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The Living Water Throughout Time

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Living Water, Throughout Time

© 2022 C. O. Bishop

John 7:37-39 (compare Jeremiah 2:12, 13; Ezekiel 47:1-12; Psalm 46:4; John 4:14)

Introduction

We have talked about this subject, before: probably five years ago, but we need to address it again. There is a rather “obscure” concept brought up several times in the Old Testament, without much explanation. It is sometimes used in such a context that it seems it could have no particular spiritual interpretation.

In its most common usage, the literal meaning of the Old Testament phrase “living water,” is just “flowing water.” (In other words, a stream; not a stagnant pool, a bucket of water, or, as stated in Jeremiah 2:13, a cistern.) Often the people were told to wash something in living water, or to do some ritual “over living water.” In those cases, it seems the context would make “flowing water” the correct understanding. But how about in Jeremiah 2:12, 13?

12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. 13 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 says it was a “two-part” sin that Israel was committing. They turned away from God, who was the source of “living water.” And, they made for themselves cisterns…and (ironically,) the cisterns were cracked, and couldn’t even hold water! What is the comparison he is making?

“Living Water” or Cracked Cisterns?

The water in a cistern might have begun as clean rainwater, but it was caught on a roof, perhaps, and we funneled into that tank we call a cistern. Whatever debris was on the roof will hopefully be washed off before we begin channeling the water into the cistern, but traces will still be there. And, with time, whatever impurities were included will build up. If any of them were biological impurities, (bird-droppings, insects,bacteria, etc.,) they will multiply. That tank of water will be pretty unwholesome, and probably pretty unappealing.

So, when Jeremiah makes that comparison, he may only be saying that the LORD is a source of constantly replaced and completely healthful flowing water. In contrast, whatever is in the cistern is questionable at best. And, of course, even in that context, it is clear that He is not talking about ordinary “water,” but something of spiritual significance. Because of what we see in the rest of the Bible, it also seems that there must be a much deeper, much more significant meaning to the phrase “living water.” But whatever God is offering, it is far to be preferred over whatever they have stored up for themselves in their cracked cisterns.

The Power and Limitations of Living Water

In Ezekiel 47:1-12, (read it!) we see the vision Ezekiel was given regarding the temple in the Millennial kingdom. Water is flowing from under the altar, and one stream heads off to the east, toward the Dead Sea. On the way there, it cleanses everything it touches, and it produces Life everywhere it goes. The places that are not touched by this water remain lifeless and sterile, and remain a source of salt, but will not support life. But the Living Water flows all the way to the Dead Sea, and the Dead Sea is no longer Dead!  

What was once literally dead, with virtually nothing surviving there, is to be healed by these living waters, and not only will it be made “livable,” but it will swarm with life! It will be commercially fishable! So, a “picture” is beginning to appear, regarding the power and the limitations of “living water.”

Every piece of ground it touched was cleansed and began to produce life. Plants and trees grew all along the banks of this water. Fish could live where that water flowed. The water was clean and healthy to drink. But anywhere the water was not allowed to touch, that land remained unfruitful and dead.

So, what else do we know about that River coming out of Jerusalem?

The River From the Altar

Psalm 46:4 “There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.”

There is no question that this passage refers to the Temple. Probably the first thing to observe, then, is that, currently, there is no River flowing out of the Temple Mount. But, as we will see elsewhere, there will be such a river!

There is, however, a brook, off to the east, called the “Brook Kidron.” The name “Kidron” means “Turbid: thick with roiled sediment.” (Even the particular word translated “brook” means a choked creek in a narrow ravine…not a “pretty little stream, running across a lovely, sunny meadow.”) So, we have a tight little ravine, with a muddy creek running in the bottom of it, whose waters are “turbid: thick with roiled sediment.”

There is also a tributary to the Kidron, draining the valley of Hinnom, to the south of the city…which used to be the city garbage dump. It was the place they threw the carcasses of criminals and of unclean animals. That place was so foul that it became the “mental image of Hell,” to the Hebrew imagination. The place was called Gehenna, because everything about it was a picture of the eternal lostness of the unrighteous dead.

The Current Path of the Brook Kidron

So, the Brook Kidron flowed from somewhere between the Mount of Olives and Jerusalem, through a nasty, narrow ravine, down to the southeast corner of the old city, and it was joined there by whatever water drained Gehenna. Then it turned left and flowed pretty much straight to the Dead Sea, across salt-flats, marshes, and desert, but never producing much in the way of life. And, of course, once it reached the Dead Sea, there was no further life at all. The Dead sea has no outlets. Once the waters reached the Dead Sea, there was no way out of that “end-result.” I hope you are starting to see some “pictures,” here.

Throughout the Old Testament, we see that when the priests cleansed the temple, they threw the filth into the “brook Kidron.” When they broke down the idols, they threw the pieces into the brook Kidron. The Kidron seems to be a kind of  “Condemnation Creek;” it is joined by the drainage of their idea of hell: Gehenna, and then it winds its way across the desert, down to Eternal Death. In short, it is beginning to look a great deal like the condition of the Lost Human soul!

How does any of this apply to the question of Living Water?

Jesus offered the “Spring of Living Water”

In John 4:14, Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the City well, outside Sychar. He offered her a Spring; a source of Living Water, which He said, if she drank from it, would “well up unto eternal life.”

Initially, she was thoroughly confused by His offer. She wanted that water, but had no idea how to get it. But eventually, she believed in Him and found that she had drunk from that well. Does it say that, specifically? No; it says that she wanted to “drink from that well,” but she did not know what He meant. Afterward, it says that she and many others “believed on Jesus:” they placed their dependance on Him as their Messiah. And, here in John chapter seven, we are going to see what He meant.

“Come unto me and Drink”

In John 7:37-39, Jesus made a very public offer to “anyone who thirsts,” to come and drink.

“37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, {Pentecost! What a great connection!] Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Jesus said, “as the scripture hath said…” He may have been referring to Isaiah 58:11, where God promised that the people would be “like a well-watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.” Or He could have meant the passage in Proverbs 10:11, saying that the “mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.”

But He pulled together all the Old references to Living Water, in this verse, and was kind enough to let us know exactly what He meant, so that we are not coming up with “Human-tainted explanations” of all kinds. It says that he spoke regarding the Holy Spirit, “…which they that believe on Him should receive.”

How does this apply to the Old Testament Prophecies?

Two weeks ago, during Bible Study, we saw that the “best commentary on the Word of God is the Word of God.” In this case, in spite of the “etymological fact” that (in the Old Testament) the phrase“Living water” possibly “just means ‘flowing water’,” we can see that “flowing water” cannot possibly be what Jesus meant, here in John 7, nor in John 4, because He said it would result in a flowing spring from within the person, providing eternal life. (Plain old “flowing water” can’t do that!)

Possibly even the water in Ezekiel 47 has some special properties, though it does not specifically say so. Flowing from under the altar would seem to hint that it might, at least. And the fact that “everything lives, when touched by that water” seems to hint that way, too. That River will be flowing out of Jerusalem, during the Millennial Kingdom, fulfilling Psalm 46:4.

We also see, here in John 7:39, that Jesus was specifically referring to the indwelling Holy Spirit. That relationship between the Believer and the Holy Spirit did not begin as a “normal” state of affairs until the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. With that explanatory note, let’s go back and look at the other passages again:

Looking Back

In Jeremiah 2:13, if God is the only source of spiritual life, namely, via the Holy Spirit having an effect, even on the lives of Old Testament Believers, then “storing up spirituality” was an exercise in futility. There is no “vessel”, certainly not a cracked cistern, which can hold a store of the Holy Spirit, nor even the effect that He has on a life. It has to be renewed daily! Turning away from the true source of life to find some sort of man-made self-sufficiency, is a pretty terrible idea. But people still do it today!

If the stream in Ezekiel 47, coming out of Jerusalem, is a “picture” of the “Living water” of the Indwelling Holy Spirit, then both Psalm 46:4 and Ezekiel 47:1-12 make a different kind of sense than we first understood (just knowing that there will be a physical river flowing out of Jerusalem.) What if those passages, too, are in some way linked to the living water of John 7:36-39? What if they, too are at least a “picture” of something far beyond just “Physical water?”

Back to the Riverbank

We saw in Ezekiel 47, that the water went from ankle deep, just 500 yards outside Jerusalem, to swimming depth in less than a half mile. And then we see that Ezekiel was taken back to the riverbank on dry ground, to consider what he had seen.

A Living Timeline

I would like to take the liberty of seeing a “picture,” here: when we first became believers, although we already were indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we were also very immature: we were only “ankle-deep” in the Stream of Life being offered to us.

Time passed: and, as we grew, and learned to walk with the Lord, the stream reached our knees, possibly pointing to our prayer-life, or our heartfelt worship of the Living God.

More time passed, and it says the water reached the loins. (Some translations render this as “hips, or waist…and the Hebrew word is mothnayim, which probably does just mean “hips or waist.”) But I like to think of it as how we begin to reproduce as believers: That we are created to bear permanent fruit, in leading others to Christ. (Remember, there is only a “picture,” here: perhaps I am not seeing things clearly.)

Sometime later… “Afterward”

But the next thing we know, at so,me point in our growth, the water is over our depth: we can no longer “wade” in this water: we have to swim. And usually, when a person is swimming, only their head is visible. They are fully suspended in the water they swim in.

Now, I fully recognize that I am “taking liberty” with the text. I don’t often do such things, and I don’t want to cause any confusion. But I would like to observe a few more things, tracking the idea that somehow, this River may be a picture of the Holy Spirit’s work in the life of a believer.

Final Observations

The first thing to see is that the angelic messenger took Ezekiel back out of the flow and stood him on the riverbank. It is always possible to become a “castaway;” still saved, still indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but in terms of service, “set on the shelf.” Standing on the riverbank, looking out across the vastness of God’s Work and His love, and wondering why we feel so dry!

The next thing to see is the result of the free flow of that water. We see that it cleaned out the Kidron, because it provided a new source: a new headwater! It washed away the vile flow from Gehenna, and, though it still turned and flowed toward the Dead Sea, it produced life all the way there, only missing the places where it was not allowed to flow, and the end result was that instead of the eternal death of the Dead Sea, the Dead Sea was brought to life, and Eternal life and Eternal value was produced in its place. Death has lost its sting!

What about Us?

This is what is supposed to happen in the believer’s life! We have a new Head (Jesus!)…a new source of life (Jesus!) And that life should overflow through all of our old life-course, transforming it into a fruitful garden for God, producing new life at every turn, offering sustenance and healing to everyone around us. The places in our lives where we “hold back,” not allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us, will simply remain dead and unfruitful. But the end result, regardless of all else, will be the eternal life that Jesus promised. That is where the River is Going!

Jesus gives a River of Living Water. How we choose to use it will depend upon the individual. Some press deeper, feeding on the Word and growing in Love and Faith. Others “dabble around in the shallows,” never really desiring to become more like Jesus: never truly desiring to be transformed by His Grace, His Word, His power. And many of us are in between, vacillating between zeal and apathy. We run at a fitful pace, sometimes sprinting ahead, then being frustrated when it turns out that the Lord was going a different way. Sometimes we lag behind, and then we are prone to attack by spiritual predators.

Results

But Jesus said that River of life, that Spring of Living Water was supposed to change us, springing up unto Eternal life. If that isn’t happening, then we need to examine ourselves to find out why.

If you have received the Lord as your Savior, then His Living Water should be flowing out of you to all those around you. And the Flow of that Living Water in your own life should be cleansing and renewing life in all parts of your life.

What changes us?

God says His Word, by the Holy Spirit, is the one agent guaranteed to change our lives. He also commands that “as newborn babes,” we are to “desire the sincere milk of the word,” that we may grow thereby.”

Many of you have already seen the Word and the Spirit transforming your lives or the lives of those around you. None of us are finished with that process. We are called to press on, get off the Riverbank, and get into deeper water…quit wading, and learn to swim!

Lord Jesus, draw us along in your path, following closer to you, and learning to walk as You walk. Transform our lives into Your likeness, and teach us to thirst for your presence, the only source of the Living Water.

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My Doctrine isn’t Mine, but His who Sent Me

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My Doctrine is not Mine, but His that Sent Me

© 2022 C. O. Bishop

John 7:14-25

Introduction:

Last week, we focused on Jesus’s “negative” statement that “My time is not yet come.” It was the fact that Jesus had a very exacting life to live, with almost no deviations He could make. We compared it to the fact that our lives are not choreographed, and that the length of our lives could vary quite a bit, depending on choices we make. But we also saw that, regardless of the choices we make, our lives are still in God’s hands. Many who have lived pure, righteous lives in the last two centuries, have died young. They were victims of tropical diseases, because they chose to follow God’s leading and take the Gospel to a place it had never gone before. All we can do is to choose to obey God, and to trust Him for the outcome.

But this week we will focus on another “negative” statement: “My Doctrine is not Mine!”

My Doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me

14 Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. 15 And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? 16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.

Jesus was teaching in the Temple, not in the marketplace, or the local Synagogue. The Jews heard Jesus teach, right there in the temple, and they were astonished at His teaching, His Grace and His wisdom, etc. (Remember, This was not the first time that people were astonished at his wisdom: when he was twelve years old, he visited with the elders in the temple, and they were amazed at His precocious grasp of spiritual things. And again, when he was about thirty, (Luke 3:23; 4:16-30) He had taught in the synagogue in Nazareth, and they were amazed at His gracious words…and then tried to kill Him when he pointed out their multiple failings to have recognized the prophets of the past.)

