the prevailing light-source in order to maximize the amount of light received. In fact, virtually all physical life depends, ultimately, upon the physical light of the sun. Green plants are the only creatures capable of deriving energy for food production directly from the light. All other life depends ultimately upon green plants for food, whether as a primary or a secondary source. (Snakes, for example, don’t eat vegetables, but they swallow whole those animals that do.) The only exceptions seem to be some very small deep-sea creatures that live next to hot vents of water coming from the ocean floor, and somehow live on that energy source. And it is possible that even they are ultimately dependent upon the Sun. Mushrooms don’t like the sun, but they live on the carcasses of plant and animal life that do thrive in the light. We all live by the light, whether we admit it or not.

Animal life is somewhat divided in its response to physical light: Cockroaches and rats definitely prefer darkness. Bats and owls do, too, for different reasons. 

J. Vernon McGee told how, as a young boy, his chores required him to go out to the barn in the darkness, to check on the livestock. He didn’t much like the experience, as many can understand. He carried a lantern with him to light his way, and to allay his fears of the deep shadow. When he was older the fears may have disappeared, but the memories remained. He told how there were two things that happened the moment he walked into the barn with the lantern: The rats ran for cover, fearing him and the light. The birds, roosting in the rafters, thought it was morning, and began to twitter and sing. What was the difference? Had he terrorized the rats at some time? Had he led a choir for the birds? No; of course not. The natures of the creatures were simply being revealed by their response to the light.

This is a good principle to recognize in life. The nature of the person will be revealed by their response to the light. Jesus said, (John 3:19-21) “This is the judgment, that light has come into the world, and the world loved darkness better than light because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.” The character of the world is revealed by its response to the light.

“I AM the Light of the World”

In John 8:12, Jesus said, “…I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.” You see, some flee from the light…some follow it. You have to determine what response you will give to the Light of the World. Most of you, if not all, have already responded to Him initially by placing your trust in Him as your Savior. But you still have an old nature—you still have that character within you that flees the light, and loves the darkness. There is a very good reason that bar-rooms are usually very dark places: the practices of those who frequent such places do not reflect a love of the light.

So, as believers, we are to recognize that, to begin with, (Colossians 1:12, 13) we have been made fit partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light (that’s the team to which we now belong) and have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of the Son of God. This is an accomplished transaction—a done deal—nothing can be done to make it “happen more thoroughly”, neither can anything be done to undo it. That is simply where we now live! The next question, obviously, is “But how?”

How Shall We Then Live?

In light of this truth (that we have been moved from darkness into light,) what ought we to do? How ought we to live? Godgives us the answer through the apostle Paul: (Ephesians 5:6-14) he concludes, “but now are ye light in the Lord…walk as children of light”

Specifically, he begins, in Ephesians 5, to point out some of the differences that being saved has made, and should make. He says in verses three through six that the behavior of the unsaved is in keeping with their old nature—the only one they have. He lists several things that the natural men regularly practice, but which should be set aside by Christians.

  • Fornication
  • Uncleanness
  • Covetousness
  • Filthiness
  • (coarse) Jesting

Paul points out the logic of the change, saying that people who practice such things have no part in the kingdom of Christ and of God. By the way, the use here of the word “kingdom” does not refer to the Millennial Kingdom, but simply the “dominion of God” as evidenced in the lives of the believers. We are not to take lightly our new position in Christ. The Church, proper, is not a kingdom, but a body, with a head, not a king. However, the Head of the Body of Christ is Christ, the King. We are collectively the “bride” of Christ—but our bridegroom is the King.

Paul goes on to say that we once behaved in similar fashion to the World, because we were of the world. We walked in darkness because we were of the darkness. Paul says, “…but now are ye light in the Lord…walk as children of light.” We are to behave like the children of light because we are the children of light. God is the light, and we are his offspring in Christ.

