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In this message we come to the last part of the first chapter of the Gospel of John (John 1:19-51). The main subject of this passage is Jesus as the Lamb of God, with the Holy Spirit as the dove, making the believers stones for the building of the house of God with the Son of Man. This subject is composed of five main points: the Lamb of God, the dove, the stones, the building of God’s house, and the Son of Man. The Lamb is for redemption; the dove is for life-imparting, transforming, and building; the stone is for material; the house is the building; and the very substance of God’s building is man. Firstly, man is redeemed by the Lamb, and then he is regenerated and transformed by the dove. Thus, man becomes a stone, and this stone is then builded by the dove. The dove is not only for regenerating, but also for transforming and uniting, which eventually result in the building of God’s house. The essence, the substantial element, of the house of God is not divinity, but humanity. Divinity is the dweller and humanity is the dwelling. Since the house is the dwelling place and not the dweller, the dwelling is humanity and the dweller is divinity. This humanity, however, is not a natural or a created humanity; it is a regenerated, transformed, and uplifted humanity, a humanity that has been processed through creation, incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. The humanity which has passed through such a wonderful process becomes the very substance of God’s building. Such a humanity is God’s dwelling place. In no other books is this matter so clearly revealed as in the writings of John, in his gospel, epistles, and revelation. Thus, we must spend a great deal of time in John’s writings.
John 1:19-51 is a long section composed of thirty-three verses. Why is this section so long? For years I was troubled by the length of this portion of John’s gospel. I said, “In the first eighteen verses, every word is economical. Not one word is wasted. Why does John use so many words in this part of the chapter?” I could not understand why John, a brief and simple writer, used so many verses. If I had written this portion of the Word, I would have used only seven or eight verses, telling how the Pharisees inquired of John whether or not he was the Messiah, Elijah, or the prophet, how John baptized people in water, how he introduced Jesus as the Lamb of God with the dove descending and abiding on Him, how five disciples were attracted to the Lord and began to follow Him, and how the name of one of them was changed. However, John used many more verses than this. What was his purpose in doing so? Very few Christians have seen John’s purpose in verses 19 through 51. Thus, we must take time to consider it.
As you read through the Gospel of John, you will discover that the greatest opposition against Christ came from religion. Nothing was more troublesome or frustrating to Him than the Jewish religion. Religion is Christ’s enemy. It frustrates Christ as life. Eventually, religion sentenced Christ to death. It was not Roman politics that sentenced the Lord Jesus to death, for the Roman politics under Pilate was too weak to do that. Christ was sentenced to death by the Jewish religion which utilized the weak Roman politics. Thus, in his gospel, John shows us that the strongest opposition to Christ as life comes from religion. Therefore, he found it necessary to use many verses in chapter one to describe the pitiful religious situation. John’s intention was to portray the pathetic condition of religion.
Verses 19 through 25 reveal the concept of religious people, which is entirely contrary to the divine thought. The religious people were looking for a great leader such as the Messiah, Elijah, or the prophet (according to the Scriptures, Dan. 9:26; Mal. 4:5; Deut. 18:15, 18). The religious concept is that of always looking to a great one such as the Messiah or to a great prophet such as Elijah. Religious people always think in terms of a great leader who will do wonderful things and perform marvelous miracles to save and deliver them. The Jewish leaders, therefore, sent people to ask John the Baptist if he was the Messiah. John, of course, replied, “I am not.” Then they asked if he was Elijah, and again he answered, “No.” In the eighteenth chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses promised Israel that a great prophet would come. So, from that day, Israel continually looked for the coming of that prophet, and when John the Baptist came upon the scene, they asked him if he was the one. Nevertheless, John said that he was not that prophet. The same principle still exists in today’s religious situation. People everywhere expect to have a great world-famous preacher. The religious people today, like the Pharisees and scribes and chief priests, are not for life; they are for a big movement, a great leader. Although they await a great religious leader who will stir them up, after such a leader comes and goes, they still remain in their deadness.