What was the source of the teaching?

The people recognized that Jesus lacked “Formal Education.” They knew who he was, at least some of them, as we see in verse 27. It may have been a fairly superficial knowledge, but they at least knew Him well enough to know that he had very little formal education, and they may have known his background, that he was “Jesus, the carpenter’s son.”

In his home area, everyone knew him, as we see in Mark 6:3, and they were offended when He taught. Some of those from Nazareth were there in Jerusalem, for the same reason that He, Himself was there: It was the feast of Tabernacles, and all the Jews went there.

But they were amazed that He could teach with such power and grace, and Jesus heard their collective question between themselves, and, though it had not been directed to Him, He replied: “My doctrine is not Mine but His that sent Me.” Then He went on to explain to them how they could recognize His message as God’s Word, and how to recognize a prophet sent from God.

How Can We tell the Difference?

 17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. 18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

Jesus said that if any person was willing to do the will of God, them he or she would have the spiritual insight to know whether Jesus was truly transmitting the thoughts of God, or was “just teaching his own thoughts.” He said that the primary clue would be found in the motive of the teacher: He said, “he that speaketh of himself (on his own authority) seeketh his own glory.”

Jesus sought no glory, and never “took up an offering.” He sought neither glory nor gain.

False teachers are all too willing to accept credit for all that they do (and more) and to tell you how “superior” their relationship with God is, boasting of all the wonderful things God has done through them. Frequently, if one is alert at all, there are also some fairly recognizable and clearly ulterior motives: Something that “feeds the flesh.” It could do so in a wide variety of ways.

Personal Glory and Personal Gain

Some are in “the ministry” for personal gain…and they see every church and every believer as a potential “market” for whatever they are attempting to “sell.”  For some, it is less “corrupt,” but they still see the “ministry” as being “just a job:” a way to earn a living. They see it in the same light as any other career: as a job, rather than a calling, to which all else must take second place. So, if another church offers more money or better benefits, it does not hurt their conscience to leave the flock which had been entrusted to their care, and just “grab a better job.” And, if that is what the “ministry “ is really supposed to be about, then no one can fault them.

I once had a young man tell me that he intended to become a “youth pastor.” So, I asked him why; and he freely told me that “They get to go on lots of outings, rafting trips, concerts, and so forth, all paid for by the church!” (The word “pastor” means shepherd: you are supposed to be feeding the flock! Some do it better others, but that is the central command to shepherds!) I felt sad, and sickened by his response, but he was a very young man, and I barely knew him, so I did not push very hard, trying to dissuade him. And I was told years later, by a mutual friend, that he had eventually changed, and now pursued ministry for the sake of ministry: I hope that it is true.

But whatever other ulterior, fleshly, worldly, or even demonic motives false teachers may have, they definitely want “honor” for their efforts. In Matthew 6:5; 23:7-12; Luke 20:46, 47, Jesus addressed such people personally, saying that they were hypocrites: they loved the honor, and the respectful greetings in the marketplace, they loved to be called “Rabbi.”

(This is still a trap today: “Ah, good morning, Pastor Smith! Good to see you, Deacon Jones!”)  But Jesus said they were also preying on the people they were supposed to serve, seeking to buy out the properties of widows, and not caring for the poor, but rather, enriching themselves. This directly echoes the condemnation God extended to the false shepherds of Israel in Ezekiel 34:3, “Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.”

God condemned those false shepherds of that age, and He condemns such behavior today! He sees His Flock—the believers of all history—as being His personal possession: and anyone who mistreats that flock, He sees as a predator, endangering His flock.

This is why Jesus condemned such people as “Wolves in sheep’s clothing.” In Matthew 7:15, He said, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”

Today, in the Church Age, we are warned of “false teachers.” 2nd Peter 2:1, says, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” The Lord sees these teachers as predators who “fleece” His Flock, or who draw them away from Him, away from His truth and His guidance and His care. He does not take this lightly; and neither should we.

What about the Law?

Jesus drew the crowd’s attention back to the prime accusation the Jewish leaders made against Him: They said that He was teaching people to break the Law. They said because he healed on the Sabbath, he was a lawbreaker. But He reminded them that none of them kept the Law. He didn’t go into a lot of detail in this passage, though He did in other places. Here, He only said that none of them kept the Law, but they wanted to kill Him for “breaking the Sabbath.”

19 Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me? 20 The people answered and said, Thou hast a devil: who goeth about to kill thee?

This is where the people (perhaps some of the conspirators) denied that anyone was seeking to kill Him, and they accused Him of being demon possessed. But, looking ahead to verse 25, we see that the crowd absolutely knew that the authorities were seeking to kill Him. (incidentally, the word translated “devil” here (v. 20) is the Greek word “daimonion,” meaning an “evil spirit,” and used almost exclusively in reference to demon-possession.

21 Jesus answered and said unto them, I have done one work, and ye all marvel.

This is in reference to the healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda: John 5:16-18 says that they absolutely had wanted to kill Him after he healed the man on the Sabbath, and then, when He defended His actions, by saying that His Father (God) was working that day, on the Sabbath, they more vehemently sought His death, because He claimed (truthfully) to be the Son of God.

What about the Sabbath?

Knowing that the reason the authorities had originally (a year earlier) sought to kill him was the issue of the Sabbath, Jesus brought up a logical argument to support His having healed on the Sabbath: The Law of Moses required that all male Jewish children be circumcised on the eighth day after birth: no exception was made for the eighth day falling on the Sabbath.

22 Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) (circumcision goes back to Abraham, far predating Moses.) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man. 23 If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day? 24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.

He shows the logical “disconnect” in the response of the Jewish religious authorities. But in so doing, He evidently “joggled the memories” of those who had been there the year before, and they all realized, “Oh, now I remember! This is the one who got in so much trouble last year!”

25 Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill?

It is interesting how human memories can be so selective: Everyone seems to have forgotten what happened the previous year, with the man Jesus healed and the response of the rulers at that time. There were other healings He had done at about that same time, but the one on the Sabbath was the one over which the trouble had begun. The people of Jerusalem definitely knew!

Why were the Authorities silent?

26 But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ?

So, the next logical question in their minds was. “Look, He is teaching openly, in the Temple! So, why aren’t they doing anything? Why aren’t the religious rulers getting right down here and arresting him?”

It was logical that they should ask, “Do they know something we don’t know? Is He really the Messiah? Are they afraid to confront Him??” and we see in the following verses that people were beginning to believe in Him. In the next passage, though, beginning in verse 32, we see that the Jewish rulers actually did send officers to arrest Him, but they went back empty handed, saying “No man ever taught the way this man teaches!”

What was different about Jesus?

Why did the officers go back empty handed? What was so special about Jesus? They had heard hundreds of teachers before, but this one was different. Matthew 7:29 and Mark 1:22 both say that “He taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” Jesus didn’t need to insert disclaimers, saying, “Well, the best authorities and scholars all say…” He was the best authority: It was His Word that He was teaching! And what we have seen, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament, is that God’s Word is what changes lives: God’s Word is powerful and alive and penetrates through to our deepest heart-secrets. No one could hear Jesus and not be affected!

Were they all affected in the same way? NO! Not at all! The same sunlight that softens wax hardens mud! The same daylight that causes night-creatures to take cover, causes creatures of the day, whether birds or butterflies, to wake up and get busy living! God calls us children of the light, and children of the day, and He calls us  to wake up and get busy living!

The Doctrine is not Ours but His that sent us!

We have nothing of our own to offer. Every atom of our bodies and of the whole universe already belong to God. He has chosen us in Christ, to be ambassadors for Him. And the message we bring is not ours to choose: The Gospel is clearly spelled out, and He says it is His only means by which to save souls. Romans 1:16 makes that completely clear.

When we share the Gospel with another person, attempting to do the job we have been given, we do not have the authority to “water down the message, and make it more palatable.”

Paul said, “We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness.” If we shrink from presenting the Gospel unadorned, and unsweetened, then the reality is that we are “ashamed of the Gospel.”

Romans 1:16 says “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

Are you ashamed of that message? Are you uncomfortable with it? Do you admit to yourself that this message is what we are sent to share, and that being an ambassador for Christ is the only job He has given to us?

We need to come to grips with the simple fact that, as Jesus said, “The doctrine is not mine but His who sent me!” I do not have the option to stray off into other messages, whether it is just my personal opinion, or things of political expediency, or social acceptability. I have no such option!

Jesus admitted that, in spite of His supreme authority as God in the Flesh, He still presented the message He was sent to present: not just His own ideas. And, when we do the same, preaching, teaching, and sharing His  message, not some clever thing we thought up on our own, then we can expect that the result will be to God’s Glory, and for His Gain.

We need to take hold of that single concept, accept the fact of our universal calling as ambassadors of Christ, and then step out with the doctrine of Christ, and share it without shame with anyone who will listen. Then we can cheerfully and confidently leave the results up to Him.

Lord Jesus, teach our hearts that the message of the Gospel did not originate with us: It is Your doctrine, Your message, and Your assignment to the Church. Help us to respond in faith and obedience.

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My Hour is not yet come, but yours is always ready!

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My Hour is not yet come, but yours is always ready!

© 2022 C. O. Bishop

John 7:1-9; John 7:25-30; John 8:20

Introduction:

Sometimes we wonder why things happen, and how they fit into God’s “Wonderful plan” for our lives. I used to use the “Four Spiritual Laws” tracts, written by Bill Bright, but I eventually quit using them for several reasons:

Problems with Tracts

For one thing, the central premise, (“God Loves You and Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life) is technically true, but, from most people’s perspective, it is seriously flawed: Yes, God loves you and Yes, He has a wonderful plan for your life, but it may or may not feel or look very wonderful to you. And you may not always be conscious of His loving care in your life.

For example: every single one of His apostles (with the possible exception of John) were eventually executed. How wonderful was that? Millions of His followers, since that time, have been persecuted, had their children taken from them, their belongings confiscated, and have suffered imprisonment or other forms of persecution for their faith in Him. Millions have died horrible deaths, rather than disown Him. How wonderful does that sound? So, that was one problem: I was uncomfortable with the core message.

The real issue though, which caused me to quit using that tract entirely, was that it left out the core issues of the Gospel, and its message centered on “how much better things would be if you knew Jesus,” and it finally concluded, “Pray this prayer and receive Christ.”

What is the Gospel?

That is not what the Gospel says! The Gospel says, “Place your faith in His blood sacrifice for your sins and be saved.” There is no mention of “praying a prayer:” the issue is faith: place your faith in the death and the burial and the ressurection of Jesus Christ!

The result of the Gospel is also described: “It has been given unto you in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” (Philippians 1:29)

You see, that sort of thing doesn’t find its way into very many tracts. It is not attractive-sounding! The fact is, as a newborn believer, you have already “chosen a side” in a spiritual war that, previously, you didn’t even know existed, and now life is getting worse, (maybe) not better, in certain areas. Hopefully, you have grown in your faith at least a little, and are able to enjoy your relationship with the Savior, regardless of circumstances. That, alone, is the key to Christian Joy.

But, if you were thinking that your circumstances were supposed to improve, and that “nothing bad would ever happen to you again;” then, you were in for a very rude shock! Probably, you got through the early disappointments as part of the “learning curve,” but maybe other people have been pestering you with questions, like: “How could a Loving God allow these things to Happen?” Perhaps you have asked that question yourself.

Let’s read what Jesus said about some of these things.

My Time is not yet Come

John 7:1-9

1After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. 2 Now the Jew’s feast of tabernacles was at hand. 3 His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. 4 For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.

5 For neither did his brethren believe in him. 6 Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready. 7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. 8 Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast: for my time is not yet full come. 9 When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee

One of the first things we see in that passage is that the Jews were seeking to kill Jesus. Jesus knew that, and (as we see later) it was common knowledge in at least some circles, though it was denied by the ones who actually conspired against him.

Jesus’s physical half-brothers (they were the offspring of Joseph, by Mary…listed by name in Mark 6:3)  were urging Jesus to go up to Jerusalem and show Himself to the general population at the Feast of Tabernacles.

Worldly Counsel

In a way, this made good sense, from a human perspective: IF Jesus wanted (and He did not) to make himself “known openly” (i.e. “get famous”) then there could be no better time: All the serious Jews in the world would be at that feast. If you wanted to get noticed by the Jews, that was the time and the place to do it!

But fame was not Jesus’s primary motive. He had a job to do, and it involved walking a very narrow path (think “tightrope”) to the Cross…not to fame and fortune. He hinted at this, earlier, in John 4:34, saying that His primary passion was to do His Father’s Will. He confirmed this later at Gethsemane, saying “Not My will but Thine be done.”

The other thing as we already saw, was that Jesus already knew the Jews wanted to kill him. It seems that his brothers were not yet fully aware of this. And, as John points out, in verse 5, they also did not yet believe in Him, themselves. He was just their “eldest brother, “and He was not behaving as they thought an “eldest brother” should behave. (Evidence in scripture suggests that Joseph had died, and that Jesus was now the head of the household.) They thought He should be “leading the charge,” and making their family more successful.

Jesus’ Counsel

His reply to them was that they could head on up, but that He would not be leaving yet. He explained, “My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready. 7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. 8 Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast: for my time is not yet full come.”

