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Love Series

LOVE OF GOD # 13

Faith and Love

Fred Coulter – January 13, 1996

Now we will continue on here in John 14, but let me just review just quickly for those who arrived for this afternoon. We’ve taken the three things of faith, hope, and love, and we are going to learn that John 14, 15, and 16 are based upon love but with the emphasis on faith and hope and love.

Now let’s continue here in John 14:7. Jesus said: "If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also…" Now this is a very important situation here. We’re going to see there are various ways that you know God and how you understand Him and so forth. "…Ye should have known My Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him. Philip saith unto Him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth [will satisfy] us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? he that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?" Now this tells us some very important things: 1) God has shape. And in the Care Package we send out (you should have gotten it and if you didn’t get it you can write for it), ‘Ninety facts about God,’ which shows God has everything we do – hands, feet, head, eyes, mouth, ears, hair, body, back, legs. God has emotions, that’s why God has given us emotions and feelings. And think about what a tremendous thing that God has done that we can sit down and God has given us the ability that we can think about our sicknesses and illnesses and we can find a way to help relieve them. We can also, and I think that there is no animal in the world that can do this, that has drawn an anatomy book where it shows how you are made. Isn’t that something? It really is.

Now then when I gave the funeral for John Riley (and he died in the faith and that was a wonderful occasion) I thought, "How unique: none of the creation of God has a funeral except mankind." Isn’t that something? None. We have a funeral, we explain in God’s Word what He has taught us, what we are to know about it, and we know that he’s waiting the resurrection and all of this sort of thing. And it has one way of bringing a lot of brethren together who would never get together, you see, that’s the important thing too. Now then, we commit him into God’s hands. There’s no other thing that God has created that does that. That’s something. So even that serves a purpose for God.

So He’s saying here, "If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father." Therefore we know that the Father looks just like Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ looks just like the God the Father. If Christ would come in the flesh, if the Father would come in the flesh they would be like what you might say identical twins. Now that’s easy to understand, isn’t it? That’s something. So this one little statement tells us a lot. It also shows that the disciples really didn’t know Jesus the way they should have. And even after the resurrection some had a difficult time believing. "The one that has seen Me has seen the Father."

Now then He goes on to verify this and this becomes important. Verse 10: "Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father [is] in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of [from My own self] Myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works." Now that’s the kind of motivation we need. The only way that Christ could come in the flesh, giving up and divesting Himself of His divine spiritual nature to become a human being and take within Him the law of sin and death and yet never sin, the only way He could do that was love the Father, and the Father love Him, and never do anything that wasn’t what the Father said to do, or what He saw the Father was doing. And this is where we need to come in our lives in relationship to Christ. Because just as Philip had seen Christ and he would have seen the Father, just that way if we do the will of Christ and have Christ in us and do those things that are pleasing then we will do the things that are pleasing to the Father too.

So He said: "Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. Believe [be believing] Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: or else believe [be believing – remember, believing is faithizing] Me for the very works’ sake [the works themselves]" (John 14:7-11, KJV). Very important thing.

Let’s go to John 20, and this tells us why the Gospel of John was written. Now He did many works. Now you see, was not Philip one of those who fed the 5000, fed the 4000? Was he not one who was in the boat that saw Jesus when they saw Jesus walking across the water? Was he not with Him when He cast out demons and healed the sick and healed the blind? Was he not with Him in John 9 when He healed the man who was born blind and healed him completely? So He’s saying look at the works.

Now here, John 20:30-31: "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name."

Now come to the last verse in Chapter 21. So they were right there. They saw Jesus, the saw what He did. Verse 25: "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen" (John 21:25, KJV). Now then you know the story of "doubting Thomas" right? He said, "Well, I’ll believe that He’s raised from the dead when I see the holes in His hand and in His side." So He appeared a week later in the midst of the disciples and He said, "Thomas, come here. Put your finger in My hand and in My side." He didn’t do it. He said, "Oh Lord, I believe." He said, "You are blessed because you believe, but I tell you, Blessed are those who not seeing, who have believed." And so there is a greater blessing that is coming to us because we haven’t [seen]. We didn’t have all of these things that we could see, but we believed because of the faith that God has given us, and that’s why He’s saying here so many times in John 14, "believe."

