No Darkness In Him (1 John 1:5-10)

“This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. 1 John 1:5-10 NKJV

What a message we have heard from the apostles! God is Light and in Him there is no darkness at all. Apostle John was invited to the heaven and saw the throne of God which he recorded in the Book of Revelation. “After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things." Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones; and upon the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments, and golden crowns on their heads.” (Revelation 4:1-4 NKJV)

Prophet Isaiah prophesied about this light some seven hundred years before Christ was born. “The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.” (Isaiah 9:2 NKJV) Light means knowledge, revelation, relationship, energy, vitality, and power. What is darkness? Darkness is the absence of light. The psalmist beautifully described how bold and daring are those who walk in the light. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4 NKJV)

John explains what it means to walk in the light. “If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” No one who walks in the light is not in darkness because there is continual and persistent fellowship between the Lord Jesus Christ and the saints. It is called the perfect communion. Through the fellowship with Jesus Christ, we have what it takes to cope with all kinds of lives. Paul pertinently expressed the natural outcome of the fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13 NKJV)

The power to maintain that marvelous fellowship with Him is the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. He cleanses us from all sin so that we stand in the sight of Holy God righteously and blamelessly. John explains what blocks the flow of fellowship with Christ Jesus. “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.” Sin has separated humans from the intimate relationship and fellowship with God. Sin is pride, selfishness, and lawlessness. All has sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

All what God wants us to do is to admit and confess our sins honestly and humbly. God sent us the most powerful defender and advocate to release us from the bondage and slavery of the prince of dark world. Paul burst out the ultimate grace upon the saints in the letter to the Romans. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1 NKJV) Here is a simple analogy. How can you make a dark room bright when you enter it? The answer is just turn on the switch. That is what God wants! Just admit and confess our wrongs and errors to the Father in heaven. Then the Son cleanses us with the blood shed for us on the cross in Calvary and clothes us perfect righteousness. This we will do again and again! Then the faithful God will do cleanse us again and again through the Son Jesus Christ. 

What a Fellowship, What a Joy Divine (1 John 1:1-4)

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full. 1 John 1:1-4 NKJV

No one has seen God but the Son Jesus Christ has manifested the invisible Father in heaven. John uses the phrase ‘from the beginning’ to indicate the full experience of the enrichment of life in Jesus Christ. It includes all the Christians who have been delivered by the grace of God. The new relationship has come and begun through the faith in Jesus Christ and by the touch of God. A new born Christian has become a new member in the family of God, escaping from the hands of the devil by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The salvation comes by the coming of the Son into the hearts of people. Some two thousand years ago, the Son was born in the small and obscure town of Bethlehem and indwelt among the people. He ate together with the people, talked to them, walked on the streets in the land of Palestine, slept often in the mountains and woods, spent time with the outcast, taught all kinds of people especially the twelve disciples, engaged in the intense arguments with the leaders of the nation, performed the miracles that no one had ever done, healed the sick, opened the blind, let the lame walk, let the deaf her, and comforted the numerous.

The Word of life was seen and heard and proclaimed by the disciples. The life contacted and touched the numerous who received Him and entered into the intimate and friendly relationship with Him, breaking up the unwanted and uninvited relationship with the prince of the world. Once entered into the family of God, the unsearchable riches of fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ are available. The relationship is what we are and the fellowship, what we have. The fellowship means what we are experiencing now in the Lord Jesus Christ.

We have fellowship with one another, who shares the same life of the Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn’t always have to be bible study but chat, coffee time, exercise, sports, walking, whatever it may be. There is just one bundle of life in the universe. How can it be? Yes, it is true just because no one can live alone at all. There may be a thousand and one different roles in life but only one life. We are not in competition or rivalry with one another in defending and advancing the gospel.  

We also have fellowship with God the Father and the Son Jesus Christ. What a fellowship it is! We may continually have overflowing life since we have access and privilege to the throne of grace where we are fully enriched through the fellowship. We may continue to be fully satisfied and filled because He pours out love in our hearts by the Spirit. We may be always filled with heavenly joy because He is the fountain of joy. We may be completely and perfectly in peace because He is the father of peace. What a life it is! 

