John 8:12 I Am the Light of the World 9/11/2016 ßà
#1. I Am (John 6:35, 7:29, 8:12,
10:7, 11, 11:25, 14:6, 15:1, 18:5-6, Ex 3:14)
#2. Ye Shall Die in Your Sins (John
8:21,24, Jer 29:13, Rom 8:28)
#3. Then Shall Ye Know That I AM (John
8:28-29, 12:32, Phil 1:6)
Please
open your
Bibles to the Gospel According to John 8:6 (2X). Today we are covering
verses 12-32 in this chapter. The sermon today is titled, I Am the Light of the World (2X), words taken from John
8:12. As most of you know, last week I gave a sermon on the 1st
eleven verses of John 8. The scribes and Pharisees brought before Jesus a woman
who was caught in committing adultery. I want to bring up verse 6 again. Here
we see that the scribes and Pharisees were conspiring to bring:
Joh 8:6 This they
said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down,
and with his finger wrote on the
ground, as though he heard them not.
They
tempted Jesus into saying something, with which they could accuse Him.
We look at it from a distance, and we say within ourselves, “What a dumb
idea to tempt the Lawgiver Himself with a violation of the Law, especially
if the Lawgiver is God Himself! What a perversity to rebel against God!
What blindness!” And then we see that they were totally in the dark
about who Jesus is? Why did they not recognize Him as the Messiah who was
promised all throughout the OT? They were the experts of the OT. But they did
not know Him because they did not see Him with the eyes of faith. God says in Heb
4:2, “For unto us was the gospel preached, as
well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed
with faith in them that heard it”. The shepherds in Bethlehem knew Him as Messiah, Simeon
and Anna recognized Him as Messiah, John the Baptist recognized Him as Messiah,
Zacharias and Elizabeth recognized Him as Messiah. Why did these people
recognize the Jesus as Messiah, but here the experts of the Law did not
recognize Him? God says in Heb 4:2 that the key ingredient is FAITH. And
where does that faith come from? It is a gift from God, and it is given by
grace to whomsoever God is pleased to give it. The scribes and Pharisees in
Jesus’ days had not received this gift, and so they remained in the dark. And
how great was that darkness! On the Last Day they will be judged for their
unbelief and for all other sins they have committed, even unto
every idle word they have spoken. And we can see that in this event of the
woman caught in adultery the darkness did not triumph over the Light.
The Lord Jesus Christ as the Light of the world remained totally in control of
the situation. Here is how He harmonized Justice and Mercy. The woman
was guilty as charged. The sentence of the Law was plainly defined. But by
symbolic action our Lord showed that our God delights in Mercy, and His
Mercy does not come at the expense of Justice. He indicated that the Law would
be enforced. But by writing on the ground the 2nd time the
Lord pointed to the tables of the Law, which were also written two times, and
which were placed within the Ark of the Covenant, under the Mercy Seat.
And so, the Lord reminded us that a shelter from the exposed Law was planned,
and that a blood sprinkled covering would protect the guilty ones from
the accusing finger of the Law. It was in this way that our Redeemer indicated
that God’s righteousness would be upheld and magnified in the Divine
method of saving sinners, and His mercy and grace would shine
forth in the darkness, and “the darkness comprehended it not”. God’s Mercy
for sinners who are not able to pay their enormous debt so that they do not
have to go to Hell, and God’s grace to those who have obtained this
mercy. Grace in this life, so that they have light in understanding the
Word of God and wisdom to conduct themselves in the affairs of this world. Grace
in the life hereafter, so that they inherit a throne of glory and shine as
lights with God forevermore. And here we find in John 8:12-32,
Joh 8:12 ¶ Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the
light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall
have the light of life.
Joh 8:13 The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest
record of thyself; thy record is not true.
Joh 8:14 Jesus
answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence
I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.
Joh 8:15 Ye judge
after the flesh; I judge no man.
Joh 8:16 And yet if I
judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent
me.
Joh 8:17 It is also
written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.
Joh 8:18 I am one
that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.
Joh 8:19 Then said
they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my
Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.
Joh 8:20 These words
spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands
on him; for his hour was not yet come.
Joh 8:21 ¶ Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye
shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.
Joh 8:22 Then said
the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come.
Joh 8:23-24 And he
said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I
am not of this world. I
said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not
that I am he, ye shall die in your
sins.
Joh 8:25-26 Then said
they unto him, Who art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even the same that I said unto you from the
beginning. I
have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I
speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.
Joh 8:27 They
understood not that he spake to them of the Father.
Joh 8:28 Then said
Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that
I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I
speak these things.
Joh 8:29-30 And he that
sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those
things that please him. As
he spake these words, many believed on him.
Joh 8:31-32 ¶ Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him,
If ye continue in my word, then are
ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall
know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
The
Lord Jesus used the incident with the adulterous woman as an example,
to show how what is
the
Light that He was referring to. Christ as the Light of men is the
appropriate symbol of spiritual illumination wrought by Christ through the
indwelling Holy Spirit. For example, God says in 2Cor 4:6, “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,
hath shined in our hearts, to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”. And thus it is “the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” that we must have received from
God, and we receive it by grace. The scribes and Pharisees did not
receive this spiritual illumination, they remained in the dark, and so they
left. The woman and the disciples of Jesus had received this spiritual
illumination, and so they stayed around Him. Let us now consider verse
12 again. Jesus said:
#1. I AM (John 6:35, 7:29, 8:12,
10:7, 11, 11:25, 14:6, 15:1, 18:5-6, Ex 3:14)
These
are two most important words. The Lord Jesus Christ is the great I AM.
This is prominently shown in the Gospel of John. Please turn a few pages
to your left, to John 6:35 (2X), and let me show you 9 examples
of Jesus Christ as the great “I AM”.
