by
Keith Hunt
Chapter 11 is the great chapter on the truth of the
resurrection and the NT definition of "death" - you should be
able to find that truth if you really desire to.
I'll skip over to chapter 12:23-26. We must in type die with
Christ. To bear fruit that is unto eternal life, we have to die
to the world, the way the world without God thinks and practices,
which in the main is thinking and doing without any regard to
God's Word or Commandments. If we love our own ways, love doing
"our own thing" - love our life, in a complete selfish way, we
shall loose it in the end. But he that hates to be like the
unconverted world, shall keep his life unto enteral life.
Jesus is up front, He says if any man serves me, he must
follow me. Someone serving Christ will bring honor from the
Father to that person.
The disciples of the Lord had light right in their midst. It
was a wonderful blessing. It was very close to the end as for
what Christ was to accomplish while in the flesh. People were
around Him, and still asking questions for obviously they were
confused about what Jesus was teaching - things like He had to be
lifted up and in so doing all men would be drawn unto Him, and
still asking "Who is this Son of man?" Jesus simply was not going
to get into a once more simple explanation, He'd done so many
times before. He focussed right in on walking in the light, and
believing in the light. Many times before He's told them that HE
was the light. And so He told them again that they needed to walk
in the light of truth He had given them for three and one half
years. He told them once more they needed to BELIEVE in the
light, in Himself, for many, though seeing many of the miracles
He had done STILL did NOT believe on Him (verses 27-37).
We need to make sure we are willing to see the light of
Jesus' teachings. We need to be reading about that light. It's
all recorded for us in the Gospels. We need to be reading over
and over again in our lifetime, the GOSPELS! Some of the clearest
teachings of what it means to follow Christ is there in the
Gospels. And with a red-letter New Testament, you can see them in
bright red. As a child growing up there were many parts of the NT
that I found difficult to understand (many of the things Paul
wrote about are not that easy to understand, even the apostle
Peter mentions that in one of his epistles), but the words of
Christ I found pretty straight-forward. So from about the age of
9 and all through my teenage years I read and re-read the words
of Christ in the Gospels .... wow, more times than I can
remember, which is just a way of telling you, it was MANY times!
It was LIGHT, what Jesus had to say, and it kept me from much
darkness and sin, especially as I came into my teens, and saw
many of my fellow friends that I'd grown up with, going off onto
the wrong pathway of life, and bringing them troubles. I praise
God and I thank Him, that I had the light to read, I believed in
the light, and though not perfect (but trying hard) I was a child
of light. My teenage years went smooth and well and I was kept
from trouble, and from giving my parents sleepless night for
concern and worry over me. Parents who have had sleepless nights
because of concern about the way and the what that their
teenager/s were getting into, know exactly what I'm talking
about.
Jesus was concerned for the people looking at and listening
to Him. He wanted them to walk in the light, especially while
they had the light living with them in the flesh - Himself
(verses 27-36).
This LIGHT of Jesus' word is so important that He made it
clear HOW important it is in verses 46-50.
"I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believes on me
should not abide in darkness. And if amy man HEAR my words, and
believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world,
but to save the world. He that rejects me, and RECEIVES NOT my
words, has one that judges him; the word that I have spoken, the
same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of
myself; but the Father which sent me, He gave me a commandment,
what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know His
commandment is LIFE everlasting; whatsoever I speak therefore,
even as the Father said unto me, so I speak"
When the rubber hits the road, the bottom line, the acid
test, is NOT what well-known preachers and Christian "book
writers" say; it's not what is the traditions or customs or
popular practices of the churches of "Christendom" that count.
