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 Blog.
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
PASSOVER Lessons from the Gospel of JOHN #6Love, Truth, Sin, Righteousness, Persecutions!
by
Keith Hunt
Jesus had just told His disciples that if they loved Him
they would keep His commandments. And although He was going away,
back to heaven, He would still come to them via the Holy Spirit.
And this Spirit was "truth" - hence it is only logical that truth
would be given to Jesus' true disciples; it applied then and it
still applies today.
Once more Christ says, "He that has my commandments, and
KEEPS them, he it is that LOVES me, and he that loves me shall BE
LOVED of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself
to him."
Judas, not Iscariot asked how He would manifest Himself to
them. Jesus answers, "If a man loves me, he will KEEP my WORD;
and my Father will love him, and WE will come unto him, and make
OUR ABODE with him. He that loves me not keeps NOT my sayings:
and the word which you hear is not mine, but the Father's which
sent me" (verses 21-24).
Jesus did not sin! And sin is the transgression of the law
(1 John 3:4). Jesus NEVER "did away" with ANY one of the Ten
Commandments - not a ones of them. There is not one word in all
the New Testament that the Sabbath command was either done away
with or CHANGED from the 7th day of the week to the first day of
the week. There is not one word in the NT that says Sunday is
"holy" or that the 4th commandment has been changed. If they had
a "ministerial meeting" to decide the issue of physical
circumcision (Acts 15), then you can bet your bottom dollar there
would have been just as large a ministerial meeting to discuss
that the Sabbath command was going to be changed to the first day
of the week or abolished completely. Such arguments presented by
the Roman Catholic and Protestant religions are TOTALLY HORSE
DUNG, when it comes to their reasoning on the Sabbath command.
Actually the RC church plays it much more openly than the
Protestants, for they will admit it was the RC church that
changed the 4th commandment, but they reason that because they
are the true church of God they had the authority to so change
the 4th commandment. No such authority was EVER given to anyone
to change any of the Ten Commandments. Jesus came to MAGNIFY the
law of God, (Isaiah 42:21) not to diminish it or "do away with"
this one or that one.
Another wonderful truth in these verses is the fact that
when the Spirit comes into a disciple of Christ, BOTH the Father
and Jesus are coming to DWELL inside of that person. It is NOT
some supposedly "third person" of the Godhead coming into a true
Christian, it is as Jesus stated here, the Father and Himself
coming to live inside the child of God. No wonder Paul was
inspired to write that our body is the TEMPLE of God, and anyone
wilfully defiling, living, practicing defilement, be it spiritual
or physical, God will destroy (1 Cor. 6:9-10,15-20; 2 Cor. 6:14-
18).
There are other verses that clearly tell us that Christ will
come into His disciple (see Gal.2:20), but here is the verse that
teaches not only Jesus but the Father also comes into His child
via the Comforter - the Holy Spirit.
The promise is also that the Holy Spirit will "teach you all
things," and bring to your mind what things Jesus has spoken and
taught. Certainly with the disciples of His day that was
miraculously so, as they were inspired to write the Gospels -
direct inspiration was part of writing the Gospels, which many a
modern "critical scholar" like to ignore or forget (verse 26).
We also come here to verse 28, that knocks in the head, does
a death blow, to the "trinity idea" that makes ALL in the Godhead
FULLY EQUAL in every way. No, Jesus taught no such doctrine.
While Jesus now has EVERYTHING that the Father has, there is ONE
thing that REMAINS for the Father ABOVE anyone for all Eternity.
I did not put this in your Bible last night, it's been there for
2,000 years near enough. Jesus, with plain words said, "....I go
unto the Father, for my Father is GREATER than I!" Christ does
not now sit on top of the Father or somehow inside of Him. Your
NT tells you Jesus sits at the RIGHT HAND of the Majesty on High.
The first chapters of the book of Revelation makes that very
clear. And so does 1 Corinthians 11:3. The Father will ALWAYS be
the Greatest IN AUTHORITY. Jesus taught elsewhere that the "one
sent" is never greater than the one who send him. The one sent
and the sender are not equal in authority, the SENDER is greater
in authority.
Jesus also makes this clear, as who has the greater
authority as He goes on into chapter 15. Jesus is the vine, the
Father is the Husbandman.
Christ's disciples are the branches of the vine Jesus. And
they must abide in Him or no fruit will come forth. It is
automatic - those abiding in Christ and He in them, will bring
forth fruit of righteousness. Not being so is also made just as
clear - the dead branches will be gathered up and burned in the
fire. So it is James chapter two friends, pure and simple, for
those who have a pure and child like mind.
