Something I said triggered him off.

Something I said during bible study triggered it off, and although I cannot remember the verse reference he used in rebuttal, the theme went like this:

Matthew 7:21-23 NASB "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. (22) "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' (23) "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

His rebuttal was directed at two things.

1. Not everyone will enter the kingdom of heaven.
   And
2. A an underlying, massive rejection by Jesus/God saying, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME,'

I think I have shared previously how broken I was. I had to relearn who this God was that loved me; in doing so I found a God of mercy beyond my comprehension. Maybe my eyes finally opened and I could see the God of mercy I had never seen before, but as I said I was a broken man with a broken understanding, and the only God I knew was a God of judgment and punishment.

We, as children would have to say this cutesy little prayer at night.

Now I lay me down to sleep

I pray the Lord my soul to keep

If I should die before I wake

I pray the Lord my soul to take

Sounds benign enough, but if you are raised with the concept of God sending you to hell over one little thing, such as, taking His name in vain - taking his name in vain was defined by my mothers personal morality standards, which were unwritten, seemingly impromptu rules that she dished out as she manipulated us children. 

If I am honest, this persons interruption, which assured that everyone was focused on him and his immense scriptural understanding, while I was leading bible study made me furious. I had to choose to be diplomatic and polite when everything in me wanted to lash out. 

What got my attention as he was taking issue was the emphasis that he put on, “not everyone will enter the kingdom of heaven;”as though this applied to believers. This rhetoric was associated with some other comments he made, the passage that he referred to, and Jesus speaking about Judas in John 16 and 17. 

As I said, the basis of his rant effectively followed the same theme as Matthew 7. Matthew 7 was a continuation of Christ's sermon on the mount.

It would seem that the emphasis is on the true believer and what it is that identifies us as such.

True disciples of Christ will be men and women cautious in their judgment of others; conscious of their own faults; confident and earnest in prayer; wary of false teachers and hypocritical profession; building all eternal hopes upon the firm Rock, faith in the Word of God and Christ Jesus.

Summarized Bible, Complete Summary of the Bible, By KEITH L. BROOKS

If I started at Matthew 7:1-2, the opening statement says, “Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured back to you.”

But the person choosing to disagree was not concerned with judgment, or why God did not know these people he is turning away. He seemed to focus on the idea that these were believers, not meeting some standard, getting turned away from the kingdom. 

I like to think about assertions and passages like this in terms of context. Even though it was a mixed crowd that sat and listened to Jesus this day, it safe to assume that it is primarily a Jewish crowd, a religious crowd, and nothing Jesus said got past them, and it appropriately stung. 

Some purposefully listened with a critical ear; pharisees who stood by were looking for excuses to kill him.

Sadly a belief that focuses on meeting some standard is based in works and our salvation is not by works, but by faith.

Acts 13:38-39 MSG I want you to know, my very dear friends, that it is on account of this resurrected Jesus that the forgiveness of your sins can be promised. (39) He accomplishes, in those who believe, everything that the Law of Moses could never make good on. But everyone who believes in this raised-up Jesus is declared good and right and whole before God.

Romans 5:1 YLT Having been declared righteous, then, by faith, we have peace toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Romans 9:30 GW So what can we say? We can say that non-Jewish people who were not trying to gain God's approval won his approval, an approval based on faith.

Jesus appeared to Saul (the Pharisee) as he was on his way to Damascus to persecute those of the way. He told Saul what his job was going to be, and this is what he said,

Acts 26:18 NASB to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.'

Perhaps I have established that who we are and how we got here is based solely upon our belief in, Jesus Christ, the one that had to do the hard work (suffering severe blows and death) on our behalf. The closest that anyone came to being a believer prior to the Holy Spirit coming might be the disciples. Jesus referred to them as, “those whom you have given me.” I am not clear on this so I can only speak from assumption. 

We cannot make anything close to that assumption with this crowd. They came because they wanted what he could give them, food and healing. They wanted little else.

I think it is safe to say that Jesus statement, “ I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME..”, had nothing to do with followers of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 7:21-23 begins much earlier in the chapter, but lets just focus on some close proximity statements.

