Christ leaves His word behind and preserves it: Canonicity Part 7. John 14:7; 1 Co 2:16

John 14:8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us."

 

Philip is a believer, but he has failed to mix faith with what he has heard.

 

John 14:9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, 'Show us the Father'?

 

In verses 10-12, we have the dynamic life that comes from the application of doctrine. The dynamic life is a life of faith in the word of God to the point that doctrine changes your thinking without you losing your individuality.

 

But first, before anything can be changed, doctrine must be metabolized under the power of the filling of the Holy Spirit.

 

/Metabolization chart.\

 

Once metabolized we have an opportunity to apply that doctrine to circumstances.

 

 

 

We get into the plan of God by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the way. Once we are in the plan of God we are then expected to orient to the plan of God, to understand the plan of God and to function under the plan of God. He is the truth and the life.

 

We live in the devil’s world. He is the ruler of this world and the guiding influence of this world. So in the cosmos you are not going to find neither the way, the truth, or the life.

 

But our Lord has left something behind after He ascended to the right hand of God.

 

It is only through Bible doctrine and the filling ministry of the Spirit that we can fulfil the very reason for our existence under grace in the CWL.

 

/Do you want to just exist, or do you want to have an existence that leaves an existing legacy of power from God? \

 

A legacy of power extends to your children and grandchildren; to your co-workers and neighbours. They may not know how or where you got your power from, but the fruit of the mature believer is evident in some way, even though the hero is himself invisible.

 

 

 

So then, Philip’s question is filled with ignorance and arrogance. These are our main enemies in the CWL and so Philip becomes a great help to us through his recorded mistake. To Philip’s honor as one of the twelve, he will recover marvellously.

 

The Lord Jesus Christ rebukes Philip, and Philip’s recovery from the rebuke is very rapid. This is an important principle that should be repeated since it will happen to us all again and again.

 

/No matter how you get hit in life by what, when, where, or how it is imperative that you get on your feet as soon as possible and keep moving through rebound and perception recovery. \

 

The problems, failures, difficulties and the disasters of life are not meant to keep you down, rather they are meant for you to recover and strengthen the muscles of your faith.

 

Philip snapped right back into faith in what he had heard. Eventually all the true disciples would wake up, so in answer to this question He teaches doctrine again, but this time for application because He knows that soon, they will all turn the corner from mind to heart.

 

John 14:10 "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.

 

“Do you not believe,” is a challenge to metabolize more doctrine. “I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me,” means that TLJC and God the Father have identical essence.

 

Despite possessing these attributes, the deity of TLJC took humanity upon Himself and restricted the independent use of His divine essence.

 

/Therefore, for the humanity of TLJC to learn doctrine and the plan of the Father, He had to metabolize it for Himself just like we all do. \

 

I wonder who His teachers were. If they are saved, imagine how proud they will be in heaven?

 

This is why He does not speak on His own initiative. What He speaks is guided by the word of God, which He learned in His humanity from a small boy to the age of 30 when He began His ministry.

 

All these learning years are dark to us. They are not recorded for us, except for a very educated young man at 12, so that we may also know that it is only learning, no matter how fast or slow you may think you are, the first step is learning.

 

/Doctrine in our hearts guides what we think, say and do. We must give the authority of our soul over to it without losing or surrendering our individuality.\

 

You know when you’ve lost your individuality when you’re not enjoying it any more, or you’ve never enjoyed it. The “it” is the plan of God for your life.

 

/Deut 28:47

Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things;\

 

If the plan of God is not fun, then you’ve never gained or you have lost your individuality.

 

EPH 3:14 For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father,

 

EPH 3:15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,

 

EPH 3:16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man;

 

EPH 3:17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

 

EPH 3:18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

 

EPH 3:19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God.

 

 

The humanity of TLJC metabolized doctrine for Himself before He ever taught anyone. Every teacher must metabolize doctrine himself before he can teach anyone.

 

The deity of Christ does not need to be taught, but the humanity of Christ humbled Himself under the teaching of the word of God.

 

Naturally He did so with humility and motivation and concentration on what was important or top priority.

 

/Luke 2:47

And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. \

 

As we mature we should all have this ability to defend the faith, what we believe as the word of God.

 

/1 Peter 3:15

but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;\

 

/Hope is confidence in the future. You don’t get that without faith in Someone who has the future in His hands!\

Philip has a mind with knowledge in it, but he has not mixed that knowledge with faith. Now the Lord is going to try and break down the roadblock that Philip has constructed between the mind and the heart.

 

Principle:

/Lack of faith in the perceived word of God produces a roadblock between the mind and the heart.\

 

This roadblock produces confusion and emotionalism since without faith the creature must resort to rationalism and empiricism.

