Like a chestnut tree

  • John 21 (3) How we recognize Jesus

    But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. (v. 4)

    But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him. (Luke 24:16)

    Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Thinking that He was the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you put Him, and I will take Him away.” (John 20:15)

    After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:6)

    To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of things regarding the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:3)

    We know that Jesus Christ truly resurrected because the disciples and the women could not find his dead body. And they saw Him alive. But we need to understand that the disciples did not recognize Jesus Christ because of his physical body but of His words and power. And they recognized Him only when God made them recognize Him.

    I also was with you in weakness and fear, and in great trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of mankind, but on the power of God. (1 Corinthians 2:3-5)

    As I grew up in the Roman Catholic church, I became familiar to the face of Jesus that the church had made – a handsome white man with big brown eyes and light brown hair. The appearance of Jesus in Revelation 1:12-16 is not that of Jesus made by the church.

    People judge everything by what they see, hear, touch, and taste. Those who are spiritually blind judge everything by what their blind eyes see. For them, big church buildings and a large crowd are important. They want handsome-looking Jesus. False ministers and theologians seek approval from many people. They want fancy clothes and good seats. But true Christians meditate on the words of God day and night.

    What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— and the life was revealed, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was revealed to us— (1 John 1:1-2)

    Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. (John 6:68)

    God dwells in each saint. And when we speak the truth of God, we are like Jesus Christ, who did not take the authority of God by His will and might. With this in mind, we understand the work of the Holy Spirit.

    Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)

    Obedience was not the condition for Christ’s successful mission. The power came from the Father’s love. We also do not need to meet a condition to become God’s children. Those who receive God’s love obey Him naturally. Yet, God rewards us for our faithfulness when we do not deserve any rewards.

    … the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and they will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” (Revelation 4:10-11)

    , , , , ,

  • John 21(2) Agape (love) vs. phileo (love)

    So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love (agapas) Me more than these [others do—with total commitment and devotion]?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love (philo) You [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend].” Jesus said to him, “Feed My lambs.” Again He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love (agapas) Me [with total commitment and devotion]?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love (philo) You [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend].” Jesus said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me [with a deep, personal affection for Me, as for a close friend]?” Peter was grieved that He asked him the third time, “Do you [really] love (philo) Me [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend]?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know everything; You know that I love (philo) You [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend].” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep. (vv. 15-17)

    For many years, I thought this passage was about Jesus giving Peter a chance to undo his denial of knowing Him in John 18:25-27. Peter’s denial of knowing Jesus is written in all four Gospels.

    Not many theologians or ministers explain why Jesus mentioned agape (love) while Peter used phileo (love). We do not know if Jesus and Peter were speaking in Greek at that moment but John wrote that Jesus and Peter used different words to mean love. Jesus wanted agape from Peter but Peter loved Jesus with brotherly love.

    I mentioned several times that only God can love us with self-sacrificing love. If you look up the meaning, you will find that agape is the highest form of love, which Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 13.

    Peter later realized what agape meant and said that we also love (agapao) God.

    …and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy
    inexpressible and full of glory, …     (1 Peter 1:8)

    Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him as He loved him. God’s love for us is always self-sacrificing love. But Peter denied that he loved Him as He loved him simply because he did not yet understand the love of God. But later he realized the meaning of love (agape). We also love God and His people with self-sacrificing love. Only those who are truly united with God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit have self-sacrificing love. Shepherding and feeding God’s sheep requires self-sacrificing love. It is not something that the world can fathom. In fact, unbelievers and false Christians criticize true Christians for not loving.

    John referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. John understood that love (agape) is what binds God and His people. John was given much wisdom and knowledge.

    God wants His people to become like Him. He wants us to be one with Him. He gave us His only begotten Son to be our head. Not only do we escape eternal punishment, we also rule the coming world with God.

