Category: The Commands of Christ

Becoming a World Class Leader

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This is the final command of Jesus, regarding the Great Commission, from Matthew 28:16-20, Sec. 256 in Thomas and Gundry’s Harmony of the Gospels.

Purpose: These are some of the last words of our Savior to His faithful followers. Last words are important. Do you remember the last words of a loved one who died or moved far away? It’s rare that we would forget last words from a loved one. The purpose of this lesson is to remember these last words. Christ’s last words in this passage ought to be our first concern as the church! These last words are the church’s marching orders. This passage is often called the Great Commission. The Bible never calls it the Great Commission. It is great because our Lord gave it to us. But I often think that when normal everyday people like you and I hear that word “Great,” we immediately exclude ourselves. We think, “a Great Commission can only be achieved by great people.” I’d rather join Donn Spader in calling it the Everyday Commission for everyday kind of people like you and me.

Historical Background: Jesus has died on the cross and risen from the dead. The proof of His resurrection is his post resurrection appearances. This passage describes His eighth appearance. All four gospels and the Book of Acts give us different versions of the Great Commission. Matthew provides us with an inclusive version of the Great Commission, where the other Gospels and Acts focus on evangelism. This passage tells us why the church exists on planet earth. Jesus here calls the disciples to be purposeful in making disciples of a lost world who are heading toward a Christless eternity in Hell rather than unintentional. The imperative in this passage is our marching orders until Jesus comes.

Commanded in the Gospels: Matthew 28:19 – go (participle); 28:19 – “make disciples;” 28:19 – “baptizing” (participle); 28:20 – “teaching” (participle); Mark 16:15 – “preach.”

Jesus modeled making disciples throughout the gospels. We are told in Matthew 27:57 “…a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus” (literal translation). The Apostle John observes that “the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John” (John 4:1).

Illustrated in the Book of Acts: Acts 14:21

Amplified in the Epistles: Ephesians 4:20; Philippians 4:9; 2 Timothy 3:14

1. When did Jesus prearrange to meet his disciples in Galilee? (Matthew 28:16; 26:32; 28:7-10) Jesus had predicted and prearranged a meeting in Galilee with the disciples and the brethren. Matthew 26:32 “But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee” (Matthew 28:7-10). “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” 8And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. 9And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. 10then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

2. What post-resurrection appearance was this Galilean meeting? Jesus appeared ten times after his resurrection and before his ascension. Matthew 28:16-20 was his eighth appearance.

Ten Post-Resurrection Appearances

  1. Appearance to Mary Magdalene, Mark 16:9-11;John 20:11-18 [NASB Sec.248; NIV Sec.173]
  2. Appearance to the women, Matthew 28:9-10 [NASB Sec.249; NIV Sec.174]
  3. Appearances to the two disciples traveling to Emmaus, Mark 16:12-13; Luke 24:13-32 [NASB Sec.251; NIV Sec.176]
  4. Appearance to Peter, Luke 24:33-35; 1 Corinthians 15:5a [NASB Sec.252; NIV Sec.177]
  5. Appearance to the ten assembled disciples, Mark 16:14; Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-25 [NASB Sec.253; NIV Sec.178]
  6. Appearance to the eleven disciples, John 20:26-31; 1 Corinthians 15:5b [NASB Sec.254; NIV Sec.179]
  7. Appearance to the seven disciples while fishing, John 21:1-35 [NASB Sec.255;NIV Sec.180]
  8. Appearance to the eleven in Galilee, Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:15-18; 1 Corinthians 15:6 [NASB Sec.256; NIV Sec.181]
  9. Appearance to James, Jesus’ brother, 1 Corinthians 15:7 [NASB Sec.257;NIV Sec.182]
  10. Appearances to the disciples in Jerusalem, Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:3-8 [NASB Sec.258; NIV Sec.183]

3. How many people assembled for this meeting? (Matthew 28:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:6) Eleven Apostles were present, and when you harmonize the chronological sequence of Christ’s post resurrection appearances we can confidently conclude that there were also “more than five hundred brethren” (1 Corinthians 15:6). If this is true, and I believe that it is, then there are huge implications. This would mean that the imperative “making disciples” was not directed only to the apostolic leaders or to the church as an institution, but to every believer. These marching orders of the resurrected Lord were directed toward more than five hundred brethren who had joined the eleven on this mountainside (Matthew 28:16-20; 1 Corinthians 15:6). I believe the local church is responsible to assist every believer in fulfilling the Great Commission.

4. Was Thomas among the group Matthew describes as “doubtful”? (Matthew 28:17; Luke 24:36-43;John 20:19-29; 1 John 1:1) No, the doubts that Thomas had were addressed in Jesus’ sixth post resurrection appearance (John 20:26-29). John records that Thomas said, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” (John 20:25) John records that one week after that statement of doubt Jesus presented himself to Thomas and gave him the evidence that he needed. Thomas’ response after examining the evidence was, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:17)! There were no doubts left in Thomas or any of the other apostles. We can only conclude that the “some” is a reference to a few of the five hundred brethren that were also present (1 Corinthians 15:6).

5. What activity in Matthew 28:17 prepared the disciples to passionately obey the Great Commission without reservation? (Matthew 28:17) The activity that prepared the disciples to obey this commission was bowing the knee in worship to the Lord Jesus Christ. True worshippers are relentless in fulfilling Christ’s mandate in this passage. Unfortunately many Churches are anthropological rather than doxological in their orientation. John Piper writes, “Missions in not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t … Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever.”

6. What right did Jesus have to command his disciples to go all the nations? (Matthew 28:18) Jesus had authority [exousia]

7. Should Christians obey government if they forbid proclaiming the gospel by any means? (1 Peter 2:13-17; Acts 4:13-22; 5:17-32)

The Apostle Peter taught that we should obey those in government. 1 Peter 2:13-17 says, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. 15For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. 17Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the king.”

In Acts 5:28 we are told that Peter had been forbidden to preach the gospel. The text says, “We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this name, and yet, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” Peter’s response in Acts 5:29 was, “We must obey God rather than men.”

God wants us to pray for and “lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” 1 Timothy 2:1-2 says, “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, 2for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” The only time we should disobey governmental authorities is when they totally disallow a biblical practice that we are commanded by Christ to obey. Then, for conscience sake, we must obey Christ who has the jurisdiction over those in heaven and on earth.

8. What is the main verb in Matthew’s version of the Great Commission? (Matthew 28:19-20) The main verb in this passage in the original language is to “make disciples” but the intent of Jesus’ command is to make disciples who can make disciples who can make disciples…” Jesus wanted to create a movement of multiplication (disciplemaking) not addition (evangelism only). Jesus didn’t merely want converts he wanted disciples.

The question has been asked, “Are disciples born or made?” They are born again to be made. The word “disciple” [mathetes] is a term that describes “a learner” [from manthano, “to learn”] in contrast to didaskalos, “a teacher,” hence it denotes “one who (follows one’s teaching” as a disciple – Vines Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words).

Disciplemaking describes the process of starting with the raw material of a seeker and seeing them become a believer, a worker and a reproducer. The word “disciple” is used to describe a person (seeker, believer, worker, and reproducer) at each level in the disciplemaking process. Seekers (John 1:35, 37; 2:2, 11); Believers (Luke 6:13; John 2:12, 17; 3:22; 4:2, 8, 27, 31, 33); Workers (Matthew 10:1; 11:1; 20:17; 26:20); and Reproducers (Matthew 28:16; John 15:8) are all called disciples.

Christian or Disciple?

  • Acts 11:26, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
  • Acts 26:28, Agrippa replied to Paul, “In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian.”
  • 1 Peter 4:16, but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name.

Every believer is a disciple but not every disciple is a believer. John 6:66 describes a group of seekers that are called disciples because they superficially connected themselves as learners of Christ until he began speaking the hard sayings. The early disciples in John 1 hadn’t placed their faith in Christ as their Messiah yet (John 2:11) but they were called disciples (John 1:35, 37; 2:2, 11; Luke 19:39) because they were learners in the sense that they were willing to investigate Jesus’ words and works. Other examples of disciples that weren’t believers include “disciples of John the Baptist” (Matthew 9:14; Mark 2:18; Luke 5:33; John 3:25; Acts 19:1); “disciples of Moses” (John 9:28); “disciples of the Pharisees” (Luke 5:33).

Some passages are undefined concerning where a disciple is in the disciple making process. Luke reports, Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon (John 6:17, 19:37). Luke here identifies a large crowd of the disciples (more than the Twelve) but distinguishes them from the “great throng of people.” Jesus taught there were certain marks of a fully devoted disciple of Christ (Luke 14:26, 27, 33; John 8:31; 13:35; 15:8). The Book of Acts uses the term “disciple” to describe those who associated themselves with the church as the Great Commission was being fulfilled (Acts 1:15; 6:1, 2, 7; 9:1, 10, 25, 26, 38; 11:26, 29; 13:52; 14:20, 22, 28; 15:10; 16:1; 18:23, 27; 19:9, 30; 20:1, 7, 30; 21:4, 16).

9. Why doesn’t the word “disciple” or “make disciples” occur in the epistles, especially if the Great Commission is for the church? (Matthew 11:29; Acts 14:21; Ephesians 4:20; Philippians 4:9; 2 Timothy 3:14). The word “disciple” or “make disciples” doesn’t occur in the Epistles because they focus on addressing the corporate assembly rather than the individual believers.

It has been said if you want to know how to disciple people study the Gospels; if you want to know how to do church planting study the Book of Acts. And if you want to know how to maintain and correct the church, study the Epistles. The root for the word “disciple” is “learn” [manthano]. Jesus used this word “learn” as an invitation to be discipled in the Gospels (Matthew 11:28-30). This word was also used in the Epistles of the Apostle Paul who discipled young Timothy (1 Timothy 3:14) and believers in the churches that he planted (Ephesians 4:20; Philippians 4:9).

The book of Acts is a historical record of the first 30 years of the church. The church had no stated reason for existence if the Great Commission wasn’t their marching orders. The first Epistle to the church wasn’t sent until more than 15 years after the church’s inception at Pentecost. The expansion of the church over the first 30 years can be clearly outlined by the early church’s obedience to the Great Commission.

The Apostles moved from Jerusalem (Acts 1:12; 2:1,5) to Judea and Samaria (Acts 8:1), then even to the remotest part of the earth (Acts 13:1-4; etc.). This was in obedience to the Acts 1:8 version of the Great Commission. Even though the Apostle Paul was the last apostle to be chosen, “as to one untimely born” (1 Corinthians 15:8) he also fulfilled the Great Commission to “make disciples.” Acts 14:21 says, “After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples [matheteuo], they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.”

Matthew 28:19-20 Paraphrased – “Go into all the world and recruit students for the school of Christ through salvation, initiating them into that school through baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then teach them to obey the commands of Christ and you can be assured that He will be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”

10. How do we know that the church is to fulfill the Great Commission? (Acts 1:1, 8) First, the Book of Acts is simply a continuation of what Jesus began to do. Disciplemaking is the unfinished work of Christ. Acts 1:1 says, “The first account I composed, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach.” We often speak of the finished work of Christ on the cross but the work of making disciples of every nation wasn’t accomplished in Jesus’ lifetime nor was it his intention. It was Jesus’ intention to create a movement of multiplication by investing his life in twelve ordinary men who could disciple others so that for generations to come the world could be reached.

The second reason is that the Great Commission wasn’t given to just the Apostles or the church as an institution but to every believer. Every believer is responsible to make disciples among their network of relationships at home, in the office, in community and in their family. Matthew’s version of the Great Commission was given to “The Eleven” and to “more than five hundred brethren” (1 Corinthians 15:6).

11. What three steps does Jesus say are involved in making disciples? (Matthew 28:19, 20)

  1. Step #1 is to “Go” [Aorist Participle] and preach the gospel (Mark 16:15). The Aorist tense denotes urgency.
  2. Step #2 involves “baptizing” [Present Participle] every new convert and establishing him or her in their newfound faith.
  3. Step #3 involves “teaching” [Present Participle] them to observe all the commands that Christ gave his disciples when He walked among them.

These three steps parallel the three steps that Jesus used when making disciples.

  1. He first would “Go” and invite seekers to “Come and See” in order to investigate his words and works (John 1:39; 46; 4:29).
  2. His second step was to have his disciples baptize (John 4:1-2) the new believers and invite them to “Come and Follow” him in order to become fishers of men (Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20).
  3. His third step was to invite them to “Come and be with him” (Mark 3:13-14; Luke 6:12-13). It was during this stage of disciplemaking that Jesus taught them the ministry and life skills needed to be successfully deployed as workers in the harvest field.

12. What is involved in the task of going? (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47) The first step in making a disciple involves reaching out to unchurched unbelievers. The early church gathered to worship and scattered to evangelize. The goal of the word “go” is to preach the gospel and win people to Christ (Matthew 28:19). Every believer is to “go” and share his faith with his family, friends and co-workers. The scope of this task is “every nation” including our own. Every believer is responsible to “go” next door, to the next cubical at work, or to teammates on the sports field. Wherever you are, that’s your “Jerusalem” and God commands you and empowers you to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8). Mark tells us in his version of the Great Commission to “preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). Luke’s version of the Great Commission adds that we are to proclaim “repentance for forgiveness of sins” (Luke 24:47).

13. Who should we target when we begin to make disciples? (Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8) We should start where we are. The disciples were from Galilee but they were in Jerusalem so that is where they started from.

14. What is the key word for missions? (Acts 13:1-4; Romans 10:15) The key word for missions is not “go” but “send.” Romans 10:15 says, “How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, ‘HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”‘ God wants us all to be “World Class Christians” who are committed to cross-cultural Disciplemaking and global church planting. (Romans 10:15; Acts 13:1-4).

15. Why is baptism so important as the second step in the disciple-making process? (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38, 10:48, 22:16; 1 Corinthians 6:11) The reason baptism is so important is because no one has ever seen a salvation. The spiritual regeneration of a man or woman is a miraculous work of the Spirit inside of a person (John 4:14; 7:37,38; Titus 3:5). We can only see the results of a salvation.

