New Thoughts (8/22/05-9/1/05)
Don’t waste your labor on perishable things. Work instead for food that endures even to eternal life (Jn 6:27). Recognizing that this passage is not the portion of Scripture I am studying at the moment, yet it carries such power. It comes at the proper time, as God’s Word always manages to do. I have been concerned of late regarding my employment, both the company I work for and the industry in general. It seems there are endless causes for concern in American industry today. Anything resembling job security has become a thing of the past. Any sort of long term vision seems to have gone away, as well, with corporations barely able to see past the next quarter’s earning statements. Yes, it is easy to become concerned in light of these things. It is easy, as the official bread-winner of the household, to feel almost crushed by the responsibilities. It hurts to find oneself required to say no to things that the family would like to do. It hurts to find one cannot celebrate life events in the fashion one would like to. The clouds gather about one’s thoughts, and it seems the light of a summer day can barely hope to penetrate them.
Then comes a message such as this: Don’t waste your labor on these perishable things. What has all that concern been expended upon? It has all been about things that have absolutely no value in the eternal scales. All of this trouble and trial is come as no more than a distraction. If I get all worked up pursuing the good things of this life, if I get all traumatized when they are not as plentiful as I’ve grown accustomed to, what focus is left in me that I might seek out my heavenly Father? What trust am I showing when I see only trouble ahead? Where is the faith in a doom and gloom perspective?
Oh! Thank You, Father, that You have brought these words before me in such a time as this! What have I been working for, God? To provide for myself? Hah! As if I could ever do so apart from You. No, and You have provided faithfully through the years. Never have I found myself or my family forsaken. Never have I seen us go without any needful thing, for You have always been there. You have borne me through darker times than this, Lord. How can I forget so easily? Yet, You remain my Jehovah Jireh, my Provider, faithfully laying out the paths of my life. I know that if this present workplace falls to dust, yet You have the next means of support already in Your sight. You have guided me safe thus far, and I know You shall continue to guide me until I am safely home with You.
I saw this verse yesterday, and knew it was one of those moments that a verse was brought before my eyes in that rhema fashion: a word for today, a word to speak directly to this present moment of life. Today, though, I notice it is followed rather immediately by something I had been looking at last week: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (Jn 6:29). The combination of these two thoughts, as Jesus originally delivered them is powerful indeed! How hard we will labor to bring in a little cash. I look at those with whom I work and see men who are being driven. They are not driven by real need. They are not driven by real and earnest interest in the product of their labors. They are simply driven. They will work all manner of hours to ensure that their checks continue to come. They do this even knowing that there is absolutely no guarantee that the most Herculean efforts on their part will lead to any such assurance. Indeed, for the most part, they see themselves as doomed men on a sinking ship, and are merely holding onto the wreckage in hopes of staying above water a bit longer. Men such as these will put in hours on end, realizing nothing for their efforts. There will be nothing extra in their paychecks to reflect all that they have done. There will be no real recognition of any sort. They will get the same pay as the man who went home at a reasonable hour to be with his family, and frankly, the thing at which they work so hard will be done no sooner for all they are doing.
And God comes to His children and says, “Don’t do it that way.” Whatever gain they might have for their sacrifice, it shall never make up for what they’ve lost. Whatever gain they may have will be gone in no time at all. But, what they’ve lost in pursuit of vanity – that will remain lost forever. “You, My child, save your effort for that which endures.” Yes, you are called to work that you may support your family. It is as much and as high a calling as any minister will ever know, for it is God who has called you. Yet, don’t you ever allow that job to take His place! Don’t you ever fall into the trap of thinking the job has provided for your needs. No, my friend, the job has not provided, the job has been provided by the Provider of all good things. And, even as you labor in the place the Lord has set you, He requires that your eyes and your thoughts remain upon Him, upon His work. “This is your task in the kingdom: Believe in God, and in His Christ whom He has sent.”
How is this work? My, oh my! But, when I walk in the valley of the darkness of looming layoffs, when I walk through the aisles of despair, and yet bear aloft the beacon of hope, what, indeed, shall my God not do? If I simply share in the gloom, if I even expend my efforts in sympathizing with those who feel their future threatened, what good have I done for them, or even for myself? In doing these things, I have taken my eyes off of He who is my Hope. How much better if I let the light of Hope shine? How much better if I stand in faith?
Do you know, such a stand is going to appear as foolishness to the dying. Yes, but this is not because such a stand is foolish. See, the thought is not that we ought to deny the trouble that’s coming. Not at all! Are there layoffs on the road ahead for this place? It seems all but inevitable. Granted, I have the benefit of some degree of removal from the immediate concerns of this particular corporation, being a contractor. But, still, their fortunes are indirectly my own. Further, their fortunes are largely a reflection in microcosm of the industry at large. God does not call me to deny the situation, to stand and declare irrationally that these things are not so. There are occasions for such declarations, times when the man of God must rise up and say, “Things are not as they appear.” This is not one of them. The hope that is in me is not such an irrational delusional hope. It is a hope whose foundation is solid – no product of wishful thinking, but a certain hope, built upon the Rock of my salvation, based upon a track-record of successfully providing for all His children. I have seen it in my own life. I have seen it, as I said, in darker circumstances than these. I may not be given to know, at this stage, how He will provide or what He has in store, but I can be sure of the fact that He will provide. This is the work of the child of God: Believe!
Oh, and I look down a few verses further and am reminded how God gave them bread out of heaven to eat in the desert (Jn 6:31). And what does my Jesus say? “Moses didn’t give you that bread, My Father did. He gave you bread from heaven, and it is that very bread which gives life to the world. […] I AM the bread of life” (Jn 6:32-35). Indeed, He is the bread that sustains the world. In Him we live, move, and have existence. Apart from Him, nothing can exist that has ever existed. And I should worry about how I shall sustain myself? No, He will sustain, else there will be no sustaining. Apart from Him, I can do nothing. This my soul knows very well.
Lord, let me seek out the center of the place You are putting me. Let me seek out Your will and pursue it with strength unflagging. Let my eyes be upon Your throne, knowing that Your chariots surround me in the midst of battle, knowing that all the riches of this world are Yours to command and disperse. As you have fed all these little creatures I see about my house, even so, You will feed me. As You have clothed the forests in grandeur, even so, You will clothe me. Forgive me if I have been placing my wants and desires before Your plan and purpose. Restore proper perspective in me, oh Bread of Life. Keep my mind on things eternal, lest I be deceived into letting go of my birthright.
As I turn more directly to the things related in this passage, I am noticing just who well John the Evangelist has connected his narrative together. Indeed, in this passage, all the seemingly disparate threads of thought that have appeared in his gospel so far are woven together. From the opening of the book, he has commented on the distinction between the Word of God, and the forerunner which was John. “He was not the light” (Jn 1:8), “I am not the Christ” (Jn 3:28). Having introduced the Baptizer, John turned his attention to the coming of Jesus onto the scene. He made clear that these two were well aware of each other. “Behold the Lamb!” cried John (Jn 1:29). Here was the One he had come to announce. Here was the bridegroom come to meet His bride. The wedding was not yet to take place, but He would see this bride that was promised to Him. Here, we find John standing as the friend of the bridegroom, the one who would stand guard over the bride until the groom came to take her home.
Then, in John 2, we read of the wedding feast that occurred in Cana, that place where Jesus performed His first sign, changing water to wine. Recall that the particular waters He chose to change were those set up for the “Jewish custom of purification” (Jn 2:6). Here, we discover that the Bridegroom has been baptizing the people. John will later clarify this statement, pointing out that Jesus was not doing so Himself, but His disciples were performing that act (Jn 4:2). What was that baptism about, after all? It has become clear, through both John’s baptism and that which was instituted by Jesus, that the whole matter was and is concerned with purification. The connection between Jesus and the waters of purification are threaded throughout John’s gospel. In this case, though, I want to take a bit of time to explore this connection between the first sign Jesus performed, and this encounter that John’s disciples had.
