Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
And without him was not anything made that was made.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light and all men, that all men through him might believe He was not that light.
But was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew him not. He came unto His own, and His own received Him not, but as many as received Him to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.
Which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh.
Nor the will of man, but God, but of God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bear witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I speak. He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for He was before me, and of his fullness.
Have all we received, and grace for grace for the law was given by Moses.
But grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared him. And this is the record of John, which the Jews sent, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? And he confessed, and denied not, but confessed I am not the Christ.
And they asked him, What then art thou, Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered no. Then said they unto him, Who art thou?
That we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou thyself? He saith, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord. And said the prophet Isaias, and they and they which were sent.
Were of the Pharisees.
They asked him, and said unto him, Why baptize us thou then, if thou be not that Christ nor Elias? Neither that prophet John answered them, saying, I baptize with water, but there is one among standing among you whom ye know not. He it is who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoes latch it I am not worthy to unloose. These things were done in Bethabara.
Beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing, the next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me, for he was before me, and I knew him not, but that he should be made manifest to Israel.
Therefore am I come baptizing with water and John bare records saying.
I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it sat upon him, and a boat upon him, and I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same as he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw a bear record that this is the Son of God.
Again the next day after John stood.
And two of his disciples, and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
Then Jesus turned and saw them following, and Seth unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, which is to say, being interpreted, Master, where dwellest thou? He said unto them, Come and see. They came, and saw where he dwelt and abode with him that day, where it was about the 10th hour, one of the two which heard John speak, and followed him.
00:05:29
Was Andrew Simon Peter's brother? He first findeth his own brother Simon.
And saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is being interpreted, the Christ.
And he brought him to Jesus, and when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon, the son of Jonah. Thou shall be called Cephas, which is by interpretation a stone.
I was just thinking how this lovely chapter begins with eternity, takes us back into a past eternity in the beginning was then in the coming into this world of that blessed One who came to make His Father known and to impart to us a life that we might have fellowship with him. Because it says this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent.
To know Him as our Savior, to know Him as the object, to know Him as the One with whom we dwell, and to be able to be a witness in this world for Him. I just thought how beautifully these thoughts are brought together in this chapter. But first of all, introducing us to this blessed One, the One who dwells in the bosom of the Father and came into this world that we might make known, that He might make known to us what is there.
And to give us a life so that we could share in those joys that are his.
John's gospel, we have Jesus as the Son of God. It's deity, isn't it? And we have beginnings for us because with our minds, we, we can't think of anything apart from distance and time. We, we, we, we have no ability for that at all. So we have a beginning here, but it's the eternity.
The IM is the way He is, and in in Genesis you have a beginning too, but that's creation.
And in first John you have a beginning that that's the son of man became man became flesh and dwelt among us. But here it's before anything was it's the eternal stage. And so he brings it down to what we may understand as far as we're able. In the beginning was the word. It really brings you to Proverbs 8, does it not just one verse might help their Proverbs 8.
Verse 22.
The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting from the beginning, or ever the earth was. This goes back into the recesses of eternity.
He always was. He's the I am. He was, He is, He ever shall be, He ever existent one. That's who we're being introduced to here, isn't it?
I'd like to connect the first verse of this gospel with the last verse of this gospel. We'll read it the very last verse.
Says And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written everyone. I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.
And notice how they link together in this way.
In the first verse, the eternal, ever existing great I am, we could say the infiniteness of his person, and the last verse the infiniteness of his works, but they're brought in in contrast to another work.
There are many other works. Oh, it's pointing at 1:00 work. And everyone of the Gospels, all four of them, have the cross before us and develop the cross in its fullness. The greatest work that has ever been done was done on Calvary's cross. All other works come in the shade in comparison to that. So we've had the details in all four of the Gospels. You get down to the last verse of John.
00:10:15
And he says, oh, there are many other works, and if they would all be written, the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.
Take it literally. Take it literally. The Expanse goes beyond all of the research of mankind and always will. God has no limits. He is the creator and sustainer of all this person we're looking at. Oh, to think of him coming down and being here, below God, manifest in the flesh. That's what he became. He always was.
