"HEAVENLY THINGS"
“HEAVENLY THINGS”
The Two Volumes John 13: 1 - 3 I do not read more, for my thought is to give a little sketch of John’s gospel. I read these verses at the beginning of the second volume of the book. There are two great volumes in John’s gospel; the first relates to us, “heavenly things” for oneself; in great measure the gospel. The second volume relates to Christ, “heavenly things” for His service. You may not see this division at first; but I think when you look into it more closely, you will find that I am correct. I begin at the public ministry of the Lord. In chapter 2 man in his best estate is a failure; and in his relation to God in a ritual appointed by God, he is a scandal. Man is unmendably bad.
Chapter 3. You must be “born again”. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up”. When the Son of man which is in heaven is lifted up, heavenly things are offered to faith. In chapter 4 the work begins. The Lord announces to a Samaritan, one by birth and character degraded, and in every way most pitiable, “whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life”. (John 4:14) The blessed Lord offers to this miserable woman heavenly things, which characterise John’s gospel; blessings which are outside of earth, and outside of man; to start with, they are beyond all human conception. It is wonderful to behold! Here is a poor sinner in the most deplorable condition, shrinking from the face of man, but the Lord is waiting for her. His grace will set her up in this [p. 383] world in a style which transcends all human conception. Never thirst! Brought into a region of satisfied desire. Let a natural man even read that offer, and he would have to admit that such a thing was never heard of before, and that it is a state altogether unknown to man. A soul is taken from the lowest conceivable condition, and given the highest conceivable condition. Beloved friends! all this blessedness belongs to you. Chapter 4 is the contrast to chapter 2 where the wine is out. Now you are to receive “heavenly things” where there is no lack, and no sense of deficiency. Now instead of worshipping God according to the ritualism of chapter 2 you worship the Father in spirit and in truth.
In chapter 5 you have the impotent man, incapable of availing himself of the house of mercy. The Lord tells him to take up his bed and walk. Until man has been relieved from the terrible judgment of death on his body there will be no real sabbath. The Son of God has come to bear this judgment; “The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live”, (John 5:25) so that he does not come into judgment, but is passed out of death into life. You are passed out of that state of death altogether. “They that have done good unto the resurrection of life”. (John 5:29) You shall never come into judgment; all the consequences of sin are gone. Heavenly things for the body, as well as for the soul.
Chapter 6 is the practical enjoyment of that life by feeding on Christ’s death. There is no other way of reaching life but through death; not your own death, for your own death would not remove the judgment, but Christ’s death. You must appropriate it or you have no life in you; you have the sentence of death in yourselves. “Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life (therefore you eat His flesh and drink His blood): and I will raise him up at the last day”. (John 6:54) Heavenly things in their divine nature are now enjoyed.
Chapter 7 is the contrast, as to natural things, to chapter 4. The feast of tabernacles is the celebration of the highest order of blessing on the earth. The Lord had made the earth to teem with its produce for man. Now the best thing on earth is superseded by “heavenly things”. The Lord says, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink”. (John 7:37) I will do better for him. From the earth? No; the feast had been the celebration of God’s favour to them on the earth. The Lord now offers heavenly things, which are outside of earth, and outside of man. In chapter 4 you see a woman in the deepest misery raised to an inconceivable state. Now in chapter 7 we find that to man in the brightest circumstances on the earth the Lord announces, I can give you better. “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit which they that believe on him should receive”. (John 7:38) This heavenly thing on earth, and from the glorified Man, surpasses (it is always so in John) every earthly blessing.
In chapters 9 and 10 you find the flock of God. I would just show you the position the flock holds. Look at chapter 9. It describes the position in which the man who was blind finds himself. He is outside of the old fold, cast out, and the Lord finds him, and says to him, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” (John 9:35) He answered and said, “Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him”. (John 9:36 - 38) I trust your heart takes in the greatness of that moment - “he worshipped him!”
Chapter 10 describes the new position of the sheep [p. 385] on the earth, and it is very sad to have to say that it is this that Christendom has lost. The Lord leads His sheep out of the Jewish fold. He has given His life for the sheep. They are still on the earth, but of an entirely new order. They enter in by Him, and are saved, and go in and out and find pasture. There is the fullest intimacy between Him and the sheep, verses 14, 15. “I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine, as the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father”. (John 10:14,15) These two verses must be read together: the mind of God is plain in the passage, even that the same kind of intimacy is to subsist between the Shepherd and the sheep, as between the Father and the Son. If any soul apprehends this he apprehends what is inconceivably great. “Heavenly things”, and, blessed be His name! which are to continue for ever.
Chapters 11 and 12 I pass over.
Now in chapter 13 a new volume opens. The Lord is going away. Do you miss Him? It is a very simple question. Are you here for Him? Is the first volume quite enough for you? You may truly say the first is wonderful! Indeed it is, Heavenly things given to yourself. It answers to the gospel; but the second volume recounts the heavenly things given to you in relation to Christ. He has gone away. There comes a moment in the history of every loving soul when the heart exclaims, Where is He? He is not here. What are you doing then? Are you disconsolate like Mary Magdalene before she finds Him? That is a very good beginning, I admit. But if you have learned His grace to you in chapter 10 you must know Him; you are in His hand; no one can seize you out of His hand. “My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand”. (John 10:28) You are in an intimacy with Him which can be created and sustained only in the Spirit.
