Like a chestnut tree

For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. (John 1:17)

This chapter tells us about the third sign. The event happened in Jerusalem at the pool called Bethesda (the house of grace) with five porticoes. Here we see a man who did not receive grace even though he sought.

The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” (v. 7)

Those who went to the pool first whenever an angel stirred up the water were made well. But the man could not walk so he could not get healed. This man’s story teaches us the status of the fallen mankind. Theologians and ministers think that our issue is the inability to keep the law because of the original sin. They believe that our righteousness is from the law. However, the Bible does not teach what they believe. So they had to come up with the theory called the Active Obedience of Christ. They think that they can make people obey the law with this theory.

This chapter directly opposes their idea because Christ did not cure the man so that he could reach the pool. Christ completely removed this man’s need to reach the pool. Christ did not become a man to gain righteousness that comes from the law. He became a man to free us from the curse of the law. The man indirectly asked Christ to help him to reach the pool because he believed that the pool had the power to cure him. In other words, the man asked Christ to help him to gain grace that comes from works. Christ cured the man completely so that he does not need to reach the pool. Among many people who tried to reach the pool, it appears that Christ cured only this man. Even now, there are many people in churches who think they receive grace by their works (Pelagianism or Arminianism). Some think they need some help from God, but the rest is up to them (Semi-Pelagianism). Christ saves only those who understand that they cannot do anything to gain grace. Christ told the man to pick up his pallet and walk.

Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.”Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was a Sabbath on that day. So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is a Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.” But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’” (v. 8-11)

John wrote about the seven signs that Christ showed. And they are connected with the rebirth of His people. The Gospel of John is about how the Son sets His people free and makes them the new creation.

But of Zion it will be said, “This one and that one were born in her”; And the Most High Himself will establish her. The LORD will count when He registers the peoples, “This one was born there.” Selah (Psalm 87:5-6)

The pool in chapter 5 was in Jerusalem. This Jewish man, like the Samaritan woman, was under the curse of the conditional covenant. He wanted to receive grace in Jerusalem where the temple of God was. He had to do something to receive grace, but he tried but was not able to receive it. Again, John mentions the pool had the five porticoes, which some may consider an unimportant detail. Number five indicates grace. Bethesda means the house of grace or mercy. The man thought that he needed to have the ability to reach the pool ahead of others. Christ did not help him to reach the pool but instead, removed his original problem.

Likewise, our issue is not about the inability to keep God’s commands. Unless we are made like the Son, we are still under the curse of the conditional covenant, which Adam received. Christ’s first and foremost task was to establish the kingdom. This required the rebirth of His chosen people as the children of God. Christ did not come to keep the law to give us righteousness from the law but to change us into the children of God. Those whose righteousness is tied to the law perish just as Adam and Eve did. It is because righteousness that comes from works is only uprightness of a servant/slave/dog. Christ came to solve our fundamental issue of not knowing, understanding, loving, or believing in God. The new and eternal covenant requires the Son to redeem His people. Because the Son saves them, they become to know the Father as He does.

They will not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their wrongdoing, and their sin I will no longer remember.” (Jeremiah 31:34)

Jesus said to him, “Go; your son is alive.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went home. (V. 50)

John the apostle described the seven signs that Jesus showed. This passage is about a nobleman’s son being recovered from a deadly illness. The other three gospels described many miracles that Jesus performed. The Gospel of John tells us the seven signs that testify who Christ is and why He became a man. The two important things that we find in this passage is that the son was brought back to life by Christ and the father believed His word.

I consider that the second sign is about Christ’s death and how people are saved by faith in Him. Theologians and ministers teach people that Christ’s death on the cross is His passive obedience to God. Most of them agree that the word ‘passive’ is misleading, but they still use the term, the passive obedience of Christ. On the contrary, John describes that Christ’s death on the cross is not passive.

For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it back. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it back. This commandment I received from My Father. (John 10:17-18)

The Son is one with the Father. And Christ said that His food is to do the will of the Father.

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work. …” (v.34)

True obedience requires true knowledge of God. This knowledge accompanies love, wisdom, faith, and understanding. Only the Son truly knows the Father and speaks only truth. Therefore, Christ is Truth and Word. He is also the wisdom of God.

