John 1 - Wells of Living Water Commentary

Bible Comments
  • John 1:1-17 open_in_new

    Seeing Christ in John

    John 1:1-18

    INTRODUCTORY WORDS

    It is not difficult for us to find the Lord Jesus in the Book of John. We have always been told that John, by the Holy Ghost, sets forth the Deity of our Lord, and yet, we have taken for our verse an expression found in John 19:5, "Behold the Man!"

    This expression has been made famous by the painting known as Ecce Homo. The picture portrays Christ crowned with thorns. We can see Him now bowed down with shame and spitting. We can catch the vision of the Blood as it dripped from His thorn pressed brow. How can we help but love Him!

    1. Behold the Man in His birth. John describes Him as coming into the world, but as not being known by the world; as coming to His own, but as not being received by His own. He was the God Child, and that is perhaps, above all other reasons, the cause for His being despised and rejected of men.

    2. Behold the Man as He went about doing good. He never thought of Himself, but of others. He sought not His own. The birds had their nests, and the foxes their holes, but the Son of Man had not where to lay His head. He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, raised the dead, and yet, they knew Him not. Everything He wrought bespoke His Deity, and yet, they counted Him no more than a man worthy of death.

    3. Behold the Man as the rabble increased in hatred against Him. It seemed that every one was leaving Him. From the beginning the scribes and the Pharisees knew Him not, but now the populace seemed to join in decrying the Son of God. He loved them but they loved Him not. He was light but their darkened souls comprehended Him not.

    4. Behold the Man as He died. The story of the crucifixion in the Book of John is the story of a rejected King. They platted the crown for His brow, they clothed Him with a purple robe, they cried out, "Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote Him with their hands." It was then that Pilate said: "Behold the Man!" It was then, as the chief priests cried out, "Crucify Him, Crucify Him," that Pilate said, "I find no fault in Him."

    Thus it was that Jesus was crucified, delivered unto death. He was the Lamb of God giving His life for the sheep. He was the Just dying for the unjust.

    5. Behold the Man in His resurrection. John does not fail to tell us the story of the empty tomb. He gives the details of the stone rolled way, and of how Peter and John ran, and stooping down and looking in, and of how they saw the linen clothes lying, and the napkin that was about His head wrapped together in a place by itself. Thus they went in, they saw, and they believed.

    The whole story of John seems to have one great objective, and that is that we might believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that believing we might have life through His Name.

    It will be an interesting study to follow the story of "seeing Christ" in this wonderful Gospel.

    I. BEHOLD THE MAN AS THE LIGHT OF MEN (John 1:4)

    As we enter the Book of John, we discover Jesus Christ in the beginning with God. He was not only with God, but He was God. We behold Him coming into the world as the incarnate God, God tabernacling with us. We behold Him, the Light of the world.

    Far back in the beginning, when the earth was shrouded in blackness, God said, "Let there be light." As the light shone forth, darkness took its flight.

    1. Jesus Christ is our sun. He shone into the darkness, but alas the darkness which shrouded the hearts of men refused to walk in the light.

    Alas, alas, that the physical earth rejoiced in the light; while the men who inhabited it loved darkness rather than light. Would that the Light Divine, might break through and scatter every mist which beclouds their souls.

    2. The meaning of light. Light stands for illumination, for knowledge, for joy, for everything that is beautiful, and pure, and holy, and revealing. How glorious then is the Scripture which speaks thus of Christ: "Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, or can see."

    Just as the human eye cannot stand full faced and gaze at the noonday sun, even so men cannot bear the light of His countenance. When Jesus permitted the light of the glory of His face to shine upon Saul of Tarsus, he fell on the Damascus road stricken with blindness.

    How wonderful it will be to dwell in that City of Gold where the Lamb is the light thereof!

    II. BEHOLD THE MAN AS COMING FORTH FROM THE FATHER (John 16:28)

    1. The Gospel of John does not fail to emphasize the fact that Jesus Christ was one with the Father. The 5th chapter presents Christ's own claims. He said: "My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." The Jews, therefore, began to stone Him because He called God His Father making Himself equal with God.

    In the 5th chapter Christ also said: "The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do: for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise." With this statement being made, Christ explained that the Father showed unto the Son whatsoever He did. Then He added: "As the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will."

    Again He said, "The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son." John ascribes Christ's claim to inherent life, with absolute authority to execute judgment.

    2. The Gospel of John constantly sets forth the One who did the will of the Father. He spoke the Words of the Father, and fulfilled the works of the Father, because He had come forth from the Father.

    Christ said, "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world." He also said: "I leave the world, and go to the Father." He also said: "I do always those things which please [the Father]." Then He said: "I must work the works of Him that sent Me." Finally, when He was ready to die, He said: "I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do."

    3. The Gospel of John sets forth that Jesus was the very expression or manifestation of the Father. In the 1st chapter it is written: "(And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth." In the same chapter we read: "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him."

    It was for this reason that Jesus said unto Philip, "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father."

    III. BEHOLD THE MAN, THE WAY, THE TRUTH, THE LIFE (John 14:6)

    When Jesus had spoken of going to the Father, Thomas said unto Him: "Lord we know not whither Thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto Him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."

    1. The Lord Jesus proclaimed Himself as the Way. Which way shall I take? is the question which is oft upon our lips. We speak as though there were two ways. However, Christ said: "I am THE WAY," not a way. He also added: "No man cometh to the Father, but by Me." There is but one door and Christ is the Door. There is but one way and Christ is the Way. If any man climbs up any other way, the same is a thief and a robber. There is but one foundation and Christ is the Foundation, He said: "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid."

    2. The Lord Jesus proclaimed Himself as the Truth. If you ask, What is truth? He says, "I am * * the Truth." The word "Truth" stands for all of those eternal verities which had to do with salvation, and Heaven, and Home.

    If we want to know the truth we must cling to Christ who is the Truth. There are some who hold down the truth in unrighteousness. To such God will send blindness of eyes, that they may believe a lie.

    3. The Lord Jesus proclaimed Himself as the Life. Christ is the Life and therefore He is the Giver of life. "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." "This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only True God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent."