The contrast in this portion of the Gospel of John is very impressive. We have seen that the religionists were expecting a great leader and that they inquired of John the Baptist whether he was the Messiah, Elijah, or the prophet. When John repeatedly answered, “No,” they finally asked him, “Who are you? What do you say about yourself?” John answered, “I am a voice of one crying in the wilderness.” What is a voice? A voice is nothing. You hear it, and it is gone. You cannot touch it. John seemed to be saying, “I am nothing. I am nobody. I am just a voice. I am not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet.” The religious people were disappointed with him. How could they answer those who sent them? Perhaps they said to John, “Shall we go back to those who sent us and tell them that you said you were just a voice? What is this? It’s nonsense.” Yes, as far as religion is concerned, life is nonsense.
When John saw Jesus coming, what did he say? He did not say, “Behold, Dr. Jesus Christ.” He said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” If I had been John the Baptist, I would have said, “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” How do you prefer to recommend Jesus — as the Lamb or as a strong lion? If you were to introduce Christ to me as a lion, I would flee, for I am afraid of lions. Jesus, however, was recommended as a Lamb. While the religionists were expecting a great leader, Jesus was recommended by John the Baptist as the little Lamb of God. Jesus did not come to be the great leader of a religious movement; He came to be the little Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. It is not a matter of a movement; it is a matter of redemption, of solving the problem of the sin of mankind. For our sin to be taken away we do not need a doctor of theology or a religious leader — we need a little Lamb. We need Jesus as the Lamb of God to die for us and to shed His blood for our redemption. The situation today is the same as it was in the time of John the Baptist. Religion still awaits a great leader for a great movement. However, in God’s economy, Jesus is not such a leader. He is simply the Lamb of God. As you read this message you need to say, “Lord Jesus, to me You are not a great leader. You are the Lamb of God who died on the cross for my sins. Thank You for Your death, Lord. Thank You for Your blood. Thank You for Your redemption. I don’t care for a great leader. I only care for this little Lamb who has accomplished redemption for me.” The religious concept is that a great leader will come, but the divine economy is that a Lamb die to redeem man from sin. Since the problem of sin requires a solution, the need of redemption is imperative. We need the Lamb of God to take away our sins.
John not only recommended Christ as the Lamb of God, but also as the Lamb with the dove (1:32-33). The Lamb takes sin away from man, and the dove brings God as life to man. The Lamb is for redemption, to redeem fallen man back to God, and the dove is for life-giving, for anointing, to anoint man with what God is, to bring God into man and man into God, and for uniting the believers in God. Both are needed for man to participate in God. The dove is the symbol of the Holy Spirit, whose work is to bring God and join God to man. The Lamb, on the negative side, solves the problem of man’s sin; the dove, on the positive side, brings God to man. The Lamb separates man from sin, and the dove joins God to man.
John recommended Jesus as the Lamb with a dove, not with an eagle. It seems that some Christians have an eagle instead of a dove. A dove is not large and wild. A dove is small and gentle. The dove here signifies the Holy Spirit and is for life-giving, regenerating, anointing, transforming, uniting, and building. The dove is not for power but for life. A dove has no power; it is full of life and insight. The Bible appreciates the dove’s eyes, for the most beautiful part of a dove is its eyes. In the Song of Songs, the Lord praises His seeker for her doves’ eyes (1:15). The dove is not a symbol of power, but of life. A dove is lovely, small, and full of life.
When we come to John 12, we shall see that the Lord Jesus likens Himself to something even smaller than a dove — a grain of wheat (12:24). A grain of wheat is neither for outward appearance nor for power. A grain of wheat, which is full of life, is for the reproduction and propagation of life, for the multiplication in life. Thus, the Gospel of John is a book of life, not of power. The Lamb is not for power, but for redemption. If Jesus had come as a lion, no one could have put Him on the cross. However, He came as a little Lamb who was led to the slaughter and killed for our redemption (Isa. 53:7). What a difference between life and religion! Religion is for power, for movements, and for great leaders. Life needs a Lamb for redemption to remove all sinful things and a dove full of life to impart life, regenerate, anoint, transform, unite, and build. Then God will have a house, a Bethel. We all must see this.