I believe, when I considered the Cana wedding, that I spent some time commenting on the choice of waters which Jesus had made. He had not sent the servants to draw fresh drinking water that He could do His work with, He specifically sent them with the jars for the purification waters. This has always been such a shocking thought, especially for our rather stoic western culture. Shocking enough that He chose to make wine! When did this become such an offense to Christians? When did we start to condemn Jesus for this act on the basis that many darkened minds have chosen to abuse the substance? Do we condemn every farmer because some grow harmful tobacco? Do we condemn every pharmacist because some people abuse drugs? It is more a symptom of our own national nonsense, I suppose, as we search long and hard for somebody besides ourselves to blame for our weaknesses. We are so concerned with avoiding the need to confess our sins that we expend all manner of effort to find one on whom we can pin the blame. It’s because of our upbringing. It’s a generational curse. It’s above all other things, NOT MY FAULT!
Well, if it’s not my fault, then surely I need not atone for it, eh? If it’s not my fault, I don’t have a particular need for a Savior. I just need, perhaps, a twelve-step program, maybe some counseling. Anything, but an atonement. Do you see, I wonder, that this was in large part what had happened in that “Jewish custom of purification.” Notice that it was not a Mosaic requirement of purification they pursued, but a Jewish custom thereof. They had substituted the sign for the symbolized. They had lost sight of the fact that the water did not really purify. It was not the washing of hands before dinner, or the washing of pans afterwards that made a person clean in the sight of God. It was only by the washing of His own forgiveness, the washing that He required, paid for in blood, that could really clean the person. Yes, clean hands are a hygienic necessity, so also the clean pans, but these do nothing for the soul. Indeed, even the Mosaic sacrifices taken on their own merit did nothing for the soul. What could the blood of a goat do to make amends for your sins? Nothing! These were but things God provided as reminders of what the real cost of our failures was.
The wages of sin are still death, just as they were then. By sin, death entered the world, and the world has been walking in death ever since. You may say that you are alive, but you are not, apart from Christ. You may live and breath for this brief moment of earthly existence, you may even make some sort of name for yourself in the course of passing through this world, but you are dead. The spirit within you is a withered thing, deprived of sustenance by its separation from the Creator. The Breath of Life has never entered into you, how can you live? I know, to many who have not tasted this real life, this sounds like so much nonsense. For the rest of us, be careful that you never, ever, take for granted the Life He has so freely given to you!
Those six waterpots whose contents Jesus would convert from purifying water to intoxicating wine were symbols that had been taken for granted. Those who went through the ceremony gained no benefit from it, because they had forgotten what it was really about. We, with our ceremonies of the Last Supper, of Baptism, and even of weekly services, can fall into that same trap of forgetting what it’s really all about, and thereby lose all benefit from our participation. If the Last Supper has become all about a bite and a sip, if there is no thought given to the One whose sacrifice we commemorate in that action, if there is no concern as we partake for our own sinful natures, that rite is as empty as the handwashing.
I really feel a need for a checkup on this. As I have written, we in the modern church have our own set of rites and customs. In some branches this is more evident than others. I was reading an article yesterday about one man’s experience of a particular Eastern Orthodox church. This in turn led to discussions of whose rites were more impressive, more emotionally uplifting, more artistically presented. The churches of the Protestant denominations, while less ornately ritualistic, are no less bound by an ‘order of worship.’ How well I can recall those farmers who came into Sunday service and promptly fell asleep in their pews. Yes, and the order of worship was so utterly defined and predictable that these men, asleep though they were, could yet rise up on queue whenever the order required it of them. Oops! Time for a hymn. Stand up. Oops! Lord’s Prayer, stand up. Then immediately back to the weekly coma.
I can complain about this, I can laugh about it, perhaps, but before I get all worked up about it, I must really turn my attention to my own situation. Oh, yes, we in the charismatic churches can pretend that we don’t have this problem of ritual and order and schedule, but it’s only true in part. Our traditions may not be as old, but their just as settled. We have our conceptions of what worship must look like and sound like. We have our sense of what real faith will look like, of what a real, spirit-filled believer will and won’t do. We can feel the need to require that believers will jump and shout and ‘get all excited.’ Anything less marks us as suspect. Yet, even this is not the real concern. The concern comes in that one event that we all, regardless of sect, still share in common. To a church, every Christian community still observes the Last Supper, the Communion of Saints. Our methods and our understanding may vary, but it all comes down to one common, bedrock issue of faith. However we present it, however we understand it, we know that that cup is symbolic of the blood of Christ. We know the bread is symbolic of the body in which He truly suffered on our behalf. We know that these things are symbolic of the means that God implemented to save us from our certain destruction. We know that these things are symbolic of the one path He has given us by which we can know real life, a life of the spirit as well as the body, a life which we are promised will continue though the body be destroyed.
We know, as well, the reason that this great suffering of God was necessary. We know it was because of sin, our sin. And yet, we are forever trying to slip out from under that weight of confessing our sins. I can fool myself for a time, I suppose, but I know in myself that this is a strong urge. This thing I battle, it’s not really a sin. You can’t find the Bible decrying it, it’s just a social judgment, a law of man that cannot be binding upon me. And besides, even if it is sinful, it’s not really my fault. It’s a habit I picked up from friends and family. It’s something that the pressures of life just make necessary. Yes, that’s it. I do it so that I won’t ruin my testimony in those moments of pressure! See? It’s a good thing, really. Nothing that I need confess to at all. And so the deceptions build up, the conscience becomes stifled and anemic. And all the while, my Savior, my Salvation, my Brother looks with sorrow and wonders when I’ll snap out of it. The reality of liberty is right there before me, but I’m busy justifying my bonds. The reality of life unfettered is only a word away from me, but I stubbornly refuse to speak that word.
These moments when I recognize the problem, when I realize that my belief and my life are not fully aligned with each other, these are moments when I can really feel in myself the cry that Paul lets out in his letter to the Romans: “How wretched I am! Who will set me free from this death that my body holds” (Ro 7:24)? Like Paul, I know the answer. Like Paul, I can rejoice in knowing that through Jesus the Christ, our Lord, I not only can be set free, but I truly am set free. Though I struggle, though I often forget to even do so much as struggle, yet the reality of the situation remains that He has set me free. It is an accomplished fact, though I may not be giving evidence to that truth in this moment.
Indeed, my God, I thank You for reminding me of this passage from Paul’s letter, Your letter. For I know only too well that there are battles I have not been fighting as I ought. I know there are matters in my life that You would not have being part of me, things that I am still holding onto, though You desire them to be gone. Yes, let me face the fact that there are sins in my life that I try really hard to fool myself about. Let me face the fact that as comforting as it is to know You are with me through every trial as well as every victory, it still brings cause for concern, for You are also with me through every event I think to hide from the eyes of man. You are also with me when I am doing all that is in my power to hide myself from myself. Oh, but, then You guide me to Paul’s conclusion once again! “It is true. On the one hand, my heart and my mind are serving God, yet even so, I see that my flesh and the corners of my mind that the flesh still holds are yet serving sin” (Ro 7:25). How could I ever thank You enough, Lord, for that great comfort of knowing that You do not leave or forsake me, even in this foolishness that is mine? How shall I ever find eternity long enough to sing the praises of You?
God, I confess these sins that remain in me. I admit to myself and to You that they are just that: sins. They are not mere habits, they are not somehow made right by circumstance. They are wrong and always have been. Oh! How I hate this feeling of powerlessness in myself, Lord, that even as I confess, I feel that I shall just have to confess again. Where is repentance in me, Holy One? Where is the change of course? I can no longer claim to steer this ship that is me, for it is manifestly true that this flesh pursues a path I would not follow along. I need You, Lord. I need You to so will and so work in me that this that ought not to be shall cease. How long, oh Lord? How long will I know this trial in myself? How long will I know this misery of falling short of Your perfect desire? Come save me, oh Lord. Come and purify every desire of this flesh that my heart may be free to chase after You.
