The Person of Truth
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This evening I have been given a topic to preach on. In fact, not only was I given a topic, I was given a title for my message as well, it is “The Person of Truth.” And I am supposed to demonstrate how Jesus is the person of truth and how vital that understanding is to our walk in Christ. But, there is one problem. I don’t like topical messages. I don’t like assigned topics. I don’t like being given assigned texts. And I have been given all three of these things-
The passages of Scripture I am supposed to cover are:
John
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
John
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
But, I am not going to really preach from any of them. I am going to try to stay on topic, but I am being slightly rebellious and I am going to preach from a different text of Scripture tonight. Of these three texts the one that I am most drawn to is . It is this text that I have learned from more than perhaps any other this past year of just how vital Jesus Christ is as the person of truth. But in order to show you that tonight we need to look at vv. 1-11 and of those we will zero in on vv. 7-10 and major on 9 and 10 primarily. So, I will attempt to cover my assigned topic, but I am going off script (apologies in advance to my Father-in-law).
These 11 verses are fundamentally important to the practical daily living of every believer. Why is that so? Why are these verse so critical? It means the difference between an abundantly fruitful Christian walk and a dry, destitute, fruitless Christian experience.
And what do these verse have to do with Jesus Christ as the person of truth? Mainly this:
If we are to have an abundant fruitful Christian life then we must fully participate in an abiding relationship with the person of Jesus Christ.
What does it mean to have an abiding relationship with the person of Jesus Christ?
To understand that there are two questions that we must answer
I. What does it mean for Christ to abide in us?
I. What does it mean for Christ to abide in us?
First of all we need to remind ourselves of a familiar illustration:
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
John 15.1
Jesus is the true vine, and the Father is the vine-dresser or tenant farmer.
2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
There are two operations that the Father performs. One is to prune every fruitful branch so that it may produce even more fruit. The second is to take away those branches that bear no fruit. Whatever that means, we can see that both involve cutting, both processes are painful- and fruit is the primary focus.
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
The disciples currently have no need of pruning- they are clean and ready to bear fruit because of the words of Jesus Himself.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
Yet, in order to be continuously fruitful, Jesus gives them a illustration- They are to abide in Christ, and Christ is to abide in them- just like the branch and the vine. In order to be fruitful the branch must abide in the vine, otherwise, fruitfulness is impossible.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Again, two requirements for fruitful Christianity are presented. Christ is like the vine, the disciples are like the branches and in order for there to be much fruit, the disciples must abide in Christ and Christ must abide in the disciples. And if either one of these is overlooked the end result is “without me you can do nothing.” To overlook what Jesus is talking about here results in a dry, destitute, dead, fruitless Christian experience.
John
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
In other words abiding in Christ and Christ abiding in you is the only key to successful Christian living. If you do not participate in this kind of relationship with Christ, then no matter how successful you think your Christian life is- Jesus says this, that one’s life amounts to nothing better than a dried out, withered branch, that kind of branch is only good for being gathered and burned. Perhaps this is talking about earthly chastisement (), or perhaps it is talking about a loss of reward in the kingdom. In either case participating in an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ is extremely important.
So what exactly does that mean? What does it mean for Christ to abide in us?
I think we begin to see the answer in v. 7
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
I think that whatever it means for Christ to abide in us- this idea is connected to the WORDS of Christ abiding in us.
John 15.8
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
Herein (in this way- in this abiding relationship) the Father is glorified- and we are able as believers to bear much fruit.
V. 9 is key to our understanding of what it means for Christ to abide in us.
9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
9 “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.
Just as the Father has loved Me- or in the exact same what that the Father has loved me, so have I also loved you. Whatever it means for Christ to abide in us I think is connected to this concept. In other words we discover more clearly what it means for Christ to abide in us as we think about the loving relationship of the Godhead. As we think about how the Father loved the Son, and thus how the Son loves us- we discover what it means for Christ to abide in us because this abiding relationship mirrors the abiding relationship within the Trinity.
So how does the Father love the Son? This is a theme that is developed throughout John’s gospel.
32 And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony.
33 He that hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.
34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
John 3.
V. 32- Jesus testifies to what he has seen and heard- and it is heavenly in origin and content, he is testifying about the things of the Father. The problem is no one receives Jesus’ testimony.
V. 33- But those that do receive the testimony of Jesus set their seal, their mark of approval to this fact- that God is true. Think about that statement. If one believes the testimony of Jesus to be true it is identical to saying that God the Father is true. Why?
V. 34- For he who God has sent speaks the Words of God. In other words when Jesus speaks, every word that comes out of His mouth, are the exact words of the Father. So to say that Jesus’ words are true is to say what? That the Father’s words are true? How do we know that?
End of v. 34- For the Father gives the Spirit without measure.
V. 35- The Father loves the Son! How? And has given all things into His hand.
In other words the reason the Son’s words are the identical words of the Father is that there is a fully loving transparency between the Father and the Son. Everything that the Father knows- the Son knows. Why? Because the Father gives the Son the Spirit without measure and the Father gives all things into the Son’s hand. And this is exactly what it means for the Father to love the Son. The Father holds nothing back from the Son- there is full transparency between the Father and the Son. Everything that the Father knows the Son knows- and this fully transparent relationship is the love that exists between the Father and the Son.
Several weeks ago I took a trip to Canada to do some fishing. One of the consequences of going that far North is that I don’t get good cell phone coverage. As a result I basically go a week without talking to my wife in any form. The moment I get back into the States I start to communicate with her. I send her texts and call her. Then when I finally make it home and I am in her presence I usually spend a good deal of time talking to her about my trip. I try to tell here everything I can. I want her to know about my week, about me personally. There is not another person on earth that I have revealed more about me than my wife. But even if I tried I could never tell here everything that goes on inside of my head. And that is probably a good thing- I am a weird dude. There is some strange stuff that goes on in there.