I hope that you have been impressed that we must absolutely abandon religion with all of its concepts. However, I am concerned that some readers of this message may still hold the concept that we need power to produce a great movement. God’s economy is not to send a powerful leader to start a movement. God’s economy is to send His Son to be the Lamb with His Spirit as the dove to accomplish redemption and to impart life to man. God’s economy is for one grain to fall into the ground and die that it might produce many grains which will be blended into one loaf, the Body, the church, to express Christ. In God’s economy it is not a question of a movement, power, or a great leader; it is a matter of the Lamb with the dove. Our need is redemption with life.
The Lamb with the dove attracted people to follow Him. When John the Baptist said, “Behold, the Lamb of God,” two of his disciples were drawn to Him, and John was very happy about it. What were the names of these two disciples? The first was Andrew, and the second should be John, the writer of this gospel, although he was humble, not mentioning himself by name. Once Andrew had been attracted, he found his brother Simon and led him to Jesus (1:41-42). When the Lord looked upon Simon, He changed his name to Cephas, or Peter, which means a stone. The Lord referred to this word of His when He spoke to Peter in Matthew 16:18 about the building of the church. It must have been from this that Peter had obtained the concept of the living stones for the building of the spiritual house (1 Pet. 2:5), which is the church. The significance of a stone is that it denotes a work of transformation to bring forth material for God’s building (1 Cor. 3:12).
In one chapter we have a Lamb, a dove, and the stone, all of which are figures. What is the meaning of these figures? The meaning is that the Lamb plus the dove produces stones. Redemption plus regeneration and transformation produces stones. Once again I say that we should not try to understand the Gospel of John merely according to the black and white letters. You must probe into the real significance of the allegories. What is a lamb? According to Exodus 12, the Passover lamb was slain for the people’s sins and eaten for their satisfaction. What is a dove? From the Old Testament we have seen that a dove is a creature full of the beauty of life. Thus, it represents the third Person of the Godhead reaching humanity and imparting life to man. This dove which descends upon man matches redemption and is for the producing of stones. It does not produce preachers, ministers, or doctors of theology; it produces stones. As we shall see, these stones are for the building of Bethel, the house of God.
Although Andrew found the Lord before Peter did, Jesus did not change Andrew’s name. What is the reason for this? If you and I had been the Lord Jesus, we probably would have changed Andrew’s name to stone and John’s to diamond. However, the Lord Jesus was unhurried and moved gradually, changing Simon’s name, not Andrew’s. If I had been Andrew, I would have said, “Lord, why didn’t You change my name? It’s not fair. I came to You first. Why do You give Simon a new name and not me? Lord, You have to give me a new name too.” But the Lord did not change Andrew’s name. This indicates that everything depends on Him. The Lord will never act in a rush.
Philip was the next one to be attracted to the Lord Jesus. However, the Lord did not do anything with Philip. Then Philip found Nathanael and said, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law and prophets wrote, Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth” (v. 45). This information was inaccurate. Jesus was not born of Joseph, but of Mary (Matt. 1:16), and was not born in Nazareth, but in Bethlehem (Luke 2:4-7). When Nathanael said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”, Philip said, “Come and see.” Philip was right not to argue with Nathanael. He realized that he was lacking in understanding, so he simply said to Nathanael, “Come and see.” We all have a lesson to learn from these words. There are many young Philips among us, who, after seeing something of the Lord, have gone out and spoken to others in an improper way, giving them wrong information. Thus, we should not argue with people, but simply tell them to come and see. Nathanael came. Although the Lord did not do anything with Philip, He did something with Nathanael, speaking to him of Jacob’s dream (1:51).
Why did the Lord do something with Simon and Nathanael, but not with Andrew and Philip? There is a principle here and the principle is this: the Lord does not deal with the first, but always with the second. The first is of the old creation. During the Passover in Egypt all the firstborn were killed. Do not be the first, for if you desire to be the first, you are finished with the Lord. Although it may be good to be the first in school, it is not good in the church. Never try to be the first with the Lord Jesus. Learn to be the second. If you attempt to be the first, you will miss the mark. Everyone likes to be first. However, if you are willing to be second, the Lord will do something to you. Simon was second, and the Lord revealed to him the matter of being a stone. Nathanael also was second, and the Lord unveiled to him the house of God.
