Loving Proof

Jeremiah 31:33      Ezekiel 36:27      2 Timothy 3:16-17         John 14:15-24

Loving Proof

In 1998, Gerd Lüdemann, a prominent German Theologian and professor of New Testament and director of the Institute of Early Christian Studies at Göttingen university, renounced Christianity, declaring that he no longer described himself as a Christian. 

In his book, What Really Happened to Jesus (written in 1995) he argued that “We can no longer take the statements about the resurrection of Jesus literally.” Lest anyone miss his point, Lüdemann continued, “So let us say quite specifically: the tomb of Jesus was not empty but full, and his body did not disappear, but rotted away.” Later, Lüdemann gave an interview to the German magazine Evangelische Kommentare in which he stated that the Bible’s portrayal of Jesus is a “fairy-tale world which we cannot enter.”

Lüdemann also denied the virgin birth stating that Jesus was a product of rape; he denied the sinlessness of Jesus arguing that if Jesus was fully human then “we must grant that he was neither sinless or without error”; and he sought to discredit the Scriptures as an authoritative source for Christian Theology.

Now, just to put this into perspective, these denials of the basic, essential, and fundamental tenets of the Christian Faith are not new. Heretics down through the ages have denied various, if not all, of these aspects of Christian belief. Neither is it new for those holding high office in the Church to make outrageous claims such as these. 

But what was different about Lüdemann is that he had come face to face with his unbelief and had confessed it as such. He said, “A Christian is someone who prays to Christ and believes in what is promised by Christian doctrine. So, I asked myself: ‘Do I pray to Jesus? Do I pray to the God of the Bible?’ And I don’t do that. Quite the reverse.”  By saying this, Lüdemann exposed the irrational and unreasonable cesspool of liberalism for what it is…totally bankrupt and without logical foundation. He suggested that liberals and revisionists should give up their charade for the sake of honesty…a timely word for those who seek to change Scripture into a wax nose that can be reshaped to suit whatever is currently trendy in society. 

Looking back on the whole project of liberal theology, Lüdemann offered an amazing reflection: “I don’t think Christians know what they mean when they proclaim Jesus as Lord of the world. That is a massive claim. If you took that seriously, you would probably have to be a fundamentalist. If you can’t be a fundamentalist, then you should give up Christianity for the sake of honesty.” (Whole quotations taken from https://albertmohler.com/2009/07/16/in-the-company-of-fellow-nonbelievers-liberal-theology-abandons-the-faith/)

This reflection of Lüdemann brings the faith of every Christian into crystal clear focus. What do we believe concerning the God of the Bible? What do we believe about Jesus? What do we believe about the Holy Spirit? Is this God real? Is Jesus who he claimed to be? Has the Holy Spirit taken up residence within believers? What demand does that place upon who we are as followers of Jesus and what we think, do, and speak? How should we view the material world in the light of the teachings of him who claims to be Lord of the Universe?

I think Jesus’ statement in John 14:15 is a wake-up call for us. “If you love me,” Jesus said, “obey my commandments.” In other words, the proof of our love for our Lord is not merely an oral profession only, but rather a consistent life of obedience to what he commands. In so many ways, very few believers who claim to love God truly honour him properly.

Now, of course, one is immediately faced with the obvious question. Which commandments? Some have been so bothered by this question that they have either embraced all the Old Testament laws, observing the rituals and the rites without question, or they have simply discarded the Old Testament as irrelevant to the Christian period. As with most things, I believe the solution lies somewhere in between. 

So, which commandments are we to keep in order to fulfil this requirement to demonstrate through obedience our love for our Lord? I think Jesus gave us the answer in the verses that follow. For us to fulfil love’s demand, Jesus promised to send to all believers another helper, like himself, who will abide with them and teach them by bringing the word of Jesus to remembrance.

But how does this help us in determining which commandments Jesus was referring to here? Well, to answer that question, we need to turn to some other passages that speak of the role of the helper, or the Holy Spirit, in the life of believers. In reference to the New Covenant, the Lord said in Jeremiah 31:33, “I will put my law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be my people.” However, in Ezekiel 36:27, the Lord combined this promise of the internalising of his law with the indwelling or infilling of the Holy Spirit. “I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statues, and you will keep my commandments and do them.” The Apostle John also connected the two internalisations in 1 John 3:24. “Now he who keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.”

The two Old Testament passages are especially illuminating as they were written at a time when the Law was undisputed as the moral guide for believers. Jesus’ own words regarding the Law is equally instructive. In Matthew 5:17-19 he said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” According to our Lord’s own words here, the idea that we can dismiss the Old Testament is not an option. We cannot dismiss the Law because the Law reflects the character of our God. Consequently, if the Law has changed then our God has changed and we know that this is not so because our God remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. So, the same God who spoke the Law to Moses also said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.”

