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On chapter 1, the thought of it in connection with what our brother read in the prayer meeting in him was life. The life was the light of men and tells us there in the Acts he killed the Prince of life. We know him as the one who has risen again with everything to us by grace. Yes, Gospel of John, chapter 1.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.
All things were made by him, and without him was not. Anything made that was made. In him was life, and the light was the light of men, and the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.
The other man sent from God, whose name was John.
Same came for a witness to bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe he was not that light.
Was sent to bear witness to that light. That was the true light which lighted 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 onto his own, and his own received him not, but as many as received him. To them gave the power to become the sons of God.
Even to them that believe on his name.
Which were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory 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 spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me, and of his fullness of all we received, and grace for grace.
The law is given by Moses, but grace and truth gained 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. And 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 asked him what then Artho Elias, And he said, I am not.
With all that prophet. And he answered no, and said they unto him, Who art thou, that we may give an answer to them that sent off. What sayest thou thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaiah. They would present where the fairy is. They asked him and said unto him, Why baptize the style then, if thou be not?
That Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet John answered them, saying, I baptized with water, but their standeth one among you whom you know not He it is who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoes latch, and I'm not worthy to want to lose. These things were done in Bethlehem beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and said.
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 my come baptizing with water. And John Baer records saying, I saw the Spirit this country from heaven like a dog, and it abode.
On him, and I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou seest the Spirit, descending and remaining on him, the same as he was baptized with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bear record that this is the Son of God.
Again the next day, after John stood into his disciples and looking upon Jesus as he walked, he said.
Behold the Lamb of God, The two disciples heard him speak, and they fall in Jesus, when Jesus turned and saw them following, and Seth unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, the Rabbi, which is to save being interpreted. Master, where dwellest thou? He sat on them, come and see.
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They came and saw where he dwelt in a bowl with him that day, for it was about the 10th hour.
One of the two which heard John speak and followed him with Andrew, Simon Peters brother. He first finded his own brother Simon and Seth unto him. We have found the Messiah which is being interpreted to Christ, and he brought him to Jesus.
When Jesus beheld and he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jonah, thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation of stone.
Today following Jesus would go forth into Galilee and find his pillow set unto him. Follow me. Philip was our best Seder city of Andrew and Peter Phillips. Find this Nathaniel and Seth unto him. We have found him of whom Moses and the law and the prophets did right, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
And Nathaniel said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?
Philip saith unto him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathaniel coming to him, and Seth of him, Behold, an Israelite indeed, and whom is no guile. Nathaniel saith unto him, Whence knowest thou mean? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip calls thee, when thou is done to the fig tree, I saw thee, then you'll answer. He said unto him, a rabbi.
Thou art the Son of God.
Thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the big tree, Believe a style, Thou shalt see greater things than these. He said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
I think this chapter shows us that all blessing for man is by giving the Lord Jesus his rightful place.
And we see the glory of his person particularly brought before us in this chapter. And it's one of the most comprehensive chapters in the whole Bible because it carries us back into a past eternity, shows us the glory of that person away back in the past eternity, and then carries us through time on to the time when the Lord Jesus.
Is acclaimed and has his rightful place, the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man, His glorious Person, the eternal Word become man and we see as we trace through the details of the chapter.
The blessing of following the Lord Jesus in this time of his rejection and then pointing on to the time of His glory. Well, I just mentioned this because I think this chapter brings before us the one whom God delights to honor is our brother. Read to us the Prince of life, the one whom this world didn't want, but the one who means everything to us by grace. Just to add a little more.
After the first verse to go to the last verse of John's Gospel.
For it's very comprehensive this book.
Sometimes we say that we have.
A revelation from God. But in the revelation from God we have a revelation of God and.
The eternity of his person is in the.
First version.
And the Infinity of what he has done is in the last verse.
The Infinity of what he's done. If you read the last verse of John's gospel and says 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. So it is.
That's God's way of telling us of the Infinity of what he has done.
Of course we can't comprehend it, but we can believe it.
So what a revelation we have, and life is certainly what we need. Life, the Infinity of his person is no better demonstrated than when he said at the end it is finished.