 

The rationalists of the enlightenment came to the conclusion that they must ekrazay lamfam - wipe it out, meaning Christianity. The empiricists came to the conclusion of evolution and the big bang theory, that with trillions of years this little place had the right stuff to make life, and not just life, but humanity that can reason and actually ask the question, “is there a God?”

 

But let’s not stop there, “ A place where we can actually see a man, claiming to be God, who in Himself buries all doubts and gives all life, and who in Himself walks to His cross.” To the so called thinkers, this is madness and a trite calling to a sad man who tried.

 

These keep thinking and thinking so that they elevate themselves above or at the same level as the other “thinkers.”

 

Thinking doesn’t get you anywhere. It only gets you boring or incompetent when nothing of substance backs it up.

 

It’s faith in Christ or nothing. 100 or 0. It’s not hard math. Either you believe or you don’t.

 

John 14:11 "Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; otherwise believe on account of the works themselves.

 

Believe that I and the Father are identical in essence. The miracles are examples of that very thing.

 

/Since Philip is a “show me and I’ll believe,” type believer, the Lord reminds him of the miracles that he has seen.\

 

The Lord often does this for us in what we sometimes call, “coincidences,” where God is whispering to us from our circumstances.

 

/God will do whatever it takes, within the framework of His Justice, to reveal Himself to you.\

 

John 14:12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [the preposition “eis” shows us that this is not for salvation but post salvation faith in His word], the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.

 

This seems to state that every believer will produce many works of divine good. However, the belief mentioned is not faith for salvation, but faith in the truth of doctrine after salvation. This is why we go back to the original language.

 

/ “in” - eij[eis] = preposition of direction - into, to, or toward. “Believe towards Me,” - divine good works are a result of PVTowardD and will not be accomplished by negative believers.\

 

 

The reference is to the production of divine good by the believer in the Church-age. What is divine good?

 

/Divine good: a thought, word, or action motivated by love for God, guided by the word of God, empowered by the Spirit of God, and chosen by you.\

 

This is not Christian activism. There are systems of good that on the surface seem like divine good when in fact they are just disguised systems of human good.

 

/Divine good can only be performed after enough doctrine is accumulated so that the believer can discern between divine and human good.\

 

Baby believers must first be learners. Only after doctrine is accumulated can a believer mature enough to produce divine good.

 

/Divine good is also called “fruit” in the word of God. Fruit can only be produced under the power of the filling of the Holy Spirit.\

 

Divine good is primarily the production of the mature believer, but it can also be the production of the growing believer.

 

It is the maximum and most effective production a believer can have in his life.

 

The production of divine good comes from the source of God directly, so then, as with everything in the plan of God, the origin of divine good is grace and therefore the believer takes no credit for it whatsoever.

           

/Mechanically, divine good is produced by a balance of Bible doctrine in the heart [right lobe] and the filling of the HS empowering the soul so that doctrine is applied from the launching pad of the soul, HEB 13:10.\

 

The balance of power in the soul cannot be repeated enough. Like a battery has a positive and a negative terminal and it will not produce a flow of energy to do work unless both terminals are connected, so metabolized doctrine and the filling of the HS must together balance power in the soul.

 

HEB 13:7 Remember [concentrate on] those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.

 

/ “led you” - your PT. “conduct” - grace lifestyle.\

 

HEB 13:8 Jesus Christ is [no “is] the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.

 

/ “Jesus Christ” emphasizes His humanity in the hypostatic union - true humanity and undiminished deity in one person forever. The verb, “to be” is omitted to emphasize His celebrityship.\

 

HEB 13:9 Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were thus occupied were not benefited.

 

/ “carried away” - to be seduced by false doctrines when a believer is status quo negative volition.\

 

The negative volition toward doctrine is characterized by several factors. The first of these is indifference or apathy toward Bible teaching.

 

 

 

The second is indifference or apathy toward anyone who is teaching Bible doctrine, having antagonism or personality hang-ups toward other members of the congregation, being too busy or too bored for face to face teaching, or failure to appropriate grace provision of metabolizing doctrine [assembling for Bible class face to face, or by other means], and failure to rebound.

           

Believers today have a lot of idiotic ideas which have come from reversionism but not from the Bible. So much so that today when anything is clearly taught from the Word of God people are shocked. They do not think that is Christian at all.

 

It has now become so bad that people assume that whenever something is said with regard to the laws of divine establishment or some principle of grace is clearly uncovered people immediately assume that that is not Christian doctrine. They think that Christian doctrine is becoming liberal and becoming involved in a lot of idiotic panaceas, like solving world hunger, ending all wars, rehabilitating criminals, all pointed at making the world a better place to live.

