14

It was the Greeks who came to Philip expressing their desire, "Sir, we would see Jesus (John 12: 21).

In those chapters of John's Gospel which follow that incident, the Lord Jesus reveals Himself to His disciples, as well as to us. He does so in the most wonderful way - if we have the eyes of faith to see.

The central glory of this thrilling revelation is: He is LOVE! Love to the uttermost.

"Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end" (John 13: 1).

He loved, He loves us, to the full and ultimate extent of His infinite and amazing love.

In that indescribably glorious love He provides so bountifully for all who believe in Him. He makes available to us the most thrilling relationship with Him. In each of these succeeding chapters we are enabled to see more and more of this inspiring potential.

When it comes to adequately explaining all that is involved, our words prove to be completely insufficient. The more we see, the more we are struck by a truly great sense of awe and wonder as He reveals all that He has planned for us.

In His love He says to us, "Abide in Me!" What does this mean? What is this experience and relationship into which He seeks to call us?

He wants us to believe that He does sincerely desire that we will be as much one with Him as He is one with His Father.

He proceeds to unveil even more of the thrilling glory of His love in the verses before us. More of all that His love can mean to us.

The Lord Jesus is seeking to focus our attention on this amazing truth. This spiritual dynamic which is so very inspiring.

Yet, as we begin to try to comprehend all that He is saying, we quickly realize that this is far more wonderful than our minds can grasp. At the very best our minds can reach only the most inadequate idea of its vast dimensions.

"The Father hath loved Me!" Those words contain truth which is so infinite, our minds can only look in awe at the message they contain.

The Lord Jesus is speaking about this eternal relationship. The relationship which He, as God the Son, shared and enjoy with God the Father. Which was, is, "LOVE!"

That is, "LOVE!" - in all its eternal and infinite perfection. Love which is so absolutely pure and holy. Love which is constantly giving in complete self-giving all that there is to give.

Love in its highest most glorious meaning. Love as only the Lord Himself can reveal it to such as we are.

"God is love!"(1 John 4: 8). The Lord Jesus said, "For God SO LOVED!" (John 3: 16). "SO loved!" Why: "SO!"? Simply because the human vocabulary is totally inadequate to find the right words to express that love.

"What manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us!" (1 John 3: 1). "What manner of love!" Humanity does not have the ability to do anything more but feel the utmost sense of awe in the presence of such "LOVE!"

We hear the Father say, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3: 17).

Listen to those words, "MY BELOVED SON!" Listen until you sense the feeling of greatest, deepest wonder. On the surface, that statement sounds so simple. Yet it is so vast, so profound, it is unsearchable.

"MY BELOVED SON!" Those are words which are pulsating with the infinite heart beat of eternal unmeasurable LOVE!

"As the Father hath loved Me!" It is completely impossible for mere man to define that love. It will be forever beyond our ability to discover any acceptable terminology to bring such love into the sphere of our comprehension.

But! We can see that love! We have been enabled to catch the most awe-inspiring revelations and demonstrations of that love.

Listen to the Lord Jesus as He says, "Therefore doth My father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again" (John 10: 17).

"My Father hath loved me!" The Father finds reason to love, motivation to love, justification for love, in My expression of love! We can begin to see something of His meaning, even though our words are still so inadequate.

The Father's love, responding to the expression of the Son's love. Infinitely! Continually! Joyfully!

"I lay down My life!" As the expression of the eternal love of the Son for the Father. To which the Father responds in love to the Son. So the infinite, indescribable cycle of love constantly flows on in its unmeasurable expression.

The Son loved the Father. In that love He proceeded to lay down His life to accomplish the Father's will. Expressing His love to this lost world so that through His sacrifice of perfect love we may be saved.

"The Father hath loved Me!" Can we mere human beings know and experience such love? Listen to Paul. "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3: 17 - 19).

Notice: "Ye - rooted and grounded in love!" Able to comprehend the dimensions of love! Know the love which surpassed the ability of mere man to know!

This is the knowledge of His love which comes to us through the experience of this vital personal relationship. The knowledge which must ever continue to grow. Never being able to exhaust its search into the fullness of the knowledge of His love.

"So!" "So have I loved you!" How very important it is that we grasp the vital significance of that: "So!"

The Lord Jesus is making the most exciting comparison for us which provides us with this thrilling assurance.

He was confirming to His disciples that the measure of His love for them could only be compared to the Father's love for Him! All other comparisons would, and will, prove to be totally inadequate.

This is the emphasis which we repeatedly see in the teaching of the Lord Jesus in these chapters. He was constantly saying, in one way or another, If you want to see the significance of this truth as it applies to you, look at Me! This is true whether it had to do with our lives, our service, or any other aspect.