He was in full possession of his faculties in those hours of darkness, and having in his own spiritual known that every stroke of judgment had been born.
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He could explain it's finishing so there is the infiniteness of his person demonstrated and that what she has done.
If he was not God, he could not have pronounced with authority on his own work. It is finished.
How would he know if he was not God that what he did met all the claims of God's holiness as to sin finished he cried wonderful. Well, I say again, all blessing to us as believers or as the gospel is told out, any blessing that's going to come for sinners is to give the Lord Jesus Christ his rightful place. So Paul said to the Philippine jailer believe.
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. He didn't know at that time much about the work, but he believed on the person, and accepting the person, he was brought into all the value of the work that he accomplished. Sure, afterwards as they went into his house and spoke the word of the Lord, he learned a lot more.
But he learned to rest upon the person, and that's the important thing for the Sinner is to rest upon the person. The important thing for us is to acknowledge the glory of that person and give him his rightful place. Then we begin to learn truth as it's revealed to us in the Word. Are we ever told to believe in the work? It's the person, isn't it always, as you said?
We believe the work, but we believe in the person who accomplished the work. That's the point.
Romans 9 says Thou shalt believe with thy heart, thou shalt confess with thy mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead. So seems to be something of the work there that it's certainly majorly the person in that last verse we referred to is that there are also many other things which Jesus did.
Putting the emphasis.
Point on the work of the cross. That's what Jesus did if you turn today.
22nd Psalm. You can see that.
God purpose is to make the Lord Jesus known.
In salvation bringing in of life.
Great thing that the Lord Jesus came to do.
To bring that light.
Now we know the 22nd Psalm break the force across.
All four of the evangelists give us the story of the cross. That's the greatest thing that's ever been done by any person at any time. The work of the cross, the Lord Jesus.
So in the 22nd Psalm.
The last verse.
Says they shall come.
And declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
Who has done what? The Lord Jesus has done the work of the cross to put away sin to the glory of God and to bring to the dead center light, and that light is in His stuff. How clear the gospel is its occupation with the person of Christ. That draws our hearts out, isn't it? There are two remarkable statements made by the Lord Jesus in the 8th chapter of this book. He said first of all, that if you shall know the truth.
And the truth shall set you free. Because it is important to go over these things. We need to hold fast the form of sound words, important to have the doctrinal principles of Scripture before us. But in a sense, brethren, that's not enough. And so the Lord Jesus said in that same chapter, if you know this, you shall know the Son. If you know the Son well, I'll read it just to get it.
Because I think it's very interesting, he says, If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Because we can't be occupied with the sun and not have our hearts go out in affection to Him. And so we may know the truth, and we may hold the truth in an intellectual way, and it may not affect the heart. But when we know the person of whom the truth speaks, and all truth is to bring before us some aspect of the person and work of Christ.
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And when we know the person, then our heart goes out. And then there's true liberty, because if a man loved me, he will keep my commandments. Brethren, what is true Christian liberty? It's a heart so attractive to Christ that our desire and our joy is to follow that blessed person. Because I believe there's really only one way to be a true disciple, and that's to have a heart where there's only one object in it. Because where our hearts are, then our feet will follow. And it's not because they.
It's a requirement in that sense. It's not because we feel we have to do it as a duty, but we delight now to follow this person and not to get ahead in our chapter, but that's what you see later on when John the Baptist sees this Blessed 1 and announces that this is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.
What is the result? Well, as a result of pointing to the person of Christ, 2 of John's disciples leave following John and follow the Lord Jesus. Why? Because they were pointed to a person and their hearts went out to that person, just as John's heart had been attracted to that person. Well brethren, as we said, and we take up a chapter like this.
There's much precious truth in this chapter. It's good to go over these things, but if it doesn't draw out our hearts to the person of Christ, there isn't going to be a fresh and increased desire to follow Him. And our prayer ought to be for young and old alike, that as a result of taking up a portion like this, we'd get a fresh glimpse of this lovely man, and that our hearts would follow in the path of faith and service until we see Him in the glory. I want to read two more scriptures in connection with some.
That were made, I made one of them, and verse 25 whom of Romans 3 whom God had set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood.
