Month: July 2018

141. Sanctify in Truth

John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth.

John 17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

 Jesus’ prayer and promise is that we shall be sanctified. Sanctify = make holy. Sanctify literally means “set apart,” in the Biblical sense sanctify means set apart for a holy use, as implements or persons for temple worship. No one may come into the presence of God for worship or prayer unless he is sanctified (holy), for God is holy and can tolerate nothing less in His presence.

The work of Jesus Christ is to make sinners holy. He makes the unholy holy; this is inherently impossible; the death of Christ makes it not only possible, but Jesus makes it certain. Jesus sanctifies us in the narrow sense: God declares us holy, or righteous, by grace through faith because of Christ. We have a holy standing before God and we may freely and frequently come into the presence of God, and we will definitely enter the kingdom of God and come before His throne, both now by faith and later by sight. Jesus “set Himself apart” for my sake, out of perfect love, so that I might be “set apart” for God and His kingdom. This is a one-time event.

The work of the Holy Spirit is to make sinners holy in the wider sense; the wider sense is that He makes us actually live a more holy life; He makes us better people; good works predominate more and more over sinful acts. This is a long-term process, and it is never finished in a lifetime. The believer’s progress in being made holier is a fact, but humans cannot measure it, and neither others nor we ourselves can actually see progress. Additionally, the progress in sanctification is usually up and down and in fits and starts. It is a journey; it is, indeed, “Pilgrim’s Progress.”

The promise is that we are sanctified “through the truth, God’s Truth.” The Truth can be either Jesus, who is the truth, or the Word of God, which is called The Truth. The Word is Jesus Christ, and it is the spoken word, and it is the written word; all three combine to be the Truth. Essentially, and practically, the Truth that sanctifies is the Gospel. So, once again, we see how important it is to hear the Gospel, the same old Gospel message, over and over again. The Truth – Jesus died for sinners. This is the Gospel. This truth makes us holy: definitively, in the narrow sense, through faith in Christ; progressively, in the wider sense, through the Holy Spirit working through the Gospel in Word and Sacrament. Believe the promise: God makes you holy through the truth.

140: Keep from Evil

 John 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

 Christians are, as the saying goes, “in the world, but not of the world.” Christians pray, as Jesus instructs, “Deliver us from the Evil One.” The truth is that we remain in the world (not take them out); the promise is in the answer to Jesus’ prayer: He will keep us from the evil, or the Evil One.

We pray the Lord’s Prayer petition about evil because Jesus told us to and because He prays that for us, and we know His prayer is answered. Thus this is a promise: He will keep us from the evil that is in the world. The devil is the prince of this world and the world lies in the evil one. Satan uses the world that he rules over to try to keep us in unbelief and keep us away from God’s love and God’s help.

Temptations will come and will always be present, as long as we are alive and living in the world. But Jesus has overcome the world, and by faith in Christ we do not have to surrender to temptation and live under Satan’s nefarious control. This promise may seem impossible, that He can keep us from the evil even though we are surrounded by the evil that is in the world with us. How can this be? Evil is ever present and it is relentless; in addition, we are too weak in the flesh to overcome it and not give in. Therefore, we turn to Jesus; the promise is true: He will keep us from the evil. Jesus is the Shepherd who protects us; He is the Warrior who fights for us and keeps the evil away; He is the Savior who rescues us. “With the temptation he will also provide the way of escape.” [I Corinthians 10:13]

Repent and believe the Gospel. Speak the Gospel to yourself so that you hear it. Pray and believe the Lord’s Prayer: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” When we exercise faith in this promise we have no doubt He will do it.

139. Joy Fulfilled

 John 17:13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

 Jesus has lots of joy, but His joy is not really fulfilled until His joy fills everyone else. In other words, if we are not happy, Jesus is not happy.We complete the joy of Jesus when His joy reaches into us and fills us up. God smiles and Jesus’ face brightens up when we have His joy within.