Baptism is the fruit of a genuine repentance. The newborn child is now a “son of obedience” rather than a “son of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2; 5:6; Colossians 3:6). There is a natural desire that a new believer has to take the first step of obedience. Jesus taught disciplemakers to use baptism as an early litmus test to discern whether someone has been genuinely saved.

Mark 16:16 says, “He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” This verse is not doctrinal in nature but missional. The gospel writers didn’t give us the Great Commission to help us define the essence of the gospel, but to describe what to look for as evidence of a true salvation. It’s only natural that we should see a new convert’s willingness to submit to baptism after they’ve made a genuine profession of faith.

When we go to the epistles, the doctrinal books of the New Testament, baptism is clearly not a part of the Gospel. The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:17 writes – “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel…”. It’s clear that baptism is not part of the gospel. The Gospel isn’t the good news that if you trust Christ and get baptized you’ll be saved. It’s faith in Christ alone. If baptism were required, Paul certainly wouldn’t have said, “I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius” (1 Corinthians 1:14).

Mark 16:16 at first glance appears to teach that you must be baptized in order to be saved. A closer examination reveals that “faith” is the issue. Notice it doesn’t say “He who does not believe and isn’t baptized will be condemned.” To say that this passage demands that a person be baptized it would have to say “but he who does not believe and isn’t baptized will be condemned.” The thing that condemns a person is their unwillingness to place their faith (believe) in Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross and his resurrection.

Perhaps this illustration will help: If you get on a bus that’s going to New York and sit down, you’ll reach your destination. But what happens if you get on the bus and don’t sit down, will you still get to New York? Yes. In the same way, if you put your faith in Christ and aren’t baptized, you’ll still get to heaven. If you choose not to get on the bus, you won’t go to New York. In the same way, if you choose not to trust Christ as your Savior, you won’t get to heaven.

Once again, the reason Mark so clearly ties baptism to salvation is because he wants to stress the importance of baptism as an outward sign of what has already taken place inwardly. The earlier a person identifies with Christ and his body (the church) publicly ­the more dynamic the witness and the more consistent the growth spiritually.

16. How soon should a person be baptized? (Acts 2:41, 8:36; 16:30-33; 22:16 9:9, 18) The New Testament teaches that the command to be baptized should be obeyed by the new believer as soon as possible.

  • “at once” (Acts 8:36) – Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
  • “same hour” (Acts 16:30-33) – And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.
  • “same day” (Acts 2:41) – Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.
  • Three days after being saved (Acts 9:9, 18; 22:12-16) – “And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank” (Acts 9:9). “Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized” (Acts 9:18). The Apostle Paul was saved while en route from Jerusalem to Damascus. His conversion experience temporarily blinded him. When he received his sight, Ananias asked him why he had waited so long to get baptized. Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, came to me; and he stood and said to me, “Brother Saul, receive your sight.” And at that same hour I looked up at him. Then he said, “The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. ‘And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:12-16).

17. What is the curriculum that is to be taught in the third step of the disciple-making process? (Matthew 28:20) The third step in the disciple-making process is “to teach” the disciplee “to observe all that I (Christ) commanded” (Matthew 28:20). This involves equipping believers so that they possess the character and competence needed to reproduce themselves.

Jesus gave 244 Discipleship Commands in the gospels and they fall into 43 command topics. Christ gave specific commands at the “Win” (6), “Build” (4), “Equip” (31), and “Multiply” (2) levels or phases of disciplemaking. The Bible promises ten special blessings to those who learn and obey these commands.

The Bible promises that if you obey the commands of Christ you will…

  1. Be Jesus’ friend. “You are My friends, if you do what I command you.” (John 15:1)
  2. Enjoy God’s love. “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Fathers commandments, and abide in His love.” (John 15:10)
  3. See your prayers answered. “And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.” (1 John 3:22)
  4. Prove your love to God. “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)
  5. Experience the security of your salvation. “By this we know that we have come to know Him,if we keep His commandments.” (1 John 2:3)
  6. Know Jesus more deeply. “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him.” (John 14:21)
  7. Have close fellowship with God. Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” (John 14:23)
  8. Genuinely love others. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments” (1 John 5:2)
  9. Avoid many of the burdens of life. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3)
  10. Be known as Jesus’ disciple. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

18. What is the goal in teaching this curriculum? (Matthew 28:20; 1 John 2:3; John 14:15) The goal of the teaching is found in the infinitive – “to observe all that I commanded you”. We have not discipled an individual until they are obeying what they learned.

19. What is the promise Jesus gives to those who make disciples? (Matthew 28:20) Jesus said, “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Jesus here promises two things:

  1. He will”manifest His presence” in a unique way when we are making disciples – “all the time not sometimes” (always);
  2. This commission doesn’t have a short shelf life. This is the mission of the church that is to be fulfilled until He returns.

Sources:  The questions and answers for this study were gleaned from the following resources.

  1. Serendipity Bible for Groups by: Serendipity House, Zondervan Publishing House, 1 998
  2. Personal Disciple-Making by: Christopher B. Adsit, Here’s Life Publishers Inc., 1988.
  3. Go, Missions by: Ronald Blue, pages 341-353 Bibliotheca Sacra, Volume 141, October­ December 1984, Number 564. A Theological Quarterly Published by Dallas Seminary Press
  4. The Expositors Bible Commentary Volume 8 by: Frank E. Gaebelein, Zondervan Publishing House, 1984.
  5. An Expository Study of Matthew 28:7 6-20 by: Edmond D. Hiebert, pages 338-354. Bibliotheca Sacra, Volume 149, July-September 1992, Number 595, A Theological Quarterly Published by Dallas Seminary Press.
  6. Discipleship and the Church by: A Boyd Luter, Jr., pages 267-273. Bibliotheca Sacra, Volume 137, July-September 1980, Number 547. Published by Dallas Seminary Press.
  7. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Matthew 24-28 by: John MacArthur, Moody Press, 1989
  8. The Great Commission by: Cleon Rogers, pages 258-267. BibliothecaSacra, Volume 130,July-September 1973, Number 519, A Theological Quarterly Published by Dallas Seminary Press.
  9. Oxford NIV Scofield Study Bible by: C.l. Scofield, page 1124, John 20:16 Study Note. Oxford University Press, Inc. 1967.
  10. “Who Sends the Missionary?” Voice Magazine by: Timothy B. Shorb, pages 8-10, May/June; Published by Independent Fundamental Churches of America.

[Based on my classes with Richard D. Leineweber Jr.]
© Copyright 1994 Richard D. Leineweber Jr.

How to Abide in Christ

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This is the first of the two multiplying commands, which comes from John 15:1-17 (Thomas and Gundry, Harmony: NASB Sec.219)

Purpose: The purpose of this lesson is to stress the importance of a life of dependency on Christ instead of self-sufficiency. Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Abiding in Christ, depending on Him, is the only way that we can experience spiritual fruit. Abiding in Christ involves believing in Him and maintaining unbroken fellowship with Christ.

Historical Background: John 13-17 contains Jesus’ final instructions to his disciples on the night before his crucifixion. Here Jesus sought to strengthen and confirm the belief of his disciples, teaching them about service, love, heaven, prayer, persecution, the Holy Spirit, joy, victory, and unity. (J. Carl Laney)

Christ and the eleven disciples have just left the upper room (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26; John 14:31) and the teaching on the vine comes as Christ is walking to the garden of gethsemane where he will be betrayed. As Jesus begins to use the metaphor of a vine, perhaps his disciples had a series of flashbacks.

1) Earlier the same week Jesus leveled a series of woes against Israel’s false religious leaders and said that their house (temple) was left to them desolate (Matthew 23:38). Jesus has also spoken of the temple’s destruction (Matthew 24:1-2). A massive vine had been worked into the architecture of the temple.

The vine is a familiar symbol of Israel in the Psalms and the prophets (Psalm 80:8-16; Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 2:21; 5:10; 12:10; Ezekiel 15:1-8; 17:1-24; Hosea 10:1).1n fact, the Maccabeans (about 150 B.C.) inscribed it on their coins to represent their nation. And Herod the Great, restoring the Jerusalem temple in 19 B.C., had a large vine of gold hung around the entrance to the Holy Place.

2) Jesus has just instituted the Lord’s Supper, complete with the “fruit of the vine” (Matthew 26:29; Mark 14:15; Luke 22:18). All this adds to the powerful picture that Jesus is about to paint for his disciples. This Eucharistic Celebration will be one of the most meaningful ways that believers can commemorate and consecrate their connection with the Vine. (Mark E. Moore pgs.238-239)

3) After exiting the upper room (John 14:31) Jesus and his disciples were walking through vine groves that lead to the perfect metaphor for his teaching.

Commanded in the Gospels: John 15:4 – abide; John 15:9 – abide also John 5:38; 6:27, 56; 8:31; 12:46.

Illustrated in the Book of Acts: The practices of a believer that is abiding in Christ are found in the Book of Acts but the technical phrase is not found.

Amplified in the Epistles: 1 John 2:6, 10, 14, 17, 19, 24, 27, 28; 3:6, 9, 14, 15, 17, 24; 4;12, 13, 15, 16; 2 John 2:2, 9.

1. If Jesus was “the true vine,” then who was “the false vine”? (John 15:1) In the Old Testament God calls Israel the “vine” but the nation had become apostate. God wanted them to be a light and source of blessing to the world, but because of unbelief Jesus announces that He and He alone is [ego eimi] the true vine.

2. What is the job of the vine? (John 15:4, 5, 8) The job of the vine is to provide the necessary sap to the branches so that they can bear fruit.

3. What was the vinedresser’s (gardener’s) responsibility? (John 15:1-2, 6) The job of the vinedresser is to cut off fruitless branches and prune fruitful branches. It’s the vinedresser’s responsibility to prune and to punish.

4. What are the five different degrees of fruit bearing?

  1. “no fruit” John 15:2
  2. “fruit” John 15:2
  3. “more fruit” John 15:2
  4. “much fruit” John 15:8
  5. “fruit that will remain” John 15:16

5. Who are the fruitless branches in the analogy of the vine? (John 15:2; Isaiah 5:1-7) The analogy in the Old Testament went like this. God has a root of blessing, and blessing comes through that root and extends to the extremities so that anybody who would be blessed would need to be grafted into the root of blessing. Israel saw themselves as that blessing root. And they had a right to see themselves that way because God had called them his vine. In Isaiah, the Lord said that he planted the vine on a very fertile hill. He looked at his vine, and instead of his vine bringing forth good grapes, it brought forth worthless grapes, and God condemned it.

God says, “Israel is an empty vine.” You see, God had made Israel the stock of blessing, and anybody who would be blessed would be blessed in the tents of Shem. They would be blessed in identification with Israel, the repository of God’s truth and God’s law. But Israel forfeited the place of blessing by unbelief, and so the Messiah comes along and says, “Now, I am the vine, the true one. No longer is a man blessed by being in Israel; he is blessed when he truly is in Me.”

So the fruitless branches are Jews by birth who didn’t share the faith of Abraham in Jehovah God. They are the Israelites of Jesus’ day who rejected their Messiah. The Prophet Isaiah spoke of the nation of Israel in these terms. (Isaiah 5:1-7)
Jesus alluded to this passage in Matthew 21 when telling the parable of the Landowner. (Matthew 21:33-39)

In this parable God is the “landowner,” the prophets are “his slaves” and Jesus is his “son.” So what will the landowner do since Israel is not producing fruit?

Matthew 21:43, 45 – Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.

6. What is the purpose of a branch? (John 15:2) The vinedresser says the purpose of the branch is to bear fruit.

7. What kind of fruit can we bear as Christians?

  1. Character (Galatians 5:22-23)
  2. Conduct (Philippians 1:11; Colossians 1:10)
  3. Contributions (Romans 15:28)
  4. Converts (John 4:36; Romans 1:13; 1 Corinthians 16:15; Colossians 1:6)

8. What kind of fruit is Jesus referring to in this passage? (John 15:2, 4, 5, 16, 4:36) The kinds of fruit that Jesus is referring to in this context are converts. They are the product of “going” (John 5:16; Mark 16:15). The only kind of fruit that Jesus has taught about in this Gospel is a harvest of souls for salvation (John 4:36). Jesus says, “Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.” The other references to “fruit” in Scripture were written years later after this encounter with Christ.

9. What does it mean that the vinedresser “takes away” the branches that don’t bear fruit? (John 15:2, 6) Coming on the heels of Judas’ desertion this word picture has powerful implications for the Eleven. Branches that He “takes away” were never believers, that is, they were not actually “in Christ” (John 15:2). Anyone who professes faith in Christ but either does not produce fruit or does not persevere in Christ was never a real believer in the first place. John 15:6 adds, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.” These fruitless branches are taken away and cast in the fire like the tares in Matthew 13:39-40.

John MacArthur writes, “The Father ‘takes away’ the branches that fail to bear fruit. John 15:2 doesn’t say He fixes them up; it says He cuts them off. John 15:6 says that those branches are gathered, thrown into a pile, and burned. The Father deals with them with finality. Now if that refers to Christians, we’ve got some problems. I believe that the fruitless branches refer to people who profess to have a relationship to Jesus Christ, who apparently are in the vine as a follower of Christ, but are like Judas and have never been saved. That is obvious because they never bear spiritual fruit. At a certain point in the Father’s timing, the fruitless branches are cut off from the life and health of the vine and the other branches. Professing Christians who aren’t really saved and therefore don’t bear fruit will be cast away and burned in an act of divine punishment.”

10. How does the Father prune the branches? (John 15:2) “The word translated “pruned” [kathairei] literally means “to cleanse,” “to purge,” “to purify.” The verb is commonly used in inscriptions of ceremonial cleansing. It is not the normal word for pruning, but was chosen here because Christ was talking about people rather than vines” – J. Carl Laney. Pruning involves removing things that hinder the branch from full productivity.

