Eternal Life

For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. (John 3:34-36)

I noticed something more here this morning. A pattern of sorts is emerging yet again. There is a list here of things or privileges or abilities that describe the Son.

He speaks the words of God

He has the Spirit without measure

He enjoys the love of the Father

He has all things in His hand so He lacks no resources

Now here is the stunning truth that most of us struggle to believe.

If we believe (abide and obey), then in Christ we have all of this ourselves.

This is called eternal life.

This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3)

In the Hebrew way of thinking, both the word believe and obey were all wrapped up into one concept. Even though the Pharisees were becoming experts at professing religion without having it change their hearts, the original word that in this text is translated one time as believe and the next time is used as obey, is actually the same word. This is the kind of belief that is so rooted in the heart that the actions, choices and life that flows out is consistent with what we really believe and is congruent with it.

Eternal life is often confused to be the life that the saved will live in the future for all ages. But in Jesus' mind eternal life was something very different than that. He viewed eternal life as a vital relationship with the Source of life, not a time period with no end. That is why He repeatedly talked about having eternal life right now. Because any of us can begin to enjoy the eternal life that God is eager for us to experience right now if we will just allow our hearts to believe and embrace the real truth about how He feels toward us and accept the work of the Spirit in us to transform us into becoming like Him.

The New Testament is full of unappreciated expositions on what it really means to be in Christ. Many of them are so stunning that we usually tend to discount them or try to explain them into meaning something different. But when we begin to really grasp and take hold of this seriously and personally we will discover to our utter amazement that we too will speak the words of God, that we will have the Spirit without measure, that the Father is lavishing His love on us personally and that all things are now in our hands because Christ is living within us. This is the very essence and description of what eternal life is all about right here and now.

To not participate in this eternal life is to turn away from life itself. So instead of having the life of Jesus as a living spring welling up inside of us as Jesus talks about in the next chapter, we will find that inside we are containers of wrath as referred to in Romans 2. It all hinges on our personal choice as to what we will do with the offer of real salvation and grace that has been provided for us through Jesus. It is vital that we search and hunger to experience the real thing, that we are not content with the often mistaken descriptions of grace and salvation promoted by popular religions today but that we dig to find out the real truth as it is in Jesus and as revealed in the Word of God.

If we are willing to open our hearts in total honesty before God and ask Him to teach us and heal us, He is faithful to respond to that prayer and to arrange circumstances and employ all of heaven to bring us into a saving and secure relationship with Him. Everything hinges on our choices, how we respond to the offers of mercy, love and reconciliation that are offered to us by Jesus. God wants more than anything to bring us into close fellowship with Himself and His heart. The free choice remains ours to make each day. He never forces us because that would eliminate our ability to love Him.

I will not send away anyone who comes to me. (John 6:37 BBE)

Without Measure or Limitation

For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure. (John 3:34)

This Spirit without measure phrase has been in my mind for several weeks now. It is one of those hints that I don't want to plaster over with quick platitudes or easy explanations because I suspect there may be much more here than at first meets the eye. I want to listen to hear if God wants to show me much more hidden beneath the surface in this text.

When I read it again this morning another text immediately came to my mind. It is the one in James that has helped me understand better the reasons that we don't receive as much from God as we want to quite often. It involves the problems with our receiving equipment rather than the transmitting equipment on God's side.

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord. (James 1:5-7)

Currently I am also reading a book that is really opening up my perceptions about reality and the problems we all have in perceiving it clearly. It is called The Truth About Lies And The Lies About Truth by David Takle. It is one of the best books that I have read in a long time and is helping to reinforce and supplement many things that God has been teaching me for a number of years. It explains how that our problems with sin and evil are really rooted in lies and deception more than in our sinful nature or rebellion or pride.

Pride and rebellion and most other forms of sinful attitudes are propped up on lies that we firmly believe in our hearts and many with our heads. Until we allow God to take us back to the real roots of our problems and expose and replace these lies with real truth about Him and ourselves, we are going to find ourselves circling around again and again with the same problems and weaknesses repeating themselves over and over in our lives.

When I read a statement like this – that God gives the Spirit without measure – my mind immediately reacts with questions and doubts because of many lies that lay hidden inside of me still. I quickly move to assume that this must be talking only about Jesus because it doesn't seem to fit the experience that most of us have in our daily lives. So it feels easier to just believe that God gave Jesus the Spirit without measure or limitation but for the rest of us He has to be much more restrictive. We have to meet certain conditions and criteria before He can trust us with His Spirit or His wisdom.

