All posts by Luella Campbell

JOHN’S GOSPEL… THE PENTECOST EVENT – 27

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John 14:16-18 NIV
[16] And I will ask the Father, and he will give you ANOTHER ADVOCATE TO HELP YOU and BE WITH YOU FOREVER — [17] the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and WILL BE IN YOU. [18] I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

John 15:26 NIV
[26] “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—HE WILL TESTIFY ABOUT ME.

John 16:8-11 NIV
[8] “When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: [9] about sin, because people do not believe in me; [10] about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; [11] and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.”

John 16:12-15 NIV
[12] “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. [13] But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, HE WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL THE TRUTH. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. [14] HE WILL GLORIFY ME because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. [15] All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

Not much in words but a whole lot in meaning!

How mystified the disciples must have been. They were steeped in Old Covenant history and teaching. They knew about the Holy Spirit. He came and went in the lives of some of the old covenant saints…but now, Jesus was speaking of Him as His equal, even His other self, His representative who would replace Him in their lives and yet be as if Jesus Himself would be with them, His unseen but real self, to carry on His work. So Paul could write… “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

First, we must go back to Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3. The starting place for the Holy Spirit’s ministry in the disciples and all who follow them could only be in their spiritual birth into God’s kingdom. No one who has not entered the kingdom in this radical way can ever have the Spirit indwelling them and doing the work that Jesus said He would do.

Second,

“He lives with you and will be in you… I will come to you.”

“When the Advocate comes… He will testify about me.”

“He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.”

“All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

everything the Holy Spirit does in believers that is not focused on Jesus…the revelation of who He is, and transformation into His image, the blueprint of God’s Son, is peripheral. What Jesus taught His disciples about the Spirit in the Upper Room is the core of everything the Holy Spirit does in, for, and through the believer.

Second, when we examine what Jesus said about Him, we see that the work of the Holy Spirit is all about Jesus. This is in perfect harmony with the relationship of the three Persons of the Trinity. Each is entrenched in the other two persons, in harmony with, submitting to, and exalting one another.

The closeness between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit cannot be more clearly revealed than in the saving work of Jesus and the aftermath, as Jesus explains here, of bringing people into God’s kingdom and transforming them into His image by the Holy Spirit’s work.

Everything the Holy Spirit does in believers that is not focused on Jesus…the revelation of who He is, and transformation into His image, the blueprint of God’s Son, is peripheral. What Jesus taught His disciples about the Spirit in the Upper Room is the core of everything the Holy Spirit does in, for, and through the believer.

How tragic that so much of modern Christianity has corrupted the Scriptures by presenting, in preaching and practice, a version of the Holy Spirit which is foreign to the Word of God. He is presented as an entertainer… doing strange things while people look on, sending feathers flying and gold dust falling, people collapsing on the floor “under the power”, muttering strange sounds and even animal noises! How do these “manifestations” glorify Jesus or change people into His image?

Even the so-called “miracle campaigns”, so common today, are an abuse of the Scriptures. Jesus’ miracles were, first and foremost, confirmation that He was who He said, he was, the Son of God sent from the Father.

To His opponents, Jesus argued…

John 10:30-33, 37-38 NIV
[30] “I and the Father are one.” [31] Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, [32] but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” [33] “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”…
[37] Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. [38] But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”

… And to His disciples, He said…

John 14:11 NIV
[11] “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves.”

The works Jesus did were through the power of the Holy Spirit…

Matthew 12:24, 27-28 NIV
[24] “But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons.”…
Jesus responded…
[27] And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. [28] But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

How important, then, that the disciples (and we) take Jesus’ teaching seriously, not adding, subtracting, or twisting out OF shape what He said. On their shoulders rested the responsibility of correctly interpreting the events of Pentecost according to the Scriptures and faithfully passing on to the next generation the teaching and ministry of Jesus in obedience to the Holy Spirit in them.

Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit in them confirms that he recognised the prophetic word spoken by Joel, as that moment of fulfilment.

Acts 2:14-21 NIV
[14] “Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. [15] These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! [16] No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: [17] “ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. [18] Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. [19] I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. [20] The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. [21] And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

The Holy Spirit came, inspired Peter with the understanding of truth, and convicted sinners, as Jesus said He would, pointing them to Jesus as the truth and the Saviour of
sinners.

John 16:8 NIV
[8] “When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:”…

Acts 2:37-39 NIV
[37] “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” [38] Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. [39] The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

Pentecost was the demonstration and confirmation that the Holy Spirit fulfilled and fulfills everything Jesus taught about Him.

JOHN’S GOSPEL… THE VINE AND THE BRANCHES – 26

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John 15:1 NIV
[1] “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.”