But this brings us back to the original question. Which commandments are we to obey? Should we be sacrificing bulls, and goats, and sheep? What about abstaining from certain foods or "intertying" wool and linen together? The answer to the question is rather complicated because there is no one single answer for all the laws. For instance, the laws about wool and linen were originally meant to prevent people from wearing the distinctive garments of the Priests and Levites. The prohibition of certain foods probably had to do with hygiene in an era when there was no refrigeration and so on. The Sabbaths and New Moons served to remind people of their interconnectedness with and dependence on God.

But what about the sacrifices? Well, the sacrifices served as illustrations or pictures foreshadowing what Jesus did for us on the cross. As such, they are fulfilled in Jesus. Hebrews 10:1 says, “For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.” So, we do keep the sacrificial system as we hold to the reality of which they were but shadows. You see, even in the Old Testament, it was understood that the sacrifices, the blood of bulls and goats, could not take away sins. (Hebrews 10:4) Never in the entire Bible are we ever told that salvation could be secured through ritual. If anything, the purpose of the Law was to make us aware of our dilemma with regard to our inability to attain moral perfection and therefore our need for divine forgiveness and intervention! 

But that doesn’t make the law a bad thing, does it? No, indeed, as Paul said, in Romans 7:7, “What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’” And then later in verse 12, “So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”

Why? Well, the Law is holy, righteous, and good because it reflects the holdy, righteous, and good character of the giver of the Law. So, we simply cannot dismiss God’s Law without pulling the rug upon which we stand out from under our feet. 

So, to return to the original injunction. If we profess to be followers of Jesus, we are by default committing ourselves to a certain and specific moral lifestyle defined by the whole word of God. This is why Paul could say in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture (and remember what he meant by Scripture at that time) is breathed out by God and (all Scripture) is profitable for teaching, (all Scripture is profitable) for reproof, (all Scripture is profitable) for correction, and (all Scripture is profitable) for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” All Scripture…Old as well as New.

So I don’t believe Jesus was being unreasonable in his statement about us showing our love for him by keeping his law. He said elsewhere that his yoke is easy, and his burden is light…true…but there is a yoke. As I said before, in order to fulfil loves’ demand Jesus promised to send another helper who would, in the words of the prophet Ezekiel, “cause (us) to walk in (his) statutes…(to) keep (his) commandments and do them”. 

The Holy Spirit serves as an indwelling helper…helping us keep the internalised law of God. As such the Holy Spirit can be compared to a guard and a guide, keeping us, convicting us, preventing us from going astray, and leading us in the right way. 

Jesus and the Holy Spirit are both called helpers here, one coming after the other goes. Jesus’ work was to reconcile us to God. The Holy Spirit’s work is to apply that work of Jesus, causing us to share not only in Jesus himself, but in all his blessings, as well as all his purposes.

In verse 18, Jesus made us acutely aware of the enormity of the gift given by presenting us with a contrast. He contrasted believers with the great misfortune of orphans who lack parental protection and direction and who thus become potential prey to every kind of fraud and injustice. In this we are reminded at once of our weakness and vulnerability as well as his greatness and his benevolence. Without him, we are nothing…we are like orphans without hearth or home. Yet here he secured his promise with his perpetual presence. As such, the Christian faith is defined by a relationship between the creature and the Creator who is neither far off nor simply near…no, rather he is within each one of us.

In verse 19, Jesus spoke about the ascension and his subsequent reign though his followers by the power of the Holy Spirit. As his presence would no longer be physical, unbelievers would no longer see him, but those who believed in him would “see” him because of his internal presence. Spiritual realities can only be seen by those who are spiritually alive…and because Jesus lives, we live. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 2:14, “The natural (or unregenerated) person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” The dead only see what is dead. The living, on the other hand, look beyond the temporal and focus on the eternal…life that comes from the one who is life.

But in verse 20, Jesus moved further still. “In that Day (and I believe he is speaking about the Day of Pentecost here) you will know that I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you.” As Paul said in Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” We know Jesus is in us and we in him by the internal testimony of the Holy Spirit. 

And at this point, Jesus returned to the original injunction. “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.” The reality of our relationship is demonstrated by a faithful commitment to the fulfilment of the standards of that relationship. We are to live as Jesus lived. We are to love as Jesus loved. We are to obey as Jesus obeyed. 

But it is Judas (not Iscariot) that brings the connection between love for Jesus and obedience to Jesus in sharp focus. What is the fundamental difference between believers and unbelievers? Why can we see Jesus while they do not? How is it that people like Lüdemann and others like him can read the exact same Scriptures as we do and yet come to radically different conclusions?

Jesus’ answer is simple. Those who love him and keep his commandments have an internalised law and an indwelling divine presence. Because the Holy Spirit dwell in us, we are not only able to believe in Jesus, but we are also able to obey him. Unbelievers cannot see him because such sight is only given to those to whom it has been granted. Those who love him, love him because he first loved them…and we demonstrate our love for him in return by living like him…living according to his divine will revealed in his Word.

So, may I ask you: Do you love Jesus? Lüdemann has said, “I don’t think Christians know what they mean when they proclaim Jesus as Lord of the world. That is a massive claim. If you took that seriously, you would probably have to be a fundamentalist.” By “fundamentalist” Lüdemann means someone who actually believes the Bible to be true and who believes that it is authoritative…that it contains all that is necessary for faith and life.