While there may be elements of truth in that belief, I suspect that there is also lurking some serious lies in there as well, though not very obvious. And upon examining this text from James and what I have learned from it in the past I now believe that is very likely the case even more. Just like the unlimited Spirit that is talked about here in John, James refers to unlimited wisdom available just for the asking. But then he goes on to reveal what it is that limits us from receiving something that is supposed to be unrestricted.

Now if I approached this the way I usually did most of my growing up years I would immediately feel guilty and condemned because I couldn't work up enough faith to impress God to answer my prayers. But that is precisely where the lies began to emerge into the open. The real problem is not my inability to conjure up enough “faith” or “belief” so that God will change His mind and give me the wisdom (or the Spirit) that I request, the real problem is my own beliefs that God does not want me to have it or that God doesn't really care about me that much or that I don't deserve it or.... All of these gut-level beliefs that hide below the radar from easy detection prevent me from trusting God and resting in His love which is the real description of faith.

So what I am starting to see more clearly now is that the real problem is not on God's side who is holding back good things from me that I need to live a successful Christian life. The real problem is that I believe that very thing – that He is the kind of God that holds back on me until I jump through enough hoops or get my act together well enough. There are hundreds and thousands of lies all tangled together in these types of reasoning and God wants to deliver us from their power over our hearts and minds.

These false assumptions permeate nearly everything we believe in religion and about life in general. It is not limited to religious people at all; if we are human we are filled with complex lies about God and about ourselves. But it is often the case that the more religious we profess to be the more likely we are to be immersed in subtle deceptions that we are afraid to confront or to admit may be inside of us. Jesus while on this earth found it much easier to connect with and hang around those who were more blatantly irreligious and openly sinful than He could with the professors of religion. And that is because it is always much easier to relate to people who are more honest about what is going on in their heart even if it is really messed up, than it is to connect at the heart level with people who are in constant denial of the true condition of their heart.

It has always been the case that what is really needed is honesty of heart before God is able to pour out the things we most need to be reconciled to Him more fully. We really need wisdom from God and we need to receive His Spirit far more than we do if we are to begin to perceive reality as heaven views it. But the lies that block our ability to trust in God and that lead us to doubt His promises are the real core issues that need to be addressed if we ever want to make any real progress in growth and maturity.

It is the heart that must be willing to be open, honest and willing to receive the gifts of God, His wisdom and Spirit and love. Our heart is the receiving device inside of us that God communicates with. So until we are willing to get real about our heart and start living in touch with our heart, we will be unable to receive the unlimited resources of heaven because the only part of us designed to receive them has been hijacked and taken over by lies implanted there by Satan. Truth in the head is not enough to prepare us to connect with God's heart. Only hearts can connect with other hearts and God is after our hearts more than anything else.

What we need more than anything else is fresh revelations of the real truth about God and how He feels towards us as well as stark revelations about our own inability to do anything to make ourselves better or more acceptable to God. We need to have the lies about God exposed and displaced with heart truths as well as head truths about Him. And we also need to become honest about God's assessment of our own condition and the helplessness that we really have to change our own hearts and lives. When these two fundamental lies are faced head-on and dealt with, then we can begin to make real progress in true spirituality.

The more apparently successful we are socially or religiously the harder it is for us to see our own blind spots where we are deceived. We believe that what we are doing must be working so we need to just keep doing it harder so it will finally succeed in getting us into heaven or into God's good graces. But when we come to the place that we finally begin to see clearly our own total helplessness and inability to change our own hearts, and then in addition begin to see the extravagant and unconditional mercy, kindness and outrageous grace that the Father is eager to pour into our lives, then we will be in position to really begin to grow in grace and to know God as He wants us to know Him.

And when I choose to believe in and respond to His outrageous grace, forgiveness, kindness and love and I confess my real condition as He reveals it to me, then I will be in alignment to encounter and receive the unlimited resources of wisdom, grace and the Holy Spirit that is always there waiting to be received. For the real problem is not that these things are limited by God in some way so that I cannot access them but the problem lies in the deceived condition of my receiver so that I am unable to absorb, understand or appreciate and assimilate the Spirit and the wisdom that I so desperately need and want.