Rejoice!

“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:3-10 NKJV

How can we rejoice in the sufferings? Is it possible to rejoice in the sufferings anyways? If the Scripture says so, then it is absolutely possible to rejoice in the sufferings. First of all, what is suffering? Is it not everything in our midst? Waking up in the morning, going to work, coming home and fixing dinner, washing dishes, taking care of children, doing laundry, exercise, paying bills, cleaning house, etc. Doing those humdrum and commonplace things every day is a challenge but how to do is another. The latter is more difficult and testing than the former even as a Christian.

How do you handle if you were bothered by your very own families? How do you handle if you had to work with someone you don’t like at work? How do you handle if somebody cut you off when you drive? How do you handle if you got a conference call from your kid’s school for discipline? How do you handle if you got a dispute over the telephone bill or something else? How do you handle if didn’t like the dishes your wife fixed? How do you handle if your kids spent too much time for computer games? How do you handle if you didn’t like your church members or pastors?

The first and most frequent response of the people at such surroundings is strongly negative, crying out, “Why does it happen to me?” But the Scripture says exactly the opposite. “Rejoice in the sufferings!” It doesn’t mean that we are supposed to make plastic smiles at the sufferings. The Hebrews tells us that the disciplines are painful and excruciating at the time (Hebrews 12:11). Though it is hurtful, we rejoice in the sufferings because we know that it produces perseverance (stability), stability, character (reliability), and reliability, hope in which we are not ashamed of.  And most of all, we know that the sufferings are the expression of God’s longsuffering love which poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

How can we be sure of that the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Spirit in the midst of troubles and travails? Apostle Paul explains for us how we can be certain of God’s love, even not His wrath. He reminds us of the unfailing fact that God gave His begotten Son Jesus Christ when we were the hostile enemies of Him. God loved us first even when we were still sinners. The demonstration of God’s love has been manifested in the bloody death of the Son Jesus Christ in Calvary. God did reach out His loving hands to people who were aliens and strangers, standing far away from the righteousness of God through not an angel but the Son Jesus Christ.

Paul comparatively concludes the incontestableness of God’s love as Eugene Peterson renders, “Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we’re at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life!” (Romans 5:9-10 The Message)

We have the undeniable reason to rejoice in the sufferings because we are in Jesus Christ who suffered and died in our place when we were still sinners, the enemies of God. 

The Greatest Miracle of All

“Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” Matthew 11:20-24 NKJV

Do you think that if Jesus Christ performed miracles now just as he had done in the first century, then people would believe in Him? The answer is no. How the people respond to the miracle of raising the dead man Lazarus? They tried to kill not only Jesus Christ but Lazarus. The miracles are not designed for changing the heart of people but for manifesting who the Lord Jesus Christ is. The knowledge of the Lord may lead people to repentance and salvation. The miracles accredited that Jesus Christ came from God (Acts 2:22). Jesus Christ performed many miracles because they were necessary to demonstrate the fact that He was the promised Messiah written in the Law and the Prophets.

However, the miracles were not for amazement and admiration but for repentance and salvation. In due time according to God’s plan and program, God sent His begotten Son Jesus Christ to fulfill the promise of salvation and redemption for humanity and the earth. “But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.” (Acts 3:18-20 NKJV) Repentance means changing the heart and mind to the way God thinks. The miracles of Jesus Christ are shouting the facts that He is the life, the way, and the truth. Jesus Christ is the visible exhibition of the invisible God in heaven. That is what the miracles are telling us eternally.

The greatest miracle of all is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This undeniable and incontestable fact of resurrection from the dead has been working powerfully and sturdily for bringing a great multitude of people from all tribes, nations, peoples, and tongues out of the darkness and blackness into the marvelous light and salvation of Jesus Christ. The resurrection life is the one that God has been longing to give everyone who believes in the Son Jesus Christ. It is eternal life. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 NKJV)

The resurrection life is given to anyone who believes in the death of the Son Jesus Christ on the cross in Calvary. Death comes first and resurrection follows. The death of the Son Jesus Christ reveals the fact that God has punished the sin of the world. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV) The death of Jesus Christ is the substitutionary death of all who believes in Him. Christ Jesus didn’t have to die for Himself. He died for those who believe in Him. The resurrection life manifests in the lives of ordinary people through the faith in Jesus Christ. What faith? The faith in the blood of Jesus Christ! It means the death of us in the experience of life going on every day. Living by faith means that we accept that there is nothing in us to contribute or add to earn the gift of God. So, in effect, we live the exchanged life of Jesus Christ who indwells within us forever.

