August 12, 2018_The Will of God

From Now On, Listen to Jesus

God loves His Son.  When Jesus went up out of the water after He had been baptized, God personally testified to Him saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased”(Mat 3:17).  There was such a testimony once again when Jesus climbed up the high mountain with His disciples.  At that time, Jesus took just Peter and a few of His disciples to the mountain and there they saw Him talking with Moses and Elijah.  The disciples were happy to see their Teacher standing side by side with the great men of faith, but God pointed out Jesus and said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” (Mat 17:5), and He made Moses and Elijah not to be seen anymore.

Moses and Elijah, respectively, were representative of the Law and the prophets. God told those who were preoccupied with the Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets to listen only to Jesus since then.  Moses’ Law, which had been controlling people’s hearts, stopped its work at that moment, and only the words of Jesus began coming into people’s hearts.  That was not the only thing to happen.  The mission of the prophets was to teach Moses’ Law to people by making an interpretation of the Law in detail, but God commanded people to listen to only Jesus from that time.

When Jesus preached the gospel, there was something that made him sad and disappointed.  Although people struggled very hard to gain life, what they were actually trying to attain it was keeping Moses’ Law and the words of the prophets.  Jesus wanted to tell the truth to those people.  Thus, Jesus told them, ”Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court, but I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court, and whoever says that you fool to his brother shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.  Also you have heard that you shall not commit adultery, but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”  Jesus said such things to emphasize this: ”You are trying to be righteous by observing the Law, but is it even possible?  Is there anyone who will survive before the Law?”

Our Boast is that We Have Received Grace

For those who believe in Jesus, their boast is not that that they do not commit sin.  Every one of us sins, but we do not need to pay the price for these sins. Therefore, our boast is that we are the people who received grace.  If someone claims that he did not commit any sin and that he is righteous before God, he will perish by his own righteousness.  Therefore, our testimony is that we received God’s grace.

Someone says, “I have little to testify because I did not make a lot of money or have a good job.  I could not buy my own house either.”  This kind of thought only destroys his soul.  Has God really given us nothing?  Do we really have nothing to boast about?  Once, Jesus told the story of a rich man and Lazarus.  The rich man lived a glamorous life in this world, whereas Lazarus lived a miserable life begging in another’s house.  In the eyes of people, the rich man was blessed but Lazarus was cursed.  Surprisingly, things were totally different when they departed their flesh.  The state of their flesh and the state of their souls were that different.

Even if our situation is as miserable as Lazarus, we should be proud that our souls have received grace from God.  There are some people who worked so hard that they bought a nice house and like to invite their relatives and friends to show off their personal achievements, but this kind of testimony is not very different from what the rich man did, showing off his blessings in the flesh by holding parties every day.  As the story of the rich man and Lazarus suggests, the success of the soul is more important than that of the flesh.

The Will of God Who Gave His Only Begotten Son

God equally gives the sun and rain for both believers and unbelievers without discrimination.  Thus, everyone has to work diligently to make a living in this world, no matter if he is a believer or not.  A person cannot wait for God to give him everything just because he a believer.  As long as one has a body, he must work very hard.

For example, a husband and wife were living with four children, but suddenly the husband died. Although the wife never worked before, or knew her way around, she cannot just stay at home any more.  In order to feed her four children and give them education, she has to face a hard life from that time.  Even if the work she has to do is quite embarrassing for her that she would not have done it before, now for the sake of her children she will not refuse to do it.  In fact, we can possibly see that the children who grow up in such environment achieve success in the society.  That is their mothers’ hard work paying off.

Likewise, in this world, there are ways to live for anyone who tries hard.  But then, why did God suddenly send us Jesus?  It is not for our flesh that God sent Jesus to this world.  For the sake of our body, He has given us the sun and rain.  Didn’t God’s Son Himself come to this world and benefit from the sun and rain for thirty years?  The sun and rain did not suddenly lose its function one day after the Son of God came.

Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God gave us His only begotten Son not for our corruptible bodies but for our souls to escape destruction.  The way believers live is not much different from the way unbelievers live because everyone needs clothes, cars and foods.  But, once they depart their flesh, they part in different ways.  Those who believe in Jesus go to Paradise, but the unbelievers become demons and torment people in their family moving from person to person.

These days, we are often told that we are in an era where can live up to 100 years.  This means that the average life span is going to be 100 years soon.  But, think about it.  Just imagine how a one-hundred -year-old person looks like.  Do you really long to be in that condition where your ears are dull, eyes are weak and your body bent over?  Adversely, there are quite a number of people who end their lives due to accidents, not living their full lifespan.  Every year many people die in traffic accidents and of cancer.  Our flesh may live a few decades longer or die a few decades shorter, but eventually all flesh disappears.  The important thing is what will happen to our soul after death.

It is for our soul that God sent His Son.  We know Jesus once told us about the man who built larger barns and laid up many goods and said to his soul to feel secure, “My soul, take life easy.”  If this very night his soul is required of him, who will own what he has prepared?  People hardly think that today could be the last day of their lives.  That could happen to anyone.  As a matter of fact, it is important not to be demons after we die, and that is the very will of God to send us His begotten Son.