The Word and the Word was with God, and the Word God was God, but he became a man, The great mystery, inscrutable mystery, God and mine in one person. But this is what we're getting in the beginning of this book. Someone has said that we have the eternity of his person, the glory of His person, and the distinctness of His person. That is, He is from all eternity.
Since our minds cannot conceive eternity, we think of anything that we like that has a beginning. At that time He was in the beginning was He is the ever existing one, but He's a separate person. The Word was with God so that we have the Father and the Son, and later in this chapter the Holy Spirit. So we have the distinctness of His person, but we also have the glory of His person. The Word was God.
Because this is the one who is brought before us. And I say again, how precious that He's brought before us as the object for our hearts. This isn't just to give us knowledge, although this is important too, but to give an object for our hearts, an object that we can never contain because our little finite minds and our small hearts can never take in the glory of His person, Neither can we take in the fullness.
It tells us in Ephesians that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace.
In His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. And so, brethren, for all eternity, we will never be able to measure the extent of what is in His heart toward us. And he came into this world to make the Father known. No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. If our hearts are taken up with Him, then it's not hard to part with what the world has to offer, because this is all for time.
But oh, how important in these days when the glory of his person is being attacked. And also there's two particular attacks in these days. First as to the glory of his person, the eternity of his person, and then as to his sinless humanity. These things are coming in even among those who profess to be children of God, denying the denying the eternity of his place as.
The Son of God, and denying the glory of His person that he was sinless, He did know sin, but in Him is no sin, because in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead. Bodily enter in by faith. Do we not do the truth that is presented to us in these verses, the Word?
Was God.
Only by accepting this in simple childlike faith do we have some realization of what is before us. The Word was God, this great truth that.
So.
Presented to us is beyond us, apart from faith, then coming down to what we have.
Later on, the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.
On a moralist thing, do you think that we can realize that there is one whoever existed?
Very God come down and has taken a body.
00:15:00
And has walked among us is a man walked in this world, and as we have heard, accomplish the greatest work that could ever be accomplished. And that was at Calvary, because there he glorified God. There we see a work that was so perfect that he could say it is finished, a work never to be repeated. How marvelous it is to think of that.
I have glorified Thee on the earth. I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do. And we look at one, we see Him by faith, and we rejoice before Him. But it's really accepting what God says in His Word, and realizing that it's true, and enjoying this wondrous truth that here is one. The Word was God.
And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.
But we have.
Some help on this precious title?
That is given to us three times in the first verse.
God speaks once, it's important. If he speaks twice, it's more important, but when he says something three times, it's of utmost importance. So in the first verse, we have this title, the Word, and I'd like to have some help for all of us on what are these deep things that we should learn from this title. He's the word. Now if I speak to you.
You know what I'm thinking because I give you a word. A word is an expression of myself.
Now I'd like to hear what my brethren have to say.
What is meant by this title that's given three times over in the first verse is the word. Would you like to know more about God the Father? Well.
Know more about the Sun because He fully expresses Him in all He says and does His way. He is the manifestation and perfection of the Father. That's the word, a full expression. You express something by the Word. And so we have here.
And the word was with God. They're separate identities of the of the Godhead.
But the Word was God. And so you have in John 10 verse 30, I am the Father are one.
Hast thou been so long with me? And saith showeth the Father. He that has seen me has seen the Father. He's the full expression, the word of what the Father is, but he's also truth. The truth, the word is truth.
Yes.
The fullness of the Godhead bodily.
God is fully expressed.
In the person of the Lord Jesus. And we do not need to know anything beyond what is revealed in the person of the Lord Jesus, because God is revealed. It's not only the sun that is revealed, it's God manifested in the flesh, beautiful. You do not ever need to see or understand or hear more than what we see and have heard.
In this blessed book about the person of the Lord Jesus, he expresses fully what God is, or what God is is fully expressed in him. I would like to add a little bit more to my question, which we still have not fully answered, I don't think.
We realized that the Father has been revealed when the Lord Jesus became a man. But brethren, what interests me is this.
That the Lord Jesus Christ, our precious Savior, the eternal Son of God.
Is called the word.
Even before he was manifest in the flesh to show us the Father. So basically my question is this, in what way?
Is he the word before he became a man? Please tell him God appears to death.
00:20:06
Various ways, various forms.