19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
John
Not only does the Son speak the exact WORDS of the Father, but the Son only does the exact WORKS of the Father as well. The Son can do nothing of Himself, He only does what He sees the Father doing. And what does the Father show the Son?
V. 20- The Father loves the Son and shows Him ALL THINGS that He Himself is doing. This is an incredible statement. Again, what does it mean for the Father to love the Son? It means full complete transparency. The Father shows the Son EVERYTHING about Himself. The Father reveals to the Son His innermost being. I cannot even begin to fathom that? How does an infinite being fully reveal Himself? But what kind of transparency is possible when eternal God reveals himself to eternal God? What is that like? That’s mind-blowing. And yet this loving transparency has been going on since eternity past. Before, we even existed God fully manifested love within Himself. God the Father, the initiator of the love- fully revealing Himself to the Son. The Son, the recipient of the love, responding by only saying and doing what the Father reveals. What about the Spirit? The Spirit is like the love that flows between Father and Son (The Father gives the Spirit without measure). And for all of eternity past there was this beautiful relationship of love within the Godhead. And we were never necessary.
Why do I say all of that? What does this have to do with Christ abiding in us?
9 “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.
How does the Father love the Son? He fully discloses Himself to the Son in loving transparency.
How does the Son love us? In exactly the same way.
How does the Son disclose himself to us? We are not God, we cannot know Jesus in exactly the same way, and yet there must be a way for the Son to reveal Himself to us.
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
It is the Word of God- Jesus fully reveals himself to us by means of the Word of God.
3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Full disclosure- we have been given ALL THINGS that pertain to life and godliness- through the knowledge of HIM.
Just as the Father reveals Himself to the Son, so the Son wants to fully reveal HIS PERSON to us through His Word. How does this kind of love flow to us?
16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
So how does Christ abide in us? Through the Word of God and the Holy Spirit of God. Christ makes himself fully know to us, he discloses himself to us through the Word of God. But this doesn’t happen by accident. It requires hard work on our part.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
6 If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.
Does Christ abide in you? Does His Word dwell richly in you in all wisdom? Do you take heed unto His word like a light that shines in a dark place? Are you constantly nourished on the words of faith and of sound doctrine?
We must go down deep and stay down long, thinking deeply about the Word of God, meditating on it, and talking about it in our hearts.
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
If Christ is not abiding in us like this- If the person of Christ is not being disclosed to our hearts on a regular basis- If Christ is not revealing Himself to us more and more through the word of God and the Spirit of God then our lives will be like a dry, barren, lifeless branch worth nothing more that to be gathered up and burned. Is Christ abiding in you?
If we are to have an abundant fruitful Christian life then we must fully participate in an abiding relationship with the person of Jesus Christ.
What does it mean to have an abiding relationship with the person of Jesus Christ?
To understand that there are two questions that we must answer
What does it mean for Chris to abide in us?
II. What does it mean for us to abide in Christ?
II. What does it mean for us to abide in Christ?
9 “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
Again, if we are going to answer this question we must look to the love relationship of the trinity. Because what it means for us to abide in Christ is connected to the idea of abiding in Christ’s love (v. 9)
In order to abide in Christ’s love we must keep His commandments (v. 10), but we must do so in the exact same way that Christ keeps the Father’s commandments and abides in the Father’s love. In other words, once again, our abiding relationship mirrors the abiding relationship of the trinity.
So how did the Son abide in the love of the Father? Thus far we have thought about what it means for the Father to love the Son. What does it mean for the Son to love the Father?
John 14
30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.
Jesus’ hour is soon approaching. He is about to go to the cross. But Jesus makes a very important statement in v. 30- The ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in me. What is he talking about? Basically, Jesus is about to go to the cross, but He is NOT going to do so because Satan has the power to make Jesus go to the cross- Satan has nothing in Christ, or He has no power over Christ.
Sometimes at the end of the night my wife and I will be sitting on the couch, and as we get up and head to bed my wife will reach her hand down and offer to help me off of the couch. And because I am the way that I am, most times I will offer her my hand, but I will do nothing else to help her pull me up off the couch. And she will give it the old college try but I barely move an inch. And she will have to say, “A little help here?” In other words she has nothing in me or no power over me to move me by herself. The only way that I am getting off the couch is if I choose to stand up.
This is what Jesus is saying- my hour is coming, but Satan has no power over me to make me go to the cross. So what is it that makes Jesus go and shed his blood for us?
31 but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.
Get this? How does the Father love the Son? The Father fully reveals Himself to the Son. The Son knows every word and work of the Father. The Son can do nothing of Himself, but only what He sees the Father doing.
How does the Son love the Father? By doing exactly as the Father commands Him.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
So how does this abiding relationship with Jesus Christ work? First, Christ must abide in us. We must let the Word of Christ dwell richly in us in all wisdom, and the Holy Spirit must take the Word of Christ and open the eyes of our hearts- in other words Christ more fully reveals himself to us- we see the person of Christ in a way we never have before as we are thoroughly nourished on the words of faith and doctrine. This is Christ abiding in us- we understand more of what it means to be like our Savior- both in the character of his life and in the content of his daily living. How do we then abide in Christ? We do exactly as the Son commands us to do. We respond with obedience.
10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.
18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
And if we are constantly abiding in Christ and Christ is abiding in us in this manner, how could we do anything else except bear much fruit? We will be constantly changing to become more and more like our Savior- as He discloses Himself to us and we respond to His love by doing exactly as he has revealed? And it is the best thing ever! What kind of Christian experience does this produce?
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
If we are to have an abundant fruitful Christian life then we must fully participate in an abiding relationship with the person of Jesus Christ.
How are you doing?