Now to return to chapter 13. I ask each one of [p. 386] you, Do you miss Him? No one cares to see Him who does not miss Him. If you say, I do miss Him, then what are you doing? The true answer is the key to these five chapters, 13 to 17. I know but little of them, but I know enough to be delighted with them. It is a wonderful revelation! I might use the tabernacle as illustrative of them, beginning with the Supper, a figure of His death - the brazen altar. Then He washes His disciples’ feet - the laver. Then He feeds them inside; chapter 14. Then they are outside, His witnesses - the candlestick; everything in heavenly order; while chapter 17 answers to the holiest of all. This sketch may help some here who have not studied it closely, so that they may be attracted to the study of these wonderful chapters.
The first thing is, your feet must be washed, in order that the intimacy may be maintained. It is here that all failure begins; you have not kept up the intimacy by having your feet washed. If I review my own history I see that is where failure begins. You may not have given up a good conscience; that is, a sense of forgiveness of sins, but you do not know intimacy; you may be quite clear that on confession you are forgiven, but that is not intimacy, and you cannot maintain intimacy if you do not know it. You are not intimate with Christ until your heart is assured of the love of His heart. You are intimate with Him when you know His perfect love. “We love him because he first loved us”. (1 John 4:19) See how Peter learns His love when he fell down at Jesus’ knees. The Lord said, “Fear not”. These words have a great effect on Peter and on all of them. They brought their ships to land, forsook all, and followed Him. The most exemplary conduct and a remarkable instance of divine favour had not removed fear from Peter’s heart; but the words of Jesus, His perfect love, cast out all fear. When His love is thus known, you seek His company, and in His company you know [p. 387] intimacy. That is where the church of Ephesus failed; and where we all fail. If you have known intimacy and do not maintain it, your love has waned. You have no part with Him if there be any shade of reserve between Him and you. Peter’s conscience was relieved in chapter 20, but his heart was not at ease till chapter 21. Many are untroubled at the Lord’s table though they are not in communion with Him! Such can say, There is nothing on my conscience; but, though there may be nothing on your conscience, you may not be in intimacy with Him. The Lord grant that you may see the importance of intimacy. If you do not maintain intimacy, all the heavenly things which follow, and are unfolded to you in these chapters, will be practically unknown to you. When you are impressed before the Lord with the importance of any truth you are sure to pray; you are conscious that no one can enlighten or lead you into this grace but Himself.
Chapters 13 and 14 are one; mark, they are inside; it is not the world at all; we are inside with Him. As an illustration, Aaron and his sons feeding on the consecration offering is a representation of it. They ate it in the holy place, “For seven days shall he consecrate you”. (Leviticus 8:33) They did not come out to serve till after that; so in chapter 15 the disciples come out to serve after chapter 14. Judas is seen here as the worst specimen of mankind, because he was making merchandise of Christ with the design of getting the money, thinking that the Lord would escape. It is such a combination of wickedness that I cannot explain it. It requires a man to be well versed in wickedness to understand wickedness, though one can stamp it at once as evil. The man who best knows the good at once detects evil; a banker knows when a note is bad because he thoroughly knows a good one.
You have to learn in this chapter the Lord’s provision for His disciples on earth during His absence; the elements of disturbance and distraction inside
[p. 388] come out: the treachery of Judas, and the unfaithfulness of Peter, and the Lord Himself going away, an epitome of church history. But, blessed be His name! In view of all the distraction He provides “heavenly things” for His servants. In chapter 14 He says, “Let not your heart be troubled”. He says this with respect to Himself. He was going away. There are three circles of blessings which He gives to support you in His absence. The first is The future. He has a place for you where He is in the Father’s house. This will have a great effect upon your heart. It is like a man emigrating, who says to his wife, I have a beautiful place for you in Australia, which is my place; thus all her thoughts are turned to Australia, and her tastes are formed by this prospect. The Lord adds, “I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also”. (John 14:3) Knowing the Father makes us feel even now at home in the place. We are at home in the place because we know the Owner of the place.
The second circle is The present. In verse 20 He says, “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you”. That is, as it were, You shall know Me as I am in that place at the present time. You know Him as He is in heaven. The Lord is in heaven. Look at the way Paul sets us in heaven in Ephesians. The parallels between John and Paul are very striking. It is very interesting to study them. Besides, He comes to us individually and collectively; individually to the one who keeps His word. Marvellous! “we will come unto him and make our abode with him”. (John 14:23) And He also comes to us collectively, “I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you”, (John 14:18) that is plural.