That came there, and one of one of them was the Lord Jehovah.
One was the Lord himself. I believe that everyone of those revelations, man was this person of the Godhead called the Word is the one who expresses God. And I believe that we can conclude from your great question, Ron, and this verse here and the very basic thought that the Word reveals what is in the mind of God, that whenever God was going to express that mind or communicate to man, He did it.
By the word the person called the word which is often referred to as the second person of the Trinity, we don't mean that that he is inferior to the first person, but we just due to infirmity of language we refer to the Father as the first person and the Son is the 2nd and the Spirit is the third. They're all Co equal and none is superior to the other. But I believe that when God manifested himself.
Even in the Old Testament times, it was this person, the word that was the one that was doing the the speaking to man. Would you not take it that way?
The scripture in John's Gospel where the Lord himself refers to the Old Testament and says they testify of me.
Backs that up well before the world began is what Ron asked. And I would say whatever title he has, and there's 700 of them, they all were his before the world began. He is. Whatever we have, he is. And he just took that form and that name for that purpose, to express some aspect of God or some aspect of what God is doing as Jehovah.
As Jesus, but he always was and always is. And when he was the Son of man in John three, as he told Nicodemus, he was in heaven. He's eternal. He never ceased being the eternal Son of God, but now Son of Man. And so I don't think he used that name before anything was. I'm not sure, but he was the expression of God.
Always.
Scripture says Jesus Christ the same yesterday.
And today and forever, and perhaps to answer the question, if there was someone you had never met, and someone writes a letter describing that person to you, then you look forward to seeing them. And when you see them, you find that they're exactly according to the description. Only with this difference that in the Old Testament God was not fully revealed. As our brother said, he came and was at Abram's temp door.
He spoke to Moses face to face, but there was a veil. God was not fully revealed, but that it is. It isn't that He changed when He became a man. That same blessed One from all eternity is the same. Let me quote the verse again. Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever. And so when he came into this world, He was all that God the Father could speak and say about Him.
Because he could say himself, He that hath seen me has seen the Father. So there were many prophecies about Him coming. The 53rd of Isaiah speaks of His manhood, what He would do, that work of redemption that He would accomplish. All this was recorded in the Word. But finally He came. And as John says in this very chapter, I saw and bear a record that this is the Son of God.
Now someone might describe another person to you and you're full of expectation to see them, but when you see them, they're not just exactly like the description and you might feel a little disappointed. But not so with this Blessed 1, the eternal Word, everything.
That was written of him, was fulfilled in him when He came and as He walked through this world. And John in his epistle insists upon this. We have handled and we've seen and we've handled the word of life. So that one is the expression in fullness. Down here in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead. That was always true, but bodily when He became a man.
00:25:11
And what went through this world? And so I believe it's just that thought. I just like to add to it a scripture in the Old Testament, in the Psalms, it says thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name. Now there are many people that take the name of Christ. They talk about the Lord, they talk about Jesus, they talk about Christ. But when we measure their thoughts about Him, they're not according to the word.
So God has written down in His Word both those prophecies about Him, how He perfectly fulfilled them, and that those who were here saw Him and saw the manifestation of it. But the Word is the divine record that we have in our hands, but the Person and.
When you and I get the glory, brethren, we're going to see the word and we're not going to be disappointed and say, Oh well, it wasn't just exactly the way the Scripture said. It'll be just more glorious, just as when he came it was more glorious than the revelation in the Old Testament. But the same person, when we see him, I think we'll be like the Queen of Sheba and say the half was not told me thou exceedest the fame that I heard.
Hebrews chapter one. He should probably read a couple verses there. God verse one, who at sundry times and in diverse manners speak in time had unto the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things. By Him also He made the world.
Who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, and are calling all things by the word of His power, when he had by Himself perched our sins, sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high. This is the Scripture that shows the tremendous difference between what we have in the Old Testament God spoke, but He spoke through the prophets, but in the Lord Jesus.
We have God himself, the Son here speaking, and it is no longer partial.
Revelations of himself as we have it in verse one.
In diverse manners, at sundry times, different times, in partial revelations, but we have now in the fact that the Son himself is here, He speaks personally, it is God speaking in the person of His Son, and we have the full revelation of God. What a tremendous difference that is, and what a blessing that we are privileged to live at a time.