 

People, believers and unbelievers alike, do not understand grace. It is grace that needs to be taught from behind pulpits today.

 

HEB 13:9 Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were thus occupied were not benefited.

 

/ “heart” = the right lobe of the soul.

a. frame of reference (conceptual thinking)

b. memory center (storage for recall)

c. vocabulary center (clarity of thinking)

d. categorical doctrine (simplification)

e. conscience (norms and standards)

f. subconscious (recycle bin)

g. momentum (circulator)

h. launching pad (wisdom applicator)\

 

The frame of reference illustrates the principle that doctrine must be built upon doctrine, from the simple to the complex.

The memory center is the place of storage of doctrine that is ready to be recalled and applied. Reception, retention, and recall are the 3 R’s of divine good.

 

The vocabulary center provides clarity of thought in times of application. You cannot think beyond your vocabulary. After salvation a whole new theological vocabulary must be stored in the heart.

 

Your categorical doctrine is your very own systematic theology. It is the place where you encrypt doctrines in categories so that they are more easily accessible.

 

Your conscience forms your norms and standards. This includes your priority list in life as well as your own definition of right and wrong, or more aptly put, good and evil.

 

Your subconscious is the place where older thoughts, vocabulary, memories, doctrines you no longer believe etc. are dumped to. It lies just under the threshold of the conscious mind and so has nothing at all to do with metabolized doctrine or any of the other parts of the heart. It can affect the conscious mind without detection. It can easily be triggered open so that its contents can leak into the conscious mind, which are usually a negative event and an emotional event, but not always. With doctrine the subconscious can be opened and dealt with.

 

/Prov 20:27

The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord,

Searching all the innermost parts of his being. \

[back to previous heart slide]

 

The momentum department is the forward force of growing in grace and knowledge. This is a place of knowing that you are growing up with positive results to the health of your heart. This causes momentum through love for God and this momentum keeps doctrine circulating round and around in the heart, like well oxygenated blood in the physical heart.

 

 

 

Finally the launching pad is the place where all the other parts of the heart have contributed to that moment of application. As will all compartments, volition is the key. Wisdom is metabolized doctrine from the frame of reference, from memory, from vocabulary, from the right category, priority, and momentum all in an instant working together to apply the proper doctrine to the proper situation; a right thing done in a right way.

 

Picture 6 laser beams all converging on one point in a moment to produce one stronger laser pointed at a target.

 

HEB 13:10 We have an altar, from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.

 

HEB 13:11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp.

 

HEB 13:12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

 

HEB 13:13 Hence, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.

 

HEB 13:14 For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.

 

HEB 13:15 Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.

 

HEB 13:16 And do not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

 

HEB 13:17 Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.

 

/Human good: a thought, word or action motivated by love for self, guided by human viewpoint, empowered by sin nature, and chosen by you.\

 

But why would there be more or greater divine good works during the Church-age than were performed by Christ?

 

/The greater works are in quantity and not quality. Why? The HS will be released to the entire church and Advocate will be seated at the right hand of God interceding for us.\

 

/HEB 7:5

Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.\

 

The greater works have to deal with the quantity of believers that will exist all throughout the Church, all of whom are indwelt by the Spirit, in union with Christ, and royal priests.

 

It is through Christ that the word, the plan, and the power to execute the plan will come to each individual believer.

 

In addition to this, there will be an enormous amount of answered prayer.

 

/As the Advocate seated at the right hand of God, all prayer goes through Christ, as we pray in His name, therefore all merit goes to Him.\

 

John 14:13 "And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

 

John 14:14 "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

 

Since Christ is the source of salvation, truth, power, prayer, etc. the greater things that the Church will do are really the greater things that He will do through the Church.

 

EPH 1:15 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you, and your love for all the saints,

 

EPH 1:16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers;

 

EPH 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.

 

EPH 1:18I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,

 

EPH 1:19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might

 

EPH 1:20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,

 

/The session is when the power was given: the filling of the HS, the mystery doctrine, and the plan that He prototyped.\

 

EPH 1:21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.

 

EPH 1:22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,

 

EPH 1:23 which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all.

 

/Whatever divine good the church accomplishes it is a direct result of the Head of the church.\

 

John 14:12 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [the preposition “eis” shows us that this is not for salvation but post salvation faith in His word], the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father.

 

“Because I go to the Father,” means the session will unlock the windows of heaven and the surpassing power of the church will be poured out to all who believe.

 

John 14:13 "And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

 

John 14:14 "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.