This week we have been
looking at a section of this letter that has been preserved and recorded for us
in the New Testament of the Bible, called the book of John. So far this week ,
we have seen John explain that followers of Jesus will be able to arrive at a
knowledge that they living in true community and connection with Jesus as a
result of a lifestyle that loved
as Jesus loved and that was in line with the message and teaching of Jesus as an ongoing
reality in their life. John explained that the center and seat of a person’s emotions and desires will move from the
place of conviction and condemnation to the place of ease and rest when
confronted with the evidence of a genuine and authentic connection with Jesus
that is produced by a lifestyle that loves like Jesus loved.
John wanted the members of the church at Ephesus to
clearly understand that when the center and seat of a person’s emotions and
desires moves from the place of conviction and condemnation to the place of
ease and rest when confronted with the evidence of a genuine and authentic relationship
and connection with Jesus that produces a lifestyle that loves like Jesus loved,
the result is confidence before God. John explained that the reality of a
genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus will produce a confidence
and boldness to approach God in prayer, believing that we will receive what we
ask for in prayer.
John’s point to the members of the church at Ephesus,
and followers of Jesus throughout history, is that the reason why followers of
Jesus can have boldness and confidence to approach God in prayer, believing
that we will receive what we ask for in prayer, is due to the fact that we are
living in genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus that is
evidenced by our obedience to the commands of Jesus and by our desire to live a
life that is pleasing Jesus and that makes much of Jesus. And in case there was
any question when it came to what commandments John was referring to, we see
John remove any doubt in what he says next. So let’s look at what John has to
say next, which is found in 1 John 3:23-24:
This is His
commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one
another, just as He commanded us. 24 The one who keeps His
commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in
us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.
John points the readers of his letter to two events
from history that are recorded for us in the account of Jesus life that also
bears his name. First John points the readers of his letter to an event from
history that is recorded for us in John 6. During this event from history,
Jesus, after miraculously feeding 15,000 people, was followed by large crowds
who wanted to make Him king. It is in this context that we jump into this event
from history beginning in John 6:25-29:
When they found
Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, "Rabbi, when did You
get here?" 26 Jesus answered them and said, "Truly, truly,
I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of
the loaves and were filled. 27 "Do not work for the food which
perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man
will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal." 28
Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the
works of God?" 29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This
is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."
Now, as we have talked about in the past, when Jesus
uses the phrase believe in, this word, in the language that this letter was
originally written in, is that same word that is translated trust in out
English Bibles. This word means to entrust oneself with complete confidence to
someone or something. In addition, when Jesus uses the phrase in Him whom He
has sent, and when John uses the phrase in the name of His Son Jesus Christ,
this phrase means to place one’s confident trust in Jesus and accept what His
name proclaims Him to be.
However, in John 6, similar to what was happening with
some people who had left the church at Ephesus and were trying to influence
others to leave the church at Ephesus, most of the crowd left Jesus after
refusing to place their confident trust in Jesus and accept what He proclaimed
to be as the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a rescuer, a deliverer, a Messiah
who was God in a bod. John then pointed the readers of his letter to a second
event from history that we looked at a few weeks ago, which is recorded for us
in a section of an account of Jesus life in John 13:34-35:
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one
another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all
men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one
another."
As we talked about a few
weeks ago, Jesus said that all men, in other words all humanity, whether
religious or irreligious, whether near or far from God, would arrive at the
conclusion that a person has a genuine and authentic relationship and
connection with Jesus as a result of the reality that they loved others as
Jesus had loved them. John pointed the readers of his letter throughout history
to these two events from history to reveal the reality that experiencing and
genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus can be summarized
in two commands: Trust Jesus as the One who is large and in charge and love
others as Jesus loved.