That would be the work, wouldn't it? And in John 6 verse 53 then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. So there you have a verses that speak of appropriating by faith His work. But He is the he's the object of our faith, and when we believe in him, the person, we get life. When we believe in the work, we get peace.
We get settled peace because we know the question of our sins has been settled.
So you can't limit it. Both are true. It's the person that gives value to the work, is it not? Amen. This fresh in the Word of God, I think is so beautiful. Brethren, God is a communicating God, and if it were not so, if He did not reveal Himself, we would not know God. But it is.
Through the one who is called a word sometimes say for the benefit of younger ones.
I may have a thought that no one knows that thought until I express that thought using words. Then you can know what that thought that I have is. In the same way, God is love and God is light, and God had eternal purposes of blessing for man.
But no one in the Old Testament times, although they knew God.
In a measure, there was a partial revelation of God, but no one could know God in the fullest sense of the word until the word of God himself came in the person of the Lord Jesus. And I think that is the thought of the title word. I would like to hear some more comments on that title.
I think Hebrews 1/3 is late as to his being the word. It says there that he is the expressed image.
Of His Person. So there we see that God is perfectly revealed in the sun, and I believe gives light as to His being the Word, the expression of what God is, because we beheld His glory as if the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
And that's why later on in the 14th of John, when Philip asked, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us, he said, have I been so long time with you, and hast thou not known me? He that have seen me hath seen the Father. And as the Lord Jesus walked in his pathway of perfection, and it was a pathway wholly harmless, undefiled and suffered from sinners.
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He fully showed out what was in the heart of God. Do we know what's in the heart of God?
Do we know who God is in himself? Indeed we do as we look at the life of the Lord Jesus, because He could say at the end of that perfect life I have glorified thee on the earth and finished the work which Thou gave us, me to do. And I believe to be glorified is to have all the attributes and and glories that make up a person brought into full display. And all the attributes of God, all his beauties and glories were brought into full display.
As the Lord Jesus passed through this world, and so he was the word. And I think what Bob said is very good. You read a book and if the writer is very as a good writer, he makes the scene come right alive. Maybe he's writing about a person and you've never seen that person, but he describes that person in vivid detail.
You can picture in your mind just who that person is, what he looks like, his character, everything about him. You've never seen him, you don't. You've never met him personally, you've never seen a photograph. But that picked person is implanted firmly in your mind for genius. As Brother Yule said, he was the express image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his power.
That's what truth is. Truth is a revelation of what is.
God is what is and truth revealed. Notice the answer in the 18th chapter of John.
That Jesus gave to Pilot.
It's full of meaning.
In John 18.
Jesus before Pilate, 37th verse.
Violent citizen art.
A king, then? Jesus answered.
Say it that I am, or that which I I am a king. But he adds to this end was I born.
And for this cost he might end of the world. That I should bear witness to the truth.
Is a declaration of what is Jesus is that declaration so he's the word and written down to this endless I born, and for this cause came thy end of the world, that I should bear witness under the truth. Everyone that is of the truth heareth my voice. Are we listening to the voice of the Son of man?
How wonderful. And then to add in our chapter we go to the 14th verse. It seems to be the way.
To me that God brings it out so that we can get a hold of it a little bit. That is the Lord King where we are. I took a form like ours in our 14th verse of our chapter, the 1St chapter of John.
The word was made right.
What I think that is God become a man and dwelt among us and give you recording full of grace and truth. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. What a revelation of God and for us to bring us into that blessing that we needed in our dead state. Sins should man sin. God went to work.
To recover him.
A man could be recovered except in grace as the gift of life. God had to do everything. Man couldn't do anything for his recovery, but God has done everything, thanks be to him. I'd like to make a comment on a little distinction between John's Gospel and Hebrews 1, John 1 and Hebrews 1. John's Gospel is the.
Son revealing the Father. It's really the revelation of the Father all the way through.
In Hebrews it's not the Father as such, it's God. Notice how it reads. I'll read it in Hebrews. One God, who had sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time passed under the Father's by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the world's, who being the brightness of His glory. And I'm going to read it as it is.