“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:1-10 NKJV)

We Died to Sin

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Romans 6:1-2 NKJV

What does it mean that we died to sin? Here ‘we’ indicates the regenerated people, the born again Christians. Something has happened when we believe in Jesus Christ the Lord. What is it? Human beings are born in the fallen state since the fall of Adam. The devil deceived humanity to violate the command of God. The Scripture calls it sin. Whatever that is, humans inherently have a serious problem which leads to death. The death means not only the cessation of physical life but the absence of life like no excitement, joy, vitality, and love. It causes humans to be suffering endlessly from the sense of insignificance, pettiness, emptiness, meaninglessness, and worthlessness. The Scripture calls it the slavery of sin and death. The powerful dark force and relentless heavy burden are upon the shoulder of humans.

But that formidable force has been loosed to those who received Jesus Christ the Lord because the Son is incomparably more powerful than that of the devil (Mark 3:27).  The moment of release and liberation from the slavery and bondage of evil power through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ was when we died to sin. Humans are three-fold beings—body, soul, and spirit. The moment Adam fell was the time that the human spirit died by the invasion of the dark force of evil. But now the human spirit is recaptured by the invasion of the Holy Spirit through faith in the Son Jesus Christ. So, as Apostle John puts it, the children of light cannot go on sinning. “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.” (1 John 3:9 NKJV)

However, the human body is not yet redeemed. The Scripture calls it the seat of sin. So, we sin and fail at times until the redemption of our body. “Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” (Romans 8:23 NKJV) Even if we fail and make errors, the Scripture says that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus because the sons of light were propitiated through the blood of the Son (Romans 8:1).  

With this infallible hope given from the heaven above we persevere and endure and stay under His marvelous grace. “For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.” (Romans 8:24-25 NKJV) On that day which is much closer and nearer than we first believed, we will be clothed with the heavenly tent which God made by His hand (Romans 13:11, 2 Corinthians 5:1-2).

“For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight. We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:1-8 NKJV)

When the Holy Spirit Comes

“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. John 16:8-11 NKJV

How does the Holy Spirit convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment? It is not true that the Holy Spirit would directly convict the world because He never comes into the heart of the worldly people, the Scripture says. “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17 NKJV) The Spirit comes into the believers only who have received Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior.

So, the Holy Spirit indirectly convicts the world through the saints who live in the midst of the worldly people as the salt and light of the world. The world is guilty of sin, because they do not believe in Jesus Christ the Lord. How may the world be convicted and understand that they are guilty because they do not believe in Jesus Christ? They think that believing in God is nonsense and noise in their career pursuits. They think it is senseless and thoughtless to believe in God in an effort to extol all the human achievements. So, the humanists conclude that it is ridiculous and ludicrous if they believe there is a God who sent His begotten son to save the world.

In these harsh circumstances, the saints in the midst of pressures who are called by grace live to demonstrate that it is absolutely possible to believe in Jesus Christ. The life of saints tells exactly the opposite of what the world insists on the existence of God. Here we see how the Holy Spirit indirectly works for the saints to convict the world of sin. While the saints are under tremendously pressured, the indwelling Spirit sustains and strengthens them to stand firm on the rock of truth in Jesus Christ.

Secondly, the Spirit convicts the world of righteousness, because Jesus Christ the Son went to the Father and the world would see Him no more. Righteousness means the sense of worth or wholeness. Every person wants to be whole from the down deep inside. Humans are puzzled by the fact that no matter how much they achieve and possess in the material level they still feel futile and fruitless and even empty. They are bewildered by the fact that they feel further and further away from satisfaction. What is wrong in humanity? All the efforts and endeavors put to earn the sense of worth fail to produce the fruits. Just look around the people who dedicate to work hard and yet invariably frustrate and defeated after all.