What graphic imagery! Jesus loved to teach in picture language. The imagery of the vine was not new to His disciples. In the Old Covenant, God and the vine were often used to illustrate God’s relationship to His people.

Psalms 80:8-9 NIV
[8] “You transplanted a vine from Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. [9] You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land.”

The prophets told the sad story of Israel’s failure to live up to God’s desire. He did everything He could for them but they turned away and became a rebellious vine bearing corrupted fruit.

Isaiah 5:1-2 NIV
[1] “I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. [2] He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit.”

Jeremiah 2:21 NIV
[21] “I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock. How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine?”

Hosea 10:1 NIV
[1] Israel was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself. As his fruit increased, he built more altars; as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones.”

Imagine, then, how the disciples would have reacted to Jesus’ announcement, “I am the vine.” He, Himself, He declared, was taking over the role God intended Israel to play in their relationship to the Father. He was taking responsibility for the nation who had failed dismally to produce the fruit of that relationship.

In the following verses, Jesus went even further. He amplified the connection between vine and branches, a union so close and intimate that everything the vine is in its entirety, the branches become through their union with the vine.

This thought must have shocked His disciples. How could it be that they, mere humans, and Jesus, whom they were convinced was the Son of God, would be so closely bound together that His life and theirs would become one?

This was a truth that would only become real to them when the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus said was His “other self”, would come to live in them on the Day of Pentecost. At that moment, the Spirit was “with them”, but He would be “in them” to replace the person of Jesus as His personal representative.

John 15:4-5, 7-8 NIV
[4] “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. [5] “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing…
[7] If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. [8] This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

These words are the simplest explanation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ in the entire Bible. He did not come to set up a new religion or even to clean up the old one. He came to clear away the obstacle of sin and to establish a union with Himself so close that the “sap” of His divine life would flow into His followers as freely as the life-giving sap of the vine flows through the entire plant, producing the fruit of that union. The vine and the branches are indistinguishable from one another. They are inextricably connected as one.

This union was established in them through the power of the Holy Spirit in response to faith. Jesus would focus on the role of the Spirit in the lives of His disciples in His final moments with them before the cross. They must understand what He had come to do. They must know and cultivate the awareness of presence of the Spirit in them to maintain and strengthen that union without which they would be pruned from the vine.

A vine can only bear the fruit which identifies its nature as a vine if the branches remain vitally connected to the vine. So, Jesus insists, the only way to live out this life He came to bring, is to cultivate the awareness of this union in the everyday course of life. The best way to explain was to say, in three simple words, “Remain in me.”

The Greek word, “meno”, conveys the meaning of “to stay in a given place, state, or relation”. It is the Holy Spirit who has cemented us in this union with Jesus but it is up to us to maintain the union by our own effort, to stay in that state which the Holy Spirit established. This is a dynamic partnership between Jesus and us. He has done His part. We must do our part. He holds us, but we must hold on to Him by faith and obedience to His teachings.

John 15:5-7 NIV
[5] “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. [6] If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. [7] If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

If we neglect actively to maintain the awareness of our union with Jesus, we will lose that connection and forfeit all its benefits. However, if we faithfully make our choices and decisions in everything we do, in our awareness that we are in union with Jesus, we will be fruitful both in character and in the outcomes of that union. Answered prayer will be the result of our continual working together with Jesus.

So, Jesus said, to be His true follower is not to follow a set if rules or even to do the things that His disciples are supposed to do…”read the Bible, go to church, pay your tithe, and tell others about Jesus”! This is such a terrible corruption of the truth!

When we let go of all this peripheral stuff and do the one thing Jesus told His disciples to do…”Remain in me”, all the blessings and benefits of our salvation will flow like a life-giving fountain, to and through us.

Any other understanding of what it means to be a Christian falls short of what Jesus conveyed in the image of the vine and the branches. Is it any wonder, then that He said that the gate is small and the way is narrow to real life, and few find it.

JOHN’S GOSPEL… SHOW US THE FATHER – 25

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John 14:8 NLT
[8] Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.”

Really, Philip, after all this time, do you still not know the Father?

John 14:9 NLT
[9] “Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you?”

Imagine Jesus’ frustration! After years of painstakingly revealing the nature of the Father, doing and saying whatever the Father showed Him, constantly referring to the Father as His source, and witnessing to His unity with the Father, Philip still naively whined…
“Show us the Father.”

Philip, where have you been all this time?

How true of human nature! How blind to truth when hearts are born in unbelief and blocked by beliefs and traditions cemented into the soul by years of exposure to the world and its ways!

Paul commented that the person who does not have the indwelling Spirit to awaken the dead human spirit, will never understand or accept God’s truth.

1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV
[14] “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”

Jesus made the same observation in his conversation with Nicodemus.