…but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:24)

All his life, Paul preached Christ crucified. So did John and other disciples. The Gospel of John is against the idea and the active and the passive obedience of Christ. Theologians and ministers compare Christ with Adam. But the obedience of Adam was that of a servant/slave/dog. The Son’s obedience on the cross freed us from the slavery because He made us the children of God. The Son had a very different beginning from Adam.

I will announce the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have fathered You. (Psalm 2:7)

So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. (John 8:36)

The law was not given to the Israelites for them to gain righteousness. Their failure in the OT clearly tells us that no one, even Adam, could earn the sonship by works. The new covenant promises the right to become the children of God, which Christ fulfilled on the cross.

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 1:12-13)

Those who believe that righteousness is from works remain in the old covenant. Christ was blameless before the law but that is not why He became a man. Adam’s issue lies in the fact that he was not like the Son. Therefore, the Son, as the mediator of the new covenant, came and made us like Him. There is no more death for us. If anyone fails to understand this, he/she will receive the curse of the old covenant. Chapter 4 tells us that Christ came to free the Samaritan woman who was under the curse and did not receive grace.

…for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; this which you have said is true. (v.18)

Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.” (vv. 13-14)

The words of a person’s mouth are deep waters; The fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook. (Proverbs 18:4)

For the fountain of life is with You; In Your light we see light. (Psalm 36:9)

In this passage, Christ told the Samaritan woman that she had five husbands and was living with her sixth man. Five symbolizes grace. Even though she sought grace by worshiping on the Mountain Gerizim, she did not receive it. Finally, she meets her true husband, Jesus Christ, because she symbolizes the church of the Gentiles. Jesus is her seventh husband who loves her eternally.

Earlier, I’ve explained that water symbolizes the Word and Truth. Christ, who is the only begotten Son of God, makes us know the Father truly. This knowledge of God (Truth and Word) is our foundation of the eternal life because there is no true faith without true knowledge of God.

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. (Habakkuk 2:14)

Many theologians and ministers teach that the law and obedience to the law are the foundations of the kingdom. They are confined in the old covenant. They still long for the life of Adam in the garden of Eden. They preach that disobedience caused our misery. They believe Adam was holy and righteous like the Son of God. Therefore, the original sin and our own sins are always before us. The difference between God and Adam is like the difference between a man and a dog. Can a dog become a man by obeying its owner? Can a dog become the co-heir with the owner’s son? Although they preach about Christ, their ultimate goal is the obedience to the law. They believe that the law is the source of the eternal life. Therefore, they nullify the good news that Christ preached.

Both Ezekiel and John described the water flowing from God (Temple) that gives life to all creatures.

Then he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar. (Ezekiel 47:1)

And it will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live. And there will be very many fish, for these waters go there and the others become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. (Ezekiel 47:9)

And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22:1-2)

The water flowing from God makes everything holy. Therefore, it is the law of the temple.

This is the law of the house: its entire area on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house. (Ezekiel 43:12)

False teachers put emphasis on the fact that Adam was made in God’s image. That image is nothing without being united with the Son. Only those who receive the Holy Spirit truly reflect God. The rest (the reprobate) go to eternal damnation. Therefore, it is true to say that water, blood, and the Spirit are in agreement.

the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. (1 John 5:8)

Christians want to believe that everyone in the visible church is holy. Most of them do not know God, and therefore, do not have true faith in Him. They think they are born holy and hence, commit the sin of Korah and his followers in Numbers 16.

They assembled together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “You have gone far enough! For all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” When Moses heard this, he fell on his face; and he spoke to Korah and all his group, saying, “Tomorrow morning the Lord will make known who is His, and who is holy, and will bring that one near to Himself; indeed, the one whom He will choose, He will bring near to Himself. (Numbers 16:3-5)

These people do not have desire to know God. They think they are righteous by their own right and are accepted by God as His children. They believe all mankind is saved because everyone is made in the image of God. Theologians and ministers who believe that Adam could have given all mankind the eternal life by his obedience are also Korah’s followers. They say that Adam was holy and righteous. Holiness and righteousness belong only to God. Adam was a mere dog who bit his own master. He trusted the devil.

