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Book messages «Life Messages, vol. 2 (#42-75)»
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The all-inclusive gospel

  Scripture Reading: John 1:1, 4, 11, 16; 4:14; 5:24; 6:57, 63; 7:37-38; 14:16, 23; 15:1, 3-5, 7-8; 17:1, 17; 20:22; 2 Cor. 3:17; Rev. 19:13

  I would like to preach the gospel to you, as it is given in the Gospel of John.

Our shallow understanding of the gospel

  Our general understanding of the gospel is too limited. Yes, the gospel does include the matter of sin, for 1:29 tells us, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” This verse implies Christ’s death, for that was the means by which He took away our sins. We may infer from 19:30 and 34 also that dealing with sin is included in the gospel.

  The love of God is also included in this gospel, as we well know from 3:16: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life.”

  We were pitiful sinners, but the Son of God loved us and died on the cross for our sins. If we believe in Him, we are saved, and when we die, we will go to heaven. This is what we usually consider the gospel, but I must tell you that the concept of going to heaven is not to be found in the Gospel of John. Yes, this thought may be hinted at in other verses, but going to heaven, to tell the truth, is not the main item of the gospel.

John’s gospel

  In the twenty-one chapters of John we have the gospel. If we begin with the first verse, we can see clearly that the first item is not sin: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Verse 4 says further, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Have you ever regarded this as the gospel? Consider John 15: “I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman...I am the vine; you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit...You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and I set you that you should go forth and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain” (vv. 1, 5, 16). These verses too are part of the gospel. John 17, the deepest, highest prayer of the Lord Jesus, is also part of the gospel: “These things Jesus spoke, and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You...Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth” (vv. 1, 17). We have considered passages like this as deeper truths for the edification of the saints, not as part of the gospel to be preached to unbelievers.

  We surely need a new view of the gospel. You may say that these passages we have referred to are too difficult for unbelievers to grasp. You may think that even those who have been in the church life a long time do not really understand them. If this is your opinion, you are deceived. It may be that the saints, even the elders, find such verses hard to comprehend, but that is because your eyes are clouded, and you already have the concept that these matters are too profound to be understood. You are deceived because of your prejudice.

  Our idea of how to preach the gospel is to tell sinners things that they can easily follow. We tell them that they are sinners, and then we apply the point by saying that they have stolen from others. We warn them about the eternal fire burning in hell and urge them to choose heaven, where the streets are of gold, a wonderful tree grows, a river flows, and there are mansions. This kind of preaching appeals to our natural concept. If this is our approach, we have no need to depend on the Spirit.

Believing because of the Spirit

  If, however, we preach the biblical gospel, as found in John, we are surely constrained to put our trust in the Spirit. “Lord, if You do not open people’s eyes, if You as the life-giving Spirit do not work deep within their hearts, no one will follow; even I will not understand.” The result will be that many will understand and believe. The truth is that we do not believe because we understand. When we hear the gospel, we have no choice but to believe. It was foolish to believe, but we could not help it. When unbelievers hear about the Word that was in the beginning, the Word that was with God and that was God, they will believe and find themselves praising God. They will praise Him for this One called the Word; they do not know who He is, but they believe He is God.

Preaching John’s gospel

  Try preaching what you know others cannot understand. Will you be foolish enough to do this? Will you practice on your parents? Do not preach about nuclear science. Preach from the Gospel of John. Tell your relatives, “So-and-so, I would like to tell you that the Lord Jesus is a vine. I am one of the branches. You are not one yet, but I hope that after we talk together, you will be.” Believe me, you will find a response. That one will say, “Oh, I would like to be a branch like you. How does it happen?”

  Then what will you say? How will you proceed? I hope you will not start telling him that he is a sinner and needs to confess the things he has stolen, and then that he needs to pray for the Lord Jesus to come into his heart. Of course, if the Holy Spirit so leads you, that is all right. But many times that is simply your routine way of handling people. You need to answer according to the instant leading you have for each time, not according to the method you have devised.

  The Holy Spirit may lead you to answer like this: “Look at John 1:16. It says, ‘Of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.’ So-and-so, you have to receive something of the Lord. This is the way for you to become a branch.” Do not think he will not understand. If you follow the Spirit and the Spirit works with you, he will understand. Your preaching of the gospel must no longer be natural, superficial, shallow, and low.

Receiving

  Have you yourself received of the fullness of Christ? Surely you will answer yes. But how much have you received? Christ is universally wide. An ocean is too small a measure to use in describing His fullness. His dimensions are those of the universe. Who can measure their breadth, length, height, and depth? Have you received only a drop, or a cup, or a pitcherful of His fullness?

  Your receiving must continue daily, hourly, and minute by minute. The fullness of Christ is so vast that your receiving cannot be once for all; it must be grace upon grace.

Abiding

  Are you abiding in Christ right now? While you are in the meeting, it is easy to abide, but were you abiding this morning at the breakfast table? When you return home after the meeting, are you still abiding? I would like to help you abide by preaching the gospel of abiding to you.