    The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, shall not have a portion or inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the LORD’S offerings by fire and His property. They shall not have an inheritance among their countrymen; the LORD is their inheritance, as He promised them. (Deuteronomy 18:1-2)

    and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. (Romans 8:17)

    Then the sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the empires will serve and obey Him. (Daniel 7:27)

    The Reformed theology focuses mainly on sin and punishment. Some of their ministers think that the saints are lower than the angels because the angels did not sin as Adam did. If we are lower than the angels, Jesus is lower than the angels, which the writer of the Book of Hebrews denies.

    And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, to the extent that He has inherited a more excellent name than they. (Hebrews 1:3-4)

    The Roman Catholic church believes that people who have done great things are considered saints and they are different from other believers. They also worship angels. But we know that the Roman Catholic church is wrong.

    And he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brothers the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!” (Revelation 22:9)

    It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look. (1 Peter 1:12)

    By worshiping men and their philosophy, the Reformed church has become just like the Roman Catholic church. The pandemic was the white horse.

    … and they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the sight of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (Revelation 6:16-17)

    For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17)

  • John 21 (1) A hundred and fifty-three

    So Simon Peter went up and hauled the net to land, full of large fish, 153; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. (v.11)

    The water prevailed upon the earth for 150 days. (Genesis 7:24)

    Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19)

    For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which He also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison, who once were disobedient when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him. (1 Peter 3:18-22)

    When we read John 21:1-11, we often focus on the fact that the disciples caught so many fish that they were not able to haul the net. Many fish may indicate that the disciple would save many people and fulfill God’s command/prophesy.

    And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will have you become fishers of people.” (Mark 1:17)

    John wanted to draw our attention to the number of the fish God made them catch. The end of the world will be like the day when the great flood came in Noah’s time. The world’s end is symbolized by the number 150. But the children of God are given the number 153. We all know where the number 3 came from. Christ’s death and resurrection save us. The church died and was resurrected with Christ. When Peter talked about baptism in 1 Peter 3:18-22, he did not refer to the ceremonial baptism. Peter knew it very well that the ceremonial baptism was only a shadow. It was one of the ordinances given to visible churches by God for the church era. Ceremonial baptism is only a shadow of the real baptism just as the visible church is a shadow of the invisible true church. Peter warned others of false teachers within churches. These false teachers received ceremonial baptism but did evil and enticed others.

    It is by faith in God we are justified. But faith is not a condition. It is a feature of the children of God who are anointed with the Holy Spirit. Paul knew this very well. The kingdom’s foundation is love which God has given us through Jesus Christ. That is why Paul wrote 1 John 13.

    If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:2)

    Peter, John, Paul and other disciples focus on agape. It appears that many Christians think faith is the new condition for salvation. They think that the law was the condition in the OT and the faith is the new condition in the NT era. Unless we are born again in the Holy Spirit, we cannot be the children of God. Without the Spirit, God’s love is not applied to us and we cannot love Him back.

    There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us. (1 John 4:18-19)

    Those who think they know the Reformed theology rarely talk about love, the kingdom of God, or the Holy Spirit. I know that many heretics have been misusing these words. Some people try to avoid using the words because heretics often use them. Still, it is strange that these words are rarely talked about in the Reformed denominations. The Reformed theologians and ministers focus on the law and punishment instead. This tells us that their theology is strange. And I find the issue in their understanding of the covenants and Adam. The nature of the kingdom is not forensic. The saints keep the true law of God, which is the law of liberty that came from God’s love shown on the cross of Christ.

    Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that His hour had come that He would depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. (John 13:1)

    , , , ,

  • John 20 The meaning of the Tabernacle

    You shall make two cherubim of gold; make them of hammered work at the two ends of the atoning cover. Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece with the atoning cover at its two ends. And the cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the atoning cover with their wings and facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the atoning cover. Then you shall put the atoning cover on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. There I will meet with you; and from above the atoning cover, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about every commandment that I will give you for the sons of Israel. (Exodus 25:18-22)

    But Mary was standing outside the tomb, weeping; so as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. (vv. 11-12)

    And the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us (and we ourselves beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten with the Father), full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

    We often think that the Book of Exodus is about the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt and the Ten Commandments. The most of the Book is about the law and the Tabernacle. The laws to govern the Israelites may have some similarities to the laws of other nations. If we focus on the law, Christianity is not different from other religions or nations. The Israel nation in the OT was a visible church where their king was God. The nation’s failure as we read the latter part of the OT tells us that the kingdom of God is not on earth. And this truth was made clear when Jesus Christ came. However, many Christians do not understand the difference between the OT and the NT and still seek a ruler who can make God’s kingdom on the earth. Their kingdom’s end is total destruction.

    God gave the Israelites the law so that they would eagerly wait for the Son of God to free them from the conditional covenant. Slavery to sin is the curse of the conditional covenant. The Son replaced the old covenant with the new. Christ is the new Tabernacle. This was what Stephen preached before his death as we read Acts 7. The new covenant is not the extension of the old covenant. Rather, the old covenant was a shadow of the new. Therefore, we reject Dispensationalism and the Covenant Theology. Only through the Son, God dwells with His people. We will see Him face to face.

    Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:8-9)

    Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. (1 John 3:2)

    , , , , , ,

  • John 19 Christ died as the head of the church

    Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over Me at all, if it had not been given to you from above; for this reason the one who handed Me over to you has the greater sin.” (v. 11)

    Many theologians and ministers explain that Jesus died as a man but did not die as God. But I am not sure if this is the right explanation.

    Christ is from heaven while we are from the earth. Yet, Christ is the head of the church. Christ has clothed with humanity and became God-man. The invisible church is clothed with Christ and became man-God. The church has become like Jesus Christ although her beginning is a sinful human.

    and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. (Romans 8:17)

    Christians around the world focus on Christ’s humanity because they want a god who is a human. This idea can be found in many fictional stories and movies. People want a human savior. People reject Christ because he is not entirely like them.

    For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

    Some people ask: Can a man who does not sin represent mankind? The Bible tells us that Christ did not even think of sinning because sinning from the heart is also sin. Adam had the intention of sinning before he ate the fruit. This means that Christ is not like Adam before the fall. I do not think Paul was preaching that Christ died for all people as everyone fell because of Adam. Many people misinterpret Romans 5.

    I think that Christ came to the earth as the church completed and perfected when He became a man. Therefore, the church died when Christ died. This event is linked to the Lord’s Supper before His death.

    I do not completely disagree with the idea that Christ died as a man, not as God. But I’d like to warn people when understanding this. Significant errors and confusion came when people separated Christ’s two natures.

    It is more accurate to say that Christ died as the head of the church and His death and resurrection apply only to those who are chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. The Israel nation in the OT was a shadow of the church but many Israelites rejected Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

    He came to His own, and His own people did not accept Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God. (John 1:11-13)

    Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this purpose I have been born, and for this I have come into the world: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.” (John 18:37)

    Christ did not die and resurrect for all mankind but only for the invisible church. As the head of the church, Christ could not share His suffering with other people. No one could die for Christ.

    Jesus replied, “Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly I say to you, a rooster will not crow until you deny Me three times. (John 13:38)

    , , ,

  • John 18 God’s kingdom is not of this world

     Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this purpose I have been born, and for this I have come into the world: to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And after saying this, he came out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no grounds at all for charges in His case. (vv. 36-38)

    Through the mouths of the prophets in the OT, God said that the Israelites were destroyed because they disobeyed the law. If righteousness came from obedience, the Covenant Theology and the Active Obedience of Christ would be right. But we know that righteousness does not come from obedience because of what God said concerning the new covenant.

    Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and bring it about that you walk in My statutes, and are careful and follow My ordinances. (Ezekiel 36:25-27)

    Only God is righteous and He is the definition of righteousness. Everything He says and does is righteous. No one is righteous until he/she is reborn from God. In other words, one must be washed by the blood of Jesus Christ and receive the Holy Spirit.

    Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life, and may enter the city by the gates. (Revelation 22:14)

    Obedience comes as a result of God’s grace. A son’s obedience to his father does not earn him the sonship. A father shows his love to his son. Obedience follows naturally. Because of the Father’s love for His Son, Jesus Christ obeyed Him. Because of His complete and absolute obedience, we are saved.

    And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. (Philippians 2:8)

    As you can see, it is not Christ’s obedience that saved us but it is God’s love. Those who follow the Covenant Theology and the Active Obedience of Christ do talk about God’s love. But their understanding of righteousness makes God’s love sound strange. They do not think that God’s love is the foundation of His kingdom. They focus on the law and punishment. On the other hand, we focus on God’s love.

    When we talk about the cross of Christ, we must not think that it is from Christ’s own initiative or will. The Father loves His only begotten Son eternally. The Father enabled Him to do all His will. His ultimate will is the kingdom, the church. And His will is for the church to become one with Him. Only through the Son, the Creator and His creation are in complete unity. With this in mind, we understand the fall of mankind.

    I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. (John 5:30)

    The church’s relationship with God may be summarized in one word: faith. Faith is based on the knowledge of God and God’s love for His people. Anyone who has true faith knows God and His love. Faith is a gift of God. Otherwise, grace is no longer grace. Those who believe in God and understand His will are His people. We are one with Him and confess that He is the only God. Therefore, we are considered righteous in the sight of God. He is the God of the Bible. He is the God of the Word. He is the God of Truth.

    Anyone who tries to build God’s kingdom on the earth is false. Many Christians think that they need to help God to build His kingdom on the earth. These people typically initiate wars, disorder, and violence. They try to conquer others by their power. But true children of God do not associate with them or help them.

    When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and destroy them?” But He turned and rebuked them [and He said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they journeyed on to another village. (Luke 9:55-56)

  • Year 2024

    In a few of my dreams, I heard a voice telling me things. The last time I heard a voice was near the end of 2020. In the dream, I was told about the year of the great earthquake. I was also told that I would go to the three other corners in four years to strengthen people. I could not understand what four years meant. But I recently realized that the year 2023 is the seventh year since I started working. On the 1st day of January 2017, I started to go to the Presbyterian church. There, I warned the minister for his wrongdoings. I unintentionally told him the reason why God hates him and the Protestant church. Basically, the Protestant church has become no different than the Roman Catholic church. I saw a mother who has gone mad and does not feed her children. And I saw that God took the matter into His own hands. He will feed His children abandoned by their mother, the church.

    At the time of the fall of Jerusalem in the OT, there were two prophets – Jeremiah and Ezekiel. At the time of the fall of Jerusalem in the NT era, there were two prophets – Paul and John. They wrote most of the NT Bible. I think that they are like mirrored images – Paul as Jeremiah and John as Ezekiel. And there were two prophets during the Reformation – Luther and Calvin. Likewise, there will be two prophets for the third reformation. Although there are two, there is only one. That is what I saw in my dreams. I am yet to understand what it means. Thinking about it, only Ezekiel and John were given the vision of the new Jerusalem.

    There are three key words (or four) for the third reformation. They are grace, righteousness, kingdom, and adoption. We must understand what they mean. God is concerned that churches are no longer preaching grace as grace. Their understanding of God’s grace is partial. It is connected to their understanding of righteousness that comes from the law (works). And it is connected to their understanding of the kingdom of God. Theologians and ministers praise Anselm, Aquinas, and Arminius who made God’s grace partial and conditional. People are pleased with their lies because they are not God’s children. Because of these people, the visible church always has the incurable disease. My cancer will not be cured. It will be with me as long as I am on the earth. People worship people. They worship a system, a building, and themselves.