This isn’t the only place He made such comments. You may remember, He told Mary nearly the same thing, in John 2:4. “…mine hour is not yet come.” And there were other times, later on, when the comment was made that, “his hour was not yet come.” (John 7:30; 8:20)

What was Jesus telling them?

Let’s break it down a little. He said four things:

  1. My time is not yet come
  2. Your time is always ready
  3. The World cannot hate you
  4. The World does hate me; because I testify of it that its works are evil

Why did He say, His time had not yet Come, but theirs was always ready?

Jesus is perhaps the only person in History whose every step was choreographed. It was impossible for Him to do other than the directive will of God, because He, Himself, was God in the Flesh! Every step he took, and every word He spoke was exactly what He was directed to do by God the Father, because He was God the Son! And the two were in perfect agreement.

When we say we want to do God’s Will, we often simultaneously express the regret that we don’t always know what He wants us to do. All I can do is fall back on the Written Word, to see the general assignment for the church-age believers, and then trust Him to lead me as I seek to follow Him. Jesus didn’t have that problem: He knew His Father’s will!

Jesus Knew The Will of God

So, Jesus knew the Jews wanted to kill him, and that they were watching for him at Jerusalem. The brothers didn’t believe, yet, that He was the Messiah. Possibly they would have been in danger, there, just by being with Him in Jerusalem. Also, He knew it was not yet time for him to be glorified in death, so his entrance was going to be quiet, this time.

But, in contrast to His “choreographed” life, our lives can be shut down at any time. We are not on a tightrope, as He was. God gives us a great deal of latitude, in decision making. He also gives us a whole Bible full of directions as to how to make good decisions and how to gain wisdom so as to correctly apply knowledge. He also warns us that bad decisions can be fatal. James warns us, too, saying that our lives are like a vapor, and they can disappear in an instant, even if we are making the best decisions we can. We have no promise of tomorrow.

But Jesus knew exactly how long He was going to live, and He knew exactly what to do at all times. None of us can say that about ourselves.

Why would He say, “The World Cannot Hate you?”

He told His natural brothers, “The world cannot hate you,” but later, through John (1st John 3:13) He said, “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.”

Is that a contradiction? No, it isn’t! Jesus’s physical, biological half-brothers had not yet believed in Him, so they still “belonged to the World.”

In John 15:18, 19, speaking to the Eleven, Jesus said, “18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

So, as long as we were unbelievers, we were accepted by the World (to one degree or another) as being one of their own: but now that we have placed our trust in Jesus, we no longer belong to the World.  Now, they see us as enemies! We smell like Jesus, now, and they don’t like that!

Jesus’s brothers still fit in just fine, but Jesus’s disciples didn’t fit in at all! (And we don’t!)

Why does the World Hate Jesus?

Back in John 1:4, we saw that Jesus was the only source of light and life to the Human Race. The next verse says, “and the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.”  (in this context, the word translated “comprehend” is better understood as “overpower.” Yes, it is true that the darkness does not “understand the light,” but the connotation is that “the darkness has never been able to extinguish the light.”)

We are given to understand that this light is more than just physical light: photons, light waves, etc. It is the Moral light of God’s Presence. 1st John 1:5 says, “God is Light and in Him is no darkness at all.”

The World Hates Light!

So, in John 3:19, when Jesus said, “This is the Condemnation, that light is come into the World, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil,” we have no trouble understanding that Jesus was not referring to “people whose eyes are hurt by bright lights,” but rather, the pattern of evil in the world, that hates to be exposed.

Jesus is the Light of the World: (He says so in John 8:12!) So, as physical light dispels darkness because it is in its character to do so, Jesus has exposed the evil of the World from the beginning. And the World hates Him for that, alone. They don’t hate him for healing people: they hate Him for exposing them as sinners. They don’t hate Him for doing Good: they hate him for exposing the fact that they are doing evil!

But He was on a time-table—a schedule! Notice what happened when He went up to Jerusalem, later:

John 7:25-30

25Then said some of them of Jerusalem, Is not this he, whom they seek to kill? 26 But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? 27 Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.

28 Then cried Jesus in the temple as he taught, saying, Ye both know me, and ye know whence I am: and I am not come of myself, but he that sent me is true, whom ye know not. 29 But I know him: for I am from him, and he hath sent me. 30 Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.

Six points:

  • The people recognized Jesus as the one whom the authorities were seeking to kill.
  • They marveled that Jesus taught openly, and the authorities did nothing.
  • The people speculated that possibly the authorities knew that He really was the Messiah.
  • They did not know the Word very well: they thought no one would know the Messiah’s origin: But the scriptures are very clear as to “Where He would come from.”
  • Jesus told them, “Yes, you do know me…but you don’t know the One who sent Me!”
  • Then they all tried to take Him, but they failed: “because His hour was not yet come!”

It is an interesting little story, isn’t it? He knew when His “hour” was, and they did not, but they still could not take Him, “because His hour had not yet come.” (It almost looks as though God was in control, doesn’t it?)  And, the same thing happened in the next chapter, when Jesus taught about His own testimony and that of His Father.

John 8:20 says,

20 These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.

It seems we are not in control of what happens around us! All His enemies wanted to arrest Him and wanted Him dead, but they couldn’t do it! In John 7:32-46, we see that officers were sent to arrest him, but they hung back, and listened to him. They eventually went back empty-handed, and the chief priests asked, “Why have ye not brought Him?” But the officers could only reply “Never man spake like this Man!” The authority of God was shining through Jesus in such a way that humans (even the officers His enemies had sent to arrest Him) were awed by Him!

So, “Who is in control, here?”

This passage should begin to teach us of the authority of God over all things, including our own lives, and it should help us to submit to that authority, rather than constantly protesting against it, saying that “it is not what we wanted.” (We argue with God a lot!)

If we can accept that this is the honest Word of God, and if we can see that nothing could be done against God’s Messiah, except as it completely fit His timetable, then it should give us a sense of confidence about our own future.

Our Confidence

As Romans 8:31 says, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” And, in that case, Romans 8:28 also becomes a reality. We love to quote the first half of that verse, saying, “And we know all things work together for good….” But we seldom quote the last half: “…to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”

We can rest easy in God’s Will, if the latter half of that verse is true about us, but without it, the first half is very questionable. Jesus said, “…your time is always ready.” We don’t know how much time we have left to serve the Lord. We can keep wasting time, and thinking we will “catch up tomorrow.” But we are not promised tomorrow. I am directing this at myself as much as anyone else. We need to use our time wisely.

Lord Jesus, draw us along to number our days, and to recognize how short our lives are in light of eternity. Help us not to waste the opportunity You have given us to work beside you in your field, and to serve as Your ambassadors in this life.

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Separating believers from unbelievers

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Separating believers from unbelievers

© 2022 C. O. Bishop

John 6:60-66 (context; verses 52-59); John 5:24; John 10:27, 28

Introduction:

We have come to a “crisis,” in John chapter 6: Jesus had just taught that His flesh and blood were necessary for people to have eternal life. Earlier, we explored why this was such a hard thing for the Jews to accept. But there are different options in how we respond to hard teaching. Knowing that a teaching is either true, or partly true, or false, we have to decide how to respond. We can compare against God’s Word to see if it is true. That is what the Berean believers did in Acts 17:11. But, even after we know it is absolutely true, we have to decide how to respond.

Balking at Hard Teaching

60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? 61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. 65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. 66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

We already read the context for this passage: the verses immediately before: That was a hard passage to understand. But, for two reasons, this is also rather hard to grasp, even for believers today: The first reason is the sadness we feel, as we read that many of Jesus’s disciples abandoned their devotion to Him. They walked no more with Him! Yes, that is sad…and it still happens today! The other thing that makes it a hard passage, is that we tend to equate salvation with discipleship, and the two are not the same.

Salvation and discipleship are not the same

This is a hard concept, but let’s consider Judas: he was a disciple, but was not a believer! Jesus pointed this out in John 13:10, 11, when He said “ye are not all clean.” And after Judas left, in John 15:3, He said to the remaining eleven “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” All twelve had heard the same words…the difference was that Judas had not believed in Jesus as his Savior.

There are others in scripture who were believers, but who were not disciples. Lot was a saved man, but did not walk with God: he did not “follow Jesus” (that is what a disciple is…a follower.) And there were many others. Why might someone fall into that category?

Other Biblical Examples

Are there Biblical examples of real believers “balking at hard teaching?” Are there Biblical examples of real believers who “ran away from God?” Sure, there are!

  • John the Baptist initially refused to baptize Jesus, saying that he himself needed to be baptized by Jesus. But he changed his mind, and he went ahead and obeyed.
  • Peter initially refused to have Jesus wash his feet…but he changed his mind and obeyed.
  • Jonah initially refused to go to Nineveh, but (with some convincing) eventually he changed his mind and went…(still in a bad frame of mind, but he went and he obeyed.)

Do you see a pattern there? These were genuine believers who stumbled over the command of God, but they repented. (That is what “repentance” is…changing your mind: turning around, going back, and doing what you should have done.)

Believers or Unbelievers?

So, as we read John 6:60-66, are we reading about believers or unbelievers? Notice that it says they were disciples. Remember that the word “disciples” only means “followers.” They were following Jesus, but their reasons for following varied wildly. He had just taught that his flesh and blood were necessary for their eternal life. That specific teaching was difficult enough that people still struggle with it, today.  But they had a choice to make:

  • They could accept it (and accept the fact that they couldn’t fully grasp His meaning),
  • They could argue about it, trying to force it to “make sense” to human minds, or
  • They could flatly reject it as unthinkable.

Some argued, and complained that it was a hard saying; difficult to grasp. But Jesus knew their hearts: He knew who believed and who did not. He also knew who would eventually betray him. If we sneak a peek at the verses ahead, we see that Judas was there, as one of the Twelve: He stayed with Jesus when others left! But he still was not a believer. So that is not necessarily the dividing line. So how did Jesus respond to their complaint that this was “a hard saying?”

Jesus had just told them that His flesh and blood (as pictured in the Passover Lamb) were absolutely necessary to their salvation, and that faith in Him was the only entrance into eternal life. They had a hard time with that statement. There are many, still today, who struggle with the concept that Jesus is the only way God offers for Salvation. They argue against it, saying “all the billions of people who do not believe in Him cannot all be wrong: they could not all be lost!”

Is there anything “wrong” with Jesus being the only way of salvation?

This is an emotionally attractive, but completely illogical reply: As far as we know there is only one “cure” for many deadly diseases. What shall we say of all the millions who have died from malaria, the plague, polio, or any other deadly disease? “Well, it just isn’t fair: there must be another way!” No, the hard truth is: they either get the medicine to save their life, or they die.

There is a new treatment available that can cure Hepatitis C: it is effective on a high percentage of people, but it is extremely expensive, so it simply will not be available to all those who suffer from that disease. (Lesser treatments can hold it at bay, but cannot cure it. But this cure is financially out of reach for most people…The Gospel is free, to all!)

Today, there is a single, “collective antivenin” which is effective for about 85 of the 140 different species of venomous creatures in Australia. The government has tried to make it as widely available as possible, so people who are bitten have a chance to get it and save their lives: but if they can’t get to where it is, or, if they refuse to accept it, they will surely die! There is no other way! That is just reality! Romans 5:12 may not sound “fair,” either, but it is a fact: “Sin came into the world through one man, and death by sin, thus death passed upon all, for all have sinned.”

The Blood of Jesus was shed, once for all, as God’s only solution for the lost state of the Human race. The Church has tried, over the years, to make that Salvation available worldwide. There are only two barriers: our reticence to share it with others, and their unwillingness to believe in it. And that’s the teaching they stumbled over, in John 6:31-51.

Jesus Tested the Character of their Faith

Jesus asked, “You think that was hard? What will you think when you see Me physically ascendback into Heaven where I came from?” Why is that a test? They already balked at the “hard teaching” that “faith in His blood is our only hope for salvation.” Now He pointed out why He was their only hope: He is God in the flesh! He was the Deity they claimed to worship.

You see, so long as we see Jesus as “strictly human,” no matter what else we may attribute to Him, we will struggle with His authority, we will question His unique, exalted position, and we will resent the fact that other people are actually worshipping the Person we see as a man. I once had a pastor tell me, “I don’t want people praying to Jesus!” (Why did he say that? Evidently he did not believe Jesus was the true God, in human form.)

Can a true believer deny the deity of Christ?

Is it possible to be a believer and not know that Jesus is God in the flesh? Yes, it is, and there are many who do struggle with that concept, but it requires that one be seriously ignorant of God’s Word, to miss that point.

On the other hand, some do see that truth in Scripture: but they struggle with it, and eventually rebel against it, denying His Deity. In their case, I question the reality of their faith in Him as the Savior, since they reject the fact of His Person; the fact that He is truly God in the Flesh. Is it possible that they are really believers, and just badly deceived? Yes…I believe it is possible. But I would be very concerned about how they arrived at that point.

The Jews, who heard Him, actually should not have had a struggle with that idea: They had the prophecy from Isaiah 9:6 saying that “the Son” who was promised to them, would be called “The everlasting Father!” Give that some thought! I cannot “explain” how the Son should be called the “Everlasting Father!” But there is no argument: It is simply stated as a fact, and it is to be simply accepted! (Or…you can reject it, and walk away. And that is what many of them did.)