In the midst of futility and frustration, the world may see some peculiar people who are standing firm righteously and blamelessly in all the circumstances. These people may intrigue the world how could it be possible for them to stand in peace and serenity although they may be much less talented and possessing than they are. That is the exact picture of what the born-again Christians look like since they have been propitiated by the death of Jesus Christ with blood. Genuine Christians are justified through the faith in the Son Jesus Christ and have continual access to the throne of grace. The Spirit teaches and enlightens and reminds the children of God from within that they have been redeemed and liberated to make free indeed (John 8:31-32).

Finally, the Spirit convicts the world of judgment, because the prince of the dark world is already judged. Although the devil is seemingly winning and captivating in human affairs, it is not true at all. God pronounced the irrevocable verdict that the devil has been cursed and disgraced since he had rebelled and contended against God (Genesis 3:14). The devil has been fallen from the position as the highest angel (Isaiah 14:12-21). In due time, through the death of the Son Jesus Christ, God has judged the devil. He is the son of perdition, of total hopelessness, and of complete defeat.

Satan the devil is not in dual against God but under the full submission of God. He is nothing but one of creatures. The devil cannot work independently without the permission of God. No matter what the devil may try to achieve in human affairs he cannot do anything at all. He is always defeated and humiliated even at the moment he thought he won.

That is the reason why the worldly people are experiencing terrible frustrations and insignificance and futility after all they tried hard. Out of ignorance and witlessness, they follow the footsteps of the devil. The Holy Spirit convinces the saints in the world that there is no condemnation even in the midst of failures and errors in Jesus Christ. So, although the Christians are pressed and attacked hard by the fiery darts of evil one they are able to quench them through the Spirit within (Ephesians 6:12).

Here is the full assurance of victory uttered by Apostle Paul. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” (2 Corinthians 4:7-10 NKJV)

Rivers of Living Water Flow From Within

“On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39 NKJV

Jesus Christ the Lord invites all people to come unto Him and drink. Jesus Christ invites particularly anyone who thirsts to come unto Him in order to give eternal life. Jesus does not specify what criteria of thirst like academic success, marriage, promotion, healing from disease, friendship, or achievements. Jesus invites anyone who thirsts. If you thirst for anything, then you are eligible for the invitation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ understands who we are and what we need the most. He also knows and understands that we humans are essentially and fundamentally thirsty at all. Most of all, the Lord Jesus knows what the best gift of all is for us. What is it? It is the Holy Spirit. The blessed promise given to Patriarch Abraham was but the Holy Spirit through faith (Galatians 3:14).

“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:10-14 NKJV)

Jesus knew that the people were tired and weary after the great day of the feast. During the feast people were excited and thrilled. However, after all the excitement and uplifted spirit had gone, they felt unfilled, empty, and unoccupied. Right there when the people needed the most, Jesus Christ the Lord stood and cried out, offering the great invitation of all to come unto Him and drink.

The promise of our Lord Jesus Christ is beyond what we expect. Note that the promise is not limited to the problem itself, because it touches incomparably deeper level of humanity, even the cause of thirst. Yes, anyone who comes unto Jesus Christ and drink shall be given a marvelous gift from heaven above. How could that happen? Jesus Christ says that if anyone believes in Him and out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. John immediately made a comment that it indicates the Holy Spirit.

Note that the promised Spirit will be given to those who not only come unto Him but believe in Him. Only through faith the promise of God can be fulfilled. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV)

What does it happen to the person who has received the promised Spirit? Jesus says out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. Do not miss the point which it is not from without but from within. There is nothing that can quench the human thirst from without. No material gain or mental serenity can extinguish the ever mounting and intensifying thirst in you. The world says that there is if you dig in further, but it is a lie.

Eugene Peterson rendered like this, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says.” Imagine rivers of living water flow from within you and me! Jesus Christ tells us that we will be glowing and shining right where we are, not because we have received some magical power, but because we have been called to be the praise of His glory in our midst.

