I'll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands. (Ezekiel 36:27 The Message)
I ended our meditation on John 17 by saying we will be motivated, or compelled, to walk in his ways and to delight in doing his will. Many who try hard to walk in his ways and do his will end up becoming discouraged as they feel it is an impossible task. Well it is. It's impossible to do this is our own strength. We can try, and for a time we may succeed. We see fruit and experience God's blessing for a season and feel we are being successful. Whenever we do anything in our own strength or through our own effort we will, ultimately, end up becoming worn out. And yet, we are taught that doing his will is a good thing. When we see with the eyes of our mind we see what he does, so we imitate this and as a result we end up living a works based life, seeking to please him through our activity. When the eyes of our heart are opened we see who he is. When we see him, we are changed. Paul prays, in Ephesians 1, that we would receive a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of who God really is. We start to see him as the Glorious Father. Not only do we receive a new heart and a new spirit, we also receive the gift of the Father's spirit. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit who lives within us that causes us to do the very things we find so hard in our own strength. The Holy Spirit empowers us to live like Jesus. It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to cry out "Abba, Father". It is the Holy Spirit who sets us free from the law of sin and death that, for so long, has prevented us from walking in his ways. Anything we do for him must flow out of our relationship with him. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14, it is good to desire spiritual gifts but more important is making love our greatest aim. Living in love is walking as Jesus walked and, as we do, we will discover we automatically delight in doing his will. I have revealed to them who you are and I will continue to make you even more real to them, so that they may experience the same endless love that you have for me, for your love will now live in them, even as I live in them! (John 17:26 TPT)
Over the last few weeks, I have been looking at how Jesus revealed his Father and how this was the central purpose of his time on earth. John 17 is his final prayer before he is led away to the cross and, as we've looked at it together, I hope you can see how it represents a summary of Jesus' life and ministry. He has shown us what the Father is like, he has given us the Father's words of eternal life, he has demonstrated how we can live in love and he wants us to be with him where he is. Now, at the end of his prayer, Jesus concludes with these words: "in order that the love you have for me may be in them". Jesus concludes his earthly ministry by reassuring us that he has made his Father known and that he will continue to make him known. We are not left in any uncertainty, Jesus will continue revealing his Father to us, to you and me. It's a very powerful statement. You and I are loved by God, the Father, in exactly the same way as he loves Jesus. No if's or but's, just unconditional love which is totally dependent on him and not in any way on us. We can't earn his love, we can't make him love us any more through our actions or words. We can't stop him loving us. We are loved as he loves Jesus. Should this revelation make us lazy Christians? Of course not! It changes our hearts so much that we find we are motivated, or compelled, to walk in his ways and therefore to delight in doing his will (Ezekiel 36:27 and Psalm 40:8). The revelation (or series of revelations) we've looked at from John 17 really do present us with a clear picture of the gospel. To me, it is so simple, we are loved by the perfect Father who wants to be a Father to us. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. (John 17:24 NIV)
In John 17, Jesus is praying to his Father and giving an account of the things he has accomplished during his time on earth. It reads like the completion, or fulfilment, of a mission statement: "This is what you sent me to do and this is what I have done". The prayer contains an important list of things the Son has done is making his Father known. "I want those you have given me to be with me where I am". As we read through this chapter we see how Jesus has shown what the Father is like, he has given us the Father's words of eternal life and he shows how we can live like the Trinity. And now we are given a personal invitation. An invitation to be with Jesus where he is. Well, before we accept this invitation we need to know where Jesus is. Right now, in this present moment, where is he? That's where we're invited to be. We read in John 1:18 that Jesus came from the bosom, or side, of the Father. Once again a picture of intimacy; a son leaning against his father's heart. In John 14, we read that Jesus is going back home, to his Father's house and then he and the Father, through the Holy Spirit, will return and make their home with us. This is the invitation: we are invited to be at home with the Father. To be at his side, leaning against his heart. This is an invitation and, as such, it requires a response. It's Jesus' desire to take us where he is but he leaves us with a choice - do we want to be at home with the Father? It's a question we can only answer for ourselves. We can look from afar or we can draw near and allow our hearts to come home. My encouragement is for you to come home. Allow yourself to be drawn into that place of intimacy with the Father. Allow Jesus to take you to the Father, his Father and your Father. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one — I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:22-23 NIV)
In John 17, Jesus is praying to his Father and giving an account of the things he has accomplished during his time on earth. It reads like the completion, or fulfilment, of a mission statement: "This is what you sent me to do and this is what I have done". The prayer contains an important list of things the Son has done is making his Father known. "That they may be one, as we are one". The life that is in Jesus is in us. The relationship Jesus has with his Father is imparted to us, we can have the same intimate relationship, with the Father, that Jesus had. When Jesus prays that we may be one, we often think that he is talking about our relationships with one another. I believe that is correct. But as I've meditated on this verse, I wonder if there is another interpretation or meaning to Jesus' words. What about us being one with him in the same way that Jesus is one with him? Having prayed that we may be one he then expresses his desire for us to be involved, or to live in, the unity of the Trinity. He really wants us to know that we are in him as much as he is in us. It is a profound description of unity and intimacy. This is not a distant relationship, but the closest of Father-Son relationships and we are invited to participate. As Jesus accounts to his Father for the things he has accomplished, he is clear that we have been enabled to live like the Trinity live. A life of intimacy and unity is one of rest and peace. It is a fulfilled life. |
Weekly SignpostA Father to YOU is a signpost to the heart of the Perfect Father. When we became Christians we were given the right to become children of God (John 1:12). Sadly, many of us fail to take up that right and instead continue to live as slaves or orphans. But our true destiny is being sons and daughters who have a permanent place in the Father's family. This blog is an encouragement to help you know who God really is and who you really are. Click here to subscribe. |