From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
daily devotional
Evening ...
John 5:39
They are they which testify of Me.
Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega of the Bible. He is the constant theme of
its sacred pages; from first to last they testify of Him. At the creation we at
once discern Him as one of the sacred Trinity; we catch a glimpse of Him in the
promise of the woman's seed; we see Him typified in the ark of Noah; we walk
with Abraham, as He sees Messiah's day; we dwell in the tents of Isaac and
Jacob, feeding upon the gracious promise; we hear the venerable Israel talking
of Shiloh; and in the numerous types of the law, we find the Redeemer
abundantly foreshadowed. Prophets and kings, priests and preachers, all look
one way-they all stand as the cherubs did over the ark, desiring to look
within, and to read the mystery of God's great propitiation. Still more
manifestly in the New Testament we find our Lord the one pervading subject. It
is not an ingot here and there, or dust of gold thinly scattered, but here you
stand upon a solid floor of gold; for the whole substance of the New Testament
is Jesus crucified, and even its closing sentence is bejewelled with the
Redeemer's name. We should always read Scripture in this light; we should
consider the word to be as a mirror into which Christ looks down from heaven;
and then we, looking into it, see His face reflected as in a glass-darkly, it
is true, but still in such a way as to be a blessed preparation for seeing Him
as we shall see Him face to face. This volume contains Jesus Christ's letters
to us, perfumed by His love. These pages are the garments of our King, and they
all smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia. Scripture is the royal chariot in
which Jesus rides, and it is paved with love for the daughters of Jerusalem.
The Scriptures are the swaddling bands of the holy child Jesus; unroll them and
you find your Saviour. The quintessence of the word of God is Christ.
John 14:15-18
(15) If ye love me, keep my commandments. (16) And I will pray the Father,
and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
(17) Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth
him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and
shall be in you. (18) I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
This is a prophecy. When this was spoken, He had not yet died, so He had
not yet been resurrected and glorified. Thus, the Spirit was not yet given
either. He shows another condition (in addition to the ones in John 7:37-39)
for the giving of the Holy Spirit: "Keep My commandments."
Notice that the Spirit is described as being with and in. This clarifies
the matter of coming to Christ. We have to be called and to respond. If we fail
to do the latter, even though God's Spirit is "with" us-leading us to Christ-it
will never be "in" us unless we respond and meet the conditions.
For the disciples at the time, the Spirit was with them-in Christ,
teaching and guiding. However, a time was coming when it would be in them,
literally. This did not occur until Pentecost, in Acts 2. So it is with us: The
Spirit is with us before conversion, and it is by this means that God brings us
to Christ.
If God did not do this miraculous work, the enmity against Him ( Romans
8:7)-coupled with our spiritual confusion-would never permit the process of
conversion even to start. Our calling is a tremendous act of mercy on God's
part; it is a miracle that we even respond. If it were not for that-for God's
mercy in choosing us to be called-we would never make it off the starting
block. God has to work a tremendous miracle even to get us to be willing to
come to Christ and begin to learn.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From The Covenants, Grace and Law (Part 12)
.
============================================
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
daily devotional
Evening ...
John 5:39
Search the Scriptures.
The Greek word here rendered search signifies a strict, close, diligent,
curious search, such as men make when they are seeking gold, or hunters when
they are in earnest after game. We must not rest content with having given a
superficial reading to a chapter or two, but with the candle of the Spirit we
must deliberately seek out the hidden meaning of the word. Holy Scripture
requires searching-much of it can only be learned by careful study. There is
milk for babes, but also meat for strong men. The rabbis wisely say that a
mountain of matter hangs upon every word, yea, upon every title of Scripture.
Tertullian exclaims, "I adore the fulness of the Scriptures." No man who merely
skims the book of God can profit thereby; we must dig and mine until we obtain
the hid treasure. The door of the word only opens to the key of diligence. The
Scriptures claim searching. They are the writings of God, bearing the divine
stamp and imprimatur- who shall dare to treat them with levity? He who despises
them despises the God who wrote them. God forbid that any of us should leave
our Bibles to become swift witnesses against us in the great day of account.
The word of God will repay searching. God does not bid us sift a mountain of
chaff with here and there a grain of wheat in it, but the Bible is winnowed
corn-we have but to open the granary door and find it. Scripture grows upon the
student. It is full of surprises. Under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, to the
searching eye it glows with splendour of revelation, like a vast temple paved
with wrought gold, and roofed with rubies, emeralds, and all manner of gems. No
merchandise like the merchandise of Scripture truth. Lastly, the Scriptures
reveal Jesus: "They are they which testify of Me." No more powerful motive can
be urged upon Bible readers than this: he who finds Jesus finds life, heaven,
all things. Happy he who, searching his Bible, discovers his Saviour.
Morning ...
Romans 14:8
We live unto the Lord.