    Why has my pain been endless And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will You indeed be to me like a deceptive stream With water that is unreliable? (Jeremiah 15:18)

    I think that the year 2024 will be important. We must always remind ourselves that God’s will is in making His kingdom. The characters of the kingdom explain the person of Christ and vice versa.

    The Jews who studied the OT Bible did not recognize Christ as the Son of God. They expected a prophet like Moses. Even now, many people refuse to recognize Jesus as the second person of the Trinity. But Nathaniel did recognize the Son of God.

    Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:48-49)

    God made the fig tree fruitless. Figs are flowers. No one can bear fruit under a conditional covenant. Jesus did not make the vine out of the fig tree. Jesus is the vine from the beginning.

    I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. (John 15:1)

  • John 17 (3) God’s righteousness in His mercy

    But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, but it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in God’s merciful restraint He let the sins previously committed go unpunished; for the demonstration, that is, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26)

    Paul emphasized the cross of Christ all his life as we clearly see in his letters. It is easy to think that faith is a condition to gain righteousness. Many Christians claim that they have faith but do not have the knowledge of God. God does not accept a person who merely says, “I believe”, without knowing Him. Jesus Christ taught His people who God is with the authority given by the Father. And it is the Holy Spirit who gives the understanding of the words of God. Therefore, true faith and true knowledge of God are inseparable.

    Many Christians think that righteousness has to do with the law. The NT says that we are freed from righteousness from the law. The law was given for people to seek Jesus Christ. Because the righteousness of God is revealed in the cross of Christ, anyone who does not believe in Him is unrighteous.

    And in that day it will be said, “Surely this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited. Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.” (Isaiah 25:9)

    The devil is constantly trying to enslave us again just as the Egyptians went after the Israelites in the OT. He and his followers use two ways to achieve their goal. Firstly they encourage people to sin. They use ‘freedom’ to lure people. Secondly, they use the law to enslave people. The law is good but it was not given for us to gain righteousness through it.

    God’s glory is closely related to His kingdom. And chapter 17 tells us how God is glorified. The kingdom of priests requires each member to be born again from above. This rebirth is connected to adoption as children of God. It is also related to eternal life and righteousness.

    Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)

    Christ is represented as water and blood. He is water turned into blood as we read John 4. Water is the Word and Truth. He revealed the Father to us. His knowledge of God became ours because He made us born from above. He made us one with God. This He achieved on the cross. He obeyed the Father fully because He knew His will.

    The foundation of the kingdom is self-sacrificing love. It is the love that a father has for his son. Love is the fulfillment of the law. Christ fulfilled the law and prophecies. He died on the cross and was resurrected to life so that we would become God’s children.

    The glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:22-24)

    We reject the Covenant Theology and the Active Obedience of Christ because they give the wrong understanding of the law and obedience to people. They shift our attention from the cross of Christ to the law. Their interpretation of the law is the Mosaic law, not self-sacrificing love. Those people who support these theories typically show little respect for the law as I witnessed in the Reformed church. They look pious outside but they serve themselves, not God. The devil and his followers use the law to enslave others and yet despise the law. They promote sinning.

    “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him as an object of reverence; so he revered Me and was in awe of My name. True instruction was in his mouth and injustice was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in peace and justice, and he turned many back from wrongdoing. For the lips of a priest should maintain knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of armies. But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by the instruction; you have ruined the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of armies. “So I also have made you despised and of low reputation in the view of all the people, since you are not keeping My ways but are showing partiality in the instruction.” (Malachi 2:5-9)

  • John 17 (2) Sanctification within

    Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. Just as You sent Me into the world, I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. (vv. 17-19)

    Justification and sanctification can be distinguished but cannot be separated. For the elect, they are not difficult to understand. However, the description of justification and sanctification is too wordy and philosophical because theologians have been trying to convince the unbelievers with their words. The mystery of God is hidden until God opens the eyes of His elect children. This is not revealed to the reprobate no matter how much they try to understand.

    Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things that you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things that you hear, and did not hear them. (Luke 10:23-24)

    Many theologians and ministers have been using the words of philosophers to know and explain God and His will. But their efforts are useless because their heart is not in God but in people. This error of using the words of unbelieving philosophers is quite common. I think that Augustine, Luther, and even Calvin were not free from this error.

    Justification and sanctification are closely related to righteousness. In earlier posts, I mentioned that only God is righteous. And those who are united with God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are righteous. The narrow meaning of righteousness is being morally good. But it is more like uprightness which Job had (Job 1:1). The righteousness that is imputed to the saints is bigger than that. And it has to be bigger than that.

    Our Lord, Jesus Christ, was accused of breaking the law and morally wrong by the scribes and the Pharisees while He was on the earth.

    The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a heavy drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ And yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds. (Matthew 11:19)

    For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. (John 5:18)

    In many ways, the Pharisees were more righteous than any other Jews. However, our righteousness must exceed their righteousness. This righteousness is not from works but from being one with God. It is not from works of the law or obedience. It is directly from God. We receive it by becoming His children. This righteousness comes through faith in God.

    For I say to you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20)

    It appears that the Jews at the time of Jesus believed that the rich were more likely to enter the kingdom of God because they could do good works using their money such as helping the poor. It could be that richness was interpreted as a blessing or reward from God. The Pharisees loved money and had money. Churches around the world also love money. But Jesus spoke what was contrary to their belief.

    And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. (Matthew 19:24)

    When explaining justification and sanctification, theologians use words like imputation, infusion, extra nos, intra nos, etc. John 17 explains them more simply and more accurately. Jesus Christ justified and sanctified His people by being salt and light inside the leavened dough. I mentioned that salt and light kill bacteria (leaven). In the same way, Jesus Christ has sanctified His church by becoming a human just like her. And the church stays sanctified because Christ is one with her. God is always with us (Immanuel). Christ entered the corrupt world as salt and light to remove leaven. Anyone who is outside this (sanctified) dough does not belong to Him. Again, the mystery lies in the person of Jesus Christ. Although His works represent Who He is, the mystery is found in the person of Christ with two inseparable natures.

    … but if I do them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father. (John 10:38)

    , , , , ,

  • John 17 (1) The whole Bible is summed up in this chapter

    I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me. (v.23)

    The Gospel of John has been loved by many Christians. But not many know that this book explains all the core Christian doctrines. In this book, the doctrine of the Trinity, TULIP, Christ’s two inseparable natures, God’s absolute grace, the meaning of the law, the covenants, the last judgement, etc. Without this book, Christians may struggle to fight against God’s enemies. By describing what Christ did and said, this book defines what Christianity is about.

    The Gospel of John was my grandmother’s favorite. And it is also my mother’s. I tried to understand this Book for a long time. But only in 2017, I started to understand it. There are many Christian books to aid people’s understanding of the Bible. For example, the Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan and the Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis are loved by many Christians. But I do not praise them. In fact, those books have great potential to misguide people. You cannot understand Christ by reading Christian books. You cannot make someone a Christian by telling them a man-made fable. Similarly, you cannot understand Christ by studying the words of Plato or Aristotle. Therefore, it is abominable to mention their names when we talk about God. We must not become a disciple or follower of a person.

    When the NT was written, I believe the Books were translated into Greek, which was a common language in the Eastern Mediterranean then. Jesus and His disciples spoke in Aramaic. Similarly, my first language is not English and yet, I write in English. Some people may say something very different from what I intended from what I wrote. We must remember that the one who interprets the texts determines the readers’ understanding. The only legitimate interpreter is the Holy Spirit, God Himself. The Bible texts did not remain unscathed. The Bible scholars studied different sources of the texts for us to have the Bible. That does not mean that the Bible is unreliable. Even if some evil people deliberately change a text or two, the truth is found in the Bible. It is God who interprets the Bible. The reason why I am saying this is that we do not use human philosophy or logic to interpret the Bible. We do not interpret each text literally. Our interpretation starts from the knowledge of God, which is given to each elect through the Holy Spirit. I do not doubt that evil people will misuse what I write and say that I support people to interpret the Bible as they like. I do not support people to make their own interpretations.