For example, the command to: "Love one another; as I have loved you!"(John 13: 34). "You are to love, as I have loved!" When it comes to the Christian's love, there is only one acceptable example: The Lord Jesus.

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you" (John 14: 27). To understand the meaning of peace in the life of the Christian, understand that it is: "My peace!"

"So!" Thus we are left with no doubt as to what the Lord Jesus means. It was important that the disciples took the Lord at His Word. That we do so today!

In what way could, or did, the disciples define His love for them? A study of the Gospels reveals just how inadequately they understood the dimensions of His love.

It is in this fact that we can so readily identify with the disciples. We have, at the very best, such an meager grasp of all that it actually means to say, sing, or know, "Jesus loves me, this I know, For the Bible tells me so!"

Will we allow the Lord Jesus to enlighten our awareness? Permit the Holy Spirit to open our understanding? Be humbled by this most amazing and incredible reality?

"Jesus loves me"- in the exact, identical love with which His Father loves Him! "Jesus loves me"- with that same infinitely glorious and eternal love. He loves me with that same pure, high, and holy love. That perfectly expressed love of self-giving and self-sacrifice. Absolutely nothing is lacking!

But, we do not deserve to be loved with such an amazing love. He knows that we do not deserve such love. In love He assures us that it is never a matter of what we deserve.

Love, even for the most unloveable, the most repugnant, is His nature. His perfect loving nature. It is the expression of His will to love- even me!

In exactly the same way that the Father loves the Son, who fully deserves to be loved with the purest and most perfect and glorious love. In exactly the same way, the same measure, the identical expression, the Lord Jesus chooses to love- me!

The more that we will focus on Him and His love, the more that we will know His love for us in its most astonishing dimensions. To be humbled and broken by that love. To be renewed, restored, and revived by that love.

As we choose to willingly surrender in total submission to such indescribably glorious love.

The Lord Jesus is saying, I want you to continue to abide, live, in the fullness of My love!

As on so many previous occasions, the Lord Jesus emphasizes the importance of spiritual discipline. The discipline which He requires from His disciples.

Earlier He said, "Abide in Me, and I in you" (verse 4). That is the disciple's responsibility. Make the commitment to do all that is required to, "Abide in Me!"

That contrast is: "If a man abide not in Me!" If there is one who fails to apply the required personal discipline, that person will pay the price for the failure. Experiencing consequences which are most tragic.

This is our responsibility. Which means, we cannot pray, Lord, You keep Me in your love! He has instructed us to abide in His love. He will not do for us that which He has told us to do for ourselves.

"But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the love of God" (Jude 20, 21).

Keep yourselves in! If we fail to discipline ourselves to do so, it will not be done!

"Continue ye in My love." The Lord Jesus is inspiring His disciples to willingly choose to continually live in the fullness of His infinite love.

Why would any Christian think of choosing to do otherwise? Yet there are so many who appear to be content with what is far less than His invitation.

The abundant fullness of His love for us. The love which was expressed so amazingly - in Gethsemane. Then throughout the mockery of the trials. On the cross. There where He was made to be sin for us.

The love which is irrevocably committed to all that which is always the best for us and for our lives. The love which always seeks to lead us higher.

The love which enables us to live this new life effectively. To serve Him fruitfully.

The love which reminds us, "I go to prepare a place for you, And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself; that where I am there ye may be also" (John 14: 2, 3).

You are invited, encouraged: Continue in My love! Live in My love. There is no greater privilege. As there is no higher honor.

"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."

"My commandments!" "My Word!" At every point this is the emphatic focus of every aspect of the Lord's teaching. There is absolutely no other way to do justice to all that He has to say throughout the Gospels. This is particularly evident in the Gospel of John.

There were times when the disciples had other ideas. Peter especially seemed to believe that he had the right to evaluate the Word of his Lord in the light of his own opinions, then decide which to follow. As if his word was as significant as the Word of Jesus!

This illustrates a very common attitude among many "Christians" today. Yes, the Word of the Lord Jesus is important. But, is it really all that important? Surely I am entitled to be allowed some freedom in the way in which I choose to respond to his Word?

And, surely I can believe in Him without having to believe in and live by every single Word He spoke?

We need to listen to the statement of commitment which the Lord Himself made. He spoke in response to the temptation of the devil. "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4: 4).

There were many who professed to believe in Him, yet who question His Word. "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed in Him, If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed: And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free" (John 8: 31, 32).