I once saw a farmer who got bitten by his own dog multiple times. The wounds looked very bad. Someone asked him, “what did you do with the dog?” He said, “He had to be put to death.” The end of a disobedient dog who bit his own master is death. And that’s what Adam and Eve received. However, the Son is different. The Father never kills His own Son for disobedience. The Son never betrays the Father because He is one with Him. The Son has made His people just like Him. Obedience is the result of being one with God. Obedience of a man does not achieve anything. Adam could never become the living water for us. I can only conclude that many theologians have misinterpreted Romans 5:12-21. Paul was not comparing two men because the difference between Adam and the Son is like that between a dog and a man.

The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:47)

Interestingly, Paul did not meet Jesus while He was living on the earth. And yet, Paul put emphasis on Jesus being a man. On the other hand, John saw and lived with Jesus during His public ministry. And yet, John testifies that Jesus is God. Both Paul and John teach us the two inseparable natures of Christ. Hence, it is important to understand all the books in the Bible.

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I tell you, raise your eyes and observe the fields, that they are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that the one who sows and the one who reaps may rejoice together. For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have come into their labor.” (vv. 34-38)

In the passage, the Samaritan woman mentions the Mount Gerizim. Joshua divided the Israelites into two groups and gave them blessing and cursing according to God’s instruction (Joshua 8:33). It appears that the Samaritans believed that the Mt. Gerizim was the source of God’s blessing.

And it shall come about, when the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, that you shall place the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. (Deuteronomy 11:29)

As I’ve previously explained, true worship of God is not about where we worship. Worship must be based on the true knowledge of God. And without true faith, we cannot please God. The apostles repeatedly mentioned that only the Son made the Father known to us. He also gave us true faith. Therefore, we cannot worship God without knowing God. Whoever has the knowledge of God knows the Father and the Son.

Christ said, “We worship we do know”.

You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. (v. 22)

Christ preached to the Jews first. And He was born as a Jew. But here, He did not talk about the Jews as a whole. He talked about the (invisible) church starting from the Jews. Jerusalem was indeed the place of worship designated by God at that time. But Jerusalem was only shadow of the real Jerusalem, the holy city, which is the church. Christ made this church because He is the true temple. There are many Christians who believe the city Jerusalem has some kind of spiritual power. Some even believe that the Israelites are the chosen people. Christ came and denied all. So, the Jews hated and still hate Him. I do not know much about dispensationalism, but I heard the dispensationalists believe that the Israel nation has some special relationship with God. I disagree. The saints are from different nations and tribes. The Israel nation in the OT was only shadow of the real kingdom. Although the Jews do not accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God, we do not go against them or any unbelievers. We make peace with everyone as much as we can (Romans 12:18). We never know if some of them may turn to God. Our job is to hold onto true faith in God and preach the good news. The knowledge of God strengthens faith. Hence, it is crucial that all believers study and learn God’s words.

I am coming quickly; hold firmly to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. (Revelation 3:11)

The invisible church is true Jerusalem. Each member of the holy, catholic church is God’s priest. Therefore, the new kingdom is the kingdom of priests. The Levites were taken as the first-born child of each household in the OT. They were the designated people to serve God day and night. The saints are the new and eternal priests. God loves each one of us and calls us by name. He feeds and trains us in this life for the kingdom. We are the temple of God on the earth because Christ is in us.

I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. (Revelation 21;22)

Many Christians believe that their ministers are the new priests and try to serve them. They are not fed but they do not know that they are given rotten food by their ministers. They are harassed but want to remain as their slaves. I believe many of the ministers are not true Christians. A lot of them speak lies at the pulpit and are not ashamed when people serve them. They put long robes and speak many words when praying in public to look noble, but they are full of vileness and vanity. On the other hand, the saints appear to look poor and even cursed by God. Christ went through the same humiliation and suffering because He knew we would be treated just like Him. We worship God in spirit and truth. We are the new creation and the eternal priests along with our eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ.

Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2)

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)

Christ, while on the earth, was strongly opposed by the Jews who put their faith in the temple in Jerusalem. They crucified Him because of His teachings concerning the temple. Stephen was also put to death for the same reason. Christ is the true Tabernacle. He made us united with God.

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt (tabernacled) among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1;14)

The understanding of the new temple, city, and kingdom is rooted in one truth. That is: we are one with Christ and the Father. As a temple, each saint has the privilege of praying to God directly. Our prayers were like the babbling of infants at first. But as we grow up, we confess what we know and understand.

Christ redeemed us with His blood and made us the children of God. By faith, we declared righteous and are one like God. Adam tried to become like God by eating the forbidden fruit, but he lost his uprightness and became separated from God.

Then God said, “Let Us make mankind in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” (Genesis 1:26)

Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out with his hand, and take fruit also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— (Genesis 3:22)

It is God’s will that the saints who are made in His image become like Him as John 17 explains. However, this blessing is not given to those who try to gain it by their own works. Christ gives this blessing to His chosen people for free. However, those who are not chosen can neither hear nor understand God.

Jesus said to her, “I am He, the One speaking to you.” (v. 26)

And it shall come about, when the LORD your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, that you shall place the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. (Deuteronomy 11:29)

Then all Israel, with their elders and officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark before the priests, the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, the stranger as well as he who was born among them. Half of them were in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. (Joshua 8:33)

John 4 is difficult to understand without knowing the OT. In this passage, we meet a Samaritan woman. She wants to know which one is the right place to worship God. We need to read the OT to know about Samaria and the Northern Israel. Why did God give the Israelites the detailed instructions concerning the sacrifices and the feasts? Why was God angry at Jeroboam, the son of Nebat? Why did God accept the sacrifices of Abel and not those of Cain?

Many Christians think that a worship happens in a building or a designated place on Sunday. They are proud of themselves that they attend a worship service every week. They attend a church service as a religious ceremony. However, they do not feel connected to God, so they always invent new ways to worship Him. God does not accept our worship just because we keep a form of a worship. Unless we are one with Christ, God does not accept us. If a person is united with Christ, he/she naturally does what God wants because of the Holy Spirit and the Word. In a public worship, God’s words are the most important element.

The Reformation is known as the reformation of worship. The Roman Catholic church, which was greatly influenced by human philosophies, went astray and worshiped men, not God. Therefore, it became a new religion, not Christianity. However, the Protestant church has also gone astray and became like her sister.

I’ve been to many different churches. And I find it disgusting that so many ministers speak at the pulpit to please their audiences. They speak jokes and stories that make others happy. Most of them merely give advice on a moral living. When morality becomes the focus of Christianity, you don’t need to stay in Christianity. All other religions encourage people to be good to one another. God showed me for the last seven years that even the Reformed churches have become completely useless. How much more will God pour His wrath on other churches who treat God’s words like trash? God gave us the Three Ecumenical Creeds and the Three Forms of Unity, but they follow false doctrines and shepherds. And the Reformed churches have taken the false theories such as the Covenant Theology and the Active Obedience of Christ (AOC). People put their hope in their ministers, but God did not choose them to do the third reformation. It is always God who does the reformation. But people reject God’s reformation.

In the OT era, the place where worship happened was important because of the Ark of the Covenant. As we have read in the Book of Ezekiel, the Ark leaves Jerusalem (Ezekiel 10). The Israel nation, Jerusalem, and the temple were only shadow of the real kingdom of God that is coming. It may appear that those in the kingdom of Judah worshiped God in the right way because of the temple in Jerusalem. But God was not pleased with them. Worshiping God is not about the law but the heart of flesh. Christ made this very clear. Even though Christ fulfilled all the law on the cross and freed us from the curse of the law, He was born under the OT system. Theologians and ministers insist that Christ kept all the law perfectly because of this. But this passage tells us that He is not what they believe.