When we have these words in our hands.
Perhaps I could just add this that we have in Hebrews. Shall we just turn to it in Hebrews 12 because I believe it is important? Hebrew is chapter 12.
And the 25th verse see that she refused not him that speaketh, or if they escape not, who refused him that spake on earth much more Shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven? So there was that revelation in His blessed pathway here. But he said to the disciples, I have yet many things to say unto you.
But she cannot bear them now. And He, the Spirit of truth is come. He will guide you into all truth. I still remember what our brother Ch Brown said. He said when he was a young man attended. They followed the birth of the Lord Jesus, the pathway of the Lord Jesus, the work of the Lord Jesus, until the cloud received him out of their sight at His ascension. But he said Christianity begins the other side of the cloud.
So this one is now as Paul brings out in Second Corinthians chapter 4, the glory of God shines in the face of Jesus Christ, christened them to a large extent, does not go beyond his pathway here, and does not lay hold of the glorious revelation.
00:30:00
Of the truth of the Church, which was not revealed until He had taken his place at the right hand of God and sent down the Holy Spirit of God to lead us into all truth, and that we might know this full revelation, this secret that was hidden in the heart of God. To go back again, though, to Ron's question, that secret was in the heart of God from all eternity. The Lamb was for ordained before the foundation of the world.
There was nothing new in the councils and purposes of God, but there was a person who came and revealed them. And now He is a glorified man at the right hand of God, and we're to hear him speaking from heaven, and that we have through what God has given us in His Word to be enjoyed by the Spirit the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. One other thing that we could add to this verse, first verse. I don't mean there isn't many.
But the Word was God, and there is a divine glory attached to deity. And so we had it brought out in the 14th verse, His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father. It's an intrinsic, inherent, eternal glory that the Word has Jesus and He has an acquired glory that as you go through John's gospel, you'll find it.
In John 17 we read about it very clearly and acquired glory as Son Amaya and in the work of the cross, and all fulfilling God's purposes, but He has His own glory which is Deity, and that comes out also the Word was God.
It's beautiful to have that thought as well.
There is one verse that supplies a good teaching on this point that's before us and that's in the 8th chapter of John. The 25th verse The Jews came to Jesus and they plainly said to him, Who art thou?
And his answer corresponds with the first verse of John. I believe he says to them even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. That is, he was exactly.
What He said, His Word and himself were the same, the same, even the same. He. He never changes but in the heart of God.
The title comes before us in John because the father was seeking sons like his own son, and so he sent his own son. And here's where the revelation comes in and we have praise down here.
Himself saying I am the way, the truth and the life and then saying in the 17th chapter.
Thy word is truth. Now truth is a declaration of what is.
Jesus is that the word? Is that the written word? So God in his purposes to have children.
Sent the light and the light comes in this chapter, and then the love comes later to accomplish what the light showed was needed and so the love took him to the cross to make a way whereby he could bring.
Sons to glory, like our verse here in our first chapter.
12 Says, But as many as received him to them gave thee power, or the right to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Here we have a grand result of the Word coming out, communicating God's purposes and thoughts to bring children to the Father. I just mentioned that in this gospel the name Father occurs, I believe, 118 times. You might count it if you want to.
But He is the manifestation of the Father.
This might be an over simplification and answers to Ron's question.
But it appears to me, in light of Hebrews, one that has been called to our attention.
That the word given us as a title.
Is the Lord Jesus Christ as the expression of the essential being of deity?
That's what Hebrews one actually says if you look at it in the new translation.
00:35:04
In our in the King James, it says he's express image of his person, but in the new translation it says he's the expression of his substance. That means essential being. But our brother just said, and the word is always coupled with God in the Scriptures and the son is coupled with the father. You don't have that that mixed in in the word of God. I just like to add.
It says in Hebrews 11 verse two, through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God. And just to bring that out to read the 33rd Psalm.
Psalm 33.
Verse 6 By the word of the Lord, where the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth to gather at the waters of the sea together as and heap, He layeth up the depth in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him, for he spake, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood fast.