If our baptism is just a little something we feel obliged to do, if it’s just trying to fit in to the church culture, it is nothing but a swim for us, just as the handwashing had become nothing but dirt removal for those wedding attendees. This is why baptism came about in the first place! God looked down on His people and saw that everything had become empty, meaningless repetition of actions no longer even understood. It was just the thing that was done, is all. Into this setting came John, declaring the need for a very real repentance from our very real sins. The best practitioners of Jewish rite came to him in curiosity and contempt, wondering what to make of this upstart. Perhaps they, too, would be baptized, if only to impress the crowds with their piety. John would have no part in it. If there was no repentance, no acknowledging the need for something that could counter the power of sin in their lives, then the dip in the river would do them no good, and might actually do harm, convincing them all the more that they were in better shape than they were.
Now, Jesus has come into His own ministry, and this ministry, too, has turned to the symbolic act of baptism to seal in physical act what has occurred in the spirit. Those Jews who were watching these curious goings on without actually being effected by them became more contemptuous as they noted this seeming competition. Hah! New rites, indeed! If this new baptism that John had started truly superseded the old customs, what then of this Jesus? Was John’s new thing declared old and useless so soon? What was with this baptism thing, anyway? Why two baptisms? Were they the same, or was one better than the other? If both of these men were from God, why were they apparently laboring at odds with one another? What, after all, could possibly recommend this new thing to those who had so scrupulously followed every custom of religion?
The Evangelist does not see fit to pursue what exactly that debate was that occurred between John’s disciples and these Jews, but it is clear that the discussion mentioned the new competition that was come in Jesus (at least that was how it was perceived – as a competition). Had these been men who experienced the reality of John’s baptism, there would not have been noisy debate about this, only an informing about the problem and off to see John. If they had been men who had experienced Jesus’ ministering I rather doubt they would have even been found here. No, I am sure these were men who had seen as from a distance what was happening, but had been spiritually untouched by it. They were so caught up in the old ways, in the established acts of a hollow religiosity, that they could no longer sense the real when it came their way. They came to plant seeds of doubt in the fields of the Lord’s garden. They came to sow dissent, and at first blush, they appear to have succeeded. Those disciples of John’s to whom these men came were indeed upset by the news, no doubt to the amusement of the messengers. They went running to their teacher to complain of this bully down the street.
Why, had not John spoken well of this Man, and how does He repay that kindness? He sets up shop and seeks to steal away those to whom John was ministering! John must be made aware of this! Oh, but how they would be surprised by his response! His response, in fact provides yet another link backwards into what John has written thus far. Indeed, a comparison of Jesus’ message to Nicodemus and John’s answer to his disciples finds them speaking with one voice. The believer has eternal life, the unbeliever does not for he remains under God’s condemnation. (Oh, thank You again, Lord, that there is no condemnation for those who are with You!) This is exactly the same as Jesus’ words: The believer is not judged, the unbeliever has already been judged, and sentence passed (Jn 3:18). What is the sentence but the removal of any hope of the life that Jesus is, the life that He offers to every man who believes His claims and His purpose?
Is it any wonder that these two should agree so well with each other? It shouldn’t be. After all, John provides the key not only to Jesus’ ministry, but to his own when he declares, “He whom God has sent speaks the words of God” (v34). This was not only true of Jesus. This was the test of the prophet. This was the mark of God’s man. He speaks the words of God.
Now, here I want to take a momentary side journey, because it is something important for our understanding. In charismatic circles, we are greatly moved, still, by the words of prophets. Indeed, the number of self-proclaimed prophets in the world today must surely outnumber the total of all claimants to that title in all the history of Israel! So many come with their claims. They deliver their dreams and visions. They pronounce their dread predictions, their stark warnings. To ensure their reception, of course, many of them will be certain to prophecy all manner of wonderful things over those who are hearing them. It may be doom and destruction for the world around you, churches may fall left and right – oh, but not this church, of course! Now, should any man rise up and question whether these men are speaking from God or from fever and bad diet, somebody can be counted on to quote Psalm 105:15 in their defense. “Touch not My anointed ones. Do no harm to My prophets.” Yes, but have these defenders of the faith determined that those who are questioned are truly His prophets?
If you really think that you can apply that defense to every claimant to the prophetic mantle, you really need to go back and look at Israel just before they were exiled to Babylon. Look through the pages of Jeremiah, the prophet of God. He truly was despised by God’s people, because his message included no disclaimers for them. Meanwhile, all sorts of prophets could be found shouting about how God’s peace would preserve Jerusalem. They made the same claims to being spokesmen of God, yet the record shows clearly enough that they were not His spokesmen. Were the people well advised to heed these lying spirits? I think not.
But, how were they to know? The test of the prophet, after all, is that his words prove true, right? So, how can I know about this prophet I’ve not met before, whether his words will prove accurate or not? I mean, we’re still looking forward to some of the prophecies that were made millennia ago! Yes, but if I look at those prophets that God has endorsed, especially those spokesmen of the Old Covenant, I see that each of these men came with a record, with something to validate what he was about to say. Each of them, by the time they came with these major words, whether for warning or for comfort, had somewhat of a resume that they could present. See, here is what I prophesied previously, and you know full well that this is exactly how it came about. Yet, in reality, even this is not sufficient as a test of the prophet.
The real test of the prophet is the same test that we are taught to apply to those spirits who inform the prophet. It is the test of the revealed Word of God! This is so critical to understand. No outward phenomenon, no illustrious track record of accuracy can serve to validate God’s messengers. There is one thing that validates them. It is that they concur with God. See, even as God was explaining matters to Moses, he knew how easily a spiritually minded people could be misled, so He instructed His people on the matter. “Even should this prophet, this visionary perform all manner of signs and wonders, even if those signs he performs comes true, if his words have advised you to pursue other gods, to serve other masters, you must not listen to him in spite of confirming signs. It is your true Lord and God testing your love for Him, whether it consumes you heart and soul. Yes, and you must follower your God, fear Him only, and keep His law which He teaches by His voice. Serve Him and cling to Him. But, as for that lying prophet, put him to death for his rebellious counsel. Purge the evil of his deception from among you” (Dt 13:1-5).
That warning remained in place under the New Covenant. We are warned that the enemy will come disguised even as angels of light and servants of righteousness (2Co 11:14-15). We are warned to test the spirits, that we might discern God’s messengers from those false prophets that are even now in the world (1Jn 4:1). How do we test? The Spirit of God confesses the Christ of God (for He is One). The one who speaks God’s words speaks by the Holy Spirit of God, that very Spirit which confesses the Christ of the Father, for to God’s spokesmen, the Holy Spirit is given without measure (Jn 3:34). Do you see? How can a man so filled with the Holy Spirit, set apart by God as His own spokesman, deliver a counsel that is against God’s law, will, and nature? Will God really declare to His people a truth that is contrary to the truth as He declared it yesterday? It is not possible! What is true is true! It cannot become untrue to fit the message of the moment. Truth is truth, and what opposes truth must necessarily be a lie. God is not a man that He should lie. He has no reason to lie, for He has nothing to hide and nothing to fear. No, and even could one concoct a reason for Him to do so, He could not, for God cannot cease from being God, and as God, God is Truth.
It is of dire importance for us to really understand this simple fact. God is true. The one who speaks for God in truth must therefore speak truly, for if he speaks for God he speaks by God. Signs and wonders, though they accompany the true man of God, are not, in the end, the proof that he is God’s man. Truth is the mark of God’s man. Full concord with the revealed will and nature of the God for whom he speaks. If he counsels anything that deviates in the slightest from what God has declared in eternity, he is not God’s man, however wonderful his signs, however miraculous his deeds, however often his predictions may prove accurate. Yet, you are not to follow such a one for he counsels death. There is only one protection against this deception, and it cannot be given to you by any other believer. You must obtain that protection for yourself. Your protection is your knowledge of the Scriptures, God’s revealed will. It cannot be had except by your own efforts, studying what He has written in the light of His Spirit.
My studies cannot serve in this. How, after all, shall you judge what I have to say except by His Word? Oh, there is indeed security in counsel. It is well to confirm what we think to have learned with those who have likewise studied, for Truth will be True in the eyes of all who seek it. Yes, and He has told us Himself that wise counsel is a good thing for us. But counsel without personal effort, how shall you judge the real from the fictitious? How shall you recognize the true answer from the false? The Spirit cannot bring back to mind what has never been given to the mind to begin with!
