For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of
John chapters fourteen to seventeen. Some of it will be what I have already
written and some will be new. Therefore it may sometimes appear that I leave
off in the middle of a topic to be continued, since I have reached my daily
word count limit. We will also return to placing a blog posting daily for the
time being.
In order to follow this you ought to have read from the first
posting in the series – John 14 (One).
"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to
you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.
Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in
my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you (John 14:18-20).
Jesus said because He lives, we will also live. What
life is He talking about? Is it life after death? In the context of this
passage it is life on earth because Jesus said it in the same breath as His
statement about not being orphans. He said "because I live, you also will
live". Where does He live? He lives at the right hand of Father, but also
in us through the Holy Spirit. What kind of life does He, and therefore us,
live? The Greek for ‘live’ in this passage means ‘be alive, lively, to be in
full vigour, to be fresh, strong, efficient, active, powerful and efficacious’.
This reminds me of the word ‘zoe’ which means life - vitality, animate,
vigorous and active? John 10:10: ‘The thief comes only to steal and kill and
destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.’
Jesus went for it all the way while He was on earth. He
didn’t spare Himself when it came to living life to the full, in other words
pouring Himself out on others in obedience to His father. He lived true to what
He said through Isaiah in chapter 58: “and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of
the oppressed...” Jesus is still living life to the full, but only now He is
living it within us. The measure to which it bubbles out from us depends firstly
on how much we fellowship with this lively Spirit of the Lord and secondly how
much we allow Him to show and manifest. This manifestation depends on our faith
and attitude.
If we are going to be embarrassed when we are to be
animate, vigorous, active and alive we will suppress His life. If we, however,
don’t care what people think of us as long as we can please God, life in
abundance will bubble from us to the benefit of the Kingdom of God. This will
also not come by itself. It is a choice and an act of our will. We must live
abundantly by choice, not by feeling. Abundant life therefore means that
through our gifting and His power we abundantly bear fruit in order to
accomplish that which we were born for. This differs somewhat from the idea
that living abundantly means having lots of money, fun and comfort? Even the
poorest person can have an abundant life the way Jesus meant it.
What did Jesus mean when He said: "On
that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am
in you"? Isn't He sitting at the right hand of the Father and the Holy
Spirit is living inside of us. How can He be in the Father and us in Him? The
Lord Jesus purposely spoke the words in this passage in this sequence. He knew
that once His disciples have learnt to ‘see’ Him in the Spirit and ‘live
life in abundance through him’ they would understand that the latter is only
possible if the disciple, Jesus and Father forms a close unit. There will be no
need for crying, shouting or the like while praying. How much closer can three
beings be than being inside one another? No secrets, no misunderstandings, no
walls and no ceilings against which prayers can bounce back. That is why Jesus
said ‘on that day’ – in other words the day that we have managed to be intimate
– ‘you will realise.’ Jesus being in the Father means Him being totally
dependent on His father, like He said, and us being in Jesus means us being
totally dependent on Him.
The sad truth, however, is that
there are still plenty of orphans around the church today. How many Christians
are able to see Christ as described above? How many Christians are able to live
life to the full in Christ? We are so caught up in religion. Our lives are
controlled by what the pastor and the church system tell us. Many Christians
cannot make a move without checking with the pastor or the home cell leader
whether or not it is the right action. If people have to check with the pastor
first every time the Lord calls, how difficult do you think the Lord would find
it to get individuals to obey His command for a particular moment in time, in
other words doing what the Lord urgently requires? Often He wants action now -
a soul needs to be touched now, not tomorrow… a once-off opportunity.
Lord, I want to LIVE!
Thank you Lord that
your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not
return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the
purpose for which you sent it.
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