In John 17 we get to share an intimate moment between Jesus, as man, speaking with The Father. Jesus had just finished teaching the disciples about the Vine & the Branches, what I personally like to call , “The Branch Life”. After that He then begins to tell them about some things that are soon to happen. He does this so they won’t be taken off guard or discouraged from all the false “spin” that would come out of these events in Jesus final days with them. And as usual the disciples did not understand the depth nor the meaning of what Jesus had shared with them.
Now that brings us right to the place here in John 17 where we are listening in on this very intimate moment between Jesus and His Father. And it is here that I want to talk about an important Truth that Jesus speaks of in these verses here in John 17. I would like to highlight the very last verses in this chapter, verses 18 thru 23.
These are the last few hours before Jesus would be entering into an event that would literally divide time as we know it. In our current calendar, of time and history, this event brought about what we know as BC and AD. These last few moments between Jesus and the Father are not only very touching but also very revealing as to His purpose in what He, as man, in obedience to the Father, is about to accomplish for the Father and for man.
In verse 21 Jesus reveals to us what the Father is doing thru His Son to prove to the world that Jesus is the Christ and that the Father has sent Him. God the Father in Jesus and Jesus in Him and Jesus in us and us in Him. The Oneness of the Godhead in Christ and Christ in us and us in Him and us sharing His Life with others. Loving God , loving each other…and His story never ends….as each one reaches one with The Way , The Truth, and The Life who we all know is Jesus Christ the Lord.
We are coming up on that time of the year when we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave. But it seems for some reason more emphasis has always been placed on Jesus crucifixion than on His resurrection. And I totally understand how absolutely wonderful it is to know that you have been forgiven, your debt has been paid in full, and you’ve been redeemed and reconciled back to God. It is a fact that justification, thru His death and by His shed blood on the cross, has been credited to your account. But I am encouraging you today, please, don’t stop at the cross when there is so much more to be found In Christ.
Jesus was redeeming you to one end. That, as forgiven sinners, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, there might be restored to you, Life, His Life, in you. The end is, that in being forgiven, we might have Life in His name and that we might be restored back to our true humanity, which is, God in the man, revealing in and thru man, who and what He is to the world. God created man for God to indwell. When man fell he became incomplete as God withdrew His Life from within man. Man was now not what God had created him to be. For man was created to be a dwelling place for God, but God, who is Holy, cannot dwell in an unholy dwelling place. So, we see that for man to function as God created for him to function, man needed to be forgiven and cleansed and reconciled back to God, so that God could once again come to live in man, and once again begin to reveal Himself thru man.
This is the Truth that I think so many Christians today are not seeing and because of that not living in the good of. The Truth, that, it is God at work in us and thru us. As verse 23 tells us, this is the Truth that convinces the world that Jesus is truly the Son of God and that God did send Him to us to be our Redeemer and Savior. They do not understand that it is not us working for Christ or us doing God’s work for Him. It is not our activity on Christ’s behave. But it is the activity of Christ in us and thru us that does the work of God. You may ask, “What is the work of God” ? Here it is: The work of God is, God at work. It is just that simple. You see, this is the relationship that restores us to our true humanity. It restores us to what God created us for. We can see that in Gen.1:26-27, in Gal. 2:20, Col. 1:27, and in Romans 12:1-3.
Yes, the time dividing event of history, the death of Christ on the cross, was not only necessary but the ultimate act of Love……… But please, Don’t Mistake The Means For The End…… For…..
To God,the work of a man, is the measure, in which the Lord Jesus, by His Spirit, is working and behaving in and thru man, revealing His Character, in and thru man. Just like the Father once worked, by His Spirit, to reveal His character, in and thru Jesus Christ.
God’s purpose in Redemption was so that He could come and once again live within the man He created. I encourage you, this Resurrection Day, to begin to live in the good of this wonderful Truth.
In Christ