Love Fulfills the Law

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-20 NKJV

How has Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law and the Prophets? How has Jesus kept the Law and Prophets? The answer is in love the Son Jesus Christ obeyed the Father God. Jesus Christ was the Lord of all and given power even to create another universe and yet he obeyed the Father even to the point of death. That’s the secret of keeping the Law and the Prophets. The Law and the Prophets represent the holy character of God. They cannot be broken and neither violated. They shall stand as they are forever.

The Law makes us sin all the more. Sounds nonsense! But it is true. Apostle Paul describes his own experience in Romans 7 that what he would not do he did and what he would do he did not. He cried out “What a wretched man I am!” (Romans 7:24) That is the reason God has given the Law to His people. God knew that it was impossible for them to keep the Law of God. God gave them to reveal the reality of wickedness and evilness in humanity.

But many a people think that they can keep the Law by trying hard like the Pharisees and scribes. They considered the regular fasting and prayers and offerings as the fulfilment of the Law. They made numerous regulations and precepts in order to keep the Law of Moses. You don’t have to break many laws to be a law-breaker. By breaking a single law, you are already a law-breaker. They broke the law of God to honor their parents by making the precept of ‘Corban’ in order to evade the responsibility (Mark 7:11-12).

Although they made tremendous efforts in an attempt to keep the Law of God, they were hypocrites. Jesus Christ pronounces that we must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. What does it mean? Only righteousness acceptable and satisfactory in the sight of God is the righteousness from heaven above.

“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:2-14 NIV)

Only when we are clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we can enter into the throne of grace with full confidence and boldness without fear. Only when we are righteous before God, we can keep the Law and the Prophets in perfection. It is no longer we who keep the Law but Christ in us does. The Law of God says that you cannot keep it by yourself but can do in Christ Jesus the Lord.

Jesus Christ the Son has fulfilled the Law and the Prophets in love which He obeyed the Father unto death. Love is the most powerful weapon of all to fulfill the Law. In fact, the Ten Commandments are the commentary for the true love of God. Love must be spelled out so that we may understand what the true love is. Likewise, we can keep the Law of God in love, the love which we have received first through the Son Jesus Christ.

The Truth Shall Set You Free

“If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32 NKJV

Humans yearningly long for freedom from deep inside. History proves that even the brutal slavery system could not get hold of the explosive desire of humans for freedom. We are made and born free from the beginning that nothing can steal the freedom of humans. However, physical freedom is not enough for humans to be truly free. We are of mind and spirit as well as of body. So, the mind and spirit must be free to be completely free.

Jesus Christ the Lord is the way to total freedom. There is no other way than through Him. How can it be happen that we can be free through the Lord Jesus Christ? In the Gospel of John Chapter 8, Jesus Christ tells us how.

First, if we abide in His word, we indeed His disciples. What does it mean to abide in His word? Abiding in His word means obeying Him. It includes reading, studying, meditating, contemplating, and understanding His word. Obedience is the key to abide in His word.

If we continually obey His word, then we shall know the truth. Do not miss to note that obedience leads to know the truth, not the other way around. We cannot know the truth unless first we abide in His word.

That is why the flesh and the world never know the truth because they do not obey the word of Jesus Christ. Apostle John aptly says so, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19 NIV)

Here the truth does not mean the religious truth like the existence of God. It includes all the truths about the universe and humanity which God made in the beginning. For instance, what man is, the purpose of living, the reason why man dies, what happens after this life, the purpose of the earth and universe, how we can abide in His word, etc. Jesus Christ is the truth. He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1, John 1:1-3).

Then at last the truth shall set us free. We cannot know all. But when we abide in His word what we do know, we shall know the truth and the truth shall not fail to make us free indeed. When we obey Christ Jesus the Lord, He is able to set us free. Yes, if and only if we obey Him and His words, then we can be set free.

Why are we indeed free if the truth set us free? All humans are at war within. Our enemy is not flesh and blood but the principalities, the authorities, the powers of this dark world, and the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12). Jesus Christ is incomparably stronger than the powers of this dark world and the spiritual hosts of wickedness.

Jesus Christ told a tiny parable regarding how He would rescue us from the hands of the devil. “No one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house.” (Mark 3:27 NKJV) Jesus Christ came to earth to deliver and liberate us from the real enemy of humanity the devil. That’s the true freedom. That’s the good news. 