Now—what does that look like? How do we “walk in the light”. Peter was also given something to share with us regarding that question: (2nd Peter 2:19) “We have also a more sure word of prophecy whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place.” The Word of God (remember that Jesus is the Word of God) is still our light. We have been given the Written Word of God as a light by which to walk in this dark world. How long? Until the Living Word of God comes, and we see Him face to face.We are to apply the written Word of God to our lives in every area, learning to live in obedience to His Word, until He returns.

I carry a small flashlight, as a rule…but I only need it at night. Once the sun is up, I have no need of the little lamp. There is coming a day when you will no longer need your Bible, as Jesus will be literally, physically shining, and all of us will walk by his light. But He commands us to walk by his light now, as well, and to allow His light to spill over into other’s lives in such a way as to attract them, not repulse them. In Matthew 5:16, He said, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in Heaven.”

1st John 1:7 “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.”   Philippians 2:15 says,  “that ye may be blameless and harmless, the children of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”

Each individual person’s response will be partly dependent upon our use of that light:

  • Some will reject the light in whatever form it appears.
  • Some will be drawn to the light “as a general principle” but reject any portion of the light that specifically addresses their own sin, thus rejecting the light of the Gospel, proper: Light dispels darkness…if we will not allow that light to touch the darkness in our own hearts, then it cannot accomplish its primary function.
  • Others are drawn to the light, initially, but may be driven away by the behavior of the one holding the light. All of us have known of Christians (or those claiming to be Christians) who live in such a way as to repulse all around them. Bear in mind that James says “the seed of righteousness is sown in peace of them who make peace.” (James 3:18)
  • The cheerful, gentle, loving behavior of believers reflects the light and the Love of God and is attractive to the lost world. Jesus said (John 13:35) “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

There is coming a day when we will fully experience the light of God and bask in His presence: Revelation 21:23 says,“The city has no need for the sun or moon…the Lamb is its light.” But in the meantime, let’s learn to live as the children of light, and shine as beacons into the darkness of the world around us. Raging against the darkness will do no good. Only light conquers darkness. The smallest candle dispels darkness within its sphere of influence. Your light can either draw people to Christ or be obscured by your lifestyle, your actions and your words.

Please choose to be the light that God has chosen you to be, now, reflecting His light, not casting shadows of sin. Each of us has to consider what shadows we may be casting into the lives of those around us. Then we must confess those sins, and daily seek to “walk in the light as He is in the light.”

Lord Jesus, we know that, on our own, we cannot live in such a way as to please you, and to act as your ambassadors. Please overrule the sin ion our lives and fill us with the light of your presence, so as to make us a testimony of your Grace. Love the World through us and allow us to draw others to You.

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“I Am the Bread of Life:”

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“I Am the Bread of Life”

© 2021 C. O. Bishop

John 6:14-64, especially verses 35, 48, 51, 63

Introduction

Last week we discussed how Jesus was introduced as being the source of life, in John 1:4 “In Him was Life, and the Life was the light of men.”  We explored that idea in the context of our communion service, where we shared unleavened bread, as a testimony of His death for us.

But, skipping ahead to John chapter six, we can read the story of the “Feeding of the Five Thousand,” where Jesus supernaturally supplied physical food (in the form of bread and fish) to 5,000 men and their families. In verses 14 and 15, we see that they were pretty enthusiastic about that miraculous feeding: they said amongst themselves that Jesus was obviously the promised “prophet,” and they evidently were going to try to grab him and proclaim him to be their king. Jesus knew their intentions, so He went away and hid himself on a hill until His disciples had left by boat for Capernaum (16-21), and then, by night, He caught up with them by walking on the water (which is another story, in itself.) But (22-26) those same people found boats and sought Him out the next day, on the other side of the lake. He knew why they had come, and chided them, saying, effectively, “You only came to get more bread…”

But He went on to say (27) their priorities were wrong, and that they needed to focus on food that would last for eternity, not just the food that would only give temporary satisfaction. He said that they could only get that food from the “Son of man…for Him hath the Father sealed.”