If God had willed it, each of us might have entered heaven at the moment of
conversion. It was not absolutely necessary for our preparation for immortality
that we should tarry here. It is possible for a man to be taken to heaven, and
to be found meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light,
though he has but just believed in Jesus. It is true that our sanctification is
a long and continued process, and we shall not be perfected till we lay aside
our bodies and enter within the veil; but nevertheless, had the Lord so willed
it, He might have changed us from imperfection to perfection, and have taken us
to heaven at once. Why then are we here? Would God keep His children out of
paradise a single moment longer than was necessary? Why is the army of the
living God still on the battle-field when one charge might give them the
victory? Why are His children still wandering hither and thither through a
maze, when a solitary word from His lips would bring them into the centre of
their hopes in heaven? The answer is-they are here that they may "live unto the
Lord," and may bring others to know His love. We remain on earth as sowers to
scatter good seed; as ploughmen to break up the fallow ground; as heralds
publishing salvation. We are here as the "salt of the earth," to be a blessing
to the world. We are here to glorify Christ in our daily life. We are here as
workers for Him, and as "workers together with Him." Let us see that our life
answereth its end. Let us live earnest, useful, holy lives, to "the praise of
the glory of His grace." Meanwhile we long to be with Him, and daily sing-
"My heart is with Him on His throne,
And ill can brook delay;
Each moment listening for the voice,
'Rise up, and come away.'"
John 17:3
(3) And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
He does not use the term "immortal" or "endless," but He describes a kind
and quality of life in terms of knowledge and a relationship with the Father
and Son, a very intimate relationship.
Do not be misled by the limited Strong's definition of the word
translated "eternal" in this verse. A more complete lexicon like Spiros
Zodhiates' Complete Word Study Dictionary of the New Testament gives a more
precise usage-how the word is used in the Bible rather than merely in classical
Greek. Zodhiates says that the word refers to the "life which is God's" (p.
107). The life of God is more than endless, and that is what is important here.
He adds, "It is to be understood as referring not only to duration, but more so
to quality. That is, it is not merely life that is eternal in duration, but is
primarily something different from the natural life of man, i.e., the life of
God."
The Daily Bible Study Commentary: John (Volume 2) by William Barclay
contains this comment:
There is another important thought in this passage, for it contains the
great New Testament definition of eternal life. It is eternal life to know God
and to know Jesus Christ whom he has sent. Let us remind ourselves of what
eternal means. In Greek, it is aionis. This word has to do, not so much with
duration of life, for life which went on forever would not necessarily be a
boon. Its main meaning is quality of life. There is only one person to whom the
aionis can properly be applied, and that is God. Eternal life is, therefore,
nothing other than the life of God. To possess it, to enter into it, is to
experience here and now something of the splendor and the majesty, and the joy,
and the peace, and the holiness, which are characteristic of the life of God.
(p. 207)
John 17:3 also contains the word "know." To understand eternal life, we
must also understand how this word is used here. It undoubtedly contains
elements of intellectual knowledge, understanding, discernment, information,
and familiarity. However, this word suggests more than this because the Old
Testament regularly uses "know" to describe sexual knowledge. Sexual knowledge
between a husband and wife is the most intimate of knowledge. Husband and wife
are no longer two but one flesh. In this regard, in John 17:3, the important
thing is not the sexual act but the intimacy of heart and mind that in true
love precede the act. To know God, therefore, is not merely to have
intellectual knowledge of Him, but it is having an intimate, personal
relationship with Him like the nearest and dearest relationship between two
people.
Hosea 4:6 provides an interesting example of the practical effect of
"knowing": "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have
rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because
you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children."
God's implication is clear. If they had possessed knowledge of God, they would
have had the power to avoid being destroyed. Nobody in his right mind wants to
be destroyed. Ignorance might be bliss, but this verse shows it can be
dangerously life-threatening.
Consider the implications of a lack of knowledge in the area of physical
law. A person who does not know the power of electricity, nitroglycerin, carbon
monoxide, drugs, or certain medications could pay for his ignorance with his
life. Or, even if a person's ignorance of these things does not kill him, he
might have the quality of his life severely impaired through a maiming,
debilitating injury. However, when they are used with knowledge, they can do
worthwhile things. Similarly, knowing God opens to men the freest and most
rewarding expressions of an abundant life.
What if a person does not know of God's righteousness? Proverbs 11:6
says, "The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, but the unfaithful
will be caught by their own lust." What a person does not have cannot deliver
them, thus they are injured or destroyed. Isaiah 11:9 shows that during the
Millennium, the knowledge of God will cover the earth like a vast ocean. This
is what will make the Millennium so wonderful!
Eternal life is more than just endless life. The biblical eternal life
includes power to produce quality living superabundantly far beyond merely
existing forever.
We should touch briefly on its sexual aspect. Genesis 4:1, 17, 25 each
contain the Hebrew word yada'. It has a wide variety of possible applications,
one of which is "to lie by man." In each case in Genesis 4, it is translated as
"knew," since that is its basic meaning. The Hebrews used it to describe the
sexual part of the relationship between husband and wife; thus, it suggests
intimacy. When applied to God, it highlights not merely being acquainted with
Him but, as we would say today, being "inside His head." The corresponding
Greek word, ginosko, translated "know" in John 17:3, can be and is used in the
same way as yada' in Hebrew (see Luke 1:34).
To know God thus includes a wide range of mental, emotional, and
experiential knowledge. The fruit of this intimacy includes love, reverence,
obedience, honor, gratitude, and deep affection. We come to know Him as
sovereign Ruler, Master, parent, brother, friend, Savior, and Lawgiver. We
would never know this mixture of admirable qualities and authority without
getting close to Him. They compel us to yield to Him with all of our heart
while we strive to obey and glorify Him.
In sum, this points to Jesus indicating that eternal life is not merely
endless, though that is its dominant sense, but that those who have it live
intimately with God and conduct their lives as God does-otherwise, there would
be no close intimacy with Him.
John W. Ritenbaugh
From The Elements of Motivation (Part Six): Eternal Life