God brings trials into our lives that expose the areas that hinder our productivity. These trials open up the areas in our life that the Word of God can address. Unfortunately we often repeat the same trial because we don’t learn to apply his Word the first go-around. Trials that are repeated are often lessons unlearned.

Understanding Why a Farmer Prunes The Vines:

To understand the spiritual lesson regarding God’s dealings with people, it is necessary to understand why a farmer prunes vines. According to one expert regular pruning is necessary during the vine’s growing season.1

“Pinching” with the thumb and finger removes the growing tip of a vigorous shoot so that it will not grow too rapidly and be broken or damaged by the wind. “Topping” involves the removal of one or two feet from the end of a growing shoot to prevent a later loss of the entire shoot which might be snapped off by the wind. “Thinning,” the removal of flower or grape clusters, enables the rest of a branch to bear more and better quality fruit. “Pruning” involves the cutting away of suckers that arise from below the ground or from the trunk and main branches. In addition to this pruning during the growing season, during the fall or winter, the farmer prunes the vines back to the main stalk, except for perhaps two mature shoots. 2

Another way that God prunes the believing branches is through loving discipline (Hebrews 12:4-13). J. Carl Laney “As the vinedresser cuts away what would hinder the productivity of the vine, so God the Father, through loving discipline (cleansing, purging, purifying), removes things from the lives of believers that do not contribute to their spiritual fruitfulness. The writer of Hebrews may have had this ‘pruning’ in mind when he pointed out that God disciplines his children. “For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and he scourges every son whom he receives” (Hebrews 12:6). He added that while divine discipline is sorrowful, not joyful, ‘afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness’ (John 12:11).

The ‘pruning’ of fruit-bearing disciples may not always be the result of sin. Pruning may be (designed to prevent it. Paul was privileged to be caught up to paradise and experience unspeakable things (2 Corinthians 12:1-4). This unique opportunity gave Paul a tendency to boast, but God corrected this tendency by giving him a ‘thorn in the flesh’ – a physical affliction – to keep him from exalting himself (2 Corinthians 12:7).”- J. Carl Laney

11. Is it possible to be genuinely saved and yet not manifest any fruit or good works in one’s life as a result of regeneration? (James 2:14-26; Luke 8:15, 21; Matthew 7:21-23) According to some evangelicals today, the answer is “yes” (Zane Hodge). In an attempt to avoid a works religion, some Christians today have imposed on the orthodox doctrine of salvation an unscriptural dichotomy between faith and fruit. Jesus teaching on the sower and the seed makes it clear that only fruit bearers are in the family of God. It’s not just those that hear the Word of God but those who hear it and bring forth fruit as they patiently apply it and do it (Luke 8:15,21). The fruit of obedience in their lives gives evidence that they are no longer sons of disobedience but genuine children of God (Ephesians 2:2; 5:6; Colossians 3:6).

It’s not the perfection of their life but the overall direction. Salvation is not verified by a past act but by present obedience.

12. Who are the branches that bear fruit? (John 15:3 John 13:10) Jesus said, “You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.” Jesus here assures the Eleven that they are among the fruit-bearing branches. With use of the word “clean” [katharoi] Jesus alludes back to a statement that he made earlier that evening to Peter. Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you” (John 13:10). When Jesus said, “not all of you” he was referring to the “Judas branch” who was not a true believer but had superficially connected himself to the Vine. The Eleven disciples were clean because of the Word and gave evidence that they were abiding in Christ by being fruit-bearing branches.

13. What did Jesus command His disciples to do? (John 15:4) Jesus commanded His disciples, “Abide [Aorist Imperative] in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.” Abiding in Christ involves believing in him and maintaining unbroken fellowship with Christ. The word “abide” [meinate] is one of John’s favorite words. The Greek word is meno.

W. E. Wuest provides insight into this Greek word:

Its classical usage will throw light upon the way it is used in the N.T. It meant “to stay, stand fast, abide, to stay at home, stay where one is, not stir, to remain as one was, to remain as before.” In the N.T., it means “to sojourn, to tarry, to dwell at one’s own house, to tarry as a guest, to lodge, to maintain unbroken fellowship with one, to adhere to his party, to be constantly present to help one, to put forth constant influence upon one.” “In the mystic phraseology of John, God is said to meno in Christ, i.e., to dwell as it were in him, to be continually operative in Him by His divine influence and energy (John 14:10); Christians are said to meno in God, to be rooted as it were in him, knit to him by the Spirit they have received from Him (1 John 2:6, 24, 27; 3:6); hence one is said to meno in Christ or in God, and conversely, Christ or God is said to meno in one (John 6:56; 15:4),” Thayer quotes Ruckert in the use of meno in the words “Something has established itself permanently within my soul, and always exerts its power in me,”

The word therefore has the ideas of “permanence of position, occupying a place as one’s dwelling place, holding and maintaining unbroken communion and fellowship with another.” John uses meno in the following places in his gospel, John 1:32, 33, 38, 39; 2:12; 3:36; 4:40; 5:38; 6:27, 56; 7:9; 8:31, 35; 9:41; 10:40; 11:6; 12:24, 34; 12:46; 14:10, 16, 17, 25; 15:4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 16; 19:31; 21:22, 23; in 1 John 2:6, 10, 14, 17, 19, 24, 27, 28; 3:6, 9, 14, 15, 17, 24; 4:12, 13, 15, 16; in 2 John 1:2, 9. The words “abide, dwell, tarry, continue, be present,” are the various translations in the Authorized Version (KJV). Study these places where the word occurs, and obtain a comprehensive view of its usage.

In John 15, the abiding of the Christian in Christ refers to believing in Christ and maintaining unbroken fellowship with Him. He makes his spiritual home in Christ. There is nothing between himself and his Savior, no sin unjudged and not put away. He depends upon him for spiritual life and vigor as the branch is dependent upon the vine. The abiding of Christ in the Christian is his permanent residence in him and his supply­ing, that Christian with the necessary spiritual energy to produce fruit in his life through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. (Wuest Word Studies in the Greek New Testament Vo/.3, pgs.64,65)

14. What is the only way a Christian can bear fruit? (John 15:4) You must be abiding in Christ.

The Importance of Abiding for Small Group Leaders:

“Abide in Me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me” (John 15:4). No amount of skill training can replace the necessity of an intimate relationship with Christ through the Word and prayer. Abiding in Christ is not negotiable if you want to produce more fruit and fruit that remains. John 4:36 says, “And he who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit for eternal life.”

Joel Comiskey (Home Cell Church Explosion, Touch Publications, 2002) did a case study on eight of the fastest growing cell churches in the world. More than 700 cell leaders completed a survey that was designed to determine why some cell leaders succeed (fruit) and others fail at evangelizing and giving birth to new cells. His survey findings revealed that there wasn’t anything sensational or mystical about their fruitfulness. The first 2 factors that affect cell multiplication are:

  • The cell leader’s devotional time. Those who spend 90 minutes or more in devotions per day multiply their groups twice as much as those who spend less than 30 minutes.
  • The cell leader’s intercession for the cell members. Those who pray for cell members are most likely to multiply groups.

15. What are the conditions for Abiding in Christ? (John 15:7; 1 John 2:6, 24; 3:6, 24; 4:13, 15, 16) The one who abides:

  1. Spends time in God’s Word and prayer – John 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” The basis for abiding in Christ is communication with God through Bible Study and prayer. We talk to God in prayer and He talks to us through his Word.
  2. Walks as Jesus walked – 1 John 2:6 “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
  3. Holds to the truth learned at salvation – 1 John 2:24 “As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.”
  4. Doesn’t habitually sin – 1 John 3:6 “No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.”
  5. Keeps the commands of Christ – 1 John 3:24 “The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.”
  6. Conscious of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence – 1 John 4:13 “By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.”
  7. Confesses that Jesus is the Son of God – 1 John 4:15 “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.”
  8. Lives in love – 1 John 4:16 “We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

16. What are the rewards for meeting the conditions for abiding in Christ? (John 15:5, 7, 8, 11, 16; 1 John 2:28) The rewards for abiding in Christ are:

  1. Bears much fruit – John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
  2. Answered prayer – John 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
  3. God is glorified – John 15:8 “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”
  4. Joy made full – John 15:11 “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”
  5. Bear fruit that remains – John 15:16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”
  6. Confidence when Christ returns – 1 John 2:28 “Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.”

17. What phrase in John 15:5 stresses our dependency on Christ to bear fruit? Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” The phrase, “for apart from Me you can do nothing” makes it emphatically clear that we can do “NOTHING”, not something but nothing if we are not Abiding in Christ.

18. What will happen to the branches that bear no fruit? (John 15:2, 6) Jesus said, “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.”

19. What is the reward for abiding in Christ in John 15:7? Jesus said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask [Aorist Imperative] whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” The reward for abiding in Christ is answered prayer. It’s conditional on our abiding in Christ and time spent in his Word. Jesus can confidently assert that you can pray for “whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” because that promise is only for those that are abiding in Christ. Those that are believing and maintaining fellowship with Christ ask for things that are consistent with his will (1 John 5:14). The verb “ask” [aitesasthe] is an Aorist imperative that denotes urgency.

20. How can we prove that we are Christ’s disciples? (John 15:8) Jesus says, “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” We prove that we are Christ’s disciples by bearing much fruit (converts). If you were in a court of law and had to prove that you are a disciple of Christ by the people that you’ve led to Christ would you have sufficient evidence? God is the One who saves, but are you actively partnering with God by cultivating, planting, watering and reaping when the opportunity presents itself?

21. What does Christ command his disciples in John 15:9? Jesus said, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide [Aorist Imperative] in My love.” The word “abide” [meinate] in the phrase “abide in my love” is an aorist imperative. The imperative mood is the mood of command.

22. What is the promised reward for keeping the Commands of Christ? (John 15:10) The promised reward is abiding in Christ’s love. John 15:10 says, “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” The word “if” [eon] makes the promised reward conditional. The promised reward for obedience is that the disciple of Christ “will abide in My love” [meneite en mou te agape]. The verb “abide” is a future active indicative which pictures us in the sphere of his love as we keep his commandments.

Jude wrote, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life” (Jude 1:21). John MacArthur writes, “This ‘keeping’ in the Greek construction, relates to place or location ‘in the love of God,’ where we can receive his blessings.” Jude has already said that every true believer is eternally secure in God’s love. In Jude 1:1, he tells his readers that they are the “beloved in God the Father.” This verb “beloved” is a perfect participle in the Greek, and means that God loved us at a point of time in the past with continuing and abiding results. We are the continual object of his love.

We do not control God’s love for us, but as Moffatt notes concerning Jude 1:21, his love “has its own terms of communion.” Hiebert says, “Jude is asking his readers to keep themselves consciously in God’s love, just as a doctor tells his patient to keep himself in the sunshine. The reader must be alert to keep anything from clouding their consciousness of his love” (Hiebert, pg. 285).

The way to keep ourselves in the love of God is to keep his commandments. You may ask, “Can I be separated from the love of Christ?” God’s elect who have been justified by his blood (Romans 5:8-9; 8:31-39) cannot be separated from the love of God.

GodsLoveCircle

Love Not Returned (1 Corinthians 16:22)
Recipient of God’s Wrath (Romans 5:8-9)

23. What things did Jesus speak that produce joy in the disciples of Christ? (John 15:11) Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” The word “that” [hino] provides the purpose for the things that Jesus has taught them in John 15:1-10. When we abide in Christ, bear much fruit, abide in his Word, abide in Christ’s love it arouses nothing but pure joy!

24. How does Jesus define the kind of love that we should express to one another? (John 15:12-13) Jesus said, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” We are to love [agapao] each other with a self-sacrificial love. The word “love” [agapao] used in these verses is the verb of intelligent, purposeful, and committed love that is an act of the will. This love is in contrast to the emotion and tender affection of phileo and the physical, sensual love of eros (which is not used in the New Testament). Agapao love doesn’t love because the object is loveable, it has nothing to do with feelings other than the fact that after you have repeatedly chosen to love someone, you start to treasure the person that you’ve invested in and feelings (affection) often follow.

25. What is the prerequisite for a spiritual friendship with Christ? (John 15:14) Jesus told His disciples, “You are My friends if you do what I command you.” Habitual [poiete] not just sporadic obedience is the prerequisite to spiritual friendship with Christ. You can be in a natural family and feel closer to some family members. This is also true in our spiritual family. Jesus defines friendship in terms of obedience. The obedient Christian life results in becoming a confidant of Jesus (John 15:15). Discipleship results in friendship! This is counterintuitive to our contemporary thinking, that we must establish a meaningful friendship before we can disciple someone. If someone longs to become more like Christ and is willing to submit to an accountable relationship, the result of this discipleship relationship will be friendship. The phrase “if you do” [eon poiete] is a present active subjunctive. The subjective mood affirms objective possibility. It assumes that a verbal idea is not now a fact but may become one. The action is possible, but it depends on certain objective factors. The objective factor in this context is obeying the commands of Christ.

26. How did Jesus elevate the disciple’s standing in the gospel ministry? (John 15:15) Jesus said, “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” Because of their obedience “Jesus elevated the disciples above mere tools and made them partners in his work. A slave is never given a reason for the work assigned to him; he must perform it because he has no other choice. The friend is the confidant who shares the knowledge of his superior’s purpose and voluntarily adopts it as his own. Jesus declared that He had revealed to the disciples all that the Father had given to him. The disclosure of the mind of God concerning his career and theirs would give them assurance that they were engaged in the right task and that God would ultimately bring it to a successful conclusion.” (Expositors pg.153) Discipleship ultimately leads to friendship.

27. What were we chosen and appointed for? (John 15:16 cp. Acts 4:13) Jesus said, “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.” Jesus chose us to “go” and “bear much fruit.” He chose us to “go” NOT to “sit.” Christ has a bias for action. Every believer is sent as a missionary! God doesn’t choose the equipped, he equips the chosen. The disciples weren’t chosen because they were competent, they were competent because they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13). You learn ministry by doing ministry. Some people want to grow and then “go.” Christ wants you to grow as you “go.”