Matthew 7:15-16 GW "Beware of false prophets. They come to you disguised as sheep, but in their hearts they are vicious wolves. (16) You will know them by what they produce. "People don't pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, do they?

I want you to consider several things here.

1. False prophets. They probably look normal.

God attempted to define for Moses and Aaron things that would indicate that someone was a prophet. You can find this in Numbers 12:6. The problem is that should you challenge someone about their qualifications they could tell you anything to appease you.

Deuteronomy 13:1-5 NIV If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, (2) and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," (3) you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. (4) It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. (5) That prophet or dreamer must be put to death for inciting rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.

If you read the passage above then you picked up on two things. This person attempts to lead you away from the true God, and you are to get them out of your midst. 

(I am not giving you the carte blanche to harm anyone.)

2. They come disguised as sheep. I mentioned that they probably look normal. Have you got some perception of what a Christian looks like? Throw it out because it is wrong. We are all shapes and sizes, and some of us are tattered, while others wear fine clothes. None of that makes a stitch of difference in God's eyes. If he needs you appropriately dressed, to stand before kings, then he will make sure that happens. What you need to understand is that as you sit there in your comfortable church pew, you could be sitting next to a wolf in sheeps clothing and not know it.
   
   
3. You will know them by what they produce. Jesus, it would seem, threw a little sarcasm at us when he said, "People don't pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, do they? So the wolf will be trying to get you work in opposition to God's standard, a baseline laid out by His word. Sadly that requires that you READ God's word for yourself and not be dependent upon what some “teacher” tells you; that includes me.

What kinds of things can you expect to see being produced when the wolf gets involved?

Romans 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 

Romans 1:25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator-

Romans 1:29-32 NIV They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, (30) slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; (31) they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. (32) Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

You can find more should you choose to look, things that speak to the works of the flesh. Now those things are covered in the passages from Romans but just to show you I will give a little more.

Galatians 5:19-21 NIV The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; (20) idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions (21) and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

I can imagine what many are saying right now, "but these are works of the flesh, common to every man", and you would be right, but they are in total opposition to God, and the reason we were born into sin, for Adam did exactly this, when he chose to do his own selfish thing, allowing for sin to enter into the world through man. Life and liberty re-entered through Jesus Christ's death and resurrection.

Perhaps the question you should be asking is: What is a false prophet?

In Acts 13 we see Saul (he had not changed his name yet) and Barnabas traveling, and teaching God's word to the Jews (That may be important).

Acts 13:6-12 NIV They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, (7) who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. (8) But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. (9) Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, (10) "You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? (11) Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun." Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. (12) When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

Did you notice that the man Bar-Jesus was a Jew. A wolf in sheep's clothing. 

So the original premise was that, according to the guy that disrupted the flow of bible study that day, some Christians will not be allowed into the kingdom of heaven. Let's go back to what might have been his backing for such a statement.

Matthew 7:21-23 NASB "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. (22) "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' (23) "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'

If I look back at the experience of Barnabas and Saul (Paul), then what I see in this man Elymas, is a man, learned in the Talmud, the law and prophets; able to argue against Saul's teachings (you really should be very skillful in the same literature that you wish to argue against if you want to defeat or discourage someone), and he performs amazing “miracles” that aid in his presentation and the contestation of others, at this moment the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. 

Elymas was not a believer in Jesus Christ at this point and perhaps not a fair argument. The writer of Hebrews, in chapter 13:5, to followers of Christ (believers), states, 'because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."'

Our men's bible study has been slogging our way through the book of John. But that gospel is John's demonstration that Jesus, on this earth, was God, and therefore a huge and significant demonstration of God's character as seen in Jesus' actions and words.

John 10:27-30 NIV My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. (28) I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. (29) My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. (30) I and the Father are one."

If I based my understanding about the security of my relationship on this alone I could be confident, but I have showed you more. 

The idea and reference for God casting aside some who claim to be his comes out the Great White Throne judgment. This happens at the end of the millennial reign. Look this up in Revelation 20:11–15. Jesus was talking about this very moment when he described a separation of the sheep from the goats. (Matthew 25:31 – 46) 

Matthew 25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.