    But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture becomes a matter of someone’s own interpretation (2 Peter 1:20)

    I wrote a few times that the Trinity doctrine is the foundation of Christianity. The Three Ecumenical Creeds help us to understand the doctrine. So do the Three Forms in Unity. Upon this core doctrine, we understand why God has made the world and will destroy it in the end. We must understand the differences between Adam and Christ and between Adam and the saints. This is where the reformers in the 16th and 17th century have failed. And it was God’s will because the knowledge of God and His will was gradually revealed over a long time. Therefore, I do not doubt that the last generation will have the most knowledge of God.

    One of the errors of the reformers lies in their understanding of obedience. God could have forgiven Adam in the Garden of Eden. But He did not. The reason was not because justice and righteousness were His unchangeable attributes. Adam’s fall was necessary in God’s plan. The first human was a mere servant who could not share the inheritance with the only begotten Son of God. Adam and Eve rebelled because they wanted to become like God by their own will and effort. Their action was rebellion. They did not know God.

    No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, because all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. (John 15:15)

    Our first humans were not great as many theologians and ministers want to believe. They did not have the freedom that we have in Christ because they simply could not understand God as we do now in the Holy Spirit. Theologians and ministers insist that Adam and Eve were holy and righteous and had the Holy Spirit. But even children know that they speak lies. How can one without sin and with the Holy Spirit rebel against God? Does God oppose Himself? One must interpret Romans 5 with this in mind. Mere external obedience to God’s commands can never satisfy Him but only the begotten Son of God who is one with the Father. Adam and Christ were not given the same condition to fulfill as theologians and ministers insist. Adam’s fall was for us to know ourselves. For the same reason, the law was given to the Israelites.

    However, the reformers chose external obedience over the truth. Churches are full of hypocrites who praise Adam (people) just as the Greek philosophers. Democracy works only in this world. God’s kingdom is a monarchy. Churches praise people who are loved by the world and earn much money. Theologians and ministers love Aquinas and Anselm who loved human philosophies and denied absolute grace. I once warned the minister of the reformed church I went. He said that I would find that what Aquinas had written was mostly true. I saw in my dream that this minister did not have legs and was on a wheelchair. He could move only when the elders wheeled him. I saw this even before I met any of them. I do hope that he receives legs from God.

    Evil theologians are the most cunning. False theologians mix 90% of truth with 10% of lies. They all get a warning from God in their lifetime as we find in the Bible. But they do not repent. They will not have any excuse at the end. No one can escape God’s judgement. We also sometimes speak what we do not know. And all of the elect can be judged by what we said and wrote. But we believe in the mercy of God. By that faith, we are saved because we completely rely on God’s absolute grace. Salvation requires our adoption as the children of God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Our adoption is not from our works. If so, no one can be saved. Adam and Eve could not earn adoption by their works because God had planned to give the church to His Son as His bride before the foundation of the world. Obedience does not change our status. Only through the Son, we are made the children of God.

    How blessed is he whose wrongdoing is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is a person whose guilt the LORD does not take into account, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! (Psalm 32:1-2)

    Jesus’ high priestly prayer shows us that His death led to our salvation/adoption and eternal life. No where in this prayer we find that Jesus kept the law perfectly to earn our eternal life. Being one with the Son and having the knowledge of God is our eternal life. Only through the Son’s death and resurrection, we stand before God. And we will see Him face to face.

    … they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. (Revelation 22:4)

    And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3)

    , , , ,