The Question of the Deity of Christ

The fact that Jesus truly is God is a core teaching of the Bible. (John 1:1, 3, 14, 18)

  • He was the Creator God who made all things material or immaterial. (John 1:3)
  • He was the Speaking God who walked in the Garden in the cool of the day, and spoke with Adam and Eve. (John 1:18)
  • He was the Promising God who ate Abraham’s food, and talked with him face to face.
  • He was the Judging God who destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. (Genesis 18, 19)
  • He was the Miracle-working God who judged Egypt and rescued the children of Israel.
  • He was the Creator of all things, the Eternal Judge of all things, and the Promised Savior. (John 1:3; 1:14; 5:22; 5:24; 10:27, 28)

Either this is all true, or the Bible is not true. Either this is all true, or Jesus is not the Savior. That is a simple fact. There are no “degrees” of truth here.

Why reject this doctrine?

All of the cults speak highly of Jesus, calling Him a Mighty Spirit Being, a Great Teacher, a Prophet, even a “lesser god,” in some cases, but they can never admit that He is literally the Sovereign, Almighty God!

You see, if they admit that Jesus is truly God, then they also have to admit that they, themselves, are not the servants of God. And they have to face the facts: they, themselves, are under His Judgment. Jesus hinted at that, by stating that they were going to see Him ascend back into heaven. And they decided that was just too much! So, they quit!

How can I know I am saved?

I have known people who apparently were genuine believers, but who abandoned their faith. Their lives reflected that loss. They were sad wrecks of what once had been a glorious reflection of God’s Grace. Are they still saved? How can we know for sure, in our own life?

If there has ever been a time in your life when you placed your hope in Jesus’s blood as your only hope for salvation, trusting in Him alone for forgiveness of sins, and eternal life, then you are saved, and you cannot be lost. (John 5:24 says If you have believed in Him, then you have eternal life, and you shall not come unto condemnation, but have crossed over from death unto life”)

1st John 5:11-13 clearly teaches that God wants you to KNOW that you have eternal life.

What happens if I don’t follow Jesus?

Even if I truly am “one of His sheep,” if I do not walk with the Shepherd, I am in constant danger of attack by my enemies and I cannot avail myself of His protection. I am “enlisted in His army,” but I am refusing to wear the armor He commanded me to put on!

Jesus said, “My Sheep hear my voice, and they follow me, and I know them, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish.”

“Following the Shepherd” is the normal walk for a believer. Failing to follow Him does not negate His promise of eternal life, but it does “void the warranty” on his guidance and protection.

There are consequences!

If I fail to follow Jesus, then the very least I can expect is unfruitfulness. The next thing I can expect is the absence of Joy and Peace. You see, even though I am a believer, if I am no longer walking with Jesus, then I am not benefitting from the relationship “in the here and now.”

That is what happened, here in John 6:60-66. Some of those disciples may have been true believers…but some were not. Jesus knew which were which. We do not. But we can examine our own hearts and see where we stand with God…and decide where we ought to be, and what we need to change, to get there.

Lord Jesus, open our eyes to our own condition as believers and encourage our hearts to change, to repent, to go back and follow you.

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What kind of Bread do we seek?

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What kind of Bread do we seek?

(What do we hope to Gain?)

© 2022 C. O. Bishop

John 6:22-27; John 6:28, 29; Colossians 2:6; 1st Peter 1:23; Ephesians 2:10; Galatians 5:16

Introduction

We have arrived at an important transition in John chapter 6. We already saw how Jesus fed the five thousand men along with their wives and children. We already saw that some of those men were so stirred up that they wanted to take Jesus by force and pronounce Him to be King. But Jesus eluded them and eventually left with His disciples. But the people caught up with him near Capernaum, and asked, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” That’s where we are today: verse 26.

26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. 28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

As we read through this (or any) passage, we do well to consider the context in which the verses are found. In this particular context, obviously, the people to whom Jesus is speaking are the ones whom, on the previous day, He had miraculously fed with the five loaves and two fishes, given by that young boy in the story. So, if all of them had caught up with Him, He again had an audience of over five thousand people. However, Jesus ignored their questions, and only pointed out why they had really come: He revealed their motives. (“You just want more free food!”)

And He reminded them of a passage from Isaiah 55:1-3, where God spoke through Isaiah to tell the people of Judah that their motives were flawed…that they were putting all their efforts toward things that had no eternal value. He told them, effectively, that they were wasting their lives! No one really likes to hear such a rebuke, even if it is given in love and gentleness, but that is what they were hearing from Jesus, in this passage, here in John’s Gospel.

Compare The Isaiah Passage:

Isaiah 55:1-3 

Ho, 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. 3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

Remember two things, here:

  1. The people to whom Jesus spoke were Jews: they all were familiar with the words of Isaiah. This was not an obscure idea to them: they knew the passage to which He alluded.
  2. Jesus is the Author of the writings of Isaiah. He is the “Lord” whom Isaiah saw on the throne, in the vision of Isaiah 6:1, and whose “train filled the temple.”So, for Him to “springboard” from the Isaiah 55 passage to their time, making it directly applicable to the lives of His audience, was entirely within His authority and completely appropriate.

“What shall we do, to Work the Works of God?”

The people evidently understood that Jesus was citing that passage: So, they immediately asked, “What shall we do, to work the works of God?” They apparently assumed that they could earn God’s Favor. This is the World’s error: and the idea is prevalent in all World religions. Each religion has collections of “things a person can do to win God’s approval.” That list varies, slightly, from one religion to another, but there are usually a lot of similarities; at least in regard to how you are required to treat your fellow believer, and how you are to approach God.

Religions are NOT all the same.

From the World’s perspective, most religions are OK to live by…but from God’s perspective, they are Hell to die by! The people with the bumper stickers that call all the worlds religions to just peacefully “Co-exist” are either ignorant of (or are denying) the fact that several of those religions are mutually exclusive, and that at least one of them demands the extermination of all others who do not submit themselves to it. And the adherents of that religion are the ones called to do the extermination! So, they can’t very well just “Co-exist!” And they do not “all lead to God.”

When we examine all the world’s religions, we can see a lot of similarities in the “nice” parts of each religion, and three major groupings as to how they deal with Sin:

  1. Some claim that there is no such thing as sin: that all such ideas of “right and wrong” are strictly of human origin, and that the impersonal “Force” or “Deity,” in which they believe, has no interest in such things…we are to pursue a denial of self and ego, in order to be united with this impersonal force, or deity.
    This teaching is not at all common: it usually “rings false” to people, because we all have an inborn sense that “there is such a thing as right and wrong!” And we at least recognize it when someone has wronged us!
  2. Some religions agree that sin exists, but they claim that God is so high above, and so kindly disposed toward humans, and so loving, that he is not concerned with such things, and certainly intends no judgment of sin. He simply pleads with us to “be nice to each other,” and that we will “all get to heaven by and by.” (Along with this, they usually claim that “all paths lead to the same God,” so all will eventually be reunited with God.)
    This one is more common, but still “rings false:” We also have an inborn sense of justice, calling for retribution. We believe that sin calls for punishment; that “wrongs should be made right,” so it is difficult tor us to believe that God does not share this opinion.
  3. Far more common…(almost universal, in fact,) is the teaching that “Sin is very real, and God hates sin, so you had better do lots and lots of good things to counteract the effect of all the bad things you have done (and continue to do….)” Most religions teach this idea.
    This belief completely fits our views as humans, and is exactly where Jesus’s audience was coming from. They hoped to earn God’s favor through good works of some sort.
    But Jesus alerted them to a fourth perspective—the one belonging to the Living God:
  4. “There is such a thing as Sin, and God hates sin, and there is nothing you can do to counteract your guilt!”

25 years ago, I shared with a young man at work these four views of what to do with sin, and he listened carefully: then he asked, “So, where does ‘Jesus dying on the Cross’ come in?” (I was delighted!) I said, “I’m glad you asked that!” Then I shared with him the Gospel: the message of “Salvation by Grace through Faith in Jesus Christ.” (Grace is unearned Favor.) There truly is nothing you can do to save yourself. God has to do it for you!  (Shortly thereafter, that man moved away to the east coast of the United States, so I have no idea what his ultimate response might have been. But I do know he heard and understood the Gospel: if he wants to know the Savior, he knows how to approach Him!)

And that is where Jesus found His audience: they wanted to know “how to know God.” More specifically, they wanted to know how to earn God’s approval. They asked, “What shall we do to work the works of God?”

Jesus responded with the very clear statement, that faith in the Messiah is what God wants from us: He said, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent.”

Today, those of us who have already received the Lord might say, “Well that is how I was saved, yes! but how do I work the works of God after salvation? What shall I do, now?”

What shall We do?

This is where Jesus’s earlier admonition seems to fit in: He said,  “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.”

Let me assume for the moment that we already have received eternal life through the promise of Jesus (which we read in the previous chapter, in John 5:24.) Is there application, here, to the eternal aspect of the “food” we gain or the “wages” we hope for, in working according to God’s standard today? Yes! Jesus teaches that our labor for God has Eternal rewards: He is an Eternal God, who has given to us Eternal life, and has commanded us to “lay up treasure” for ourselves in Heaven…so there has to be an “Eternal value” to our works.

But, does our “faith” begin and end at the Cross? When I was a brand-new believer, I had an older Christian woman tell me, “Well, you are saved by faith, but you are kept by works!” What a crippling lie to tell a new believer! She was effectively saying, “You have been born into this family, but if you aren’t good enough, your Father will disown you!” That is a lie from the pit!

What does God say about our new birth?

He says, you were born again by faith: John 1:12, 13 promises, “But to as many as received Him, gave He power (Greek, “exousia”…authority) to become (Greek “gennesthe” …to be born) the sons (Greek “teknoi”…the offspring…literally, “born-ones”) of God, even to them that believe on His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” You are born of God! You got that way by believing in His Name! You placed your faith in Him! And as a new believer, you are His legitimate child! He will never “kick you out!” He will never disown you! He is your real Father!

1st Peter 1:23 says, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”

You were born again by the Word of God. This applies to the written and spoken Word of God, whereby you heard the Gospel and believed, (thus fulfilling John 5:24) and to the Living Word, who shed His blood for you and who lives today, in you! And it says, He lives and abides forever! So, if the One who lives in you lives forever, and abides in you forever, I’d say you are pretty secure in His promises!

But: How do we Work for Him?

Colossians 2:6 says, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him.”
How did you receive Christ? By faith! That is what we just read in John 1:12 and 1st Peter 1:23. We are now called to Walk in Him by faith.

Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.” God prepared the works for us already: all we have to do is walk in them: Do what he leads us to do…be obedient to His Word and His Spirit. Walk by faith!

Galatians 5:16 says, “This I say, then, walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh,” We have pointed out in the past that the Christian life is not “difficult:” It is impossible, apart from the Holy Spirit living through us. In John 15:5, Jesus said “Apart from me ye can do nothing!” We don’t like to hear that, because our flesh wants to believe that we can do things on our own to please God. But Jesus says we cannot.

That is exactly where these people were, whom Jesus was admonishing to change their aim in life. To stop the “self-effort treadmill,” wherein, regardless of how hard you try, no matter how well you run, you can never gain any eternal value. He wanted them to take up His yoke and serve with Him. The “yoke” in Matthew 11:29 (where Jesus said, “take my yoke upon you and learn of me”) is a yoke worn by two workers, or by two oxen. Jesus is asking us to “join Him in double harness,” and so to learn from Him. He invites us to labor with Him, and learn from Him, not just work for Him.

Ephesians 1:14; 4:29 each make it clear that we have been sealed in Christ by the Holy Spirit, until the day of redemption: But the scriptures we read today ask that we serve with Him. He has work for us to do: He says so. But we have to voluntarily “show up” to do the job for which He has already chosen us. Romans 12:1, 2 makes it clear that we are to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, as an act of worship. That is always a voluntary sacrifice, even though He has ordained the work for us to do before we were born.

We still have to choose to walk with Him…by faith!

Lord Jesus, we ask that by Your Word and by Your Spirit, you would turn our hearts to follow You in cheerful, faithful obedience. Transform us by the renewing of our minds, by Your Holy Spirit, to be the men and women you have called us to be.

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Are You “Out of Uniform?” What does the “uniform” look like?

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Are You “Out of Uniform?”

© 2022 C. O. Bishop

John 13:34, 35; John 17:21; Matthew 5:15, 16; Galatians 5:22, 23

Introduction

Sometimes, we hear about someone impersonating a police officer, and trying to assert the authority of the badge. Invariably, they are caught, arrested and either fined or imprisoned, depending on what they were doing while impersonating a Law-enforcement officer.

What is worse, is when we hear of someone who actually is a member of the organization whose uniform he is wearing, but abuses his position to commit a crime. Fortunately, it is not a common occurrence, but it does happen. There is a compounded evil, here: the public hears of the crime, and either grieves that the integrity of that organization has been damaged by a criminal in uniform, or, tragically, they jump to the conclusion that the entire organization is corrupt.

During and after Hurricane Katrina, the whole world saw videos, captured by surveillance cameras, of two uniformed officers in New Orleans, looting a store, loading the stolen goods into a marked police car, and driving away. There was no question what happened: it was undeniable. But, is this evidence that everyone in Law Enforcement is inherently corrupt, or is it evidence that, just as in every other human endeavor, criminals canput on the uniform? Obviously, the latter is a more reasonable conclusion. To choose the other option and to use it evenhandedly, we would have to conclude that anyone in any official capacity anywhere is automatically suspect.