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In the new translation and the expression of his substance and upholding all things by the word of his power, it's not of the Father. When we read the the image of his person, we think of the Father. But here in Hebrews He is the expression of the very substance, the very essence, the very being of God. Now that proves that he is God because only God can reveal God and it there.
Difference. Hebrews is not like it's high priesthood is with God, not with the Father. His advocacy is with the Father, and that's what we get in John's ministry, the Father. But in Hebrews it's a little different. Wonderful truths, both of them.
There's also that expression in the third, a First Timothy that great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, and there you have the same as the Hebrews one. God is manifest.
In Second Corinthians chapter 5, we get that God was in Christ. So here He is coming out in grace, man to bring man back to God. This is a remarkable expression. In the beginning was the Word. It's as near as our minds can go to eternity. We can't think of eternity. We have to think of something that has a beginning. Our minds can't go beyond that. But think of anything that you like that had a beginning at that time, this blessed person.
Glorious person was in the beginning was and so it carries us right back into eternity because everything that had a beginning it always the Lord Jesus was there before anything that had a beginning, so all things were made by him.
So it's the glory of His person, and that's very important, brethren, the glory of His person because we've been speaking a great deal of His work. But it's the person that gives value to the work and who did the work and the enemies. Attack is always on those two things, on the person of Christ and on the work of Christ, one or the other or both. He's always seeking to attack.
So we find around us constant teaching that Christ could sin.
Teaching that he wasn't really the eternal Son. All these things are a reflection on His person. And then we find others who say, yes, you can be saved and lost. His work is not enough. You have to do your part and you'll be lost. And so the attempt of the enemy is always on the person or the work of Christ. And it's good that our chart should be established in the glory of this person.
Because it's that that gives value to his work.
And that's worth that has been brought before us in Hebrews. When he did that glorious work, He sat down because there was nothing further to be done. He completed it. When you're doing a job, someone says, is it finished? No, you're still standing there. There's more to do. But he sat down. He sat down as the one who had completed that work for the glory of God and for our blessing.
Is sitting down with the equivalent to his saying it is finished.
Well, I've sometimes said the resurrection, the ascension, and the enthronement of Christ are really God's Amen to the work of Calvary. Do we want proof that God is satisfied with the work? All we have to do by faith is look up into the open heavens. And it's been mentioned in Hebrews, and that's really what Hebrews brings before us, because in Hebrews it's the results of His work here taken up.
Is an ascension and enthronement, but I think it's it's been alluded to but I I've enjoyed the fact too that the work is not just done to God's satisfaction.
But to his glory, I can illustrate it this way. I might give one of my children a task to do, and I leave them to do the task. And when I come back that perhaps the job has been done to my satisfaction. Maybe I'm well satisfied with what they've done. But you wouldn't say it was done to my glory. Because as I said earlier, to be glorified is to have all the attributes of a person brought in to full display. And the Lord Jesus not only satisfied the Father God.
That's true, he did, but he completely glorified him. Every attribute and glory of God was brought into full display at the at the cross. And so he sat down and we won't turn to it, but it's remarkable that in Hebrews one there if you notice Mr. Darby translation, he sat himself down in Ephesians. I think it is it says God has set him at his own right hand.
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As a proof of his satisfaction with the work.
But the Lord Jesus, as he entered the courts of glory and entered the return to the Father, he sat himself down with perfect satisfaction, with perfect confidence, knowing that nothing had been left undone of the work that God had given him to do.
Get just a little illustration that helped me to appreciate this. When I was in business, I used to sometimes be called to do a job for a large corporation or company. And so I would go in and service or install their equipment as was required. And then after the work was done, there was usually an interview with the man who hired me, be he the president or the owner of the plant foreman, and I would be taken into his office to sit down in his presence, go over the work and to.
My invoice. But as I was taken into that man's presence, it was rarely with a feeling of real confidence because there was always in the back of my mind that maybe the job hadn't been done to his satisfaction. Maybe I'd overlooked something. Maybe I hadn't included something that he thought I should have included in the contract.
But the Lord Jesus taking up the work he could with perfect confidence, I say, return to the Father, the Father seating him in his own right hand, and the Lord Jesus seeing himself down. What a feeling must have passed between the Father and the Son on that occasion. And this gives us real confidence too, brethren.
