2014.07.13_Hear the Words of Jesus

The Word of God and His Power

God desires man to receive the truth. This is because man’s sins are washed away and he could receive life only when he knows the truth. However, man habitually tries to comprehend everything and make judgments about them by his physical senses and way of thinking. This inclination of man is not fitting for him in finding the truth. Moreover, the truth can only be received through spiritual inspiration, and it is only found in the word of God. God’s word is the truth.

During the time of Elisha, the king of Syria sent Naaman, the commander of his army, to Israel to be healed of his leprosy. Naaman had heard that Elisha, the prophet of Israel was able to cure diseases, and so with the help of the king of Syria he came to the house of Elisha. Contrary to his expectations, Elisha did not even come outside but only sent his servant with a message to Naaman, to wash in the Jordan River seven times. Although Naaman was offended by this, he followed what Elisha had told him and was healed in the end.

There is something odd here. Despite the fact that someone so prominent as an army commander of a neighboring country came, why did Elisha not come out and meet him? We need to keep in mind that Naaman needed to meet God, not Elisha. Even though Naaman was not pleased with the way he was treated initially, Elisha successfully fulfilled his role of helping Naaman to meet God. If Elisha had courteously greeted Naaman and healed him, Naaman would have held Elisha in high regard and possible even overlooked the fact that God actually healed him. Elisha had acted in the way he did so as to allow Naaman to receive God’s word.

Before Jesus Christ came to the world, God delivered His word to the prophets by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and His power was manifested through that word. God reveals His power solely through the word. Therefore, to whomever the word of God comes, he cannot experience the power of God unless he receives the word. God’s word and His power are inseparable. The heavens and the earth were made by the word of God. It is by the authority and power of His word that we have received the remission of sins and salvation; life, by which we walk the path to eternal life; and the everlasting inheritance as God’s children. None of all the work that God does can be considered separate from the word.

Jesus Christ is God’s Word that became flesh and appeared on the earth. God’s power is demonstrated only through the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit works only where Jesus Christ is. Although we richly experience the works of the Holy Spirit today, He does not work merely anywhere. Ever since the disciples received the Holy Spirit in the Upper room on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit has continuously been descending on the souls who received the forgiveness of sins. However, the power of God is not displayed in anyone who does not have word within him, no matter how full of the Holy Spirit he might be. In other words, he cannot expect to have the power of God if he goes beyond the works and the words of Jesus, regardless of his own hard efforts. Martin Luther put it as, “the Holy Spirit comes riding in the carriage of the Word of God.” Likewise, the Holy Spirit works solely through the word of God, and displays His power only where there is God’s word.

Hear Him!

Israel is a high priest nation for all mankind. Just as one high priest represents the whole nation of Israel, the Israelites represent the whole mankind before God. They were the first nation ever to receive God’s word and the first to be chosen by God. The Son of God appeared among them when He came to the earth and they became the window of grace for mankind. They were a passage for the Son of God to come into the world and a channel through which man could receive God’s grace. The encounter of God and Israel can be described as the cradle of God’s truth, where it was conceived and brought forth into the earth. The land of Israel might be nothing more than a small area in the universe, but when we consider how God’s will was accomplished there, it is a place of great significance. God who is greater than the heavens manifested His eternal will in a little corner of Israel two thousand years ago.

One day, Jesus took His disciples and went up to a mountain called Mount Tabor. Suddenly, His face shone like the sun and His clothes became as white as light and the disciples saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. The disciple were stunned and yet overjoyed at the same time. Even though Jesus did nothing but good deeds, He was always persecuted. This was a huge burden to those that followed Him, that sometimes it made them even think, ‘if I keep following the Lord like this, what’s going to happen to me?’ And this same Jesus was now speaking with Moses who was much like an idol to the Israelites, as well as the legendary prophet, Elijah. The disciples felt exultant. They believed this proved that Jesus was in equal status with Moses and Elijah, and they were able to completely cast away the lingering doubt they had in their hearts until then.

Peter said, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Then, suddenly a bright cloud enveloped them and a voice came from the cloud saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’ This was the thundering voice of God saying, ‘Be quiet and hear Him!’ in order to silence the exuberant disciple who had said, “Let us make three tabernacles.” At this, the disciples were afraid and fell face down to the ground, but the Lord came and raised them up saying, “Do not be afraid.” When they looked up, they saw Jesus only while Moses and Elijah were nowhere to be found.

The disciples, like all other Jews, held Moses in high esteem. However Moses was only a messenger who delivered God’s word. God had given him the Law on Mount Sinai which Moses then passed on to the people. The prophets including Elijah played the role of overseeing and directing the people to ensure they keep the Law. The prophets were also mere servants of God used to make the people abide by the Law.

The Law and the Prophets and Jesus

What is the function of the Law? Some people think that Law makes man righteous. However, the true function of the Law is actually to help man discover the fact that he is a sinner and that a sinner is bound to perish. It makes him realize that nobody is able to free himself from the bridle of sin and thus fall into despair. By doing so, the Law allows the people to earnestly wait for salvation and ultimately bow their knees before Jesus Christ, the Savior who is to come. Thus, the role of the Law was to open up a way for man to be cleansed from his sin. And if anyone repents of his sin and receives in Jesus Christ, the Law has done its role for him, and then we can say ‘the Law is fulfilled.’