Listen to Jesus again, "Herein is my Father glorified, that
you bear much fruit; so shall you be my disciples. As the Father
has loved me, so have I loved you: continue in my love. If you
KEEP my COMMANDMENTS, you shall abide in my love; even as I have
kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His love" (verses 1-
9).
Now, Jesus and the Father are ONE, in mind and character, so
whatever are the commandments of Jesus are the commandments of
the Father, and whatever are the commandments of the Father are the
commandments of the Christ. It works BOTH ways!
The next words of Jesus are so uplifting and powerful,
especially for Passover time:
"This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have
loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man LAY DOWN
(Greek is "aorist 2" tense - interesting as "aorist" is usually
past tense, but here it obviously means "anytime tense" - because
Christ's death was a done deal so to speak, He can speak of it as
already past) his life for his friends. You are my friends, IF
you DO whatever I command you. Henceforth I call you not
servants; for the servant knows not what his lord does; but I
have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my
Father I have made known unto you. YOU have NOT chosen me, but I
have CHOSEN you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring
forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever
you shall ask of the Father in my name, He may give it you. These
things I command you, that you love one another" (verses 12-17).
Notice among many things taught here, a person does not my
themselves, just sit down and decide to be a "Christian" - well I
better put it another way; you do not decide to become a TRUE
Christian all on your on steam. In fact it is Christ (and the
Father) who have decided to call you to become a child of their
Kingdom - again we are back to chapter 6:44, 65. And remember
again when you are called and you do decide to follow that
calling, you are not given all truth at one time. But the promise
is the Spirit will guide you over time into all truth that
pertains to salvation, as long as you continue to hunger and
thirst for righteousness, as Jesus said in Matthew 5, and long as
you are willing to grow in grace and knowledge, as Peter wrote
that we should in 2 Peter 3:18. See how the Bible INTERWEAVES
itself, when you remember that you must read all Scripture, even
"search the Scriptures" as Christ taught, and "prove all things"
as Paul taught.
The last half of chapter 15 - verses 18-27 - Jesus teaches
His disciples that the world, from a spiritual view, will HATE
the true disciples of the Lord. As they persecuted Jesus so they
will persecute His disciples. He said elsewhere that at times His
followers would be "put out" of the synagogue: by people thinking
they were doing "God's service"! In simple language true
disciples of Christ ain't going to have much favor with the
popular "Christianity" and certainly not the carnal world. Jesus
came and He lived perfect and taught about SIN! The true
Christian is living according to righteousness (they strive for
it, their nature is to want and to do righteousness, even if they
miss the mark at times, and fall short) and so people who live
according to sin, are uncomfortable around the true Christian,
and will at times, in various ways, persecute Christ's disciples.
This persecution is to be noted as people "count the cost"
in answering their calling. Jesus certainly gave warning to His
followers that it would come upon them at times.
Yes here we are, the verses about being put out of the
"churches" - not acknowledged by other people who think they are
serving God: "They shall put you out of the synagogue: yes, the
time comes, that whosoever KILLS you will think he does God a
service. These things they will do unto you, because they have
NOT KNOWN the Father, nor me!" (verses 1-3). Oh, they will think
they "know" the Father, they may even go around saying "Do you know
the Lord brother," "Are you saved" sister, but they will be like
those looking in from without one day, who will say, "But Lord,
we did this in your name and we did that in your name. And He
will say to them, 'Get away from me, I do not know you, you that
work lawlessness (as the Greek is)'" (Mat.7:21-23).
Then we have the section on the Holy Spirit that will come
into true believers, it will SHOW and REPROVE SIN! It will show
what RIGHTEOUSNESS is! It will declare true JUDGMENT! And it WILL
guide into ALL truth! (verses 7-15).
Did you notice those words "all truth"? Many would probably
say it is impossible to have all truth. Well Jesus is of course
talking in the context of "spirituality." Not knowing all the
truths of all the physical universe etc. And yes friends, IT IS
POSSIBLE to KNOW ALL truth when it comes to the BASIC truths of
the Bible - the doctrines of God as listen in Hebrews 6:1-2. In
fact those truths are ALL fully explained to you on this Website.
For some of you those truths may take YEARS to find and learn,
others find and learn them in a relatively short time - the WHEN
you learn them all is in the hands of the Father. But ALL things
concerning salvation and the plan that God has for human kind,
CAN be found. Then, from there it is digging into the "meat of
the Word" (to maturity - see Hebrews 5:11-14). From milk to
strong meat!