The third circle is The past, verse 26; “The Holy Spirit, 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”;
[p. 389] that is, that you may know Him as He was here where you are. Now put these three circles together. First, He has prepared a place for you where He is; that has a wonderful effect. Naturally, one likes to be connected with the earth, but now you have a place outside of this world where He is. How it dims the glitter of everything here! It is the place most attractive because He is there. Then, the second circle is, you know Him as He is in that place; and the third, the Holy Spirit is sent by the Father to make you acquainted with Him as He was in this place where you are. We all know that the moment a person is not present, no human power can bring back the effect of his presence. You can recall his words, but you cannot recall his presence; he has left a blank. In absence the heart discovers the value of the presence which it has lost. No one can fill the blank but the one who made it. No one can fill the blank caused by our Lord’s absence but Himself; therefore He says of the Holy Spirit, “he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you”. (John 14:26) The Holy Spirit has come to make known to you all that Person was down here. Thus in chapter 14 you are inside.
In chapter 15 you are outside; you have left the supper table. Chapters 15 and 16 are the testimony, the candlestick. The word now is, “Abide in me”. Here the servant fails continually. The Lord says, “If ye abide in me and my words abide in you”. (John 15:7) Here it is responsibility. “Abide in me”. He takes up the vine as a figure. Israel was the vine, but had failed. Christ was the true vine; all through John everything presented before on the earth is surpassed by Him, the marriage, the passover, the feast of tabernacles; all is surpassed, because the Son of God is come, and heavenly things have come down here. The Holy Spirit is sent from a glorified Christ (verse 26). Here we have Paul’s ministry in parallel, “He shall testify of me”. (John 15:26) He will declare and testify on the earth of the glorified Man in heaven. It is not, “You shall testify”, as we might think, but “He shall testify of me”. “He” is emphatic. If the Holy Spirit testifies there is no use in human means. The only power upon this earth to testify for Christ is the Holy Spirit. Nothing is effective but in the power of the Holy Spirit; no matter how beautiful or how admirable, it has no divine effect because it is not in the power of the Holy Spirit. “He shall testify of me”.
I do not dwell long upon chapter 16. There are two displays of the Holy Spirit. His great object is to testify of the heavenly Man. This testimony began with Stephen, “I see .. . the Son of man standing on the right hand of God”. (Acts 7:56) We have heard today that a witness is a martyr properly speaking. The highest honour ever possible for a servant of Christ in this world is to die for his Lord. It is a great favour to die in harness, and to be in fellowship with the testimony of the Holy Spirit to the rejected Christ to the end. Many Christians as to their career have fallen on the earth; as with Israel, of whom it is said, “whose carcases fell in the wilderness”. (Hebrews 3:17)
I have said that there are two displays of the Holy Spirit in this chapter. In one He demonstrates what the world is in the eye of God. “And having come, he will bring demonstration to the world, of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment”. Having received the Holy Spirit, you are in a new line, outside this world. The world is thoroughly exposed. “Convict”, or “demonstrate” is a forensic term. Many a one is convicted who is not converted. The world is the culprit, and the Holy Spirit is the incontrovertible witness against it. If you are with the Holy Spirit you are outside of the world. Christendom has abandoned the power of the Holy Spirit, and has accepted the power of the world. This began in the [p. 391] days of Constantine; and the end will be that the beast will carry the harlot - Babylon. If Saul spared Amalek, Amalek did not spare him. If you spare the world, the world will not spare you.
The second display is in verses 13 and 14. If you are with the Holy Spirit against the world He will compensate you. “He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine”. (John 16:15) Mind all the things of the Father. What “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit”. (1 Corinthians 2:9) Heavenly things are made known to you while you are on the earth. What a portion! “He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you”. A wonderful compensation! If you look at Paul he is occupied with the saints; and if you look at John he is occupied with the resources of God. However great the lack in the saints may be, all you require, to maintain you in Christ’s service, is as true now by the presence of the Holy Spirit as in the brightest day of the church.
One word as to verse 23. “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you”. (John 16:23) Have you ever entered into the greatness of that verse? It should afford you the greatest consolation, that in this world where Christ has been rejected, if you ask the Father in His name for anything for His service, you will receive it. Peter could say, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee”. (Acts 3:6) You should have the greatest confidence that anything you require for the Lord and ask for will be given to you. If you want a room for His service you will get it. “Ask and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full”. (John 16:24) What a cheer in the midst of universal opposition!
[p. 392] Now I come to chapter 17 for one moment. It opens by saying, “glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee”. “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world”. (John 17:6) How wonderful to make known the Father to us as He is in heaven! “I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it”. (John 17:26) What a portion! What heavenly things! I shall never forget when the light of it broke in upon my soul; it was in a lonely place, and on the Lord’s day. “I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them”. (John 17:26) Here it is the Father’s love for the Son; His love as He loves His own Son is to be in them. Could you get a greater portion? Heavenly things indeed! If all the emperors in this world joined together to say, We can do something for you; we can say, No, you can do nothing for us; all that can be done to satisfy and delight us has been done, and made known to us here on the earth. The Lord delights to declare the Father’s name. I wonder at myself, and I wonder at others, how little we are surcharged with this divine blessedness.
May the Lord grant that each one of us may have an increased sense of the wonderful portion, the heavenly things the Lord has given us, and a deeper sense of all to which He has called us!