“And He said to him, Truly, truly I say to you, you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (v. 51). The ancient Jews knew that this was a reference to Jacob’s dream (Gen. 28:10-22). When Jacob was fleeing from his brother, he slept one night in the open air, using a stone for a pillow. He dreamed that he saw heaven opened and a ladder set up on the earth which reached to heaven and on which angels were ascending and descending. When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he said, “How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven” (Gen. 28:17). He then poured oil upon the stone which he had used for a pillow and called the name of it Bethel. The Lord’s word to Nathanael was the fulfillment of Jacob’s dream. Christ, as the Son of Man with His humanity, is the ladder which is set up on the earth and leads to heaven, keeping heaven open to earth and joining earth to heaven for the house of God. Jacob poured oil (the symbol of the Holy Spirit, the last Person of the Triune God to reach man) upon the stone (symbol of the transformed man) that it might be the house of God. Here in John 1 are the Spirit (v. 32) and the stone (v. 42) for the house of God with Christ and His humanity. Where these are, there is an open heaven. Thus Christ, as a man, is the ladder that opens the heavens and joins earth to heaven and brings heaven to earth. Wherever Christ is in His humanity, there is the gate of heaven, there is Bethel, the building of God’s house with all the stones, that is, with all the transformed persons.
As the introduction to the Gospel of John, John 1 introduces Christ as both the Son of God (vv. 34, 49) and the Son of Man. Nathanael recognized Him as the Son of God and addressed Him as such (v. 49), but Christ said to Nathanael that He was the Son of Man. The Son of God is God with the divine nature — divinity. The Son of Man is man with a human nature — humanity. For declaring God (v. 18) and for bringing God to man and man to God, He is the only begotten Son of God. But for building God’s habitation on the earth among man, He is the Son of Man. God’s building needs His humanity. In eternity past Christ had only divinity, but in eternity future Christ will have both divinity and humanity forever.
There are three distinct sections in John 1. The first section, composed of the first thirteen verses, ends with the children of God. The second section, composed of verses 14 through 18, ends with the only begotten Son of God. The third section, composed of the last thirty-three verses, ends with the Son of Man. The children of God are the expansion and enlargement of God for His corporate expression. The only begotten Son of God is God’s declaration, making Him known to all the people who enjoy God’s fullness as grace and reality. The Son of Man is for the building of God’s house. Thus, the children of God are many and are the expression of God, expressing Him in a corporate way. The only begotten Son of God is unique and is for the declaration of God, making Him known to all who enjoy Him as grace and reality. The Son of Man is for the building of the house of God. For God’s corporate expression there is the need of the many children of God, for God’s declaration there is the need of the unique, only begotten Son of God, and for the house of God there is the need of the Son of Man.
John 1 starts with the Word and ends with Bethel, the house of God. There is a long way between verse 1 and verse 51. Along the way we find many items: God, creation, life, light, the flesh, the tabernacle, grace, reality, the declaration of God, the Lamb, the dove, the stone, the ladder, the humanity of Jesus, and eventually the house of God. This is life and building. In this one chapter, we can see the beginning, the Word, God, creation, life, light, the many children of God brought forth in life, the flesh, the tabernacle, grace, reality, the full declaration of God, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and the dove which regenerates, anoints, transforms, unites, and builds; we can see a stone, a ladder, an open heaven, and the house of God. We are a part of this house of God. Hallelujah!
The Gospel of John is marvelous and profound. In this gospel we do not have a great religious leader; we have a little Lamb with an even smaller dove. The Lamb and the dove make us stones for God’s building. We are not doctors of theology, but stones for the building. We are not a religious organization, but Bethel, the house of God.
After Jesus was introduced as the Lamb with the dove, people began to follow Him. The Lamb with the dove is crucial in fulfilling God’s purpose. There was a problem between God and man, the problem of sin. Man also had a shortage, a shortage of life. God’s intention for man is that he have life. However, sin was present and life was absent. Thus, the Lamb came to take away sin. Although the Lamb has removed sin and has solved the problem of sin, what about life? The dove has come to impart life. Hallelujah, sin has been removed and life has been imparted! Sin is gone and life has come.