The result of the preached Gospel (“things I speak in the world”) is joy. It doesn’t get more joyful for us than having His joy in us; in comes to us when Jesus speaks. The hint implied in this promise is that it would be a good thing to listen to Jesus. The more we hear the Gospel the happier we will be. If that promise is true it would certainly be a good idea to hear Jesus speak as often as possible. Listen to the things Jesus is speaking in the world: “I love you; I forgive you; I give you life; you are mine; I am with you; fear not; do not be anxious.”

For this reason we want to be in the Word to know the things Jesus speaks and to let the Holy Spirit bring them to our remembrance. For this reason we are “reading the red” and looking for and appropriating the promises of Jesus. The reason: we have a promise that His joy will be fulfilled in us. Jesus is happy when we are happy; we are happy when He is happy. Our inner desire is to please Jesus and make Him happy and not to grieve the Holy Spirit. The desire and ability to actually live a better life comes from the source of joy within, which is Jesus in us. The Joy of Jesus is not only the source of a better life, but it is also the result of living a better life. The Gospel is the power. Repent and believe the Gospel for the Kingdom is near.

138. Give Eternal Life

 John 17:2, 3 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

 Jesus gives eternal life; God shares His life with us; God gave power over all flesh to His Son so that Jesus could give us God’s life. Knowing God and Jesus is eternal life. Jesus brought us to God and God to us, and when He did, voila – eternal life.

There seems to be one issue to solve: eternal life is given to those whom God gave to Jesus. The key seems to be in these words: “God has given.” Jesus gave eternal life to those whom God gave to Jesus. The origin and genesis of all that Jesus did to earn, and then to give, eternal life is God’s giving. God loves me, God gives me, God sends Jesus for me; it starts in God’s heart, and love is in the heart of God. We know God gave Jesus for us, but it is a little surprising to hear that God gave us to Jesus. I am the Father’s Christmas present to His Son. Jesus not only loves me, He wants me. I am the joy set before Him when He endured the cross. The Father loves the Son so deeply, even emotionally, that He gave Him what He wanted: me.

Jesus loves the sheep and laid down His life for them, and He has many that were given Him from the Father; but He also has many more that are not yet in the fold. The kingdom of God is a fluid entity, always in process, ever growing and expanding; there are many more that God gives to Jesus and He is bringing them in. Eternal life is not static, but it is alive, moving, changing and getting better. The longer life goes on the better it gets. Can you imagine? What will life be like in 10,000 years?

137. Peace

 John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Peace is in Jesus; the peace of God that we possess and enjoy in Christ comes through the Word of the Gospel (the things Jesus spoke). We have peace in Him; we have Him through the Gospel. When the Gospel is spoken to us we receive Christ and with Him and in Him we have peace. Peace is regarded as a possession; it is something we have and an entity we own. This is the peace of God that surpasses understanding; it is deeper than what our mind can comprehend. And Jesus Himself gives this peace; the world cannot give it, implying that the peace we seek and the peace we need can come to us only from Christ, and it will not come from any other source.

Jesus gives us everything we need; we need nothing else; if Jesus doesn’t give it we don’t need it. He is the source of peace and every spiritual gift and blessing that goes into the receiving and enjoying of the peace of God. By extension, we can confidently say; “Christ is all.”

Jesus sees tribulation as the opposite of peace. Tribulation comes from being in the world: tribulation is in the world; peace is in Christ. This is cut and dried, black and white. The level of tribulation and peace that we experience on a spectrum (with peace on one end and tribulation on the other) is apparently dependent on which one we pay attention to, which one we listen to. The lesson is the clear.