It is possible to develop side essays on virtually everything that shows up on these pages; that was not the point. The point was to address the question of whether God will choose to throw us aside someday. Should you think that your pettiest of sins will change his heart about you, you are wrong. Christ's death was an all inclusive payment for the sins of the whole world, then and forever, so you are okay in that regard, as long as you have accepted Jesus Christ as the one who paid that price for you. 

Another strong argument as to how much he loves and cares for you comes from that famous verse, Romans 3:16. God, so loved a broken and unloving world, that he, regardless of how that world might trash his love, sent his only Son as a sacrifice to save it. 

He cares for you, and should you choose to follow him, he will never let go of you. In this you can trust.

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Your glory on earth

"I have shown your glory on earth"

John 17:4 GNB I have shown your glory on earth; I have finished the work you gave me to do.

The first thing that enters my thinking is what did he do? I know what he did, he healed them all; he raised the dead; he told them of the kingdom; he told them he was God.

Ask yourself, has he died yet? No; then he is talking about things that he did in human form, subject to everything that we are, and yet he did it. 

"his principal work was to declare his Father's mind and will, his love and grace;"Gill's commentary 

In looking at John 16 I had mentioned that Jesus had come to save and heal the broken, wounded, dying, and lost. He came representing the Father. For those who had a damaged father image this would be difficult to accept, and I asked the question, how do you repair those wounds and regain confidence? Through a repetitious and consistent pattern of love. 

Jesus just said that he had done that. For three and a half years he has done the same thing repeatedly by healing and preaching that you were more merciful than anyone had ever known.

“glorify me at your side with the glory that I had at your side before the world existed.”

John 17:5 LEB And now, Father, you glorify me at your side with the glory that I had at your side before the world existed.

Do we have to remind ourselves of what he did in order for him to get to this point, and become our life?

".. although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Philippians 2:6-8 NASB)

So he is now asking the Father to return him back to his original place. Not just to the Father's side to sit quietly, but a return to the creative, glorified position that was his before he gave himself freely for us.John gave us a rather intense look at who he was and still is. 

(John 1:1 LEB) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

(John 1:2 LEB) This one was in the beginning with God.

(John 1:3 LEB) All things came into being through him, and apart from him not one thing came into being that has come into being.

(John 1:4 LEB) In him was life, and the life was the light of humanity.

John also told us that "all things came into being through him," And yet what does

Genesis 1:1 tell us: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth”. 

How many ways do we need to see or hear this. Jesus was God. 

Genesis 1:3 states, "And God said, "Let there be light!" And there was light." Try reading it, and Jesus said. Take a second look at the creation saga in Genesis and substitute Jesus in place of God. This is what he is asking the Father to restore him to. 

This takes me back to Philippians again:

Philippians 2:6-7 LEB who, existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal with God something to be grasped, (7) but emptied himself by taking the form of a slave, by becoming in the likeness of people. And being found in appearance like a man,

He had emptied himself, but of what? Power, authority, glory, and creative abilities. Are you kidding me. How would God remove those traits from himself? Jesus did it voluntarily, and every moment of every day, living as man, trusting entirely on the Father's will and instruction, was a choice.

Was there ever a time that God said NO, you cannot have that now to Jesus? No, Jesus healed all that were afflicted. So for Jesus to pray and ask the Father to restore him would also be fulfilled.

“I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me..”

(John 17:6 NASB) "I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.

"manifested" from the Greek word phaneroo, and means to render apparent. The word render has a variety of meanings depending on the context. The meaning most applicable to us, because of the context, would be to make beneficial.

Let's ponder this a moment. If John 17:6 read, I have given your name for use or benefit, to the men you have given me to work with. That sort of conveys an act in which he could have merely presented them with a plaque at the morning crew meeting, told them to enjoy, and left. But that did not happen. In a world (ours) in which on the job training is becoming scarce, he gave them the most intense form of training, he lived with them. They saw most everything he did, and what they saw was a way of life.

It is odd how this works. As I attempt to convey what I feel and find in God's word I find it speaking loudly to me also. Suddenly I am beginning to grasp in a way that I had not before, that this is not just a religion we are trying to pushing on people, it is a way of life in tune with the Father. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Because he lives in me, that life lives in me, and he has made it plain and beneficial to me to live in this life.

