What Did Jesus Do?
"I AM the light of the world.”
John 8:12
“YOU ARE the light of the world.”
Matthew 5:14
Has this ever happened to you? There’s a severe electric storm going on, and, after one particularly bright flash of lightning your home is plunged into darkness. You go to find the flashlight you stored for just such an emergency, take it out of the cabinet, click the switch and—nothing—the power’s gone! On more than one occasion when I’ve needed it, I’ve reached for a flashlight that had fresh, fully charged batteries in it at one time, but it sat unused for so long that all the power in the batteries had long since drained out. The flashlight, contrary to its purpose, was quite incapable of illuminating anything. So, in the dark I remained. Though they had been filled with power, weeks and months of doing nothing had turned the batteries into nothing more than paperweights.
Many Christians are like those batteries, filled with power that goes unused for long periods of time, so that when, at long last, they try to shed some light in a dark place—nothing—the power’s gone! This is not a good thing for people who are supposed to be the light of the world. The power of faith, it turns out, can, like the power of batteries, be lost through nothing more than lying idle and unused.
Thankfully, faith can, like some batteries, be recharged. The thing is, recharging doesn’t just happen. To keep batteries, and faith, fresh and full, we need to plug in to a source of power. In the case of batteries this involves putting them in a re-charger, and putting the re-charger into an electrical outlet. In the case of faith re-charging involves several things: 1) Regularly meeting with the Lord in prayer, in reading the Scripture, and in worship. 2) Regularly meeting with other believers, who mutually “refresh” one another’s faith. 3) Regularly putting one’s faith to work, letting one’s light shine, so that there is a dis-charge of power—for unused faith in a believer, like energy unused in batteries, diminishes our capacity to receive and hold and use power. In short, allowing faith to remain unused for extended periods leaves us dim-bulbs at best, if not altogether in the dark, when bright and powerful light is needed.
And, make no mistake, when Jesus talked about “the light of the world,” he never meant tiny, weak light incapable of contending with and overcoming darkness. No, “the light of the world” is bright, powerful, and always dispels darkness. What do you think, did God say “Let there be light” in Genesis 1:3, or did he say “Let there be LIGHT!”? Considering what John says about the Light in the fifth verse of Chapter One of his Gospel, I have no doubt that the light of the world is big and bright almost beyond imagining.
This light, which John clearly reveals as none other than the person of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, the very Word of God come into the world (John 1:9), was made for shining, and, incredibly, for sharing! For, even as the Lord proclaimed himself the Light of the World (John 8:12), he also made the same declaration of his disciples (Matthew 5:14). And, pointedly, Jesus charged his followers, who have no little light in them but rather a great big light regardless of what the song says, to let their light shine, not just in emergencies, but at all times, to the glory of the Father. And, the more we let our light shine, the brighter and more powerful it becomes, as the Father continually renews us in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus lit up a world lost in darkness, so that life, true and everlasting life, would come to us. In the same way we are to let our light, our faith, shine, so that others may yet receive Christ’s gift of life.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Jesus Planted the Word of Love Deeply in His Disciples
What did Jesus Do?
I write to you…because the Word of God abides in you.
1 John 2:14
I’m not going to say it’s true for every home, but I would venture to say that in many homes, perhaps even in most homes, you will find a box (often an old shoebox) filled with old letters. They might be Dad’s/Grandpa’s letters to Mom/Grandma. Or they could be Father’s letters to his daughter, or Mother’s letters to her son. Letters, maybe some cards as well, the main thing is that they contain words of advice, words of encouragement, words of love. Words that took deep root in the heart of the one who received the letters, and which have been carefully stored and preserved by families for generations.
The Bible contains many different types of written expression. There is history, poetry, and law. Of course there are those very special sacred biographies which we call the Gospels. There are also letters. Letters lovingly written, and carefully held onto and passed down through the many generations of a family, God’s family. To the family they are words of light, words of life, words of love. Through the letters, no less than any of the other parts of Scripture, Jesus planted the Word deeply in His disciples, who were, and who are, his family.
The apostle John considered the Church his family. And, as part of the first generation of believers, John had a rather paternalistic way of looking at the Church—her members were all his “little children”—John’s beloved and cherished family. So John wrote to his children about core beliefs, formative values, that made the family what it was. Every one of the “little children”, every member of the Church, believed and knew that their sins had been forgiven “for the sake of his name.” (1 John 2:12) “For the sake of” should be understood as “on account of” or “because of” the name of Jesus. Forgiven because of his name, Jesus, which means “God saves.” More specifically than God, “Yah,” as in Yahweh, saves. John wrote to the Church whose members all knew the truth about their salvation. John’s “little children” all knew “the Father” as well as the Son. (1 John 2:13c) The Church knows the “how” of her salvation: through the forgiveness of sin. The Church knows the “by whom” of her salvation: Jesus, the Son. And the Church knows the “for whom” of her salvation: the Father.