28. How does John 15:17 fit into the context? Jesus concludes by saying, “This I command you, that you love one another.” Every believer is on mission for God, but it’s a co-mission that we are to do together. The love that we have for one another as we fulfill the Great Commission is the great apologetic in our day (Acts 5:42).

Sources: The questions and answers for this study were gleaned from the following resources.

  1. Serendipity Bible for Groups by: Serendipity House, Zondervan Publishing House, 1998
  2. Abiding is Remaining in Fellowship: Another Look at John 7 5:7-6 by: Joseph C. Dillow, Bibleotheca Sacra, Volume 147, January-March 1990, Number 585, Pages 44-53. Dallas Seminary Press, 1990.
  3. The Expositor’ s Bible Commentary, Volume 9 by: Frank E. Gaebelein, Zondervan Publishing House, 1 981 .
  4. Jesus Christ Disciple Maker by: Bill Hull, Fleming H. Revell Company, 1990.
  5. A Re-evaluation of the Johannine Concept of Abiding by: John Paul King, Thesis from Dallas Theological Seminary on microfiche, 1974
  6. Abiding is Believing: The Analogy of the Vine in John 15:1-6 by: J. Carl Laney, Bibliotheca Sacra, Volume 146, January-March 1989, Number 581, Pages 55-66. Dallas Seminary Press, 1989.
  7. Abiding in Christ by: John MacArthur Jr., Moody Press, 1986.
  8. Abiding in Christ by: John R. Mott, The Herald of Gospel Liberty, The Christian Publishing / Association, Dayton Ohio, 1918
  9. The Gospel under Siege by: Zane C. Hodge (Dallas: Redencion Viva, 1981 ), pp. 9-18.
  10. The Chronological Life of Christ Vol.2 by: Mark E. Moore, College Press Publishing Company, 1997
  11. Second Peter and Jude: An Expositional Commentary by: D. Edmond Hiebert, Unusual Publications, 1989

1 H. E. Jacob,. Grape Growing in California,” Circular #116 (California Agricultural Extension Service, The College of Agriculture, University of California at Berkeley, April 1940).

2 James E. Rosscup, Abiding in Christ: Studies in John 15 (Chicago: Moody Press, 1973), p.50

[Based on my classes with Richard D. Leineweber Jr.]
© Copyright 1994 Richard D. Leineweber Jr.

How to Have Faith

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Today we are looking into the gospel of John 14:1-14, 27 – section 218 in Thomas and Gundry’s Harmony of the Gospels.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the importance of possessing a faith that trusts Christ despite the circumstances that we may face. This is in contrast to falling away from the faith (Matthew 12:21; Mark 4:17; Luke 8:13). We are not to be fair weather Christians. Our faith must persevere to be saving faith.

Historical Background: This is Jesus’ farewell discourse. In the next four chapters (John 14-17), Jesus must drive home three critical facts:

  1. He is leaving (John 13:1, 31-33, 36; 14:1-4, 18, 25, 27-29; 16:5, 11-19, 28; 17:11).
  2. The Apostles will continue Jesus’ mission with opposition from the world (John 13:13-17, 20, 34-35; 14:12-14, 18-21; 15:1-21, 27; 16:1-4, 23-24; 17:12-22).
  3. The Holy Spirit will assist them in their mission (John 14:15-18, 26; 15:26-27; 16:6-11, 13-14).

This is one of those “good news/bad news” scenarios. What lies ahead is difficult, but Jesus’ promises are simply out of this world!

This has been unlike any other meal the disciples shared with Jesus. He seemed so solemn. An ominous finality lingered over the Passover “celebration” and the words “one of you will betray me” kept echoing in their minds. Jesus has just told Peter that he would deny him three times and the other ten would scarcely fare any better. They are visibly shaken. So Jesus tells them to stop being troubled. With two more imperatives, Jesus gives the solution: “Trust in God; trust also in me!” (John 14:1)

While the crucifixion and ascension will be devastating losses for the disciples, their faith can be sustained in the midst of this present suffering by the assurance of three glorious realities:

  1. The enduring presence of the Holy Spirit
  2. The promise of Jesus’ return
  3. The hope of a heavenly home

The setting is very similar to a modern board room where the once highly charged management team of a new enterprise with worldwide aspirations just receives news that the CEO is leaving; the treasure was fired, and the CEO’s personal apprentice was going to distance himself from the organization. How would you feel? Troubled? Trusting? Hopeful? Like an orphan? Jesus was totally in touch with what His disciples were feeling.

Commanded in the Gospels: John 14:1 “Do not let,” “believe” (2x); John 14:11 “believe” (2x); John 14:27 “Do not let your heart be troubled,” “nor let it be fearful.” (The word “faith” occurs 39 times in the Gospels; “believe” 119 times).

Illustrated in the Book of Acts: the word ‘faith” occurs 218 times in the epistles and 11 times in the Book of Revelation; “believe” occurs 74 times.

Amplified in the Epistles: The word “faith” occurs 14 times in the Book of Acts; “believe” 39 times.

Do not let [Present Imperative] your heart be troubled; believe [Present Imperative] in God, believe [Present Imperative] also in Me. (John 14:1)

The scene is in the upper room where the disciples gathered for the Passover meal with Jesus on the night before his death. In a very short time the world of these eleven men is going to collapse in unbelievable chaos. They have been informed that Jesus is going away and they are filled with fear. Jesus anticipates their already broken hearts and here commands them to keep trusting in him. Jesus promises that he will come back to get them, but in the meantime consoles them with the promise of the coming of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-26; 16:5-15).

Instead of the disciples offering support to Jesus in the hours before the cross, he had to support them spiritually as well as emotionally. This reveals his love for them. Faith in Jesus can stop the heart from being agitated. The verb “troubled” [tarasso] means, “to agitate, trouble (a thing, by the movement of its parts to and fro), to cause one inward commotion, take away his calmness of mind, disturb his equanimity, to disquiet, make restless, to stir up, to trouble, to strike one’s spirit with fear and dread, to render anxious or distressed, to perplex the mind of one by suggesting scruples or doubts. – Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.

We all experience trouble, suffering, pain, anxiety, disappointment, and losses. These circumstances don’t have to trouble us if we know Jesus. He is bigger than our needs and circumstances. So, when you are feeling anxious, take your eyes off your troubles and put them on Jesus.

In fact Jesus commands us “do not let” your heart be troubled; “believe” in God “believe” also in Me. All three of these verbs (“do not let,” “believe,” “believe”) are present tense imperatives.

“Let not your heart continue to be agitated. Be putting your trust in God. Also be putting your trust in Me.” The New Testament – An Expanded Translation by: Kenneth S. Wuest, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1961

Faith in Christ can stop the heart from bring agitated – John MacArthur

The verb “believe” [pisteuo] occurs 248 times. The KJV translates it as “believe” 239 times, “commit unto” four times, “commit to (one’s) trust” once, “be committed unto” once, “be put in (trust with” once, “be commit to one’s trust” once, and “believer” once. The word “believe” means, “to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in.” It is used in the New Testament of the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul. Faith involves trusting in Jesus as able to aid either in obtaining or in doing something. True saving faith is more than mere intellectual assent.

Wuest points out that the use of the verb is pisteuo in classical Greek – “In classical Greek pisteuo meant to believe, trust, trust in, put faith in, rely upon a person or thing. In the papyri, [Moulton and Milligan] we find the following illustrations of the use of these words; Whom no one would trust even if they were willing to work; (confidence in the person’s character and motives); I have trusted no one to take it to her, (confidence in the ability of another to perform a certain task). Pisteuo in every instance is translated by the word “believe,” except in the following places; Luke 16:11; John 2:24; Romans 3:2; 1 Corinthians 9:17; Galatians 2:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:4; 1 Timothy 1:11; Titus 1:3, where the idea is that either of entrusting one’s self or something else into the custody and safe keeping of another.

When these words refer to the faith which a lost sinner must place in the Lord Jesus in order to be saved, they include the following ideas; the act of considering the Lord Jesus worthy of trust as to His character and motives, the act of placing confidence in his ability to do just what he says he will do, the act of entrusting the salvation of his soul into the hands of the Lord Jesus, the act of committing the work of saving his soul to the care of the Lord. This means a definite taking of one’s self out of one’s own keeping and entrusting one’s self into the keeping of the Lord Jesus.

In Acts 8:13; 26:27; James 2:19, the word refers merely to an intellectual assent to certain facts, in Acts 15:11, to a dogmatic belief that such and such is the case.

“The New Testament conception of faith includes three main elements, mutually connected and requisite, though according to circumstances sometimes one and sometimes another may be more prominent,

  1. A fully convinced acknowledgement of the revelation of grace
  2. A self-surrendering fellowship (adhesion)
  3. A fully assured and unswerving trust (and with this at the same time hope) in the God of salvation or in Christ.

None of these elements is wholly ignored by any of the N.T. writers” [Cremer, Biblico-Theological Lexicon of New Testament Greek]. Thus, the word sometimes refers to an acknowledgment that a certain statement is true (Matthew 21:25), and sometimes to a definite commitment of one’s soul into the keeping of another (John 5:24). Word Studies in the Greek New Testament Vol.3, Kenneth S. Wuest, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1973, pgs.28-30

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. (John 5:24)

The disciples first transferred their trust on Christ as their Messiah in John 2:11. The aorist tense of the verb “believed” points to the moment of salvation but for faith to be true saving faith it must persevere.

John MacArthur writes “But it is not a biblical view of faith to say one may have it at the moment of salvation and never need to have it again. The continuing nature of saving faith is underscored by the use of the present tense of the Greek verb pisteuo (“believe”) throughout the gospel of John (John 3:15-18, 36; 5:24; 6:35, 40, 47; 7:38; 11:25-26; 12:44, 46; 20:31; also Acts 10:43; 13:39; Romans 1:16; 3:22; 4:5; 9:33; 10:4, 10-11). If believing were a one-time act, the Greek tense in those verses would be aorist.”- The Gospel According to Jesus, pg.172

John MacArthur cites Hodge who writes, “It is widely held in modem Christendom that the faith of a genuine Christian cannot fail. But this is not an assertion that can be verified from the New Testament” (pg.68); and, “There is nothing to support the view that perseverance in the faith is an inevitable outcome of true salvation” (pg.83). Contrast that statement with Paul’s inspired words in Colossians 1:22-23: “He has now reconciled you… if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel” cp. also 1 Corinthians 15:1-2; 2 Timothy 2:12; Hebrews 2:1-3; 3:14; 4:14; 6:11-12; 12:14; James 1:2; 1 John 2:19. – The Gospel According To Jesus.

Jesus in John 14:1 is commanding his disciples to continue believing in Him despite the trouble they are facing.

“In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14:2)

“Have you ever decorated a room for someone special? If you have, you know what it is like to make a room suit one particular personality. If it is a daughter, you make the room pretty…. If it is a son, the room might have airplanes or model cars. If it is for Grandma, the room might have her favorite books; and it might be far from the playroom or the children’s bedrooms. We take care in such preparation. Are we to think that Jesus will take less care for those whom he loves, who are to spend eternity with him?” – The Gospel of John, Boice, pg.95

This verse teaches that heaven is under construction. Jesus has gone to heaven “to prepare” or “to make ready” [hetoimazo] our dwelling place for us.

John’s readers would have pictured a first-century house in Palestinian when they read these words. The “dwelling place” [mone] was built around a central courtyard and designed for sons to bring their spouses to live there as well and raise their families there. Each household had its own room or apartment within the house that provided privacy. Members also had (closeness to the father of the family by gathering in the courtyard. The “dwelling place” may have been quite modest even though the house was huge. The KJV translation “mansion” today conjures up the wrong idea. The glory of our future dwelling is not in its size or prestige but in the presence of Christ.

“If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:3)

Jesus here spoke of the rapture as he began his closing message to his disciples. The passage reveals several things regarding the rapture.

“One is that it is a planned event; at the time of his departure Christ anticipated returning for the disciples. Another is that it concerns Christ’s own followers. Christ was speaking only to when he gave the promise. Third, Christ’s return for his own will be personal. He himself will come for them, not by sending some angel, for instance, nor merely giving a general permission for the church finally to come to him. Fourth. the rapture results in the church being taken out of the world. Jesus said that he would come and “receive” the disciples, that where he had made the preparations, they might be also. The church will not remain here on earth, then, merely in some improved status, but will be taken away from the earth to heaven.” ­ – The Bible and Future Events, pgs.40,41

“Many signs were given to the nation Israel, which would precede the second advent, so that the nation might be living in expectancy when the time of His corning should draw nigh. Although Israel could not know the day nor the hour when the Lord will come, yet they can know that their redemption draweth nigh through the fulfillment of these signs. To the church no such signs were ever given. The church was told to live in the light of the imminent coming of the Lord to translate them in his presence (John 14:2-3; Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; Philippians 3:20; Colossians 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Timothy 6:14; James 5:8; 1 Peter 3:3-4). Such passages as 1 Thessalonians 5:6; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:3 all warn the believer to be watching for the Lord himself, not for signs that would precede his coming. It is true that the events of the seventieth week will cast an adumbration before the rapture, but the object of the believer’s attention is always directed to Christ, never to these portents.” – Things to Come, pgs.202-203

This passage teaches the doctrine of imminence, or “at any moment coming.” The rapture reflects the traditions of a Jewish wedding. Although the Jewish bride was expecting her groom to come for her, she did not know the exact time of his coming.

The Jewish bridegroom took the initiative in marriage by leaving his father’s house and traveling to the home of the prospective bride. So Jesus left his Father’s house in heaven and traveled to the earth; the home of his prospective church (bride). Jesus came to earth to obtain the church (bride) through the establishment of a covenant.

At the home of the prospective bride, the Jewish bridegroom would negotiate with her father to determine the price [mohar] that he must pay to purchase his bride. On the same night Jesus made his promise in John 14, he instituted communion. In this communion, he passed the cup of wine to the disciples saying: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood” (1 Corinthians 1:25). Jesus established an eternal covenant through his blood. His Holy Spirit is the “ring” sealing the bride with a guarantee that he will return for her (Hebrews 13:20; Luke 22:20; Ephesians 1:13).