This is redemption plus anointing. Redemption removes our sin, and anointing brings in the life and the life supply. Since we have redemption and are under the Spirit’s anointing, we have no problem with sin and no shortage of life. As a result of the removing of sin and the imparting of life, we are in the process of transformation. Transformation is the work of the anointing Spirit. After regenerating us, the Spirit works within us to transform us into stones. We are not stones by our natural birth, but we are clay. Having been reborn, we are under the process of transformation, for the regenerating Spirit is now the transforming Spirit.
The stones into which we are being transformed are for the building of the house of God. Few Christians have seen the building of the house of God that is revealed in John 1. Although many Christian teachers have pointed out the matter of life in this chapter, nearly all of them have missed the goal. The building is the goal. Life is not the goal; it is the procedure by which God obtains the building. Thus, life is for the building and it maintains the building, but life is not the goal. The building of the house of God is God’s goal.
The Lord had this goal in mind as men began to be attracted to Him and to follow Him. According to John 1, a large crowd did not follow the Lord. Only five disciples followed Him. Perhaps John the Baptist was disappointed at this. He had declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God,” and, as a result of this declaration, only two disciples followed the Lord Jesus. If you think that the Lord’s recovery has been moving too slowly, I would ask you to look at the following the Lord Jesus had. Acts 1 tells us that at the end of three and a half years of ministry the Lord had gained only one hundred twenty people. The Lord is not seeking a movement. In a movement there is mushrooming growth, for movements grow and increase overnight. However, the Lord’s way is not that of mushrooming growth, but of a seed that is sown into the ground and that needs time to grow. Thus, John 1 does not give us the record of a great movement, but of the narrow way of life. Only two followed Him at the beginning. Then came Simon, Philip, and Nathanael. Although the number was small, there was a stone and there was also the house of God. Therefore, it is not a question of the number of people following Jesus; it is a matter of stones for the building. As long as there are stones, there is the possibility that the house of God can be built. God is not concerned about the number of people. He is interested in the stones and the building. This is God’s need today. God wants people who will be transformed into stones for the building of His house.
The Lord spoke to Nathanael about Jacob’s dream. Where is the house of God of which Jacob dreamed? When this dream was revealed to Jacob, he was homeless and a wanderer. When man is homeless, God also is homeless. At the time Jacob needed a house, God also needed a house. Therefore, God gave Jacob this revelation by means of a dream. The house of God can only be realized when there is a stone upon which oil is poured. We have already pointed out that the stone represents the regenerated and transformed people of God and that the oil represents the coming of God as Spirit into man. When God is finally joined to a transformed people, then God has a house. This was accomplished by Christ’s becoming the Lamb with the dove to redeem us from our sins and to join us to God. By this accomplishment, we can all become transformed stones for the house of God. The Son of Man as the heavenly ladder can then join earth to heaven and mingle God with man. At this point, we can realize that God’s ultimate intention is to have a house built up with regenerated and transformed persons who are joined to God in the Son of Man by the Holy Spirit. This is a picture of the New Jerusalem, which is the building of living stones with the glory of God. The ultimate consummation of God’s work in the eternal future will simply be the actual existence of this habitation of God.
We must abandon all religious concepts and take the divine concept which is Christ as the Lamb with the dove, the Redeemer with the Spirit. Christ is the Redeemer with the Spirit as the regenerating, transforming, and uniting power. The Spirit of Christ will regenerate, transform, and unite us to God and to one another. We must forget the religious concepts of trying to do good to please God and of attempting to do things for God. We must see that God’s intention is to regenerate us and to transform us into stones — i.e., to change us from Simon to Cephas. All who have been attracted to the Lamb of God with the dove will be transformed into stones for the house of God. We must have the vision that all we need is to be transformed and built together as the very house that God desires. God is seeking this and will accomplish it by His Son, who became the Son of Man as the heavenly ladder joining earth to heaven. The ultimate issue will be that God is mingled with man so that God and man become a mutual habitation. Man will become His dwelling, and He will become man’s dwelling — this is the eternal dwelling of God according to His eternal plan.