John knew his generation was quickly passing away, that the Church would very soon have to look beyond the apostles for direction and leadership. So John also wrote to those he called “fathers,” the elders and overseers who had particular responsibility for the spiritual health, safety, and welfare of the family. (1 John 2: 13a, 14a) The faith of the fathers, was rooted in their knowledge of, and relationship with, “him who is from the beginning.” The fathers operated according to the truth about the eternal living God.
The elders were not alone, of course, in the Church. Close behind them were “young men,” and we can confidently add young women as well, to whom John was also speaking in the family. (1 John 2:13b, 14b) This young and rising generation was victorious and strong because, in Christ, it had overcome the devil (“the evil one”) by the power of the very Word of God planted and growing in them.
The cumulative effect of these verses is to assure the Church that we walk in the light and in love not only because of God’s Law (the old/new commandment mentioned in verses 7-8), not only because of our love for one another (verses 9-11), but also because of the power of what we know and believe in, the power of our Christian faith (verses 12-14). The faith of the Church is found and expressed in the Word, John’s letters included, the Word of Love which Jesus himself plants deeply in his disciples.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
I write to you…because the Word of God abides in you.
1 John 2:14
I’m not going to say it’s true for every home, but I would venture to say that in many homes, perhaps even in most homes, you will find a box (often an old shoebox) filled with old letters. They might be Dad’s/Grandpa’s letters to Mom/Grandma. Or they could be Father’s letters to his daughter, or Mother’s letters to her son. Letters, maybe some cards as well, the main thing is that they contain words of advice, words of encouragement, words of love. Words that took deep root in the heart of the one who received the letters, and which have been carefully stored and preserved by families for generations.
The Bible contains many different types of written expression. There is history, poetry, and law. Of course there are those very special sacred biographies which we call the Gospels. There are also letters. Letters lovingly written, and carefully held onto and passed down through the many generations of a family, God’s family. To the family they are words of light, words of life, words of love. Through the letters, no less than any of the other parts of Scripture, Jesus planted the Word deeply in His disciples, who were, and who are, his family.
The apostle John considered the Church his family. And, as part of the first generation of believers, John had a rather paternalistic way of looking at the Church—her members were all his “little children”—John’s beloved and cherished family. So John wrote to his children about core beliefs, formative values, that made the family what it was. Every one of the “little children”, every member of the Church, believed and knew that their sins had been forgiven “for the sake of his name.” (1 John 2:12) “For the sake of” should be understood as “on account of” or “because of” the name of Jesus. Forgiven because of his name, Jesus, which means “God saves.” More specifically than God, “Yah,” as in Yahweh, saves. John wrote to the Church whose members all knew the truth about their salvation. John’s “little children” all knew “the Father” as well as the Son. (1 John 2:13c) The Church knows the “how” of her salvation: through the forgiveness of sin. The Church knows the “by whom” of her salvation: Jesus, the Son. And the Church knows the “for whom” of her salvation: the Father.
John knew his generation was quickly passing away, that the Church would very soon have to look beyond the apostles for direction and leadership. So John also wrote to those he called “fathers,” the elders and overseers who had particular responsibility for the spiritual health, safety, and welfare of the family. (1 John 2: 13a, 14a) The faith of the fathers, was rooted in their knowledge of, and relationship with, “him who is from the beginning.” The fathers operated according to the truth about the eternal living God.
The elders were not alone, of course, in the Church. Close behind them were “young men,” and we can confidently add young women as well, to whom John was also speaking in the family. (1 John 2:13b, 14b) This young and rising generation was victorious and strong because, in Christ, it had overcome the devil (“the evil one”) by the power of the very Word of God planted and growing in them.
The cumulative effect of these verses is to assure the Church that we walk in the light and in love not only because of God’s Law (the old/new commandment mentioned in verses 7-8), not only because of our love for one another (verses 9-11), but also because of the power of what we know and believe in, the power of our Christian faith (verses 12-14). The faith of the Church is found and expressed in the Word, John’s letters included, the Word of Love which Jesus himself plants deeply in his disciples.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Jesus Showed His Disciples How to Let the Light of Love Shine
What Did Jesus Do?
Whoever loves his brother abides in the light…
1 John 2.10
If we were spelunkers (That’s a fancy word for folks who like to crawl about in caves), and delved deep enough into places that know nothing but perpetual darkness, we might come upon some curious creatures that have eyes, but do not see because they have not been exposed to any light whatsoever. The optic apparatus in these cave-dwellers is in fact so atrophied that even if they were to come into the light, they would be totally blind. There are some of these sightless creatures that have been in the darkness for so many generations that they have no eyes at all any longer, but only vestigial eye sockets.