Then we must ask ourselves, “Since so many people NOT serving in any official capacity are dishonest, immoral, or violent, mustn’t we then conclude that all who do not serve in any official capacity must also be corrupt? It’s odd: no one in the general public takes that stance, though I have met a few Law Enforcement officers who were so jaded as to feel that way. But both assumptions are wrong, unless we simply agree that all humans are sinners. (And we are!)

What is The Purpose of Uniforms?

What about military uniforms? They are to identify the troops that are on “our side.” It is always illegal to impersonate a member of the armed forces, wearing that uniform falsely. (Incidentally, anyone impersonating a member of the armed forces in times of war is liable to be shot as a spy!) But a true member of those military organizations, who has the right and the duty to wear that uniform is also responsible to wear it correctly. If he is wearing it incorrectly, he is said to be “out of uniform” and he or she is subject to discipline of one sort or another. But it does not change the fact that he or she is part of that organization: it just causes am unpleasant disruption in the relationship between the individual and the organization. They are “in trouble” to one degree or another; but the impersonator, with a perfect uniform, is in far worse trouble: possibly so much as to be imprisoned, or even executed.

Is there such a thing as a Christian “Uniform?”

Yes! The World is given three means by which to recognize a real believer:

  1. John 13:34, 35  the Agapé Love: Jesus said that is the means by which the World is to recognize us as His disciples.
  2. John 17:21 Supernatural Unity: Jesus said this unity, demonstrated in the lives of His disciples, is the means by which the World is to know that He was sent from God.
  3. Galatians 5:22, 23 The Fruit of the Spirit…the Holy Spirit produces this in us.
    1. Matthew 5:15, 16 Good works because of the Holy Spirit in us: Jesus said they are to reflect well upon God the Father, and bring Him Glory. (Where? “Among men”…it is reaching the World, again. This is an integral part of our testimony!)

Do you notice anything odd about these three items? They don’t usually lend themselves to “Impersonation.” You can’t just go “buy a Christian uniform” and put it on, and then go out to be seen as a member of the body of Christ. The outward reality is based upon an inward change, and a continuing inward relationship which transforms the outward life. We recognize each other that way, too. Sometimes it seems that the indwelling Holy Spirit in one believer simply “bears witness” to the indwelling Holy Spirit in another, and instant fellowship is established.

Can it be faked? Do some people put on a façade of “piety,” and pretend to be “good, god-fearing people?” Surely, they do! But usually, it only goes so far before someone sees “wolf-tracks” behind and beneath the “sheep’s clothing,” and unveils their true identity. The problem with that situation is that those observers may assume that “all Christians are phonies.” Humans all tend to make generalizations; some turn out to be accurate, others do not.

Is it possible for a real Christian to be “out of uniform?”

Absolutely, it is possible! Look back over the “Uniform parts,” and consider: which parts can be missing without our being “out of uniform?” The simple answer is, “None!”

If I am not behaving in accordance with Agapé love, or if I am allowing (or causing) disunity between myself and other believers, or if the Fruit of the Spirit is not evident in my life, then I am out of fellowship and “out of uniform.” (Examine your heart in this “self-inspection:” How are you thinking?) If I am blatantly “out of uniform,” then the World has no reason to believe my testimony, and every reason to suspect my motives when I attempt to do the good works that have become a regular part of my life. My heart isn’t in it anymore because I am out of fellowship with Jesus. And (believe it or not) people are remarkably good at spotting that!

Remember: Jesus said that these are the means by which the World is to identify the real believers. We need to be careful about our associations as well as our own testimonies.

People judge us by several things:

  1. What we do,
  2. What we say,
  3. Who our friends are, and,
  4. Who our enemies are.

Hopefully, what we do will match what we say: That is pretty fundamental to integrity. But the people we associate with—who are seen as being those with whom we are really comfortable, will also register in people’s minds. And, if they see that the people who despise us are themselves despicable, well, that is one thing. But if they discern that good, honest wholesome folk want nothing to do with us, then our testimony is shot, and we have become useless as a tool in God’s hand. He cannot use us in that condition.

What happens to Believers who are “out of Uniform?”

So, what happens to a believer who is habitually out of fellowship with God; “out of uniform,” so to speak? We can look at the scripture and clearly see that he or she does not lose his or her position in the body of Christ: salvation and eternal life are gifts, not something we can earn. But they do lose the rewards they could have gained.

Abraham’s nephew, Lot, is a great Old Testament example of someone who was “blessed with every blessing, along with faithful Abraham:” but he lost it all in Sodom and Gomorrah. He was saved, but barely so: He literally lost everything in that judgment.

1st Corinthians 3:11-16 tells us that our spiritual reality is similar. A believer can waste his life in such a way that his rewards are effectively non-existent, “but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.” (Some newer translations read “…as one escaping through the flames.”)

Ephesians 1:3 says that we, too, have already been “blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, in Christ.” Can we “squander that blessing” by wallowing in the World, just as Lot did in Sodom and Gomorrah? You’d better believe we can!

Further, we need to recognize that, just as Samson was drawn away into captivity and physical blindness by his own foolishness and sin, we also can be drawn away by our sin until we are blind to God’s leading, and, ultimately, end up working for our enemy, just as Samson did.

We will not lose our position in Christ, but we will lose the Joy, and Peace, and the sense of purpose that is ours when we walk with Him.

What happens to Unbelievers who are “in Uniform?”

Obviously, it is impossible to misappropriate a “uniform” that is only given by the indwelling Holy Spirit, but there is certainly such a thing as counterfeit “spirituality.” In the Old Testament, we saw it in the false prophets, and even among the people who pretended to be responsive to God’s Word, but only used it for entertainment, as we read in Ezekiel 33:30-33. In the New Testament we saw the Pharisees and the Sadducees who were all very respected in their religious circles, though they hated one another. The Pharisees were the religious conservatives of the day, and the Sadducees were the religious liberals of that time. They were opposed to one another, but they were completely united in their rejection of the Messiah, and their desire to kill Him.

Jesus warned against “wolves in sheep’s clothing” in Matthew 7:15, saying that they would seem to be true believers on the outside, but inwardly they were “ravening wolves.” Paul warned of false teachers, using those same words, saying that “grievous wolves” would arise within the church, specifically from among the leadership, and would lead the church astray. We may find it difficult to recognize such predators, but Jesus sees right through their disguise.

In Matthew 7:22, 23, Jesus warned that those who “claim His name,” and even do “good works” in His Name, but who are not His sheep, face condemnation. John 10:27, 28 says He knows His sheep and He gives eternal life to them. Obviously, He also knows those who are not His people. He does not say to those pretenders, “I once knew you, but you didn’t serve well enough, so I kicked you out:” He says, “I never knew you: Depart from me, you that work iniquity.” And, in Luke 13:27, He reiterated that just being part of the nation of the Jews wasn’t enough. He said that the unbelieving Jews would protest at the judgment, saying “You preached in our streets; we knew you!” And He will respond, “But I don’t know YOU!”

“Vaccinated against the Gospel”

You see, putting on the false robes of Human righteousness and piety will quickly convince you that you don’t need Jesus: that you are “just as good as anybody else,” and that you do not need Forgiveness and Grace. It will inoculate you against the Gospel, rather than leading you to faith. That’s why I don’t usually try to persuade unbelievers to “come to church.” I will instead invite them to “come to Jesus.” I share the Gospel: they don’t need church; they need Jesus.

But, if they really don’t want the Gospel, then they really don’t want Jesus. And if they don’t want Jesus, then the worst thing they could possibly do is to start acting as if they were His followers. They will become convinced of their own righteousness, and stand at the final Judgment without Hope. They were “impersonating a believer,” and Jesus will tell them, “Depart from Me, ye Cursed, into everlasting Fire.” What a sad ending for those who very likely thought they were doing “good things!” And yet, Jesus said it is extremely common.

Wasted Works—Useless coverings

This is the pattern of the World. As unbelievers, we declare ourselves righteous, and we claim to be sufficient unto ourselves. But God says we are poor, and blind, and naked and lost. Whatever we hold up as our “uniform” will be utterly ineffective, just as the Fig-leaf garments produced by Adam and Eve proved useless. Remember: the garments “covered their nakedness,” when only the two of them were involved. But when God entered the picture, the garments did nothing. They fled from the voice of God because they knew that they were naked, in spite of their works. Good works accomplish nothing toward gaining a right standing before God. Faith in Jesus’s finished work is the only path to God.

“DO vs DONE”

The biggest snare to the souls of humans seems to be human religion: specifically, works-based religion. The religions of the world all say, “DO these things and God will accept you!” But the Mosaic Law was given specifically to prove the impossibility of that task! Romans 3:19, 20 states that the purpose of the Law was to make every soul guilty before God. Paul concludes that by works of the Law shall no flesh be justified (declared righteous) in God’s sight.

The Voice of God says the Work was completed at the Cross: “It is finished!”  And we are called to place our faith in His finished work. Someone pointed out that the World says, “DO!”, but Jesus says, “DONE!” The work was truly completed right there at Calvary.

What about the Uniform, then?

What value does it have for us? At the very least, it is a “litmus test” for us: we can inspect ourselves according to God’s Written Word, and ask God, by His Holy Spirit, to search our hearts and reveal our sin to us.

Ultimately, though, we must desire to walk with God. If we are so calloused that we are satisfied to just stay out of fellowship, and wallow in our sin, then we are in far deeper trouble, and the “uniform” is so tattered as to be unrecognizable to anyone but God.

The Prodigal Son

The Prodigal Son is a good example of a believer who wandered away from God, and was deeply embroiled in the World. During his descent into the filth of the World, he was pretty smug: He was living the high life! He had drinking buddies! He got attention from women!

But when the money ran out, so did all his buddies. And then a famine came, and he had nothing upon which to fall back. He ended up getting a job feeding pigs, and the pigs were better fed than he himself was. Here is the point: He was a son when he took his leave from the father. He was a son when he was acting like a winebibber and a lecher. He was a son when he was in the pigpen. And, finally, had he died in that pigpen,he would have been a dead Son, not a dead pig.

But somehow God got through to him, and he realized the mess he had made of his life. He repented (he changed his mind about his values and his lifestyle: that is what “Repent” means) …and he went back to his father’s house. He only hoped to be received as a servant: But he was received as a Son!

Look in the Mirror!

Don’t allow yourself to ruin the blessings God has given you! Take a look in the mirror of God’s Word and check out the Uniform that Jesus gave you. Ask God what needs to change. Then submit to His call and change the things that are wrong. We are encouraged to use God’s Word as a mirror, for precisely this purpose: to examine ourselves before God and look to Him to change us into His likeness.  

Ephesians 4:29-32 tells us some things to look for:

  • How we talk, and the motive of our hearts when we speak.
  • Whether we are willing to grieve the Holy Spirit who, ironically, is the very One who keeps us saved, sealed in Christ!
  • Whether anger, or malice or bitterness, and any evil speaking are part of our lives.

In contrast, Kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness are to be the normal behavior for believers.

Go ahead and take the time to look in the Mirror of God’s Word.

Then, check over your uniform, and see how Jesus leads you.

Lord Jesus, we freely admit that we spend a great deal of time out of fellowship with You. We are so self-centered that we don’t even want to walk with You…we want You to bless our Sin, when our sin is what took You to the Cross. We ask that You create a genuine repentance in our hearts and change us into Your likeness. Enable us to serve You with our lives, and fill us with Your Joy.

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Getting out of the Boat: Can You Walk on Water?

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Getting out of our “Boats”…our comfort zones.

© February 2022 C. O. Bishop .

Matthew 14:22-33; John 6:15-21

Introduction:

Last week we asked whether Jesus is “in the boat with us,” as believers… we were able to see that the answer is “yes,” in terms of eternal perspective, but in terms of everyday practice, the real question is whether we are “in the boat.” Peter, and the other disciples were “in the boat” because Jesus told them to get in the boat and cross the Sea of Galilee. We applied that passage as a metaphor for our own experience. But the physical reality, in their case, was quite clear:

We saw in John 6 that they were physically rowing in the dark, against a strong headwind, against big waves, and that, from their perspective, Jesus was physically not in the boat. Then they saw Jesus, gaining on them, from astern, physically walking on the water. They were terrified, thinking it was a ghost. Jesus spoke, and calmed their fears, and they physically received Him into the boat. And suddenly the boat was at its destination on the other side of the lake. This was a physical reality.

We compared that to our own experience and saw that the reason the disciples were in that particular boat was that Jesus commanded them to go… and they went. They obeyed, and things got rough. That is a common experience for believers: Jesus  told us to expect it. There is no “health and wealth” promise to church-age believers.

Getting out of the Boat

There is another story, hidden within the account we read last week. You see, the account we read was in John 6:15-21…but the parallel passage, back in Matthew 14:22-33, tells us a detail which John left out. Peter walked on water that night!

For Peter’s experience, although the physical reality was the same, we need to consider a different metaphor when it comes to application. The physical reality was that Peter and several of the other disciples were commercial fishermen. They knew the physical dangers of the lake, the Sea of Galilee. They depended upon the physical seaworthiness of that boat as well as their mastery of small boat handling, and their own physical strength at the oars, to survive a storm on the lake. They were experts in this environment. But the Boat was the central critical ingredient, as life-vests and helicopters and radio locators did not exist. So, let’s consider that aspect of “the boat.”