    IV. BEHOLD THE MAN FROM WHOM THE LIVING WATERS FLOW (John 7:37-38)

    1. In John 4:1-54 Christ talks of a well of water. The woman of Samaria was thirsty and had come to Jacob's well for water. Jesus Christ told her that if she would ask of Him, He would give her the Living Water. In reply, she said: "From whence then hast Thou that Living Water?" Christ replied, "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up unto everlasting life."

    2. In John 6:1-71 Jesus said: "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His Blood, ye have no life in you." Then He added: "My flesh is meat indeed, and My Blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him."

    3. In John 7:1-53 Jesus said, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink." How wonderful is all of this! There is a Fountain from which we may drink, and from which drinking we shall never die.

    4. In John 7:1-53 again Christ gave an enlarged picture. He added: "He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of Living Water." That is as much as to say, if we drink from His Fountain we ourselves shall prove a fountain. We may impart that which we receive. We may live out, that which He lives in. How wonderful, how blessed it is to know that from us may flow rivers of water, not rivers generated within us, but rivers flowing from the throne from Him, and through us. This is the story of a Spirit-filled life.

    Alas, how many Christians are clouds without rain, cisterns without water, fountains without depth!

    V. BEHOLD THE MAN WHO LOVED UNTO THE END (John 13:1)

    Who can measure His love? In the Book of Ephesians we are told how the Apostle prayed that the saints might be able to comprehend what is the breadth and length and depth and height and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge. Wonderful love! The love of Christ is beyond human ken, and yet that very love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. If the rivers of water which flow from the risen, exalted Lord may flow through us; then the love which is His may also flow through us.

    We know of no better way to love than to love as He loves; we likewise know we can never love as He loves, except we have His love shed abroad in us.

    We dare not try to force an expression of love out of a loveless heart. What we need to do is to drink deeply of the fountain of His love, and then we will be able to love.

    What we heed to do is to be a channel, through which His love can flow.

    O, holy love,

    Thou product of the Father's breast,

    And through the Son all manifest;

    Come, dwell within this heart of mine!

    Let die in me this reign of self,

    This passion for some sordid pelf;

    Come, fill me with Thy love Divine,

    Breathe from above.

    It is when we love one another that all men will know that we are His disciples. It is when we love lost sinners that we will hasten unto them and tell them of how Christ died to save them. A life barren of love will be a life barren of service. A life filled with love will be a life filled with joy and peace and all the glorious fruit of the Spirit.

    First, then let us know His love; secondly, let us show it. Love is too precious to be hoarded. In order to increase it, it must be shed abroad.

    VI. BEHOLD THE MAN SEEKING OUR LOVE (John 21:16-17)

    It was after the resurrection that the Master became hungry for love and expressed His hunger by saying unto Peter, "Lovest thou Me?"

    1. He who poured out His love for us, wanted to be loved. To us, the story of the Church at Ephesus carries a pathetic lack. Jesus Christ said to that Church: "I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: and thou hast borne, and hast patience, for My Name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted." Blessed were the saints of Ephesus. The Lord recognized the much they had done, and yet how plaintively He added: "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."

    We believe it was Robert Louis Stevenson who said: "Oh, my Friend, teach me to be Thine!" Thus would we lift our face Godward, and say to Christ, "Oh, Thou Lover of my soul, teach me to love Thee!"

    May all our words and actions prove the throbbings of His love. May all we do, and say, reveal to Christ the pulsings which our spirits feel the throes of His love.

    2. A marvelous expression of love. "Now there stood by the Cross of Jesus His mother, * * Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene." If we love Him, we will surely stand outside the camp with Him, bearing His reproach. If we love Him, we will suffer with Him, and share with Him His shame and His spitting.

    The women went out to the tomb while it was yet dark. They who had stood by Him at the Cross, now sought Him in His sepulcher. God give to us a love that will not let Him go, a love that will follow on when all the world forsakes.

    "O love, that will not let me go,

    I rest my weary soul on Thee;

    I give Thee back the life I owe;

    That in its richer, fuller flow

    My life may purer be."

    VII. BEHOLD THE MAN SEEKING IMPLICIT OBEDIENCE (John 21:22)

    1. He gave all that He was for us. Should He not, therefore, expect all that we are for Him? We remember the story of how Christ said to Peter, "When thou shalt be old, * * another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not." He spake this concerning the death by which Peter should glorify God. Then Christ said, "Follow thou Me." In response Simon said, as he turned to John: "And what shall this man do?" The Lord quickly replied: "What is that to thee? follow thou Me."

    Shall we stop to ask the question, Why? Shall we hesitate in our obedience, and look around to see if some other saint is walking in the path where we are called to trod? Nay, we should follow the Lord Jesus and do His will no matter what others may do. We should never stop to weigh the cost, or to measure the sorrow which obedience may entail. No matter what others may do, we will follow on.

    2. He tells us that we shall know hereafter. We may not now understand the why of His call, but we shall know in God's great by and by. We should not even seek to pierce the clouds, to investigate the call of His voice. We should sweetly trust Him. If we do not know the way He leadeth, we do at least know our Guide.

    Now we see through a glass darkly, then we shall see face to face. So whatever He saith unto us, we will do it. We will not stop to hesitate, to deliberate, to vacillate. We will simply begin to act out His will. We will never say, "By and by." We will never say, "We will try." We will start along His commanded road, until the goal we gain.

    "Thus saith the Lord," shall remain to us a sufficient and a final call.

    When God tells you where to go,

    Don't forego it;

    Do not wait till more you know,

    God will show it;

    Grace and help He will bestow,

    All you are to Him you owe,

    Why not show it?

    AN ILLUSTRATION

    In John's Gospel we find Christ, both God the Son and Son of God as the Christian's great need. One morning a number of years ago a group of people had gathered in a small auction shop in London for an advertised sale of fine old antiques and curios. The auctioneer brought out an old, blackened, dirty-looking violin. He said, "Ladies and gentlemen, here is a remarkable old instrument I have the great privilege of offering to you. It is a genuine Cremona, made by the famous Antonius Stradivarius himself. It is very rare, and worth its weight in gold. What am I bid?"