In the 110th Psalm, Jehovah says to the Messiah, Sit thou at my right hand, can I make thine enemies thy footstool? You might say, when you entered this man's office, you, you might have remained, remained standing until he said, Sit down.
But to enter the presence of God and sit oneself down in that presence, how that magnifies the glory of the one that does that, he must be God himself. To sit down by himself in that presence. That's what Paul was bringing out, and that's what we have brought out in these wonderful portions we're looking at.
I think there's three wonderful statements too in this first verse for us to lead a heart. In the beginning was the Word. That's the eternity of His person. The Word was with God as the distinctness of His person, and the Word was God, the deity of His person. A wonderful God can speak those two pandas truths in such a few words, but how blessed and now very important they are.
The eternity of his person, there are those who.
Deny his eternal, his sonship. The Word was with God. He's a distinct person in the Godhead, the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. And the Word was God. He is deity, part of deity Himself. Well, how blessed it is to have the Word of God for what we believe. And God doesn't require a great deal of words to teach us truth. If our ears are open and we receive His Word as little children. How simple it all really is.
Unless there's any confusion, or should we say nebulous thinking as to what this word is, Mr. Darby's translation in verse 2 makes it very clear that it is the person who is in the beginning with God. He, and that's an emphatic use of the pronoun was in the beginning with God. This person is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son. Should that word saying be capitalized?
Second verse simply means an emphatic key there.
He was in the beginning with God. That second verse I used to wonder why it was there because Vert the first verse says that he was with God. He was eternal and.
He was God. Why was it repeated then the same? He was in the beginning with God. The first verse said he was in the beginning and says he was with God. But the Gnostics, they had a teaching that it was some emanation from God.
That came forth when the sun came here. And so John says he was in the beginning as a distinct, unique person with God in the beginning. And so it's not something that happened in time, but it's what was ever true of him. So what do you have in that first, first verse is his eternal being, His distinct personality?
And his essential deity, these three things.
Wonderful truths. And then that second verse, His essential deity as a distinct person in the Godhead.
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And we must insist on these things because of the fact that if Jesus was not God, he could have never been our Savior. Think about that. I recommend that all the young people, the reading of J and D's book, The Sufferings of Christ. Excellent, excellent book.
It's a verse that really shows that the Lord Jesus is the eternal Son of God, that he did not have a beginning as the Son of God, but he was ever in that distinct place in the Godhead from Holy Church. I think it's profitable to notice the Lord's word when he was 12 years old in the second of Luke about what he had come to do.
In the second of Luke, you might just look at it.
He was left behind.
And parents going home and they had to come back.
And they found him in the midst of the doctors, verse 46, hearing and asking questions.
And verse 48 When they saw him, they were amazed. His mother said unto him, Son.
Why asked thou Delta, thus with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrow.
Now notice the 49th verse. He said unto them, How is it that He sought me, wished He not that I must be about my Father's business?
In the 88 Psalm.
Prophetically, it says that the Lord I am afflicted and ready to die for my youth up. He knew why he had come. He knew what the work was.
And he just opens up a little bit.
Not exactly a rebuke to his mother, but a straightening out of things.
Joseph wasn't his father.
God was his father.
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. God, man. And his great work was redemption's work. And he knew it from before he ever came. And he stepped forward to get it done. He's got it done now. He's given us this book. The book is in words, too.
Tremendous. That we have the Word of God, a revelation from God and a revelation of God to give us peace with God. That the work is completely done and that we have eternal life. We have a life that can never, ever fail. We got it.
What peace it gives and this life is in his Son. Now we're reading about it. If you ever have opportunity to deal with the Jehovah's Witness, their translation in verse one at the end reads and the word was a God and they make him lesser. They make him a creature. God created him. Ignore that verse and go to verse 3 and here's how it reads in their translation.
All things received being through him.
And without him not was not anything that received being that has received being. Now let that sink in. And then say, did he create himself?
Nothing that has come into being came into being without him. Did he create himself?