Earthen Vessels

Why did Jesus Christ perform the miracles on the earth? Is it to impress people how much he could do through the miracles? Of course not! Then, why did he raise the dead, feed five thousands with five loaves and two fish, drive out demons, give sight to the blind, and heal the lame, paralytic, and many others? It is not for the people to believe in Him although it contributes that He was the promised Messiah. As a matter of fact, just a handful of people believed in Him though he demonstrated so many miracles in His earthly ministry. At the culmination of His messianic ministry on the earth in Calvary, all the disciples fled away from Him except a group of women.

The main reason our Lord Jesus Christ did perform the miracles is for the revelation of who He really was. Although the miracles had happened physically, the spiritual meanings are more important. The miracle of five loaves and two fish reveals that Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life in whom everything in the universe sustains life. Jesus Christ defeated the devil by quoting the scripture, “Man does not live on bread alone but every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) Jesus Christ is the Word (John 1:1).

There was a time when humans ate food which didn’t come from the earth but the heaven. Forty years of wilderness life was the only case in human history. It wasn’t a day, week, month, or even year, but forty years. God rained the manna from the heaven above every day except the Sabbath day consistently and faithfully. It pictures how humans can truly live through the manna. Jesus Christ is pouring out His life unto those who believes in Him.

The miracle of changing water into wine reveals that Jesus Christ is the giver of joy and happiness in life and makes it bear fruits. The symbol of water in the miracle indicates commonplace, humdrum, colorless, ordinary, and dull life. However, wine represents exciting, colorful, vital, fulfilling, rich, and glorious life. When we obey Him in our midst, it bears the fruits of joy, peace, and love within and without by the touch of our Lord Jesus Christ.  

We are just earthen vessels that carry the treasures of the glorious gospel. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” (2 Corinthians 4:7 NKJV) There is nothing, absolutely nothing, for us to contribute to earn the righteousness of God. From the beginning to the end, we totally and completely rely on the work of Christ Jesus the Lord through faith. That’s how we live eternal life now and forever.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10 NKJV)

O Love That Will Not Me Go

Why do we give thanks to the Lord always? Are there not enough troubles and problems in our midst? But why does the Scripture consistently say that we must not fail to give thanks to the Lord in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:8). Are we sure that we have enough reasons to give thanks to Him? Or, are we deceiving ourselves by being piously grateful in appearance and yet confused and uncertain about His love?

We shall be eternally thankful for the Lord because He loved us first. His unfailing and eternal love was demonstrated on the cross in Calvary where His begotten Son Jesus Christ died to take away the sin of the world and give a new life anyone who believes in Him. Apostle Paul pertinently described the love of God in Romans Chapter 5.

“Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:5 NKJV)

Again, Paul says the same thing in Thessalonians Chapter 2.

“But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 NKJV)

Who are we that the Lord of glory laid down His life when we were still sinners? We have nothing to contribute and earn His grace. We were totally lost and dead in our sins and transgressions. We were the enemies of God who followed the spirit of age, the devil.

But in due time God sent His begotten Son Jesus Christ to release us from the prison of bondage and slavery and guide into the kingdom of light, so whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life forever (John 3:16).

What is it to give thanks to God in practice? It’s loving one another. Not all saints are lovable. But we shall love one another not because they are lovable but because they are our brothers and sisters in the Lord. Apostle John blatantly and bluntly says so, or we are liars.

“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.” (1 John 4:20-21 NKJV)

"O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that foll’west all my way,
I yield my flick’ring torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.  by George Mattheson

STOP!

Why do we wake up in the morning and go to bed in the evening every day? Why do we go to work and come home every day? Why do we eat three meals every day? The answer is that’s life. No one can refuse those daily activities persistently. Those who can are called the dead. Anyone who is alive cannot escape the daily routines.  

The next question then may be why we have to do repetitively and continually. Why can we take a real good meal once a week and sustain the rest of days? All things are the daily reminders and teachers for us to learn something. What is it? It keeps reminding us that we are limited and fragile. The Scripture says that we were formed out of the dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7). Since we are dust, we shall go back to dust (Genesis 3:19). We are made and designed that way.