As a new Creation in Christ, I am “In the Boat with Jesus”

In 1973, I believed the good news that Jesus Christ died for my sins, that he was buried, that he was resurrected the third day, never to die again; and that somehow, in taking my sins on Himself, he had set me free. I believed that. I put my trust in His finished work at the cross. I was placed into the Body of Christ, by the Holy Spirit, though at the time I was unaware of it. I was “in His boat,” forever! And I was excited about this new relationship: I told other people about it. I wanted to serve Jesus with my life.

The Storms of Life

But very soon, I saw there was something wrong. I was still sinning, and I was more keenly aware of my sin, now, than I was before I was saved, so it seemed worse. The joy and confidence I had felt earlier collapsed: I tried to control my sin by willpower, by self-denial, by prayer, by avoiding tempting circumstances, by fasting, by sacrificial giving, by confessing to others…and none of these things brought freedom. I knew I was “in the boat with Jesus,” but things seemed pretty rough.

The Fact is, Saved People Still Sin:

Paul fought the same battle

Paul understood the “rules” better than we ever will. He was raised in the best possible environment: He studied God’s Word. He believed it. But then he discovered that it condemned him, and he died inside—he saw that he was lost. And later, even after his conversion, truly desiring to obey the Lord, he couldn’t do it. (Read Romans 7:7-25)

You see, Paul discovered (Romans 7:17) that he had a sin-nature living inside him that could never obey God, nor submit to His Lordship (Romans 8:7, 8). In Ephesians 4:22, he says the old Man is being corrupted: (It’s still getting worse.) Paul couldn’t stop sinning: he couldn’t live a life pleasing to God. And the next point is really hard:

That old Sin-Nature is the Offspring of Satan himself.

We don’t like to hear this, but, in John 8:39-44 Jesus told the Jews it was true. He knew them by the character of their works. He said their works revealed their parentage. In Galatians 5:19-21, I can see that my old sin-nature is even more easily identified than theirs! Besides, in Ephesians 2:1-3, it clearly tells me that I am by nature the child of wrath, and a son of disobedience. That’s who I am, by birth!

So, how hopeless could I get? I was trying to please God using my old nature; the very thing that offends Him. I was “bringing an offering” that was the “fruit” of the ground He had already cursed. (Does that sound familiar? That’s what Cain was attempting, back in Genesis 4.)In Isaiah 64:6, God says all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. We can offer Him our best, but it is contaminated with sin. I simply can’t live the Christian Life! It isn’t hard; it’s impossible! I can’t do it…and neither can you! So, what hope do we have?

Jesus said, “Apart from Me ye can do nothing”

In John 15:5, Jesus told his disciples, “Apart from Me ye can do NOTHING”. We don’t like to hear that verse the way it actually reads—we want to modify it just a little—we want  to read, “…you can’t do much,” or “not as effectively.” Or …anything other than “Nothing.”  We don’t want to believe that we can’t please God on our own. But it’s a fact. Christians still sin. And it is not OK: God says “Be ye holy, for I am Holy”. That’s a command: If you want to toss that one out, you’d better toss the rest of your Bible with it.

Paul proved that the desire to do Good is not enough. He desperately desired to live in such a way as to please God, but he failed miserably.

Jesus said self-effort isn’t enough either. He warned His disciples they could accomplish nothing without Him. But Paul certainly tried it. So have we all.

One other thing to notice in that passage: Jesus does not say He will take our half-baked ideas and efforts, “pat them into shape,” use them, somehow, and bless our efforts. He says, “I am the Vine, ye are the Branches.”  The genetic information, the life direction, the sustenance, the growth and the fruit all are dependent upon the Vine. The branches don’t get to say, “Hey, I’ve got anidea, and I’m sure God will bless it—let’s pray really hard, and then grow Cornflakes to go with the grapes and raisins everyone else is producing.”

No: The Vine determines the kind of fruit, and the season in which they will grow. We go to God’s Word to find out what kind of fruit He intends, then we go to prayer, and ask that He direct us, and make us fruitful in His service. Hudson Taylor once said, “God’s Work, done in God’s way, will never lack God’s supply.” But the rest of that idea is that He does not guarantee His support for our ideas. He guarantees support for obedience to His Word.

So, Let’s talk about Walking on Water

47 years ago, in Bible School, I knew a young man named Dennis O’Keefe, who told me how, years before, he had attended a Christian camp, on a lake. Late one night, he was in prayer, and he desperately desired to have some proof that his faith was real, so he asked God, just as a sign, to allow him to walk on water. He stood alone on the shore, and prayed for a long time, then finally stepped out: he took another step! And another…when he got up to his knees and hadn’t managed to make a single stepon top of the water, he gave up, and waded back to the beach. He was pretty sad about that experience.

But, the next day, it occurred to him that it requires no real faith to step off a flat, sandy beach into shallow water: If he was serious, he should step off the end of the dock. So, late that night, he stood on the end of the camp dock, and prayed for a long, long time, and finally took that first step: He swam back to shore, this time, and when friends asked what happened, he lied, and told them he fell off the dock.

Now, that is an amusing story, but: What was Dennis’ problem? Wasn’t he “seeking by faith to please God?” (Incidentally, he and his wife, Jeannie, later spent 35 years as missionaries in the Philippine Islands. I think he must have “caught on,” eventually.)

What is Faith? Faith is an obedient response to a revealed truth.

Dennis was not “obeying a call from God to walk on water”—he just desired a sign, and God said NO! There was no faith in this story—just presumption, and immaturity. But no real harm was done, except to his pride, and he learned by the experience. Let’s read another, similar, story. Turn to Matthew 14:28-33. Peter asked Jesus almost exactly the same thing Dennis asked. But in his case, Jesus said “Come!” Peter was in a boat, in a storm, at night, on the sea of Galilee. That was the physical reality.

Peter was not on a comfortable flat beach, asking to walk on water. He was in a storm and his only “Comfort zone” was the Boat he was in and the oars he was using. He asked Jesus for a command to do something which otherwise would be nearly suicidal. Getting out of a boat at night, in a storm at sea, with no lifeline or floatation, was a guaranteed way to die! So, Peter asked for Jesus’s authority to do something impossible. If Jesus had said, “No, wait, I will come and get you, and then we will walk on the water,” then that would be the authority, and the story would have been different.

Now consider: if I had asked Dennis that night, “Dennis, can you walk on water?” he would have unhesitatingly said, “No.” (Especially after that second attempt.)  And what would Peter have said? I’m sure he’d have said the same thing. But he had a different circumstance. He said, “If it is you, Lord, bid me come to you on the water.” And Jesus said “Come”. All Peter provided was an obedient response to a revealed truth.  Peter got out of the boat, and started walking. That was faith! Dennis was being presumptuous!

(Now, hadPeter “practiced” only on calm water? Is that why he got scared when he saw the big waves?) No, of course not! He had no practice at all. There was nothing he could do to prepare himself for that night, except to learn to believe Jesus, and obey Him.

Before or after his experience, if I had asked, “Hey, Peter! Can you walk on water?” He’d have said “NO!”  But after his experience he might have qualified his response, saying, “Only under two conditions—first, Jesus has to command me to do so, and second, I have to keep my focus on Him: if I’m distracted, I sink. The fact is, He has to do the walking.”

Did Peter desire to walk on the Water? Sure! Was there self-effort involved? Only as it was directed by God: and just the fact that he personally, physically got out of the boat. So, No: it wasn’t “self-effort.” But at some point, it did become self-confidence, I think: The waves didn’t just “appear,” after he got out of the boat. They had been there to begin with. But initially, Peter had only obeyed Jesus, not thinking about how impossible it was. When he saw the waves, he evidently thought “I can’t do this!” and then he sank.

When God says “Be ye holy, for I am holy,” we want to say,  “I can’t do this!” and quit before we start. But, God never asked you to do it on your own—in fact, He took pains to tell you that you can’t do it on your own. He even said that if it were possible for you to live the Christian life on your own, then Jesus died for nothing. (See Galatians 2:21)

Galatians 5:16-23 says we have a war going on inside. And the only way to win is to “walk in the Spirit”. God says if we will allow Him, through our faith, moment by moment, to do the impossible job of living the Christian Life, then He will accomplish it through us. He will produce the fruit of the Spirit in us. And we will not fall prey to the old sin nature.

In the Boat through Faith and Obedience.

Now: let’s think about Peter again…why was he in the boat in the first place? In Matthew 14:22, Peter and the other disciples were told to get into that boat and head for the other side. Peter was where he was supposed to be, and he was doing what he was supposed to be doing. Jesus approached the boat, adding a new dimension to their circumstances by walking on the water. If Peter hadn’t been obedient in the first place; if he had not been out there on the lake in that boat, already, then none of these things would have happened.

When Jesus said, “Come!”, Peter had two choices: he could have stayed in the boat, making excuses, and mouthing “good intentions,” or he could get out of the boat. Had Peter stayed in the boat, none of this lesson would have been there for us. And had he not taken his eyes off Jesus, we might have missed the point anyway…the point is, the Christian life is NOT HARD—it’s impossible. Walking on water is not natural. But Jesus commands us to do it, every day, all the time. It will never become “Old Stuff”.

It will always demand our trust and obedience. And when we fail (as we often do) we don’t lose our spiritual life: we simply fall prey to the wind and the waves, just as Peter did.

What does it mean, to be “in the Boat,” in this case?

We need to be where we are supposed to be, doing what we are supposed to be doing, so God can call us to special service. And when He calls, we have to “get out of the boat, in terms of our self-confidence:” We can’t stay comfortable in our usual life, and expect to see the blessing of God in our lives. For example, since I know from scripture that I am supposed to be fellowshipping with other believers, and specifically in a local church, then I need to be there, doing that! And if I am not there, then I cannot use my gifts to bless the rest of the body.

When the Lord calls us to do something “out of our comfort zone” like sharing our testimony, or sharing the Gospel with a specific person, or serving God in some other way we have not done before, then we need to “get out of the boat, and walk!”

Galatians 5:19-23 shows me what to look for, in terms of being able to see whether I am walking with Him. He tells me what the works of the flesh include. And He tells me what the fruit of the Spirit should look like.

If I can see I am not bearing the fruit of the Spirit, I need to stop, and confess my sin, whatever was holding me back, and begin again to do what He says to do. Some of those things are, “Rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and in every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning YOU” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

I can start there, after confession. I can worship Him for the glory of His creation around me, and thank Him for the blessings he has already given, pray for the other believers, and for opportunities to share with the lost.  I can ask Him to make me usable in His hand, and finally, ask what He wants me to do now. (Don’t be surprised if it is something pretty ordinary.) Then I can go do what I know to do, and look to Him for directions after that. This is all just “being where we are supposed to be and doing what we are supposed to do.”

If you have already received God’s gift of eternal life, then please don’t rest until you determine how to walk with Him. Look in the “mirror” of His Word, and see yourself clearly. Then ask Him how to change, to be made over in His likeness. Self-effort won’t work. Presumption won’t work. Desire, alone, no matter how sincere, won’t work. You need to learn to walk in the Spirit, by faith, and allow the Lord to choose your path, direct your steps and live the Christian life through you. 

Apart from Him, you can do nothing. But if you are walking with Him in all these things, then you’ll recognize His voice when He calls you to do something uncomfortable, and you will already be prepared to step out and obey.

Lord Jesus, open our eyes to the path before us and direct our steps to walk with you. Give us the faith to follow you and obey your will.

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Bread and Fishes

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Bread and Fishes

© 2022 C. O. Bishop

John 6:1-13; (compare Matthew 14:15-21, Mark 6:32-44; Luke 9:10-17)

Introduction

The sixth chapter of John has a number of very interesting exchanges: some between Jesus and the disciples, others between Jesus and the Jews in general. Some were fairly simple teaching, while others involved serious miracles. Some of the people responded favorably, some did not. Some believed His Word, others did not.

The feeding of the five thousand happened here. One of the occasions in which He walked on water is also here, as well as some very serious teaching about the nature of salvation.

Some interesting words come up, too…words which are the same in English, but different in Greek… so, let’s take a look at the first narrative in John 6.

1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. 2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. 4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. 5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?

6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

The Feeding of the Five Thousand

In verses 1-4, we do not have a specific place named…in all four Gospel Accounts, it is simply called a deserted place, on the coast of the Sea of Galilee (also called the Sea of Tiberias.)

In every account, Jesus and the disciples had attempted to get some rest, by departing in a boat, and going to a place where they expected no crowds. But the people figured out where He had gone, and they ran on foot to catch up.

The core facts are there in all four accounts: Jesus and the disciples attempted a “retreat.” It backfired, as the people followed them, because of the miracles of healing they had either seen Jesus do, or had heard about: In John it says they had seen the miracles. In Matthew, it says that Jesus was moved with compassion, and healed their sick in that place as well. In Mark, it says that Jesus felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began teaching them many things. (He didn’t waste a good teaching moment!) In Luke, it says He spoke to them regarding the Kingdom of God and healed those who needed it.

But in all four Gospels, it says the day was far spent and no one had eaten, so food became a priority. In John’s account, He asked Philip, “How are we going to feed these people?” And it says it was a test. In Matthew, Mark and Luke, the disciples pointed out the need, and wanted to send the people away to find food. But in all three of those accounts, Jesus commanded them to give the people food: “You give them something to eat!” Why did He say that?

