John 13
Jesus washed disciple’s feet verse 1- 5
Now before the feast of the Passover when Jesus knew that
HIS hour was come that He should depart out of this world unto
the Father having loved HIS OWN
which were in the world HE loved them unto the end
And supper being ended the devil having now put into the heart of Judas
Iscariot – Simon’s son to betray HIM Jesus knowing that the Father had given
all things into HIS hands and that HE was come from God and went to God
HE rose up from supper – and laid aside HIS garments – and took a towel
and girded HIMSELF after that HE poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and to wipe them with the towel wherewith HE was girded
Conversation with Peter verse 6- 11
THEN come HE to Simon Peter – and Peter said unto HIM
Lord – do YOU wash my feet?
Jesus answered and said unto him
What I do you know not now
BUT you shalt know hereafter
Peter said unto HIM
YOU shalt never wash my feet
Jesus answered him
If I wash you not – you hast no part with ME
Simon Peter said unto HIM
Lord – not my feet only – BUT also my hands and my head
Jesus said to him – He that is washed needs not save to wash his feet
BUT is clean every whit – and ye are clean – BUT not all
for HE knew who should betray HIM
therefore said HE – Ye are not all clean
Training time for disciples verse 12- 17
So after HE had washed their feet – and had taken HIS garments
and set down again – HE said unto them
Know ye what I have done to you?
Ye call ME Master and Lord – and ye say well
FOR so I am
IF I then – your Lord and Master – have washed your feet
ye also ought to wash one another’s feet
FOR I have given you an example
that ye should do as I have done to you
Verily – verily I say unto you – The servant is not greater than his lord
neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him
if ye know these things – HAPPY are ye if ye do them
Jesus tells of betrayal verse 18- 21
I speak not of you all – I know whom I have chosen
BUT that the Scripture may be fulfilled
He that eats bread with ME – hath lifted up his heel against ME
Now I tell you before it come that when it is come to
pass – ye may believe that I AM he
Verily – verily I say unto you
He that receives whomsoever I send receives ME
and he that receives ME receives HIM that sent ME
When Jesus had thus said
HE was troubled in spirit and testified – and said
Verily – verily I say unto you
that one of you shall betray ME
John asks who was going to betray HIM verse 22- 25
THEN the disciples looked one on another – doubting of whom HE spoke
Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom one of HIS disciples
whom Jesus loved
Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him
that he should ask who it should be of whom HE spoke
He then lying on Jesus’ breast said unto HIM – Lord – who is it?
Jesus identifies betrayer verse 26- 30
Jesus answered – He it is – to whom I shall give a sop
when I have dipped it
And when HE had dipped the sop – HE gave it to Judas Iscariot – the son of
Simon after the sop Satan entered into him
THEN said Jesus unto him – That you do – do QUICKLY
Now no man at the table knew for what intent HE spake this unto him
for some of them thought – because Judas had the bag
that Jesus had said unto him
Buy those things that we have need of against the feast
OR that he should give something to the poor
He then having received the sop went immediately out – and it was night
Jesus gives new commandment verse 31- 35
Therefore when he was gone out – Jesus said
Now is the Son of man glorified – and God is glorified in HIM
IF God be glorified in HIM
God shall also glorify HIM in HIMSELF
and shall straightway glorify HIM
Little children – yet a little while I am with you
You shall seek ME – and as I said to the Jews
Whither I go – you cannot come
So now I say to you
A new commandment I give unto you
That you love one another – as I have loved you
that you also love one another
By this shall all men know that you are MY disciples
IF You HAVE LOVE ONE TO ANOTHER
Jesus informs Peter of future denial verse 36- 38
Simon Peter said unto HIM
Lord – whither go YOU?
Jesus answered him
Whither I go – thou can not follow ME now
BUT you shall follow ME afterward
Peter said unto HIM
Lord – why cannot I follow YOU now?
I will lay down my life for YOUR sake
Jesus answered him
Will you lay down your life for MY sake?
Verily – verily I say to you
The cock shall not crow – till you have denied ME thrice
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him. (1228 “devil” [diabolos] means false accuser, slanderer, Satan, wicked person, demon, or given to malicious gossip)
DEVOTION: The Bible instructs us concerning the sources of temptation we face. In James 3: 15 we find that wisdom that is not from heaven is earthly, sensual and devilish. So our areas of temptation are the world, the flesh and the devil.
When we are tempted there are three ways these sources tempt us in which is found in I John 2: 16 which include the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Adam and Eve were tempted in these areas. Jesus was tempted in these areas.