Transferring Loyalty

He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true. (John 3:31-33)

I want to explore further something that just came to my notice in these verses. I have been wondering about this phrase he who is of the earth. Who is this referring to here?

I have looked at it a little before and explored that it might refer to Jesus. Jesus did mention earlier in the chapter that He talked about things of earth and of heaven. But now I am starting to perceive that quite possibly John the writer is laying down some solid material for people who had become so caught up as disciples of John the Baptist that they were having great difficulty accepting the superiority of Jesus and His mission over that of John's.

John the Baptist had attracted some people to him that had become fiercely loyal to him. Not that that was ever his intention though. John made it very clear that his purpose and ministry was to prepare his listeners to transfer their loyalty and affections to the Messiah that was to come after him. But that is very difficult for humans to accept, especially after they have latched onto a charismatic leader with their hearts at a very deep level. To move their attention and loyalties to another feels too much like betrayal and disgrace, like an admission of having made a mistake which would then bring too much shame on themselves and their leader.

Very few people who have become wildly popular ever have the strength of humility to instruct and encourage their followers to transfer their allegiance to another leader, especially if that other person seems to not be nearly so attractive or charismatic as themselves. This is what makes John the Baptist stand out in history as one of the greatest prophets ever to be used of God. It was not because of any spectacular miracles he performed or climactic events that he was able to pull off like Elijah or Moses or some of the other prophets of old; but it was because of his stunning humility and devotion to God that made him the subject of highly honorable mention by Jesus later on in His ministry. It was John's willingness to disappear out of sight from the affections and attentions of those who had responded positively to his message and then to push them to move their attentions and affections to someone more important than himself that revealed a picture of God that is seldom seen in this world.

But even so, John, while being very closely reflective of God's character in this respect, was not from heaven himself as was Jesus. John was of this earth and because of that context he did not have the ability to view reality from the vantage point that Jesus had. This may well have had an effect on the way in which John presented his messages to the people. It was not that what he did was wrong – God had sent him to do what he did and used that to prepare people's hearts to better see the truth of the Messiah in the life and teachings of Jesus. But John's presentations were starkly different in style and content than the way Jesus presented things which gave rise to the idea in some people's minds that maybe one or the other of them must be wrong because they were so different.

Apparently John had much more thunder and power and fear mingled into his messages and preaching that Jesus demonstrated. John focused on warning people of dreadful judgments to come if they did not repent and be baptized. What he was preaching was not incorrect but it was much closer to the fear-based kind of religions that sinful humans are much more inclined to embrace and be attracted to than the gentle, compassionate but mysterious ways that Jesus used in His dealings with those around Him. John's style was more along the line with the world's view of reality and of God. Thus the disciple John who was writing this passage notes that John the Baptist was of the earth and therefore would naturally only be able to speak from that perspective. On the other hand, he also wanted to specifically point out in contrast to this, Jesus was not of this earth but had come from heaven.

Since Jesus and John had originated from two starkly different places, quite necessarily their views on reality would also be different though not in conflict with each other. Both of them were in tune with God and were doing God's will which could not be said of most of the religious leaders. But Jesus was inherently so far superior to John that it needed to be explained why John was fading from view after Jesus began to advance His own ministry. I believe that John the writer was especially keen to encourage the disciples of John the Baptist that it would not be an act of betrayal to embrace the authority of Jesus but would in fact be perfectly in harmony with the sole purpose and desires of their former revered leader.

This might also help to better understand some of the next statements that also seem rather oblique at first. John is talking about people's willingness to accept a testimony. Many were willing to embrace and believe the testimony of John who was from the earth like they themselves were. But the writer here is urging them to move beyond that and embrace the greater light that was now shining brightly on the world. No one has yet fully embraced that testimony because of the inability of humans to grasp the significance of that testimony. But that does not mean that we should fail to pursue and true knowledge of God based on the revelation of Him that Jesus came to give us.

What is being addressed here is identical to the problems we see so rampant today in our world, especially in Christianity. There are hundreds of denominations that were started when some small group of people or individuals began to embrace some new truths that became unacceptable to the group they currently worshiped with. Those around them were so resistant to accepting anything new or different that these believers in new ideas were forced to break away after a time and form a new identity which evolved into yet another denomination. The problem has always been in the tremendous power of tradition to prevent us from opening our eyes and hearts to keep moving and progressing into ever deeper truth and revelations of God.