    The people present looked at it critically and some doubted the accuracy of the auctioneer's statements. They saw that it did not have the Stradivarius name cut in. And he explained that some of the earliest ones did not have the name, and that some that had the name cut in were not genuine. But he could assure them that it was genuine. Still the buyers doubted and criticized, as buyers have always done. Five guineas in gold were bid, but no more. The auctioneer perspired and pleaded, "It is ridiculous to think of selling such a rare violin for such a small sum." But the bidding seemed hopelessly stuck there.

    Meanwhile a man had entered the shop from the street. He was very tall and very slender, with very black hair, middle-aged, wearing a velvet coat. He walked up to the corner with a peculiar sidewise step, and without noticing anybody in the shop, picked up the violin and was at once absorbed in it. He dusted it tenderly with his handkerchief, changed the tension of the strings, and held it up to his ear, lingeringly, as though hearing something. Then, putting the end of it up in position,, he reached for the bow, while a murmur ran through the little audience, "Paganini." The bow seemed hardly to have touched the strings when a soft exquisite note came out, filling the shop and holding the people spellbound. And as he played, the listeners laughed for very delight, and then wept for the fullness of their emotion. The men's hats were off and they all stood in rapt reverence, as though in a place of worship. He played upon their emotions, as he played upon the old, soil-begrimed violin.

    By and by he stopped. And as they were released from the spell of the music, the people began clamoring for the violin. "Fifty guineas!" "Sixty!" "Seventy!" "Eighty!" they bid, in hot haste. And, at last it was knocked down to the famous player himself for one hundred guineas in gold, and that evening he held a vast audience of thousands breathless under the spell of the music he drew from the old, dirty, blackened, despised violin.

    The master's touch revealed the rare value and brought out the hidden harmonies. May I say, softly, some of us have been despising the worth of the Man within. We have been bidding five guineas, when the real value is immeasurable above that because of the Master. The violin needed dusting and readjusting of its strings before the music came. Shall we not each of us yield this rarest instrument, his own personality, to the Master's hand and touch?

    S. D. Gordon.

  • John 1:1-18 open_in_new

    Visions of the Lord Jesus Christ

    John 1:1-18

    INTRODUCTORY WORDS

    The Four Gospels present the Lord Jesus Christ under four distinct aspects. The Gospel of John tells us of Christ, in His all-glorious Deity. The first chapter of the Gospel gives us a view of the Lord, under different and distinct names.

    What the world needs today is a new vision of Christ; and, in Him, a new vision of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

    Men have been humanizing Christ, and deifying man, until they have all but taken from Christ His glory, and from man his need of a Saviour.

    If Jesus Christ is only the Babe of Bethlehem and the Man of Galilee, He is not a Saviour.

    If Jesus Christ is no more than the Great Teacher, with lofty ideas of ethics, He is not God's Son and our Redeemer If Jesus Christ is the world's greatest man, living merely ahead of His time, and thinking beyond His contemporaries He is not the Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, The Everlasting Father and The Prince of Peace.

    We need to remember that if we rob Christ of His Deity we also rob Him of His Saviourhood.

    We need to consider that if we take from Christ His eternity, we are taking from Him His eternal Sonhood.

    We need to weigh this fact to make Christ no more than man, is to for ever make man no more than a sinner, lost and undone.

    In the Bible, Christ is the Word, the Logos, in whom was life and from whom is light.

    In the Bible, Christ is the Creator of the physical universe, and the re-creator of twice-born men.

    In the Bible, Christ in the world, is the foreshowing and revelation of the Father in Heaven.

    Jesus is the only One who is God's perfect revelation of the Father; He is the only perfect manifestation of Truth, and the only faithful expression of Grace, There is a time coming, when at the Name of Jesus Christ, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of the Father. Let us bend the knee now, and worship at His throne.

    I. CHRIST THE WORD (John 1:1; John 1:14)

    Two things are before us in our two verses:

    1. Christ the Word with God. There are those who have no knowledge of Christ as co-equal and co-existent with the Father. They sadly imagine that the so-called first Christmas day, when Mary brought forth her first-born Son, and laid Him in the manger, was the beginning of Christ's existence. These people know not that in the beginning Christ was with the Father. They know not that Christ came forth from the Father and came into the world. These people have never known that before the physical creation, was Christ the Creator. That Christ was the Word which said, "Let there be light and there was light." That Christ said, "Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so." That Christ said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven * * and it was so." If someone argues that it was God who said these words, we reply, that the Logos was with God and the Logos, the Word, was God.

    2. Christ, the Word, made flesh. He who walked among men is the same as He who was in the beginning with God. He who was made flesh and dwelt among us was the same Word who was with the Father and came forth from the Father.

    The Logos, the Word, that was in the beginning, spoke, and the Logos, the Word, which was made flesh and dwelt among us, spoke. In the eternity past it was the same Word, the same God as was manifested among men. Do you marvel that it was said of Him, "Never man spake like this Man"?

    In Christ, the Word, we beheld the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

    Consider Jesus Christ as He moved among men, speaking forth words of life and of power. The demons were subject to His word. When He spoke all nature obeyed. At His command the powers of darkness fell back.

    Think of Christ, the Word, standing fearlessly before the maddened sea as with calm mien and unperturbed voice, He said, "Peace be still," and suddenly the winds and the waves fell back from before His command, and there was a great calm.

    II. CHRIST THE LIFE (John 1:4, f.c)

    The part of this brief verse, which we have to consider, is contained in four short but meaningful words. The words are these "In Him was life."

    Jesus Christ was Life in the beginning. He possessed inherent life. His life was without beginning and is without end. The life which Jesus Christ possessed was the Author of life. In Him all life found its beginning, and from Him all life sprang. The life which was with Christ is the same life as that which indwells every regenerate child. We have everlasting life because we have Him. It was Paul who wrote, "When Christ, who is our Life, shall appear, then shall [we] also appear with Him in glory."

    The Life which was Christ, and the Christ who was the Life is the security of all life. He said unto His disciples, and He says unto us, "Because I live, ye shall live also." Our "life is hid with Christ in God." No man is able to take our life from us, because no one is able to take His life.

    What is more marvelous than life? It is vibrant with power; it is marvelous in its glory. Even vegetable and animal life is attractive. There is something about the growing fields of grain that amazes us; there is something about the fiery steed, or the dog, man's faithful friend, that entrances us. When we consider the life, however, that is human, its genius, its accomplishments, and its intelligence, we are amazed.