Prophet Isaiah said so.

“A voice says, “Cry out.”
    And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All people are like grass,
    and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. Isiah 40:6 NIV

James says the same thing.

“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. James 4:14 NIV

But it is not a curse but blessing and sanctification for humanity. In this way, God draws everyone to come unto Him and have eternal life in Him. “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:44 NIV) Although it is true that we are powerlessly bound and fragile in time and space, we humans can access to the throne of grace and have His life in full in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:7, Colossians 2:2).

That limit and predicament in our humanity open the marvelous opportunities to learn what we really are and why we wake up, go to work, come home, go to bed, and wake up over and over again. Have you ever driven on highways without any stop and felt the need to stop for a moment? Yes, we need to stop and see what is really going on around us. If there are no challenges at all in life, then how can we learn what the excitements and enjoyments of life are?

That humdrum and routine things we face every day are the challenges, aren’t they? Was it okay to wake up this morning? Was it okay to drive for work? What about the people at work? Were they lovable and pleasurable? We have to face it though every day. That’s the STOP signs designed by the loving Father in heaven who cares for us like the dear children.

At a stop sign, we stop and look around and then go if clear. God puts the huge stop signs ahead of us down the road every day, so that we may not fall into the trap of eternal separation from God. Putting the stop signs is not the act of harshness but that of kindness and gentleness. We at times pay no attention to the stop signs either in ignorance or intention. Consequently, we shall pay the price for it, probably fines.

Our God is eternally long-suffering and enduring that He never ends posting the gentle and kind stop signs for us to come unto Him and have eternal life in the Son Jesus Christ the Lord (John 3:16). At each stop sign, we may stop and see Jesus Christ who endured the cross, scorning its shame, for the joy set before Him and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2).

Cheerful Giver

Why is church here on the earth? Church is to be called to declare the gospel and manifest the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ to the world in darkness. It’s obvious that church is not building but the people who are called by God’s grace. Church is the frontline battlefield to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ for the people who are in the shadow of death. This is the ultimate goal of the church of Christ on earth. There is no need to set up the new goals and even stratagem of the church of Christ. It’s because the goal and strategy have been set by the Head of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ. The goal of church is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, the strategy, the Holy Spirit run the church of Christ according to the will of God, and the tactic, church obey whatever the Spirit moves and directs.

How could we achieve the goal of the church of Christ? Of course, it is not through the church-invented programs like disciple making ministry and anything else but through the transformation of the people within and without by the grace of Jesus Christ the Lord. Yes, transformation and change manifested and demonstrated among the people who are touched and contacted by the gospel of Christ Jesus in the midst of just humdrum ordinary lives.

For example, Christians are willing to give than to receive because Jesus Christ laid down His life for the peoples of nations. Jesus Christ is always and eternally giving everything out unto anyone in need. If comfort is in need, then He gives comfort, consolation, consolation, mercy, mercy, light, light, power, power, understanding, understanding, love, love, peace, peace, joy, joy, strength, strength, and everything. Jesus Christ invites anyone to come unto Him and drink the living water springing up to eternal life (John 4:13-14). Christians receive freely so much, so give freely and cheerfully (Matthew 10:8).

What we receive from the heaven above is righteousness through the blood of Christ Jesus (Romans 3:21). We are redeemed and liberated from the bondage of sin and death (Ephesians 1:7). There is no condemnation to those who are in Jesus Christ the Lord (Romans 8:1). We are set free by the word of truth (John 8:31,32).

Therefore, Christians live now and forever on the completely new arrangement of life just as our Lord Jesus Christ lived on the earth. The new terms of life is “I in Christ, Christ in me.” We individually are united with Jesus Christ by the faith in His death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:1-11). We belong to Christ in body, soul, and spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). So, we obey Him everything, even a breath of life. We live in Him, through Him, by Him, on Him, for Him, and with Him forever.

That’s the new way of living for Christians. We no longer live by the standard way of living in the world -- rivalry and competition. Apostle Paul admonishes the saints in the first century and us in the twenty-first century. “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7 NKJV)