So, let me ask you once more. Do you love Jesus? Lüdemann’s conclusion is earth-shaking. “If you can’t be a fundamentalist, then you should give up Christianity for the sake of honesty.” This statement turns a spotlight on every believer’s heart. “If you love me,” Jesus said, “you will keep my commandments.” The genuineness of your faith will be displayed in your life, your attitude, your principles, and your behaviour…in what you do as well as in what you fail to do. The measure of your obedience will show the measure of your love.

So, may I ask once more. Do you love Jesus?

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2024

The Greater Works of the Church

Psalm 2                             2 Corinthians 5:16-21                                      John 14:7-14

The Greater Works of the Church

Two weeks ago, we learned that those who are in Jesus are all together in one big house…the Father’s House. In today’s Gospel lesson, Jesus teaches us that this house is a springboard from which we, as people regenerated, renewed, and revived in him, can be catapulted out into the world to do unprecedented things for the kingdom. 

In these verses, Jesus spoke about the many great works the Father did through him during his time here on earth, but he also spoke of the subsequent greater works he would do through those who believe in him after he had returned to the Father. I believe these verses present us with one of the key thoughts in understanding our role as followers of Jesus in this world. Our role mirrors the role of our Lord during the years of his incarnation. In this respect, we are all instruments of revitalisation, renovation, and re-creation.

There are two astonishing promises Jesus made here. Firstly, he said that those who truly believe and trust him will do greater works than he did…and then, secondly, he said that he would do whatever we ask in accordance with who he is…whatever we ask in “his name”… to the glory of God the Father. In other words, powerful Christ-centred prayer coupled with audacious Christ-centred action will result in the exaltation of God.

But before we explore these remarkable promises, we need to set them in the context of the larger discourse. Remember, Jesus had just declared himself to be the only way to truth and to life…he is the only one through whom we may know what is real and what is eternal. There is simply no other way to the Father except through him. He is the door to the sheepfold. He is the stairway connecting heaven and earth. He is the resurrection and the life. 

But here Jesus reveals why he can be all those things and more. “If you had known me,” Jesus told his disciples, “you would have known my Father also.” You see, Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (Colossians 1:15) Jesus is the brightness of God’s glory and the express image of His person. (Hebrews 1:1-2) To know Jesus is to know the Father. Look at him and you will see God. Through the incarnation, Jesus has once and for all revealed and declared the Father to us because in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. (Colossians 2:9)

In Matthew 11:27 Jesus said that no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son wills to reveal him. Now, about two sermons ago we were told that Jesus specifically chose the twelve, each to his own purpose. So, if the revelation of the Father is according to the will of the Son, then it stands to reason that he could say that his chosen disciples knew the Father and had seen him because Jesus had revealed the Father to them.

So it is no wonder that Jesus said, in reply to Philip’s question, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” 

Now before we shake our heads at Philip, perhaps we should recall how many times we have asked similar questions during times of confusion or bewilderment. Something like, “Lord, please give me a sign that you are with me”.  Didn’t he already tell us that he is with us always? Or “Lord, show me that you love me.” Well, what do we think he did at the cross? If that’s not love, what is? I think if we listen carefully, we may hear a similar reply from our Lord. “Have I been with you so long and still you don’t know me?”

But what is behind such statements as that of Philip and ours is a deep inner craving for security. That’s why we want to see God in a form that is personally undeniable. 

I believe the origin of this craving to be secure comes from the time of the Fall. Prior to the disobedient and rebellious act of our forebears, God was known personally in a very intimate fashion. God walked with them. God talked with them. There was no hinderance, no veil, no separation. 

But from the Fall on, we see that mankind seeks for God but is not able to find him unless he reveals himself to them. (1 Corinthians 2:14) This unaided “seeking” is the basis for all sorts of idolatrous practices. For instance, in Exodus 32 the Israelites wanted to see the God who had brought them out of slavery in Egypt and so they made a golden calf and worshipped it. They wanted to see something that would provide them with assurance that God was indeed with them. But their method was illegitimate, and they were disciplined for it. 

But when Moses asked to see God’s glory in the very next chapter, God showed him his glory by revealing his character…and in Jesus’ reply to Philip, he indicated that we can only truly know someone when we know their character. Have I been with you so long and still you don’t know me? You know, I think you can get to know someone pretty well in three years, especially if they are intent on helping you get to know them beyond the exterior surface.

You see, Jesus was not a stained-glass window….he was not a painting…he had lived very closely with his followers for three long years, not just teaching them verbally about God but also revealing God to them through powerful demonstration. He had revealed to them the character of the one who had sent him. They had heard him speak, they had heard him teach, they had heard him admonish, they had heard him refute false teaching…but they had also seen him at work doing both what is mundane as well as that which is intensely profound. 