That verse refutes their whole blasphemous doctrine, denying the deity of Christ, and you can prove it with their own translation. The New World translation reads almost exactly the same as Mr. Darbus. That's the importance of having the Word. Which things also we speak not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teach words. There's liable to be error.
What is commonly known in Christendom as the Apostles Creed says?
I believe in God the Father, Maker of heaven and earth, and Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. That's really a practical denial of the fact that the Lord Jesus was the creator. And this third verse says all things were made by him and without him was not anything that made that was made as you brought before us. So that the Scripture shows very clearly that the truth of God. But when we attempt to put it in our own words, we have to be careful.
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The Word of God sets the truth of God in perfection because it is the Word of God.
I believe that's important for us to stick to the truth of God's word and answer what people say by the word of God. They don't believe that Jesus is Jehovah. But if you read in the prophet Isaiah, the Lord said I am Jehovah and beside me there is no savior. And if the Lord Jesus is not Jehovah, then he couldn't be our Savior.
Just verses of scripture are enough to refute them. We can make all kinds of arguments, but it's good to have our mind well stored with the precious living Word of God.
You see that with the Lord Jesus, don't you? Because when he answered the enemy in the temptation, he always answered by quoting a verse of Scripture and saying it is written. Because I believe the great work of the enemy is either to twist Scripture, to quote it in part, or to take it out of context. And so it's interesting too, that in the Old Testament God spoke to Adam and Eve and when the enemy came along.
Took what God said, he said, half God said, said, and he raised a question in the minds of mind of Eve as to whether what God said was really the truth. And that's the great work of the enemy to raise a question or a doubt as to what God has said.
It's interesting that those are the first recorded words of Satan in the Old Testament. And the first recorded words of Satan in the New Testament, as has often been pointed out, are if thou be the Son of God. And isn't that the work of the enemy to raise a doubt as to the we have the written word of God, but rising it down as to the spoken word of God in the case of Eve and raising a doubt, trying to raise a doubt in the minds of mind of the Lord Jesus.
Was he really who he said he was?
But I think there's a nice scripture. We often read it on March day morning in the eighth of Proverbs, Speaking of the eternity of his sonship and the distinctness of his person. Because it says I was with him as one brought up. I was by him as one brought up with him, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always in the habitable part of the earth. And it's quite a remarkable statement, isn't it? I was daily his delight rather, not just in his.
Incarnation and his pathway here, and his work of redemption here, but from all eternity.
That blessed one was the delight of God the Father. I have don't have any sons, but I do have two daughters and I love them very much. But if I'm honest, I can't say that they're daily my delight. There's some days they grieve me because of their actions. But here was one from a past eternity who never grieved the Father in any way, was daily the delight of that one. And then when he was here, the heavens could open up.
And a voice declare, This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.
Rather, this is the one that God would occupy your heart and mind with. And if we take up these verses and it has that effect, we've said many things in this meeting already. But brethren, He wants our hearts to go out to the person. God's object this morning is exclusive object, is a man in the glory, and He would have us find our exclusive object and our delight in that man in the glory as well.
I'd like to read the words that Gordon was.
According to us in First Corinthians chapter 2, because I think they're very important.
What we've got in our hands.
This book was written by the Spirit of God.
And he teaches with these words.
More than that.
We have the Spirit of God.
We don't have the old prophets, We don't have the old brethren.
We've got the Spirit of God. And so in the 2nd chapter of First Corinthians down in the.
12Th Verse Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is all gone. Do you believe that?
That we might know the things that are freely given to us of God, and we're getting a few of them in John's Gospel.
Which things also we speak.
Now look what he says. Not in the word. Which man's wisdom teacher?
Which the Holy Ghost teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. How are we going to get hold of these things? By the Spirit that we have? But he that is spiritual judgeth all things. Yeah, yet He himself is judge of no man.
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For who hath known the mind of the Lord?
That he may instruct him. But we have the mind of Christ. In this blessed body. We have the mind of Christ.
And the Spirit of God has written it to us in his teaching, prominent when we have the Spirit of God to make us enter into them a little further that we might enjoy the things that are freely given to us of God. I think it's so important that the truth of creation is.
Insisted on here in verse 3 and that the Lord Jesus is the creator of all that was created.
