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Scripture Reading: Luke 11:1-54
The record in the Gospel of Luke has a particular characteristic. This characteristic is that Luke always shows us in the Man-Savior the mingling of the divine attributes with the human virtues to produce the highest standard of morality for the New Testament jubilee. Here we have three matters. First, in Luke’s composition the basic and intrinsic elements are the humanity and divinity of the Man-Savior. The Gospel of Luke is based upon the fact that the Lord has two essences — the divine essence and the human essence. Second, Luke’s Gospel presents the highest standard of morality, a morality that is the result of the mingling of the divine attributes with the human virtues. Third, this Gospel proclaims the New Testament jubilee. The proclamation of the jubilee is clearly made in chapter four. We need to keep these three matters in mind in reading the Gospel of Luke, for they will help us understand this Gospel. In the Gospel of Luke we have the divine essence mingled with the human essence and the divine attributes mingled with the human virtues to produce the highest standard of morality, and this is for the New Testament jubilee.
We need to have a full realization of these basic and intrinsic elements of Luke’s writing. By now we should have seen that in his Gospel, Luke reveals the Man-Savior as the One who is a composition of the divine essence mingled with the human essence. As such a One, He is the God-man because He is both the complete God and a perfect man. In Him we see God and man. In Him we have the complete God and a perfect man. This means that in Him we have a composition of the mingling of God with man. In this mingling, however, the Man-Savior loses neither the divine nature, the nature of God, nor the human nature, the nature of man. Rather, in the mingling these natures remain distinguishable, and there is no producing of a third nature. This is the first main point we should keep in mind for our understanding of Luke.
The Gospel of Luke also reveals that in the Man-Savior we have the mingling of the divine attributes with the human virtues to produce the highest standard of morality. Throughout this Gospel we see in the Man-Savior, who is also the God-man, the complete God and a perfect man, the mingling of the divine attributes with the human virtues. As the complete God, He has the divine nature with the divine attributes, and as a perfect man, He has the human nature with the human virtues. Therefore, in His Person we see the divine nature with its attributes and the human nature with its virtues for the living of a life in the highest standard of morality.
The mingling of the divine nature with its attributes and the human nature with its virtues to produce the highest standard of morality are for the New Testament jubilee. In this jubilee we are freed from all bondages — the bondage of sin, the bondage of Satan, the bondage of the world, and even the bondage of the self — and we are also freed into the full enjoyment of our lost birthright, the right to enjoy the Triune God in Christ.
What we have been covering in this message is a definition and interpretation of the Gospel of Luke. In this definition we see the intrinsic elements of this Gospel. If we read Luke in a superficial way, we shall be concerned mainly with the stories in this Gospel. But if we get into the depths of this book, we shall see its intrinsic elements.
If we have a proper description, definition, and interpretation of the Gospel of Luke, we shall see that his Gospel is composed with certain intrinsic elements. These elements include the Lord’s divine nature with its divine attributes and His human nature with its human virtues. The Man-Savior, therefore, is the composition of the mingling of God and man. As such a One, the Lord lived a life in the highest standard of morality. Such a life is for the New Testament jubilee, because it is a life that frees us from all bondage and that brings us into the enjoyment of the Triune God in Christ. This is a summary of the Gospel of Luke.
We need to have an understanding of this summary of Luke when we come to chapter eleven. Otherwise, this chapter may bother us. After the parable of the good Samaritan and after the case of Martha receiving the Lord Jesus into her home, Luke inserts a chapter that covers four matters: the Man-Savior’s teaching about prayer (11:1-13), the Man-Savior rejected by the evil generation (vv. 14-32), His warning not to be in darkness (vv. 33-36), and His rebuking of the Pharisees and lawyers (vv. 37-54). Why are these four things put together? If we read Luke 11 superficially, we shall not understand why this chapter includes the Lord’s teaching on prayer, the rejection of Him by the evil generation, His warning not to be in darkness, and His rebuking the Pharisees and lawyers. However, if we get into the depths of these four sections of chapter eleven, we shall see that here the Man-Savior is dealing with the highest standard of morality. We have emphasized the fact that based upon His divine nature with His divine attributes mingled with His human nature with His human virtues to produce the highest standard of morality, the Man-Savior proclaimed the New Testament jubilee. Now we must go on to see that apart from chapter eleven it would be difficult for us to experience the jubilee.