So, that which humanity has searched for ever since the Fall, now stood before them…completely and finally revealed before their very eyes. Like God before the Fall, he walked with them and talked with them. God Almighty was expressed in a form they ought to have been able to comprehend. A tangible portrait of God, if you will. The Person of the Son revealed the Person of the Father perfectly because they are not two but one.

Of course, the concept of the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit has always proved to be a stumbling block for our finite minds, so Jesus graciously anticipated this struggle and added: “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 authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.”

If we examine the life of Jesus, we only have three basic options concerning his identity. C. S. Lewis once said that Jesus was either a liar of the worst degree, or a raving lunatic with grandiose delusions about himself, or he was who he said he was…the Lord of all creation. There can be no nonsense about him being a good man or a righteous teacher…he claimed to be God and allowed others to worship him as God. If he was not who he said he was he was neither good nor righteous. So, was he a liar, a lunatic, or was he Lord?

A liar is known to contradict himself often and to admit his lies if threatened, especially with torture and/or death. Jesus did neither of these. Liars are usually out to gain something for themselves. Jesus was always serving the concerns of others and gave his life for them. When he died, the only possessions he had were stripped from his tortured body. Besides, who would be willing to die such a death for something he knew was a lie?

A lunatic, especially one with delusions of grandeur, is always irrational, demanding to be treated with great respect by those he considers his inferiors, raging against them if they do not, calling down fire and brimstone and all manners of threats on those who reject him, and he will always try to prove his claims if challenged by performing death defying feats…like jumping off the pinnacle of a Temple. Jesus refused to let others put him to the test. Lunatics also like to be known and praised by everyone. In contrast, Jesus’ life was mostly lived in obscurity and humility, and he constantly reminded his followers not to reveal him as the Messiah.

That only leaves us with one option. He had to be telling the truth about himself. And in these verses, he offered his disciples an easy way to figure this out. His words were the same as the Father’s words. But just in case they didn’t know enough Scripture to make that connection, he offered them a second way. His works were the same as the Father’s works. Only God could change water into wine. Only God could open the eyes of a man born blind. Only God could raise to life a four-day old rotting corpse. 

The claim of Jesus regarding his divinity has been challenged by unbelievers throughout all time. By the Jews in the First Century, the Arians of the Fourth Century, all the way through to the Schweitzer’s, Spong’s, Dawkins’, and Hitchens’ of modern time. The Divine nature of Jesus is greater than human minds can comprehend and greater than what human reason and logic and language can express…but that is because he is God. If we could define and explain him, he would not be God, would he? 

But what really gets me about militant atheists is that they get angry when I tell them that a God they don’t believe in, says in a book they don’t accept as authoritative, that unless they repent and believe in him, they will spend eternity in a place they don’t believe exists. How can you deny something you do not believe is real? Could it be possible that they are so scared that they are wrong that the only way they can make themselves feel right is to rant and to rave because the alternative is too petrifying to contemplate? They are very similar to a foreign tourist in a foreign country simply shouting the same foreign words louder thinking that they will be understood, because the alternative would be to accept that they are incomprehensible because they are ignorant of the foreign language of the foreign country they are visiting.

Observe the life of Jesus. Did he conform to the Word of God, or did he contradict it? Did he honour God in what he said and did, or did he dishonour him? Even his adversaries admitted that the only correct response to the works of Jesus was to give glory to God. But they simply were not willing to connect the dots, so to speak. But others did…an unfortunate Samaritan woman at a well, an unlearned blind beggar, and simple fishermen. They connected the dots because God chose to reveal himself to them. Belief that Jesus is who he claimed to be is a ravine that can only be spanned with the help of the Holy Spirit because only he can break down the barriers we have erected. 

Throughout the Gospels Jesus revealed himself to be one with the Father. For those who struggled with his claims, he offered his works…works that could only be done by God. Works which Jesus said God did through him. Works that would be continued on a greater scale by those who believe in him and obey him.

Now, it might be helpful to ask what works Jesus was talking about here. He did some pretty amazing things in his lifetime here on earth…are we meant to do more amazing things than he did? How does one beat raising the dead?

Perhaps if we look at the goal of the works of Jesus, we might begin to understand what he meant by saying our works would be greater than his. The first clue is to see that the works Jesus was speaking about here were works done by the Father through the Son. “The Father who dwells in me does his works.”

What primary work did the Father do through the Son? Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:19 that “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself”. Reconciling the world to himself was the ultimate goal of all the works of Jesus…all his works pointed forward to his one final and great work of reconciliation. His sacrificial work of salvation on the cross. Paul describes the outcome and the purpose of this great work of Jesus in these words: “For we are his workmanship, created (or recreated) in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)

So, let’s unpack his statements in verses 12-14, shall we? “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

There are a number of things we need to take note of here. Firstly, who will be doing the works we are supposed to be doing? Yes, Jesus will be working through those who believe in him as they need to ask him and he will do what they ask. This is paralleled by the way the Father worked through the Son. So, we need to ask, what did Jesus ask for the Father to do through him? This will help us understand what we are to ask and to do.

