All About Jesus

John 14:1-6 NASB

“Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas *said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

THE ONLY WAY

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Living God, when he was about to be hung on a cross to die – although not because he had done anything wrong – spoke to his disciples (his followers) about what was coming next. For, he knew he was about to be killed, but that he would rise again, and that he would return to the Father who is in heaven.

He told them that one of them would betray him, but I don’t think that they truly grasped what he was saying to them at that time. And, then he told them that he was about to leave them, but that where he was going they could not go, at least not yet. And, then he encouraged them to love one another, for all people would know that they were his disciples if they had love one for the other (See John 13). And, the same is true of us today.

Knowing that his disciples were troubled in their spirits because of what Jesus was telling them, Jesus consoled them by telling them to believe in God and in himself. And, then he told them that when he left this earth that he was going to prepare a place for them, like a groom going to prepare a home for himself and for his bride.

When Thomas inquired as to where the Lord was going, and how they would know the way to get there, Jesus answered with some very profound truths. Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to the Father, for He is THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE. We can only enter into God’s holy presence via faith in Jesus Christ. We can only experience true life via faith in Jesus. And, he is the only truth which we must follow which will be our entrance into heaven.

John 14:7-14 NASB

If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” Philip *said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus *said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

Know Jesus: Know God

Now we learn even more about Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. He is not only the Son of God, but he IS God. For, we serve a triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, God the Son, was with God in the beginning, He is God, and all things which were created were made by him, i.e. he is the one who made us (See John 1).

If we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we come to faith in God, the One and Only True God. If we, then, get to know him through personal relationship with him, then we get to know God the Almighty, our heavenly Father. And, his Spirit comes to live within us, meaning that God now lives within us. We are his temple in which he now dwells. We, the people of God, are his church, his body, and we are now to carry on his ministry on this earth.

As his body, we are now his representatives to the world around us. Thus, we are to do the things which Jesus did, and we are to teach the things which he taught, too. But, we are to do so as led by the Spirit and as empowered by the Spirit and not in our own flesh, for what Jesus did was of the Spirit of God, not of the flesh of man. So, we must follow His lead.

As well, when we pray, if we are truly praying “in the name of Jesus,” we are praying according to who Jesus Christ is, which is according to his will, his ways, his truth and his holiness, purity and righteousness. So, to ask for anything in His Name is not words only, but it is according to his purposes and will which is made known to us in His Word.

John 14:15-24 NASB

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) *said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.

To Love is to Obey

To believe in Jesus is to love him, and to love him is to obey him. But, this is not about just following a set of rules. This is about being united with him in heart and mind and purpose, and having the desire, thus, to do what is in accord with his will and purpose for our lives. It is to desire, too, what he desires, which is what is holy, pure, righteous, good, honest, trustworthy, moral, and godly, and then, by his grace, to live what we so desire.

At the time Jesus spoke these words to his disciples, he had not yet died for our sins, nor had he been resurrected from the dead, nor had he ascended to the Father and then sent his Holy Spirit to indwell his followers. So, this was a promise of what they were to later receive, but which we now receive upon faith in him. For, we receive his Spirit within us when we trust in him to be Lord and Savior of our lives.

The Holy Spirit living within us is thus God in us and Christ in us, for they are all one God. When Jesus walked the face of this earth in a human body, he could only be with the people who were in his physical presence. But, when he went back to the Father and sent His Holy Spirit, now he is inside of each one of us 24/7, if we have believed in him.

But, not everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ is truly a believer in Jesus, so not everyone who calls himself a Christian knows Jesus or the Father. It is only those who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and who have been resurrected with Christ to newness of life, and who make it their practice to walk in obedience to him who know him and who have eternal life with him. And, the more we obey him, the more he reveals of himself to us, and the greater our fellowship with him, and the more we will walk in purity, holiness and righteousness as we grow in him.

But, let me say here that this is not speaking of absolute sinless perfection, for if we could be perfect, Jesus would not have had to die for our sins. For, as long as we live in these flesh bodies, we will still have the propensity to sin against God. But, sin should no longer be our practice. It should not be what controls us or our thoughts or our actions. And, if we do sin, we should repent, and then turn back to following our Lord in surrender to his will.

But, know this: If we make sin our practice, and if our lifestyle is one that is defined by the flesh and not by the Spirit, and if we are not, by the Spirit, putting to death the deeds of the flesh and walking according to the Spirit, then scripture says we don’t love God, we don’t know him, and we do not have eternal life in him. So, don’t be fooled into thinking that faith in Jesus gives permission for continued willful sin, for it does not!

Jesus, Be Near to Me

Words and music by Tommy Walker

Jesus, be near to me

Let me know You are here

How I need You, how I need You

To reveal Yourself to me…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XQySLGFBeU

Thursday, September 6, 2018 – Yes, Jesus, reveal yourselves to us that we might walk with you in your ways and in your truth the rest of our days.