John 14:12, notice what He said: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father." You read in the book of Acts, did they not have greater works? Yes. On the very first day of Pentecost they baptized 3000 people, which was more than all that was done during the ministry of Jesus Christ. They healed the man at the gate Beautiful. It got so powerful that when they were walking down the streets of Jerusalem even the shadow of Peter passing by healed them. Greater works. Now at the end-time I feel God is going to give that again. But I don’t think He’s going to give it unless we truly learn the love of God. I think He will, based on that.

Now let’s do this. This is what I’ve done. I have circled all the things which say "believing" or "believe" on this page. Verse 1: "believing" twice. And then we come all the way down to verse 10: "believe"; verse 11: "believing" twice; verse 12: "believing" – so this is faith.

Now notice what He says in verse 13 if you are believing in having this faith. Now I’ve heard lots of times, and I’ve wondered too – have you ever wondered why some prayers are not answered? At least you think they’re not. And I think that many times it’s because of the wrong emphasis and the wrong teaching. Because they are not showing the kind of total belief that we need to have in Christ. If we do, then notice how He finishes this section off: "And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do…" God will answer, but it has to be according to His will. Jesus promised He would do it. "…That the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it." (John 14:12-14, KJV). And that is what? If it is according to the will of God. Now sometimes it is not God’s will, and we cannot superimpose our will upon God. So that’s why we have to always put things in that perspective. I know when I anoint people, I don’t come and demand of God because who are we to demand of God? We can’t demand of God. But we can claim His promises, can we not? And if we claim His promises in the name of Jesus Christ through His sacrifice then we’re not demanding anything. God said He would, and God will. He just said so here: "If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it." And this is very emphatic.

Now let’s begin here in verse 15. And this is quite a section, beginning in verse 15 to the end of John 14. Now let me explain verse 15 as I have before and you will see the translation that I have it’s a little different than the King James, and I’ll explain why it’s different. Now it starts off: "If you are loving Me," and it’s important to understand that love comes first. Keeping the commandments are an expression of the love of God. However, you cannot develop the love of God by just keeping His commandments solely and only, because love comes first. Then you have the right motive for it. "If you are loving Me [that’s present tense – are loving Me], the commandments, namely My commandments you will be keeping." Now let’s analyze this just a minute. Let’s read it in the King James so we can see the difference. Verse 15: "If ye love Me, keep My commandments." Well there’s a special thing in the Greek, which is this: there are two special things in this verse. Two very special and powerful things. In the Greek, when you want to emphasize something you have a double article, the definite article, which is this: "If you love Me, the commandments, these of Mine, keep." So when you have the double definite article, it means: "The commandments, namely Mine." Now that makes is really profound when you understand that.

Now there’s another thing that goes along with it which emphasizes it and makes it most emphatic. Now how do we, in writing in English express emphasis in writing? Using italics, exclamation mark, underlining, that’s correct. How do they do it in Greek? Well they do it by the addition of a letter in front of the word. Believe it or not the Greek word for "me" in English is "me" in Greek. You didn’t know that did you? Now, the way you emphasize "mine" in Greek is to put an "e" in front of it. So it would be "eme" instead of "me." So when you read this He’s saying in the most emphatic way: "If you are loving Me, the commandments, namely MY commandments…" (if I could use the expression of the accentuating the voice). He’s not saying anybody else’s. And the commandments that He gave were also of the Father, are they not? So you see, there’s no room to dismiss anything that Jesus said, is there? No. "…You will be keeping."