Once the bridegroom paid the purchase price, the marriage covenant was established, and the young man and woman were regarded as husband and wife. From that moment on, the bride was declared to be consecrated or sanctified; set apart exclusively for her bridegroom. Jesus paid a price to purchase the church (bride). The price he paid was his life blood (Acts 20:28, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). So the church is said to be sanctified and set apart exclusively for Christ (Ephesians 5:25-27; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 6:11; Hebrews 10:10; 13:12).

As a symbol of the covenant relationship, the groom and bride would drink from a cup of wine over which a betrothal benediction had been pronounced. The cup of communion serves as the symbol of the covenant through which Christ has obtained the His bride the church (1 Corinthians 11:25).

After the marriage covenant was established, the groom would leave the bride’s home and return to his father’s house. There he would remain separate from his bride for usually at least a period of 12 months. Just as the Jewish groom left the home of his bride and returned to his father’s house, so Jesus left the earth, the home of the church (bride) and returned to his Father’s house in heaven after he’d established the new covenant and risen from the dead. The church is currently living in this period of separation awaiting Christ’s return (John 6:62; 20:17).

During this period of separation between the Jewish bride and groom, the bride would use this time to gather her trousseau and prepare for her married life. The groom occupied himself with the preparation of living accommodations in his father’s house where he would bring his bride. Parallel to the custom of the Jewish groom preparing living accommodations for his bride in his father’s house, Christ as been preparing living accommodations for the church in His Father’s house in heaven. (John 14:2)

Dr. Dwight Pentecost writes, “In relation to the eternal destiny of the church saints, it is to be observed that their destiny primarily is related to a Person rather than a place. While the place looms with importance (John 14:3), the place is overshadowed by the Person into whose presence the believer is taken.

  • John 14:3, If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
  • Colossians 3:4, When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
  • 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
  • 1 John 3:2, 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.

It is the Person who is emphasized in all the passages dealing with the glorious expectation of the church rather than the place to which they are taken.” Things to Come, pgs.562

“And you know the way where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to Him, 0 Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” (John 14:4-5)

They didn’t even know where he was going, much less how to get there. So Jesus explained that he is the only way to God and heaven. They may not have fully understood Jesus’ teaching at that time, but after the resurrection, they got it. A couple of months later, when Peter was preaching, he said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6)

“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic (on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg) or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.” – C.S. Lewis

Our Lord in John 14:6 says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The word “way” is from a Greek word which has two uses, a literal and a metaphorical. It was used to speak of a road and also to refer to a method or manner of accomplishing something. These uses are closely intertwined and cannot be disassociated. The road leading to a certain place is the method of getting there. Our Lord is the literal road which a sinner must take if he is to reach heaven, and Jesus thus becomes the method by which he is saved. Missing the glory of God is evidence of the fact that the sinner has not gone in the right direction, and that shows that he has not been on the right road. He has missed the road. To reach heaven, the sinner must put himself on the road to heaven. Jesus is that road. – Word Studies in the Greek New Testament Vol.3, pgs.88,89

The way to the Father is not a road but a relationship.

  1. “Let there be no mistake, while Christianity is open to all people, heaven is not! Call it narrow-minded, call it intolerant, call it what you like as long as you call it truth from the lips of Jesus.” – Mark Moore
  2. Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
  3. 2 Timothy 2:5-6, For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.”
  4. “Jesus made it clear that the destination was the Father. He did not say that he came to show the way, but that he himself was the actual means for bringing men to God. An illustration might be a flowing river whose current actually conveys the boat to its destination, or the modern escalator which is not only the route but is also the conveyor from one level to another.” -­ Homer A Kent Jr.

This is the sixth of seven “I AM” statements in John (John 6:48; 8:12; 10:9; 10:11; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1). The first description of Jesus, “The Way,” became one of the names of the early church (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:22). The second and third descriptions of Jesus (truth and life) are found in a number of other places in John:

“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” (John 14:7)

God has revealed himself through His Son. John 1:18, No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” (John 14:8)

We get three glimpses of Philip in John. He was one of the first to follow Jesus clear back in the days of John the Baptist (John 1:43-46). His first act of devotion to Jesus was to lead him to Nathanael. A couple of years later it was Philip whom Jesus tested at the feeding of the five thousand by asking how they would feed all these people (John 6:5-7). Finally, in John 12:21, the Greeks who wanted to see Jesus petitioned Philip to take them to him.

Here we find Philip making a request. Philip wants a visual glimpse of God. He is probably thinking in terms of a vision like Ezekiel’s (1-2) or Isaiah’s (6) or even Moses’ (Exodus 33:18-23). But Jesus gives him nothing more than he needs and nothing less than himself. To see Jesus is to see the Father (Hebrews 1:3). Granted, Jesus’ incarnational form is not nearly as striking as these visions of God. Then again, his incarnational form was not nearly as striking as his own non-incarnational visions (Isaiah 11:3-5; Ezekiel 40:3; Daniel 10:6; Revelation 1:12-16). Nevertheless, what is needed here is not a striking vision but an accurate revelation of the character, purpose, and acts of God. These are represented with striking clarity in Jesus’ incarnational ministry through his words (John 14:10) and his works (John 14:11), both of which come directly from the Father (John 5:18-23, 36-39; 8:41-42; 10:30-32, 37-38; 12:49-50).

Dr. Ray Stedman writes, “Everyone was surprised when Philip spoke up. It was as if the table had suddenly spoken. He was the quiet, mousy disciple who never said anything. Yet all the sob and agony of man’s hunger for God is heard in this cry, “Show us the Father and we’ll be satisfied.” Our Lord’s answer is a quiet rebuke: “Philip, after three and a half years haven’t you yet found out who I am? I came to reveal the Father. When you know me you have known the Father.”

These are, confessedly, words of mystery. They reveal what theologians have called the “Doctrine of the Trinity”; that three distinct Persons can still exist as only one God. It is beyond our human comprehension. We have nothing to compare it with, thus we struggle to grasp it.” (pg.5)

Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? (John 14:9)

Paul in Colossians 1:15 spoke of Christ as “the image of the invisible God.” “The word “image” has the obvious idea of likeness, but the Greek word does not refer to an accidental likeness, as one egg is like another. It implies an original of which the image is a copy. But the image in this case is not the result of direct imitation as the head of a king on a coin, but is derived, like the features of the parent in the child. In John 3:16 our Lord is the only begotten Son of God. John 1:18 refers to him as the only begotten God, the word “God” appearing in the best manuscripts. It is a tremendous thought. The word ‘only begotten’ does not only mean that our Lord was the only Son of God, but that he as God the Son is alone of his kind, unique, be­ gotten of God through eternal generation. He is the image of God in the sense that he is a derived representation of God the Father, co-existent eternally with him, possessing the same essence, deity himself. Being the representative of God, he is also therefore the manifestation of God. He said to Philip, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). – Word Studies in the Greek New Testament Vol.3, pgs.83

John 1:18 says, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” This verse teaches us that our Lord never started to be God’s only begotten Son. He always was his Son. He possesses the same essence as God the Father, and therefore he can in his incarnation fully explain God. The verb “has explained” in John 1:18 is a Greek word which means “to lead out.” “God the Son in his incarnation led the Father out from behind the curtain of his invisibility into full view. The Greek word here comes into the English language in the word ‘exegesis.’ Exegesis is the method of Bible study in which we fully explain every detail of the text. Jesus Christ has in his incarnation, fully explained in finite terms so far as finite minds can grasp, all the details of the Person of God the Father. He said, ‘He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.’ Thus Jesus Christ is the exegesis of God.” ­- Word Studies in the Greek New Testament Vol.3, pgs. 85-86

The Bible teaches that the Godhead exists eternally in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one God. (Genesis 1:1, 26; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19-20; John 4:24; 2 Corinthians 13:14).

John 14:9 (“He who has seen Me has seen the Father”) and John 14:10 (“I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me”) have been misused to teach the heresy of Modalism.

Modalism -A Third Century Heresy

“Modalism claims that there is one person who appears to us in three different forms (or “modes”). At various times people have taught that God is not really three distinct persons, but only one person who appears to people in different “modes” at different times. For example, in the Old Testament God appeared as “Father.” Throughout the gospels, this same divine person appeared as “the Son” as seen in the human life and ministry of Jesus. After Pentecost, this same person then revealed himself as the “Spirit” active in the church.

This teaching is also referred to by two other names. Sometimes it is called Sabellianism, after a teacher named Sabellius who lived in Rome in the early third century A.D. Another term for modalism is “modalistic monarchianism,” because this teaching not only says that God revealed himself in different “modes” but it also says that there is only one supreme ruler (“monarch”) in the universe and that is God himself, who consists of only one person.

Modalism gains its attractiveness from the desire to emphasize clearly the fact that there is only one God. It may claim support not only from the passages talking about one God, but also from passages such as John 10:30 (“I and the Father are one”) and John 14:9 (“He who has seen me has seen the Father”).

However, the last passage can simply mean that Jesus fully reveals the character of God the Father, and the former passage (John 10:30), in a context in which Jesus affirms that he will accomplish all that the Father has given him to do and save all whom the Father has given to him, seems to mean that Jesus and the Father are one in purpose (though it may also imply oneness of essence).

The fatal shortcoming of modalism is the fact that it must deny the personal relationships within the Trinity that appear in so many places in Scripture (or it must affirm that these were simply an illusion and not real). Thus, it must deny three separate persons at the baptism of Jesus, where the Father speaks from heaven and the Spirit descends on Jesus like a dove. And it must say that all those instances where Jesus is praying to the Father are an illusion or a charade. The idea of the Son or the Holy Spirit interceding for us before God the Father is lost. Finally, modalism ultimately loses the heart of the doctrine of the atonement that is, the idea that God sent his Son as a substitutionary sacrifice, and that the Son bore the wrath of God in our place, and that the Father, representing the interests of the Trinity, saw the suffering of Christ and was satisfied (Isaiah 53:11).

Moreover, modalism denies the independence of God, for if God is only one person, then he has no ability to love and to communicate without other persons in his creation. Therefore it was necessary for God to create the world, and God would no longer be independent of creation.

One present denomination within Protestantism (broadly defined), the United Pentecostal Church, is modalistic in its doctrinal position. Some of the leaders who formed this group had earlier been forced out of the Assemblies of God.”- Systematic Theology, pg.242

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.” (John 14:10)

The word “abide” [meno] is one of John’s favorite words. Its classical usage will throw light upon the way it is used in the N.T. It meant “to stay, stand fast, abide, to stay at home, stay where one is, not stir, to remain as one was, to remain as before.” In the N.T., it means “to tarry, to dwell at one’s own house, to tarry as a guest, to lodge, to maintain unbroken fellowship with one, to adhere to his party, to be constantly present to help one, to put forth constant influence upon one.” In this verse God is said to meno in Christ… to be constantly present with him, to be continually operative in him by his divine influence and energy. – Word Studies in the Greek New Testament Vol.3, pgs.64,65

“Believe [Present Imperative] Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe [Present Imperative] because of the works themselves.” (John 14:11)

The proof of the union of Jesus and His Father is threefold. They should believe Jesus

  1. Because of his character (“I am in the Father [John 14:20] and… the Father is in Me”)
  2. Because His words are the Father’s (“The words I say to you are not just My own” (John 7:16; 12:49-50; 14:24)
  3. Because the miracles reveal God’s working through Him (the Father, living in Me… is doing His work…. believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves; John 5:36). One of the key elements in John’s Gospel is the stress on the signs as gracious pointers to faith (John 5:36; 10:25, 38; 11:47; 12:37; 20:30-31).

Greater Works Than Jesus?

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.” (John 14:12)

Jesus did not mean greater works in power, but in extent. They would become witnesses to all the world through the power of the indwelling and infilling of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) and would bring many to salvation because of the Comforter dwelling in them. The focus is on spiritual rather than physical miracles.

What are the “greater works” that Jesus promised that those who believe in him could do? The Gospel writers used the word “works” [ergon] to describe Jesus’ miraculous works (Matthew 11:2; Luke 24:19). “John accords them theological significance (John 5:36; 7:3, 21; 15:24). The works validate Jesus’ claims about himself and point to the Father who sent him. His works are intended to draw faith responses from those who witness them (John 14:11 ).” – Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words pg.807

  • John 5:20, For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.
  • John 5:36, But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish – the very works that I do – testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.
  • John 6:28, Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?
  • John 7:3, Therefore His brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing.
  • John 9:3-4, Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.
  • John 10:25, Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me.
  • John 10:32, Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?”
  • John 10:37-38, If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38but if I do them, 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 14:10-12, Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11″Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. 12″Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.

How could we do more miracles than Jesus did? John 21:25 says, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.”

The text literally says, “Most assuredly, I am saying to you, he who believes in me, the works which I am constantly doing, also that one shall do” – The New Testament: An Expanded Translation pg. 249

So what went wrong? Was this a false promise or have we failed in some way? God’s miracle working power through men was very rare over biblical history. There were no miracles

  • From creation until Moses – 2700 years (Exodus 4:8-9, 17, 28, 30; 7:3; 8:23; 13:9; 10:1,2).
  • From Moses until Elijah – 600 years (1 Kings 17:14-24; 18:24, 25; 2 Kings 4:8-37).
  • From Elijah to Christ – 900 years (John 20:30-31; 21:25; Acts 2:22).

The book of Acts gives us a historical narrative of the first 30 years of the church. During the first 20 years of the early church, the Book of Acts records eighteen miracles (Acts 1-18) and over the next 10 years five miracles are recorded (Acts 19-28). With the exception of a few cases of the miraculous that have not been verifiable the church hasn’t seen the miracles that Jesus promised. There has been a strange absence of miracles among Jesus’ disciples throughout the church age until the present. Is it a lack of faith on our part or has Christ failed to keep his promise? Don’t just think of the supernatural as physical phenomenon.