It is not always the person of the devil that tempts. It was the case with Adam, Eve and Christ. In the gospels there are times when the Greek word for devil is used for his fellow fallen angels.
He has a large group of angels that fell with him before creation of Adam and Eve or some believe sometime after the creation week but before he tempted Adam and Eve. This group made up about a third of the created angels. So when we see the cartoons with a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other shoulder that could be true of all believers. Those who have never made a commitment to the LORD would only have the evil demon on their shoulder no good angel.
In this case with Judas it could be the original devil or Satan tempting him with money. Money was Judas’ god or idol. The devil and other fallen angels have the ability to enter humans. Now Judas was under the influence of the devil when he betrayed the LORD. It is no excuse because he made his choice and will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment regarding that choice. He followed the money rather than the LORD.
CHALLENGE: We have to choose who we are going to follow. Once we become followers of Christ, we have to fight what the devil wants to put in our heart.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 21 When Jesus had thus said, HE was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say to you, that one of you shall betray ME. (3140 “testified” [martureo] means bear witness, bear record, have a good report, to affirm that one has seen or heard or experienced something, witness, to solemnly assert something, or offering firsthand authentication of the fact)
Many of us invest in people. We invest a lot of time and training in people in the church. We want those we train to move forward in their service to the LORD. We want them to be soul winners. We want them to become the leaders the LORD wants them to be.
However, we can invest a lot of time and effort into some people and they still don’t grow in the LORD. In fact, they don’t turn out to be friends but enemies with the chips are down. There is no loyalty among believers at time.
When we have spent a good amount of time in someone we want them to honor the LORD in their decisions. Here we find that Jesus had invested three and a half years in the life of Judas and he betrayed HIM. Of course Jesus knew who was going to betray HIM. HE had predicted a year before this occasion that there was one who would betray HIM.
This verse informs us that it still hurt. Just like the death of Lazarus hurt even when HE knew HE was going to raise him from the dead. Sometimes we don’t emphasize just how Jesus expressed HIS human emotions. HE was God but HE was also human. We are human and have a relationship with God. It is not the same. Jesus expressed the fact that life hurts at times. HE felt it. It was not a sin to feel hurt. We can express to those we love our hurt if they disappoint us and it not be a sin. Our goal should be to see everyone grow in the LORD.
We should also expect disappointments in life even from people we invest in over a long period of time. We shouldn’t give up on them unless they give up on us. Our friendships should last a lifetime. We should never back away from those who are willing to work toward a closer walk with the LORD.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. (25 “love” [agapao] means show love, demonstrate love, to welcome, to be fond of, to treat with affection, to be well pleased, take pleasure in or beloved)
DEVOTION: Jesus is giving the essential teaching of the Ten Commandments. The first part deals with our love for God. The second part deals with our love for humans. God loved us so much that HE sent HIS Son to die on the cross for our sins.
Jesus taught the eleven disciples to express their care for one another in a manner that is pleasing to God. They were not only to get along with one another but were to have an encouraging relationship with one another.
This type of relationship is hard. It is hard because we can’t see God in person. The second reason it is hard is that we can see fellow human beings. Even those who claim to be followers of Christ are hard to be affection for because of their treatment of each other.
One way to look at this type of charity toward one another is to seek the highest good for another person. Do we have a sincere appreciation for our fellow believers? This is an unselfish love. The same love that the Father showed to the Son has to be shown be fellow believers to each other. Do we place value on our fellow believers? Jesus placed value on his disciples.
Jesus told his disciples that they had to treat with affection their neighbors and their enemies. Here HE tells them to treat with affection each other. When we care for each other we want the best for each other. We think their opinion is important. We don’t keep records of wrongdoing.
Jesus was about to leave the disciples on their own without his physical presence. HE was going to send the Holy Spirit to help them care for and encourage each other. The apostle John wrote in his first epistle that if we can’t care for a brother we can see, how can we care for the Lord.
As we travel between churches and observe the people in the church, we notice that some churches don’t have this command working in their midst. The communities around these churches know what is happening in that church. They don’t want to be part of a church that doesn’t appreciate each other. They, even though they are unsaved, know what a church is supposed to be like.
Our responsibility is to build a community in our local church that looks and acts like they genuinely care about one another. That is what Jesus commanded and what is needed today. Are we contributing to this care or are we acting otherwise? Our goal should always be to reconcile all relationships with fellow believers. Believers should get along with one another. IF we don’t, we are disobeying this command of the LORD!!!