If I operated off the word manifested only, to gain understanding, then I have to deal with this definition of manifest: Plain, open, clearly visible or obvious to the understanding; apparent; not obscure or difficult to be seen or understood.

Alright, we re-write the sentence again. I have made your name, plain, open, clearly visible, and obvious to the understanding, of those you have given me.

At this time, with his death imminent, did they understand. I think they understood, even from their earlier Jewish teachings that there was an afterlife. We see this comprehension in the book of Job.

"Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me! (Job 19:26-27 NASB)

Perhaps Eugene Peterson's Message makes it clearer.

I spelled out your character in detail To the men and women you gave me. They were yours in the first place; Then you gave them to me, And they have now done what you said. (John 17:6 MSG)

So my take away from all this is that Jesus made the Father clear and understandable, and demonstrated how the Father's name is of a benefit to them. I have to ponder once again, this idea of making the Father's name a benefit. Why wouldn't they have considered the Father's name a benefit before? Perhaps they did, but religion tends to guard such things as sacred and untouchable, and in that light it may have been almost meaningless to them.

Question:

1. Who is he talking to? Well Jews of course. But were these the finest and most well-trained scholastically or theologically? Not hardly. Considering that the Jewish father's dream was to have his son become a rabbi, where did Jesus find most of his disciples? Fishing, sitting under trees, collecting taxes, and a few other places. 
   
   
2. So the disciples gained a first hand knowledge of the Father, from the Father himself. What we do not see, as Jesus selects his disciples, is someone like Saul/Paul, who had been skillfully trained in the law, a pharisee. You do not see the disciples protesting when Jesus had them walk through the grain field and start picking the wheat and eating it. Nor do they freak out over a lack of ceremonial washing, when he had prepared fish at the shore and handed it to them to eat. (A sudden change of heart, on my part. Nicodemus, the pharisee who came to Jesus by night, became a disciple. Not one of the original 12, but certainly one of those that received the fullness of the Holy Spirit when it came.)
   
   
3. It seems that the benefit was all strictly relational and practical. Really, what good is a name or something of bartering value, if you do not know how to use it.

For Jesus to make the Father's name clearly understood and a benefit, then he had to have shown them a consistent, practical use; he demonstrated the character of the Father.

"they were Yours and You gave them to Me"

I have considered this idea on many occasions. Although no longer perplexed by the concept, I still cannot avoid the idea that God had made his decision before the world was made. 

There is a thread that runs through me, that tells me that much like not being picked for the baseball team as a child, that God might not have picked me. I suppose that is rubbish considering that I am writing this to you now. The other side of this coin tries to tell me that I picked him. We do preach that in our orifices of religion called church. (I say that because we, those who believe and follow after Christ, are the church; not the building.) But then there is God himself, slapping me upside the face with a statement like this.

The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" Everyone who hears this should say, "Come!" If you are thirsty, come! If you want life-giving water, come and take it. It's free! (Revelation 22:17 CEV)

I placed the Revelation passage in bold type for everything about it seems to scream, there is no exclusivity, God is imploring all to come. If you are thirsty, come!

Yeah, but what if I am not thirsty! I understand this statement comes from many attitudes:

• You can't make me drink! I am the consummate rebel and no one will tell me what to do. Clearly you misunderstood, as it is an invite. Everyone gets thirsty at some point, whether physically or spiritually. Why it even gets to the point that you may think that you are going to die (and that may well be). Do you have a choice at that point? Certainly, but your choices may be limited to muddy tainted waters, or come with strings attached that lead to your enslavement once again. (I say once again because Christ, whether you choose to believe it or not, bought your freedom already.) What are you free to do then? Live life on your own terms, or run into the arms of the one who freed you? (I know, I keep forgetting that you call your own shots over your life. Keep believing that.) The short answer is yes, you are free to choose. 
  
  
• The generally disinterested. One might say, I am university trained, skilful in the philosophies and scientific thought. Bravo, what has that lead you to? You know how to hide the hurts and pains of life with your great intellect or as many others do through by drinking yourself into a stupor each night. Well, clearly this living water is not for you because you are not thirsty enough yet. 
  