But, it doesn’t take generations of being in darkness for our eyes to grow weak, even incapable of seeing. We all know how, after even a modest of time in darkness, coming into light can be so blinding that we literally stumble about for a few moments. And, when we are talking about our spiritual “vision,” even walking for a short time in darkness, deceit, and enmity begins to deteriorate our ability to see the light, to know the truth, and to live in love. The truth is, sightless troglodytes notwithstanding, that most every living thing on earth needs light in order to live. Yet, in this world darkness seems to always be striving against the light. That’s why Jesus showed his disciples how to let the light of love shine.
God is light (1 John 1:5), it is his very nature. God is love (1 John 4:8), love too is his very nature. In God light and love, though not equivalent, are inseparable. There can be no expression or manifestation of God without the presence and power of his light and his love. Thus, God’s Law is an expression of both his light and love. The highest and most complete expression of God’s light and love is in the person of Jesus; in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the light and the love of the Father are completely and perfectly revealed. Any and all who come to Christ come out of darkness into light, and from hatred to love. It was one of the Lord’s goals during his earthly sojourn to show his disciples how to let the light of the Father’s love shine in them and from them, so that the true light of God shines in the love of Christians.
John noted in his day, and, sadly, we may still note, that there are many, too many, who say that they are in the light (Have a personal relationship with Jesus), while evidencing not love, but actual hate, towards fellow believers. What is their true state? They are in darkness (1 John 2:9), quite as lost as if they had never even heard the name of Jesus. The tragic fate of such as these is that they eventually become as those cave-dwelling creatures—they have eyes, yet are blind to light, to love, to truth. (1 John 2:11)
Yes, we can say we stand in the light of Jesus, but if we don’t love our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are in darkness, as good as blind. Even as the light and love of God’s nature are inseparable, so too are they inseparable in the believer. And it is every believer’s calling to let the light of the love of Jesus shine. The Lord himself said that the only way the world can come out of darkness, and see the light of God’s truth in disciples, is by the love we exhibit towards one another. (John 13:35) We know neither the light or the love of the Father apart from the Son, which is why Jesus showed his disciples how to let the light of love shine in the world by loving one another.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Whoever loves his brother abides in the light…
1 John 2.10
If we were spelunkers (That’s a fancy word for folks who like to crawl about in caves), and delved deep enough into places that know nothing but perpetual darkness, we might come upon some curious creatures that have eyes, but do not see because they have not been exposed to any light whatsoever. The optic apparatus in these cave-dwellers is in fact so atrophied that even if they were to come into the light, they would be totally blind. There are some of these sightless creatures that have been in the darkness for so many generations that they have no eyes at all any longer, but only vestigial eye sockets.
But, it doesn’t take generations of being in darkness for our eyes to grow weak, even incapable of seeing. We all know how, after even a modest of time in darkness, coming into light can be so blinding that we literally stumble about for a few moments. And, when we are talking about our spiritual “vision,” even walking for a short time in darkness, deceit, and enmity begins to deteriorate our ability to see the light, to know the truth, and to live in love. The truth is, sightless troglodytes notwithstanding, that most every living thing on earth needs light in order to live. Yet, in this world darkness seems to always be striving against the light. That’s why Jesus showed his disciples how to let the light of love shine.
God is light (1 John 1:5), it is his very nature. God is love (1 John 4:8), love too is his very nature. In God light and love, though not equivalent, are inseparable. There can be no expression or manifestation of God without the presence and power of his light and his love. Thus, God’s Law is an expression of both his light and love. The highest and most complete expression of God’s light and love is in the person of Jesus; in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the light and the love of the Father are completely and perfectly revealed. Any and all who come to Christ come out of darkness into light, and from hatred to love. It was one of the Lord’s goals during his earthly sojourn to show his disciples how to let the light of the Father’s love shine in them and from them, so that the true light of God shines in the love of Christians.
John noted in his day, and, sadly, we may still note, that there are many, too many, who say that they are in the light (Have a personal relationship with Jesus), while evidencing not love, but actual hate, towards fellow believers. What is their true state? They are in darkness (1 John 2:9), quite as lost as if they had never even heard the name of Jesus. The tragic fate of such as these is that they eventually become as those cave-dwelling creatures—they have eyes, yet are blind to light, to love, to truth. (1 John 2:11)
Yes, we can say we stand in the light of Jesus, but if we don’t love our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are in darkness, as good as blind. Even as the light and love of God’s nature are inseparable, so too are they inseparable in the believer. And it is every believer’s calling to let the light of the love of Jesus shine. The Lord himself said that the only way the world can come out of darkness, and see the light of God’s truth in disciples, is by the love we exhibit towards one another. (John 13:35) We know neither the light or the love of the Father apart from the Son, which is why Jesus showed his disciples how to let the light of love shine in the world by loving one another.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Jesus Became A Curse
What Did Jesus Do?
Christ redeemed us by becoming a curse for us.