It was ever now so close to the time when Jesus would have
to offer Himself as the lamb led to the slaughter - to give His
body - to shed His blood - for all sins of all people.
He gives encouragement to His disciples from chapter 16:16
through to verse 33. And verses 33 reads:
"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have
PEACE. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good
cheer; I have overcome the world."
Then there is the real "Lord's Prayer" in chapter 17.
...........................
To be continued
PASSOVER Lessons - Gospel of JOHN#7 The True Lord's Prayer expounded THE REAL LORD'S PRAYER
These words spoke Jesus, and lifting up His eyes to heaven,
and said, "Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy
Son also may glorify thee. As you have given Him power over all
flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have
given Him" (verses 1-2).
Yes, as we have seen in chapter 6, it is God who calls
people out of spiritual blindness, to give them a chance to
choose the pathway of eternal life or to reject it. The truth of
blindness and calling is expounded in some detail by the apostle
Paul in Romans chapter 9 through to 11.
"And this is life eternal, that they might know You, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent" (verse 3).
Once more we should from this verses see that the Father is
the "head" - He only is the true and Supreme God. While there is
a Godhead, that Godhead has levels of authority (1 Corinthians
11:3). In this aspect of authority, there is no "equal" THREE
persons equal in ALL things. The ONE aspect of the Godhead is
that the Father is ABOVE all, there is NO equal to His authority.
Even Christ calls Him, the "only true God" and put it another
way, "the only supreme true God." The word "God" in the NT is
used in various contexts, for a "surname" - "Hunt" is my surname,
and all my children (I have 5 children) are known as "Hunt" but I
am the head of what you may call the "hunthead." So it is with
the Godhead, the One being we know today as God the Father is the
SUPREME in authority and is head of Christ (1 Cor.11:3).
"I have glorified You on earth: I have finished the work which
You have me to do" (verse 4).
Jesus lived a perfect life, without sin, not one. In
thought, work, speech, body, He glorified on earth the holy
perfect character of God the Father. And the work He was send to
do, was done. He was sent to overcome sin, to not sin, and hence
then be the Savior of all people, and He was sent to teach and
witness to the truth of God, and then finally to give His life,
to shed His blood, and so secure eternal life to as many as
accept Jesus as personal Savior. Jesus still had work to do AFTER
His resurrection, and that work is explained to us in the book of
Hebrews. And Jesus will STILL have work to do when He returns to
earth. But the work for that time frame of His life in the flesh
had been accomplished. All of it up to His death on the cross is
spoken of as "finished" because what was left to do would be
done.
"And now, O Father, glorify You me with thine own self with the
glory which I had with You before the world was" (verse 5).
Here is one of those plain simple verses in the NT that
proves Jesus lived before His human birth, in GLORY, WITH the
Father! And that is exactly what John said at the very beginning
of His Gospel.
I know that those who teach Christ did NOT exist until He was
born of the virgin Mary, will have all kinds of ways of getting
around a simple verse like verse 5, but for a child reading the
NT, it is simple to understand. When I was a child reading the
Bible, and reading this verses, I just believed what it said,
that Jesus had GLORY with the Father BEFORE the world was
created. Again John chapter one, verses 1-14 I was able to read
as a child and understand it meant exactly what it says.
"I have manifested Thy name unto the men which You gave me out of
the world: They were Yours, and You gave them to me; and they
have KEPT Your word" (verse 6).
Those whom the Father will call; those who accept that
calling, now become chosen, and such will KEEP the word of God.
This is again the teaching of Matthew 4:4 - a true Christian
wants to live their life in accordance to the Word of God, not
the word of men, the teachings of men, the traditions of men.
They will fear God before fearing any other person, be it mother
or father, husband or wife, friends, relatives, children. Serving
God by letting His Word teach and correct them, will be the joy
of all true children of the Father.
"Now they have known that all things whatsoever You have to me
are from You. For I have given them the words which You gave to
me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I
came out from You, and they have believed that You did send me"
(verses 7,8).