Jesus say, “Cheer up,” because I have overcome the world. Therefore, turn to and listen to Jesus and His Word; turn away from the world and it messaging. The world is used by Satan to speak his lies and offer his temptations. It is a simple matter, but oh, so difficult to do. One word from Jesus turns back thousands of words from the world; “one little word can fell him.” One word from Jesus brings peace in the midst of tribulation. The world itself is not evil, nor is it the enemy; it is the means through which the devil speaks to us, and he cannot give peace; he can only give tribulation. I John 5:19: “The whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” And I John 4:4: “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” It is that simple: Listen to Him! Hear the Gospel!

136. Sorrow to Joy

 John 16:20, 22 Ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy….And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

 The prediction is that we will be sorrowful; the promise is that the sorrow will be turned into joy. When Jesus is gone and we are left to ourselves alone sorrow comes and fills the life; but when Jesus sees us again we will have such a joy that no one can take it away from us.

“Sorrow turned to joy” is quite an amazing promise; it does not just mean that after sorrow joy comes and replaces the sorrow (day comes after night); it means more: the sorrow itself becomes joy. There are seeds within the sorrow that bear the fruit and flower of joy; the joy cannot be seen or felt within the sorrow, but it is there. The seeds do not look like the flower, but within the seed is the potential for something beautiful to come from it. Sorrow is the seed; joy is the fruit. This is another way of saying: no crown without the cross; no glory without the suffering; no gain without pain. God does not just drop down the joy and glory; He works it out by going through the sorrow, and the sorrow itself is turned into joy.

We do not see the connections of cause and effect; this is why we need the promise of Jesus to make a connection by faith. We will never see the result of joy while we are going through the hard times, but the truth is that those very sorrows themselves have within them the seeds of joy. Even though Jesus clearly predicted it to the disciples, I am sure that on Friday and Saturday they could not see the joy of the resurrection on Sunday. Therefore, believe the promises of Jesus: “Joy comes in the morning.” Let God’s wisdom and love take the present dark times and work it through into light and joy. The good news is that it will all work out for good. And that is a promise. Take it to heart.

135. See Jesus

 John 16:16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.

 The promise turns on the word “see.” Literally, “not seeing” refers to Jesus being taken to the darkness of death and the tomb; “seeing again” refers to Jesus resurrected from the dead and from the tomb. Figuratively, “not seeing” refers to not understanding the death of Jesus and what happened to Him; “seeing again” refers to understanding everything in the Resurrection. Once we see Jesus resurrected everything He said and did makes sense, in fact, everything makes sense. The promise is fulfilled: we shall truly see.

“Jesus goes to the Father.” Jesus carries His blood into the presence of God and sets it before the Father as the propitiation for the sins of the world. God is well pleased with His Son and with us who believe in Him. The death of Christ has secured forgiveness of sin and eternal life; the resurrection of Christ has defeated death forever and we have won the victory over all enemies; all of this is now ours because Jesus has gone to the Father. Because of Jesus’ finishing the work and pleasing the Father God raised Him from the dead to live forever and grant life to all. We see Jesus dying on the cross and we see Jesus resurrected from the tomb. We see and we understand. Thanks be to God.

Now, in this lifetime, there are a few “little whiles.” There are some short times when we don’t see or understand quite so clearly: Where is Jesus? Why did He leave? Where has He gone? Why? Why? Why? But then again in another short time we will see and understand and believe, and upon seeing, all is well. These moments of revelation come by the Holy Spirit applying the Gospel to the eyes of the heart and to the understanding of the soul. Jesus is alive! These moments build on one another until we finally close our eyes in death and see Jesus face to face.

134. Show Things of God

 John 16:14, 15 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you, All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you.

John 16:25 I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father.

 Show = unveil, reveal. The Holy Spirit takes the Scriptures and reveals to us who live in the physical world the real things that are going on in the invisible world. The invisible is the spiritual world where God lives and moves and loves. That world touches our world in our spirit within, where HS dwells. Through the Word God shows, or peels back the curtain that separates the two realms, what that realm really looks like; this is where eternal reality happens, the things that matter. God Himself, through the Spirit and the Word, must show us these things that we cannot see clearly or face to face. Even with the Spirit’s revealing we still see “through a glass darkly.” But that dim view is enough; it is clear and full enough to know what we need to know for our life and our hope. It is real and sure.