One final bit of connection between this current passage and what has preceded it in John’s gospel before I move on to the things which the Baptist speaks to us about. It is one bit, but in two parts. In verse 32, John echoes what Jesus had told Nicodemus in John 3:11. Jesus, John tells us, is teaching about things He has seen and heard for Himself, for He (as no other) is from heaven and knows of what He teaches. Likewise, what John says in verse 36 is an echo of what Jesus says in John 3:18. If I combine the phrasing of these two verses, I might come to this: The one who believes in the Christ is not judged but has entered into eternal life. The one who rejects the Christ of God, shown in disobedience to His teaching, that one has already been judged, condemned to the sentence of an eternal experience of God’s wrath. Such a one shall not see life, let alone eternal life. He shall never have so much as a taste of what real life is.
Now, a skeptic would doubtless look at the close connection of thought in these two passages and decide that the Evangelist had merely contrived both conversations to make his point. I will say this. It is beyond doubt that John desired to establish once and for all that the Baptist, a fine man and as surely sent of God as was Jesus, was not the Messiah for which Israel waited. He most assuredly has a purpose in his writing of establishing the truth about Jesus and John. He had, after all, to deal with those of John’s followers who either had not heard this particular thing, or had forgotten it. These were troublers of the Church in John’s time, and as the last of the apostles, he doubtless felt it incumbent upon himself to set the record straight once and for all. However, as we read what the Evangelist writes, as we read what he tells us the Baptist declared, I think we must hear and hear fully this declaration: “He whom God has sent speaks the words of God” (v34). Of course this applies to Jesus. Indeed, several translations capitalize ‘He’ to make sure we apply it to Him, and to Him alone. However, it is equally true of the one who speaks that message. John was also sent by God, although his mission differed. He was not sent to be the Savior, but to announce the Savior. That is the point we find him making over and over again in John’s Gospel, because that is precisely the point that his followers missed.
In answer to the skeptic, though, I must say that the same holds true for the Evangelist who records these events for us. He, too, is bound by the terms of being one sent by God. That is, after all, the very definition of apostle. He is a sent one. He is the last of those eyewitnesses whom God chose for His particular spokesmen to establish the church. As the messenger of the God who is true, who is Truth, John is constrained to speak only what is true. He is not given leave to make up stories to fit his purposes. He cannot contrive fables to convey the message as the Greeks were wont to do. No, and he certainly dare not fabricate these events out of whole cloth in the defense of God! How can we even think that the first apologists for the God of Truth would lie to prove the Truth? The simple fact is that John, with his particular purpose in mind, with the particular needs of the church in his time in mind, was drawn to these things that spoke to his present need. The Spirit brings to mind what Jesus taught, what John experienced. Is it really so shocking that the things John would recall and set in writing would be connected? Do our thoughts not naturally travel along lines of connection?
It seems almost obvious in retrospect that the things John has written of would follow the course they do. He has introduced these two men to us from the start, and introduced them in a fashion that shows both their connection and their distinction. He has, as I believe I have already pointed out, been following the theme of purification. John baptized with a baptism of repentance, a purification of sins. Jesus cleared the courtyards of the temple, a purification of the sacrifice. Jesus proceeds to the wedding in Cana and there He performs His first sign. He turns water into wine. Oh, but as was discussed in home group last night, why did He not simply use the jars from which the wine had been emptied? Why did He insist on using the jars set apart for Jewish purification rites? Indeed, He was using the jars of water in which all the guests at the wedding had washed their hands. This thought left my daughter rather disgusted. It’s as though He had taken dishwater or some such to make the wine that so impressed the people. Why, though?
He did so primarily to purify the rites. He was declaring war on empty ritual, on ceremonies that were no more than empty habit. To this I think I would add that He was also saying a little bit more. I had not really considered this aspect until noting my daughter’s reaction to these things. Why did the people wash their hands before eating? True, there is that hygienic aspect that our own mothers taught us about. But, it was originally instituted in that culture as a washing away of sin. Well, this One who commandeered the jars, He is the Water of Life! He is the Living Word by which we are washed for real and good. Consider what He said to His disciples when they came to the upper room for that final Paschal meal together with Him. He washed their feet, much to their surprise and offense. This was, after all, a servant’s job, not the Master’s. But, He declared it a necessary example, at which point Peter was all for a complete bath. Why, if this was the real purification, he was going to go for broke. But, Jesus responded that they who had heard His words and taken them to heart, these were already clean and needed only that He should clean away the dust of their daily walk in the fallen world to restore them to full purity.
Is it possible that Jesus had this same thought in mind as He caused the water in which so many had washed their hands to be made into wine? Was He not delivering a message in that act? Look, you have quite properly washed your hands before going to the feast. That is well, but why did you do so? You did it to clean away the dirt of your daily activities. You did it to wash off the filth of sin. Yet, you had not really eliminated the dirt and the filth, you had only transferred it to the water in these jars. I am the Living Water, though. What I wash away is truly gone, not just moved about. Even this water, containing as it does all the dirt from all of you here, is not so filthy that I cannot make it pure and clean again.
All the sin that you have allowed to build up in your life as you fought against the call of God, as you plugged your ears and closed your eyes and tried to hide away from Him – the very worst of things, though you have done them all, this is no obstacle to the cleansing work of God. Whom He has called He saves and purifies and sanctifies, sets apart for Himself. He transformed Paul from terrorist to teacher, from fanatic destroyer to determined founder of churches. And Paul, once clean, was clean indeed, for it was the Christ of God who had done the washing. The Living Water had poured out upon him, and he was transformed. You and I are no different. There is no chasm of sin so great that the forgiveness that is in Him cannot bridge the gap, cannot reestablish us in His holy domains.
Now I want to turn my attention to that image that the two Johns give us of the special relationship that Jesus has with His people, with us. I speak of that image of bride and groom that John utilizes to indicate his own position in the matter: the best man. Now, looking at this with the eyes of western man, the best sense I come away with as to why this should explain John’s joy is that the love one sees between newlyweds is in its way a cause for joy in all who see them. It is a reminder of our own first love. However, it ought to be clear that John is talking about something more than this, for he specifies that it is because he is the best man that this joy comes to him.
The key lies in understanding the culture that gave rise to John. This was a culture in which marriages were not so much a matter of a couple who had long loved each other sealing their mutual future. Rather, marriages were a thing arranged by the parents of those who would be joined together. The deep mutual love between husband and wife was not a guarantee at the outset of such an arrangement, indeed might be something that the couple would have to work for. That said, when the bridegroom has met his bride – this being well before any wedding will take place – he begins to work hard for her already. He must work to prepare that place where they shall live. This should, of course, bring to mind the words of our Lord Jesus as He was leaving. “I go to prepare a place for you” (Jn 14:2). The groom must have a home to which he shall bring his bride, else her father will never allow things to proceed. Furthermore, the bride will not be presented for the wedding if the bride price has not been paid. There is that matter of the dowry, the price set by the bride’s father for the privilege of having his daughter.
Oh! What a heavy price Jesus has paid for His bride! David had been required to pay for Saul’s daughter with the price of a hundred foreskins. He must take vengeance on the Philistines who opposed Saul at risk of his own life. He paid dearly for Michal, and she served him poorly in the long run. The price Jesus has paid for His church, though, is so much greater even than this. He, too, came into the camps of the enemy. He, too, marked His enemies with the seal of His own covenant. I had not considered this, before, but there it is. David went into the camp of the Philistines and caused them to take upon themselves – albeit in death – the sign of God’s covenant with His people. Jesus likewise caused His enemies to take upon themselves the Holy Spirit, the seal of His covenant. Those enemies must also die, but only so that He may give them life.
Now, it is important to recognize that this image of bride and groom is not something that either the Evangelist or the Baptist had concocted on their own. It really is an image of God’s relationship to His people that is seen throughout the record of His work. Isaiah makes the connection when he says, “As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you” (Isa 62:5b). This is God’s view of us. We are His bride. He has paid a high price for the privilege of our hand. He has prepared well, that we may be certain of being taken care of all our days. Yet, this still has not explained the role of the best man for us.