  
• There is another aspect to Jesus statement above, for it says, “Everyone who hears this should say come...” now the context of the hearing is the believer who is imploring you to come; I suppose I am doing that now, but there is a darker side of this statement in that many will not hear. Now whether they do that because they cannot hear, or it happens because they choose not to hear, I do not know; that is for God to sort out. But clearly, hearing is a choice and many choose to not listen.

One of the things I loved about God, as I discovered his character, was how straight forward he was. His approach with Abram (eventually God changed his name to Abraham) was to present his plan for the restoration of man through Jesus, and he laid this all out in a dream/vision. This must have been very vivid and real for Abram seeing as we now have it as written word.

"As for me, this is my covenant with you: you will be the father of many nations."(Genesis 17:4 CJB)

Knowing full well that the man Abram could and would fail, God made the covenant anyway. I have come to understand that in communicating how he would carry through this covenant, irrespective of the man's performance, he was making His character very clear. (I despise hearing radio preachers say this), but what God is saying here is, that this is my position and I am not moving from it; in other words God is unchanging.

“Descendants of Jacob, I am the LORD All-Powerful, and I never change. ...” (Malachi 3:6 CEV)

"God is not a human who lies or a mortal who changes his mind. When he says something, he will do it; when he makes a promise, he will fulfill it.”(Numbers 23:19 CJB)

The interesting thing about the passage from Numbers, although it conveys the full impact of what I wanted to say, is that the quotation comes from the mouth of Balak, the prophet. He was not a prophet of God, (although certainly used to make this point about God's character,) but he was a hired gun that offered his services to whoever could pay the price he asked. And he apparently would consult the gods of those who were paying him. Let me make something clear here. The whole world understands the terminology demons. When you consider that when Satan fell he took one-third of an innumerable host with to the earth. They do Satan's bidding, and they are painfully aware of their eventual demise. In other words, they have nothing to lose. If you think they cannot or will not harm you, think again. Our protection from them comes from our staying within our relationship with the Father, and under his covering, His word. It also demands an active role on our part by standing against them in the name of Jesus Christ. For Balak to call on the gods of others is to call upon the influence of fallen angels.

As for their power; let me remind you that it only took one angel to kill all the first-born of Egypt that first passover night, and there were only two that destroyed all of Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding cities with fire and brimstone. Balak himself met the angel of the Lord standing against him with a sword, as he was on his way to curse Israel. He had to be told by his donkey that this danger was there.

When you make a statement like “God is unchanging!” the same people who will not pick up a bible will say things like, what about Jonah and the Ninevites, as though they have a clue. (You should not be allowed to declared your twisted opinion until after you have done your homework, and from scripture found at least two references, in context, to back up your point.)

“..and they have kept your word. ..”

"I made your name known to the people you gave me out of the world. They were yours, you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. (John 17:6 CJB)

It feels like a movie and I have been watching, over and over, with fascination. I find myself rewinding, and studying the emotion on Jesus face (I have to imagine it) as he says the same thing multiple times, each time with a slightly different spin, in hopes that they grasp it fully this time. Perhaps there are even some that are getting it; this is evidenced in an earlier passage.

So for the present you are also in sorrow (in distress and depressed); but I will see you again and [then] your hearts will rejoice, and no one can take from you your joy (gladness, delight). (John 16:22 AMP)

The contemporary English Version translates John 17:6 like this: “..but you gave them to me, and they have obeyed you.”

The dictionary definition of obey means to comply with or yield to. In comparison with the pharisees Jesus had their full attention. Obedience does not mean a life without emotion and feeling. Jesus, God himself, displayed emotion – anger, sorrow, pain, joy. You have to keep in mind that we do not get a minute by replay of the three and one half years they spent with him. The disciples got to watch him in action; they saw him on the mount praying; they saw the drops of blood fall as sweat; they saw him respond to the sick and dying as he disregarded his own exhaustion, and they were following his example. He sent them out and they went; upon returning they were ecstatic as they relived such amazing stories of demons responding to the name of Jesus.