The people asked Jesus, then, “What shall we do that we might work the works of God?” (It is interesting to me how little we have changed: we still tend to think in terms of “What do I have to do to ‘get in good’ with God?”) Jesus answered, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.”

Their response (30) seems incredible, to me: they said, “Why should we believe you?” They actually challenged Him, saying, “What sign do you bring that we should believe you? What work can you do to prove your credentials?” This is the very same group, who, the day before, had been so convinced that Jesus was the promised prophet, and who had intended to take him by force and make him king!

But now they argued, and said, “Our Fathers ate manna in the desert, for it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

I am the Bread of Life

Jesus reminded them that the manna—the “bread” they were referring to—had not been given to them by Moses as they apparently thought, but by God Himself. He went on to say, “The Bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life unto the World.” They liked the idea, (though it is clear they did not understand it) and asked that He always give them that bread: so, He finally introduced Himself as “the bread of life,” in John 6:35-40, and throughout the following passage.

This passage has frequently been used to teach the Lord’s Supper. But, except for the picture involved in the Lord’s Table, this passage has little to do with the Communion table. Remember how John the Baptist introduced Jesus, back in John 1:29: He said “behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the World!”  What Lamb was John alluding to? The sacrificial Lamb, probably specifically the Passover Lamb, as, later (1st Corinthians 5:7) Jesus is called “Christ our Passover.” What did the people do with the Passover Lamb? They ate him! They struck his blood onto the lintel and the two doorposts (trace the necessary motion and see what you get: I love that picture!) and roasted the lamb, and everyone in the household ate of that lamb! They Partook of his death, they Profited by his death, and by doing so, they Proclaimed that He died for them, personally. They Partook, they Profited, and they Proclaimed!

Jesus already told the people how to “work the works of God,” back in verse 29: He said, “This is the Work of God, that ye believe on Him whom God has sent!” Why would he suddenly change it to the physical partaking of Communion? And yet, there are huge branches of what is called “Christendom” who teach exactly that!

Partaking of the Lamb

We have been called to “Partake of the Lamb,” just as the Jews, the night of the original Passover, were called to partake of the lamb: when they dipped the Hyssop into the blood and struck it onto the lintel and the two doorposts of their home, they were unknowingly looking forward to the Crucifixion. We knowingly look back to the Cross when we take Communion.

But the point of their eating of that Passover Lamb, was that they confessed that He died for their sins. I have occasionally met people who “hated hunters for killing animals,” though they themselves also ate meat. They somehow felt that paying someone else to kill their meat for them and prepare it for the kitchen absolved them from the “guilt” of actually killing the animal. I don’t like killing animals, but I do eat meat, and I have many, many times killed the animals myself, and butchered them in preparation for cooking. I don’t enjoy that, either, but I see it as a necessary part of the process, and I understand that, regardless of where I get animal protein, an animal had to die for me to get that food. The animal died at my hand, whether personally, or many times removed. (KFC chicken was raised, butchered, frozen, processed, seasoned and cooked; all by people I have never met. But I still took part in the death of that bird, by eating it.)

Was it the physical eating of that sacrifice that saved them, that night in Egypt? No, the Blood went on the lintel and two doorposts by faith. God saw the Blood and passed over that house: no one died there. We are called upon to place our trust in the shed Blood of Jesus. Romans 3:25 says that Jesus is set forth as a propitiation (A sacrifice that satisfies the righteousness of God) “…through faith in His Blood.”

When I ask someone, “Do you believe that Jesus died for your sin?” they may reply, “I believe He died for the sins of the whole world!” (That is a reasonable reply, but it does not answer the question.) So, I ask again: “Yes, but did Jesus’s Blood pay for your sin, personally?”

Some of them continue to “hedge” and say, “He died for the sins of the whole world!” At that point I begin to believe that they have never “Partaken of the Lamb!” They apparently don’t see Jesus as their own Savior, but only in the generic sense: “The Savior of the World.” (He is “good in theory,” but not to be taken personally.)