    There is, however, another life, and that is the life which we have as newborn sons. How wonderful is that life! It is flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone.

    There is one thing about life that almost startles us, Life only can beget life. In Him was life and from Him all life sprang. It was God in Christ who put within the acorn, life a life that was able to propagate itself, so that we can truly say, The mighty oak, the peer of the forest, was once enclosed in embryo in the acorn.

    This power to transmit life, kind after its kind, was given only from God. After six millenniums of man's dominion upon the earth, he has never found out how to originate life, whether it be vegetable, animal, or human, apart from its own power of self-propagation.

    III. CHRIST THE LIGHT (John 1:4, l.c-9)

    We now come to a most interesting part of the description of Jesus Christ which is before us. The Life of which we have just spoken, was the light of men. Jesus Christ was Light, as well as Life.

    Before God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven," He said, "Let there be light: and there was light." There was light because "in Him was life; and the life was the light of men." It was also the light of the creation, and it will be the light of the new creation. The Holy City, which shall come down from God out of Heaven, shall have no need of the sun, or of the moon, to give it light, for the Lord God giveth it light, and the Lamb is the Light thereof.

    In the world there was darkness over the deep, when God said, "Let there be light: and there was light." Once more, there is darkness upon the earth, and the Light shone in the darkness, but the darkness comprehended it not. That Light, which was on the earth, was the true Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. How strange it is that men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil; this is their chief condemnation. We remember how Christ said, "I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of life."

    In John 1:4 we read, "The Life was the light." In the verse just quoted we read, where Jesus said that He was, "The Light of life."

    Once more, Christ said, "As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world." Since the Lord Jesus went His way, the world has been once more in darkness. The only lights that now shine are saints, who are luminaries shining in the present darkness and awaiting the coming of the Lord, who like the sun in righteousness shall soon arise.

    IV. CHRIST THE CREATOR (John 1:3; John 1:10)

    Our third verse says, "All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made." This verse places Jesus Christ before the creation just as plainly as the first verse places Him there. If all things were made by Him, He was before the all things. If without Him was not anything made that was made, then He was with God in the first verse of the Bible, which reads, "In the beginning God ["Elohim"], created the Heaven and the earth."

    Our tenth verse says, "He was in the world, and the world was made by Him." This verse is in line with the third verse. Whether it be the physical earth or the cosmos, He is its Creator and Maker. In the Epistle to the Hebrews we read, that Jesus Christ, the Son, made the world. In Colossians, we read concerning our Lord: "By Him were all things created, that are in Heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist."

    Away, forever, with that doctrine of men, falsely called science, which is promulgated under the name of evolution and which takes both God the Father, and God, the Son, as well as God, the Holy Spirit, out of His own creation.

    We prefer to take our place with the four living ones, and with the four and twenty elders, who give glory and honor and thanks to Him that shall sit upon the throne. We prefer to join the four living ones, and the four and twenty elders, in falling down before Him as we worship the One that liveth for ever and ever. We prefer to join the four living ones, and the four and twenty elders, in saying, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created."

    V. CHRIST IN THE WORLD (John 1:10-11)

    How it thrills the soul, as we think that Christ, who was the Word, for ever God, and for ever with God, was in the world. How it stirs the heart, as we consider that Christ, who was the Life, came unto His own. How it grips the spirit, when we think of Christ, the Light, entering into the world of darkness. Can anything be more inspiring than to read, "He was in the world"? Can anything be more illuminating than to read, "He came unto His own"?

    What, are we to understand that the very God of very God, the Creator, came down to dwell with the creature even so, He came. He came forth from the Father; forth from the glory of the throne of God; forth from the adoration of the angelic hosts, who worshiped Him day and night, and He came down to the world of sin, and of shame, of suffering, and of sorrow.

    Saddest of all things sad, "He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not." Strangest of all strange things, "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not."

    When the Christ was born the angels shouted forth His praise, and the Heavenly bodies bowed in obeisance to His coming, but there was found no room for Him in the inn. We wonder if the world has had a change of heart. With shame we answer, No.

    VI. CHRIST IN THE NEW BIRTH (John 1:12-13)

    Mid the shadows which shrouded the rejection of the Son of God, there is a ray of light. We read, "As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name." What shame is theirs who reject Him, but what transcendent glory is theirs who receive Him, and believe in His Name!

    It may seem but a little matter to bend the knee before the matchless Son of God, and to crown Him Lord and Christ. It may seem but an insignificant thing to open the heart and to receive Him as one's sacred guest. It may seem unworthy of weight, with child-like faith, to believe on His Name, and yet those, who do these things, become the sons of God.

    He who created worlds and threw them into space; He who created man and placed him upon a created earth, once more steps forth in the majestic sweep of created power, and creates anew those who put their trust in Him. John 1:11 says of these that they were born of God.

    VII. CHRIST DECLARING THE FATHER (John 1:16-18)

    The verse now before us plainly declares that the Son of God, who came forth from the Father, and came into the world, has declared the Father unto us. These words mean no less than the fact that Christ was God, manifest in the flesh, for only God could declare God in the sense that Christ declared Him. Our next study is to be upon this verse and other Scriptures which elucidate it, under the theme Christ, the manifestation of the Father.

    AN ILLUSTRATION

    "Son Gazing"

    We should see beautiful things not only in nature as Newton saw-in the sun, but we should see the beautiful things in Christ Jesus, the Son of Righteousness.

    Dr. Tucker says: It is said of Newton that he had fits of gazing at the sun. At one time he gazed so long that when brought back into his room he was found to be quite blind. Wherever he looked he saw nothing but the sun. Eyes shut or open it was the sun only. The long gazing at the sun had so impressed it on the retina of the eye that nothing else was there.

    Would it not be wonderful if believers should intently gaze upon Christ that they could see no one else just the Son and the Son only!

    Just as at the Transfiguration, when His face was like the sun and His garments glistening, they

    "Saw no man save Jesus only."

    Son gazing is a wonderful occupation for the believer. When John saw One whose "Countenance was as the sun shining in its strength," he fell at His feet as one dead. Excess of light and glory brought John into humiliation. It always means prostration and humiliation and a cry for sanctification, to see Him!