The whole meaning of the word denomination implies division and separation. Someone has said that the multiplicity of denominations in Christianity today is simply a case of dissociative personality disorder in the body of Christ on this earth. But that may be a bit misleading. While it is true that nearly every denomination claims to have the real truth and insists that others must align themselves with that church if they want to be saved, it is obvious that they cannot all be correct. And looking to figure out which one is really the authentic one may itself be chasing down the wrong path in pursuit of knowing God.

I have become very tired of this bigotry that is seen in nearly every church I have encountered in Christianity. I am even disgusted at how often it pops up on my own thinking at times. Even independent cults that use this reasoning to promote themselves as the genuine alternative themselves end up advocating the very same reasoning for people to join them. I believe that the apostles if they were alive today would have some very strong words to everyone in every denomination including my own about the way we think we have a corner on the truth. This kind of thinking is earthly, self-promoting and bigoted in ways different that what we might think at first.

What I am seeing here in this passage is a call to focus my personal devotion, loyalty and affections directly onto Jesus the true Messiah and Savior of all mankind. I cannot allow association with any denomination or church to eclipse my first loyalty and devotion on a very personal level to Jesus Christ Himself or else I fall into the trap of the problems experienced by the disciples of John the Baptist that is being addressed here. It is a problem of viewing reality from an earthly perspective instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to expand and train my mind and heart to perceive truth and reality in ways never before experienced or considered.

This does not necessarily mean that I will withdraw from a church or group of people although that may end up being the result if the dissonance becomes too great. To worship effectively together there must be some level of agreement and sympathy. So when it becomes obvious that those in a church or a group insist on refusing some truth about God that cannot be denied or ignored without eternal danger, then it may become necessary to disconnect from that group in order to maintain the integrity of my personal loyalty to my Savior. But that decision should be made very carefully and not from bitterness or a spirit of independence.

John the Baptist never encouraged people to withdraw from the religion they belonged to as far as I can tell. Instead he called them to repent of the terrible lies they believed about God and about themselves that blinded them to the truth about reality. He called them to perceive a God in heaven who was radically different than the perceptions of God they had received from their religions and to take appropriate actions based on those new perceptions. He warned them of the terrible consequences that they would experience if they failed to act upon these new revelations and the very same messages are still true yet today.

But unlike John the Baptist, Jesus came directly from heaven as the Son of God to reveal the heart of the Godhead to not only humanity but to the whole universe in ways never before seen in all of history. Jesus was the authentic reality of God that John could only talk about second-hand as merely a human. To receive a second-hand testimony is helpful, but to accept the truth of first-hand testimony, especially when it involves the real truth about God, is of supreme importance to life, both now and for eternity.

He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true. (John 3:33)

In effect, when we accept the testimony about what God is really like through the life and words and actions of Jesus Christ, then the transformation that takes place in our own beliefs, words, actions and testimony reveals and corroborates the testimony of Jesus that God really is true. By embracing the offer of Jesus for us to dwell in Him, trust completely in His righteousness alone to save us and for Him to dwell in us, we will set the seal of our own testimony alongside the testimony of Jesus and we can in turn be sealed by God to be the children of God who can enjoy living with Him in joy for all of eternity.

Father, I want this to describe my experience with You. Please transform me today, show me Your face and train me in Your ways, thoughts, emotions and perspectives. Dwell inside of me, cleanse me, heal me, live through me as You continue to seal me into Your likeness. Thank-you for Your word and Your promises and Your power to save and heal me. I give You full permission to do whatever You desire in my life. Glorify Your name in and through me today and have Your way fully in my life.

The Testimony

He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true. (John 3:33)

It is becoming more and more clear to me as well as more significant what the content of this testimony is that is referred to here. It is a testimony that is vital for me to accept, appreciate, embrace and believe if I ever hope to live with God for eternity or to enjoy the bliss of heaven.

The more I meditate on this chapter the more clearly this testimony emerges into my awareness. It is the primary reason that Jesus came to this earth – to bear witness, to declare His testimony in the case of the false charges against God in the great trial going on in the universe. This trial will someday come to a final conclusion in the last day of judgment and full revelation but at this point we are still caught up in the titanic struggle to capture and lock in the testimony of as many witnesses as possible from both sides of the trial.