We Partake of the Lamb the moment that we personally place our trust in Jesus’s blood at the Cross, as full payment for our own sins. Our partaking in Communion is just a reminder and a personal testimony of that fact. “We do show the Lord’s death until He comes!” We testify of His death, His burial, His resurrection and His second coming, when we share in the Lord’s table. Also, we are reminding ourselves of our unity in Christ: there is only one source of that living bread. We are all born again into the same “Body of Christ.”

Profiting by the Lamb: A Continuing Feast

We are called to a continual feast, though, not just a one-time meal of a long-ago sacrifice, nor even a once-per-month “nibble” of a single morsel of bread, and a teaspoonful of juice. How do we “feast upon the Living Bread?” There is a chorus, “I’ve been feasting on the Living Bread; I’ve been drinking at the Fountainhead, and ‘Whoso drinketh,’ Jesus said, ‘…shall never, never thirst again!’” Now, that sounds good! So, how do we do it? How do we “feast on the Living Bread?” Where do we drink deep of the fountain of living water promised in John 7:37-39?

There are some “clues” as to the answer to those questions, scattered through the Bible.

Isaiah 55:1-7 “1Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.

If we read only the first two verses, here, we can at least see that we are to come to God for both the food and the drink He offers. But read on, and there is something interesting.  Verses six and seven tell how to feed on that feast.

“6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”

Notice that God requires repentance from our old, self-centered thoughts and actions, before the blessing of God can flow. And…there is a time-limit! “Seek ye the LORD while He may be found!” We only get one shot at life! Use your remaining time wisely… profiting by the Lamb!

As a believer in Jesus, you have already received the fountain of the Living Water: you have already begun to feed on the Bread of Life. But we are called to continually turn to Him, and confess our sins, and walk with Him in the light. (1st John 1:7)

1st Peter 2:2 reminds us that, “as newborn babes” we should “desire the sincere milk of the Word” that we may grow thereby!

2nd Peter 1:4 says we are to believe the “exceeding great and precious Promises” of God, so that we may become partakers of the Divine nature.

Jesus said, more than once, that those who thirsted should come to Him and receive the Living Water: and in John 7:37-39, John clearly spells out that the Holy Spirit is that “spring of Living Water” that Jesus was offering. In the Church Age, every single believer has received the Holy Spirit. Every single believer is sealed in Christ by the Holy Spirit, and every single believer is called upon to not grieve the Holy Spirit, not quench the Holy Spirit, but to walk in the Spirit.

So, the Written Word of God is where we are to find our food, and that we are to drink of the Holy Spirit, as we read, as we study, as we pray for understanding, and as we seek to obey Jesus, the Living Word. We also find refreshment by the flow of the Holy Spirit between the saints, in fellowship with other believers, as we rejoice together in the Person of Christ.

Proclaiming His Death until He Comes

There are people, still today, who attempt to turn this into a pattern of works: a “sacrament” to be physically followed, in taking communion. This is folly, as Jesus was definitely not “teaching cannibalism,” but laying out a commemoration for us to follow. He was still living in His body, so that bread was not, nor did it somehow become human flesh. His blood was still flowing in His veins, so the cup was not literally His blood: He said, “this cup is the New Testament in My Blood.” So, the real “New Testament” could not begin until that Blood was shed at the Cross. In 1st Corinthians 11:26 we clearly see that we are to “show,” or demonstrate…testify of… the Lord’s death until He comes. It is a commemoration…a memorial…and a proclamation.

The original Passover on the night before the Israelites left Egypt, was literal: had they not done exactly what they were told, then the judgment of God would have fallen on them just as surely as it did upon the Egyptians. But every Passover feast since then has been a commemoration of the original. There was no continuing threat that “their firstborn would be dead in the morning” if they failed to obey. It was still required of the Israelites, year by year, but it was strictly commemorative. Faith and obedience have been required, in all ages, for all believers.