Indeed, you cannot have Christ without the Father,
INSEPARABLE They come as a "package deal" - they are two sides of
the same coin. As you accept the One so must you accept the
Other. You believe in Christ you must believe in God the Father;
you believe in God the Father, you believe in Christ. This is
where the Jew's theology of they accepting only the Father gives
them eternal life, is TOTALLY WRONG! And as it is wrong for them,
so it is wrong for ANYONE who thinks they can accept just the
"Father" God without Christ, and be saved. It is simply NOT
POSSIBLE. And so we are back with the truth that billions have
lived and died who have never been saved, but will one day be
resurrected and given a chance to accept BOTH the Father and
Christ. We are again back to my study called "The Great White
Throne Judgment" which you need to study if you have not.
"I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which
You have given me; for they are your. And all mine are thine, and
thine are mine; and I am glorified in them" (verses 9,10).
We see again the unity of the Father and Son, the unity of
purpose and direction. If you are Christ's you belong to the
Father; if you are the Father's you belong to Christ. And we note
that Jesus is still interceding for His brothers and sister as
shown in the wonderful book of Hebrews.
"And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world,
and I come to You. Holy Father, KEEP through thine own name those
whom you have given me, that THEY may be ONE as we are One"
(verses 11).
This is what Jesus prayed, and He still does. I do not
believe for one second, that He has stopped praying this request.
So where are the ones in ONE with Christ and the Father? Jesus in
the Gospels made it clear that His sheep are the called and
chosen, the salt of the earth, the very little flock, in relation
to all that may call themselves "Christian." His disciples are
not in the "church organization" per se, they are here and there,
a few here, a few there, one here and one over there; now and
again a small congregation. It has always been this way. Jesus
said many would come in His name saying that He was indeed the
Christ, and would deceive MANY! He said people would be looking
from without wondering why they were not in the Kingdom, people
who would say they did this and that in His name. It's all in the
Gospels, but most read right over those passages. Most Christians
just do not even think about that they may be deceived. The One
Billion Roman Catholics around the world, are not thinking their
religion may be false, or that they have been deceived into
worshipping God and Christ in VAIN! Most of them, if not all of
them, would be SHOCKED and very OFFENDED if you told them they
have been deceived by a false Christianity. I can tell you
another thing, that is very close to me, having gone through it.
Most, in the Churches of God that come from and have roots in the
Worldwide Church of God, especially those that did not move out
from that organization till about 1990 and after, would be very
OFFENDED if you told them they were still committing idolatry by
holding on to Herbert Armstrong as they do. And they would be
very offended if you told them they have never admitted HWA was
teaching false doctrines and had turned his organization into a
"cult" before he died. They still think everything was pure and
fine before HWA died. They still will not admit there was HUGE
sinS and corruptionS inside the very organization that HWA headed
up IN THE LAST 20 YEARS OF HIS LIFE, AND A LOT OF IT WAS OF HIS
DOING!
The true people of God have admitted those corruptions, come
out of it, have repented, or were never a part of it to begin
with. Today many are indeed part of the Laodicean attitude of
mind, and God pulls no punches in telling them what they cannot
see, will not see, and telling them to REPENT!! Read about that
"church" of people that covers a certain mind-set, it's in the
3rd chapter of Revelation. Today with the wonderful tool of the
Internet, the worldwide web, God's truths can go forth, people
can find the truths in the Father's Word, the Bible. They can do
what they need to do to be "right with the Lord" and so THEY WILL
be ONE, even as Jesus prayed to the Father that they would be.
We shall see this request of Christ's was REALLY on His
mind; He will come back to it again shortly in His prayer.
"While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name;
those whom You gave to me I have kept, and none of them is lost,
but the son of perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled"
(verse 12).
The true disciples of the Lord have truth given to them,
they will hear or see it, and they will come to KNOW it is the
truth of God, even in the time of the end when Jesus said
deception would be so great that IF it was possible even the very
elect would be deceived (Mat.24:24). But it's not possible. They
will be kept as One with Christ and the Father.
"And now come I to You; and these things I speak in the world,
that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves" (verse 13).
Yes, it is truly a JOY to be set free from falsehood and
deceptions, from sins and corruptions of men. It is a joy to know
the truth, which as Jesus said, will make you FREE!
"I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them,
because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world"
(verse 14).
The true disciples of the Lord will not be accepted by the
world, or any of the world's popular Christian religions. The
world will not speak well of them. Jesus said, "Woe unto you when
men shall speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the
false prophets." The true followers of God will have God's word,
and especially the words of Christ as given in the Gospels (all
clearly standing out if you have a red-letter NT). God's word is
powerful, like a two-edged sword, cutting and dividing even to
the joints and marrow (Hebrews 4:12). God's word will clearly
show and even AMPLIFY what SIN IS! (the basic answer is found in
1 John 3:4, then amplified by many other passages). It will
declare what RIGHTEOUSNESS IS (yes that answer is found in Psalm
119:172).