John 3:10, 12 NIV
[10] “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?…
[12] I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?”

The sad reality is that God’s truth is only foolishness to those who have never been awakened by God’s Spirit to spiritual truth. It takes a miracle of grace for a person who is born dead in sin to understand and believe the gospel. It’s no wonder that worldly people are God’s enemies, hating the truth and strongly resisting the message of Jesus, however compellingly it is presented.

Paul, writing to the Ephesian church, people who were once steeped in pagan beliefs and behaviour,

Ephesians 2:1, 4-5 NIV
[1] “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins…
[4] But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, [5] made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”

Was Philip revealing, by his question, that he and his fellow disciples were still in the realm of darkness where the truth was veiled to them?

Only at the moment when the Holy Spirit came in power, raised them from spiritual death, tore off the veil of unbelief, and transferred them into the kingdom of God, did they recognise the truth of what Jesus had come to reveal.

When the Holy Spirit fell on them on the day of Pentecost, the world of the disciples turned right side up. All their confused misunderstanding and muddled beliefs were obliterated by the miracle of new birth. This was a profound “aha” moment for them. They started life all over again with a clean slate of spiritual understanding.

Thus Peter could proclaim with utmost confidence, linking experience with Scripture…

Acts 2:14-17, 22-24, 32-33, 36-39 NIV
[14] “Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. [15] These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! [16] No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: [17] “ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams…
[22] “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. [23] This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. [24] But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him…
[32] God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. [33] Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear…
[36] “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” [37] When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” [38] Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. [39] The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

In a flash, all they had heard and experienced in their years with Jesus fell into place. New birth happened, and with the new birth, they finally understood the nature of the Father.

He, the Father, and Jesus are one. Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God. Jesus is God’s glory on display. Jesus is the God-man in whom all the attributes of the invisible God are revealed to us…in whom all the fullness of God dwells in a real man who came to earth to be… Immanuel – God with us.

Jesus is still, and will always be …in heaven… our mediator,

1 Timothy 2:5-6 NIV
[5] “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus…”

So, Philip, here is the truth. The Jesus you only knew as a man, or even perhaps God’s Messiah, is in true far more than a holy man.

Hebrews 1:1-3 NIV
[1] “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, [2] but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. [3] The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”

And the Father, whom they longed to know, was as real to them at last as the Son whom they had seen, touched, and walked with on earth.

JOHN’S GOSPEL… THE PATH TO THE FATHER – 24

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There followed, after His reassurance that His departure was not forever, Jesus’ next profound statement. After Thomas’ plaintive question, “How can we know the way when we don’t know where you are going?”, Jesus responded with these immortal words…

John 14:6 NIV
[6] “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus’ words were always both all-exclusives and all-inclusive. How could that be? The great divide that excluded many and included many was only one condition…faith!

Those who cannot understand the significance of faith, accuse Jesus and, by association, His followers, of “hate speech”! How could He insist that He is the only way to attain heaven? Yet, truth is narrow since, as one preacher declared, “Truth is a knife edge and error a wide, flat land.”

If it is true that there can only be one way to the Father, how can this be “hate speech” to speak the truth. Yes, this excludes all who are foolish enough to deny the truth but it includes everyone who believes.

According to Scripture, Jesus came from heaven for more than one purpose. He came to reveal the true nature of God and to introduce Him to His own people as Father. He came to remove the barrier of sin and open the way to the Father. He came to escourt those who believe in Him, to the Father.

Therefore, in summary, He declared, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life!”

In this statement, Jesus was not saying, “I will show you the way. I will teach you the truth. I will give you life.” He is much more than what He does. He is, in Himself, everything we need. Apart for Jesus, we can never be on the way, know the truth, or have the life He came to give us. It all depends on one profound truth that we are” in Christ”.

Paul’s favourite expression, “in Christ”, is much more than that, just an expression. It is the key to the full basket of benefits we have through our faith in Jesus. Paul sets out this truth in Ephesians 1 where he describes every blessing we have “in Christ”.

Ephesians 1:3-14 NIV
[3] “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing IN CHRIST. [4] For he chose us IN HIM before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love [5] he predestined us for adoption to sonship THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, in accordance with his pleasure and will— [6] to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us IN THE ONE he loves. [7] IN HIM we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace [8] that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, [9] he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed IN CHRIST, [10] to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth UNDER CHRIST. [11] IN HIM we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, [12] in order that we, who were the first to put our hope IN CHRIST, might be for the praise of his glory. [13] And you also were included IN CHRIST when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked IN HIM with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, [14] who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

What more could Paul have written to convince us that only in union with Jesus can we have access to the blessings and benefits of the salvation He accomplished through the cross. We owe Him, not only our very existence but our access to the Father and to eternal life.