    If only we would gaze at the Son till we could see no one but the Son! If only on the retina of the inner eye, He could be so impressed that wherever we look, it would be but to see the Son! If only we could say: The Son, I see the Son only!

    We could not gaze upon Him now with undimmed eye. We are yet in mortal state. Paul saw for a moment His glory, "A brightness above the sun," and was blinded. We shall see Him one day as He is. Now we gaze by faith and the result is found at 2 Corinthians 3:18 :

    "But we all, with open face beholding, as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

    Son gazing is a wonderful occupation for the Christian. Let the eye be blind to all else but Him. I see "Jesus Only," is a cry of Christian triumph!

  • John 1:35-42 open_in_new

    Peter The Fisher of Men

    John 1:35-42

    INTRODUCTORY WORDS

    We come to the study of one of the outstanding Apostles of the Cross. Whatever you may think of Peter, and his failures, you must grant that he was an energetic, whole-souled, and sacrificial servant of the Lord.

    1. Let us observe how Peter was wooed and won for Christ.

    (1) The testimony of John the Baptist, and its results. John looking upon Jesus, as He walked, said, "Behold the Lamb of God." Two of John's disciples heard John as he spoke. We never know the far-reaching effects of any vital testimony which we give to Jesus Christ. John had borne a faithful testimony, and John's disciples had. profited thereby. As the two disciples, one of whom was Andrew, heard John speaking of Jesus, they followed after Him.

    (2) The query of Christ. Jesus, seeing them following, turned, and said unto them, "What seek ye?" They answered, saying, "Rabbi, * * where dwellest Thou?" The Lord Jesus read the inner yearnings of their heart, and He said unto them, "Come and see." Thus it turned out that the two went with Christ that day, and abode with Him.

    (3) Andrew seeking Peter. One of the first quests of a genuinely born-again soul is his desire to bring his friends to Jesus. This was true with Andrew. "He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, "We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ." Thus Andrew brought Peter to the Lord Jesus.

    If we cannot do much ourselves in the way of public service, we may in the quieter walks of life, be able to point some one to the Lord who will prove a valiant soldier of the Cross.

    2. How Christ accosted Peter. As soon as Jesus beheld Peter, He said unto him, "Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone."

    (1) Christ's Divine perception. Christ said, "Thou art Simon." The Lord knew everything about Simon Peter the moment that he stood before Him, He knew his vacillating disposition; He knew, as well, his stalwart and strong characteristics; He knew also that Peter was impetuous and hasty. None of this, however, caused the Lord to hesitate as He spoke to Peter.

    (2) The Divine forecast. The Lord Jesus said, "Thou art." He also said, "Thou shalt be." "Thou art," was a record of Simon in his self-life. "Thou shalt be," was a record of Simon after grace had completed its work in his life. The Lord took Peter for better, not for worse. He knew that ultimately Simon would become Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.

    I. PETER'S CALL TO THE APOSTLESHIP (Matthew 4:18-20)

    1. Fishing for fish. As Jesus walked by the sea of Galilee, He saw Simon Peter and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea. The Lord, no doubt, saw in a moment that they knew how to catch fish. Immediately, however, He called unto them saying, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."

    From fishing fish to fishing men was a great stride for these sons of the net. They might have pled their inadaptibility to the discipleship, they might have clung to their nets but they didn't. Without any hesitancy, and with immediate response to the call of Christ, they left the ship, and left their father, and followed the Lord. How many are there among us today who will do as they did?

    2. Fishing for men. Peter had known some marvelous catches of fish, but he afterward knew many more marvelous catches of men. He who had been a good fisherman for fish, became a better fisherman for men.

    We have heard many addresses on how to catch men; we have read numerous books and booklets on the art of soul-winning; we believe, however, that Christ gave the one supreme requirement for fishing men successfully, when He said, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."

    There is more than a human preparation for soul-winning. There is a supreme Divine preparation. The Lord said, "I will make you fishers." Those whom He makes fishers, are those who follow Him; but, even followers of Christ are not, naturally, successful fishermen. We need to be made fishers, by the Divine anointing of the Holy One. Christ fulfilled this pledge to Peter particularly on the day of Pentecost, when Peter was filled with the Spirit.

    II. LAUNCHING OUT INTO THE DEEP (Luke 5:4)

    The disciples had not yet wholly ceased their fishing. It came to pass as the people pressed upon Christ to hear the Word of God that He entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's and He prayed him to thrust out a little from the land. There Christ sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. After He had finished speaking, He said unto Simon, "Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught."

    There are several lessons before us.

    1. We must launch out into the deep of men's needs, and of God's promises if we would catch men. Fish are in the sea, not on the land. Men also are out in the great sea of life. We dare not shut ourselves up in some cloister, if we would catch men. We must go out where the men are.

    2. We must launch out into the deep under the Master's command. Simon quickly said to Christ, "Master, we have toiled all night, and have taken nothing; nevertheless at Thy word I will let down the net."

    The soul-winner cannot, under any conditions, separate himself from the Saviour. We may toil in the night in our strength, and catch nothing, and then again, we may toil in the daytime, when fishing is usually unproductive, and catch fish, if we have the Saviour's blessing. Whether this, or that, we must always stand ready to hear the Master's voice, and to do His will.

    3. They enclosed a great multitude of fishes. This is what we would all like to do. There is no joy in fishing for men, week in and week out, with no men being caught for God. There is joy when souls are saved, and the results pile up.

    When Peter saw what had happened, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord"!

    III. PETER AND HIS GREAT CONFESSION (Matthew 16:16)

    1. The query of the Lord. Christ asked the disciples, saying, "Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?" They said, "Some say that Thou art John the Baptist. Some Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the Prophets." This response did not satisfy the Lord. Therefore He asked, "But whom say ye that I am?" Let us remember that we dare not place Christ on a par with any other man. John the Baptist was the greatest man born of woman, and yet he, himself, admitted that he was not worthy to unloose the sandals from the feet of Christ.

    2. Peter's response. Brushing aside what some had said concerning Christ, Peter bravely answered, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." This confession of Peter brought a twofold statement from Christ:

    (1) Christ said, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona." Then Christ continued, "Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in Heaven." Peter, therefore, had been Divinely taught.