"I pray not that You should take them out of the world, but that
you should keep them from the evil" (verse 15).
Now, read that again! Jesus did not say, "I pray you take
them not out of the world, EXCEPT at the end time when you will
rapture them to heaven to escape THE great tribulation." Jesus'
prayer is quite specific, and if it's not registering in your
mind, IT IS A PRAYER - it is a request from Christ to the Father!
Jesus is asking that His disciples be NOT TAKEN out of this
world, but that they be kept from the evil. There is no
qualification of TIME mentioned here. Hence the clear way to
understand this prayer request of Jesus' is that it is a request
FOR ALL TIME, UNTIL verse 24, which we'll come to shortly.
The idea of some "secret rapture" at the very end time, is
not taught anywhere in the Bible. I have spent much time and
effort to bring you the truth of the matter, concerning the
falsehood of this popular modern teaching by the Protestant
fundamentalists. Christ's disciples WILL BE on this EARTH right
up to the time of His coming in POWER and GLORY, COMING VISIBLY
IN THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN, only THEN will be the RESURRECTION (or
as some say "the rapture") of the saints, who by the angels
leading them will meet Christ in the air, the clouds, and then in
that same day descend to the Mount of Olives (Mat.24:29-31; 1
Cor.15; 1 Thes.4:13-18; Rev. 11:15-19; Zech.14:1-4). It's just as
simple as putting those passages of Scripture together that I've
just given you.
"They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them through Your TRUTH: Your Word is TRUTH" (verse 17).
Mark that verse friends. Note it, highlight it in yellow!
Christians are set apart (sanctified) from the world BY TRUTH,
and it is God's Word that IS truth! It is not the teachings of
men or women, it is not the teachings of some church
"denomination" - it is not the teachings of any PERSON who claims
to be THE apostle of Christ - it is not anyone who BY OTHERS is
put as some "inspired" or "infallible" prophet or teacher - it is
NOT an individual, who by other "ministers" or "priests" is put
as "head cheese" over a church group. It is GOD'S WORD ONLY that
is TRUTH!! You need to be "searching the Scriptures daily" as the
Bareans did (Acts 17) to see what ANY PERSON teaches SQUARES with
the WORD of God!! You need to have your nose and eyes and mind in
the BIBLE! You need to do as the apostle Paul admonished, "Prove
all things, and hold fast to that which is good."
Today, it is even more needful to be doing all this, for as
we have seen, Jesus said that at the end time, deception would be
so great, that IF it was possible even the very elect would be
deceived! (Mat.24:24).
"As You have sent me into the world, even so I also send them
into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they
also might be sanctified through the truth" (verse 19).
It is not some teaching of a man (you Roman Catholics, who
look to "the Pope"; you off-shoots of the WCG who still cling to
Herbert Armstrong; you Mormons who cling to Joseph Smith etc.) or
woman (you SDA people who cling to Ellen White). Jesus was, is,
the Word, who became flesh. It is the Bible, from Genesis to
Revelation, that is INSPIRED, not some words or teachings of some
man or woman. It is the WORD of God that is TRUTH! And that word
of truth will SANCTIFY - set you apart from all the false ways,
lies, practices, and teachings of the world, and its MANY false
religions and "denominations" within those false religions. KEEP
YOUR EYES AND MIND IN THE BIBLE!
"Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall
believe on me through their word" (verse 20).
Oh yes, God will have His people teaching and preaching His
word. You just have to know the word so well, that you will
recognize the word of truth when you hear it. Emotions will not
tell you who teaches the Word correctly; the person's looks, or
skill of oratory, or fancy "educated" language; none of that is
going to tell you who teaches the truth of God's word! You will
only know by doing what the Bareans did .... they searched the
Scriptures daily to see if it was so, that Paul and his helpers
were teaching, if it all squared with the Bible (Acts 17).
"That they ALL may be ONE; as You, Father, are in me, and I in
You, that they also may be ONE, in US: that the world may believe
that You have sent me. And the glory which You gave me, I have
given to them; that they may be ONE, even as WE are ONE. I in
them, and You in me, that they may be made perfect in ONE; and
that the world may know that You have sent me, and have loved
them, as You have loved me" (verses 21-23).