This must have been a foreign idea to His disciples, who were schooled in a religion of rules, ritual, and sacrifice to gain access to God and then only at a distance since a great, heavy curtain separated them from His presence. To be in a personal relationship with the God whom they feared because of His awesome holiness, was foreign and unthinkable…yet Jesus was declaring that the only way to the Father was to be in union with Him.

Even more radical are the words of the writer to the Hebrews…

Hebrews 10:19-22 NIV
[19] “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, [20] by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, [21] and since we have a great priest over the house of God, [22] let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”

His body, His blood, a high priest…these are all terms that linked them to their understanding of what God required to access Him, but so much more.. All the pictures and types of the Old Covenant finally came together in Jesus.

In His words,” I am…Yahweh, I am who I am…”, Jesus was placing Himself in their understanding, in the shoes of the God of the Old Covenant. He was the Yahweh they worshipped and, only in Jesus, who is in fact, Yahweh Himself, could they reach their goal of everlasting life with Yahweh.

Was it beginning to dawn on them, in these intimate moments before His death, that this man Jesus, with whom they had kept company for a number of years, was much more than a man. He was God and man in one person and personally assigned to take them, through union with Himself, to realm where in three persons, the Godhead reigned in power and glory and invited them to join in that union.

It’s no wonder He said to them…

John 16:12 NIV
[12] “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.”

He had told them enough set their minds spinning.

JOHN’S GOSPEL… THE WAY TO THE FATHER – 23

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Imagine the uncertainty, the anxiety, the fear, like a threatening storm cloud hanging in the air above them, when the disciples gathered in the Upper Room. Jesus was saying strange things, doing strange things, as though He were preparing them for some disaster about to happen. They had learned that He never said or did anything without a purpose.

What now?

First, words of reassurance…

John 14:1 NLT
[1] “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. “

“Guys, I know you are upset and disturbed. You need to trust me in this as much as you trust God.” How important that they heed His words when their world began to shake… was shattered when events took a turn for the worst.

Then followed some of the most profound promises ever made…

John 14:2-4 NLT
[2] “There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? [3] When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. [4] And you know the way to where I am going.”

This was wedding talk! After the betrothal, and the drawing up of the marriage contract, a Jewish groom-to-be would make this announcement to his finacee, “I am returning to my father’s house to build the bridal chamber. When it is complete, and at my father’s instruction, I will come for you.”

Jesus added, on another occasion, when He was speaking of the end of the age…

Matthew 24:36 NLT
[36] “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.”

… exactly as the groom would speak to reassure his bride of his return for her.

When the bridal chamber was ready, the father would give the signal, the son would return for his bride, the wedding would take place, and then, the groom would carry his bride (rapture her) over the threshold into the bridal chamber to consummate the marriage. Blood would be the evidence that they had become one!

What a perfect picture of the completion of our salvation…our eternal union with our bridegroom. Among the many beautiful symbols of the Father’s dealings with His wayward children is the theme of marriage which reoccurrs throughout Scripture, the courtship and marriage of the Son of God to His chosen and perfected bride.

The story is completed in the graphic prediction of the great wedding of the Lamb.

Revelation 19:7-9 NLT
[7] “Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. [8] She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people. [9] And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.”

After all the trials and tests of this life, the Bride of Christ, the composite woman, the church, made up of every faithful believer, made spotless and blameless in preparation for her wedding day by the blood of her own bridegroom, the wedding will take place at the end of time.

Paul gives us the pattern for an earthly marriage which is to reflect the union between Jesus and His church.

Ephesians 5:25-27 NLT
[25] For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her [26] to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. [27] He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.”

This promise sums up everything that Jesus did for His church, and provides an unshakable reassurance that He will finish what He started.

When their world began to shake out of control, did these words steady their hearts? Perhaps only in hindsight would the disciples have remembered with gratitude what He had spoken to reassure them. When this shaking was all over, under them was the rock of solid truth that could never be shaken. No matter what happened in this life, no matter how bad the world would became, no matter how much they were called to endure, He promised that He would return to complete His mission and to take them home to Father’s house to live in union with Him forever.

And for us who follow in their footsteps, no matter what our lot in this life, we have the same promise that Jesus is coming to finish what He started. Each one of us has been wooed and won by the love of our Bridegroom. We all have His promise that He is coming again to take us home to Father’s house, whether by death or by transformation, to live with Him forever in a union so deep and profound that no one on earth can imagine what it will be.

So, as for the disciples in that moment in the Upper Room, so you may be standing where they stood, on the edge of a precipice so frightening that you dare not look ahead, you dare not imagine what may happen in the next moment. So, He says to you…

John 14:1-3 NLT
[1] “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. [2] There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? [3] When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.”