I suppose I should end this here. Honestly it is so rich and I enjoy exploring God's word so much that I do not want to stop. But I too struggle with reading something that could be broken into chapters, giving me some stopping points where I might take respite and continue at a more convenient time, and I am not giving you that opportunity here.

Much of this is the basis for Men's bible study group, but I am fortunate to cover three verses as the men jump in relating what is being said to some aspect of their lives.

Thanks for reading. To Him be the glory and honor and power forever, and the knowledge that we as believers have a hope of eternity with him.

Should you not know this Jesus Christ or have a confidence that you will spend eternity with Him, you can. Call upon his name and he will come quickly to you. He will come and make his home in you if you ask him, and he will reign over every aspect of your life, giving you life, if you will hand those areas over to him. God paid a massive price for you to be free, and it is his greatest desire for you to walk in that freedom.

Related articles

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• The promise of the Father (melwild.wordpress.com)
• How Can We Give Thanks in All Circumstances? (phenum01.com)

It's already here!

Chapter 17, like 16 begins mid-thought. To start there seems inappropriate, so I recap just a bit.

For the time is coming (John 16:2)

Everything about this statement screams excitement. For the disciples it was mixed with pain and sorrow, and yet their time was just around the corner. For those of us that read these passages today the time has already come. There are many who believe that he is still speaking in mystic code, and there are many who believe that the time of God that scripture is speaking plainly to us about, passed with the disciples.

In speaking to the disciples, trying to comfort them and at the same time telling them what their future would be like, he said,

(I am going to give this to you in a variety of versions because 
the traditional one just does not convey what he was saying and some versions 
are even mysterious.)

- Something close to standard:

John 16:25 MKJV I have spoken these things to you in parables, but the time is coming when I shall no more speak to you in parables, but I will show you plainly of the Father.

- A simplistic, childlike version:

John 16:25 GW "I have used examples to illustrate these things. The time is coming when I won't use examples to speak to you. Rather, I will speak to you about the Father in plain words.

- This version, though it coveys the meaning, comes off rather intimidating:

John 16:25 ASV These things have I spoken unto you in dark sayings: the hour cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in dark sayings, but shall tell you plainly of the Father.

- When trying to find an accurate translation of scripture, many have said that the NASB is one of the best.

John 16:25 NASB "These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly of the Father.

The hope is that I can give you a translation that allows you to grasp the heart of what Jesus is still telling us today. Sadly, I think that many will still read these passages and determine that this "speaking plainly" was momentary and only for the disciples. I do not agree.

If this was meant to be merely a history of the moment it still demonstrates that there was a turning point, and we know that turning point caused them (the disciples, over 120) to be empowered. The revealing of this change is not that turning point, that happens when they received the Holy Spirit.

I have come to believe that every follower of Jesus Christ received the Spirit of God when they accepted Christ, but I do not see the empowerment in believers that is associated with the baptism; this empowerment is a huge aspect of the message we see in Acts, and a major factor in the drawing of people to Christ. 

(An idea that I attempt to develop is that God's main purpose is to win back the world through love. Considering how broken and disoriented we are that really only happens because of repeated acts demonstrating that He can be trusted and loved. Perhaps this is why the Holy Spirit is sent to empower us; to demonstrate His acts of love, repeatedly to a broken world.)

"I have come to believe that every follower of Jesus Christ received the Spirit of God when they accepted Christ"

What is wrong with this picture? While it has a multitude of answers, primarily conjecture, as to why, I believe that the deceiver/Satan has done an effective job in getting us to believe that we are powerless, that all that God gave these men was not meant for us and has passed, nor do we get what they got because we don't need it today – we have doctors and they didn't. Do you really believe that?

Jesus said he would speak plainly.

Since Christ is the embodiment of the Father then it is the Father that is speaking to us. I try to maintain that attitude so that I do not diminish the word coming to me. An incident I had at work a short time ago, might help to convey what I am talking about.