Galatians 3.13
(Thanks to my friend Richard White, who preached on Galatians 3:10-14 at the Montreat Presbyterian Church, EPC, on November 6, 2011, and planted the seed of this WDJD.)
It’s cliché, that most men have a hard time saying, "I love you.” Personally, I don’t know why women, or men for that matter, put so much stock in hearing those words. After all, talk is cheap. It is one thing to say you love someone, even love them a lot, and quite another to show your love for another. Now, the Father did something extraordinary to show how much love he has for us—he sent his beloved Son to become a curse for us. And, here’s the thing, the Son was willing to become that curse!
Just so we’re on the same page, let’s make sure we are all talking about the same thing. A curse, according to the dictionary, is “the expression of a wish that misfortune, evil, etc., befall another,” or, “the cause of evil, misfortune, or trouble.” Is that what was in the Father’s heart when he sent the Son? By no means! The truth is, the world, every life, has more than enough misfortune, evil, and trouble all on our own. There is no need for God, or anyone, to lay a curse on another. So what was the Father up to, making his Son become a curse?
Well, in his typical, turn-things-upside down, confound all-worldly-logic style, the Father employed the Son to transfer and to transform. The transfer involved taking the curse/penalty that rightfully was laid upon all who sinned (That would be you, me, everybody), and putting it on the One who alone was innocent of any evil/sin deserving of the curse/penalty (That would be Jesus, the spotless and unblemished Lamb of God): “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree so that we should die to sin.” (1 Peter 2:24) Jesus, the servant of the Lord foretold in Isaiah, received all that was meant for us in order that we would receive all that he alone deserves (Isaiah 53). The transformation involved the One who alone was righteous becoming as one who was unrighteous, so that many sinners would be accounted righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21). Both the transfer and the transformation were wrought upon the cross/tree whereby Jesus occupied the place of one cursed by God (Deuteronomy 21:23). In other words, Jesus, though he didn’t deserve it, became a curse in order that we could be blessed, though we don’t deserve it.
There is no other way at all that we can obtain the Father’s blessing than simply to believe in the Son, and in what he accomplished on the cross. No striving on our part, no amount of works, no offering or sacrifice can avail to begin to remove the curse our sins deserve, or evoke the slightest blessing, much less the incredible blessing of forgiveness and eternal life. As odd as it sounds, when someone asks when we were saved, the answer is, “When Jesus became a curse.”
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Christ redeemed us by becoming a curse for us.
Galatians 3.13
(Thanks to my friend Richard White, who preached on Galatians 3:10-14 at the Montreat Presbyterian Church, EPC, on November 6, 2011, and planted the seed of this WDJD.)
It’s cliché, that most men have a hard time saying, "I love you.” Personally, I don’t know why women, or men for that matter, put so much stock in hearing those words. After all, talk is cheap. It is one thing to say you love someone, even love them a lot, and quite another to show your love for another. Now, the Father did something extraordinary to show how much love he has for us—he sent his beloved Son to become a curse for us. And, here’s the thing, the Son was willing to become that curse!
Just so we’re on the same page, let’s make sure we are all talking about the same thing. A curse, according to the dictionary, is “the expression of a wish that misfortune, evil, etc., befall another,” or, “the cause of evil, misfortune, or trouble.” Is that what was in the Father’s heart when he sent the Son? By no means! The truth is, the world, every life, has more than enough misfortune, evil, and trouble all on our own. There is no need for God, or anyone, to lay a curse on another. So what was the Father up to, making his Son become a curse?
Well, in his typical, turn-things-upside down, confound all-worldly-logic style, the Father employed the Son to transfer and to transform. The transfer involved taking the curse/penalty that rightfully was laid upon all who sinned (That would be you, me, everybody), and putting it on the One who alone was innocent of any evil/sin deserving of the curse/penalty (That would be Jesus, the spotless and unblemished Lamb of God): “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree so that we should die to sin.” (1 Peter 2:24) Jesus, the servant of the Lord foretold in Isaiah, received all that was meant for us in order that we would receive all that he alone deserves (Isaiah 53). The transformation involved the One who alone was righteous becoming as one who was unrighteous, so that many sinners would be accounted righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21). Both the transfer and the transformation were wrought upon the cross/tree whereby Jesus occupied the place of one cursed by God (Deuteronomy 21:23). In other words, Jesus, though he didn’t deserve it, became a curse in order that we could be blessed, though we don’t deserve it.
There is no other way at all that we can obtain the Father’s blessing than simply to believe in the Son, and in what he accomplished on the cross. No striving on our part, no amount of works, no offering or sacrifice can avail to begin to remove the curse our sins deserve, or evoke the slightest blessing, much less the incredible blessing of forgiveness and eternal life. As odd as it sounds, when someone asks when we were saved, the answer is, “When Jesus became a curse.”