The only way to understand the real significance of these words is to appreciate the actual trial context that is vividly going on behind the scenes. Jesus did not come to this earth to deliver instructions on how we can get perfect enough to get ourselves into heaven or to escape hell. Neither did He come to demonstrate and encourage us as to how to get along better or have more platitudes to live by. Jesus did not come to help us out but to rescue us, to save us from ourselves and the enormous mass of lies about God that continue to suffocate and blind us even yet today. But at the same time He never violates one the highest principles of freedom that is honored by all of heaven, the freedom of our personal choice.

I continue to be amazed at the blindness and ignorance that all of us, myself included, still retain in so many of our assumptions. We think we really understand what religion means and what God's purposes are for us. Our bold confidence in how we interpret Scriptures is often far beyond our true abilities. I know that this is all we seem to be able to see right now and God meets us where we are, but each time I sense God taking me to a deeper level spiritually it is always in the direction of clarifying the issue of what His character is really like and His disposition toward us as sinners. And the clearer His feelings about me emerge to my consciousness, the darker and more cynical become the claims of most all of religion including many of my own.

I am realizing that the Light is much, much brighter than I can even imagine and that it is urgent that God opens my eyes and heals me to be able to endure the brightness of His glorious truth and love if there is ever to be hope for me. I am not talking about physical light here but about the enormous intensity of pure, unaffected, passionate love that is untainted with any dark motives whatsoever. I am also becoming more aware that to cling to any false beliefs or fears in the presence of that kind of pure and holy passion is to guarantee self-destruction, and God is keen to cleanse me of all of that before I encounter His presence at those dangerous levels of intensity.

So, what does this have to do with the testimony of Jesus mentioned here? How does Jesus' coming to this earth help me prepare to successfully encounter the dangerous levels of love and passion that are inevitable in the presence of God? And why is it so important to see this in the context of a great trial going on?

The testimony of Jesus focuses on one thing and one thing alone. Everything else is peripheral and explanatory to that. The testimony of Jesus is the same testimony that will be seen in the life of every person who accepts and embraces Jesus' testimony and is stated plainly at the end of this verse. The testimony of Jesus is that God is true.

One of our problems in understanding this phrase is that the very concept of truth itself has become so narrowed in our thinking that it is hard to grasp the significance of this statement properly. This whole chapter helps to unpack the meaning of truth even more, and the writings of John expand on this even more thoroughly. One thing that becomes very clear as I look around in this chapter for related concepts to this core declaration is the clear message that God loves and that His love is unconditional and unmerited – it cannot be earned or induced by what we do or don't do.

That element of truth at first seems to be easy enough for most Christians to think that they believe. But it does not take long at all to notice that most tend to view God as two-faced when it comes to love. The teachings that most people promote about God infer that if sinners don't respond the way God wants them to and become obedient or compliant with His demands to love Him, that He will run out of patience with them someday and will suddenly turn to anger and violence to accomplish His revenge against all those who reject His mercy.

We also maintain very confused notions about God's forgiveness as well. Most people believe that forgiveness is somehow conditional in some respects and they are scandalized at even the thought that God forgives unconditionally. Most people believe that God withholds forgiveness at least until we come and ask for it, but this is not what the Scriptures really teach if one is open to studying it carefully. Our beliefs about God's forgiveness are much more reflective of our own notions and feelings that we carry toward those who offend us rather than based on the truth revealed in the Word. And this is strongly influenced by deep, subconscious misconceptions about God that we have not yet confronted in our own hearts.

It is in these ways that we weaken and discount the testimony of Jesus about the character of God. What we are really describing in our teachings about God is a god that is reflective of our personalities and our character rather than the real God of heaven. Instead of relying on Jesus to be the primary source of revelation about who and what God is like, we are inserting our own feelings and desires and confusion into our beliefs about God and coming up with a God that often acts the way we want Him to act and treats our enemies the way we want to treat them.

But when we do this we are not receiving the testimony of Jesus but in fact end up bearing false witness against God in contrast to what Jesus came to do. When we do that we are following a different course than believing in Jesus, no matter what our claims and professions may be to the contrary.

As I look around in this chapter I find many relevant statements that start to unpack what is really contained in the testimony of Jesus talked about here. And as I choose to embrace these truths about God and displace the assumed beliefs that I have had all of my life then I will find myself being sealed as my own testimony about God comes more and more into alignment with the testimony of Jesus.

...I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus; worship God. (Revelation 19:10)