You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. But a time is coming, and even now has arrived, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (vv. 22-24)

If the AOC is right, Christ should have encouraged this woman to worship in Jerusalem (but it was impossible because she was a Samaritan) or to wait until He dies. Although the Bible does not tell us, we can only conclude that the woman and people in her village stopped worshiping God in the Mount Gerizim after Jesus taught them about true worship. It is clear that Christ did not see the new covenant as the continuation of the old covenant. We often forget that Christ enabled true worship of God. Psalm 22:22 tells us that Christ is not only in the receiving end of worship but also in the giving end. The Father accept only what is from Him – Christ and the Spirit. Christ washed us with truth and redeemed us with His blood. Then He sent the Spirit to His people. That has always been the Father’s will. Those who were born and died before Christ also worshiped God and their prayers and worship were accepted because of their faith in God, who promised to send Christ. All saints, whether they were born before Christ or after, have this faith.

We, who are united with Son through the Holy Spirit, are not judged by where we worship. I said a few times that the church era is ending. I do not belong to a visible church or go to a church on Sundays. But I do worship God on Sundays. I do not doubt that people judge me because of this. God does not dwell in a building. And God does not appear only in a place where the worship happens. God is everywhere. And most importantly, God is always with His saints 24/7. He always listens to prayers of His children. Even when I was away from a church for more than 10 years, God called me in 2017. He never said that I was breaking the law by not going to church on Sundays. Instead, He sent me to different churches to see why God was angry at them. There are many Christians around the world who worship their churches, not God. Therefore, God will burn all churches as He burnt down Jerusalem, the high places, and the temple.

Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him. (1 King 19:18)

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel. (Hebrews 12:22-24)

“He who comes from above is above all; the one who is only from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, of this He testifies; and no one accepts His testimony. The one who has accepted His testimony has certified that God is true. For He whom God sent speaks the words of God; for He does not give the Spirit sparingly.The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to His hand. The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” (vv. 31-36)

For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed. But the one who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds will be revealed as having been performed in God. (vv. 20-21)

In John 3:22-36, John the Baptist explains why he must decrease. John encouraged people to repent of their sins and live a godly life. However, repentance of sins or human will to live a godly life does not make anyone the new creation. Our God showed mercy even to some evil men throughout the Bible, but their confession of sins did not make them reborn. The law reveals that all men are sinful. Even those who do not know the law of God are condemned because of their conscience (See Romans 2:12-16). But the law does not make one a believer. Causing guilt using the law can result in false confession of faith.

John the apostle carefully laid out his arguments in this book. He explains why Jesus had to be the second person of the Trinity. Jesus had to be God not to keep the law perfectly but to free His people and make them a new creation.

Therefore from now on we recognize no one by the flesh; even though we have known Christ by the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:16-19)

The gospel means the good news that Christ has brought to us. Sadly, the gospel that most theologians and ministers preach is not the true gospel. Those who claim to have read and studied many theology books and writings have a wrong understanding of the gospel. The men-made theology teaches that Christ kept the law perfectly to fulfill it and gained righteousness for the saints. This theory is called the Active Obedience of Christ (AOC). Theologians and ministers do not preach Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23). They preach Christ who perfectly kept the law. The conditional covenants were given so that people would eagerly wait for the Son of God. Where there is the law, there is always death.

The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. (Romans 7:10)

In the past, slaves were treated as possessions and could be put to death if they disobeyed their masters. The life of slaves relied on their obedience and their masters’ mercy. But the life of sons relies on fathers’ love. Therefore, our true freedom comes when the only Son of God makes us be born again as the adopted children of God. John the apostle explains that the Son achieved this by two means: water and blood. However, they are not separate because Christ is the living water turned into blood.

This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. (1 John 5:6)

The Father loves the Son and has entrusted all things to His hand. (John 3:35)

Whenever Paul mentioned Christ’s obedience, he connected it with His work on the cross. All his life, Paul preached Christ crucified, not Christ who kept the law perfectly.

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)

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

We know that God set a plan of making His kingdom before creation. Therefore, we know that the way for a man to gain the eternal life was already set by God before creation. Adam fell into temptation and rebelled. Adam was from dust and Christ is from heaven. We believe that Adam could not gain the eternal life by works of the law in the garden of Eden. Theologians and ministers say that there was no death in the garden of Eden. But that does not sound logical. When God gave Adam a warning concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam understood the meaning of death. If he did not, he committed a sin of ignorance, not a wilful sin by eating the forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve willfully sinned against God despite His warning because they wanted to be like God by rebelling against Him.