The theory of evolution.
Tends to set God aside and it is because men wants to do away with his responsibility to God and you cannot do that.
But the enemy is constantly trying to do that. And there's even partial theories of evolution, theistic evolution, which says that God created something that way in the past and that came along evolving. But what that does is put a distance between man and God, and that is not the truth. The truth is.
That God is interested.
He made something and he made it with a specific purpose, and that's what you see in our society today. And I think it is so important that we see why the enemy wants to push evolution the way he does is because if evolution is true, we are the product of blind, purposeless chance.
And so if it comes to too many problems in my life, why not but an end to my life?
Because where there's no God, there's nothing beyond. The problems are too great. I'll just put an end to it. But that is a lie. That is not the truth. God created things with a specific purpose in mind, and it really gives purpose to realize that we came from the hand of God.
We are created by God, and God has purpose in connection with His.
Creation. If you go to Revelation, where the judgments are going to fall on this earth, in the 4th and 5th chapters, you have the throne being set in heaven, God's basis of judgment. And in chapter 4 of Revelation, the basis of judgment is creation.
Man will have to do with God because he is a creature from the hand of God. He cannot escape that and chapter 5 is redemption.
Man will have to do with God too because of the work of the Lord Jesus of the cross of Calvary. So on two counts. But it is important that creation be maintained because of the responsibility that man has towards his creator God.
But it took the second man to take up that responsibility and gain the victory. God didn't lose in the 1St man.
He first man brought in ruin and all that, but the first man had to be first. The second man is the Lord from heaven. And so in the last verse of our chapter you go to where God brings in the man of His purpose. And if we can look on down to the end and see Christ, let's read the last verse of our first chapter again.
It's the open heaven that was referred to.
He says unto him, That's the Nathaniel Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon who? The Son of Man.
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A lot of purpose God had, and what a victory he had gained in the second man, the Lord out of heaven.
So he looked on to that, everything settled and perfect. Who gains the victory? The Son of man. God gains the victory in a man, and He brings in all of us into the same light, the same end purpose with God in Christ in a perfect scene.
And the angels ascending and descending. But who's the center? The Son of Man, Son of man, God. God's man.
Could I add you what you brought before us as to the Spirit of God making the truth known to us from first Corinthians? I just like to read a couple of verses from the 17th of John.
17.
And verse 2.
John 17 and verse 2.
As thou has given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life.
To as many as thou has given him.
And this is life eternal, that thou that they may know.
Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. So we have the Spirit of God.
But we have the capacity to receive the truth of God because we have eternal life. And that's important, isn't it?
We have a life that wants to really and truly know God, that we might know the true God and Jesus Christ.
What a wonderful thing to have the Spirit of God and to have eternal life.
John, would you turn again and read what was read earlier today, the second to the last verse of First John.
First John 5, the next to the last verse. I think it brings out what you're bringing before us.
It's such beautiful truth, such wonderful high truth.
First John five, first John 5, the next to the last verse.
Verse 20 Yes, and we know.
That we are of God.
No, no, start over.
First John 520.
And we know that the Son of God is come and have given us.
And understanding that we may know him, that is true.
And we are in him. That is true. Even the Son, even his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
It's so remarkable, even when we are reading about.
Creation. There all things were made by him.
What does that mean to me? What does that mean to each of us?
He is the great provider.
We have nothing.
And we look around us in this world after 6000 years of sin.
And see even now the great provisions that there are, and we look off into eternity.
I know that we have a life now here, each of us that can enjoy this creation.
But we have a life that will enjoy that person an eternity, and we will praise him. I think of a verse in the end of.
Hosea.
The last verse of Hosea.
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I take a little time to find it takes me time.
Hosea, Chapter 14.
And verse 9, Hosea 14 and verse 9.
Who is wise?
And he shall understand these things.
Prudent.
And he shall know them.
For the ways of the Lord are ripe.
And the just shall walk in them.
The ways of the Lord are ripe.
So I can ask myself the question.
What has been right in my life?
That will stand at the judgment seat of Christ.
Because it really won't be right until it's right with him.