They can tell you the moon is made of Swiss cheese, they can hand
out every false doctrine and custom by the cart load, and tell
you it is "the truth" (and you see around you as to what they all
differ on as to what they claim is truth). When the hot water has
boiled away, when you are going to have to put on the pot is the
truth of the WORDS of Christ, and that is ALL the Bible. You are
not going to be judged on the ideas of men or women. You are
going to have to make the effort to STUDY, SEARCH, HUNGER AND
THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS AND "THE" TRUTH. You are going to have
to take the time to "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a
workman that needs not be ashamed, that right cuts the word of
God" and "Prove all things, and hold fast to that which is
right." Those two teachings from the apostle Paul, need to become
part of your very makeup, branded into your mind. When it's all
said and done - it will be the WORD of God that will be your
judge. Do you want its teaching and its correction ABOVE ALL
THINGS that this physical life can give you, jobs, money,
notoriety, fame, acclaim of men, praise for work well done, a
PhD. You can have all that IF you neglect and push aside the
Bible and all IT says is the pure and straight was to go. We
still have our part to do, I said it before, we have to take
the time to study and study to know what the true theology is all
about!! It's the attitude that counts in the end. Do we have the
attitude, are we willing to put in the hours of in-depth study. I
can remember back in my middle 20s, late 30s and into my 40s, often
spending all day Bible studying, using Bible Dictionaries, Bible
Concordances, as well as trying to find the truth by collecting
all the verses on any particular topic of the Bible.
Chapter 13 is the "foot-washing" chapter - I've covered that
in detail under the Passover studies on this Website.
Jesus gave a bench mark for being a true Christian: "A new
commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have
loved you, that you also love one another. By this shall all men
know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another"
(chapter 13:34-35).
It is a very sad commentary that this does not always happen
within the true Church of God. I've experienced some pretty wild
and nasty goings on in some churches of God, a few I've related to
you on this Website. When I think about them it is shameful,
degrading, disgusting, and unworthy to wear the Christian name. I
have been witness to verbal arguments, slander, lies, and the
disfellowshipping of members and ministers, just because they
disagreed with what the "head man" was saying or doing. But then
such local or worldwide organizations had stopped being a "church
of God" and had become a religious "cult."
The true disciples of Jesus will be the salt of the earth,
the little flock, the scattered ones, and they will have love one to
another.
Chapter 14. We have some wonderful true verses in this
chapter.
Jesus declares: "I am the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE; no
man comes unto the Father, but by Me!" (verse 6).
It makes no difference what the arguments are given about
how persons can be saved WITHOUT knowing about Christ, saved by
their conscience being good or bad, living according to their
societies standards, good or bad. All such arguments to try and
get around the truth of a resurrection to physical life of all
that never had a chance of salvation in their first life. Too
many people I've met over the years, seem to hate the teaching of
people being raised to life and having an opportunity for
salvation, before they think, they cry out, "Oh, the second
change teaching." They do not stop and think that billions of
people down through time have never had even a FIRST chance!
Jesus, is the ONLY way to eternal life, and not one person in all
history is going to be with the Father but through Christ, and
that truth is again repeated in Acts 4:12 and other parts of the
Gospels. You need to study my study called "The Great White
Throne Judgment."
Jesus spoke about the Father over and over again in this
Gospel of John. The disciple Philip asked: "Lord, show us the
Father, and we'll be satisfied" (verse 8).
Jesus answered, "Have I been so long a time with you, and
you have not known me, Philip? He that has seen me has seen the
Father; so why do you say then, 'Show us the Father.' Do you not
believe I am in the Father and the Father in me ... Believe me
that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me; if you have
trouble with this then believe what I say from the very works I
do" (verses 9-11, paraphrased myself).
Friends, when you read the life of Christ as given in the
Gospels you are reading also about the life, the nature, the
character, of God the Father. Jesus had said earlier "The Father
and I are ONE!" Jesus in the flesh, mind and character, was
a carbon copy, a clone copy, of the Father. They are two SEPARATE
beings, Jesus now sits on the RIGHT HAND of the Father in heaven,
not on top of Him, or inside of Him, as some strange planet Pluto
teachings of the "trinity" expound to you. As you see Jesus in
the Gospels so you are seeing the Father, it's just that simple!
Jesus now goes back to "commandment keeping" and says, "If
you love me, KEEP my commandments!" (verse 15). Have you ever
found in the Gospels where Jesus DID AWAY with ANY of the Ten
Commandments (and that includes the 4th one)? If you find that
passage let me know, from the age of 6 when I first started
reading the Bible, I've never found it. All I've ever found is
that Jesus MAGNIFIED and made them even more binding, getting
right to the "spirit" of the letter of those great ten
commandments. Just read Matthew 5,6,7, for clear open proof of
what I've just stated. If you love Jesus you will love His
commandments of the "spirit" of the law that He taught and
amplified, in His words and in His life.
.......................
To be continued
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