    (2) Christ said, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church." The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is builded, therefore, upon the great underlying testimony of Peter's confession, which involved the Deity of Christ.

    3. Peter's great error. From the time of Peter's confession that Jesus was the "Christ, the Son of the Living God," the Lord began to show unto His disciples how He must suffer, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Peter rebuked the Lord, saying, "Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee." The Lord immediately said to Peter, "Get thee behind Me, Satan." He who had made a good confession, utterly failed to recognize that Christ, the Son of God was the destined Saviour of men, by means of His death, burial and resurrection. It is not the Deity of Christ that saves us, but it is the death of the One who was God.

    IV. PETER UPON THE MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION (Matthew 17:1-2)

    It was soon after Peter's great confession that the Lord took Peter, James and John up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them.

    1. Peter held a place of privilege in the Master's ministry. On various occasions he, along with James and John, was chosen to occupy a special nearness with the Lord.

    2. Peter profited by his vision of the Lord. The full force of the transfiguration did not immediately dawn upon Peter. It was in after years, when, under the Spirit he was writing his Second Epistle, that Peter explained how the transfiguration of Christ, which he saw in the most excellent glory upon the Holy mount, was the foreshadowing of the majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ, in His Second Coming.

    V. SATAN'S DESIRE FOR PETER (Luke 22:31)

    We may well understand why Satan should have singled out Simon Peter from among the Twelve, and why he should have particularly desired to have him for his sifting.

    1. Satan recognized Peter's ability and power. Satan knew that this stalwart son of grace was a tremendous asset to the work and ministry of the Lord: and that Peter, being impulsive, and rather dogmatic in disposition, might fall an easy prey to his wiles.

    The story of Peter's denial, and of Satan's sifting, is told step by step in the fourteenth chapter of Mark. The finality was that, as Peter sat warming himself at the fire on the night of Christ's betrayal, he twice denied his Lord before a maid, and the third time he denied Him with an oath, saying, "I know not this Man of whom ye speak."

    2. The Saviour stood by Peter in the hour of Peter's defection. Christ had said to Peter, "I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." It is most interesting to follow the fruition of the loving prayer and tender care which the Lord exercised toward Peter.

    After Peter had thrice denied the Lord, the Lord turned and looked at Peter. That look, so filled with compassion and heartfelt pity, caused Peter to weep over his hasty words.

    From the Cross the Lord did not say anything to Peter. However, when the resurrection morn had come, an angel spoke unto Mary, he said, "Go * * tell His disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee." These words must have tremendously stirred the Apostle, who, perhaps, felt that he had been disowned by his Lord.

    Afterward, Christ appeared to Peter, and then later on, following the miraculous draft of fishes, He restored unto Peter his work, saying, "Feed My lambs, * * feed My sheep."

    VI. PETER AND PENTECOST (Acts 2:14)

    1. Peter, Spirit-filled, proclaimed a marvelous message of truth. We haven't time to discover the wonderful Scriptural statements which Peter set forth in his Pentecostal sermon. Suffice it to say that he proclaimed Christ crucified, Christ risen and seated at the Father's right hand, and Christ the King, who under the oath of God, was destined to sit upon David's throne,

    2. Peter's fearless declaration. The man who had quailed before a maid, stood before the masters of Israel and charged them with the death of Christ, saying, "Jesus of Nazareth * * ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain."

    Nor did Peter ever retrench his faithful and fearless fidelity to his Lord. Beaten and bruised by the leaders, and commanded to speak no more in Christ's Name, Peter solemnly declared, "We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." No persecution, no threats, ever caused Peter to hesitate, for, continually with great power, he gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

    3. Peter, the fisher of men. Our mind goes back to the day when, by the shores of Galilee, the Lord said unto Peter, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."

    On the day of Pentecost the people, pricked in their hearts, said unto Peter and to the others, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Peter told them to repent and be baptized; and with many other words did he testify and exhort. That day there were added about three thousand souls. These gladly received his word, and were baptized. Truly, Peter had become a fisher of men.

    VII. THE DEATH BY WHICH PETER GLORIFIED GOD (John 21:18-19)

    1. A reminder of Peter's early impetuosity and self-will. In John 21:18-19 we have, in a nutshell, a review of Peter's early days. He had paddled his own canoe. His own will had been his law. He had charted his own journey, and piloted his own ship.

    The true believer must come out of this spirit of self, and yield himself wholly to know the will, and to walk in the way of his Lord.

    2. A prophecy of Peter's future ministry and death. The Lord was not slow to tell Peter that when he was old, after a fitful experience of strenuous service, and toilsome tasks, that other hands would gird him, and that other shoulders would carry him whither his natural flesh would not choose to go. In all of this Christ was speaking of the death by which Peter should not only die, but by which he should glorify God.

    3. A call to Peter's obedience. After Christ had spoken of Peter's death, He said, "Follow Me." Peter did not hesitate at the darksome picture that lay before him, but, seeing John standing by, he said to Jesus, "Lord, and what shall this man do?" Jesus said unto him, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou Me."

    AN ILLUSTRATION

    "'The Lord diggeth deep when He meaneth to raise the building high; and when He would give men to know much of Christ, He first bringeth them out of themselves by godly sorrow.' We see many to be but low and mean in point of grace, not rising like towers towards Heaven, but lying low upon the earth: these have never been digged out by a deep sense of sin, nor excavated by profound soul-trouble, and hence it would not be safe to build high with so shallow a foundation. If we could read the secret history of dwarfed Christians we should find that they never had much humbling of heart. They tell us there is as much of a tree under as above ground, and certainly it is so with a believer, his visible life would soon wither were it not for his secret life, and his high enjoyments would fall over to his ruin were they not balanced by his inward humiliations. There must be deep foundations if we are to have high walls; we must be emptied of self, and everything of human strength, or we shall never be filled with the love of God.

    "O my heart, be ready to be trenched deep if this be the necessary preparation for being built up aloft. Welcome pain and down-casting if edification is to follow.

  • John 1:36-51 open_in_new

    Following Christ

    John 1:36-51

    INTRODUCTORY WORDS

    We delight in the study of John the Baptist. Christ said that he was the greatest man born of woman, yet he was not self-centered or proud. Had he been so, he had not been great.