How they came up with the five loaves and two fishes varied a bit as well: no disagreement, but, as is often the case, we have to read all four accounts, to get the whole picture. In the John account, Philip answered that two hundred denarii worth of bread (“200 pennyworth in KJV”…in either case, eight- or nine-months wages) would only buy enough for all of them to have a little. In Mark, the same number came up, as possibly a group estimate…perhaps they just agreed with Philip.

A boy’s lunch, freely offered

In all four accounts, Jesus took what they had (the five loaves and two fishes (in the John account, we see where they got it) and multiplied it to feed the crowd. There is a detail here in John that is easy to miss: These were a small barley-bread loaf—not a big loaf of Italian white bread, or any such thing. It was a boy’s lunch. (Apparently, he volunteered it, as Andrew gave him credit in John 6:9…Two small fish, and five fairly small barley loaves.)

The next thing we miss is because of the problems with translation: In translating Greek to English, it is perfectly accurate to translate “anthropous” as “Men”…but it is a non-gender specific noun, used of “men” to indicate “humans”…men as opposed to angels or animals. But there is another word used here, as well… the Greek word “andres,” specifically meaning “male adult humans.” So, when Jesus told the disciples “Make the men sit down,” He used the word “anthropous”, literally meaning, “Make the people sit down.” But after everyone had been seated John says, “there were about five thousand men:” but this time John used the word “andres,” meaning specifically men. So, If I were reading only this passage, I might guess that no women or children were there. Or I might assume that each man had a large family with him. In either case, I would be guessing or assuming, and that is a dangerous way to build understanding. So, lets turn over to the other accounts to get a clearer picture:

In Mark and Luke, all it says is “they that ate” were “about five thousand men” (again using the gender-specific term, andres.) But, in Matthew 14:21, we get a little more information: he uses the same gender specific noun to describe the five thousand men, but then points out that this was not counting the women and children. We don’t have to assume: There were women and kids present, and they all got fed! No guessing was needed! (But we don’t know how many.)

Finally, when they picked up the baskets of fragments there were twelve basketsful of fragments of both fish and bread (Mark 6:43), left over from the meal which had started off all fitting in one basket or bag…a young boy’s lunch. Incidentally, the Greek word for “basket” here, “kophinos” means a “handbasket.” There is another word which speaks of a larger basket.

You give them Something to eat!

What was Jesus getting at when he told the disciples “You give them something to eat”? He knew they had nothing to offer. He also knew that the youngster was going to offer his food. John’s account says that the whole conversation was a test; He knew what He was about to do.

But the command was that the disciples were to feed the flock. What did they feed them with? The Bread that Jesus provided, miraculously multiplying the gift of that youngster. (I wish I could find out what became of that boy. He isn’t named, but he stepped up and offered what little he had. The disciples commented that it was “too little to matter, with such a crowd.” Jesus made it feed them all. Remember there were five thousand men, not counting women and children. So…how many? I don’t know: possibly far more than five thousand. We have no way to know whether there were many beside the men. But Jesus commanded His disciples to go feed them.

What about Us?

What “bread” do we have to offer? What has God provided us, that could be multiplied to His glory and our joy? A number of you have been gifted to feed the flock from the written Word. It is not a “comfortable” gift. It takes us “out of our comfort zone,” as the saying goes today. We may not really want to bear the responsibility. I sometimes feel pretty overwhelmed by the burden.  But this is what God has called me to do, so, I do it: Not because I get a bang out of it, but because that is the task God has given me to do!

Jeremiah was quite reluctant to do the job he was called to do. And his was a very difficult ministry. He is often called “the weeping prophet,” because he spent so much time grieving over Judah and Israel. As far as we can tell from scripture, only a couple of people actually believed him during his ministry. Ezekiel didn’t have a happy assignment, either. Nor did Daniel or Habakkuk: But all of these servants of God went ahead and obeyed and found their joy in the person of their Savior.

Use what You have been Given!

If the Lord has put some loaves and fishes in your hand, no matter how small, in terms of gifting, please don’t let it go to waste. And, if God is calling you to feed the flock, to “give them something to eat,” then look to Him to hand you the food and get moving! Where do we find “sheep food?” We find it in the Word of God. Jeremiah 15:16 says, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them: and thy word was unto me the joy and the rejoicing of mine heart, for I am called by thy name, O Lord, God of Hosts!” Every single believer is called by the name of Jesus, as we are part of His body…and we are all to feed upon His Word. 1st Peter 2:2 says, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby.”

The shepherds are still commanded to feed the flock: that is their specific task within the body. But every believer can take that command and apply it to his or her own gifts, knowing that every member of the Body of Christ has the task of reaching out to bless those around us. We do it in different ways. And that is fine. The parts of a person’s body don’t all do the same thing. But the parts of any body, including the Body of Christ, are made to work well together as a team, to carry out the desires of the Head, for the blessing of all.

What about that Boy who gave His Lunch?

What if that young fellow had believed the “general consensus,” that his gift was “not big enough to help?” Or, what if he had reasoned that “Mom gave this food to feed me! If I give it away, it will not accomplish what she wanted to happen!” You see, in reality, that was all he had! He did not offer one loaf and one fish, or four loaves and one fish: he offered it all.

Everything I have can be offered to Jesus, to be used the way He wants. And, what did the boy get out of the deal? Well, to begin with, he got what everyone else got: He got to eat his fill! (Possibly he ate more than he had actually brought: everyone else certainly did!) In the second place, and more eternally relevant, he was mentioned in the Gospel accounts, and everyone who ever reads God’s Word finds out about that youngster who gave what he had to Jesus, and the results of his offering.

But the earthshaking thing that he got out of it, is that he was privileged to be a part of one of the most famous miracles of Christ! He was an integral part of the feeding of the five thousand! In a way, he was more involved than the twelve disciples were: all they did was to distribute the food. He gave his food to Jesus and saw it multiplied to meet the needs of a multitude, including the disciples and himself.

What about you?

You have the privilege of offering the bread of life to everyone around you. Jesus bought it for all of us at the Cross. He provided Himself, as the true Bread of Life, as He points out later in this chapter. But you and I have the incredible privilege of passing on that food to others, and watching it multiply. No matter what other gifts or values you may add to the Body at large, every single one of us has this specific privilege. You can feed the hungry. You can offer the Bread of life and the Water of life to anyone willing to take it. And if they receive it, and are born again, we have the joy of seeing them grow to a point where they begin leading others to Christ as well.

What if someone else acts as though your contribution is too small to be worthwhile? Remember the boy who gave his lunch? His small contribution has had eternal results!

Whoever it was who took the trouble to lead Billy Graham to Christ has a whole lot of spiritual grandchildren today! You don’t know how far God will take your gift of love and worship and obedience to His Word. All we have is what Jesus gave us. And all we can do is offer it back to Him as an act of worship.

Lord Jesus, teach us to follow you and to make our lives a living sacrifice to you as an act of worship. Help us to see the hungry people and to feed them with your Grace.

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Unpacking the Gift of God

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Unpacking the Gift

© 2021 C. O. Bishop

2nd Corinthians 9:15; 2nd Peter 1:3-11

Introduction

Yesterday was Christmas. We watched a small boy open the gifts he was given. As he opened each one, he dutifully recited ‘Thaaannk youuuu!”, even when, occasionally, it was obvious he really did not know what the gift was.

The adults cautioned him to “look at it more carefully,” and they helped him read labels, so that he knew this little kit (for example) included parts to build three different projects, each of which was an exciting toy, but which could be deconstructed and rebuilt into yet another toy. But since there were other gifts to open, he did not get to actually unpack the gifts and learn to use them. And, I recall that, when I was a child, I often had more fun playing with the wrapping paper and the boxes in which the gifts arrived. I was distracted from the real gifts.

Each of us here has received a precious gift from God. In 2nd Corinthians 9:15, Paul gives thanks for that gift, saying, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” But, I would venture to guess that without having “unpacked” that gift at least a little, we would have a difficult time explaining why it is an “unspeakable gift.” The child, in the story above, said “thank you” very politely,  but he had no idea what the gift really was. So: how well do you understand the Gift God has Given?

The Gift

The gift is Jesus: each of us received that gift, the moment we trusted his completed work at the cross as the full payment for our sins…God’s chosen sacrifice in our behalf. We read about that gift in John 3:16, and many other places: “God so loved the World that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

We received that gift by faith, and each of us has thanked God many times for that gift. But have we really “unpacked it?” You see, the truth is, Jesus includes a great deal more than “just” eternal life.  He offers more than “just” forgiveness for our sins.

He offers abiding Grace by which to live in troubled times. He offers Joy to look beyond the sin-ravaged landscape of this world and to see the secure promise of His coming, His inevitable victory, and the Eternal Kingdom of light and joy and righteousness which will unfold thereafter. I have to admit that the portion of His gifts beyond that promise is quite dim in my mind. But the portion we are supposed to be unpacking now is fairly clear…and I am still working on it.

How do we “unpack” that gift?

One thing we can do is to read about it in God’s Word, the Bible. 2nd Peter 1:3-11 gives us a beginning “outline” by which to begin unpacking God’s Gift.

The Gifts and the Goals

3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue

God has already given us a number of gifts: some He gave to the whole human race, whether believers or unbelievers. Life and the Creation around us were given to all. He gave Himself at the Cross for all humans as full payment for our sins. Some gifts He gives specifically to believers, irrespective of whether they are actually walking in obedience…all those gifts are theirs because they are in Christ, and, whether they are aware of them or not.

But there are some gifts He wants to “add to the mix,” which must be diligently pursued by a believer, in order to appropriate them. They are still gifts, but in a matter of practical application, they are goals. So… What is the difference?

Verse three says that God has already given us all things that pertain to life and Godliness. No believer is re-born a “spiritual cripple” who is “lame from re-birth.” In your new self, you have been given the ability to choose to walk with Jesus. You have come to know Him, so you have access to all the rest. Verse four tells us how we are to see these realities worked out in our lives:

4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

How? “Exceeding Great and Precious Promises!” Peter says that by means of those promises in God’s Word, we have the privilege of beginning to partake in the character, and nature of God, Himself…and that in so doing, we escape the corruption that is in the World through the ungodly desires of our old natures. In reality, this is part of our inheritance in Christ: we are His real children, and we should expect to grow into His likeness. If we are unpacking the Gift of God’s Love and Grace, then that is one of the things we should be finding.

Collectively, the desires of the World and those of our old natures are completely in opposition to all that God is. His Righteousness and Holiness are utterly repugnant to them. We escape the corruption of the world and the flesh through the application of God’s Word to our lives.

Diligent application of His Word produces further results: We could think of them as goals.

The Goals

We could read this as “following the directions to see what the gift can do.” When that little boy opened his gift kit, there were three toys the kit could build. But they were not to be built by random experimentation. If he wants to achieve the specific three toys promised, he will have to carefully follow the directions.

Diligence in applying the “exceeding great and precious promises” (as well as the rest of the admonition and correction and encouragement in God’s Word) will produce the following things:

5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

So, there are seven things to look for:

  1. Virtue
  2. Knowledge
  3. Temperance
  4. Patience
  5. Godliness
  6. Brotherly kindness
  7. Charity (Agapé love)

Please note that all of these things are still under the condition Jesus spelled out in John 15:5, saying “apart from me ye can do nothing.” Is it possible to produce a “cheap imitation” of each of these things by our own efforts? Certainly, it is! But all these things, if produced by the flesh, (our old sin nature) are contaminated by the flesh. The Old Self is not only corrupt, but is continually being corrupted. So, for the realities of each of these values to be born in us, they have to be coming from an ongoing walk with Jesus, in full fellowship with Him. Let’s look at each of them individually:

  • Virtue: (Greek: arête…force or strength) It is strange: all my life, I thought that the word “virtue” meant something similar to “piety… being a “goody-two-shoes”.” But it doesn’t mean that at all: it means “strength of character.” God wants to produce that strength of character in each of our lives.
  • Knowledge: (Greek: gnosis…experiential knowledge: not just “stuff to know and tell.” This comes from an ongoing relationship with Christ, on a daily, moment by moment basis.)
  • Temperance: (Greek: ephrateia…self-control, or continence. We are not to just be tossed around, by every thought, or circumstance, but we are to be controlled by our new nature.)
  • Patience: (Greek: hupomonē… endurance…pressing on. It doesn’t mean just “waiting,” but rather, persevering, in the face of hardships and disappointments.)
  • Godliness: (Greek: Eusebia…piety or reverence. This is the person and character of Christ “seeping out” all over the life of the believer, so that we literally “smell like Jesus.”)
  • Brotherly kindness: (Greek: Philadelphian…actually, this is the “brotherly love” word. This is the general friendliness and kindness and care that we are to have toward others.)
  • Charity: (Greek: agapé…Agapé love…the unconditional, committed love expounded upon in 1st Corinthians 13:1-8.) Not feelings, but actions, in every case.

So, the idea is that by diligently applying God’s Word to our lives, these changes should be the result: and that all of them (the real thing) are from God, not “drummed up” by self-effort or self-improvement schemes.