In 11:1-13 we have the Man-Savior’s teaching on prayer. If we read this section carefully again and again, we shall see that prayer means that we pray ourselves into God. When some hear this, they may say, “We cannot find such a point in the pattern of prayer set up by the Lord Jesus in His teaching. How can you say that to pray is to pray ourselves into God?” Apparently, this matter is not found in 11:1-13. Actually, in these verses we see that to pray is to pray ourselves into God.
Luke 11:1 says, “And it came about that when He was praying in a certain place, as He ceased, a certain one of His disciples said to Him, Lord, teach us to pray, even as John also taught his disciples.” We do not know what the Lord was praying for. When the disciples saw Him praying, they wanted Him to teach them to pray. Then the Lord went on to say, “When you pray, say, Father, Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come. Give us each day our bread for the day; and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves also forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us into trial” (vv. 2-4). I have spent much time considering this brief word. My conclusion is that if we would pray this way again and again, the result will be that we shall pray ourselves into God. In other words, the issue of this prayer is that we find ourselves in God.
If we pray according to the Lord’s teaching in these verses, we shall be persons in God. I encourage you to pray, “Father, Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come.” If you pray this a number of times, you will find that you are in God. This is both my understanding and my experience. From experience I can testify that to pray according to the Lord’s instruction is to pray ourselves into God.
Once we have prayed ourselves into God, what shall we do now that we are in God? We shall simply receive Him with His riches into us. As fallen human beings, we were altogether outside of God and had nothing to do with His riches. Hence, we could not enjoy the riches of God. We need to pray ourselves into God and then, as those in Him, receive Him and His riches.
When some hear about the need to pray ourselves into God in order to receive Him and His riches, they may say, “Before we were saved, we were not in God. But now we are children of God.” Yes, as believers, we are children of God. Nevertheless, we must recognize the fact that often in our experience we are not in God. We do not stay in God, we do not remain in Him. For example, before going to bed, a brother loses his temper with his wife. When he rises up the next morning, he rises up outside of God. What should he do? He should pray himself into God.
However, suppose the brother prays something like this: “Father, You are just and fair. You know that my wife is wrong. I ask You to vindicate me.” The more the brother prays like this, the farther he will be away from God in his experience. He needs to pray, “O Father, sanctify Your name. Your kingdom come. Father, give me bread for this day, and forgive me even as I forgive my wife. Father, do not bring me into that trial again.” The more the brother prays like this, the more he will find himself in God. This illustrates the point that to pray is to pray ourselves into God.
Often we are distracted from God. We may be distracted from Him simply by an advertisement in the newspaper. Because we are easily distracted from God, we should spend time every morning with Him, praying ourselves into Him. There is no need to pray in detail concerning our shortcomings. It is sufficient to say, “Father, forgive me.” There is no need to go through the details. The prayer, “Father forgive me as I forgive others,” is inclusive. The more you pray like this, the more you will realize that you pray yourself into God. Then in God you will receive the life supply.
Perhaps you are wondering where in 11:1-13 we can see the matter of receiving the life supply from the Father. The life supply is indicated in verses 11 through 13: “But what father among you, whose son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish hand him a snake? Or if also he asks for an egg, will hand him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall the Father who is from heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” Here the life supply is indicated by the fish, the egg, and the Holy Spirit. In verse 5 it is indicated by the loaves. If we include the loaves, we have four items of the life supply. When we pray ourselves into God, we receive His riches as our supply.