    1. John was a man who magnified Christ, and not himself. To the populace, as he preached, he never made any statements that would call attention to himself. His one passion seemed to center in magnifying the Lord. He plainly and positively told forth that he was not the Light. He just as emphatically said that the One who was to come after him was preferred before him. He confessed, and denied not, saying, "I am not the Christ." He claimed to be only a voice crying in the wilderness.

    As we enter this exposition we would particularly stress that statement of John the Baptist: "He must increase, but I must decrease." Would that all of us would take this attitude of self-abasement.

    We should never glory in men. Neither should we glory in the flesh. We should never mangify others, never ourselves.

    2. Two of John's disciples left him to walk with Christ. When John saw Christ coming he bare record that He was the Son of God. The next day after he stood with these two disciples, and, as Jesus appeared, John said, "Behold the Lamb of God." This seemed to be, on John's part, a suggestion that these disciples should walk with the Lord. They certainly felt that way, for when they heard John speak they followed Jesus.

    Is it not true that we should always be ready to leave all men, as well as all things, in order to follow our Lord?

    Lord. I hear Thy loving call

    To leave my all;

    Gladly follow I Thy way,

    Let come what may;

    Father, mother, sister, wife,

    And e'en my life

    On Thine altar all are laid:

    My vow is made.

    All are subject now to Thee,

    Thine own to be.

    We can remember how our Lord said on one occasion, "Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be My disciple." We should be willing to say, "I am Thine, and all that I have is Thine." When we ponder who Christ is, and what He has done for us, we should be willing gladly to bow our head, and wear His yoke; immediately willing to be His bondslave, with no reservations whatsoever.

    3. They followed Christ. Perhaps you will allow us to make a suggestive statement. As they left John to walk with the Lord, they did not know everything that lay ahead of Him. They did not know what following Christ might mean to them in the future. They followed one step at a time.

    Perhaps, you remember this little verse:

    "One step I see before me,

    It is all I need to know

    For o'er each step of my onward path

    He makes new light to glow."

    There is another suggestion that comes to us. They not only followed Him step by step, but they followed Him in step. That is. they kept step with Christ. This is what we need to do. Where He goes, we should go. If we were out of step with our Master, we would surely meet disaster.

    I. JESUS SAW THEM FOLLOWING (John 1:38)

    This statement in the first clause of our verse is worth more than a casual look. It suggests several things to us.

    1. The eyes of the Lord are upon those who seek His face. Jesus read their minds. He knew they had followed Him, and He knew why they followed Him.

    Somehow or other, we are sure that, to this hour, the eyes of the Lord are upon those who diligently seek His face. His eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong in behalf of those who seek Him, or who follow Him.

    Christians who wander into bypaths bring sorrow to the Lord, and they make it impossible for the Lord to bless them. Christians who leave all to follow Him make it possible for the Lord to shower His best upon them.

    2. What are the blessings which come to those who follow after the Lord? We might note a few of these.

    (1) Christ said, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." This was literally true in the disciples. It will be true of us. If we follow Him He will place us in definite and positive service for Him.

    (2) When we follow Christ we have the promise of His best. This was no small thing to the disciples. They walked with Him, and the result was that they heard His messages; they saw His miracles. They had all those beneficent results which come to us from contact with those who are greater than we are.

    (3) They were promised a wonderful inheritance. Christ said, "Ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." They who followed Christ in the hour of His humiliation, are destined to follow Him in the hour of His glorification. "These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth" (Revelation 14:4).

    II. WHAT SEEK YE? (John 1:38, s.c)

    The question which God asked in the Garden of Eden was, "Where art thou?" The question which the wise men asked at the birth of Jesus, was, "Where is He that is born king of the Jews?" The question which Christ asked in this study is "What seek ye?" Sometimes God is seeking us. Sometimes we are seeking Him. However, the Lord wants to know why we seek Him, and what we seek Him for.

    1. What think ye of Christ? Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and God the Son. John had so heralded Him when he bare, record to Christ. Jesus now was seeking to know what the attitude of the two disciples was toward Him. The same thing is asked years later when He said, "What think ye of Christ? whose Son is He?"

    He had the same thing in mind when He said to the disciples, "Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am?" Afterward He asked, "Whom say ye that I am?" Before Christ would accept us as His followers He must know whether we faith Him as God.

    2. What want ye of Christ? You believe that Christ is God, why do you want to follow Him? This is very vital. Some of those who followed Christ followed Him for no other reason than because they thought He was about to be a deliverer of Israel and a monarch on His throne.

    You will remember how one said on one occasion, "I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest." The Lord, however, replied, "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head." We must decide whether we want to follow Christ in His sufferings, or in His reign. If we would enter into the latter, we must be willing to follow in the former. "What seek ye" is still a vital question.

    III. WHERE DWELLEST THOU? (John 1:38, l.c.)

    There are so many avenues which come to our mind in this question, we would like to suggest them to you.

    The two disciples, of course, who walked with Jesus and called Him "Rabbi" (which is to say, Master), did not mean everything that we suggest. We are taking the question out of its setting, and we want to ponder it step by step.

    1. Christ first of all dwelt with the Father. He was with the Father from time immemorial. He spoke of the glory which He had with the Father before the world was. That is where He did dwell.

    2. Christ dwelt among men. He came forth from the Father, and He came into the world. "Where dwellest Thou?" First, in Heaven, He dwelt in light; then on earth He dwelt in darkness. Formerly He dwelt with the Father; then He dwelt with men. In this we find that He humbled Himself. He became in fashion like as a man. Where did He dwell? His first earthly dwelling place was in a manger in Bethlehem; the second was in Nazareth, where as a lad He wrought in a carpenter's shop. Wherever He dwelt on earth He dwelt in humiliation with no place that He could call His own. He was among men as one who served. He ate with the publicans and with the sinners. He died between two thieves.

    3. Christ now dwells at the Father's right hand. From the Mount of Olives He ascended, and sat down on the Father's throne. Stephen saw Him there as He stood to receive him. He now dwells in Heaven for us. He is our Intercessor. He is there managing our affairs.

    4. Christ will dwell once more upon the earth as King. We love the expression: "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty." This speaks of the time of His Second Advent. It is then that He will radiate from Jerusalem the blessings and glory of His presence to the ends of the earth.