Faith is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). Adam and Eve did not have faith in God. Faith is the work of the Spirit. Faith is tied to the true knowledge of God. Those who have faith in God love Him and His neighbors. It is only logical to say that Adam and Eve were born upright but could not overcome the temptation because they did not receive the Spirit. In contrast, Christ was publicly baptized with water and the Spirit before the temptation in the wilderness so that everyone would know that He is sent by God to fulfill the law. Christ is our way to salvation and the eternal life.

Adam and Eve were from dust. Their fall teaches us the necessity of being born again of water and the Spirit. Although we must be born again, the rebirth means the new creation. Returning to Adam’s pre-fall status is not God’s will. Most theologians and ministers who claim to hold the Reformed faith/theology believe that Adam had the Holy Spirit and was righteous. They focus on his sinless status before the fall. But they fail to see why Adam fell. Hence, they fail to understand why the Son of God is also the Son of Man.

In this passage, Christ refers Himself as the Son of Man but also the only begotten Son (of God). Christ’s two natures are not separated. Christ, the Son of God, became the Son of Man so that Adam’s descendants can become the adopted children of God. This is the kingdom. This is God’s ultimate will. All children of God know and love God. We obey Him. But we do not put our hope in the law. We do not see that the law was given for us to gain righteousness. Christ did not come to keep the law to gain righteousness either for Himself or for the church. Rather, Christ came to fulfill the law and gave us the new command (John 13:34). This is the law of the liberty. We do not gain righteousness by keeping the new command. Rather, we keep it because we are the new creation. We are one with God through water and the Spirit.

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)

Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews. The Pharisees emphasized that all must keep the law. They misinterpreted the OT. They put all their hope in the law. They focused on people’s will and efforts to keep the law. But they failed to see why God gave them the law. Why did God give the Israelites both blessing and curse in the Book of Deuteronomy? What do we need for us to know, love, and obey God? Therefore, he could not understand what Christ told him.

Jesus answered and said to him, “You are the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you people do not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? (vv. 10-12)

Christ is symbolized as water. Christ is water that turns into blood. Water is Truth, the Word of God. Unless one dies with Christ and is born again, there is no eternal life. All saints receive the Holy Spirit as the seal. He constantly teaches and guides us. He never leaves us. By faith we, who live in 2023, are united with Christ. And the Spirit initiates faith in us. Therefore, it is only logical to say that the saints were chosen before creation to receive the Sprit at an appointed time.

…just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:4-5)

Since Adam and Eve were from dust and were unfaithful to God and rebelled against Him, who on the earth can keep the law and gain eternal life? And who can earn faith by works? The law, including God’s command to Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, was not given for us to gain eternal life. Eternal life is God’s work.

But He said, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” (Luke 18:27)

The old covenant and the law were tied to the temple that was in Jerusalem. And Christ said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” (John 2:19) The new covenant is not continuation of the old covenant. However, theologians and ministers stubbornly hold the false doctrines simply because they do not understand the differences between Adam and Christ.

And He said to them, “It is written: ‘MY HOUSE WILL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER’; but you are making it a DEN OF ROBBERS.” (Matthew 21:13)

In this passage, John describes that the event happened near the Passover. Like Ezekiel, John puts emphasis on when the event happened. The true Passover lamb is Christ.

It appears that selling animals for sacrifices was legally accepted possibly because of what is written in Deuteronomy 14:24-27:

But if the distance is so great for you that you are not able to bring the tithe, since the place where the LORD your God chooses to set His name is too far away from you when the LORD your God blesses you, then you shall exchange it for money, and bind the money in your hand and go to the place which the LORD your God chooses. And you may spend the money on whatever your heart desires: on oxen, sheep, wine, other strong drink, or whatever your heart desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household. Also you shall not neglect the Levite who is in your town, for he has no portion or inheritance among you.

Some interpret that Christ was angry because people were buying and selling on the temple grounds. But I think Christ was angry because of what was in their hearts. Christ is the true temple.

Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and yet You will raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking about the temple of His body. (John 2:19-21)

Because of Christ, we can pray to God and God accepts our prayers.

Through Him then, let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips praising His name. (Hebrews 13:15)

Be pleased to accept the voluntary offerings of my mouth, LORD, And teach me Your judgments. (Psalm 119:108)

Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to Him, “Take away all guilt And receive us graciously, So that we may present the fruit of our lips… (Hosea 14:2)

Many of the Jewish leaders were confident that they were keeping the law. But they loved money more than anything. Therefore, they were angry at Christ.

And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written: ‘MY HOUSE WILL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS’? But you have made it a DEN OF ROBBERS.” And the chief priests and the scribes heard this, and they began seeking how to put Him to death; for they were afraid of Him, because all the crowd was astonished at His teaching. (Mark 11:17-18)

Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were ridiculing Him. (Luke 16:14)

They were afraid that their position as leaders, reputation, and money would be taken away by the Romans. Hence, they put Christ to death.

If we let Him go on like this, all the people will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take over both our place and our nation. (John 11:48)

Christ came to redeem us from slavery and make us the children of God. But those who put all their hope in the law did not accept Him. They understood neither the law nor the prophets. They instead loved to put yokes on others’ shoulders. They used the church system to exploit the poor and needy. This is happening even now. Theologians and ministers love money and use the church system to get money from others. They write books and go around the world to promote their new books. But they could not foresee the coming of the white horse. They are not interested in looking after God’s flock. There are few who really love God and do the tasks given by God quietly and diligently. False shepherds teach that Christ had to keep the law perfectly and that our righteousness is tied to the law. They are trying to take us back to Egypt.

Christ, the Son of God, became the Son of Man and freed us from the bondage to sin on the cross. Nathanael confesses that Jesus is the Son of God. He understood that One who is above the law must come and free His people. Although Christ was born under the law, it is clear that He is above the law. He came to fulfill the law. No other sacrifice can satisfy the Father except the Son who knows and loves Him. The ultimate sacrifice needed to be God. Righteousness is not about Christ’s moral perfection or merely external keeping of the law. Righteousness is about being united with God and knowing His will. There is no action without knowing God and His will.

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sin offerings You took no delight. Then I said, ‘Here I am, it is written about Me in the scroll: I have come to do Your will, O God.’ ” (Hebrews 10:5-7)

The apostles emphasize that Christ is the ultimate Passover lamb. He is also the temple. True knowledge of God brings true faith. The Book of John (and other book in the NT) tells us about the contrast between the Pharisees and Christ in regard to the interpretations of God’s words. The Pharisees pursued a moral living shown externally like the Puritans, but God was angry at them. External piety attracts many people but there is no piety without being truly united with God.

No one has seen God at any time; God the only Son, who is in the arms of the Father, He has explained Him. (John 1:18)

Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.’” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” (Revelation 19:9)

In this passage, we read the key words that symbolize the coming Kingdom and the works of Christ. They are: marriage, feast, wine, water, and purification.

No other book in the NT describes this event of the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee. But John described this event as the first sign (v. 11) that Christ performed. John wrote the seven signs that Christ showed before His death.

We need to pay attention to where the sign happened. Jonah the prophet was from Galilee.

This Jeroboam restored the boundary of Israel from Lebo-hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word that the LORD, the God of Israel, had spoken through His servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath-hepher. (2 Kings 14:25)

Gath-hepher means the winepress of the well or the winepress of the digging. The place is related to water (well or digging) and blood (winepress). The Book of Jonah is closely related to Christ’s work on the cross.

But He (Jesus) answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign; and so no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet … (Matthew 12:39)

The event in Cana explains who Christ is and what He would do for His people. Water and blood are inseparable when explaining Christ’s works.

This is the One who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ; not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood. It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. (1 John 5:6)

Christ’s first sign tells us that water is turned into wine (blood). Wine was used during the Lord’s Supper.

And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:27-28)

In my previous post, I explained that water symbolizes the Word and Truth. Christ who is the Son of God knows and loves the Father. Water explains us that Christ is the Son of God. And that water became blood.