So will it not be wonderful to be in that place with Him where everything is right? It says the ways of the Lord are right and we can't change them, but we can anticipate. We can think of those.
Glorious eternity, all is right in God's eyes. Perfect harmony with God and we love it.
I was thinking in connection with what our brother Clem was saying, First Corinthians chapter 2, it says.
The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them, for they are foolishness unto him, for they are spiritually discerned, that God has given us the Holy Spirit. Now we have received, not the Spirit which is of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
I'm just going to say this especially for the sake of the young people. God has written a book that cannot be understood except by the Spirit who was the one who gave this book and says the says all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. Men write books. And if you have equal intelligence to the man who wrote the book and you understand the book.
But the wonder of it all is that we have in our hands, brethren, a book that was not written by men. It was written by inspired by the Spirit of God. And so natural men will say, well, I can't understand that book. That's only a proof of its truth. Because if they could understand it, they would be able to understand it without the spirit of the one who wrote the book. And God has written a book and he says the only way you can understand it is to accept my beloved.
Son to receive of the Holy Spirit, and then the book will begin to open up to you and with us as believers too. It goes on a little farther in that passage. He that is spiritual discerneth all things. Why don't all believers see these things? Unless you and I are willing to allow the Spirit of God to have His way in our lives. He only gives us life for one step at a time, just like the headlights of your car on the dark night.
You get light for what you need as you're driving, but there's a lot of that's darkness ahead, but if you keep going, you have light all the way. And so God gives light for the person who takes a step of salvation.
If he then says, well, I want to please the Lord, and he turns to the word of God, the Spirit of God through the Word will give him instruction.
At the moment we say, well, I'm saved now, I better choose what I'm going to do for the Lord. Immediately We're saying, well, I needed the word of God to teach me salvation, but now I don't need the word of God to teach me how the assembly should gather, how I should order my life. I just plan that myself, no.
We need the word of God, but we also need the Spirit of God so that we can understand it. An unbeliever once said to a Christian man, he says, I don't understand this Bible and nobody can understand the Bible. And he said, your ignorance is a proof of its truth. Because if you're an unsaved man, that the fact that you say you can't understand it is to me what proves the Bible is true.
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A natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them.
For they are foolishness unto him, because they are spiritually discerned. I thought of it, brethren, in connection with the Tabernacle. There was that Tabernacle in the wilderness. A stranger comes by and he sees a building that's covered over with badger skins. There's nothing very beautiful about it. It's these white hangings around the court, the perfect life of the Lord Jesus. Where is he going to learn a little bit more?
When he comes to the door now, he begins to see the colors.
The blue and the purple and the scarlet. And so when the Sinner comes to the door, seizes need, then he comes in and the next thing is the altar of sacrifice. Here he finds the way that he can be accepted. Then he can learn all the glories of what's inside. Well, in saying this, if there's anyone unsaved here, all that we've said this morning may not mean very much to you, but if you accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior, then you'll get the spirit of the person who wrote.
And he's referred to as the spirit of truth by the Lord Jesus later on in John's gospel. Because if we've had any enjoyment of this little portion we've taken up this morning, if Christ has been made more real to our souls, it's only a work of the Spirit of God. And so the Lord Jesus said to the disciples on that occasion in the upper room, there were many things he wanted to say to them, but they couldn't bear them at that time. But when the spirit of truth is come.
Will guide you into all truth, and the spirit of truth has been given. And so we can enter into these things as we've been saying. But brethren, I just stress again, it's only by the Spirit of God and the ultimate work of the Spirit of God in bringing the truth before us is to glorify Christ.
Because the Lord Jesus brought that out as well in the upper room, that the function of the Spirit when he came would be to bring Christ before them. And So what a wonderful thing it is. We've been Speaking of eternal life. We've been Speaking of the Spirit of God. It's summed up in Peter where it says we have all things that pertain unto life and godliness. 43 in the back.
Thy word thyself reflecting thus sanctified by truth.
Still leading on thy children with gentle heavenly growth.
Still the work proceedeth, the work begun by grace, for each is meet and training Father to see thy face. 43 in the back of the last sentence.
I wear thyself.
To see, we also seen 150.
So.
Bright.
Alive.