    IV. COME AND SEE (John 1:39, f.c)

    The disciples sought the Lord. He welcomed their search, and bade them to "Come and see."

    1. "Come and see." The Lord Jesus was willing to bear inspection. He was not moving under false colors. He was not making a false claim.

    Unto this hour, God, our Lord, is willing for us to put Him, and all that He is, everything that He says, to the test. Of old, He said, "Prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts." We love the expression, "Come and see."

    2. "Come * * and * * rest." Here is another cry which the Lord made on a different occasion. He said unto the multitudes, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." The two disciples said to Christ, "Where dwellest Thou?" He said to them, "Come and see." He seemed also to say, "Come * * and * * rest." "Come and abide." "Come and find in Me a Saviour, a Friend, a Keeper.

    3. "Come and dine." When we go into a home, we may go on a visit to see and to learn more of a friend. We may go seeking closer contact with one we love. We may go to rest, or to relax in their dwelling, but "come and dine," is the sweetest statement of all.

    This was made on the occasion when Christ, in risen glory, called to His disciples, "Have ye any meat?" They replied, "We have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing." Jesus said to them, "Let down your nets for a draught." We well know the story, and how when they at last came to shore Jesus said, "Come and dine."

    We may come to see, or to rest, or to dine. To us the last of the three is the best. There is something around the "table" that surpasses any other contact that we have with our friends. "Come and dine" is also an expression which leads us to believe that in Christ is our abundant supply.

    V. THEY CAME AND SAW AND ABODE (John 1:39)

    Our text says, "They came and saw where He dwelt, and abode with Him that day." Let us take these three statements one at a time.

    1. They came. Christ said, "Come," and they came. Christ still says, "Come," but many come not. We delight in the hymn, "Just as I am without one plea * * O Lamb of God, I come."

    All day long Christ gave His invitation unto Israel. He asked them to come unto Him, but they were a disobedient and gainsaying people, and they would not hear His voice. We read in John 5:1-47 how Christ said, "Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life." Almost the last call of the Bible is, "Whosoever will," let him come. Why is it that such a loving invitation is so often refused?

    2. They saw. Had they not come they never would have seen, but they came, and they saw where He dwelt. We can almost hear the shepherds after the angels left them, saying one to another, "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see * *." So they came. They saw the Babe lying in the manger. They saw Mary, His mother, and they departed with great joy, declaring His glory. If we only come, we will see in Him the One altogether lovely.

    3. They abode with Him that day. To come is good; to see, is better; to abide, is best. So many of our earthly fellowships are but for a day, but here is a fellowship which may be, and should be, forever. The Lord said, "Abide in Me, and I in you." We rejoice in the word of I Thessalonians for "ever be with the Lord." They abode with Him for a day. That was just the first step. These same two abode with Him for three and a half years until He went to be with the Father, and by and by they went to abide with Him forever.

    VI. HE BROUGHT HIM TO JESUS (John 1:40-41)

    John 1:40 tells us, "One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother." John 1:41 says, "He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ."

    He first went and sought him,

    To Jesus he brought him:

    'Twas Andrew brought Peter that day;

    When Jesus hailed Peter,

    He then detailed Peter,

    And called him to service that day.

    1. He sought his brother. In after years Christ said, "Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee." One of the first things we should do when we are saved is to find our brother, or our sister, father, or mother, and bring them to Christ.

    2. He brought his brother. It is not enough to seek. We must bring. Christ said, "Go, * * and compel them to come in." In the Book of Mark we read of a young man who was borne of four who brought him to Jesus. We must go out where they are, and then we must bring them in. He found the sheep that went astray. He placed it upon His shoulders and brought it home.

    3. He testified concerning Christ. First he sought, then he brought, but that is not all. He said to his brother, "We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ."

    Here was Andrew's announcement as to whom Christ was. It gives us an inside view of Andrew's faith.

    VII. THOU ART * * THOU SHALT BE (John 1:42)

    "And when Jesus beheld him, He said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone."

    1. Christ's knowledge of what is in man. As Christ beheld Peter He knew him, knew him far better than Peter knew himself. He could look at him, and say to him, "Thou art Simon the Son of Jona." There is no doubt but that Christ played upon the fact of Peter's characteristic willfulness. God does know us altogether. There is not a thought in our mind, nor a word upon our lips, but that He knows them all.

    2. Christ's knowledge of what we shall be. To Peter Christ said, "Thou shalt be." "Thou art Simon * * thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone." The Lord took Peter for better, and not for worse.

    It was a long stretch from Simon to Cephas, from the rugged, rough, and willful son of Jona, to the settled, established Cephas, the son of God. Thank God, our Lord undertakes in our behalf.

    3. Changed like unto his Lord. Jesus Christ is spoken of continually in the Word of God as a stone. He was the "Stone which the builders rejected." He is now the chief Cornerstone, the Stone which is the head of the corner. When He speaks of the Church, He says, "Upon this Rock I will build my Church." When we come to Christ we come to Him, "a stone disallowed" indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious.

    The Holy Spirit is changing us from glory to glory into the image of our Lord and Master, changing us into a "stone."

    AN ILLUSTRATION

    John Baptist knew that his life would be brief. Yet, how filled it was with service.

    CLOSE WRITING

    "When men have much to say in a letter, and perceive that they have little paper left, they write closely." Looking at the shortness of life, and the much that has to be written upon its tablets, it becomes us also to do much in a short space, and so to write closely, "No day without a line," is a good motto for a Christian. A thoroughly useful life is multum in parvo: it is necessarily little, for it is but a span; but how much may be crowded into it for God, our souls, the Church, our families, and our fellows! We cannot afford wide blanks of idleness; we should not only live by the day but by the twenty minutes, as Wesley did. He did not keep a diary, but a horary; and each hour was divided into three parts. So scanty is our space that we must condense, and leave out superfluous matter; giving room only to that which is weighty, and of the first importance.

    Lord, whether I live long or not, I leave to Thee; but help me to live while I live, that I may live much. Thou canst give life more abundantly; let me receive it. and let my life be filled, yea, packed and crammed, with all manner of holy thoughts and words and deeds to Thy glory.

    Chas. H. Spurgeon.