CHALLENGE: Be an encourager to those that are hard to care for in the church.
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: 37 Peter said to HIM, Lord, why cannot I follow YOU now? I will lay down my life for YOUR sake. (5087 “lay down” [tithemi] means to wear or carry no longer, to give up, conceived of as laying aside a right or possession, to die voluntarily, or to die willingly)
DEVOTION: I can identify with Peter. He was the disciple who had foot in mouth disease. He was the disciple who was impetuous. He charged in where devils fear to tread as the saying goes. He is the one who could be a people pleaser at times. He was the one who liked to tell God how HE should do things.
Jesus had a way of confronting Peter to let him know when he had stepped over the line. This was one of those occasions.
Peter is making a statement that isn’t going to be true. He thinks he is saying what he thinks Jesus wants to hear. Jesus however knows his heart. Jesus knows how he will act in a given situation. HE knows Peter better than Peter knows himself. This is true in our life too.
We say things that we know we are not going to do. We need to ask the LORD for courage to do the things that we say we are going to do or not say anything. Our word is our bond with the LORD. HE doesn’t want us to say or promise anything that we are not able to do. So,we have to watch our mouth carefully. We have to always think before we speak. It is not easy for those of us who are like Peter but with the help of the Holy Spirit and close fellowship with the LORD it can be done.
CHALLENGE: Only say what you mean and mean what you say with the help of the Holy Spirit each day.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Feast of the Passover verse 1, 29
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Scripture may be fulfilled verse 18
New commandment verse 34
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Father verse 1 , 3
Son going to the Father verse 1
God is glorified in Son verse 31, 32
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Jesus verse 1, 3, 7, 8, 10, 21, 23, 25- 27, 29, 31, 36, 38
His hour was come verse 1
Loved HIS own verse 1
Come from God verse 3
Washed disciples’ feet verse 5
Lord verse 6, 9, 13, 14, 25, 36, 37
Master verse 13, 14
Example verse 15
Troubled verse 21
Son of man verse 31
Glorified verse 31, 32
Jesus loved disciples verse 34
Lay down life verse 37, 38
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
God verse 3, 31, 32
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Devil verse 2
Satan verse 27
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
World verse 1
Servant verse 16
Lord verse 16
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Betray verse 2, 11, 18, 21
Not clean verse 10, 11
Lifted up heel against Jesus verse 18
Doubting verse 22
Satan entered verse 27
Denial of Christ verse 38
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Love verse 1, 23, 34, 35
Wash the disciple’s feet verse 5, 14
Wash verse 8, 10
Clean verse 10
Wash one another’s feet verse 14
Example verse 15
Happy verse 17
Chosen verse 18
Believe verse 19
Sent verse 20
Troubled in spirit verse 21
Glorify God verse 31, 32
Commandment verse 34
Love one another verse 34, 35
Disciple verse 35
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Judas Iscariot (Simon’s son) verse 2, 26- 30
Jews verse 33
Church (New Testament people of God)
Disciples verse 5, 22, 35
Simon Peter verse 6- 11, 24,36- 38
John verse 23- 25
Last Things (Future Events)
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DONATIONS:
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QUOTES
34–35 The most important instruction that Jesus left for the Eleven was this “new commandment” to love one another. “New” (kainēn) implies freshness, or the opposite of “outworn” rather than simply “recent” or “different.” If their motive in following him had been to obtain a high place in the messianic kingdom John 1:40, 49), Jesus knew that the spirit of rivalry would disrupt their fellowship before they could accomplish his commission to them. The attitude of love would be the bond that would keep them united and would be the convincing demonstration that they had partaken of his own spirit and purpose. He had loved them without reservation and without limit (13:1–5) and expected them to do the same. (Tenney, M. C. (1981). John. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: John and Acts (Vol. 9, p. 142). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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John 13:35
By this (ἐν τουτῳ [en toutōi]). Locative case with ἐν [en], “In this way,” viz., “if ye have love” (ἐαν ἀγαπην ἐχητε [ean agapēn echēte]), condition of third class (in apposition with ἐν τουτῳ [en toutōi]) with ἐαν [ean] and present active subjunctive of ἐχω [echō] (“keep on having love”). See 17:23 where Jesus prays for mutual love among the disciples “that the world may know” that the Father sent him. Jerome (ad Galat. vi. 10) says that in his extreme old age John repeated often this command of Jesus and justified it: “Because it is the Lord’s commandment; and if it be fulfilled it is enough.” See also 14:31. Tertullian (Apol. 39) urges it also as proof of being disciples. Hatred of one another per contra, is an argument that we are νοτ [not] disciples (learners) of Jesus. (Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Jn 13:35). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.)