Do you see HOW MUCH Jesus' prayed for His disciples to be
ONE! It was IMPORTANT that it be so. Notice have many times the
word "ONE" is used in these few verses. Could the Father turn
down such a request from His Son, who had put aside glory, the
Godhead, and was willing to come as flesh and blood, to face
Satan and sin, to have to go through conquering sin, and then a
horrible beating and death on a Roman cross?
No, such a request cannot be turned down by the Father.
God's children, the true disciples of Christ, will always be ONE.
They will be always searching the Scriptures, always willing to
be corrected, never blindly following what man may say; they will
always be proving all things, holding fast to what is good and
right; they will be the salt of the earth, the little flock. They
will be the one here and the few over there; now and again a
congregation over here and one over there. They will be the ones
who when any "church" work grows that corrupts itself, starts to
be ruled by one man, and sometimes a group of men, who bring in
false teachings, or idolize some "inspired prophet" as they may
call it; when all of this happens as history surely has shown
DOES happen with any organization "of men" in due time. When all
this takes place Jesus' true disciples will walk away, to again
be the salt of the earth and the very little flock, scattered
here and there.
In these end times those people called "Philadelphia" in
Revelation 3:7-13, will have what seems like little strength, no
large "organization" behind them, no big money budget to work
with, but God will OPEN A DOOR that no man can shut. Because
those people have NOT denied God's name (and God's name is TRUTH,
there is nothing about God that is not truth), the Father has
given enough time in this age, that a DOOR like the Internet and
Worldwide Web, is OPEN, FREELY OPEN, to even His salt of the
earth people, his little flock. No man can shut this door. The
Worldwide Web has been specifically designed by those who built
it, to be FREE to the world, with no person to shut it down, no
nation can shut it down.
God directed the minds of the inventors of the worldwide web, to
place that invention in free public domain. Who could have
thought of such a human communication, free worldwide network of
knowledge, 40 years ago. Such a modern invention I certainly was
not thinking about. But here we are, where just ONE of God's
children, one of the salt of the earth, like myself, has an open
door to the WORLD, that no man can shut down. It is mind-bending
when you think about it. With the help of TWO other people in my
life (Jesse was one of them, now resting in death), I have been
able to produce this HUGE KNOWLEDGE of God on this Website. Two
people helped build the physical side of this Website, and yes I
have a Website "host" who for just $100 a year keeps all
advertizing off and renders this Website possible for the whole
world. You talk about a little flock, with little strength, but
an OPEN DOOR .... you are seeing it right before your eyes. And
so it is also, with those others who are the true servants of God
doing His work. In this way, as like no other time in history,
the disciples of Jesus are ONE. Those whom believe can FIND the
truth of God, when they hunger and thirst for it, search for it,
and so they ARE ONE!
"Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given me, be with
me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which you have
given me; for You loved me before the foundation of the world"
(verse 24).
The time when Jesus' disciples will be with Him, to behold
His glory, is when they shall see Him as He is today, and will be
like Him, hence able to see Him in His glory (1 John 3:1-3). And
that will not be until Jesus returns in VISIBLE GLORY, coming on
a white horse in the clouds of heaven, when the angels are sent
to gather the elect from the four corners of the earth, when the
resurrection to glory comes for the saints of all ages. That is
when Jesus' disciples will be with Him, as fully expounded in
many studies on this Website.
"O righteous Father, the world has not known You: but I have
known You, and these have known that You did send me. And I have
declared unto them Your name, and I will declare it, that the
love wherein You have loved me may be in them, and I in them"
(verse 25-26).
It is not only "have declared it" (God's name of truth) but
it is also "I will declare it" - Jesus moves, He does not sit on
His duff doing nothing on the right hand of the Father in heaven.
He is head of His church, that He said He would build. He is
constantly through the Spirit, guiding, teaching, correcting,
leading His people into the truth, as He promised the Spirit
would do when it came. Being a true disciple of Jesus is "growing
in grace and knowledge" of Him and the Father. Truth is not given
out all at one time. We shall be led into truth, but at the
Lord's time. Being called to hear and understand, having
blindness removed and spiritual insight given, is for the Lord to
determine as to the when. Some are called when young, some in
middle age, some in late age. Then, at whatever age you are
called and chosen (doing your part of accepting), truth is
started to be given to you, more truth is given later, when you
have accepted that which is given now. And so it goes. Jesus is
constantly declaring God to you. The LOVE they BOTH have will
then be IN you. So it is indeed as Jesus said in chapter
14:23.....
"If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love
him, and WE shall come unto him, and make OUR abode with him."
I PRAY IT WILL BE SO FOR YOU!!
.......................
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