I think it's the person that we're looking at. This glorious person, the eternal Son of the Father, called the Word. He spent and it was done before this world ever existed. He spoke the universe into existence. He said let us make man after our image according to our likeness. He said let there be light and there was light.
God had a thought, I think of Brother Wigram's hymn. What raised the wondrous thought? Or who did it suggest that we the Church to glory brought, Should with the sun be blessed? Oh God, the thought was dying. Thine only it could be. Fruit of the wisdom, love, divine, peculiar unto thee for sure. No other mind for thought so bold, so free greatness or strength, could ever find thine, only it could be.
Now who was the one that expressed that mind? Who was the one that told it out? The person here called the Word. He was the expression of the mind of God. He was the one when God had the thought to create a universe, to be the vast display of all His glory.
It was that person called the word that spoke it into existence.
It was that person that called.
Order and light out of chaos and darkness. It was that person, a created man. It was that person that came here and became flesh to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
And knowing that person we know God the Father. We know all there is to be known of God.
For He is the full, complete revelation of God. It is precious to realize that the Word was with God already in the past eternity, ever being the expression of what God was. But how wonderful to see that as He comes into this world, that light shines out in all his brightness. And we had a full and ultimate revelation that God has given of Himself to man as it was also born out in Hebrews in the opening verses. And so in that respect is precious to see the beginning that is spoken of in the first epistle of John. This is now beginning in time. It's not the beginning.
As Albert Alabama pointed out, that we have there in the first chapter the Gospel of John, but here now we have this precious revelation. Now God is speaking to man through Him who is the eternal Son, the eternal Word. And here now we had that revelation that has been given unto us in an ultimate way, that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen without, without eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, or the word of life.
For the life was manifested. This is now an incarnation as it comes into this world. For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life which was with a Father. Here we have what was true in a past eternity, but now what was true in time and was manifested unto us.
An incarnation that which we have seen and heard. Declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us.
And truly, our fellowship is with a Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. So here we have a purpose too.
Shall we say one of the purposes for which the largest came into this world, delete us into fellowship with God as our Father to introduce us into a relationship with Him? Of course, we know it was only through redemption.
00:40:15
Throw his wagon across. But here now we see that there was that full declaration of what God is in order that we may have fellowship.
Fellowship with the Father and fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. That's why it was necessary to have a life by which we could do this. And that is our, our natural hearts were at enmity with God. We know that this is the character of the natural man. He's at enmity. He's far from God. But now God has given to us as believers a life, and that's what he eternal life is. Brethren, it's not merely the eternal existence of that life.
But it's the thought that it's the very life of Christ, and this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God.
And Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent, that is naturally there was number communication between God and man. When God came down after sin had entered, Adam hid himself among the trees of the garden. Nicodemus thought that teaching was needed now it was a new life that was needed.
And so this one, who made all things as we have him brought before us in Colossians 1.
Comes into the very creation that he made just as he came into the Garden of Eden and Adam hid. Now it tells us in Corinthians, God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. He came down here, brethren, to tell us what God is like and to let us know that God wanted to have us to share that scene of glory. Man spoil the first creation through his sin, and now God is inviting us to a place that can't be spoiled, but we couldn't enjoy it unless he imparted a new life.
And this is brought before us, and as our brother was just saying, God has given us this life so that we can enter into His thoughts, that we can have fellowship with the Father and the Son. He made all things. He upholds the very natural life that we possess, but He also has imparted us that life in Him was life, and the life was the light of man. Now He gives that life to us so that we can enter into these things.
And by the Spirit, this is true, I believe perhaps we could say that in the Scripture we have the Father in counsel, and we have the Lord Jesus, the one who carries out the Father's counsels, and the Holy Spirit, the power by which they are carried out. And we have that consistently.
So if it's creation, it speaks of God as Creator, it speaks of the Lord Jesus as Creator in Hebrews One and in Colossians. And then it speaks of the Spirit too. In Job it says by his Spirit He garnished the happiness, so that we have the Godhead in creation. We have the Godhead made known in the person of the Son as he went through this world, sent by the Father. Every action in his blessed life was by the power of the Spirit of God.
And the gospel of John brings him before us. Brethren, I say again, not just so that we would have knowledge in our head, but isn't it the most marvelous thing to think that God wants to have fellowship with his creature? And the only way was possible was the question of sin to be settled so that God would be glorified. A new life imparted to us, the Spirit sent down as the power of that new life.