The store had been closed for a hour and a half. That was when the supervisor that I had unloaded some grief on earlier in the day decided to ask me how I was doing (Look, when you are not doing mentally well it is easy to perceive a simple, innocent question as harassment, and I did). When this happened I knew that I had three choices I could make in response to what was said. I chose poorly, and I have to take responsibility for that. The following day, during worship time at church, the Spirit spoke to me. I knew, without a doubt, that it was Jesus speaking to me. He spoke very plainly and distinctly to me; he spoke in terminology that I understood, and yet when I answered Him back I said, yes sir. That answer, in my mind, conveyed an importance as if the Father was speaking to me.

I guess the take away from John 16:25 is: What is he saying to you?

---

Another vital aspect of chapter 16 before we move into chapter 17 is,

John 16:27 NASB for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.

I would think that it was obvious that Jesus loved the disciples, and by extension you and I for scripture tells us "that God so loved the world", but this is taking on a whole new depth for me. The Father loves me!

 

Why is this aspect of  the Father's love so important?

When you have not had a father's love and cannot even understand it, a statement like this is incredible. Some who read this have been sexually abused, while others had nothing more than an ominous dictator for an example.

How do you change an attitude that is that damaged?

Only through repetitious displays of love and a rebuilding of trust. The God of love is all about that, this rebuilding of broken lives; it seems to be his thing.

 

Jesus introduced his ministry, and the Father's heart, when He quoted this passage from Isaiah to those in the synagogue that day.

Isaiah 61:1 NASB The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners;

He effectively told them: This is why I am here and who I am; who God, the Father is!

Consider some of our main characters of the bible when you think about this love toward man.

• Abraham: has God show up in a dream/vision, lays out his plan to rescue man, what he will do for Abraham if he follows God's lead, and ends with a defining statement as to His unchanging ways when he says, "as for me." This happens repeatedly.

• Samson: this man became prominent in my thinking recently when one of the men in bible study opened up about his desire to lead a youth bible study. He mentioned Samson as a character study he could use. I responded by saying how Samson could be one of the most difficult characters to use because he, at every turn, displays his self will instead of following God's will. What makes Samson stand out is his trust and God's trust of him. God never let go, nor gave up on him. The Father loved him.

This seems like the perfect lead in to chapter 17

John 17:1 BBE Jesus said these things; then, lifting his eyes to heaven, he said, Father, the time has now come; give glory to your Son, so that the Son may give glory to you:

“Father, the time has now come;”

Did we have any doubts as to when the time would come? 

It almost seems appropriate to say, I saw the movie and I know what is coming next. Really I have read and heard this story many times and know the torture he will soon endure, his eventual death, resurrection, return to the Father, and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

And yet many are still looking for that time to come. I cannot begin to tell you how sorrowful that makes me.

"the time" takes on multiple meanings all of sudden. You should know at this point that he is aware of the impending pain, and unspeakable horror, but that is not the “the time” he is referring to. 

He is also intensely aware that the plan of salvation is about to come to fulfillment, and there is the fact that soon, the Holy Spirit of God will be poured out, not only on the disciples, but everyone.

Read Acts 10:22-44 There you find that this Holy Spirit not only fell on someone other than a disciple, but a non-Jew as well.

"glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You.."

Glorify = to render esteem.

This glorification is not something that God suddenly decided Jesus was worthy of.

Psalms 86:9 NASB All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And they shall glorify Your name.

Unless something changed, but what changes, even if at least momentarily? 

Jesus, while hanging on the cross, an action soon to transpire, says,

Mark 15:34 MKJV And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? (which being translated is, My God, My God, why did You forsake Me?)

I cannot tell you how many sermons I have heard on this and yet so few seem to get it. The relationship was broken, and lost, at least momentarily.

God had to forsake him. (Forsake= to quit or leave entirely)

Why? Because Jesus became sin.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

I have heard it said that God cannot look upon sin, but I cannot find a precise reference in scripture that defends this sort of statement.

Ezekiel gives me a little something, but I cannot really see how this fits unless it demonstrates how Jesus took the full brunt of wrath that we deserved.

Ezekiel 5:11  (11) Therefore, as I live, saith the Lord; surely, because thou hast defiled my holy things with all thine abominations, I also will reject thee; mine eye shall not spare, and I will have no mercy.

The prophet Habakkuk prophesied and lamented at the same time, and to some degree made the statement, but there is a context and you have to read the statement in light of the context, and it is not about God just turning his back on evil.