Let’s look at some other verses that go along with this. Let’s see how this is consistent in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. Let’s first of all go to Deuteronomy 10. And Deuteronomy 10, this section of it, is also a prophecy of New Testament doctrine. Let’s begin in verse 12: "And now, Israel…" Now I like to put my name there. In my bible I have my name there. You can put your name there. "…What doth the LORD thy God require of thee…" What is it that God wants from you? Most preachers think it’s money. It’s not. "…But to fear the LORD thy God…" That’s how you start coming to understand God. Then that fear is to grow into love. And: "…to walk in all His ways [Didn’t we cover about walking in the way of the Lord? Yes], and to love Him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, to keep the commandments of the LORD, and His statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD’S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and He chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day." Now just to emphasize with the spiritual calling that God the Father Himself has personally selected you through the operation of grace. Now that’s hard for us to understand when you really fathom it, and you get down to the question of asking, "Why did God call me?" I can’t tell you. God did because God is going to do what He’s going to do. And we can be so thankful that God has called each one of us – individually selected us as a gift, as a grace.

Therefore verse 16: "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked" (Deut. 10:12-16, KJV). That’s New Testament doctrine, isn’t it? Circumcision of the heart, the circumcision without hands in Jesus Christ (Colossians 2), right?

Let’s look at another one. Let’s go to the New Testament, I John 5:1: "Whosoever believeth [is believing] that Jesus is the Christ is born [has been begotten] of God: and every one that loveth [is loving] Him that begat loveth [is loving] Him also that is begotten of Him." And this is the way that it needs to be with our fellowship, brethren. This is why when we can let all the wounds heal and come together, and I’ve seen this over and over again, when the brethren really understand that God loves them and all of us come together and love each other, and we’re loving God, we have the most wonderful fellowship that there can ever be. And you don’t have to be on-guard and put your guard up and worry about people, see, because God’s love will watch over you and protect you. Another thing I’ve learned is this: that those who are seeking power cannot stand to be where there is love. That’s another truism. Because with love you have the greatest power, which comes from God. There is no power to take to yourself to run and manipulate people. So that’s the greatest thing.

Now verse 2: "By this we know…" We are to know, we are to understand, we are to be filled with God’s Spirit and convicted to the very morrow of our bones of this. "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God [notice love God first], and keep His commandments." That will be a result of loving God. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous" (I John 5:1-3, KJV). Now I will give you another one of these little gauges you can listen to other ministers concerning, just like I told you about how I look at a new Bible, or in this case as I told you about the Five Books of Moses, what I look for first: Whenever you hear someone preach on love you’re going to know whether they understand it or not if they read verse 2 of I John 5 before they read verse 3, and if they explain verse 2 before they explain verse 3. Because most of them you’re going to hear may read verse 2, never explain it but read verse 3 and then pound the pulpit and demand that you keep the commandments because that shows the love of God. They’re trying to create the love of God by commandment keeping, which is reverse. You create commandment keeping by loving God. Now that’s the proper perspective. Always remember this: you cannot put a rope on the front of a car or the back of a car and push on the rope and make it go. It won’t work. It’s the same way. You cannot create the love of God by demanding everyone keep the commandments first. You love God first and then you will keep His commandments.

Alright, now let’s go to the book of Revelation 14:12 since we’re close to it. To the world, then, they will see the commandment-keeping. To the world, they will not understand the spiritual and emotional love that you have for God that you know and you feel when you pray, that you know that you feel when you study. They won’t comprehend that, but they will understand this: "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Now one other thing that’s important here: that means Jesus own faith.

Come over here to Revelation 12:17: "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." So anyone who says commandment-keeping is not necessary if you’re a Christian, lo and behold, there it is right there at the end-time in both cases.