What are you going after by attending church?  Aren’t there still many people who just want to resolve the matters of their flesh by depending on Jesus although God already gave us the sun and rain for our flesh?   How pitiful is it that a lot of people do not accept the word of grace God gave for our spirits worthily but only try to resolve problems in their lives with it? God sent us His Son for our spirits, but just how different is our will from the will of God?

Jesus said, “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:39-40).

Are you really welcoming the will of God?  God loves our spirit.  And we must accept His love.  God who spoke of Jesus saying, “This is My beloved Son” made us be united with Jesus so that we can receive His love in Jesus.  We were originally doomed to perish eternally, but now we became the ones who received Jesus into our spirits, ate His flesh and drank His blood.

The fact that we drank Jesus’ blood is very important.  It is because there is no way to get rid of sin unless we drink His blood.  Even if we did not murder anybody nor stole anything, our souls cannot escape destruction because of sin.  For this reason, God sent Jesus and let Him shed His blood to pay the wages of our sin.  Jesus shed His blood neither to buy us a good house nor to buy us expensive clothes.

By The Law of the Spirit of Life instead of the Law of Sin and Death

Jesus told the disciples who followed Him, “It is to your advantage that I go away” (John 16:7).  They wanted Him to stay right beside them without end, but He had a different thought.  His leaving was not just a benefit for the disciples who followed Him, but for all who believe in Him.  It is because He must leave in order for the Holy Spirit to come.  The Son of God came to this world and shed His blood, and we have benefited from that, but what benefits our souls even more is the coming of the Holy Spirit.

While the blood of Jesus blotted out our iniquities of the past, but the Holy Spirit keeps us from perishing by committing sins.  What is the sin which is warded off by the Holy Spirit?  Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit comes, He would teach the truth about what sin is.  People had only known the sins as taught by the Law and so they had tried hard not to commit those sins, but the Holy Spirit came to teach us the truth about what sin is.  In respect to this, Jesus said, “Concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me” (John 16:7).  That’s right. Not believing in Jesus is sin.  It is a worse sin not to believe in Jesus than murder, robbery or lie.

If the Holy Spirit did not come, there would be no benefit because the Law can only be replaced with the Holy Spirit.  Romans 8:1-2 says, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”  The Law is the law of sin and death; the Holy Spirit is the law of life.  If the Holy Spirit does not come to you, you will still be under your conscience and what the man under his conscience can do is to either establish his own righteousness or judge himself.  Therefore, The Holy Spirit must come and remove the law of sin and of death to protect us.

To those who are governed by the law of the Spirit of life, nothing in the world is able to separate them from the love of God.  Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principals, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to condemn or haul us to hell (Romans 8:38-39).  Therefore, we must let the Holy Spirit work on us.  Also, we must let the will of God, by which He gave His only begotten Son for our soul, be done.

O Lord! My soul is like an extremely small mustard seed. It has finally become a tree, and birds are now resting on it. You have not abandoned your servant, and for over 50 years you have continued to lead him. It has been an inexpressible glory.

During May in the year 1962, on the mountain of Cholong, you called me, and for 10 days I did not drink any water nor eat any food. Constantly on my knees, you made me pray to you, and at that time your servant endlessly shed his tears before you. For a man who was not looked upon at all in the world and did not have anything to eat, you made him into a harvest, and you gave him work to do.

At that time, your servant made to you this vow: ‘I will die for you, My Lord’. When I asked of you, ‘Give your servant work to die for’, you gave me this command: ‘You go and preach the gospel’. To do this, you gave me great power and courage. Along with these, you showed me the harsh path of Golgotha. This road that you showed me was an open road of bright light. Because of this, I always looked upon that road with great joy. But from the day that I came down the mountain, the things that came to me were nothing but persecution and disregard. Nevertheless, you, O Lord, showed me the road of glory. Therefore, I was patient all the way. Just like the name that you gave me – Semuon – (‘he who see but does not speak’) I performed it without fail. Like a donkey that has a bit in her mouth, I carried you, O Lord, on my back, and I continuously walked only on this single path that you showed me.

As I have been going further on this difficult path, I have been thankful and joyful. I, your servant, have now imagined the last glory of death that your servant can receive. I said to myself, ‘Can I endure for at least 10 years?’, and 10 years have passed. Again, another 10 years had passed. And now, suddenly it has been 60 years that have passed. I thank you that you have led me to this door of glory, and now I am resolute to arrive at last at this final victory.

Has this old servant of yours ever had any greed or ambition? I have nothing to envy in this world, nor anything to covet. Like the commanding stature of a general returning from a victorious battle, I am filled with the desire only to hear the sounds of the cheering of the angels of heaven. And for this final moment, just like your servant Stephen, I will lay down my life. Just like your servant Stephen, who had laid down his life for the truth, without any fear, I will also endeavor to lay down my life. To this end, even today, I have received curses all day long.

You, O Lord, have made your servant righteous and have made him holy. But these others, who are cursing me and destroying the church, are now condemning me. By doing so they are continuously denying the precious blood of the glory of the Lord. What you, O Lord, have entrusted to your servant is the command to die for the Return to the Word movement. But these people are cursing me as an instigator of a false religion, and they are trying to put me to shame. Their efforts to do this are doing no help to their own souls, but I do not understand why they do not understand this. I pray that you would have mercy on them.

Coming Soon

Outline translated by Sarah Lee
Letter translated by John Kim
Interpretations by Daniel Hong
Korean Summary by Ki-Taek Lee