In John 6:63, Jesus said that “It is the Spirit that gives life: the Flesh profiteth nothing.” This is a matter of the Spirit, not the physical flesh. It is intriguing to read in 1st Corinthians 5:8 that we are to “keep the feast…with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Physical bread cannot have “sincerity and truth” baked into it. But as we study God’s Word and teach God’s Word and attempt to apply His Word to our lives, we can either do so in sincerity and truth, or for any one of a host of other motives. There are those who deliberately twist God’s Word, to their own advantage…sometimes even among evangelical believers, as they attempt to “prove themselves right” about some obscure point of doctrine. There are also those who “peddle” God’s Word as a commercial product (2nd Corinthians 2:17 NIV, NASB) King James Version simply calls this “corrupting” the Word of God. When we attempt to “peddle God’s Word for profit,” as the NIV renders the passage, I suspect that we are very likely “corrupting” it in the process. The Word of God is supposed to be a free source of food and drink for all who come to it in faith. When we turn it into a “business,” we have already contaminated it by our wrong motives.

The Bread of Life is Free to the Hungry Soul

The invitation of God in Isaiah 55:1, was to “come and eat, without money and without price!” The final invitation in the Bible, in Revelation 22:17 is: “Whosoever will, let him come…and take of the Water of Life freely!” This is not supposed to become a “commercial product” of Man: it is a free gift of God to all who thirst. It is not religion: it is a relationship with Jesus!

Incidentally, Jeremiah 2:13 tells us how God feels about our attempts to be self-sufficient in our self-made wisdom and philosophies: “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”

God considers it to be a horrible, unbelievably bad error, when we believers trade God’s Word for any other source of wisdom or nourishment. It is bad enough that we are trading that which is alive, fresh, and flowing for what is stagnant and contaminated: but the “cisterns” we choose can’t even hold water, so the “wisdom and nourishment” we thought we gained in the exchange turn out to be nothing but dust and ashes. We need the fresh flow of God’s Word and His Spirit!

Jesus, the Living Word, is our only source of wisdom and nourishment: we need to fix our hopes on Him alone for all things. And Jesus is the Living Bread that we are to offer to those around us, in personal evangelism! We cannot feed those who are not hungry, but we are commanded to offer Jesus to the whole world (not offering “our church”—offering Jesus!)

Evangelism is nothing more complicated than one beggar telling another beggar where to find free food. We enthusiastically tell our friends where we got our new shoes, or about a book we have read, or a song we like. Why not be that enthusiastic about Jesus, the living Bread, when the World around us is literally starving to death without Him? You know how to Partake of the Living Bread: you have already done so! You know how to Profit by that feast and you are learning to do so more consistently. We need to learn how to consistently Proclaim His death and burial and resurrection, and to offer the resulting feast to all who will listen. It is too easy to simply “keep the food to ourselves,” and not share it.

Lord Jesus, open our hearts to the World, and let us share the Living Bread and the Living water in compassion for the Lost souls who are all around us. Make us reflections of your light in this dark World, and a source of Life by your Word and by your Spirit. Give us Grace to Live for You!

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Christ the Life

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Christ the Life

© C. O. Bishop 2011 Revised 2021

John 1:4;

Introduction:

We have begun a series in the Gospel of John, with the intent of refocusing our eyes upon the Person of Christ—to see Jesus for who He truly is. This is not an attempt to reshape our mental image of what Jesus “looked like” in his physical humanity when He walked on Planet Earth. Beyond the simple fact that He was born a Hebrew in the Middle East, there was nothing unusual about His appearance. Isaiah says there was nothing physically special about Him to attract us to Him. Beyond that, it simply doesn’t matter what He looked like back then: He doesn’t look that way today! We are given several instances of his appearing in His glorified form, and they are all in agreement that He no longer looks like a mere man of Galilee. So that is not our focus.

What we need to concentrate on today, is who and what He is…not what He looks like. And, to do that, we need to go back to the beginning.

In the Beginning

  • John 1:4 “In Him was life…” (key verse)
  • Genesis chapters 1-3—all living things, plant, animal, and human, as well as all spirit beings, derive their Life from God.
  • Genesis 2:17 Christ the Creator is also Christ the Judge (compare John 5:22), who can give or take life.