Now let’s continue on with this. Let’s come back to John 14:15. Now let’s read that again and let’s read it in the way that He intends it to be: "If you are loving Me, the commandments, namely My commandments, you will be keeping." Now across the page over to John 15:10, because in talking about this we are talking about something that is more like a sphere rather than two things compared side by side. If you are loving God you are going to be keeping His commandments. And if you’re keeping His commandments because you are loving Him then John 15:10 fits in: "If you keep My commandments, ye shall abide [live] in My love, even [just] as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide [live] in His love." This, brethren, is the heart and the core of the Passover covenant agreement that God wants us to have and understand so that when we participate in the Passover and take it we know what we are doing because God has loved us, the Father has loved us, we love the Father and we love Christ, and They have called us and given us of Their Spirit so we can be as They are. And that’s the covenant that Jesus gave. And He gave it with the verification of His death. Because whenever there is a covenant there must be a sacrifice to show that this is unto death. Now have you made that covenant with God yourself? Unto death? Yes. That’s the operation of baptism. You have made that covenant with God, co-joined in the death of Jesus Christ in the watery grave of baptism. So that’s why we renew it every year.

Now let’s come back to John 14:16. Now we’re going to see something very important. Now I just call your attention to the first part of the Passover Ceremony booklet that you will see how I explain concerning the Holy Spirit there. And again as I mentioned last night, if you don’t have the study series on that, write me and we’ll send it to you.

Notice what will happen. If you’re loving God and keeping His commandments, verse 16: "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another helper [give another helper to you], that it may be with you throughout the age…" It can mean "forever," but when we are born at the resurrection then we receive the fullness of the promise, do we not? Yes. So it’s going to dwell with us throughout the age, or as long as we are living, which ever comes first. And that means the age of man until the return of Christ. Now technically it will be with us forever, but it will be more because we will be Spirit beings.

Now then let’s notice verse 17. Let’s see what this helper is called. And "helper" is the best translation for it because a helper will do more than just comfort. A helper will inspire, a helper will assist, a helper will comfort and all of these things. So that’s why I translated it "helper." "…Even the Spirit of the truth…" That’s what it is in the Greek, definite article – "the" truth, the Spirit of the truth. "…Which the world cannot receive." Now why can the world not receive it? Because they are not loving Christ and they are not keeping His commandments, and they’re not repenting. That’s why. "…Because it perceives it not [because this is a special thing that God has reserved for Himself], nor knows it, but you know it because it dwells with you and shall be within you" (John 14:16-17, paraphrased). That’s what it means in the Greek – within.

Now let’s go to Revelation 3 and let’s see how this is. When God the Father begins to call you "none can come to Me unless the Father draw him." So when God begins to deal with someone to initiate the calling – God has to do it. Then He sends His Spirit to be with you. And as long as you are responding, God’s Spirit will remain with you, but you are not yet converted. What requirements are necessary for conversion? Repentance and baptism, laying on of hands to receive the Holy Spirit.

Now then let’s look at Revelation 3 and let’s look at the Laodiceans from just a little different point of view than we have before. Or you may have heard me mention it on a tape but it’s very important that we have it here so we can distinguish the difference. We have one group of the Laodiceans, and we will see there are two groups. One group is there within the body of Christ. How do we know they are within the body of Christ? Because He says, "I know your works are neither hot or cold, you’re lukewarm, and you say you are rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, therefore I’m going to spew you out of My mouth" (Rev. 3:15-17, paraphrased). The Greek means vomit. So they’re within the body of Christ.

Then He comes down here and He says (here’s the other group), verse 19: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock…" Now He’s on the outside looking in. They have not received the Holy Spirit yet. So we don’t know how many there are that are going to repent when the chips are down that Christ’s Spirit has been with them, do we? No. Notice what He says: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me" (Rev. 3:19-20, KJV). That means establishing the covenant relationship.

So the disciples were in the same category before the Day of Pentecost. No, actually we’ll have to back up on that just a bit. Let’s go to John 20. On the Day of Pentecost they received the Holy Spirit to preach in power. The original twelve apostles receive the Holy Spirit right after Jesus appeared to them the first time, as the begettal. Ok, let’s go back and see that. Let’s pick it up here in verse 19: "Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews [they were not there for a Sunday service], came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when He had so said, He shewed unto them His hands and His side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost [Spirit]…" (John 20:19-22, KJV). That’s when the disciples received the begettal of the Holy Spirit for eternal life within them, because He said it was with them but not within them and now it’s within them. Then on Pentecost the rest of the disciples received the Holy Spirit and the apostles received it to preach in power and in tongues and all of this sort of thing.