To lead us even here into the enjoyment of our portion. And I believe this is set before us.
And we often speak of the Gospel of John as anticipating Christ. So we find in the in the 14th chapter, the Lord says, I have finished the work which thou gave us me to do. And then in the 17th chapter, he says I am no more in the world. Well, when he spoke to the disciples, he was here, but it's anticipated redemption being accomplished. He's gone up there and he would have us to know that we can have this fellowship that he's up there interceding for us.
And now, of course, in Paul's ministry, the precious revelation of the church, but not in John.
The John's ministry particularly gives us that life by which we can enter into and enjoy these things.
He says family truth and brings out the wonderful fact that we have been introduced into the very family of God. But how important it is to perhaps add to what you just have said to your brother as to life you have in this first epistle is he that has to son his life, and he that has not the Son of God has not life in order to have this life which alone enables us to enjoy.
00:45:30
These things and makes us competent, if I may use that expression, to have fellowship with the Father can be had only by having that person. He is our life. And one of our brothers is presently laboring with a man who was brought up Muslim but who is not practicing that religion. But he seems to be interested in what he has to say.
But he doesn't believe that the Lord Jesus is God the Son.
Well, if that man's eyes are not open to this wonderful truth, he can never have that life, which alone will enable him to have fellowship with the Father, with the Lord Jesus, and also is the basis for fellowship with one another. Isn't it wonderful that we have that life? That why we do not understand the mystery of His person, we nevertheless can have fellowship with Him.
We can to be very simple and practical, and sometimes these things might.
Go over the head of the younger ones among us. How can I have fellowship with the Father? How can I have fellowship with the Lord Jesus?
Well, that new life manifests itself in the desire to please and to glorify God. That was manifested perfectly in the Lord Jesus.
We would never claim that it could be manifested there perfectly in us. We know it isn't. But in whatever measure it is manifested in us, we have fellowship with the Lord Jesus. And in whatever measure we can enjoy that person, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has been the joy of the Father's heart from all eternity, in whatever measure we can enjoy that person, we have fellowship with the Father.
What a privilege it is to be in that position. And this, beloved, is the basis for our fellowship with one another.
I believe we have to be reminded that much passes under the name of Christian fellowship, which is really social activities and do not qualify in the light of Christian Scripture as Christian fellowship. Let us remember that Christian fellowship is having things in common concerning that which we have in Christ, and we can even consider ourselves so honored.
That God chairs that which always was his joy with us and wants us to enjoy that, and that's the basis for our strength in our Christian life. When we're in the enjoyment of these things, then we have strength to go on for Him and live for His glory. In a certain sense that create social fellowship, but the social fellowship should be because of that relationship.
And that we can enjoy those things together. So we read in Acts when everything was in its freshness, it says breaking bread from house to house did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart. If you had been at the meal table with those early believers, they would be rejoicing in the Lord as they enjoyed the food that He had provided and those sort of things. So it's nice when the social fellowship is founded upon the enjoyment of Christ.
Who gives all these things? So that He has given us these things richly to enjoy, but not to enjoy apart from Him. If I came to your home and the meal was served to me in a different room than yourself, well, it's from your table, but I'm not enjoying it with you. But isn't it lovely that we can enjoy the things of the Lord and we can enjoy that which He provides, even in a natural way? But to separate the two spoils it, doesn't it?
There's one other attribute to the Jesus Christ is the word it might be nice to bring in, and that's the word has both authority and power divide. And so when we had in 33 that he spanked and it was as to creation, it's true that's what happened. But if you take Psalm 148, you have the authority and the power he commanded and all things were created.
00:50:20
His word is really authority, and so when he commanded the seas and he commanded the mountains, he commanded everything, the elements. We have him now as Jesus. And isn't it true in Mark, I think chapter four, he commanded the seas.
He still it was command of power in the word and authority and so you have it even in judgment. I think you get that revelations just some place here in 20th 20 nineteenth chapter.
It says here in execution of it, his eyes were as a flame of fire.
On his head, many crowns, he had a name written.
It says in 13 he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood. His name is called the Word of God.