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Jesus Revealed the Old Truth of the Father's Love in a New Light
What Did Jesus Do?
…it is a new commandment I am writing to you,
which is true in him and in you.
1 John 2.8a
A lot of folks these days are into things “retro.” NFL teams take the field in 1950s or 1960s style uniforms. Bell bottomed pants again fill the racks at trendy clothing stores. It seems as if half of the programs on television are re-runs or re-makes of shows 10, 20, 30 years-old. Automobile manufacturers have been resurrecting old favorites like Ford’s classic two-seater Thunderbird and Dodge’s well-muscled Challenger. There’s no doubt that modern day retakes on old favorites is big business. In the end, though, retro is nothing more than a look, it’s not the real thing, but just a facsimile. Such was not at all the case with Jesus. His incarnation of the Law, “an old commandment that you had from the beginning,” (1 John 2:7) was in fact the absolute, complete, and true fulfillment of the Father’s original instructions to his children as to how they were to live. Yet, at the same time John wrote of “no new commandment,” he could honestly say to the Church that he was writing about “a new commandment.”
It might be helpful to think of it this way. What are the first words of God recorded in the Bible? “Let there be light.” (Genesis 1:3) Other than God himself, there is nothing older than light. So, when Jesus, the true light (John 1:9), came into the world on that wonderful night when he was born in Bethlehem, it was the new and startling appearance of that which was in fact older than the world itself. That which was all but immeasurably old had been manifest in a radically new, yet absolutely true to the original, way. Starting “in the beginning,” the word of God’s Law was a “lamp to our feet and a light to our path” (Psalm 119:105). Yet, in Jesus, the old light shined in a way it never had before, and it will continue shine in that radically new way until the ending of the age. Though the Son is now seated at the Father’s right hand, the light of the old/new commandment in Jesus still shines in the world because the light is also in his Church (“in you” 1 John 2.8a).
What was so radical and new about the way the light of the Law shone in Jesus? In Christ the light revealed, completely and perfectly, the love of God which is the wellspring of the law of God. The commandment God had given from the beginning was love: love of God (Deuteronomy 6:5), and love of neighbor (Leviticus 19:18), yet, in Jesus, the law of love was so perfectly embodied and fulfilled as to appear new. The light by which God had first dispelled the darkness when he had decreed in the beginning, “Let there be…” was nothing other than his love. And John tells the Church that, since the light of the Father’s love was revealed in a new way in and through the Son, we are to let that same light shine in us by loving as Jesus loved.
As it turns out, the only thing that makes darkness pass away is love. God’s love shining from the words of his Law. The Father’s love shining from the Incarnate Son. The Son’s love shining from his Church. The Church’s love shining from her members as they love one another. John wanted believers, the Church, to know that we are to live in love, and walk in light. We can so live, and so walk, because Jesus revealed the old truth about God’s love in a new light.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
…it is a new commandment I am writing to you,
which is true in him and in you.
1 John 2.8a
A lot of folks these days are into things “retro.” NFL teams take the field in 1950s or 1960s style uniforms. Bell bottomed pants again fill the racks at trendy clothing stores. It seems as if half of the programs on television are re-runs or re-makes of shows 10, 20, 30 years-old. Automobile manufacturers have been resurrecting old favorites like Ford’s classic two-seater Thunderbird and Dodge’s well-muscled Challenger. There’s no doubt that modern day retakes on old favorites is big business. In the end, though, retro is nothing more than a look, it’s not the real thing, but just a facsimile. Such was not at all the case with Jesus. His incarnation of the Law, “an old commandment that you had from the beginning,” (1 John 2:7) was in fact the absolute, complete, and true fulfillment of the Father’s original instructions to his children as to how they were to live. Yet, at the same time John wrote of “no new commandment,” he could honestly say to the Church that he was writing about “a new commandment.”
It might be helpful to think of it this way. What are the first words of God recorded in the Bible? “Let there be light.” (Genesis 1:3) Other than God himself, there is nothing older than light. So, when Jesus, the true light (John 1:9), came into the world on that wonderful night when he was born in Bethlehem, it was the new and startling appearance of that which was in fact older than the world itself. That which was all but immeasurably old had been manifest in a radically new, yet absolutely true to the original, way. Starting “in the beginning,” the word of God’s Law was a “lamp to our feet and a light to our path” (Psalm 119:105). Yet, in Jesus, the old light shined in a way it never had before, and it will continue shine in that radically new way until the ending of the age. Though the Son is now seated at the Father’s right hand, the light of the old/new commandment in Jesus still shines in the world because the light is also in his Church (“in you” 1 John 2.8a).