Jesus says that He will show us plainly of the Father. We are privileged to know the mind, heart and plans of God the Father Almighty. We cannot live without God and we cannot live well without God’s revelation of Himself. Jesus promises to show the Father to us. We can know what He thinks about us, and we trust in the plans He has for us; and it is all good news.

Much about God is unknown and mysterious, of course, but we must know some things about God in order to know Him and have an intimate relationship with the “unknown God.” God shows us enough of Himself in His Word, Jesus shows us plainly, and the HS reveals the mind of Christ and the heart of the Father. God has revealed enough for us to spend a lifetime getting to know Him more and better. All we need to do is pay attention.

133. Guide into all Truth

 John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth, for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.

 Lots of people want to know the future, so they go to different kinds of fortune-tellers. Jesus promises us the Spirit of truth, who will show us things to come. God has shown us the future in the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Spirit will show us things to come; but it will be only the things we need to know so that we can live a fruitful life in the present. One thing we know about the future is that all will be well and we will be well taken care of: Jesus will return, render judgment, usher in the eternal kingdom of God, create the new heaven and new earth, and receive us into the eternal state with God. That’s enough to know about what is to come: we will die and then live forever with the Lord. It is a glorious future. Enough.

The Spirit of truth will guide us into all truth; He will bring the truth to us in such a way that we can believe it and enjoy God’s promises; He will guide us into all the truth that we need to know. Our future is secure. He will also keep us from the Lie and all the lies that would tempt us away from God and a secure future. It is no small deal to be led to the Truth, the Whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth. “Thy Word is Truth,” and the truth shall make you free; I am able, with the guidance of HS, to make decisions and rest comfortably on the truth that He has guided me into.

Truth can be relied on and counted on; I can’t go wrong or be misled; the truth keeps me on the path to life; it enables me to live life to the full. The Spirit of truth enables me to know where I stand and to make me know that where I stand is a strong and safe place. I know whom I have believed, and I trust Him.

132. Reprove of Judgment

 John 16:8c (He will reprove the world) of judgment.

 The third step in the conversion process by the Holy Spirit is that He will convict the people of the world of judgment. The conviction is that Sin, Satan and Death has been judged at the Cross, once for all and finally. The judgment of Satan, of course, is impossible to see by witnessing the crucifixion, or by simply hearing the story. We need a revelation by the HS that the death of Christ on the Cross is a judgment: the prince of this world is judged.

Satan and his power are judged by the cross because Sin is judged. Sin gives Satan a legal right to rule the world and control human lives. Once sin is judged and taken away Satan no longer has a legal claim to our lives. When by faith in Christ we tell him to flee and be gone he must flee and go away, no questions asked. Thus it is a real life practical fact to know: Satan is judged, and he has no more right to our life. He can only lie and scream and scare and accuse, but he cannot convict. I can boldly assert and proclaim, “Satan, get behind me, you have no right here. Flee and be gone.” We do not have to listen to his doubts and temptations.

My Sin has been judged on Calvary. It is finished, and no sin can rise up and accuse me any longer; I am not guilty. Death, the wages of sin, is also judged. Death has no more claims on my life. I will die but afterward I will live. “Though he die, yet shall he live.” Since the hold and the threat of death is destroyed there is absolutely no fear of death.

Judgment is a big deal; in this context it means condemnation, damnation. All my enemies are completely defeated, and I know for sure that the Second Death has no power over me. Condemnation is the opposite of righteousness: I can have one but not the other at the same time. Judgment is also necessary so that the Enemies are destroyed from existence and so that righteousness is mine. Judgment kills all that is evil or inimical to my wellbeing; righteousness makes alive everything good and pleasant. The HS convicts me of righteousness and judgment.