  The Lord said, “Abide in Me and I in you” (15:4). Then in verse 7 He said, “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.” Is the Lord abiding in you? Do you have His words abiding in you? I am preaching the gospel to you! Christ, the infinite God, is the vine. You and I are His branches. We are branches of the infinite God. We can abide in Him, and He can abide in us, making us one with Him. Hallelujah for the gospel! We are the branches of Christ. Even among us in the Lord’s recovery, very few have entered into this gospel.

Drinking

  The gospel also includes this verse: “He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water” (7:38). The Lord Jesus invited all those who were thirsty to come to Him and drink (v. 37). Rivers of living water should flow from you. How many rivers do you have flowing out of your inner being? Do you have a river of peace? of love? of power? of holiness? of humility? of kindness? If you sense a lack of rivers flowing from you, it indicates that you are not drinking sufficiently. You need to drink more of Him.

Christ our home

  Part of the gospel is also found in John 14:23: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him.” Do you love the Lord? Do you keep His word? Do you have Him coming to you and making His abode with you? The thought here is mutual: we become His abode, and He becomes ours. You have an abode; you are not homeless. Who is your home? Christ!

  I wish I could preach the gospel of John to you in every meeting for a year. I think I would not even be finished after a year.

Enjoying the rich gospel

  How can we constantly enjoy this profound, rich gospel? We can find out right in this Gospel of John.

The Word and the Spirit

  Notice how many times the Word is mentioned. In chapter 1 the Word was in the beginning and was God. In chapter 15 the words of Christ are to abide in us; His word has cleansed us. We are to love Him and keep His word (14:23). Those who hear His word have eternal life (5:24). The Father’s word is the truth that sanctifies (17:17).

  Reference is also made again and again to the Spirit. “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (6:63). “He will give you another Comforter, that He may be with you forever, even the Spirit of reality...you know Him, because He abides with you and shall be in you” (14:16-17).

  The Word and the Spirit are crucial matters. For too long we have neglected them. We may come to the meetings, but we have not given our attention to the Word. We may pray, but we have not sufficiently regarded the Spirit. We must come back to care for both the Word and the Spirit.

  The New Testament makes it clear that today the Lord is both the Word and the Spirit. “The Lord is the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:17). “His name is called the Word of God” (Rev. 19:13). The Word is also the Spirit (cf. John 6:63). These three are one. All three are also life. The Lord, the Word, and the Spirit are all life. Thus, all these four are one.

  The Word today is also the Bible in our hand. Outside us we have the Word. Within us is this Spirit. These two, the Spirit and the Word, are the two wires that transmit the heavenly electricity from the power plant into the building.

  Open up the Bible. Open your eyes to read it. Understand it and love it. Combine this with praying. In this way you will be mingling the Word with the Spirit, thus transmitting Christ into you. You will be receiving of His fullness, grace upon grace.

  Practice going to the Word throughout the day, snatching a few minutes here and there. It is in the Bible that you meet God, Christ, and the Spirit. Here is life, light, and love. Learn to open your whole being when you turn to the Word. Open your eyes to see, your mind to understand, your heart to love, and your spirit to pray and realize. This practice will bring you the Word with the Spirit. The result of thus sowing the seed into the soil is that life will spring up. Life will come forth from you.

Drinking, eating, and breathing

  We have not exhausted this gospel. Every line and every word of the book of John is part of the rich gospel. Just consider two short clauses. John 1:11 says, “He came,” and 1:16 says, “We have all received.” The matter of His coming is an important part of the gospel. He came by way of incarnation. His coming has been accomplished. What about our receiving? It is a continual matter. We receive by eating, drinking, and breathing. This is the way we receive Christ into us. It is an organic, metabolic matter, different from the way we would receive a book that was handed to us. Such an organic receiving strengthens, transforms, and changes us.

  Drinking, eating, and breathing, as the way to receive Christ into us, are all covered in the Gospel of John. Drinking is mentioned in 4:14: “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall by no means thirst forever.” John 7:37 says further, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” Eating is covered in chapter 6; for example, verse 57 says, “He who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.” Then breathing comes up in 20:22, where “He breathed into them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.”

  If we take Christ into us by these means, we will be receiving of the fullness of this all-inclusive One. We need to be filled with this gospel. If we equip and arm ourselves with it, we will all be able to teach and preach and even live out this gospel. Then the church life will be strong.

Strengthening the church life

  In the matter of taking care of the church life, it is easy to be concerned with the kind of meeting we should have. I would like to remind you that a particular kind of meeting in itself will not strengthen the church life. If we feel that the church meetings are weak, it is not that the way of meeting is wrong. The lack is with the drinking, eating, and breathing of the Lord Jesus, as revealed in the Gospel of John. Let us come back to this book and learn to drink adequately, to eat richly, and to breathe prevailingly. Then the church will be strong and shining.

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