Homer Kent writes, “This certainly did not mean that believers would perform more amazing physical miracles that Jesus did (e.g., stilling the storm, feeding 5,000, opening the eyes of the blind, curing the lame, healing an amputated ear, raising the dead, etc.). The answer is indicated by the fact that Christ’s return to the Father is said to be the cause. Hence these greater works would be spiritual ones, in which the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection would be proclaimed as the transforming power for sinful men. As a consequence, Gentiles as well as Jews would be reached, and a new spiritual body, the New Testament church, would be created.” – Light in the Darkness pg.174

So when Jesus speaks of “greater works” he must mean “greater” in a spiritual dimension. When we look at both the record of Scripture and of church history we see how true this is: On the day of Pentecost, 40 days after our Lord uttered these words, Peter, filled with the power of the Spirit, preached with such effect that 3,000 people were converted in one day. That never happened during Jesus1 ministry. Perhaps a few hundred on occasion believed when he preached, but a mere handful was the usual response, never thousands as the book of Acts reports.

“…greater, not in power, but in extent or scope, due to the indwelling Spirit; the focus is on the spiritual, not physical miracles.” – John MacArthur

But it is unlikely that Jesus had miracles in mind when he says the Apostles will do greater works than he himself has done. After all, what greater miracle could there be than raising a person from the dead? And Jesus did three of these (excluding his own), while the “greatest” Apostles, Peter, and Paul, only had one each (Acts 9:40-41; 20:10). Certainly, the greatness of Jesus’s followers would not be in the number or character of their miracles but in the number and character of their converts. How great indeed are the works of those who break the barriers of geography and ethnicity to bring to Christ people from every tongue and tribe.

This is from John MacArthur on What It Means to Do Greater Works than Jesus:

“Many charismatic teachers look to the above verse to validate their teaching. They see it as a proof text for the notion that present-day believers can perform miraculous signs and wonders, even more spectacular than Jesus Himself. Reinhard Bonnke, who claims to have raised the dead, is one prominent charismatic who subscribes to that view, and has even written a book offering his interpretation of what Jesus meant by “greater works.”

But Bonnke’s view not only contradicts church history, it also defies Jesus’ teaching in Scripture. In the following audio clip, John MacArthur explains the true, and far more profound, meaning of John 14:12.

One of the great tragedies of the charismatic movement’s fixation on miracles is that it drags the focus away from biblical priorities. Rather than bring the life-transforming power of Scripture to bear on a lost and dying world, too many charismatics long for God’s power to manifest itself in and through their own experiences.

We don’t do things that are greater in power, how could we? I certainly cannot heal the sick, cast out demons from unbelievers, I can’t raise the dead, I cannot walk on water, I cannot pronounce curses on people, I can’t make food and feed people by the tens of thousands. I cannot know what people think, I cannot know what’s on their hearts, I cannot articulate their unasked questions, I cannot predict the future, those are things that Christ did and He did them routinely and regularly.

So when Scripture says that we will do greater works than Jesus, it’s not greater in kind, its greater in extent and what it means is, that the proclamation of the gospel which for Jesus was limited to one nation, one small piece of geography will go far beyond that. We who live in generation after generation since the life of our Lord are fulfilling the Great Commission and the Gospel is expanding and covering the whole earth. Not greater in kind but greater in extent, greater in world influence. These are the works that we are able to do because we know the truth and possess the Holy Spirit.” (Source: www.gty.org)

“Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” (John 14:13-14)

“In their hour of loss at the departure of Jesus, he comforted them with the means that would provide them with the necessary resources to accomplish their task without his immediate presence which they had come to depend upon. To ask in Jesus’ “name” does not mean to tack such an expression on the end of a prayer as a mere formula. According to the MacArthur Study Bible, pg.1579, it means:

  1. The believer’s prayer should be for his purposes and kingdom and not selfish reasons
  2. The believer’s prayer should be on the basis of his merits and not any personal merit or worthiness
  3. The believer’s prayer should be in pursuit of His glory alone

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) The disciples’ love for Christ is revealed in their obeying his commands (John 14:21, 23; 1 John 2:3; 3:22, 24; 5:3).

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled [Present Imperative], nor let it be fearful [Present Imperative].” (John 14:27)

The peace Jesus spoke of could not be exemption from conflict and trial. Jesus himself was “troubled” (John 12:27) by the impending crucifixion. The peace he spoke of is the calmness of confidence in God. Jesus had this peace because he was sure of the Father’s love and approval. The world can give only false peace, which mostly comes from the ignorance of peril or self-reliance. Jesus, fully aware of the distressing suffering confronting him, had such confidence in the purpose and power of the Father that he moved forward unhesitatingly to meet the crisis without fear. His peace would be the source of courage for the disciples. With his promise of peace, he repeated the words of comfort he had spoken in reply to Peter’s question: “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:1). – The Expositor’s Bible Commentary

Sources: 

  1. Serendipity Bible for Groups by: Serendipity House, Zondervan Publishing House, 1998
  2. The Gospel Under Siege by: Zane C. Hodges, Redenci6n Viva, 1981
  3. The New Testament: An Expanded Translation by: Kenneth S. Wuest, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1961
  4. Expository Dictionary of Bible Words by: Lawrence 0. Richards, Zondervan Publishing House, 1985, pg.484
  5. The Gospel of John by: James Montgomery Boice, Zondervan Publishing House, 1978
  6. Light in the Darkness, by: Homer A. Kent Jr., Baker Book House, 1974, pg.173
  7. Mere Christianity, by: C.S. Lewis, Macmillan Publishing Co., 1960, pg.56
  8. The Gospel According To Jesus – The Nature of True Faith by: John F. MacArthur, Zondervan Publishing House, 1988, Pages 169-178
  9. The Chronological Life of Christ Vol.2 by: Mark E. Moore, College Press,1997, pages 230-234
  10. Word Studies in the Greek New Testament Vol.3, Kenneth S. Wuest, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1973
  11. The NIV Serendipity Bible Study of John, Edited by: Lyman Coleman, Denny Rydberg, Richard Peace, Gary Chrisropherson, Zondervan Publishing House, 1986
  12. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary Vol.9, by: Frank E. Gaebelein, Zondervan Publishing House, 1981
  13. The Gospel of John by: John MacArthur, Word of Grace Communications
  14. John: God’s Word for the Biblically-Inept Series by: Lin Johnson & Larry Richards, Starburst Publishers, 2000
  15. Day Counter Bible Studies by: Thomas R. Lovejoy, 1989
  16. John – MacArthur Bible Studies by: John MacArthur, W. Publishing Group, 2000
  17. The Chronological Life of Christ Vo/.2 by: Mark E. Moore, College Press Publishing Company, 1977
  18. Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words by: W. E. Vine & M.F. Unger & W. White, Nelson: Nashville, 1996.
  19. Systematic Theology by: Wayne Grudem, lnterVarsity Press, Zondervan, 2000, pg.242
  20. The Cure for Heart Trouble by: Ray Stedman, Message No: 38; Catalog No: 3868
  21. Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words by: William D. Mounce, Zondervan, 2006
  22. The Gospel According To Jesus- The Nature of True Faith by: John F. MacArthur, Zondervan Publishing House, 1988, Pages 169-178
  23. The Bible & Future Events by: Leon J. Wood, Zondervan Publishing House, 1973
  24. Things to Come by: J. Dwight Pentecost, Zondervan Publishing House, 1958

[Based on my classes with Richard D. Leineweber Jr.]
© Copyright 1994 Richard D. Leineweber Jr.

Celebrate the Lord’s Supper

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This post is from Christopher J. Katulka, who is a Church Ministries representative for The Friends of Israel: Part 1 and Part 2.

Passover is full of ancient Jewish symbolism orchestrated in such a way to remind the Jewish people of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt. If you’ve never celebrated a Passover Seder, I’d encourage you to find out where one is being held near you and attend. The Passover Seder will certainly enrich your walk with the Lord.

Jewish tradition that can be traced back even prior to Christ records that the Jews drank from four cups of wine during the Passover meal. Each of the four cups have a special name attached to them and act as fence posts holding together the seders sequence of events. The four cups are connected to sections of Exodus 6:6 and 6:7:

“Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”

These two verses are called the “I will” passages, where God explains to Moses his course of action and reminds Moses he’s simply a servant. It’s the Lord who will complete the divine task of delivering the Israelites. We’re going to take a look at the meaning behind these four cups that are taken during the Passover Seder both then and now.

Cup of Sanctification:

The Passover Seder starts with the drinking of the first of four cups or wine. The first cup is called the Cup of Sanctification. The Cup of Sanctification is connected to Exodus 6:6 where the Lord tells Moses, “I will bring you out.”

The word “sanctification” is associated with the idea of being set apart and being made holy. Here in the book of Exodus the Lord promises the Israelites that He is going to separate them from the Egyptian empire and make them a special and holy people to be used for His purposes and glory (read Exodus 19:5,6).

The Cup of Sanctification is something that is very applicable to the Christian life today. Just as God separated His people from the Egypt, Jesus has separated the believer from this world, “… If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, I chose you out of the world”. Believers have been set aside, made holy, and sanctified by the blood of Christ. The writer of Hebrews says, “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.” (Heb. 13:12).

Cup of Praise:

As the Passover celebration continues the second cup of wine appears to remind the Jewish people to praise God, hence the name of the second cup is the Cup of Praise. The Cup of Praise is associated with the section in Exodus 6:6, “I will bring you out from under the burdens of Egypt.”

For more than 400 years the Israelites lived in the land of Egypt, and for a majority of those years they were considered slaves. The Israelites, who were once promised a land of their own, were forced to live in Egypt and build an empire that was not their own. They worked tirelessly doing backbreaking work probably wondering if the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had abandoned them. And then God called Moses and told him to tell the weary and worn Israelites, “I will bring you out from under the burdens of Egypt.” Those words alone should have caused every Israelite to jump out of their seats and PRAISE God for this amazing promise of freedom from the oppression of Egypt.

As Christians we cannot overlook the significance of the Cup of Praise. Just as God freed the Israelites from the control of the Egyptians, Christ released the believer from the bondage of sin. Paul tells us that for the believer, “sin shall not be a master over you” (Romans 6:14). We have been set free from shackles of Satan to live a life of freedom in Christ. As believers we should Praise God for His grace and mercy toward us. So lets “Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness” (Psalms 150:2).

Cup of Redemption:

The Gospel writers really take the time to focus in on this particular cup of the Passover seder Jesus celebrated with His disciples. According to Scriptures the Cup of Redemption becomes the cup that Jesus will connect to His shed blood.

You have to imagine being in the upper room that evening as Jesus was leading His dear friends and followers, the disciples, through the Passover seder. I’m sure the disciples had their Passover routine down. As decent Jewish men the disciples would have celebrated Passover every year and many of them were probably over the age of thirty so they knew the drill. The disciples knew every element of the seder, and each elements meaning. Until Jesus gets to the Cup of Redemption.

Typically the disciples would have associated the third cup with Exodus 6:6, “I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.” However, Jesus stops them and applies a new meaning to the cup. In the same way the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob used the Passover Lamb to redeem the Israelites from the bondage of Egypt… Jesus’ shed blood would redeem those who believe in Him by His shed blood.

Cup of Acceptance:

As the Passover seder comes to a close the last cup that is taken is called the Cup of Acceptance which is connected to Exodus 6:7, “Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.” Did you know Jesus rejected this cup during the seder, His Last Supper!

Directly after Jesus takes the third cup of the seder, the Cup of Redemption, Jesus says these profound words… “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” Jesus rejection of the fourth cup actually makes sense. The passage connected to the cup, Exodus 6:7, highlights that as a result of God setting apart, removing, and delivering Israel from Egypt they would have an intimate relationship and God would accept them to Himself.

But what happens when the people reject God? Sadly, Israel never accepted Jesus as the promised Messiah so Jesus turned down the last cup. But notice, all is not lost. The Passover is designed to look ahead prophetically as well as look to the past. Even though Jesus denied the Cup of Acceptance He did promise to the disciples that He would drink it, “new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

There is coming a day, a glorious day, when Jesus will accept the nation of Israel and the people of Israel will accept Jesus as King!

How to Love One Another

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Today we are talking about Loving One Another, based on John 13:1-17; 34-35.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop the character quality of agape love for fellow Christians. Jesus stooped to love His disciples by meeting a very practical need that they had – dirty feet.

Historical Background: John’s Gospel reports more of the content of Jesus’ instructions to His disciples than does the other three Gospels. Chapters 13-17 concentrate on His teachings on that fateful night in which He was arrested. Before the instruction,Jesus washed His disciples’ feet and predicted His betrayal.

The first 12 chapters of the Gospel of John cover approximately 3 years in the public ministry of Christ. In these chapters John records His earliest contacts with the disciples and how he moved among the people throughout these three years working miracles and preaching His message (John 20:30-31).

Chapters 13-17 are restricted to one evening in Christ’s life. The audience also is limited to the 12 men that He has experienced authentic biblical community with over the past three years. This one evening was the last night before the crucifixion. There are many things that happen on this final evening but John alone records the washing of the disciple’s feet.

There is a change in John’s vocabulary from this point on. In chapters 1-12 this gospel is marked by words like “life” (50 times) and “light” (32 times). In chapters 13-17 the word “life” only occurs 6 times and “light” not at all. In contrast, the word “love” is found only 6 times in chapters 1-12 and 31 times in chapters 13-1 7. Clearly love takes on a new prominence in this farewell discourse.

Historical Chronology: Triumphal Entry & the fig tree [from Bethany to Jerusalem to Bethany] (Thomas and Gundry Sections 128-131). Here we see growing popularity among the masses (John 12:12-16) culminating in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. At the same time there is a growing hatred from the religious leaders (John 12:19). They were desperately threatened by his words that judged their hypocrisy, but also by the number of people who were attracted to Him and His teaching.