The Results

8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The idea behind all of these virtues in a believer’s life is to make us fruitful. Orthodoxy only means “having right opinions.” If right opinions is all I have, and these character traits are missing, then the “correct opinions” have never gotten out of the “library” into the “living room.” They have not become a practical, living reality. A person may have strict adherence to a creed of some sort, and even a form of godliness, but Jesus warned that this can be counterfeit. The Pharisees had all of that and they hated Jesus. James pointed out that the demons are “monotheistic,” too! They know there is “only one God!” They have seen Him face-to-face! So, can see: “having all your doctrinal ducks in a line” is not the real issue: Having an ongoing, faith-based, obedient walk with Jesus is always the issue, and it is evidenced by the fruit of that relationship: the agapé love which coats and fills all aspects of our lives.

We can see two possible extremes in life: Both are tragically real.

  • one who is not a believer, but whose opinions and behavior patterns are really pretty good: they seem to be a good person!
  • one who actually does know Jesus as his Savior, but whose life does not reflect that reality, nor is he well-schooled in theology. They may seem a really bad example, but they are genuine, and quite common in scripture as well as in life.

The one individual is convinced because of his good works that he does not need God’s grace. Especially because he compares himself with those who claim the name of Jesus, but do not live for Him, he is convinced that he must be “good enough!” And, even more sadly, some of those he points to may themselves be deceived, thinking that “somehow, they slipped into God’s family, and their troubles are over!”

We need to see that in this passage, Peter is addressing those who definitely are believers, and who have begun to grow in their faith: He exhorts them to press on and grow more! He also gives them things to look for in their own lives to see whether the “growth” is genuine.

James did much the same, giving us clues by which to recognize Godly wisdom, as opposed to the wisdom of the world, the flesh, or the devil. (James 3:13-18. “13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. 14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. 15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.”)

These seven fruits are what we should look for to see how we are progressing. He also warns that a believer who lacks these attributes has forgotten that Jesus purged him of his old, sinful way of life, and has become judicially blind, through the willful disregard for God’s Word.

9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

We really do not want to be blind to God’s Word, or deaf to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

So…if we know that we have received the Lord, then we need to give diligence to be “digging in” and growing in Him. God’s Word is what will make us grow: remember 1st Peter 2:2 “…desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby.”

This is the constant invitation (and command) from God: that we draw near to Him in Bible-study and prayer, so that He can draw near to us, by His indwelling Holy Spirit, and help us to walk with Him in obedience. We know that!

As believers, we eventually will be in the new heaven and earth with Jesus. (We know that, too!) But He asks that we enter in now: not being lax, and just figuring that all of it will eventually happen. Hebrews 10:19 calls us to enter into the holy place now, by faith, through the person and work of Christ. This is not about Salvation: it is an invitation (and command) to believers: people who are already saved.

The unspeakable gift we have already received is Jesus Christ. As you continue to “unpack” that gift and get to know Him, and learn to understand what He has provided for you, then all the things we have discussed here will become a regular part of your life.

You can enjoy the daily privilege of entering God’s presence by faith, through the avenue opened to us by the blood of Jesus at the Cross. You can enjoy the overflowing consciousness of the presence of God in your daily life: knowing He is there and being confident in His Grace and Love and Guidance.

You can experience His Spirit reaching through you to others around you, touching their lives with His Grace, and drawing them to Christ. Your growing understanding of His Word will protect your mind against false teaching or “pious-sounding nonsense.” You will see a growing sense of stability in your walk with God. And, best of all, you will be increasing in your personal, experiential knowledge of God. You will be able to say with Paul, “Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!”

Please: if you have received Him as your Savior…get moving on getting to know Him… really “unpacking the gift of God!” Don’t be distracted like a little child, by “the wrapping paper and the box it came in!”

Lord Jesus, please stir up the spirit within each of us, to daily seek your face and learn to truly know you!

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The Nobleman’s Son

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The Nobleman’s Son

© 2021  C. O. Bishop

John 4:46-54; compare Mark 5:21-43; Proverbs 3:5, 6

Introduction

Once in a while (perhaps more often than we care to admit it) we encounter situations where we are praying, and it seems as though God is “not listening.” We are forced to either wait on His timing, in faith believing in His eternal wisdom and goodness, or fail to do so, and become frustrated and bitter.

Now, it is always possible that there is something amiss in our walk with God, and that he effectively really is not listening, as Psalm 66:18 warns that “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the LORD will not hear me.” But let’s assume for this conversation that there is no unconfessed sin. Is it OK for God to answer “No” or do we insist that the only thing qualifying as an “answer” is Him complying with our wishes? And what about “wait:”  is that also not acceptable? Of course, God reserves the authority to answer within His own will. And we still need to learn that humility and faith, to accept His will as the BEST answer.

Please Heal My Son!

In the account, here in John 4:46-54, there is a touching story of a nobleman, humble enough to come to where Jesus was, and approach him as a supplicant: not ordering him, or claiming some authority or reason for special treatment. Jesus was a poor, itinerant preacher, at that point: all this nobleman knew was that others had been healed by Jesus. He came in faith and humility, begging for help. “46Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, …And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.  47When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.”

There are several points to notice, here:

  • The man was from Capernaum, but he approached Jesus at Cana. The distance is a little over 16 miles.
  • The man was a “nobleman”…we are not told his rank or office, or position…just that he was a nobleman. That is not a normal part of our lives, so it is hard for us to appreciate what it meant to that culture. (They had a caste system: we don’t.)
  • He had heard of Jesus, and knew that Jesus had already proven His ability to heal…and that now he was nearby… “only a 16 mile walk away!”
  • He came personally, not sending a servant.

But Jesus tested him a little, saying “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” Now, notice that it is plural: the KJV “ye” is the plural “you.” He wasn’t accusing that particular nobleman personally: He was making a general statement about the Jews at large, and possibly the entire human race. We have a long history of unbelief.

So, Jesus was effectively testing the motives of the father. But the man didn’t quibble about the apparent indictment of unbelief; he only repeated his plea: “Sir, come down ere my child die.”

Jesus could have “heaved a sigh, rolled his eyes,” and started the long walk back to the fellow’s house: But He didn’t. He gave what was simultaneously the answer the man needed and  a chance for him to demonstrate the reality of faith.

50 Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.

What? He just said, “Wow, thanks, Jesus,” and headed back down the road to home? That is exactly what he did! I think I might have begged Jesus to come with me. I would likely have balked at such a command, too! (“What?? I just walked sixteen miles to talk to you , and all you are going to do, now, is turn me around and tell me to go home?… that my son is already healed? Like, you don’t have time for me, or what? What kind of deal is this?”)

The key we need to see, here, is very simple:

  1. Jesus did answer! He said that “the man’s request was granted,” and then,
  1. The man believed Jesus! And,

And we can see the long-run result of the whole exchange. The man was hiking back down the long hills to get to Capernaum: it was sixteen miles, descending more than 1000 vertical feet. (Cana is at 330’ above sea level: Capernaum, at the Sea of Galilee, is about 690’ below sea level!) …which reveals that he had walked 16 miles uphill to find Jesus!)

And we read, in the following verses, 51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth.52 Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.

53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.

There was nothing more to say: He had all the “proof” he would ever need. He told his household, (his family, the servants, etc.) what had happened, and how Jesus, instantaneously, from miles away, and never having met (let alone touched) the sick son, had healed him. He could now testify that at the time Jesus said, “thy son liveth,” the son had begun to mend, and was healed. The result? The entire household believed in Jesus.

Now: did Jesus actually do what the man expected? No! Remember what the man asked: he asked, twice, that Jesus “Come down” and heal his son. But Jesus saw the man’s heart: he wasn’t looking for special treatment (“Come down so I can brag to my neighbors that I’ve got a celebrity in my home.”) Jesus saw that his only desire was to save his son. So, He granted the man’s real desire, and simply ignored the side-issue of “taking a hike with the guy.”

The real desire of the nobleman’s heart was granted. The means by which it was granted became irrelevant: He thought Jesus would “obviously” have to go to Capernaum to grant his petition. But Jesus demonstrated His true authority: He could command from any distance and accomplish His will!

Mark 5:21-43…The Woman with the “Issue of Blood.”

This story is a “story within a story.” A ruler of the synagogue ( named Jairus) had come to Jesus asking for healing for his little daughter, who was near death. As Jesus went to his house, a sick woman intersected his path, in the middle of the crowds following Him.

The woman had suffered a bleeding problem for 12 years, and had spent all her money on doctors, and only got worse. Her spiritual life was affected, as well as her health, since, with such a disease, she was ceremonially unclean, and could not go to the temple at all. But she somehow discerned in her own mind that “Jesus held healing for her,” and that, if she could just touch the hem of His garment, she would be healed! (How did she come up with that idea? We are not told, but personally, I believe God told her, prompting her to act in faith.)

So, she pushed her way through the crowd, and finally got close enough to touch him. She did not “grab onto Him,” or try to “cling to Him” in any way: She did exactly what she had planned…she touched the hem of His garment. The result was that she was instantly healed, and the bleeding stopped. She was able to feel the instant change: she knew she was healed;  and she was “making her getaway,” when Jesus turned around, saying “Who touched me?” (It turned out that He had “felt it too!” He felt the power go out of Him to heal her and evidently wanted her to publicly bear testimony to that fact.)

But she evidently thought she was in trouble…she was afraid to speak up. Everyone else (including the disciples,) thought He was asking a ridiculous question: they said, “Everyone is touching you! We are packed in this crowd so tightly that everyone is jammed against you: How could you ask such a thing?” But Jesus kept looking around to see who it was.

Then the woman came and fell at his feet, scared to death, and confessed that she had touched Him and was healed. He not only did not scold her, but He congratulated her for her faith, and sent her home, happy, healthy, and blessed by Jesus!

But this raises the question…if everyone was touching Him, why were healings not just “leaking out in all directions?” The answer to this question is very similar to that of the question ,“Why was Judas not cleansed by the same words that cleansed the other disciples, in John 15:3?” In Judas’s case, it was very simple: he did not believe those words!

In the woman’s case it was a little more obscure: she had come to Him specifically for the healing she believed He offered, but was afraid to approach Him directly, so she tried to reach out by faith and just touch his robe. Sure, there were others touching Him: but everyone else was just “there:” They had conceived no such plan, and they only wanted to “be where the action was,” so to speak: “Hey, man! Jesus is gonna go heal the Rabbi’s daughter! Let’s go watch!” It was entertainment. It was exciting! They wanted to get close to the show! But this woman, having been healed, was only trying to get away. Jesus wanted to make sure she got the full effect of His blessing: He called her back so that He could verbally confirm her faith.

(And then, yes, He went and raised up the little girl who had evidently died in the interim. And the result was that his message was validated by His miraculous works and people were drawn to Him.)

What about Today?

God wants us to reach out by faith and “touch His robe,” so to speak: He does not guarantee physical healing, although evidently, He had prepared her heart for just such a thing, and she acted in faith. But He does offer us eternal life by an even simpler manner: “Look to Him for Salvation—believe His promise and receive eternal life!” You don’t have to “force your way through a crowd,” nor can you “sneak up on Jesus.” He has been “knocking at the door of your heart” from the day you were born, offering you spiritual healing and peace. He offers eternal Life as a gift, beginning the moment you believe His promise; and it will literally last for eternity.  He has never rejected anyone who approached Him in that way: John 6:37 says, “…he that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out!”

Does He promise “physical comfort and safety?” No, as a matter of fact, He doesn’t! He says, “These things have I spoken unto you that in me ye might have Peace: in the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world.”

Does He promise “a life free from suffering?” No; as a matter of fact, God promises almost the opposite: Philippians 1:29 says, “…unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on Him but also to suffer for His sake.” (“Come and suffer?” What kind of invitation is that?!)

Well, in fact, Hebrews 11:36-40 describes a group of people who believed God and died without having received the promise they were expecting; but it specifically stated that God had something better to offer…and that is what they got in place of the promise they had looked forward to. These people were tortured, they were stoned to death, and some were sawn in half…all their goods were confiscated, so that they were literally destitute of all their belongings including food and clothing. And God’s comment regarding these suffering saints is that “the world was not worthy” of them.

What about Us?

Last week we commented that “It is OK to pray and die!” These who suffered martyrdom are prime examples of that principle. It is also OK for God to answer “No, My Child!” when we beg for release from our pain and turmoil. However, He does offer His Peace in the midst of the trials and pressures of life.

I remember a young woman named Jeannie Nance, who had been engaged to be married in 1974 (as I recall.) She was physically present, and standing there watching, when her fiancée’s plane crashed, and he was killed.

Her immediate response was to praise God, just as Job did, knowing that God had made an irrevocable choice, and that she, in turn,could either rail against Him or accept His will, along with His Grace and Peace. She chose to believe God, and she was filled with His Peace, as a result: and she went on to serve God with her life.

I only met her after the fact, and only because she began Bible School at the same time I did, in 1975. But God had another man for her, named Dennis O’Keefe. Dennis and Jeannie served together as missionaries for 35 years in the Philippine Islands. Their lives will count for eternity, and they have no regrets, regardless of all the costs and trials of their service.

Can I always respond in faith? Perhaps a better question would be, “Do Ialways respond in faith?” And, the answer is, “No!” Sometimes I am fearful or even angry at God, and He has to re-teach me the same old lesson: (Proverbs 3:5, 6) “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding! In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy path.”

If you can learn to trust God, and to lean on His Grace, then, regardless of the circumstances, you can experience His Peace, and know His blessing.

Lord Jesus, draw us along to grow in our faith and to trust Your Grace in all things: whether life or death, whether Joy or Grief; whether in good times or bad. We know that You are the Master in all things. Teach us to live as Your disciples.

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