What was so radical and new about the way the light of the Law shone in Jesus? In Christ the light revealed, completely and perfectly, the love of God which is the wellspring of the law of God. The commandment God had given from the beginning was love: love of God (Deuteronomy 6:5), and love of neighbor (Leviticus 19:18), yet, in Jesus, the law of love was so perfectly embodied and fulfilled as to appear new. The light by which God had first dispelled the darkness when he had decreed in the beginning, “Let there be…” was nothing other than his love. And John tells the Church that, since the light of the Father’s love was revealed in a new way in and through the Son, we are to let that same light shine in us by loving as Jesus loved.
As it turns out, the only thing that makes darkness pass away is love. God’s love shining from the words of his Law. The Father’s love shining from the Incarnate Son. The Son’s love shining from his Church. The Church’s love shining from her members as they love one another. John wanted believers, the Church, to know that we are to live in love, and walk in light. We can so live, and so walk, because Jesus revealed the old truth about God’s love in a new light.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Friday, November 4, 2011
Jesus Advocated
What Did Jesus Do?
…we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
1 John 2.1b
The Boy Scouts have this little thing called a Totin’ Chip Card, which all Scouts and leaders are supposed to earn before they can carry and use woods tools (axes, knives, and saws). The intent is to instruct Scouts in the safe and proper handling of these tools so as to ensure no accidents occur and no one gets hurt. But if someone should get hurt, every Scout troop and every Scout camp also have first aid kits and trained responders to deal with the emergency. In reality, the “But if” really means “when,” because sooner or later accidents are bound to happen.
In a similar way, the canonical letters of John are his Totin’ Chip Card to the Church, if you will. By carefully and thoroughly instructing the Body of Christ regarding the message he and the other apostles had heard from Jesus himself (1 John 1.5), John seeks to ensure that the Church will walk in the light; essentially, that her members maintain fellowship with one another and with the Father and Son (1 John 1.3), and that they “may not sin.” (1 John 2.1a) Yet, like the Scouts, John realizes that sins, just like “accidents,” is inevitable, so he too provides for the inevitable “when” by inserting his own “But if…” clause. (1 John 2.1b)
Having made it abundantly clear that it is only the worst sort of self-deception for a believer, or the Church, to say that we have no sin (1 John 1.8-10), John adds “But if anyone does sin,” because he knows everyone, even the Church herself, will sin. The key is that John, and all believers, and the Church at all times in all places, have an answer, a response, first aid in the form of our great First Responder—“Jesus Christ the righteous”—who has, and who continues, to deal with sin. We have in the Son, John tells us, an advocate with the Father.
By advocate (Greek parakletos), we should not think of Jesus as merely some kind of divine defense attorney who goes before the Father to plead on our behalf. Yes, Jesus truly does intercede, pleading for us before God’s mercy seat (Romans 8.34; Hebrews 7.25), but as our advocate Jesus has done something more. A paraklete was one who physically came and stood alongside others, sharing their affliction and burden, even to the point of bearing it. Christ’s advocacy on our behalf must be understood in this way—he came into the world, literally came alongside us, and laid down his sinless life in exchange for our lives full of sin. It was and is the sacrifice of the Righteous One for all the unrighteous that gives us hope when we sin. For it is his own sacrifice, the shedding of his blood which alone cleanses from all sin (1 John 1.7), that the Son lays before the Father on our behalf.
We make no pretense of our perfection (1.8-10), nor do we imagine that sin does not matter since Christ died once and for all to forgive our sins. Forgiven in and through Christ Christians practice advocacy, in that we come alongside and pray for and forgive one another. It is with great thanksgiving that we receive and believe, and as the Church, testify to, the great gift of forgiveness the Father has given us through the Son, Jesus Christ, who was perfectly willing to be our Advocate.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
…we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
1 John 2.1b
The Boy Scouts have this little thing called a Totin’ Chip Card, which all Scouts and leaders are supposed to earn before they can carry and use woods tools (axes, knives, and saws). The intent is to instruct Scouts in the safe and proper handling of these tools so as to ensure no accidents occur and no one gets hurt. But if someone should get hurt, every Scout troop and every Scout camp also have first aid kits and trained responders to deal with the emergency. In reality, the “But if” really means “when,” because sooner or later accidents are bound to happen.
In a similar way, the canonical letters of John are his Totin’ Chip Card to the Church, if you will. By carefully and thoroughly instructing the Body of Christ regarding the message he and the other apostles had heard from Jesus himself (1 John 1.5), John seeks to ensure that the Church will walk in the light; essentially, that her members maintain fellowship with one another and with the Father and Son (1 John 1.3), and that they “may not sin.” (1 John 2.1a) Yet, like the Scouts, John realizes that sins, just like “accidents,” is inevitable, so he too provides for the inevitable “when” by inserting his own “But if…” clause. (1 John 2.1b)
Having made it abundantly clear that it is only the worst sort of self-deception for a believer, or the Church, to say that we have no sin (1 John 1.8-10), John adds “But if anyone does sin,” because he knows everyone, even the Church herself, will sin. The key is that John, and all believers, and the Church at all times in all places, have an answer, a response, first aid in the form of our great First Responder—“Jesus Christ the righteous”—who has, and who continues, to deal with sin. We have in the Son, John tells us, an advocate with the Father.