Yet, those very Jews who "believed in Him," immediately challenged His Word! "We were never in bondage to any man: how sayest Thou, Ye shall be made free?" (Verse 33).

Those very Jews all too soon reached the point where they scornfully said to Him, "Say we not well that Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?" (Verse 48).

Why did they reach that point? Simply because of their self-serving attitude to His Word. If they could claim to "believe" in Him, and yet ignore His Word they would have been content. The Lord would not, will not, let such a foolish position go unchallenged.

His Word is: HIM! His expression is all that He is! It is His life. His ministry. His will! You cannot have one without the other.

"If ye keep My commandments." "If ye keep!" "If ye love Me, keep My commandments."(John 14: 15).

The word is: "keep!" This goes far beyond "Knowing" in an intellectual way. It is so much more than having a good mental grasp of the words He used.

"Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the Word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way" (John 4: 50).

He had the Word of Jesus. He "kept" the Word of Jesus. How do we know? "He believed!" - then he did exactly what the Lord Jesus told him to do, "he went his way!"

"Keep My commandments!" Which means, know exactly what He is saying in His Word. Then do exactly what He tells you to do. No questions. No delay. No debate. No modifying His Word in any way whatsoever.

That is faithfulness to Him and His Word which He has every right to expect from us.

The fact that the Lord repeated this crucial emphasis so many times should have the effect of fixing it in our minds. This is an essential truth which is of the greatest importance to us.

"If" the disciples did as their Lord told them, then, "Ye shall!" This was His strong personal assurance which He wanted them to accept and live by.

It is in the same way that He seeks to inspire our confidence today. He gives us the absolute guarantee of His Word as He seeks to convince us. Assuring us that if we will only do it His way then we will share in the desired result.

As we have noted, His Word is the expression of His personality. Of His infinite and eternal integrity.

Only He can say, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away" (Matthew 24: 35).

The foolish prophet, Baalam, did get one thing right. "God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? Or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?" (Numbers 23: 19).

This is clearly God's will. Even as it is His way of ensuring that it is personally possible for us to continue to abide in the love of the Lord Jesus.

The Lord was assuring His disciples that it really was all so simple. So much so that a child could understand. He wanted them to know beyond any doubt that this experience was for them. They could continue to live moment by moment in the fullness of His glorious love for them.

He wanted them to fully understand all it would take to do that. Notice, this is not some highly complex or difficult response He requires. No! Simply to love Him, and demonstrate the reality of love by willingly obeying His Word.

It is so very simple, even a child could understand it. Which is exactly why the Lord intends it to be this way.

This is simple, yes! Yet it is profound grace! Such grace far exceeds the ability of our minds to define. Yet it is completely available to the humble soul who is motivated by the one desire: To honor the Lord by obeying His Word.

"Even as I!" He Himself has willingly accepted the same requirement which He applies to His disciples. All the way through these chapters we have been reminded of this astonishing and humbling fact.

"Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren" (Hebrews 2: 17).

"Even as I!" "In all things!" These statements mean exactly what they say. This is total identification with us at every point and in every responsibility.

He knew that this was His Father's will. In His Father's plan to bring salvation to lost humanity, this was required of Him. He must keep His Father's commandments. He could not claim any exemption from this charge. Obedience was as important to Him as it is to us.

As we hear Him say, "Even as I have kept My Father's commandments" - we know that He fully understands our situation in every detail.

Thus His Word becomes an inspiration and an encouragement. We see Him walking the same path which we must walk. He met the same obligations. He joyfully and victoriously embraced it all. So can we!

It was as He continued to keep His Father's commandments that He continued to abide in His Father's love.

"Therefore doth My father love Me, because I lay down My life, . . . This commandment have I received of My Father" (John 10: 17, 18).

Let the impact of His testimony really come through. "I know that this is My Father's commandment. I am committed to obey Him, no matter how high the cost nor how great the sacrifice demanded. I know that in My willing obedience the Father keeps Me in the very heart of His love!"

The challenge is to always keep the priority right. "I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me" (John 5: 30). "I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me" (John 6: 38).

He states what He knows to be absolute reality. He willingly obeys the Word of the Father as the expression of His love for the Father. Knowing that the Father responds by keeping Him in the fullness of the Father's love.

All this was true of Him! "Even as I!" It is equally true of us today. This is the way, the only way, that we can continue to live in the fullness of His love.

"These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."

"These things have I spoken!" These truths which are so very profound, and yet so wonderfully simple.

These are spiritual truths which are packed with amazing potential and dynamic possibilities. With such thrilling promise and exciting purpose.