Ok, now let’s go back to John 14:17. Notice it is "the spirit of the truth." And if there’s any one thing the world can not stand, it’s truth, isn’t that right? That’s why they can’t receive it. "…You know it because it dwells with you and shall be within you." Now verse 18: "I will not leave you orphans…", because without God as being the Father you are an orphan. "…I am coming to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see Me no longer, but you see Me: because I live, you shall live also. And in that day you shall know that I am in the Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you." Can you imagine what it was like when they first saw Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead? I mean, that must have been awesome. Can you imagine what it was like when Paul said that He appeared to as many as 500 brethren all at once. That must have been out on the mountain in Galilee where He said go meet Him. All of them. And you knew that He’d been crucified and killed in a very inglorious and hateful way. And you knew that that tomb had been sealed, and you knew that it had been closed and sealed up for three full days. He said in that day you will know.

Now here it becomes a very important and profound section, verse 21: "The one having My commandments, and who is keeping them…" Just having the commandments alone and not keeping them is of no value. It’s like a Bible sitting on the shelf at home in the library that has never been opened – of no value. "…And is keeping them [notice again, the present tense], that is the one who is loving Me: and the one who is loving Me shall be loved of My Father…" And that’s what I want to emphasize today – God the Father loves you. "…And I will be loving him, and will manifest Myself to him" (John 14:17-21, paraphrased). They go hand in hand just like the sphere. I’ve likened the Word of God to a sphere where you could have innumerable lines intersect at any given point and wherever they intersect that’s like connecting the truth of God together. Well, let’s do the same way with the love of God. If you have the love of God and faith and hope and commandment-keeping it’s just like a sphere. It’s all together. You can’t separate one from the other. They work together hand-in-hand. And it’s on an ongoing continuous basis.

Now let’s look at some other Scriptures which add to this, which gives us a fuller definition of it. I John 2, and this is profound, and this is basic. And I know we covered this on the series we did on the Epistles of John, but it needs to be emphasized here as we’re going through this section of John 14. I John 2:3: "And hereby [which means, by this means, or in this manner] we do know that we know…" Now what happens when you know but you don’t know that you know? Have you ever done that? Have you ever gone out of the house and you’ve been ironing something before you left and you knew that when you left you unplugged the iron. But it didn’t stick in your mind hard enough so that you knew that you knew. So you’re driving down the road and you think, "Did I unplug the iron?" Because you know you may have a fire and come back to a house burned down in ashes. So what do you do? You turn around and you go back and you unplug it and then you know that you know. So it’s the same way with God. God wants us not only to know Him, but to know that we know Him. And then we have the confirmation of it if we are keeping His commandments.

Now a question: If you truly love someone, do you know that person? Yes. Will you always do those things which are pleasing to uplift the one that you know? Yes. So it’s the same way here. This is the kind of commandment-keeping based upon knowledge and love. Notice verse 4. Now we have a clear-cut way of knowing. This is a judgment that John is telling us we’re to make. So if anyone says you’re not to make judgments you can tell them, "Well, you sure don’t know your Bible, do you?" Verse 4: "The one who is saying, I know Him, and is not keeping [present tense] His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (I John 2:3-4, paraphrased).

Now let’s connect this with John 14 again. What did Jesus say? He said, "I’m the way, the life, and the truth." And it is the Spirit of truth that He’s sending to us, is it not? This is also telling us that they don’t have the Spirit of God. This also confirms what Peter said when he was questioned before the Sanhedrin, that God does not give His Holy Spirit to those who do not obey Him. So you see how all this comes together? This is really profound, brethren, when we put the Word of God together this way. "…And the truth is not in him…" Well, if he’s lying, how can the truth be in him?

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