By advocate (Greek parakletos), we should not think of Jesus as merely some kind of divine defense attorney who goes before the Father to plead on our behalf. Yes, Jesus truly does intercede, pleading for us before God’s mercy seat (Romans 8.34; Hebrews 7.25), but as our advocate Jesus has done something more. A paraklete was one who physically came and stood alongside others, sharing their affliction and burden, even to the point of bearing it. Christ’s advocacy on our behalf must be understood in this way—he came into the world, literally came alongside us, and laid down his sinless life in exchange for our lives full of sin. It was and is the sacrifice of the Righteous One for all the unrighteous that gives us hope when we sin. For it is his own sacrifice, the shedding of his blood which alone cleanses from all sin (1 John 1.7), that the Son lays before the Father on our behalf.
We make no pretense of our perfection (1.8-10), nor do we imagine that sin does not matter since Christ died once and for all to forgive our sins. Forgiven in and through Christ Christians practice advocacy, in that we come alongside and pray for and forgive one another. It is with great thanksgiving that we receive and believe, and as the Church, testify to, the great gift of forgiveness the Father has given us through the Son, Jesus Christ, who was perfectly willing to be our Advocate.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Jesus Forgave and Cleansed Sinners, Not Those Who Are "Basically Good"
What Did Jesus Do?
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1.9
Halloween, a day when, many celebrate darkness, evil, and wickedness in the name of “fun,” has come and gone. Personally, I don’t find anything funny, or comforting, about darkness, evil, and wickedness. And, I don’t know how people who like to believe that they are “basically good,” can honestly celebrate, even in “fun,” darkness, evil, and wickedness.
You know, don’t you, that there are many, way too many actually, who like to both believe and proclaim that people are “basically good.” Right! (As Bill Cosby used to say) That’s why there is so much very real darkness, evil, and wickedness in the world—all those “basically good” people going about being “good.” In fact, the exact opposite is the case. Rather than “basically good” we are all totally depraved. Instead of goodness and light we’re all full of evil, filthy, smelly, darkness. Take a good, honest look inside people—inside yourselves—and you’ll find a reasonable facsimile of a cesspool. Not pleasant to contemplate, but what’s the alternative? To go about complimenting one another on our “basic goodness” while we cheat and steal and rape and murder? We desperately need an extreme makeover from the inside out, to be cleansed, and filled with light. Thankfully, the Father sent Jesus to forgive us and cleanse us.
To claim “basic goodness,” is to deny the reality of the sin nature within each one of us. It is the grossest self-deceit. Oh, we’re all full of something all right, but it’s not goodness, and, as long as we say we are without sin, it is certainly not the truth. There is no greater darkness, than that of a soul that deceives itself into believing in its basic goodness. In short, there is no truth to the claim to “basic goodness,” and those who make and believe that claim are filled with lies. And a lie, no matter how fervently it is believed, can never be the truth. John put it plainly and simply enough, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1.8) No truth, no light, and, ultimately, no life.
But there is great good news for all of us whose interior landscape would otherwise be a land of deep darkness—on us (and in us) light can shine! (Isaiah 9.2) If we would but confess that, rather than “basically good,” we are afflicted with a dark and sinful nature, the God of the Bible is altogether ready to forgive and cleanse us (1 John 1.9). The key is trusting in the faithfulness and justice that are part of the very nature of God. Where we are faithless and fickle, God is absolutely constant and true, completely and perfectly faithful to who he is, and to his promises. When God says that he will forgive the sins we confess to him, we can count on it as a certainty.
Our confession is made to God who is not only faithful, but who is also just. Justice requires that sin must be punished, which would be very bad news for sinners like us, except for the fact that Jesus has already taken the full measure of the punishment for sin upon himself. The penalty for sin has been paid on the cross—justice now dictates that those who formerly were charged with, and guilty of, sin be set free of sin and its curses. Sin’s stain has been thoroughly cleansed by the purging flow of Christ’s blood, our unrighteousness has been washed away, and we now stand, in Jesus, as righteous, which is not just to be “basically good,” but rather radically, totally, and perfectly good, as God is good so far beyond “basically” as to be immeasurably more so.