Habakkuk 1:13 GNB  But how can you stand these treacherous, evil men? Your eyes are too holy to look at evil, and you cannot stand the sight of people doing wrong. So why are you silent while they destroy people who are more righteous than they are?

There was more to this payment He made on the cross than just sin.

Hebrews 12:2 NASB fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

All of the payment for sin, sin that was our debt, not his, was placed upon him.

Colossians 2:13-14 NASB (13) When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, (14) having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

They did not nail any pieces of paper to the cross with our sins written on it, and tell us, okay all is forgiven. (I have done this several times. There is the opportunity for a symbolic, momentary separation from that sin, but it does not remove sin)  No, Jesus took the sin unto himself. He became sin; our sin, and was himself nailed to the cross. That action bought our forgiveness, canceled our debt for sin, and completely took it out of the way.

---

John 17:2 NASB even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.

Sorry, this just does not make sense. Lets try another version.

John 17:2 EMTV just as You have given Him authority over all flesh, so that He will give eternal life to all You have given Him.

Jesus is still alive at this point, and there is a general understanding that Jesus submission to the cross entitled him to great benefits.

Philippians 2:8-11 EMTV (8) And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. (9) Therefore God also has highly exalted Him, and has graciously given Him a name which is above every name, (10) that at the name of Jesus every knee may bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, (11) and that every tongue may confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

So the authority over all flesh really happened long before the cross. This had to come while he was with the Father, and quite possibly from the beginning of time. And yet this simple phrase has multiple definitive moments, for Christ, and also for us.

Here is why?

"so that He will give eternal life to all You have given Him. "

We can read this passage and make the assumption that this pertains to the disciples only.

Another version seems more open - less restrictive.

"so that he would give eternal life to everyone you give him. "

This, to me, represents all those in the future, which includes us, therefore we all, who have believed in him.

How many has God given him? Perhaps it is a limited number, and if you are a believer, you are just one of the fortunate ones?

I am reminded that "God so loved the world that he gave." I cannot read this without thinking that his love was and is poured out toward everyone.

Matthew 4:23-24 KJV And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. (24) And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.

They did not just bring him the resident Jews. Most of them did not believe that he was God and probably would not have come anyway. They brought everybody.

Romans 10:12 KJV For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

Romans 11:32 KJV For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all.

If you have ever wondered what it meant to have eternal life?

John 17:3 NASB "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

What are the ramifications of a statement like that?

To know is the Greek word ginosko, meaning to comprehend, be aware, or perceive, among others.

What if we re-stated the verse. “This is eternal life, that they may comprehend you, the only true God ….” And yet even this gives us problems because there are those that come off as though they comprehend but have no relationship with him at all.

Doesn't any interpretation of what Jesus said, have to do with an intimate relationship, one much like the disciples had?

"This is eternal life, that they may know You..”

To trust this statement is to trust in the hope. What hope?

Titus 1:1-2 NASB Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, (2) in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,

Paul understood that there was a hope of eternal life, but as some conjecture, eternity will be nothing more than sitting around singing old church hymns to God. Nothing could be farther from the truth. 

Paul told us that no eye has seen, nor has the mind comprehended what God has prepared.

1 Corinthians 2:9 EMTV But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

But this concept is not just a New Testament one. Look at what the Psalmist has to say.

Psalms 31:19 NASB How great is Your goodness, Which You have stored up for those who fear You, Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, Before the sons of men!

Romans 9:23 ERV He waited with patience so that he could make known the riches of his glory to the people he has chosen to receive his mercy. God has already prepared them to share his glory.

Why would God do anything like this, for us? Because the entire reason we were created was to walk with him as family.

John 8:34-36 MSG Jesus said, "I tell you most solemnly that anyone who chooses a life of sin is trapped in a dead-end life and is, in fact, a slave. (35) A slave is a transient, who can't come and go at will. The Son, though, has an established position, the run of the house. (36) So if the Son sets you free, you are free through and through.

We who are followers of Christ have been made to be sons, and have gained an established position in the house.

Ask Jesus Christ to make himself real to you today. Receive him as the ruling member of your life and you to can enjoy the life with the Father.
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