We spoke last week of Christ, the Creator…God, in the flesh. He created all things, walked in the cool of the day in the Garden, with Adam and Eve, and established Himself as the only Judge of all things.

  • Genesis 3:7-21 Beginning of the plan of Salvation

In the first three chapters of Genesis, we saw that he is the only source of life, whether plant, animal, human, or spiritual (including angelic life). He created the now-fallen angel (Satan,) the living being who tempted Adam and Eve. He created the forbidden living fruit they ate, and the living fig leaves with which they sought to cover their sin. He created the serpent, the living creature which Satan used as the implement of the temptation. He created the living animal (whether lamb or otherwise) who died as a substitute for the sinning humans, and with whose skin He clothed Adam and Eve.

Jesus, the Creator, God in the Flesh, has been the source of all life, for all of time and eternity.

In Prophecy

  • Ezekiel 37:1-14 (Valley of dry bones)

Ezekiel was shown a valley, filled with very dead human bones. This was a vision, not physical reality, but, like every other vision from God, it had a specific purpose and message: (God does not hand out visions for entertainment purposes.) The bones were completely dry, baked in the middle-eastern sun. They were dead beyond simple death…very dry, the scripture says: Dry beyond any thought of life in any form, and evidently scattered, separated, and scrambled, as well. In a word, they were hopeless in death.

God asked Ezekiel whether it was possible that these bones should live. Ezekiel wisely replied that God alone would know. “Thou knowest, Lord!” Only the Living God knows how to bring life to the dead. God ordered Ezekiel to prophesy to the dead bones and call them to be joined again into discrete skeletons, then to be covered with healthy flesh, sinews, organs and skin. The noise must have been unsettling, as the bones shifted, rattled, and found their mates, and became a valley of still non-living bodies, rather than a valley of dry bones.

Then God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy to the wind, and call it to bring breath into the bodies, and they came to life and stood upon their feet, a vast army. God went on to say that this vision represented the entire nation of Israel. He said that they were dead, separated from Him, and cut off from the only source of life. (In the Bible, death is always some sort of “separation:” physical death separates the spirit and soul of a person from their physical body. Spiritual death means the person is separated from fellowship with God, the source of all life.) But God said that he would put HIS Spirit in them, and they would live…not just an individual human spirit for each of them.

So, when has this happened? Has ALL Israel ever become spiritually alive; filled with the Spirit of the Living God? No! But the day is coming when they will do so! That fits our experience as well: each of us was spiritually dead, separated from God, without Christ and without hope. But God has resurrected us with Christ, placed us in Christ, and seated us in the Heavenlies with Him.

In the New Testament

  • Ephesians 2:1-6 “And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins…”
  • Ephesians 2:11-13 “You were without God…without Hope…but now, in Christ Jesus…”

Each of us has been just as hopeless and dried up as those bones in the valley of the vision, and each of us has been resurrected with Christ, indwelt by his Spirit, and made alive, forever. Jesus himself said that God is the only source of life, and He Himself is the only route to the source.

  • John 17:3 “And this is eternal life, that they may know thee, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” Notice that the “one true God” stands alone in every way: He is separate from His creation, in His Holiness, and Unique beyond comparison. There are no other Living Gods. Only the false “gods,” created by Man.
  • John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” Jesus made no provision for other ways by which the seeker can find God…he flatly stated that it is impossible to approach the Father except through the Son.