  1. Official challenge to Christ’s Authority [Jerusalem in the temple] Sec.132-135
  2. Christ’s response to His enemies’ challenges [Jerusalem in the temple] Sec.136-138
  3. The Olivet Discourse: Jesus speaks prophetically about the temple and his second coming [from the temple to the Mount of Olives] Sec.139
  4. Arrangements for betrayal and plot by the Sanhedrin to arrest and kill Jesus [Mount of Olives & the palace of the high priest] Sec.140-142
  5. The Last Supper [Jerusalem]
    1. Preparation for the Passover meal in Jerusalem (Sec. 143 – Matthew 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-13). The Passover Feast was an important event in Israel’s) history that commemorated their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. The preparations were incomplete because there was no servant at the door to wash dirty feet.
    2. Beginning the Passover meal & dissension among the disciples in the upper room in Jerusalem (Sec. 144 – Matthew 26:20; Mark 14:17; Luke 22:14-16, 24-30).
    3. Washing the Disciples feet in the upper room in Jerusalem (Sec. 145 – John 13:1-20).
    4. After returning to the table Jesus commands them to follow His example and love one another (Sec. 145-147 John 13:15,17,34,35). “By means of his words to his disciples, we are permitted here to enter into the thinking and emotions of Jesus just before his own crucifixion. Within hours of this event the Lord was hanging upon a cross. In less than twenty-four hours he was dead and buried. These therefore, constitute the last words of Jesus before his own death.” – Ray Stedman

Commanded in the Gospels: John 13:34; 15:12; 15:17

Illustrated in the Book of Acts: Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” The early church in The Book of Acts was characterized by love in action. Their love for one another was expressed in practical ways within their Christian community and outsiders were well aware that they were disciples of Christ because of their love.

Amplified in the Epistles:

  • Love [agapao): Romans 13:8; 2 Corinthians 11:11; 12:15; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; 1 Peter 1:22; 2:17; 1 John 2:10; 3:10, 11, 14, 18, 23; 4:7, 11, 12, 20, 21; 5:1-2; 2 John 1:5; 3 John 1:1.
  • Love [agape]: Romans 14:15; 1 Corinthians 4:21; 8:1; 13:1-4, 8, 13; 14:1; 16:14; 2 Corinthians 2:4,8; 6:6; 8:7, 8, 24; Galatians 5:13, 22; Ephesians 4:2, 15, 16; 5:2; Philippians 1:9; 2:2; Colossians 1:4, 8; 2:2; 3:14; 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 3:12; 5:13; 2 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Timothy 4:12; 6:11; 2 Timothy 1:7; 2:22; 3:10; Philemon 1:5, 7, 9; Hebrews 6:10; 10:24; 1 Peter 4:8; 5:14; 2 Peter 1:7; 3 John 1:6; Jude 1:12.
  • Love [phileo): Titus 3:15.
  • Brotherly love [philadelphia]: Romans 12:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:9; Hebrews 13:1; 1 Peter 1:22; 2 Peter 1:7.

Discussion Questions:

1 . What evening of the Passover week did Jesus give His disciples this command to love one another? (John 13:1-2; Matthew 26:20) The Passover feast began on the 15th Nisan at sunset, the Passover lamb being slain the afternoon of 14th Nisan. There seems no real doubt that this meal in John 13:1-30 is the real Passover meal described by the Synoptic Gospels (Mark l4:18-21; Matthew 26:21-25; Luke 22:21-23), followed by the institution of the Lord’s Supper.

Whether this meal was the actual Passover or not has been warmly debated, yet it seems that it occurred on the same night as the arrest and betrayal. If so, it was presumably Thursday night; and the Crucifixion occurred on Friday, the day before the Passover, which would have begun on Friday evening.

Luke states that when the day came on which the Passover lamb was to be sacrificed, Peter and John were sent to arrange the meal that the Lord and his disciples ate that evening (Luke 22:7-14). Matthew 26:17-20 and Mark 14:12-17 agree that the meal was on the day on which the Passover lamb was killed, which preceded the Passover itself. John stated later (John 18:28) that the Jewish delegates could not enter Pilate’s hall on Friday morning because they would be defiled and unable to eat the Passover. In that case, the last Supper must have preceded the Passover by twenty-four hours. If the Passover began on Friday night, the meal could have taken place on Thursday night, but would not have been the standard Passover Feast.

Jesus did celebrate the meal with his disciples on Thursday night, the hearing before Pilate and the Crucifixion took place on Friday, and his body was placed in the tomb before sunset late that afternoon.

John noted that it happened “before the feast of the Passover.” These words might suggest that this incident occurred while the evening meal was being served but before they actually came to the place where the Passover lamb would be eaten.

John alludes to the nearness of the Passover as if to remind his reader that Jesus had been introduced by John the Baptist as the “lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). As the first Passover had been the turning point in the redemption of the people of God, so the Cross would be the opening of a new era for believers.

2. What does John 13:1 tell us about Jesus? The word “know” is in the perfect tense. Vines says that this verb, “signifies, primarily, to have seen or perceived; hence, to know, to have knowledge of.” This word “know” emphasizes the full consciousness of Christ, he was not stumbling into the dark as he faced “his hour.” Jesus had a thorough knowledge of the time schedule he was on to redeem the world.

3. How does John 13:1 describe Jesus’ love for his disciples? The apostles, having joined Christ at this feast, were overcome with selfish ambition (Luke 22:24). They also had given way to greed (Matthew 26:8). In contrast, Christ was filled with love for his disciples. A love [agapesas] that he was prepared to choose through an act of his will to give his life as a sacrifice for their sins and the sins of the entire world.

The opening verse of chapter 13 sets the scene for the whole of chapters 13-17. Love is one of the key terms in chapters 13-17, it occurs 31 times in these five chapters as compared to only six times in chapters 1-12.

Christ had already demonstrated his love for them; choosing them, teaching them, protecting them, and meeting their needs were all reflections of His love. The disciples at this point didn’t fully understand the extent of Christ’s love, but later the writer of this gospel expressed his fuller comprehension of his Savior’s love in the first epistle he wrote.

1 John 3:16 “We know love by this,that He laid down His life for us;and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” The verb “loved” [agapao] describes the act of the will that gives to others’ basic needs without having as my motive personal reward. Agape love involves sacrificing myself and my comfort to meet another’s need.

Vines Expository Dictionary says: “Christian (Agape) love, whether exercised toward the brethren, or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings, it does not always run with the natural inclinations, nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom some affinity is discovered. Love seeks the welfare of all, (Romans 15:2), and works no ill to any, (Romans 13:8-10); love seeks opportunity to do good to ‘all men, and especially toward them that are of the household of the faith,”‘ (Galatians 6:10).

Jesus loved his disciples “to the end” [eis telos] may be rendered “to the uttermost, completely, to perfection, utterly, to the fullest extent. Jesus’ love for His disciples was a perfect, saving, eternal love. With a full knowledge of his coming suffering and death, he was still totally preoccupied with an all-consuming, perfect, and full love for own His disciples.

One commentator writes, “Love is the laying down of one’s life, and therefore to love completely means to love to the end of one’s life (1 John 3:16). The love that has been evident throughout continues right up to the end. At the end, in the crucifixion, we will see the ultimate revelation of that love,that is,its full extent.

These disciples that are being loved are called, “his own” [tous idious]. These disciples were given to him by the Father (John 10:29). Jesus had accepted the responsibility for them and was obliged to instruct and protect them (John 17:6-12). He loved them.

4. What new commandment does Jesus give his disciples in this passage? John 13:34-35 says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love [Present Imperative] one another,even as I have loved you,that you also love [Present Imperative] one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Love itself is NOT a new commandment (Leviticus 19:18). The new thing appears to be the mutual affection that Christians have for one another on account of Christ’s great love for them. Plummer says “the commandment to love was not new, for “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18) was part of the Mosaic Law, but the motive is new; to love one another because Christ has loved us” (1 John 4:19; John 15:12).

The word “new” [kainen] implies “freshness” or the opposite of “worn-out” rather than simply “recent or different.” Another source says, The word “new” signifies what is fresh, in contrast to that which is familiar and well known (1 John 2:7; 3:23; 2 John 1:5; John 15:12, 17).

The “badge of discipleship is love.” Love is to be the distinguishing mark of a Christ follower. In contrast, Jesus said to an unbelieving Jewish audience… in John 5:40-42, Jesus said, “and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. 42 but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves.”

Tertullian tells us that the heathen commented on the Christians: “See they say, how they love one-another!”

In verses 1-17 Jesus models the kind of love that He wants His disciples to practice.

5. What role does the devil play in this Passover meal? (John 13:2) The present participle “during” [ginomenou] tells us that the circumstances that follow happened while the supper was in progress. But before the dinner a Satanic suggestion had already been made to Judas.

One author writes, “The circumstances are listed in detail. Judas had already determined to betray Jesus (John 13:2). His specific motive is not stated, and the impulse is attributed to satanic suggestion. The casual allusion to the devil at this point implies a deeper significance to the conflict than a mere political or theological squabble. The conflict was basically actuated by a rebellion against God, the absolute opposite of the attitude of Jesus. It is possible that Judas, realizing that Jesus’ enemies were implacably hostile and that they were politically powerful, concluded that Jesus was foredoomed to lose in the struggle and so decided that he might as well gain immunity from sharing Jesus’ fate. Judas could compensate himself by claiming the reward for betrayal. His act, however, was more serious than an incidental piece of treachery; he sold himself to the power of evil. As John 13:27 states, “Satan entered into him,” and he came under the devil’s control.”

The text says,”the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot…” The perfect tense verb “having already (now) put” [ede beblekotos] denotes a thought that was literally, thrown or cast into Judas’ heart in the past which remains in his heart and is being exposed at this meal. Luke 22:3 says that Satan entered Judas when he offered to betray Jesus. Hence John’s “already” [ede] is pertinent. John repeats his statement in verse 27. In John 6:70 Jesus a year before had said that He had chosen one that was a devil.

We are told in John 13:27, “After the morsel, Satan then entered into him. Therefore Jesus said to him (Judas), ‘What you do, do quickly.”‘ This wasn’t demon possession but devil possession.

John MacArthur writes – “The fact that the devil entered the heart of Judas” does not exonerate Judas, because his wicked heart desired exactly what the devil desired, the death of Jesus. The devil and Judas were in accord.”

John notes that the devil had already prompted Judas lscoriot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus (John 13:2). It is extremely important to realize that Jesus is going to wash the feet of one who is considering betraying him. Judas has not yet given in to the temptation (John 13:27), but the devil has prompted him, or more literally, “put it into his heart.”

  • John 13:18 “I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘HE WHO EATS MY BREAD HAS LIFTED UP HIS HEEL AGAINST ME.”‘
  • Psalm 41 :9 “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.” David’s close companion betrayed him; he kicked him while he was “down.” The ultimate fulfillment of this verse is found in Judas (John 13:18, Matthew 26:21).

6. What does John 13:3 tell us about Jesus? The text says, “Jesus, knowing [eidos, repeated from verse 1] that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come forth from God and was going back to God.” John emphasizes the fact that Jesus was not the innocent victim of a plot, unaware of what was transpiring around him. Jesus was fully aware of his authority, his divine origin, and his destiny. John says much more about the inner consciousness of Jesus than the Synoptic Gospels do, either because he was more observant or because Jesus confided in him.

Jesus plainly restates this concept in John 16:28 when He said, “I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father.”

John MacArthur writes, “He faced the betrayal, agony, and death because he knew he would be exalted to the Father afterward, where he would receive the glory and fellowship he had eternally enjoyed within the Trinity (see John 17:4-5, which says, “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 Now, Father,glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.”

Jesus is fully conscious of his deity and messianic dignity when he performs the humble act of John 13:4-11.

7. What humble act of service did Jesus perform on the night before his crucifixion? (John 13:4) The immediate situation was that they had come to the banquet room directly from the street. Ordinarily on such an occasion the host would have delegated a servant to the menial task of removing the sandals of the guests and washing their feet. Since the meeting was obviously intended to be secret, no servants were present. None of the disciples were ready to volunteer for such a task, for each would have considered it an admission of inferiority to all the others. John the Baptist had used the act of such a servant as his standard of the lowest and meanest kind of service that could be required of any man (John 1:27).

On the night before His crucifixion, Jesus’ patience must have been taxed, because they still had not learned His oft-repeated lesson on humility. Jesus nevertheless corrected them by wrapping himself in a towel. Jesus “stooped to love them” and modeled a servant’s heart. Washing dirty feet should not have surprised His disciples since He clearly stated that one of His purposes for coming was to serve.

  • Matthew 20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give
    His life a ransom for many.”
  • Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
  • Philippians 2:5-8 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

8. Who customarily would be at the door when the guest arrived? It was a custom in those times to have a servant honor the guest by washing their feet when they arrived. Feet needed to be washed because when you reclined at dinner, you really didn’t care to recline your head 18 inches from someone’s dirty feet. The roads were either muddy
or dusty. Streets weren’t paved and sidewalks were unheard of. In those days more than human beings traveled the streets so the situation was pretty unsanitary with animal droppings from horses, oxen, and camels. So it was a courtesy to wash a person’s feet when they arrived at your home for a meal.

But when the disciples came to the upper room there was no one there to wash dirty feet. Why didn’t the disciples do it? Because they were having an argument. They were arguing about whom would be the greatest in the kingdom and no one wanted to disqualify himself by becoming a servant. They were seeking rank. I believe Jesus purposefully allowed the meal to start and waited to see whether one of his disciples would volunteer to be the servant. He waited purposefully to the middle of the meal to give one of them the chance to get up and go over and pick up the towel and basin and begin to wash dirty feet. They knew what the custom was.

The dusty and dirty conditions of the region necessitated the need for footwashing. People wore sandals without socks or stockings. It was a mark of honor for a host to provide a servant to wash a guest’s feet;it was a breach of hospitality not to provide for it (1 Samuel 25:41; Luke 7:40-50; 1 Timothy 5:10). Wives often washed their husbands’ feet, and children washed their parents’ feet. Most people, of course, had to wash their own feet.

Although the disciples most likely would have been happy to wash Jesus’ feet, they could not conceive of washing each other’s feet. This was because in the society of the time footwashing was reserved for the lowliest of menial servants. Peers did not wash one another’s feet, except very rarely and as a mark of great love.