Psalm 2:8 gives us a clue. “Ask of me,” the Father says to the Son, “and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.” Sounds a lot like what Jesus said in Acts 1:8, doesn’t it? You are my witnesses even to the ends of the earth. And Matthew 28 where he tells us we are to disciple the nations. We’ve already seen that the work of the Father through the Son was a work of reconciliation…a work that has now been given to us to complete. Jesus’ main objective in coming to the world was to reconcile God and humanity…that was his principal task.

So, when he said that those who believe in him will do, not only the same work that he did, but greater than what he did, we need to be looking to the greatest of all his works…his work of reconciliation. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” 

How is it then that our work is greater than that of Jesus? Well, for one, through sheer numerical number…from Pentecost on the work of reconciliation spread throughout the world…from one disciple to another disciple to another disciple…multiplying as men and women obediently continued their work of disciple making. Isn’t that the work we were commanded to do shortly before the ascension? Jesus commanded us to make disciples of the nations. So, his work that was local became, through us, global. 

But the important thing to note here is who is the author of our works. Just as Jesus asked the Father and the Father in turn worked through him, so we too are to ask in his name and he will work his work in and through us. 

Obviously, this does not mean he is obliged to do everything we ask for simply because we add his name to our list of requests…like a signature of a deed. No, what it means to ask in his name is to ask in line with his aims. God’s goal has always been to reconcile the world to himself. From his promise in Genesis 3:15 to the present day, God’s will was and is for all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:4) 

Jesus teaches us that the Father’s house is a springboard from which we, as people regenerated, renewed, and revived in him, can be catapulted out into the world to do unprecedented things for the kingdom. He told his followers to wait in Jerusalem for the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit who would empower them to be what they were intended to be…what the Church is intended to be…witness to the ends of the earth…disciple makers of the nations.

Like Jesus, we are to be instruments through which the Father does his work of reconciliation in the world. These are the greater works we are called to do. To ask for the nations for his inheritance…to be witnesses to him…and to teach others to do the same.

That, dearest beloved brethren, is the greatest work of the Church. 