There’s another aspect of sin that must be confronted and dealt with. As noted above, there is much very real darkness, evil, and wickedness in the world. This is to admit that we are not talking in the abstract about human nature, but in actuality. Sin happens, it is real, and we are, if not its authors, then certainly its perpetrators. Even if we concede that we have a nature that inclines us to sin, but claim that we have somehow overcome our nature and not sinned, then there is great deceit again being practiced (1 John 1.10). In fact, we make God out to be a liar when we claim not to have sinned, for his Word declares that all of us have sinned, and fallen short of his glory. (Romans 3.23)
The glare of headlines may, if we are willing to surrender the false teaching of “basic goodness,” convince us of the reality of sin in the world. But, all of us need to let the light of Christ, the light of God’s Word, illuminate what we would rather remain hidden in the darkness inside us—our own sins—if we would be forgiven, cleansed, and filled with the light and the Word. To confess our sin is painful, but it is not risky, when we understand the faithfulness and justice of the one to whom we confess. Then, we are truly filled through God’s gift of the Holy Spirit with light, with truth, with love, thanks to Jesus, who forgave and cleansed not those who were “basically good,” but sinners.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1.9
Halloween, a day when, many celebrate darkness, evil, and wickedness in the name of “fun,” has come and gone. Personally, I don’t find anything funny, or comforting, about darkness, evil, and wickedness. And, I don’t know how people who like to believe that they are “basically good,” can honestly celebrate, even in “fun,” darkness, evil, and wickedness.
You know, don’t you, that there are many, way too many actually, who like to both believe and proclaim that people are “basically good.” Right! (As Bill Cosby used to say) That’s why there is so much very real darkness, evil, and wickedness in the world—all those “basically good” people going about being “good.” In fact, the exact opposite is the case. Rather than “basically good” we are all totally depraved. Instead of goodness and light we’re all full of evil, filthy, smelly, darkness. Take a good, honest look inside people—inside yourselves—and you’ll find a reasonable facsimile of a cesspool. Not pleasant to contemplate, but what’s the alternative? To go about complimenting one another on our “basic goodness” while we cheat and steal and rape and murder? We desperately need an extreme makeover from the inside out, to be cleansed, and filled with light. Thankfully, the Father sent Jesus to forgive us and cleanse us.
To claim “basic goodness,” is to deny the reality of the sin nature within each one of us. It is the grossest self-deceit. Oh, we’re all full of something all right, but it’s not goodness, and, as long as we say we are without sin, it is certainly not the truth. There is no greater darkness, than that of a soul that deceives itself into believing in its basic goodness. In short, there is no truth to the claim to “basic goodness,” and those who make and believe that claim are filled with lies. And a lie, no matter how fervently it is believed, can never be the truth. John put it plainly and simply enough, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1.8) No truth, no light, and, ultimately, no life.
But there is great good news for all of us whose interior landscape would otherwise be a land of deep darkness—on us (and in us) light can shine! (Isaiah 9.2) If we would but confess that, rather than “basically good,” we are afflicted with a dark and sinful nature, the God of the Bible is altogether ready to forgive and cleanse us (1 John 1.9). The key is trusting in the faithfulness and justice that are part of the very nature of God. Where we are faithless and fickle, God is absolutely constant and true, completely and perfectly faithful to who he is, and to his promises. When God says that he will forgive the sins we confess to him, we can count on it as a certainty.
Our confession is made to God who is not only faithful, but who is also just. Justice requires that sin must be punished, which would be very bad news for sinners like us, except for the fact that Jesus has already taken the full measure of the punishment for sin upon himself. The penalty for sin has been paid on the cross—justice now dictates that those who formerly were charged with, and guilty of, sin be set free of sin and its curses. Sin’s stain has been thoroughly cleansed by the purging flow of Christ’s blood, our unrighteousness has been washed away, and we now stand, in Jesus, as righteous, which is not just to be “basically good,” but rather radically, totally, and perfectly good, as God is good so far beyond “basically” as to be immeasurably more so.
There’s another aspect of sin that must be confronted and dealt with. As noted above, there is much very real darkness, evil, and wickedness in the world. This is to admit that we are not talking in the abstract about human nature, but in actuality. Sin happens, it is real, and we are, if not its authors, then certainly its perpetrators. Even if we concede that we have a nature that inclines us to sin, but claim that we have somehow overcome our nature and not sinned, then there is great deceit again being practiced (1 John 1.10). In fact, we make God out to be a liar when we claim not to have sinned, for his Word declares that all of us have sinned, and fallen short of his glory. (Romans 3.23)
The glare of headlines may, if we are willing to surrender the false teaching of “basic goodness,” convince us of the reality of sin in the world. But, all of us need to let the light of Christ, the light of God’s Word, illuminate what we would rather remain hidden in the darkness inside us—our own sins—if we would be forgiven, cleansed, and filled with the light and the Word. To confess our sin is painful, but it is not risky, when we understand the faithfulness and justice of the one to whom we confess. Then, we are truly filled through God’s gift of the Holy Spirit with light, with truth, with love, thanks to Jesus, who forgave and cleansed not those who were “basically good,” but sinners.
S.D.G.
Jim
www.jimwilkenministries.org
Marion, NC
PS 37.4
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