Truth and Confusion

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Truth and Confusion

John 14:29-31

29 And [kai] now [nun] I have told [ereo] you [humin] before [prin] it come to pass [ginomai] , that [hina] , when [hotan] it is come to pass [ginomai] , ye might believe [pisteuo] .
30 Hereafter [ouketi] I will [laleo] not [ouketi] talk [laleo] much [polus] with [meta] you [humon] : for [gar] the prince [archon] of this [toutou] world [kosmos] cometh [erchomai] , and [kai] hath [echo] [ou] nothing [oudeis] in [en] me [emoi] .
31 But [alla] that [hina] the world [kosmos] may know [ginosko] that [hoti] I love [agapao] the Father [pater] ; and [kai] as [kathos] the Father [pater] gave [entellomai] me [moi] commandment [entellomai] , even so [houto] I do [poieo] . Arise [egeiro] , let us go [ago] hence [enteuthen] . KJV-Interlinear

29 'And now I have told you before it comes to pass, that when it comes to pass, you may believe. 30 'I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; 31 but that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go from here. NASB

Jesus tells the disciples all that is going to happen, before it happens, so that when it does happen they will not be discouraged. Or at least that is the intention. In reality they become very discouraged after the Cross, but they have that one little bit of hope, probably gnawing at the back of their minds, which keeps them in Jerusalem rather than going back home, so that they will see the risen Christ. After that, they will be unstoppable in their spiritual growth. Their whole mind set will change from the arrogant and selfish attitudes they have expressed thus far, into a mind set that is more in keeping with what Jesus has been teaching them.

And so it is with all of us. We, none of us have seen Christ in the flesh. All we have to go on is the written word. But since we have been on this planet earth so long, it is easy for people to become discouraged, to become uncertain, to become skeptical as to whether Christianity verses some other pattern of thought is the right philosophy to pursue.

So we go back to the scriptures and find that the fulfillment of prophecy should be a comfort to us all when it is fulfilled, Isa. 46:8-10. We have recorded, many prophecies from Genesis, to Daniel, to Matthew and many more passages, which have been foretold and of which have all come true as foretold. In this the Bible is batting 100%. No other religion or philosophy can even get started in this area.

Second, God has magnified His name above His Word, Psa. 138:2. We do not have need of the presence of God in the flesh because the power of His word is more than sufficient to convict us of our sins, weaknesses, and limitations, and to convince us of the truth. We only have to recognize them and then make the right decisions to move our lives in the right direction of spiritual growth from which we can only benefit.

Satan, the ruler of the world, has no claim on Jesus. Jesus is perfect, impeccable, Heb. 9:14, 1 Jn. 3:5. So the ruler of the world is coming, but not to take Jesus to the Cross. That would become the fulfillment of prophecy. Satan would see Jesus die by some other means, but even Satan cannot disrupt the Plan of God. It will be God who will take Jesus to the Cross, and there make Him sin for us, in our place, 2 Cor. 5:21, so that we might have a future opportunity with Him in heaven.

So now the apostles are heavy in their hearts. They lack understanding and that makes them impotent in their spiritual life. So it is with each one of us. When we lack doctrine in the soul, then we have a tendency to look to the world, to our immediate wants, and then to look to the world for the fulfillment of them. We in effect want our Rachel first, ignoring the maturity of Leah who is the foundation on which all happiness (true happiness) is based.

Some folks look to Jesus ignoring God. Some look to God ignoring Jesus. Some look to neither and claim some divine power in other objects and personalities. All are wrong.

There is but one plan for humanity, and that plan came from God the Father, our ultimate goal. We cannot invent our own path to God, but must use the path which He has set before us, which path is through Jesus Christ. Thus to Christ belongs all the credit, all the glory, all the attention, for it is He who brings all things in history to their proper conclusion. It is Christ on whom all things are balanced.

We have no person to which to look to. We have no authority other than the promised Holy Spirit, and the completed scriptures on which to depend. No angel will visit us in the night. God Himself will not come to us in our dreams. If you have been receiving e-mail from God or angels then you might want to try adjusting your e-mail filters, or update your medication.

Jesus told the apostles these things for their immediate benefit, but He also tells each of us for our benefit too. Our goal in life is to build up our faith such that we will have confidence in what God teaches us. That does not happen over night. A child wants to by big someday, but the child has to wait and grow little by little. So too it is with our spiritual growth.

John records that they adjourned this discussion for the moment, but the conversation for the night was far from over. They will not get to the Garden for another three chapters. Jesus has a lot to say, and we have so little time in which to hear and assimilate and make use of His words.

Remember our study of Rev. 1:3, where we saw Jesus' hand was on the lever of human history. His arm flexed with great power, ready to throw the switch at any moment. So it remains. He is ready to throw the switch on your individual history (your life), as well as on human history. The next increment for each one of us could be but a twinkling of an eye away. So we do not have a lot of time to waste in this life. Arise, from within your mind, and study now for tomorrow you might not have another chance.