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2024

May Newsletter and Thanks

Johann and Louise: Training Disciples to Make Disciples in the Netherlands So much has happened since you last heard from us! Our Children’s Easter Outreach program on April 1 was a roaring success! As you know, every year our church members invite colleagues and friends and family to attend an Easter Egg hunt event held first in a local forest and then, after all the eggs have been found, the whole group returns to the church building for a Gospel story and lunch. Because of our new sound system (see the letter below) everyone in the hall could hear the Gospel in English and in Dutch! Our Men’s Day Outreach on April 6 and 7 was so good that unchurched individuals have invited their family and friends to come with them next year! We also had a few dechurched folks from other churches with us that our now back in church. These outreach events are expensive, but boy are they worth every penny!  Our Women’s Retreat on June 1 is going to be another blessed event. Methinks the women are so much better at organising events like these...they have all sorts of workshops planned as well as a main speaker! But the men are learning and we plan to have at least two workshops next year including one called "Old Testament Ethics for the New Testament People of God." We have also a "Men of Valor" (see: https://www.menofvalor.org/) weekend planned for January 11 and 12 and have already secured a speaker for our next Men's Day (see: https://www.eauk.org/author/phil-knox and https://philknox.co.uk/). We try to make attendance at these events free of charge and try to provide reading material for every participant to take home with them as well. Please do pray with us that we will be able to continue doing this. Christ Church, Heiloo is mostly made up of young immigrant families who are struggling to find their feet in their new home country, refugees/asylum seekers, and a growing number of local Dutch folks. Pray with us for stability in the church. My narrative commentary, Galatians: A Life in Letters has been published (see: https://www.amazon.com/Galatians-Letters-Johannes-Van-Bijl/dp/1839739207/ref=sr_1_1?crid=S3CC3VXG8MKG&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Gt4eDVohYgnjSwUXa5vO5R8xkInvBBxA8RdrHR04vM-eGBqKWBpMVjReIKELK6s4kh8Fl7p2xGpKUySozsKww1HlvQUaCNGKVablRa1L2KHaCADe7eelOCO0q9-YdmcNn4g5fCVJqc38UTxkuWv8CY6K61ykALMUO3-QR3yi0Dz28ndzYXSGME03VBv_x8sY9iUZZW4-8BsKaSbddW5_tqEtb4rxizXbOG9YN-mV_Pk.SoKjUXpKGmA-oQ8OnRryDYsehZfgzQ1oJjZ3IBZmh4w&dib_tag=se&keywords=Galatians%3A+A+Life+in+Letters&qid=1715760616&sprefix=galatians+a+life+in+letters%2Caps%2C179&sr=8-1) and an audiobook version of Breakfast on the Beach: The Development of Simon Peter has also come out (see: https://www.amazon.com/Breakfast-Beach-Development-Simon-Peter/dp/B0D3QS1V7N/ref=sr_1_1?crid=290SEOGW5OF6F&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.jAwkU9ruXdVnlYhRLH0cauRdp_klYkPAYTuBCb3jqB_GjHj071QN20LucGBJIEps.veeAoefxIxgSggw_uuYMJOXQGtAD-I5Exn2DSdN0cIc&dib_tag=se&keywords=Breakfast+on+the+Beach+audio&qid=1715760714&sprefix=breakfast+on+the+beach+audio%2Caps%2C175&sr=8-1)  Langham has also recorded a few videos of me either reading the commentary or telling folks how to use it in a Bible Study setting, but that is too long to include here. Pray with us that these narrative commentaries may reach many for the Kingdom.  1&2 Thessalonians has been submitted for publication and I have already managed to translate 1 Corinthians from the original Greek into a somewhat wooden, unreadable script, but one that is ready for reworking into narrative.  We have been blessed with a number of visitors from the US since moving here, for which we are grateful. Jeff and Cinde Rawn (SAMS-USA Board Members) will be stopping with us this weekend and a few days thereafter. Louise and I will be on a study tour led by Dr Jeff Weima, following the footsteps of Paul's 2nd missionary journey in early June. This will be my first proper break in three years...but it will give me loads of ideas for the next book on Corinth! Finally, I include a letter of gratitude written by a few members of the church. Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ. As you all know we are a small church community in Heiloo, North Holland, The Netherlands. When Covid hit us in 2020 we, like a lot of other churches, had to change the way we were doing things to continue spreading the gospel. With limited means we were able to assemble a setup that enabled us to live stream services to our congregation. When we were able to meet in person again after Covid restrictions were lifted, it became evident that the use of a livestream to broadcast our weekly services is a powerful tool to spread the gospel and reach a wider audience. Since we are not fortunate enough to own our own church building, we have a dedicated team setting up the sound and broadcast equipment on a weekly basis. Over the years our system has become more and more unreliable and in March it gave up completely. The call went out and God answered our prayers through all of you that donated towards a new sound system for Christ Church, Heiloo.  We were able to purchase a new laptop, speakers and speaker stands, a fixed microphone, two portable microphones, a mixer board, new cables, and a lockable flight case to store everything in. The people of Christ Church, Heiloo want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for the wonderful gift that you have given us.  The new sound system is such a blessing to the congregation at Christ Church. We had our first family service using the new system this past week and we used the portable microphones for the children to answer questions and pray.  There was no need to strain to hear them this time. What a blessing!  Setup time for the team has also decreased and no more stressing that it would stop working at any given point during the service. We also used the sound system during the Men’s Day and once again, it was a blessing to have good quality sound.  Our Women’s Day is coming up on 1 June and we are really looking forward to using the new sound system for this too. There are still some finer details to work out with regards to the live streaming, but we are confident that it will all run smoothly very soon.  One of the Church members and his son built a wooden box to securely store the whole system. Everyone who attends our services has been enjoying the sound.   Boriana and Brandon say “The new sound system has been a great addition to the CCH equipment. Brandon and I love Johann’s sermons and the new system helps carry his message to the congregation even more clearly.  Many thanks for this blessing.” Nicky says, “I serve the Church by welcoming people as they arrive for worship at the entrance doors at the back of the hall. The new speakers allow me to hear everything that is said or sung at the front of the hall and to fully participate in the service.  GOD BLESS YOU!!” Pam (a hard of hearing octaganarian) says, “I can now hear almost every word which is said from the front, and it makes all the difference.” Copyright © 2016 Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders, All rights reserved. www.sams-usa.org      Our mailing address is: PO Box 399 Ambridge PA 15003 Attention to: Johann and Louise van der Bijl Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

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The Way to Live the Truth

Isaiah 43:16-20           Ephesians 2:19-22 1 Peter 2:4-5 Hebrews 12:22             John 14:1-6

The Way to Live the Truth

When we worked in the North-eastern part of Namibia, we once visited a missionary who worked with the San people. The area was still pretty much remote with wild animals roaming around freely, including lions. One day he took us out to see some of the elephants along with one of his expert San trackers. It was quite an experience as the grass was so high, we could barely see a few metres ahead of us…and lions just happen to be the same colour as the grass.  At one point I asked our friend how the tracker knew where he was going as there was no sign of any kind of road or path.  He then translated what I had asked for the benefit of our tracker. The small man’s face cracked into a broad smile as he wittily replied: “Tell the young man, I am the road”.

In our Gospel passage for today, Jesus also called himself a road…a road which ultimately leads those who walk on it not only to truth but to life. But in what way is Jesus a road and why did he describe himself as one to his disciples? 

Our Gospel passage for today begins with the words: “Let not your hearts be troubled”. Just to set this statement in its proper context, remember Jesus had just exposed Judas, the one who would betray him…he had told them that he would be leaving them shortly and they would not be able to follow him to where he was going…and he had predicted that Peter, one of the three in the inner circle of his friends, would deny him three times before daybreak. Jesus also knew full well that his followers were about to face the apparent destruction of all their hopes and dreams. Their whole world was about to end abruptly. That same night, all their ambitions would be shattered, and they would be so terrified that they would forsake the one they called Lord and hide out together in an upper room for fear of being slaughtered. So, “let not your hearts be troubled” seems like the understatement of all time. 