"These things!" Two simple one syllable words. Yet words which point us to the most incredible truth. Truth which is of such scope that all of time and all of eternity will be needed to fully feel the astonishing impact of their intensity.

Did His disciples even begin to sense the great unmeasured depths of these truths which their Lord was revealing to them? Did they feel anything of the awesome breadth of the potential which is expressed in His promise? Did they? Do we?

"These things!" WORDS! Words which are alive! So alive! So powerful! So dynamic! So glorious!

"These things have I spoken!" The tense which is used in this statement is the perfect tense. It is fully intended to convey the idea that His Words, which have already been spoken, will continue to have a very powerful impact and effect in those who heard.

He did not speak words which, once spoken, became insignificant with the passing of time. His Words were not to be superseded by new expressions or developments.

The life and power of His Words continue undiminished. Their impact and effectiveness are as much alive today as they were when He first spoke "these things."

Paul writes, "For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the Word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of man, but as it is in truth, the Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe" (1 Thessalonians 2: 13).

"The Word of God: which continues to work most effectively in you who believe!" This is not a once only kind of thing. It is a vital, living, ongoing impact in the lives of all who believe.

The Lord Jesus revealed to His disciples this glorious fact. All that He had spoken to them was aimed at actually and personally accomplishing this totally amazing result: "My joy - in you!"

It would have been more than enough if He had said, My purpose in this is for you to experience real joy. His Words included that, but so much more!

How could we even begin to describe: His joy? What kind of terminology could possibly be appropriate?

"Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; who for the joy which was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12: 2).

His joy! In knowing that as He gave Himself in total, willing, self-sacrifice He would perfectly accomplish the purposes of His Father. That in bearing our sin, He made perfect atonement for all of our sin!

In being "despised and rejected of men"(Isaiah 53: 3), He made us fully acceptable to God! In His agonizing death, we would have life and have it more abundantly!

The joy of this amazing and incredible victory. By which He, for time and eternity, broke and destroyed the power of satan, sin, and death! Thus to set the captives free. To be able to present them faultless before the throne!

The joy of the resurrection morning! Raised triumphant in infinite glory and power! Proclaimed as Lord of all. To whom “every knee shall bow. Every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father!" (Philippians 2: 10, 11).

The joy of the ascension! Received into eternal glory. The joy of personally experiencing the complete answer to His prayer: "Glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was!" (John 17: 5).

The joy of being honored to take His rightful place at "the right hand of the throne of God!"

That: Joy! With all that is involved in: that joy! Which far exceeds the ability of our finite minds to comprehend!

His Joy! To be a continuing, living reality in the hearts and lives of His disciples.

His joy! Which is infinitely greater that the vessels which are to hold it! To fill those vessels continually. Moment by moment. Day by day.

At the very best, we have only just begun to gain an utterly inadequate idea of all He means in these incredible words.

This is such an astonishingly positive emphasis. Can we really believe it? Dare we believe it? Dare we not believe all He is seeking to reveal to us?

He says it! He means it! He is totally committed to do all that He can to convince us to accept His Word in humble child-like faith.

Like so much else which He reveals in His Word, this truth is infinitely bigger than our small minds are capable of grasping. We cannot explain it. But, we CAN believe Him! This is the response which He is seeking.

The Lord Jesus referred to both: "My joy," and, "your joy!" Does this mean that there are times when the disciples were to experience the joy of the Lord? While at other times it would be their own personal joy?

That is not what the Lord Jesus wanted His disciples to believe. He had something far more wonderful in mind.

Remember, it is His will that we abide in Him and He abide in us. Also, that His joy will continue to abide in us. His vision of this relationship is actually quite simple. It is that we will become so completely identified with Him, and He with us, that we will share Paul's testimony:

Therefore, in the most wonderful way, His joy actually does become our joy. That is the way He encourages us to understand and accept His Word.

What more could we ask? Or want? We are privileged to have His joy continuing to abide in our hearts, The effect is that our joy is inevitably and continually filled to overflowing. It is His joy saturating us and every aspect of our lives.

Well might the Apostle Peter write, "Whom having not seen, ye love; in Whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Peter 1: 8).

As we listen to all the Lord Jesus is saying in these inspiring verses, surely we are filled with a deep sense of gratitude and rejoicing.

We are challenged to focus on the incredible reality of His infinite love for us. Then, inspired to believe that it is gloriously possible for us to daily abide in the fullness of His love. To do so as we humbly, in deep personal devotion, choose to live by His Word.

He assures us, It is all for us! How we need to thankfully embrace this in all its fullness as His will for us right now. Living to prove the glory of all He seeks to make so very real to us, in us, and through us.