After pointing the
members of the church at Ephesus, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to
these two commands, John explained that the one who keeps these commands would
abide in Him and He in him. As we have talked about throughout
this series, the word abide refers to someone who does not leave a certain
realm or sphere of existence. This is the idea of remaining in community and connection
with God as we are mystically and spiritually united in Jesus as followers of
Jesus. John’s point is that that the person who persists in obeying
Jesus commands to Trust Him as the One who is large and in charge and to love others
as Jesus loved, would remain in close community and connection with Jesus.
John then explained that
“we know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit
whom He has given us.” John’s point is that followers of Jesus arrive at the
knowledge that they are is close community and connection with
Jesus as a result of the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit in their
lives. You see, it is God, though the Holy Spirit, that removes our heart of
stone that resists and rejects the claims of Christ and message of the gospel
and gives us a new heart that results in us responding to the claims of Christ
and the message of the gospel by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as
Lord and Leader.
At the
moment that this occurs, which is referred to in church mumbo jumbo talk as regeneration,
the Holy Spirit takes up residence in our lives and unites us in Christ and to
one another to form the body of Christ the church. This means, that, on a
mystical level, when God sees His followers, He see them “in Christ”. In other
words, when God the Father looks at us as followers of Jesus, He does not
simply see us. Instead, He sees us in Christ. Right now, in a mystical and
spiritual way, God the Father sees you, in Christ, in Heaven.
As
followers of Jesus we are part of the church, which is the body of Christ here
on earth. But even now, we are mystically and spiritually a part of the body of
Christ in Heaven. Here John is reminding followers of Jesus throughout history
that it is the Holy Spirit’s presence and activity in our lives that serves as
evidence of our community and connection with Jesus. And it is here, in this section of this
letter, that we discover a timeless truth when it comes to connecting in true
community. And that timeless truth is this: True community and connection with Jesus is revealed by a life that
trusts Jesus and loves others in obedience to the message and teaching of
Jesus.
Just as it was for
followers of Jesus in John’s day; just as it has been for followers of Jesus
throughout history, True community and
connection with Jesus is revealed by a life that trusts Jesus and loves others
in obedience to the message and teaching of Jesus. This morning, the timeless reality is that the
evidence of a genuine and authentic relationship and connection with Jesus can
be summarized by one’s obedience to two commands given by Jesus: Trust Jesus as
the One who is large and in charge and love others as Jesus loved.
As followers of Jesus, it
is a lifestyle that is
driven to love as Jesus loved and that is in line with the message and teaching
of Jesus provide the evidence that we are living in true community and connection with God. And that lifestyle provides the
evidence to put our hearts at ease when it comes to whether or not we are truly
connected to Jesus. As followers of Jesus, the center and seat of our emotions and desires
will move from the place of conviction and condemnation to the place of ease
and rest when confronted with the evidence of a genuine and authentic relationship
and connection with Jesus that is produces a lifestyle that loves like Jesus
loved.
And
as followers of Jesus, we can have boldness and confidence
to approach God in prayer, believing that we will receive what we ask for in
prayer when we are living in genuine and authentic community and connection with
Jesus that is evidenced by our desire to live a life that is pleasing Jesus and
that makes much of Jesus. Just as Jesus was the vehicle that God used to reveal
Himself to the world, followers of Jesus are the vehicle that He would use to
reveal Himself around the world as we live lives that are focused on trusting Jesus as the One
who is large and in charge and love others as Jesus loved.
And as followers of
Jesus, we arrive at the knowledge that we are in community and connection with
Jesus as a result of the presence and activity of the Holy Spirit in their
lives. As followers of Jesus, it is the Holy Spirit’s presence and activity in
our lives that serves as evidence of our connection with Jesus as we are
empowered to live a life that looks like Jesus and that makes much of Jesus.
So here
is a question to consider: What does the lifestyle that you are committed to
living reveal about who or what you truly trust and love? Does the lifestyle
that you are committed to living reveal that you trust Jesus as the One who is
large and in charge? What does the lifestyle that you are committed to living reveal
about how you love and treat others?
Because true community and
connection with Jesus is revealed by a life that trusts Jesus and loves others
in obedience to the message and teaching of Jesus…
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