But any statement taken in isolation or out of context will always be confusing and misleading. The reason they ought not to let their hearts be troubled was because they had to trust God and trust him. “Believe in God,” Jesus said, “believe also in me”. Now, this statement is in the imperative…it is a command…so it might be better translated as “you must trust or exercise faith in God and you must also trust or exercise faith in me”. 

Now, in a sense, the first statement was something they had always done. They had always believed in and trusted on God. From their youth on, God was ingrained in everything they thought, did, or said. Unlike many Christians, every aspect of Jewish life centres around the being of God. We like to compartmentalize things. This is mine…this is God’s. This is my time…this is God’s time. This is my money…this is God’s money. God has no right to what is mine. But to an orthodox Jew, this kind of thinking is, well, unthinkable. God always comes first…in everything…work, recreation, family, friends, finances. To them, God has always been and will always be central to every aspect of life. So, in principle, faith or trust in God was not a problem.

But it was the second half of this statement that turned out to be the sticky one. Everything they had ever believed about Jesus was about to be challenged. Remember, by this time they had confessed him to be the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. But that was before they saw him arrested…that was before they had seen him dragged off bound to stand trial before the Sanhedrin…that was before they had seen him beaten to a bloody pulp…that was before they had seen him condemned to death as a common criminal by the Roman governor…that was before they saw him breathe out his last breath on the cross. 

The one they had thought to be all-powerful…remember, they had seen him cast out demons, heal the sick, raise the dead…the one they had thought would be king…remember they hailed him as such during the so-called triumphal entry…they saw him rendered powerless, pitiful, pathetic before their horror-filled eyes. Believe in him? Trust him? Have faith in him? Only a faith that stretched beyond that which could be observed by the senses could prevail in such circumstances.

They needed a faith like Abraham’s who “contrary to hope, in hope believed”. (Romans 4:18) They had to put aside what they saw and experienced and look beyond the limits of human reason and through the lens of faith keep his promises in focus despite the dread events swirling about them. While their world seemed to be exploding all around their ears, they had to hold on firmly to that which they had come to know and believe about Jesus…even though everything in them demanded denial. They had to trust in God…and they had to trust also in Jesus…not their senses, not their logic, not their instincts, not their fear…they had to trust him completely.

And then, as if to give credence to that trust he added, “In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” The terrible events about to engulf them were all part of something far bigger than they could ever comprehend…Jesus was going where no one else could go to prepare a place for them in his Father’s house. 

As I indicated last week, this is a pictorial representation of every believer’s position in Jesus. There are several things we need to take note of here. First, note the corporate nature of the image. The well-known and oft-quoted KJ version,  “In my Father’s house are many mansions”, comes to us via Tyndale from the Latin word “mansiones” which simply means small dwellings or apartments – sorry to burst any bubbles here, but those sermons on who will live in a shack and who will live in a manor house were quite wide off the mark. But the point I would like to get across is that all these rooms or apartments or dwellings are in one house: the Father’s house. In other words, those who are in Jesus are all together in one big home.

The second thing we need to take note of is that these rooms or dwellings or apartments are viewed as already existing when Jesus spoke these words. “In my Father’s house are (present indicative tense) many rooms.” This is not something Jesus has yet to build. These rooms were there before he went to the cross…but at the cross, he secured them for those who are his own for all eternity.

The third thing to note is that Jesus used the same words, “My Father’s House”, in John 2:16 when referring to the Temple. “Do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” So, it should come as no surprise to see believers described as living stones being built up as a spiritual house or a holy temple throughout the rest of the New Testament. 

For instance, in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 Paul described the believer as “God’s temple” in which “God’s Spirit dwells”. But, you may object, this is referring to an individual believer. Well, in Ephesians 2:19-22 Paul wrote: “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”

Peter also described this individual yet corporate image in 1 Peter 2:4-5 where he wrote: “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood (picking up on the Temple theme), to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

But it is the author of Hebrews who called this “spiritual house” the “heavenly Jerusalem”. In Hebrews 12:22 we read: “But you have come (note that this is not a future tense) to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering.” 

John elaborated on this in Revelation chapters 21 and 22. It seems pretty clear from the context that what he was describing is no geographical city because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its Temple. Rather this is an image of the dwelling place of those who are in Jesus first described in Ezekiel 40 and following. The gates of this city, John said, are not to be closed to the nations, although they are not permitted to bring any evil into it. (Unlike what seems to be the trend in some modern churches that bring in everything worldly and ungodly!) No, this city is to provide healing for the nations…in my mind, this is referring to the evangelistic task of the Church in the world.

But these two things – the existence of both nations and the presence of sin – these two things alone should prove to us that this city is no future end-of-the-age or pie-in-the-sky-when-you-die-by-and-by reality that John was describing, but rather a very present reality to which all who call themselves by the name of the Lord Jesus have already come. 