This passage refutes Federalism because Adam could never become the head of the church. Because the fall was God’s decree, we conclude that God planned the kingdom of His chosen people saved though His Son before creation. Christ saves only those given to Him (John 10:14). Adam could not earn the eternal life for the whole mankind because it was simply not God’s will. The Father gives everything to the Son, not Adam who was a mere creature and slave. Adam neither understood nor loved God. Because Christ is water, He is also blood. Without wine, there is no wedding feast.

As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, For He will bear their wrongdoings. (Isaiah 53:11)

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings. (Genesis 3:7)

I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your forefathers as the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season. But they came to Baal-peor and devoted themselves to shame, And they became as detestable as that which they loved. (Hosea 9:10)

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.” (John 1:48)

There are many Christians around the world who are under the fig tree. They try to avoid God’s wrath using this fig tree, but they fail to see that it does not bear fruit. The fig tree contrasts with the grape vine of Christ. Side to side, fig tree leaves look similar to vine leaves. But fig trees are made not to bear fruit. What we eat is actually flowers. The fig tree tells us that anyone under the old covenant do not bear fruit.

In Hosea 9:10, both grapes and the figs show that God loved the Israelites. But they rebelled against God. Christ is referred Himself as the grape vine, not the fig tree (John 15:1). The fig tree symbolizes prosperity but also the old covenant. The old covenant is based on works/the law. Adam was under this covenant and became dead. All under the fig tree are dead. No one can bear fruit. The Israel nation in the OT was under this fig tree. Theologians and ministers teach us that we are still under the fig tree because our righteousness is from the law. They do not see that Christ is the grape vine. They believe the old covenant is eternal and say that the new covenant is only continuation of the old covenant. They say that Christ had to keep the law for our righteousness. But this is a wrong understanding of our righteousness. Our righteousness is from being one with God. Christ came and made us the children of God by being the ultimate sacrifice. If the Son of God had to become a man to keep the law perfectly to gain righteousness, the Bible would have used the word “kept”. But it uses the word, “fulfilled”.

Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. (Matt 5:17)

We who are one with God through Christ and the Holy Spirit uphold the law. But we do not think our righteousness is based on the works of the law. John tells us that Christ’s works are summarized as water and blood. Water is connected with Truth/Word. Christ spent most time teaching during His public ministry. Christ revealed the Father to us. Blood is associated with Christ’s work on the cross. Christ has redeemed us from eternal damnation. Water prepared us for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Blood is for our righteousness because the cross has always been God’s first and foremost will. However, water and blood cannot be separated.

… regarding righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you no longer are going to see Me. (John 16:10)

Paul emphasizes Christ’s work on the cross in Romans 5. He never said Christ kept the law for our righteousness. Theology has gone corrupt because of people’s love for human philosophy. Theologians and ministers believe that Christ’s works are His lifelong obedience to the law and the work on the cross. Their idea is against what the Bible says.

In this passage of the Bible, Nathanael is told by Philip that they have found the Prophet whom Moses told.

Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses wrote in the Law, and the prophets also wrote: Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth!” (John 1:45)

From this, we see that Nathanael has been waiting for the Prophet. If the old covenant was perfect, he would not have waited for Him. While the Pharisees and the teachers of the law emphasized the law, they did not keep the law. Nathanael waited for the Son of God, the King of Israel. While theologians and ministers claim that our righteousness is based on the law, they do not keep the law.

The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen; to him you shall listen. (Deuteronomy 18:15)

The Book of Deuteronomy may be the most important book to understand the old covenant. Christ quoted words from this book when tempted by the devil. In this book, Moses foretold that the Israelites would rebel against God after his death. He gave the Israelites both curse and blessing. He also said that God did not give the Israelites the heart to know Him.

Although I’ve said one must know the NT to understand the OT, the NT cannot be understood without knowing the OT. There are many Christians who read only the NT. But their understandings are often very limited. We cannot understand why Christ called Nathanael under the fig tree without understanding the OT.

I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

The saints in the OT era are not saved because they have kept the law perfectly. They are saved because of their faith in God’s promise.

And I will make enemies of you and the woman, and of your offspring and her Descendant;
He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel. (Genesis 3:15)