Deut. 6:24-25: “And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.”
Where would man be without direction from God? The Psalmist stated long ago, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psa. 119:105). Christ came, not only to provide a sinless sacrifice for man’s sins, but also to teach us of His Father and to reveal the will of His Father to/for us. Both the sacrifice and the teaching of Jesus were purposed before the foundation of the world. We see this from such passages as Romans 5:10 – “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Most preaching emphasizes His death, but omits the importance and necessity of His ‘life’. What does the phrase “his life” mean? The answer is seen in such passages as:
John 6:63 - the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
John 6:68 - thou hast the words of eternal life.
John 12:49-50 – “the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting; whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.”
Jesus chose the 12 apostles for this reason; He gave to them the things that His Father gave to Him; they were then to “go into all the world” and preach these things. We see this from a portion of His prayer in John 17:3-8: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.”
Then in vv 14-21 we read: “I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
THEN NOTICE…”As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through THEIR word; [*i.e. the apostles’ word] That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”
This statement in v. 18, “As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world”, reflects the grave responsibility that they were given, in regard to these “words of life”.
What did these words consist of? We know that they contained commandments. Re-read John 12:49-50 (above). Those commands pertained to the new birth (John 3:3-5) and also would involve instructions as to how to live faithfully AFTER being born again. From Luke’s words in Acts 1:1-2 we know that Jesus gave commandments to the apostles in regard to what they were to preach. “The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach. Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen…”.
Notice some of the scripture locations that contain the commands/instructions as to how to be born again. What were the “words of life” for the sinner? These commands are seen from the 4 gospel accounts:
Matt. 28:18-20 – “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”
Mk. 16:15-16 – “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”
Lk. 24:47-49 – “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high…”
From these texts, we see the commands that pertain to these “words of life” thru which a sinner can be saved. They provide for the sinner, teaching as to how he is to respond to God’s grace in sending His own Son to bear the sins of the world. They (the apostles) were to preach ONLY what Jesus taught; as Jesus preached ONLY what His Father commanded Him to preach. Today, all preaching is limited to what was preached in our bible by them.
Again, notice John 12:49 - “…the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.”
So the preaching of the apostles is just as authoritative as the preaching of Jesus! Those who learn and submit to that which Jesus taught will receive the blessing that God purposed for them thru Jesus. God’s desire was for all people to be saved:
2 Pet. 3:9 – “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
1 Tim. 2:4 – “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” This was what He purposed for man. However, the only ones who will be saved are the ones who obey Jesus’ commandments (Heb. 5:8-9 – ‘Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him’). Without these commandments that Jesus taught, we simply could not be saved, thus, they are a blessing.
RDB
No comments:
Post a Comment