Why is he so joyful? What cause has he to be more joyful than any other who attends the wedding? Well, there is the factor that the best man is, as we know, generally chosen from amongst the groom’s closest friends. Therefore, he is well acquainted with the groom’s anxious awaiting of the day of his wedding. However, as we consider eastern culture, we shall learn that the best man has had a special assignment in all this. Unlike western culture, where the best man stands primarily as a calming support to the groom, in the east we find him standing as guard over the purity and well-being of the bride. It is his task to ensure that no harm comes to the bride, that she is not tempted into defiling herself. When the groom comes, his joy is full because he knows he has done his job well and therefore he knows his intimate friend, whose greatest treasure he has been guarding, will be greatly pleased with the bride he has finally come to take home to himself.
Now, I see John the Baptist declaring the whole purpose of his ministry in these words. He has been standing over the bride as she prepares herself for the wedding day. He has not been standing as voyeur, of course, but as guard. He has ensured that no enemy of the Groom can slip in and harm His bride. He has made certain that every need for her preparation has been provided. He has been, as he declared, preparing the way for the wedding day of the Lamb. News that the Groom is come, and His bride is going to Him cannot come as disturbing news to John, for this is the One he has been preparing her for. Rather, that He is come has validated and fulfilled all that John has been doing. Of course, the Groom must have the bride. What best man would ever seek to keep her for himself? That would be the height of treachery.
When I consider this special relationship of the best man, I see that it is also the role that John the Evangelist finds himself in as he writes this Gospel. Indeed, I think it is that very care and concern of the best man for the purity of the bride to be that has led to his writing. It is clear through all that he has written to this point that he is deeply concerned with the matter of purity and purification. He has told us of Jesus’ first sign, where he utilized the waters of purification to make wine. What was this, but a purifying of the ceremonial? He has told us of Jesus coming into the courts of the Temple and chasing out the profiteers. What is this but a purifying of the sacrifice? He has told us of Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus, in which He has begun purifying the understanding of Scripture. Now, we find that He is out baptizing, purifying the bride of her sins, even as John had been doing. It seems inevitable, that John, the last of the Apostles, should concern himself with this matter of keeping the bride safe, for he must have seen that he was standing as the best man, even as the Baptist had before him.
He also concerned himself greatly with maintaining the purity of doctrine in the bride of Christ. Men had come seeking to elevate the Baptist’s place in the faith, even claiming for him the title of Messiah that he had rejected. These must be reminded of the Baptist’s own testimony, that they might turn to that One that John had pointed them to. More importantly, those who were in John’s care, the church over which he was set as watchmen, must be taught in such a manner that they could distinguish between the claims of the True Messiah, and the claims of these misled messengers. He was serving his role well, this best man who guards the Church. If we look to his letters, we will see that he was doing so all along. He who does the most to introduce us to the Husband who will be ours and to make sure we realize that we are His bride, is keenly aware of the responsibility that is his. Thus, it is not only the Baptist whose joy is made full as the Groom comes. The Evangelist also writes to the church so that he and his charges may share the very same fellowship with the Father and with the Groom, and he does so in order that his joy might be complete as he sees the bride delivered pure and undefiled to her Groom (1Jn 1:3-4).
There are other occasions, mostly in John’s writings, where we come upon this thought of joy made full. In several of these, again thinking particularly of those which John records, I see connection with this motif of bride and Groom. Jesus declares to His disciples that what He has said has been said that they might have His joy in them, thereby making their own joy full (Jn 15:11). Of course, we do well, as disciples of Jesus ourselves, to put that in a more personal tone. He has told me “these things:” about the Father’s love, about His love for me, about how keeping His commandments will cause me to abide in His love; so that His joy may be in me, and therefore my own joy may be made full. Now, in this case, I really do need to ask myself what exactly Jesus meant by saying His joy would be in me. Is He really talking about an impartation, here, as He imparts His righteousness to me? I don’t know, but I rather doubt it. No, I think He is speaking here as an older brother, as a groom, as a shepherd. I can say, for instance that my joy is found in playing the saxophone, yet this does not suggest in any way that I have imparted something of myself to that inert instrument. My joy is still to be found within myself. Somebody else picking up that instrument will not find my joy somehow sitting within its bell.
What Jesus is saying here is that as we take to heart the things that He has commanded and taught, the things that are pleasing to God and therefore pleasing to Him, He can rejoice in us. Oh, His love for us is unconditional as ever it is, but this does not change the fact that one would prefer the object of one’s love to be lovely. I love my daughter no less when she pulls some boneheaded stunt, but this does not require me to be pleased with that stunt, nor does it prevent me from pointing out the errors of her ways. She may not think this is loving. She may decide that we are mad at her. She may well be right. That hasn’t changed the fact of love. Of course, as a parent, I am far happier with this daughter of mine when she is doing the things she ought, the things that are pleasing to Mom and Dad. Jesus is simply telling us this same simple fact. When we do what God has taught us, what is pleasing to Him, it is pleasing not only to God who commands, but to the Son who has done His utmost to train us. It reflects well on His own choice of us as His own, and of His efforts to raise us in righteousness when we pursue the path that He has shown.
I should also think that as the Groom looking upon His bride to be, it is bound to bring joy to His heart when He sees that His bride is preparing herself. See, those very instructions that have been given to us in order that we might please the Father are the same instructions that will prepare us to be a fitting bride for the Son. Is it any wonder that He should find His joy in us as we begin to set aside every distraction, to put away every sin? Now, when I look at the end of that thought, my own joy made full, I see myself as the bride. Yes, and as I look into the eyes of my Groom coming to receive me what do I see? I see the joy in His face as He considers me. I see the love, the desire for me that is agape love, shining in His eyes. I see the longing of an eternity of waiting for me, the anticipation of an eternity of love shared. How could my joy be anything less than full in seeing my Husband coming to me with this joyful anticipation in Him!
Later, I find my Jesus telling His bride to be that from this point onward, whatever she asks (whatever I ask) on His authority I will surely receive. This, too, is said to be something that will cause my joy to be full (Jn 16:24). Why is that? Have I just been handed God’s credit card so that I can go off on a shopping spree, satisfy my every whim and desire? NO! I have, however, been authorized to take upon myself the name of my Husband, even though the wedding day has not come just yet. So binding are the terms of our engagement, so certain is He of my purity when that day does come, that there is absolutely no fear on His part that a divorce shall prove necessary. By handing me this great authority, to act in His name, to procure those things that I know will be pleasing to Him on His own credit, He is telling me how certain I can be of my wedding day. Already, the benefits of being joined to His household flow to me. Already, He has declared His full trust in my stewardship over what is His. He has as well as said that nothing, absolutely nothing can cause that wedding to be cancelled. I will be His and He will be mine forever in eternity.
Jesus, I simply must take a moment to thank You for that assurance this morning. How can I look at this complete joy that You have given me and not stop to simply praise You and Your graciousness towards me! Oh! That You have trusted me with Your own reputation, my Love. I feel, yet, so unworthy of that trust. Yet, I am so blessed by Your own assurance that I shall be worthy. Jesus, even until now I have not really asked for anything with an eye towards Your own interests. Oh, I know I have asked for things upon Your authority, and I hope I have been careful to ask only those things that will be acceptable in Your eyes. But, have I really had Your interests at heart, or simply my own? How often have I only sought You on Your preference of color, but already decided that we will have wallpaper in the living room? How often have I asked You solely for Your preference in regards to the spices used, but already determined that like it or not, we’re having steak tonight? How often, to put it bluntly, I have insisted on my own way even as I politely allow You some input, just so long as You don’t try to stop me?
When I do these things, Jesus, wake me up to what I have done! I know I can be a strong-willed child. It is not my desire to be so, just the habit of years spent running from You. Now that You have caused this desire in me to grow, now that You have shown me how lovely is that dwelling place You are preparing for me, now that I am running just as hard to be with You, help me to set aside the habits of hardness. Continue Your work of purification, Lord, that I may be wholly prepared for You when You come.