Where there is a law, there is a law enforcer. And that was the role of the prophets. When the people strayed from the Law, the prophets made them turn back to it and have the hope again to wait for salvation. Just like the Law, the prophets’ task was to guide the people to Jesus Christ. Therefore, when a person obtains the faith to obey Jesus, the role of the prophets and the Law is complete.

For example, a person boards a bus to go to church. When the bus arrives at the church, the person alights and the bus leaves together with the bus driver. After that, the person cannot get back on the bus nor will that bus return. In this instance, the bus is like the Law and the driver like the prophet. Their purpose is achieved once they have brought the passengers to their destination. In the same way, Moses and Elijah were merely a means to lead the people to Jesus Christ. They cannot be compared to Jesus Christ, and they are no longer required by those who have already met Jesus.

Then, who is Jesus, the One who alone remained on the mountain when Moses and Elijah disappeared? He is the word of God that was with God from the beginning; He is God. He is the Creator. There is nothing that has been made without Him (John 1:1-3). God appointed Him heir of all things. He is the radiance of God’s glory, the express image of His person. He holds all things by His word so that all creations still stand. He has purged our sins and is now seated at the right hand of God (Heb. 1:2-3). Nothing is hidden but all creation is laid bare before Him (Heb. 4:13). He is Jesus Christ, the Word of God. And He will throw not only the Devil, but also death and Hades into the furnace on the last day (Rev. 20:14).

Pleasing God

God said of Jesus, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matt. 17:5). We have received forgiveness even though we were vile sinners in the past and are still weak and constantly tempted. Yet with confidence, God entrusts us to Jesus Christ, for He is the One who pleases God. Before creation, God predestined us in Christ to be His Sons according to the good pleasure of His will (Eph. 1:4-5). In Him, He has also given us redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (Eph. 1:7). God has made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him (Eph. 1:9-10). That is right. God’s pleasing will is for everything to be gathered as one in Christ. If we have been united with Christ as one in Him, we ought to please God the Father just as He has done.

Apostle Paul confessed that he preaches the Gospel not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts (1 Thes. 2:4). It is written in Ephesians 5:10, “Finding out what is acceptable to the Lord,” and 1 Thessalonians 4:1 says, “We urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God.” Again Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” Just because something is for the will of God that pleases Him, does not mean we can take it lightly. Hebrews 12:28-29 says, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.”

Then how do we please God? The way to please God is by obeying Jesus Christ. The disciple’s determination to build a tabernacle for the Lord could not please God. In the same way, even if we were to construct a worship building and have a building dedication service in the Lord’s name, God is not actually pleased with the building itself. The objective of Jesus being sent by God was not in finding a dwelling place on the earth. Jesus said, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Though we might construct a grand building and present it to God, God will not dwell in it. God, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things (Acts 17:24-25).

God’s attention is not in the grand worship building constructed by the hands of men. Before any physical construction takes place, God sees the faith of the church members who determine their hearts to obey for the work of God’s kingdom. God watches the saints as they struggle hard to prepare their offering. God sees how the members pray for each other, encourage and strengthen one another’s faith when the church needs to unite together to dedicate, even though there might have been discord among the members before. God does not look at the building and say, “Now this is my house. It’s great!” He does not dwell and rest in the building but inside the souls of those who have faith and self-control for the sake of the success of Christ’s church.

Even though we may bring rich offerings to God, we are not to please God with it. And God would not be pleased if that offering were given out of compulsion. People expect God to be delighted and say, “Lord, we will build three tabernacles of which one will be for you!” However, that may actually grieve Him instead. We must remember the word of God that says, “Who is there even among you who would shut the doors, so that you would not kindle fire on My altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you. Nor will I accept an offering from your hands” (Mal. 1:10).

If we desire to please God, we first need to have the faith to obey Jesus before building a tabernacle or giving any offering. Hebrews 11:5-6 says, “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ‘and was not found, because God had taken him’ for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Philippians 4:18-19 says, “Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” We ought to be those who delight in the fact that God sees and is pleased with our faith.

In the past, people only heard of God through Moses and the prophets. However, the Son of God has since appeared as the Saviour who can be seen. Now there is no other way to please God more than to listen to His word and obey. Although the requirements of the Law and the prophets’ teachings were very important in the past, they are no longer the means to please God. We are able to please God by having the deeds of faith towards Jesus Christ, and in doing so, we could receive more of God’s love.

Serve the Church by the Holy Spirit in Accordance with the Lord’s Word

The Holy Spirit gives the saints the power to take up the words of Jesus so that they may be fulfilled. Everything that is done for the church by the Holy Spirit – giving service in the church, fellowship of saints, edifying and comforting one another, casting out demons, healing the sick, praying, teaching, and evangelizing – is obeying the Lord’s word. The church that obeys the Lord’s word would have a revival and growth. That is also the fruit of their faith that will be written in the book that is before the throne in Heaven.

We have received God’s love and life, and cast off our fear of death forever. Therefore, it is proper for us to be grateful to God and love Him eternally. We should never change our hearts before Him nor change the thoughts we had in the beginning, and we must not harbour any complaints. If we are to live forever while serving the eternal words of the Lord, we ought to rejoice and be faithful in those words forever. God has promised us everlasting joy, eternal life and blessing by giving His own Son. He desires us to listen to the words of His Son. We ought to please God through a life led by the words of Jesus Christ.