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13:34–35. The 11 disciples would survive in His absence by obeying His example of love. The command is new in that it is a special love for other believers based on the sacrificial love of Jesus: As I have loved you, so you must love one another. Christians’ love and support for one another enable them to survive in a hostile world. As Jesus was the embodiment of God’s love, so now each disciple should embody Christ’s love. This love is a sign to the world as well as to every believer (1 John 3:14). (Blum, E. A. (1985). John. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, pp. 321–322). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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The disciples’ responsibility was to love one another just as Christ had loved them. They would certainly need this love in the hours to follow, when their Master would be taken from them and their brave spokesman, Peter, would fail Him and them. In fact, all of them would fail, and the only thing that would bring them together would be their love for Christ and for each other.
The word love is used only twelve times in John 1–12, but in John 13–21 it is used forty-four times! It is a key word in Christ’s farewell sermon to His disciples, as well as a burden in His High Priestly Prayer (John 17:26). The word new does not mean “new in time,” because love has been important to God’s people even from Old Testament times (see Lev. 19:18). It means “new in experience, fresh.” It is the opposite of “worn out.” Love would take on a new meaning and power because of the death of Christ on the cross (John 15:13). With the coming of the Holy Spirit, love would have a new power in their lives.
This section begins and ends with love: Jesus’ love for His own (John 13:1) and the disciples’ love for one another. It is love that is the true evidence that we belong to Jesus Christ. The church leader Tertullian (a.d. 155–220) quoted the pagans as saying of the Christians, “See how they love one another?” And how do we evidence that love? By doing what Jesus did: laying down our lives for the brethren (1 John 3:16). And the way to start is by getting down and washing one another’s feet in sacrificial service. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 349). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
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“A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34). “The immense importance of Christian love cannot possibly be shown more strikingly than the way that it is urged on the disciples in this place. Here is our Lord leaving the world, speaking for the last time, and giving His last charge to the disciples. The very first subject He takes up and presses on them is the great duty of loving one another, and that with no common love; but after the same patient, tender, unwearied manner that He had loved them. Love must needs be a very rare and important grace to be so spoken of! The want of it must needs be plain proof that a man is no true disciple of Christ. How vast the extent of Christian love ought to be” (Bishop Ryle).
“A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” The nation now disappears. It is no question of loving one’s neighbor, but of Christ’s disciples, and their mutual love according to His love. Nor is it here activity of zeal, in quest of sinners, blessed as that is; but the unselfish seeking of the good of saints, as such, in lowliness of mind. The Law required love of one’s neighbor, which was a fleshly relationship; Christ enjoins love to our brethren, which is a spiritual relationship. Here, then, is the first sense in which this “commandment” was a new one. But there is a further sense brought out by John in his Epistle: “A new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you” (1 John 2:8). Love had now been manifested, yea, personified, as never before. Christ had displayed a love superior to the faults of its objects, a love which never varied, a love which deemed no sacrifice too great. Scott has well observed on this new commandment, “Love was now to be explained with new clearness, enforced by new motives and obligations, illustrated by a new example, and obeyed in a new manner.”