There's both authority there and there's power, and brethren, it's only from him that we have any power at all to act for him or in a way that's with him, and it's all according to the Word.
Where the authority is that we vow to.
I'd like to say for the encouragement of our young believers.
That it might be by this time quite obvious to all of us.
That we're in deep water.
And.
I would like to say this, Don't feel badly that you're not able to hear your brethren explain everything so clearly that it makes it appear as though they know everything about the subject. I would like to say to all young believers, when we come to the glorious, unspeakably precious person of the Lord Jesus Christ, we're considering a person who bankrupts all of our thoughts.
And the very fact that we have not been able even to explain properly, verse one, to the full understanding of all of us. Don't take that as a lack of faith on your part or the part of others. But we're dealing with a subject that's too glorious for man. It's the unspeakable person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we all feel like we want to take off our shoes. We want to bow our heads.
We're considering a person who's too big for us. Now, that's normal. We should feel that. And I hope we don't lose that sense in our souls as we progress through this chapter, that we're considering the most precious person that we could ever talk about and the most precious subject we could ever talk about. And if we find ourselves in deep water, don't be surprised, because we're just ordinary folks and the subject will always be too big for us.
And we want to just speak of that, but I would like to say this too, that we thank God that we have His Word. And so in view of this subject, which is so wonderful and so far beyond our grasp, let's stick close to what God has said about him. Let's listen to what God has said. Let's take it in and let's not allow our thoughts to go beyond.
The revelation about him, and I'd like to add this too that.
This subject may come up.
In your home, someday your kids may say a dad. Are we going to see the Father when we get to heaven? Are we going to see the spirit? Are we going to see the sun?
Daddy, who are we going to see when we get to heaven? Now you're going to need to give an answer to that question.
And the answer to that question has already been given, in other words.
And I'd like to just repeat it. Everything about God is found in Christ.
And when we get home to heaven, we're going to see God manifest in the flesh. We will not see with our natural eyes the Father as a distinct person. We will not see with our natural eyes the spirit, because we have no capacity to see spirits. But we have the capacity to see a man. And this is the unspeakably precious truth that in the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:55:19
We shall see the full revelation of God and will never have the thought that we've missed anything. We'll be conscious of the Father's presence. We'll be conscious of the spirits presence, though we will not see them with our natural eyes, because we cannot. But we shall see God totally and fully revealed in this precious Person who's called the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is the.
In Colossians that said he is the image of the invisible God now he was that in eternity. He is that in time he will be that forever. And it's no surprise that we can't fully understand all of this, but one of the things that we can do we can come to the word of God with.
Humbleness of heart and say this is a subject to bid for me.
But I'm going to just believe what God has written about it. Let me give a warning.
In closing.
That there are many voices out there.
And competent eloquent creatures.
And if they are not sound on the person of Christ.
Don't listen to them. My son Tim not too long ago listened to a radio program of a man in California, and I understand some of the Saints have actually left the assembly and gone to join his church. And that man boldly attacked the eternal sonship of Christ.
My son Tim wrote to him pleading with him, and he wrote back and he said, I know that this is what is believed, but I do not agree with this. Well, a man who boldly attacks and that over the radio, the eternal sonship of Christ ought not to be listened to, doesn't deserve to be listened to, cannot be trusted because Christianity is not a religion.
Christianity is a person, and everything hinges on the truth of his person, and if one is wrong on that, he cannot be trusted as to anything. Let us beware. And the first epistle is written, our brother Hardy.
Read these verses because there was such an attack on the person of the Lord Jesus and John does not occupy.
The Saints with the error and go into details of the error. He reaffirms the truth that was held and known from the beginning amongst the Saints. And so we ought to be seeking help from those whom we know are sound and the person of Christ. Another error that sprang up amongst brethren was that he was not the Word from incarnation.
Before incarnation, he became the Word, an incarnation. That's a vicious attack. Again on the eternal sonship of Christ. Well, we have to refuse people and do not consider Him worth listening to if they are not sound. On these points of doctrine. I could just say I agree with Ron 100%. I want to add one thing though. He said the subject of the person of Christ is too big for us.
What I'd like to add, it's not too big for the Spirit of God. And brethren, the Spirit of God has liberty. We can learn of the person of Christ.