Looking at the next occurrence of this phrase in John 17:13, I find it much easier to consider that joy as something imparted to us. There, Jesus is talking to the Father, but vocally and in the presence of His disciples. He declares that He has done this so that those who heard Him might have His joy made full in themselves. The several translations at my disposal appear to be unanimous in this, that He said they would have His joy. It seems to me that there is no longer any question of His suggesting that their actions would cause Him to look upon them with joy. That He does look upon His disciples with joy at their obedience is true enough, but here the topic appears to be more concerned with the condition of the disciples themselves.
Let me break it down this way: He says that because of the things they have heard from Him, particularly as He speaks to the Father, they may have His joy. Now, that in itself might count as a pretty shocking statement coming from the Man of Sorrows. Here was one soon to face the agonizing death that was crucifixion. He would be whipped, beaten, spat upon, abused, caused to suffer in countless ways, culminating in that horrifying period of separation from His otherwise eternal fellowship in the Trinity. Indeed, He would be proceeding on His own death march with the conclusion of this very prayer. Yet, He speaks of His joy as something to be desired. This from the Man who so recently wept for Jerusalem, who had just been betrayed by one of His closest followers. If this is the joy He is offering, is it really something I want to have?
It should be clear from the situation that the joy Jesus offers is far more than emotional happiness, or even satisfaction. There was something in Jesus’ spirit that upheld Him, kept Him fully at peace even as He experienced the most wrenching anguish of soul. There was something in His spirit that held Him so well that He could look upon His tormenters in that moment of His dying and seek their forgiveness, having already forgiven them Himself. That something is the same something that gave strength to the martyrs throughout the ages. It is not that weak and watery conception of joy that looks only to the satisfaction of present desires. It is not that flimsy emotion that only survives so long as everything is going our way. Quite the contrary. This is something stronger than iron and steel. It is the mettle that strengthens men to face the worst of circumstances, to face the absolute certainty of their own demise with nothing but confidence. It is the solidity of purpose and character that comes of having one’s hope in that which cannot fail: the promises of God.
In this High Priestly prayer, Jesus is making certain that those in His charge are as fully prepared as He can possibly make them to face what He is about to go through. He is not the only one who will need strength of character to persevere through the trial ahead. His agony on the cross is, thankfully, unknowable to us. Even those who died on either side of Him did not share the full weight of His suffering. Yet, for those who had followed Him there was to be another sort of suffering, a crushing of hope at His death. However well He sought to prepare them for what was coming, still it was to take them by surprise. It was unfathomable to these who had understood that the One they followed was God’s own Son. They could only surmise that they had been wrong, deluded, fooled again. Against this despondency, Jesus provides the best of inoculations as He prays. He provides for them the same joy that was to sustain Him, His own joy in knowing that whatever may come in the present, His future is assured. Furthermore, He says that His joy, which He imparts to them, will be made full in them. It is not, then, simply that they would understand His joy, that they would recognize that there was something unique in Him by which He could face the cross in victory. Neither was it a promise of the occasional good vibe during Sunday services. No, this was joy made full! This was the strength to rejoice in the midst of the greatest trial, knowing that their place in heaven was equally as assured as was His own, because it was assured by Him who is Faithful and True.
The joy that was in Christ was reflective of that eternal fellowship He partook in: Father, Son, and Spirit in eternal communion one with another. It was by inviting us, nay, drawing us into that same eternal communion that Jesus provided assurance of joy unspeakable. Indeed, but a bit further in His prayer, we come across that invitation. He seeks from the Father that which He knows will be given: that all who believe in Him will be one as He is one with the Father and the Holy Spirit (Jn 17:20-21). That is our joy. That is our assurance. That is exactly what John is writing about in that first letter of his. He writes to the church under his care in order that they would likewise have fellowship with Him who is the Light of Truth, and that by their fellowship with the Christ of God, they would likewise share in fellowship with himself. In that fellowship for which he wrote, they would find their joy made complete (1Jn 1:3-4). I recall, in studying that letter, that I wondered whether John indicated himself or his readers when he spoke of ‘our joy.’ I think, in light of this, that it must surely have been both.
If joy is truly connected to unity and fellowship, then joy cannot be complete until the number of that fellowship is complete. When I look at that place where Paul takes up this phrase, I find that he has connected it quite purposefully to the thought of unity. “Complete my joy,” he commands (Php 2:2). How shall they do this thing? By being of one mind, by sharing in one love, by being intent on one purpose, and by being united in one Spirit. Be one as Christ and Father are one. Be so united in spirit that no wedge of separation can be driven between you. Be so firm and supportive in love one for another that no whispered gossip can cause the least doubt to creep in.
“Complete My joy.” It may have been Paul’s writing, but it was Jesus’ command. It is, after all, His desire to see us so united – one as the Trinity is one. The power we have to fulfill His command is found in the love He both calls us to and suffuses us with. It is a love close related to that very agape love that He told Nicodemus of. However, as we find it later in this passage, speaking of the relationship of Father to Son, it takes on a slightly different nuance. Here, the idea is that of directing one’s will toward that one who is to be loved, and to direct it such that it finds its joy in the object of love. In that sense, we could look at verse 35 here, as indicating that the Father wills Himself to find joy in His Son.
As a parent, I would have to say that in honest assessment there are many times when I must forcefully will myself to find joy in my child. There are doubtless just as many times when my wife must forcefully will herself to find joy in me. It is the way of human nature that our lovability is often found lacking, and any who love us must do so with force of will. Now, Paul tells us to maintain the same love. This is part of what makes his joy complete, that we are willing to expend the effort it takes to love each other even in those times when it becomes difficult to do so. This is God’s desire. You know, if you are honest with yourself anyway, that there are times when God seems unlovely to us. It is difficult to read of His wrath and the vengeance He has taken upon His enemies in times past and be in love with the image of Him we see there. For some, it is difficult to love this One who sacrificed His own Son. There is much about Him that we may find hard to love because in our estimation it is unlovely.
Oh! But when I consider how I must appear in His eyes! How shall I compare my own opinions in light of that? Here is one who fought Him tooth and nail, was utterly determined to do things as I saw fit, to participate actively in whatever sins I could manage to get into, to wrestle against His restraints with all the strength that was in me. Yet, He willed Himself to find joy in me. Indeed, He was so utterly determined to find joy in me that He continued to restrain me whether I would have it so or not. He was so utterly determined to find joy in me that He took upon Himself the task of making me something in which He could find joy. He, on His own initiative, sent His Son to pay for those crimes I had committed against Him. He, on His own initiative, sent His Spirit to awaken my spirit, to teach me the ways of life to replace what I had learned the ways of death. And, what does He ask for this great gift? That I direct my will towards finding joy in those who, like myself, have found themselves the objects of His love.
Love one another. Direct your will towards finding joy in one another. In spite of our quirks, our personality differences, our opinions and our repulsive habits, love one another. Rejoice in one another, for if nothing else, we have all been saved by His grace. We have all been objects of His love, and if we are directing our wills toward finding our joy in Him, then surely we must love that which brings Him joy! If my God whom I love finds joy in this brother or sister of mine, then surely I must love them, too, for the joy they bring Him. Oh! Hear what the Spirit is saying! Be united in spirit, for your spirits have all been taught of One Holy Spirit. Pursue as those united by a single purpose, mutual love for and joy in one another. Rejoice in your mutual heritage, for each one of us has received only that which has been given us from heaven.
Lastly, in this consideration of joy made full, I turn to 2John 12. This, too, is a verse I have studied before. However, in light of this present study I see something new unfolding out of that verse. John, of course, wrote first and foremost for himself when he said he hoped to come in person to talk personally with these who were his charges. Unlike Paul’s concern over his reception by the Corinthians – knowing as he did that he must come with words of reproof and correction – John wrote with the assurance that his visit would be welcomed with great joy. Now, I know John wrote on his own behalf, but for us here in the last days, his words are as the Holy Spirit speaking. Here, then, God telling us this very same thing: “I could have written so much more for your instruction, but I hope instead to speak with you face to face, knowing that this will make your joy full.” Now, I can think of any number of theologians who would bristle at this thought. They would raise of the sacrosanct nature of the completed Scriptures, the completion of God’s revelation in these 66 books, and their determination that He no longer speaks in revelation. But, my God is not dead. Neither does He change. He Who spoke to Moses, and to all His children by many and diverse means in times past has not become mute. The Scriptures are most blessed, to be sure. They are the very word of God, but dare we really say that they are the last thing that God ever said? When Jesus came, and John announcing Him, there had been no word from God in many a century. To some, this presented a stumbling block when He again took voice. To others, it created a great longing for that personal visitation.