Be that as it may, the fact that Jesus has secured for us a space in his Father’s house is a great comfort during times of adversity because it presents to us the eternal decree of God made possible by the death of his Son in our place. No matter what the devil or the world may throw at us, nothing and no one in all of creation can change this – nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39). If we are in Jesus, we are securely positioned in his Father’s house. 

This is why Jesus told his disciples that they were to believe in him or to trust him at a time when they would be sorely tempted to think he failed them. Like us, they were to trust him because he had proved himself trustworthy in the past. 

In verse 3 Jesus promised them that he was not only going to prepare a place for them (an image derived from the custom of sending out one of a group to secure lodgings and provide necessities )…he was not only going to prepare a place for them, but he would also come back to take them to himself. Now, as I said last week, this has often been interpreted as referring to the second coming of Jesus, but not only is the “parousia” or the second coming of Jesus not a frequent theme in the Gospel of John, but the word “coming” used here is the present tense of “ergomai”, the more general Greek word for coming and going. And the present tense seems to indicate that this coming was so certain as to be already begun. 

It might be helpful to compare what Jesus said here with what he said in verses 18-20. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come (same word, ergomai) to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more (post-resurrection appearances of Jesus were limited to believers), but you will see me. Because I live (in my mind this refers to the resurrection), you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in the Father, and you in me, and I in you (all of us together in the Father’s house).” 

The whole context of this discourse seems to indicate that the going and the coming Jesus was referring to here was his death and descent into the place of the dead and his return to life or his resurrection, events which ensure and confirm the promise of his eternal presence with his own. This coming of our Lord results in us entering a union with him as our living Lord and Saviour and consequently, through him, with the Father. In many ways, in Jesus, the future becomes the present.

This is not to deny the Second Coming of Jesus. No, this is to distinguish between the coming of Jesus to the believer in the establishment of an eternal relationship with God (and if you look at the context of the whole discourse in chapters 14-15 you will see that this is where the main emphasis lies in the coming of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to take up residence in us)…this is to distinguish between the “coming” of Jesus to the believers at the point of conversion or regeneration and the second coming of Jesus to consummate or to bring to a final close the Kingdom. 

Now, in verse 4 Jesus told his disciples that they knew where he was going and that they knew the way. We need to remember what he had told them on numerous occasions. For instance, in the parable of the Good Shepherd, he had likened himself to the way into the sheepfold. At the raising of Lazarus, he had called himself the resurrection and the life. These are only two examples, but think about how many times he told them he would be betrayed, handed over, crucified, and resurrected. So, they should have known

But dear Thomas, ever the picture of a well-meaning yet undiscerning individual, said: “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” As we’ve seen before, they were so locked in the physical that they missed the spiritual dimension of the Kingdom. 

And so Jesus replied: “I AM the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Again, in context, this refers to the death of Jesus on the cross through which access to the Father is made possible.

In Isaiah 43:16-20, the prophet had predicted that God would provide a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert for his people. This is, of course, an allusion to what God did in the Exodus but it also points forward to what God would do in Jesus through the Holy Spirit. In the Exodus, God provided a way of deliverance for the freed Israelite slaves…so in Jesus, God provides a way of deliverance for freed sinners. 

I also think this statement may refer to the Fall where the way to God (or more specifically the way to the Tree of Life) was barred because the truth had been rejected resulting in life being cut off. From a deceitful question, “Did God actually say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden?” Satan quickly moved on to total contradiction: “You will not surely die.” Eve then chose to believe lies over truth.

But now, faith and trust in Jesus who is the truth leads us back to the way to life. Jesus alone is the way and the truth and the life…there is no other way to the Father except through him. 

This statement makes Christianity at once both exclusive as well as inclusive. God alone is the source of truth and of life, both of which are incarnate in Jesus. As such, he alone is the way. There is no truth apart from God…there is no life apart from God…and neither of them are available apart from Jesus.

The disciples would shortly be faced with a dilemma. Was Jesus telling the truth or was he lying? Was he who he said he was, or was he a fraud? Or was he delusional? When the way they thought they were travelling suddenly became rough and rocky, what they believed in their hearts about the one they had confessed to be the Messiah, the Son of the Living God, was all they needed to carry them forward.

They would have to choose whether to trust him who is the road or to abandon faith in him. Jesus was trying to help them to face this choice with a strong conviction that he who was able to cast out demons, heal all manners of diseases, and raise the dead, was also able to overcome what to them, must have seemed “unovercomeable”. 

We too have to make choices when our life turns upside down. When things go horribly wrong, we must learn to trust him who can and who has and who will overrule all things…trust that he can and has and will bring us through whatever crisis we might have to face. The pie-in-the-sky-when-you-die-by-and-by robs you of your assurance of his present presence with you now. You are seated in heavenly places with Jesus. You are securely situated in the Father’s house. The Holy Spirit lives in you now and is building you up together with other believers to be the Temple of the Living God. Believe that. Trust the Truth. Remember, you are following the one who is the road.

Shall we pray?

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2024