In verse 13 the Lord says that if we, being evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more shall the Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? This implies that the one gift that is truly good is the Holy Spirit. Before His death the Lord told the disciples to ask for the Holy Spirit. After His death and resurrection He told them to receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22). Regarding the commandments in the Scriptures for which the requirements have not been fulfilled, we need to ask. But regarding the commandments for which the requirements have been fulfilled, we need to receive.
After giving His disciples a brief word of instruction concerning prayer, the Lord went on to give an illustration of praying persistently. He said to them, “Who among you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight and say to him, Friend, lend me three loaves, since a friend of mine has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him; and that one, from inside, shall answer and say, Do not trouble me; the door has already been shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise up and give you anything?” (vv. 5-7). The Greek words rendered, “Do not trouble me” may also be translated, “Do not cause me trouble.” Regarding the children with the man in bed, Thomson in The Land and The Book says, “A whole family — parents, children, and servants — sleep in the same room.”
In verse 8 the Lord continues the illustration, “I tell you, even though he will not rise up and give him anything because he is his friend, surely because of his persistence, he will rise and give him as much as he needs.” Eventually, the one in need receives the three loaves. These loaves, of course, are for feeding and nourishing.
In verses 9 and 10 the Lord continues, “And I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened.” In these verses we have asking, seeking, and knocking. To ask is to pray in a common way, to seek is to supplicate in a specific way, and to knock is to reach the door in the closest way.
In verses 11 through 13 the Lord goes on to say that a father will not give his son a snake instead of a fish, or a scorpion instead of an egg. Furthermore, the Lord says that the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. In figure, a snake signifies Satan and his angels, and a scorpion signifies Satan’s demons.
The Lord’s word in 11:11-13 indicates that our intention in prayer should be to seek the life supply, to seek loaves, fish, and eggs. Loaves represent the riches of the land; fish, the riches of the sea; and eggs the riches of something both in the air and on the earth. Therefore, loaves, fish, and eggs represent the riches of the land, the water, and the air; that is, these represent different kinds of riches. In verse 13 we see that the Holy Spirit is the totality of these riches. The Holy Spirit is the totality of the loaves, the fish, and the egg.
In this message we have seen that to pray is to pray ourselves into God. After we have prayed ourselves into God, then, as those in God, we receive the life supply as indicated by the loaves, the fish, and the egg. The totality of these riches — the riches of the earth, the water, and the air — is the Holy Spirit. This means that the Holy Spirit is the life supply. When we pray ourselves into God, we should remain in God to receive the Holy Spirit as our life supply.
Have you ever heard before that to pray is to pray ourselves into God so that we may remain in Him continually to receive the Holy Spirit as our life supply? This life supply, signified by the loaves, the fish, and the egg, nourishes not only ourselves but also those under our care. Some may think that in this message I have been allegorizing the Scriptures too much. Actually, I am not allegorizing; instead, I am seeking to open the Word and interpret it properly so that we may see what, according to 11:1-13, it means to pray.
We have strongly emphasized the fact that to pray is to pray ourselves into God. Whenever our prayer does not bring us into God, it is wrong. We should not continue to pray in that way. The governing principle of our prayer should be that prayer always brings us into God.
Do not pray if your prayer does not bring you into God. This does not mean that you should not ask the Lord to heal you if you are sick. The point is that when you pray for healing you should observe the governing principle of prayer and pray yourself into God. If your way of praying distracts you from the Lord and does not bring you into Him, you should change your way of praying. Seek to pray in such a way that you are brought into God. The prayer that brings us into God is the right kind of prayer.
We know from our experience with the Lord that often we have prayed properly and have prayed ourselves into God. As we remain in Him, we receive His riches, the riches that are embodied in His Spirit. When we receive the Holy Spirit as our life supply signified by the loaves, the fish, and the egg, we can feed ourselves, and we can also feed all those under our care.