I must maintain that my God is not silent. He still speaks today, and He still speaks in one holy accord with all that He has ever said. I will admit that many who claim to speak for Him lie in that claim. Yet, the prophets of old suffered that same issue, that many spoke without authority, thereby making the Truth more difficult to discern and declare. The fact that the enemy comes and sows his tares amongst the wheat does not place the requirement upon us that we avoid all wheat for fear that it might be tares. No! It requires that we discern between the two, ensure that what we eat is wholesome. In this, as ever, the Scripture, the revealed and written word of God remains our primary tool. It is not sufficient that the claimant to truth quotes the Scriptures. Even the devil can do that, and has done so. It is not sufficient that the claimant to prophecy speaks accurate predictions. Even Balaam did as much, but it was no blessing. It is not sufficient that the claimant to being God’s man comes with all manner of healings and deliverances and other claims to the miraculous. Pharaoh’s magicians were able to produce any number of wonders, but they were no men of God. All of these things are possible, even desirable in the true man of God. There can be nothing wrong in the teacher presenting Scriptural evidence for what he teaches. There can be nothing wrong with declaring what God is revealing to us – call it illumination if that makes you more comfortable. There can be nothing wrong with the power of God so moving in His servants that signs and wonders accompany them, even Scripture has promised. However, we must always bear in mind the warnings of Scripture alongside the promises. If that teacher teaches what does not accord with Scripture, if in any way he teaches us to depart from the Way to pursue other gods – gods of science, gods of art, gods of business, gods of humanism – it matters not what credentials he can show, he is false and must be rejected. He has been sent to test our faithfulness to God, and it is only to be hoped that we shall not be found wanting.
Consider in this light what John says near the end of his testimony. “He whom God has sent speaks the words of God.” That’s the mark of the prophet. I know I asked whether John intended this to apply strictly to the Christ or to himself as well. What his intentions were, I cannot honestly say, but I can say this: The Spirit that was given to Christ without measure was likewise in John as he declared this truth, and in the Evangelist as well, as he recorded it for us to read this day. Indeed, it is a statement that is true of any man or woman whom God has sent. Whether you were sent to one individual, or sent to speak to masses, if you were indeed sent by God, it is His words you shall speak. This is really the test of the prophet in reverse.
There is a connection here. Look at the whole thing from verse 32 through verse 34. The Son (and we are clearly speaking of Him specifically here), bears witness to that which He has seen and heard. What has He seen and heard? The very Truth of God! He has been personal witness to the courts of heaven, wherein He has sat by the throne through all eternity. He knows Lucifer quite well, for He was there when that once bright star was thrown from heaven for his rebellion. John proceeds to tell us that those who believe what the Son has taught are declaring by their belief that God is True. They declare Him true because they believe the one He sent, the one who speaks His words, who bears His Spirit without measure. How does this fit? Well, it fits precisely because the One who speaks for the God who is True must surely speak Truth. I’ve said before that this is exactly why the penalties are so great for the false prophet. When we believe the one He has sent to speak His words, when we acknowledge that those words are true, we acknowledge that He is true, that He cannot and will not lie. Indeed, we declare that He is not hidden away somewhere that we cannot know Him. That is, after all, what that word truth means. Truth is not hidden. It is there in the Light showing itself to all who care to look.
Now, considering that connection of thought, it is perhaps fitting that so many translations apply that “he whom God sent” to Jesus, for clearly it is Jesus that the Baptist is speaking of. Yet, I must maintain that the application is much greater. It applies to the Baptist. It applies to the Evangelist. It applies to every prophet of God, and to every teacher of God who teaches truly. That said, there has only been One who infallibly spoke that which God sent Him to speak, for only that One could speak as one who had seen and heard personally the things of which He taught. For the rest of us, we must rely on His testimony, and strive to our utmost to relay accurately that which He has said in times past. We must be diligent lest we allow error to creep in by our own carelessness or from our own opinions. We must be ever aware that we receive nothing, unless God gives it to us from heaven. I can teach nothing, if God does not feed it to me. If I seek to teach out of my own knowledge, my own understanding, it shall be a very dead thing. Oh! But, when He gives me the subject and the exposition! When He impresses upon me in unmistakable fashion just what it is He wishes to have taught in this moment for this time! Well, now it is words of life that come from this mouth.
Thank You, Lord, for those moments when I can truly lay claim to that power which is Yours to give. Thank You, that You have given me such a caution for that which claims to be Yours, yet presents a very different picture than do You. Lord, let it never descend into blind cynicism. Yet, keep me ever aware that there are many imposters who seek to distract and thereby destroy Your family. You have made me keenly aware of the great Truth that the Light cannot be overcome by the deepest darkness. What power there is in that! What strength to stand against the flood! It is so simple, Lord, and yet so hard to truly grasp. We have been trained to fear, Lord, train us to fearlessness! We have been looking for trouble, train us to look for victory. Oh, God! I don’t ask or advise any of this ‘power of positive thinking’ nonsense. I simply pray that You would cause us to recognize that which You have made us to be, that which You have equipped us to do, and that You would so will and work in us, in me, that I would be and do that which will make Your joy in me full.
Before I finish my considerations of John’s testimony, I feel I must consider that final statement that he makes. “He who believes in the Son has eternal life. He who does not shall not see life, for God’s wrath remains upon him.” As I have noted, this but echoes what Jesus said Himself. “Whoever believes may have eternal life” (Jn 3:15), “and is not judged. Whoever doesn’t has been judged already” (Jn 3:18). Well, were I to take only what John had said, I could come away with the feeling that it’s all up to me after all. If I fail to believe in Him, I will have condemned myself to God’s eternal wrath. What a fearful place to find oneself! If it’s all up to me, then however good and pleasant the promises of God are, there’s no assurance for me in them. For how am I, with this deceptive heart, to know for certain that I have believed Him, and not just some opinions I either learned or formed for myself?
Is it just possible, though, that those things Jesus said might have already answered this issue? He said that the one who does not believe has already been judged, convicted, and condemned. Well, the pride we tend to have in ourselves would be glad enough to take credit even for that awful outcome. I may be condemned to die, but at least it’s something I did for myself, at least I did it my way while I lived. But, I think we misinterpret Jesus if we hear Him in that way. See, the point He is making is that the very unbelief in which the unbeliever walks is the beginning of the sentence of God’s wrath. Were God’s wrath turned away, it would be because belief had already sprung up in them, and belief, after all, is the thing in us that reflects the atoning work of Christ on our behalf. He saved me. I did not go out crying for His aid, but He came. In my unbelief I did not so much as notice that there was trouble brewing, but He cleared my eyes to see.
The key is to understand that it is all about Him. If it is not absolutely, completely, and solely about Jesus then we remain in dire straits however much we may think we’ve improved. If it is not all His doing that I stand in God’s grace today, then I have absolutely no reason to think I’ll continue standing in His grace tomorrow. The greatest assurance I can possibly hold onto is the simple fact that it truly is God who has given life to this believer. Though I continue to screw up on all too many occasions, still I can cling to that fact. Though I must acknowledge my own imperfections are yet beyond counting, still I can cling to His perfection and know that my future is certain. The minute I am required to rely on my own behavior, my own victory over myself, I am doomed. The minute my actions are given such a standing that they can sever me from my Christ, I am a dead man, and can know with absolute certainty that I stand amongst the condemned, for my case is become utterly hopeless.