“By this shall all know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35). Love is the badge of Christian discipleship. It is not knowledge, nor orthodoxy, nor fleshly activities, but (supremely) love which identifies a follower of the Lord Jesus. As the disciples of the Pharisees were known by their phylacteries, as the disciples of John were known by their baptism, and every school by its particular shibboleth, so the mark of a true Christian is love; and that, a genuine, active love, not in words but in deeds. 1 Corinthians 13 gives a full exposition of this verse. (Pink, A. W. (1923–1945). Exposition of the Gospel of John (pp. 748–749). Swengel, PA: Bible Truth Depot.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Genuine love for Christ comes through (1) an ever-growing consciousness of our own sinfulness and unworthiness, coupled with (2) the assurance that our sins, however great, have been forgiven through his death on the cross. Only love that’s founded on both of these foundations can be authentic and permanent. If we find we lack love for the Savior, one or both of these prerequisites are deficient. (p. 34, The Bookends of the Christian Life by Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington)
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Old Testament WORDS for Today by Warren W. Wiersbe
God is the generous giver, but man too often is the selfish robber. People enjoy his gifts, even waste them, and yet forget to give to others or even to give to God. Robbing God is the first human sin recorded in Scripture, when our first parents took the fruit form God’s tree and ate it (Gen. 3); and we have been robbing God ever since. (p. 203)
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Treasures from the Greek New Testament by Kenneth S. Wuest
In II Thessalonians 3: 11, Paul speaks of certain Christian men in the local church who were walking disorderly. The English word “disorderly” means “confused, unmethodical, turbulent, unruly.” But none of these meanings exactly fits the Greek word of which it is the translation. The use of the Greek word is clearly seen in an early account of a father who apprenticed his son to a weaver for one year. The contract provided for the details of food and clothing for the period of apprenticeship. Then the contract stated that if there were any days on which the boy failed to attend or played the father must see that the boy report for work an equivalent number of days after the apprenticeship was over. The word translated “disorderly” is the Greek word in the contract which means “to play truant.” These Thessalonian saints were playing truant from their daily employment. The occasion for this is suggested in the context where Paul says, “The Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and the patient waiting for Christ.” (p. 66)
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Old Testament WORDS for Today by Warren W. Wiersbe
Who are the righteous? All who have repented of their sins and trusted Christ alone for salvation. Who are the ungodly? All who have never trusted Christ but rely on their good works and religious activities to save them. We do not become children of God by good works but by trusting in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. (p. 206)
Today, unbelieving sinners think they are the winners and that Christians are fools, but the day is coming when the “great” will be like burned stubble and the meek will inherit the earth. (p. 207)
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KEEPING GOD’S COMMANDMENTS
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 1 John 5:3
There is nothing about which we can so deceive ourselves as the fact that we love God. A man may come to me and say he loves God. He says with Browning, “God’s in His Heaven, All’s right with the world.” But when something goes against him, he finds he does not love God. He says, “Why does God…?” Feelings are very deceptive. How do we know we love God? There is the next step—when “we keep his commandments.”
Our Lord emphasizes that in John 14:21: “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.” You cannot separate these things. Love is not a sentiment; it is the most active, vital thing in the world. If I love God, I want to please Him—I keep the commandments. And what I may regard as the love of God in my soul is a pure delusion unless it leads me to keep God’s commandments and to live life as He wants me to live it.
“Again,” says someone, “you have just shifted the problem. This keeping of the commandments—what is this?” “Well,” says John in essence in a kind of footnote on which he is going to elaborate in the next verse, “what matters in this whole question of keeping the commandments is my attitude toward them. When I face the commandments of God, do I resent them? Do I feel that God is imposing an impossible load upon me? Do I groan and grumble and say, ‘Oh, this hard taskmaster who asks of me the impossible’?”
“If that is your attitude toward the commandments of God,” says John in effect, “you are not keeping them, and neither are you loving God, and you are not loving your brethren—you are outside the life altogether.” For someone who is truly Christian does not find the commandments of God to go against the grain.
A Thought to Ponder: Someone who is truly Christian does not find the commandments of God to go against the grain.
(From Life in God, pp. 30-31, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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James 3
The exercise of genuine Christian faith results in controlling the tongue to speak good, not evil.
INSIGHT
Through the use of metaphors, James warns us about the tongue. There is nothing good or bad, right or wrong about a tongue; it is simply a few ounces of muscle. But the tongue articulates the contents of the heart. If a flask full of acid is bumped, acid will spill out. If a flask full of water is bumped, only water will spill out. Water will never spill out of a flask of acid, and acid will never spill out of a flask of water. In that sense, the tongue merely reveals the heart. Let the heart be bumped, and the tongue will reveal what is in the heart. In controlling the tongue, you must control the heart. If you want to change the words of the tongue, you must change the condition of the heart.
(Quiet Walk)
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Can It Be?
Christ also suffered for us. . . . Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” (1 Peter 2:21-24)
Those who love good church music have come to love Charles Wesley’s commitment to and knowledge of his Savior and the Scriptures, for he wove into his music and poetry deep insights that challenge and thrill us even today. One of his hymns, “And Can It Be That I Should Gain?,” has unfortunately been abridged in modern hymnals. The first verse is expressed:
And can it be that I should gain,
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him, to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That thou, my God, should’st die for me?
Even the Old Testament saints wondered why God loves man so. “What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?” (Job 7:17). The New Testament contains many similar expressions of wonder. “Behold, what manner of love [literally ‘what a different kind of love’] the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God” (1 John 3:1). “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. . . . And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement” (Romans 5:8-11).
The point is we were desperate sinners deserving His wrath. “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love [i.e., ‘amazing love’] wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)” (Ephesians 2:4-5). (JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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