9. How did Peter respond to Jesus washing his feet? (John 13:6-7) Peter’s response may have been representative of the common feeling among the disciples that Jesus ought not to demean himself by washing their feet. The two pronouns “you” and “my” stand together at the beginning of the sentence in emphatic contrast. The emphatic use of pronouns in Peter’s surprised question, “Lord, You [su] are washing my [mou] feet?” Kenneth Wuest translates it – “He said to Him, You – my feet you are washing?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter” (John 13:7). The word “realize” [oidas] speaks of absolute and complete knowledge in contrast to the word “understanding [ginosei, future middle] which denotes knowledge gained by experience.

Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me” (John 13:8).

Peter’s reply – “NEVER shall You wash my feet!” reveal both the impetuousness of his disposition and the high regard he had for Jesus. Peter, we may suppose, drew his feet up, as he spoke, in his impulsive humility” (Bernard). Peter felt that Jesus should not degrade himself by assuming such a position.

Slaves were looked down upon in the ancient world (d. Rengstorf 1964b), and Peter cannot stand the thought of his teacher doing the work of a slave (John 13:6). It would have been appropriate for one of the disciples to have washed Jesus’ feet, but the reverse is intolerable.

Peter’s response “Never shall You wash my feet!” [ou me eis ton aiona] is a very strong expression. The beginning of John 13:8 has been translated ”You shall by no means wash my feet as long as the world stands” or “NEVER to all eternity shall you wash my feet!” In the original language, this is a strong double negative [ou me]. Kenneth Wuest literally translates this double negative as “You shall by no means wash my feet, no, never.”

10. What did Jesus mean when he told Peter, “If I do not wash you,you have no part with Me”? (John 13:8) This expresses the necessity, not only for the cleansing of Peter’s feet to make him socially acceptable for the dinner, but also for the cleansing of his person to make him fit for the kingdom of God. The external washing was intended to be a picture of spiritual cleansing from evil. This cleansing was not merely about Peter’s hygiene but about his holiness. Peter couldn’t imagine being separated from Jesus. Peter continued to miss the spiritual lesson, but he was certain of his desire to be intimately joined to Jesus.

It does not say, “you have no part in me,” it’s not referring tq salvation. Peter had already received a spiritual bath when he placed his faith in Jesus as His Savior (Forgiver) and Lord (Leader). So the issue of Peter’s footwashing was connected with his spiritual cleansing that is essential for fellowship and ministry. This is why Christ says “you have no part with me” instead of “you have no part in Me.” Spiritual filth (sin) in our lives always hinders our fellowship with God, one another and ministry effectiveness (1 John 1:3, 6-9.

The result of “confessing our sins” (1 John 1:9) for parental forgiveness is predictable because of the trustworthy nature of our God. God promises to forgive [aphe, “cancellation of debts” or the “dismissal of charges”] and to cleanse [katharizo, purification from the pollution of sin] so that fellowship can be restored.

Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head” (John 13:9). Peter impulsively says, “Not my feet only,but also my hands and my head – Give me a bath!” Peter really doesn’t understand the symbolism behind washing his feet. A.T. Robertson quotes Dods as saying, “A moment ago he told his Master he was doing too much: now he tells him He is doing too little” (Word Pictures in the NewTestament pg. 238)

11. What was Jesus symbolizing by washing the disciples feet? (John 13:9-11) The interpretation of the symbolism is clear: After salvation all one needs is confession of sins, the continual application of Jesus’ death to cleanse one’s daily sins (1 John 1:7; 2:1-2). When Jesus added that not every one of you is clean, he was referring to Judas (John 13:11, 18). This suggests that Judas was not converted.

Jesus said, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet…” John MacArthur writes, “The cleansing that Christ does at salvation never needs to be repeated, it is complete and thorough at the point of conversion. But all who have been cleansed by God’s gracious justification need constant washing in the experiential sense as they battle sin in the flesh. Believers are justified and granted imputed righteousness (Philippians 3:8, 9),but still need sanctification and personal righteousness (Philippians 3:12-14).”

The guest was supposed to bathe before coming to a feast and so only the feet had to be washed on removing the sandals. This cleansing is effected once for all, and is never repeated.

So the bathing (John 13:10) is the cleansing from sin on the cross and that the footwashing would refer to the forgiveness of one’s daily sins. This passage illustrates the doctrinal truth that there is a difference between judicial forgiveness and parental forgiveness.

JUDICIAL FORGIVENESS
Judicial forgiveness establishes a permanent relationship with God at the moment of salvation. When a person receives Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, the gavel is dropped in heaven and a person is forgiven for all of his sins (past, present, and future), declared righteous and made a child of God (Colossians 2:13; 1 John 2:12).

The Bible teaches that Satan is answerable to God (Job 1:6-7). It appears that Satan uses these “report-in” sessions as an opportunity to accuse [kategoron] God’s people of disobedience. This is the devil’s constant occupation,”day and night” [komeras kai nuktos]. The godly of all ages have been the target of his slander.

When Satan enters God’s heavenly courtroom and begins to accuse the brethren, Jesus Christ comes to our defense. 1 John 2:1-2 says, “if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins.” When Satan is accusing us, Jesus Christ is our advocate, [paraklotos] which means our defense attorney. Jesus steps up to the bench and pleads our case. He points out that our sins have been forgiven because we are trusting in his substitutionary death on the cross which satisfied [hilasmos, propitious, 1 John 2:2] the demands of a Holy God. Then the Father says, “This man’s sins have been paid in full, case dismissed!”

PARENTAL FORGIVENESS
Parental forgiveness on the other hand maintains our fellowship with God. Even if a child runs away from home, changes his name, nothing can alter his relationship with his biological parents, but his actions will hinder their fellowship. In the same way nothing can alter our relationship with God, but sin in the life of a believer can hinder his fellowship with Him. This is why believers are encouraged to obtain parental forgiveness (1 John 1:9; Matthew 6:9, 12). We need a daily cleansing so we can experience sweet fellowship with our Savior.

Foot Washing – Parental Forgiveness (Matthew 6:9, 12, 1 John 1:3, 6-10)
Daily cleansing to maintain fellowship with God – John 13:10, Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet,…”

Bath – Judicial Forgiveness (Colossians 2:13, 1 John 2:12)
Total cleansing to establish a relationship with God – John 13:11, For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.”

12. Why does Jesus say “you are clean, but not all of you?” (John 13:10-11) This was a plain hint of the treachery of Judas who is reclining at the table after having made the bargain with the Sanhedrin (Mark 14:11). A year ago Jesus knew that Judas was a devil and said to the apostles: “One of you is a devil”  (John 6:64, 70). The disciples did not suspect that Judas was a counterfeit in the past nor did they suspect him of being the unclean one now.

“Not all of you are clean” is a reference to Judas who was soon to lead the mob to capture Jesus (John 18:3). Jesus had known [eidei, imperfect tense] that Judas would betray him and yet he treated Judas with his usual courtesy. In fact Judas was already engaged in the process. Judas did have his feet literally washed, but he did not enter into the meaning of the event.

13. What second lesson from this footwashing did Jesus want to teach His disciples? (John 13:12) Jesus said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?” A second lesson Jesus wished to impart to the disciples by this act was one of love and humble service. His question, “Do you know what I have done to you?” is in contrast with his words to Peter earlier: “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter” (John 13:7). The discernment of the disciples developed slowly. It took them a long time to begin to comprehend the intensity of Jesus’ love for them and the nature of his humility in dealing with them. After giving this object lesson in humility, the Lord questioned the disciples in order to draw out the significance of the lesson: “Do you understand” [ginoskete, perfect active indicative] “what I have done for you?” He asked them. (John 13:7). It was a searching question, particularly to Simon Peter and Judas.

14. What titles did the disciples call Jesus that He accepted without reluctance? (John 13:13) He was literally, “The Teacher” [ho didaskalos] and “The Lord” [ho kurios], both titles of respect that placed Jesus on a level above the disciples. Jesus emphasized the fact that as their leader He had stooped to serve their needs so they should do the same for one another.

15. What word in John 13:14 suggests moral obligation to follow Christ’s example? Jesus says, “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher,washed your feet, you also ought to wash one anothers feet.” The verb “ought” [Gr. opheilete] means “to owe a debt” and suggests moral obligation. It occurs several times in John’s Epistles (1 John 2:6; 3:16; 4:11; 3 John 8), but in the Gospel only here and John 19:7. In John 13:14, Jesus teaches that the obligation to ministry is a debt that must be paid. The word ought is the past tense of owe. The phrase “one another” denotes the mutual obligation and reciprocal nature of this love that serves each other.

If the Son of God, the second person of the trinity, the pure and holy, spotless One can get on the floor and wash the filthy feet of 12 self-centered selfish undeserving disciples, then we should be able to love as He loved. If He was willing to stoop to love, shouldn’t we follow his example?

16. Was Jesus instituting foot washing as an ordinance? (John 13:12-17) The “example” does not imply the perpetuation of foot washing as an ordinance in the church. The only other allusion to foot washing in the New Testament is found in 1 Timothy 5:10, where it does not refer to a regular custom, but seems to allude to humble slave like service to the poor. John calls this act an example [hupodeigma] which implies that the emphasis is on the inner attitude of humble and voluntary service for others. This passage emphasizes inner humility, not a physical rite.

The word used here suggests both “example” and “pattern” (Hebrews 4:11; 8:5; 9:25; James 5:10; 2 Peter 2:6). Jesus’ purpose in this action was to establish the model of acts of love done with humility. Not to follow the example of Jesus is to exalt oneself above Him and to live in pride.

Notice the purpose clause, “that [hina] you also should do as I did to you.” The verb “do” [poiete] is a present active subjunctive that is literally translated, “keep on doing.” Doing what? Doing acts of love in humility!

“Jesus, however, does not say to do “what” he did but “as” he did” (IVP). Notice the wording “do as I did to you”, Jesus didn’t say, “what I have done.” Jesus wants his disciples to imitate the spirit of his action, not necessarily the action itself. It is the spirit of humility that Christ modeled. This inner attitude manifests itself by voluntarily doing selfless acts of love, whether foot washing is needed or some other menial task.

Calvin’s comments should be heeded by all who take the practice as one to be perpetuated: “Every year they hold a theatrical foot washing, and when they have discharged this empty and bare ceremony they think they have done their duty finely and are then free to despise their brethren. But more, when they have washed twelve men’s feet they cruelly torture all Christ’s members and thus spit in the face of Christ himself. This ceremonial comedy is nothing but a shameful mockery of Christ. At any rate, Christ does not enjoin an annual ceremony here, but tells us to be ready all through our life to wash the feet of our brethren.”

Calvin here warns against the danger of externalism, he wanted his readers to grasp the spirit and attitude of humble service that Christ modeled.

17. Why does Jesus compare himself with his disciples and the Father? (John 13:16) The text says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.”

Jesus is saying as my disciples (slaves) you are not greater than your Lord (master Gr. kyriou), so if I can stoop to serve so can you.

Jesus again doesn’t miss the opportunity to remind his disciples that he was sent”  [pempsantos] and therefore always conscious of being commissioned by the Father. Jesus included his disciples in the commission (John 20:21) and also included them in the action of servanthood. Jesus portrayed for them the true nature of Christian living: serving one another. And for those who would be willing to take this role on themselves, Jesus said there would be blessings.

18. What “things” do you “know” now from this passage that you need to “do” in order to be blessed? (John 13:17) The word “blessed” means “happy.” The second “if” [eon] in this verse is a third-doss condition. This means that “Happiness is conditional.” The text says there are two conditions for happiness: Just knowing does not bring happiness, nor does just doing these things occasionally. What things is Jesus referring to?

Jesus says if you want to be blessed you must be a Room Maker, Group Lover, Bath Taker, Foot Washer, and Apron Wearer. Jesus says we need to make room for community in our busy lives, love one another to the fullest extent, experience judicial and parental forgiveness and be willing to do any menial task to demonstrate our love on one another.

Reflection:

1. Who is the person in your life who has demonstrated what it means to “wash feet”? What has the person done for you?

2. Are you willing to stoop to love? Is there any task too menial for you?

3. What “things” do you “know” now and need to “do” in order to be blessed? John 13:17

4. How will you put Jesus’ teaching into practice in at least one relationship this week at home, work, or church?

Sources: The questions and answers for this study were gleaned from the following resources.

1 . Serendipity Bible for Groups by: Serendipity House, Zondervan Publishing House, 1998
2. The Gospel of John, Introduction, Exposition and Notes by: F.F. Bruce, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1983
3. The Expositors Bible Commentary, Volume 9 by: Fronk E. Goebelein (General Editor), Zondervon Publishing House, 1981
4. Light in the Darkness, Studies in the Gospel of John by Homer A. Kent Jr., Boker Bookhouse, 1974.
5. The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel by: R.C.H. Lenski, Augsburg Publishing House, 1943.
6. The Gospel of John, A Series of Verse- By-Verse Outline Studies by: John MacArthur Jr., Word of Grace Communications.
7. Making Room for Community by: Rick Leineweber,MP3/CD, Grace Fellowship Church,2004
8. The Gospel According to John by: Leon Morris, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1971.
9. The Words and Works of Jesus Christ by: J. Dwight Pentecost, Zondervan Publishing House, 1981
10. John: The Gospel of Belief by: Merrill C. Tenney, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1948.
11.The Gospel According to St. John by: B.F. Westcott, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1975.
12. The New Testament – An Expanded Translation by: Kenneth S. Wuest, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1961
13.The MacArthur Study Bible by: John F. MacArthur, Jr., Word Publishing, 1997
14. The Chronological Life of Christ Vol.2 by: Mark E. Moore, College Press Publishing Company, 1997
15.Word Pictures in the New Testament Vol.5 by: Archibald Thomas Robertson, Broadman Press, 1932

[Based on my classes with Richard D. Leineweber Jr.]
© Copyright 1994 Richard D. Leineweber Jr.