But this is not the case, thanks be to God! Some will look to Paul as having declared the fragility of our truce with an angry God. After all, he tells us to be careful lest we grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30). Those who seek to convince us of the tenuous nature of our salvation love to remind us of that statement. Yet, they fail to preach the whole word. For, what does Paul tell us about that Holy Spirit whom we are in danger of grieving? He tells us that this Holy Spirit is the One who has sealed us for redemption! Whose seal is it that we have upon us, then? It is God’s own seal, the indelible stamp of the eternal, unchanging God! Here what Paul says elsewhere about our God. “His firm foundation stands. It bears this seal” (2Ti 2:19)… Now, at this point our ears really ought to be perking up. The Holy Spirit sealed us, and now, we are told that it is His own firm foundation in us that bears that seal of the Spirit. Wow! It is the firm foundation placed by the unshakable God who will never leave nor forsake us! Now, hear what is upon that seal. “The Lord knows those who are His.” That is the witness to which the seal attests. You are His, marked by Him for the day of redemption, set upon the firm foundation of a faith that He has given you by grace, that is none of your own doing, but wholly and solely His. There is something else written upon that seal He has placed upon you. It is written to answer the question of how we ought to live in light of this foundation. How shall we build upon the firm foundation He has set? “Let all who name the Lord abstain from wickedness.” That’s it. It’s an echo of the basics God has always laid out. Walk in righteousness, love justice, be humble before your God. Obey His commands because of your love for Him who saved you.
See, He who is my firm foundation, He by whose blood my sins have been forgiven, He was given authority over all men (Jn 17:2). He has the permit and the power to give eternal life to every man whom the Father has given Him. Do you hear that clearly? Dad made the call! The Changeless One, in Whom is no shadow of turning, who was and is and is to come; He has determined my salvation. He has determined it! He has not suggested, allowed the possibility that maybe, just maybe, if I can keep my nose clean for this probationary period of life, He might save me. No! He has determined it, set His seal upon it, issued His decree that it shall be so.
What a wonderful seal He has placed upon me, too! Those twin messages that He has inscribed upon my life. The Lord knows that I am His own! Whatever might happen to me, wherever I might wind up, and however I might meet the end of this flesh, nothing can so disfigure this life that He will not recognize me as His own. The prodigal son of which Jesus spoke, when he came home, must have been near unto unrecognizable. All his fine clothing had long since been reduced to rags. The grime of that work he had done to scrape by was ground into his skin, soaked into his pores. Indeed, he was near to emaciation for lack of the nourishment his efforts could not afford him. He was by all appearances just a filthy beggar come seeking handouts. But his father recognized him still, in spite of the change. Likewise, the seal of my Father upon me continues to shine out, even when I have been negligent. However badly I’ve blown it, when I snap out of it, I see that seal remains, and there is the message reminding me what I ought to be doing. “Let those who name the Lord abstain from wickedness.”
Now, I realize that when I was considering the moral application of this passage, my choice of expression reflected that piece of me that still wants to have the credit. “If we believe what He says of us, then we must surely live like we mean it.” I stand behind the underlying truth of that thought, but there is no if about this. We either believe because we are believers, because He has put belief within us, sealed for eternity by the Holy Spirit, or we do not believe because He has not so moved upon us.
Lord, if there is anybody reading through these pages who is in that latter category, who has never known You presence prompting belief, I pray that You would have mercy upon them even in this moment. Open their understanding, Lord, to know You. God! I know from experience that You are able and willing to prove Yourself real and true when You have determined that one such as I shall be saved. You have done so for me, I know You will gladly do so for any others who need that reason to believe. You have no fear of dealing with the rational mind, for You created that rational mind, and You created it to reflect Your own nature. You never call upon us to suspend disbelief. You simply provide reason to believe. I may have to stand in the faith You have given me at times, neither seeing nor comprehending what is happening about me, yet even then, You give me brains to use. Even then, You give me eyes to see that with time I might understand what has transpired in Your presence.
God, open the unbeliever to know You. Have mercy upon them. In Your mercy show Your wonderful grace towards them by sharing with them the same gift You shared with me. I know, Lord. I know that they have no further worth in them then I do. They have done nothing to deserve Your kindness, but neither had I. Indeed, I have done plenty to deserve Your wrath, yet You have shown me nothing but love. Do so, also for these lost ones, Lord, whether they know what they do or not. Draw them to You, Lord, that Your glory may be magnified in Your mercy.
Now, let me turn back to that application, and rephrase it just slightly. Because we believe what He says of us, because we bear that seal of faith upon us, we must surely live like we believe. Sadly, unlike the salvation He so freely gave to us, the behavior that becomes us as recipients of His gifts is not assured. I say sadly because I know for myself that it saddens me when I find I am doing things that I know full well are not right. How many times have I spoken a word in frustration and had that immediate sense of the wrongness of that word? It has occurred to me this morning that that sense of wrongness is but a reflection of His seal upon me. It’s the voice of the Holy Spirit, Who is, after all, that seal upon my life saying, “Let those who name the Lord abstain from wickedness.” Now, I have no doubt that He was saying this very thing before ever I blew it, but my ears were too busy listening to the voice of the flesh, the voice of habits formed over a lifetime of wayward living. There are things one picks up in the pig sties. They are not pleasant things, but over time they become familiar, and there is a certain comfort we find in that familiarity. Such things may comfort us, as we’ve grown accustomed to them, but they are hardly likely to recommend our company to those we seek out.
Jesus has pulled us out of the pig sty. He has, like the father of the prodigal son He spoke of, given us the signet ring, the seal of His royal household upon us. He has placed upon us the robe of His own righteousness. He has declared in every possible way that we are full-fledged members of His household in good standing. Yet, the courts of heaven have become foreign to us, though they are home. We have grown so used to the filth in which we’ve been rolling that this clean place is a tad uncomfortable. It’s going to require a bit of getting used to, and as we seek to establish ourselves comfortably in His house, we yet have this tendency to wander off to the old places now and again. But, all the while, as we sit amidst the filth of former ways, there is that signet we wear. Whatever we may be doing, that signet He has placed upon us comes before our eyes and we cannot ignore it. It sparkles its message of cleanliness, and we are reminded of just what it is we are doing, just how much we are offending our Father, our Lord, our Savior. There is nothing left for it but to leave that place behind, to clean up and go home once again.
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve thought to revisit some harmless entertainment remembered from younger days only to find that it really wasn’t so harmless. That comedy I found so amusing in my youth is now seen to be nothing more than a mouthpiece for sin and foulness. Oh, it seemed so funny when I saw it from my own darkness. It commiserated with me, met with my approval for it reflected my own fallen state. Far better in our estimation to find the world looking just as filthy as we are than to be reminded of our filthy state by its cleanliness. This is precisely why our new home, our new life is so uncomfortable as we enter in. It forces recognition of who we have been, who we still are in part. It cannot help but lead to a great deal of discomfort in years to come, because the battle we have joined with the habits and customs of darkness goes on, however far we progress towards the light. Until we come to that place where we can, thanks to His perfected work in us, see Him as He truly is, we must continue in this struggle between the new life He has brought, and the old life that seeks to draw us back down to the pit. That old life does not give up easily, and it has strong allies in its attempt to return us to our chains.
Oh! But you are from God, little children, and have overcome them (even if it doesn’t feel that way at present). You have overcome because He who is in you, the Seal of God upon you, is greater than he who is in the world (1Jn 4:4). “Take courage,” cries your Salvation. “Take courage! I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33). “Take courage! I have overcome your sinful past, and your sinful present.” Stand firm against those habits of old. Do all that is in your power to resist the devil, and know that He shall fill in every deficiency. Stand firm, having done all you can to resist, and when you have done everything you know to do, stand firm (Eph 6:13). When you waver, look upon the seal He has put on your life. “The Lord knows who are His. Let those who name the Lord abstain from wickedness.” He knows you are His own. So does His enemy the devil. The devil wishes to take you from Him, though he cannot. He would have you think he can, but he cannot, for the Lord knows His own, and has sealed them for the day of His coming. Our part, the part that is prompted not by hidebound obedience to duty, but by a deep and abiding love for He who paid our price of freedom, is to abstain from those old things that once defined us. They define us no longer. We have been set free from them, and whom the Son has set free is free indeed (Jn 8:36)! Walk, then, as free men walk, not in that bowed abjection of your former slavery. What sort of man would return to his slavery having tasted true freedom? Stand firm!