Throughout the earthly ministry of Christ, the way of salvation was stated repeatedly. We often quote John 3:16 “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Faith has always been the avenue of approach to God:

  • Genesis 15:6 states that Abram “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”
  • John 20:31 says“But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that, believing, ye might have Life through His name.”
  • 1st John 5:12 “He that hath the Son hath life…”
    • The way is clear, the means is faith, and there is no other way. Anyone who hears this message should understand that life is filled with decisions wherein there is only one choice to be made, and the results are permanent. This isn’t even unusual: there are numerous destinations on earth which have only one practical route by which to approach.
  • 1st Corinthians 15:22 “All in Adam died…all in Christ shall be made alive.” Adam made a choice that plunged the entire human race into spiritual ruin. All died in him. Jesus made a choice that opened the way for a return to life. He went to the cross deliberately, with that single goal in mind. The result? All in Christ have eternal life. All in Adam are spiritually dead. All in Christ are spiritually alive.

Every generation has had its doubts. In John chapter six, Jesus had preached that he himself was the Bread of Life. Many were offended by that message (because of the implications of deity, I suppose) and left him. He questioned his twelve disciples as to whether they too would leave, and they confessed that they had nowhere else to go.

  • John 6:66-69 “To whom would we go? Thou hast the words of Eternal Life…”

It is good that they saw him so clearly as that. He himself stated that he was the source of life.

  • John 10:27, 28 “I give unto them Eternal life, and they shall never perish.” That pretty well covers the future of any believer.
  • John 5:24 “…He that heareth my Word and believeth on Him who sent me has eternal life, and shall not come into condemnation, but has crossed over from death into life” That covers our past, present and future.

In Us

Now, what about us today? Can we really know for certain that we have eternal life, today? Yes! 1st John 5:11-13 states that God wants us to know, and that the life is found only in the person of Christ. Notice, again, that there is no other source. Jesus is the life. So, as you have received the risen Christ as your Savior, you can join in the confident assertion that “we have died with Him, and our new life is secure in Him:”

  • Colossians 3:3 “You have died, and your life is hid in Christ…” (Past and present tense.)
  • Colossians 3:4 “When Christ, who is your life, appears…then shall ye appear in Glory, with him” (future tense.)
  • Galatians 2:19, 20 “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (That is our reason for living!)

In Practice

So, what do we do about all this?

  • 2nd Corinthians 5:14, 15  “for the love of Christ constraineth us because we thus judge; that if one died for all, then were all dead, and that he died for all that they which live might not henceforth live unto themselves but unto Him who died and rose again.”

But, if we are to “live for him,” what are we supposed to be doing? 2nd Corinthians 5:16-21 says what our job is. We are ambassadors for Christ. You left a job as a “messenger” for and a “tool” of Satan, (whether you knew it or not) and began a job as full-fledged ambassador of the living God, consciously living for Him and representing Him. How’s that for a career move?! You not only have been given Eternal life, but have been given the privilege of handing out the good news of Eternal life in Christ to the whole world.

One thing that immediately becomes clear, once we have received this new Life from the Lord Jesus, is that we are to use it to His honor in all ways. He prayed for unity for the believers…that the World would know of the truth of the Gospel by two things:

  1. The Love (Agapé Love) they have for one another (John 13:35), and
  2. The Unity they share in Him. (John 17:21)

Communion Service:

We will celebrate and commemorate that unity in Christ, in the Lord’s Table, today. There was only one loaf and one cup in the original Eucharist. We have separate wafers and cups, but One Lord, and One faith. We are to partake in this ordinance in fellowship with The Lord and with each other.  We are warned to take the Lord’s table seriously, not flippantly, or casually, and to not partake in an unworthy manner. But we are not told to not partake. We are simply told to partake in proper reverence and peace with one another.

1st Corinthians 11:23-30 is the passage we usually read, when approaching the Lord’s Table. But it is important to consider the context, from verse 17 and following: This was corrective teaching, specifically intended to correct a pervasive sin in the church at Corinth. They had been conducting the Lord’s Supper in conjunction with their community meals, and not even sharing their food at the community meals. Fellowship between believers was being routinely destroyed, and the Lord’s Table was being dishonored. We are approaching the Lord’s table in reverence, and in fellowship with one another, and we are called to share together in this way as a testimony of the Lord’s death, His burial, His resurrection and His soon return. Let us take this bread and this cup, in recognition that Jesus is our only source of Life.

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