Here is #1. Jesus said, “I
Am the bread of life”. Joh 6:35, “And Jesus said unto them, I am
the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth
on me shall never thirst”. Jesus indicated that in the wilderness the manna
that came from Heaven was a picture of Christ as the Bread from Heaven. #2. Please turn to John 7:29
(2X). There we see another I Am. Joh 7:29, “But I know Him: for I am from Him, and He hath
sent me”. Here Jesus indicated, “I AM” from above and you
are from below; I came down from Heaven, and you came from your father Adam,
who was made from the dust of the ground”. Every single one of these “I AM”
statements is pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ as God. #3. Please turn to John 8:12 (2X). Joh 8:12, “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I
am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life. Jesus said “I Am the light of the world”. But
we also read in 1John 1:5, that God is light. So, Jesus said that He is God. #4. Please turn to John 10:7
(2X). Here Jesus said that He is the Door unto salvation. Joh 10:7,
“Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the
door of the sheep”. If Jesus is the Door, and Jesus also said, “I and
the Father are One”, then it follows that “No man cometh unto the
Father, but by me”, which means again that Jesus Christ is God Himself. #5. Please turn to John 10:11
(2X). There the Lord Jesus pointed to all the sheep for whom He was going to
atone for their sins. He said in, Joh 10:11, “I am the good shepherd:
the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep”. He was referring here to Psalm
23:1, where God says, “Jehovah is my Shepherd”, and thus again Jesus
Christ is Jehovah. #6. Please
turn to John 11:25 (2X). Here Jesus claimed to be God on the basis
of what He is doing. Joh 11:25, “Jesus said unto her, I am the
resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead,
yet shall he live”. How can the dead believe? Of course the dead cannot do
anything except if God first made them alive. But no one else can give life,
except God. #7. Please turn
now to John 14:6 (2X). We have touched on this one already. Joh 14:6,
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me”. This is a necessary result of Jesus’
statement, “I and the Father are One”, which means that Jesus and the
Father are One God. #8. Please turn
to John 15:1 (2X). Here the Lord Jesus claimed to be the only True
Vine, referring to a perfect grape vine. Joh 15:1, “I am
the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman”. Here the vineyard is not
left in the hands of men, but God Himself is the vinedresser. God’s providence
arranges everything in and around this vine, because it is a part of God
Himself. #9. Please turn to John
18:5 (2X). Jesus is being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas
Iscariot came with a band of soldiers and temple servants. Jesus asked them<
“Whom seek ye?” Joh 18:5, “They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto
them, I AM. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them”. Jesus
said , “I AM”, as if He said, “Jehovah”. So powerful were these
two words “I AM” that the band who came to arrest Jesus stepped
backwards, and then fell to the ground as if they were compelled to worship
Jehovah. This is exactly what the Greek text says in verse 6. John 18:6,
“As soon then as he had said unto them, I AM, they went backward (Lit:
they went away backwards), and fell to the ground”. Please turn again to
John 8:12 (2X),
And
so we see that by these two words “I AM” the Lord Jesus affirmed His
Deity, because these words refer to the literal meaning of Jehovah, which
means “I Am that I Am”. We read in Ex 3:14, “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said,
Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you”.
Over and over God stated in the NT that the Lord Jesus Christ is God. Anyone
who claims that Jesus was the Son of God, but not God, has fallen into the trap
of the Gnostics, which has been declared a heresy by the early
church fathers. We certainly do not want to let this heresy slip into our
doctrines. Let us now continue with John 8:12.
Joh 8:12 ¶ Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of
the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have
the light of life.
“Then
spake Jesus again unto them”. Who was this referring to? The Lord
Jesus was teaching His disciples and all those who wanted to hear Him when He
was rudely interrupted by the scribes and Pharisees, who brought before Him
this woman caught in the act of adultery. Now Jesus resumed His teaching. He
was provoked, but it did not affect His focus: He came to teach the
Gospel to the nation of Israel, who in turn were assigned to teach the Gospel
to the Gentiles. What does it mean to be “the Light of the World”? This
was in full agreement with the teachings of the OT on the nature of Messiah.
Let me quote to you from Isa 42:6, “I the LORD have called thee (Messiah) in
righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for
a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles”. When Jesus said
that He was the Light of the world He definitely was not referring only to the
nation of Israel, but He was referring to people all over the world. And so, to
be “the Light of the World” means then to be the guiding Spirit in the
lives of all those whom God intended to save, not only children of Jacob, but
also Gentiles who have been elected unto salvation. God speaks about this again
in Isa 49:6, “And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be
my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of
Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be
my salvation unto the end of the earth”. Here again Christ is called a
Light to the Gentiles, unto the ends of the earth. And to make sure we
understand that God intended the Lord Jesus to be a very bright light, God
pictures the Lord Jesus Christ as the SUN. God says in Mal 4:2, “But
unto you that fear my name shall the SUN of righteousness arise with healing in
his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall”.
Light is one of the three things God is said to be: God is Spirit (John 4:24),
God is Love (1John 4:8), and God is Light (1John 1:5). Again let me repeat the
meaning of the symbol for God is Light. Christ as the Light of men
is the appropriate symbol of spiritual illumination wrought by Christ through
the indwelling Holy Spirit. Without the indwelling Holy Spirit people are
spiritually in darkness, and are on the way to Hell. If Christ then is the
Light that leads men unto salvation and unto a further understanding of Christ,
then what are believers? We too have been commanded by God to bring the Gospel
to whomsoever wants to hear. The Lord Jesus said in Joh
9:5, “As long as I am in the world, I
am the light of the world”. But when Christ went back to Heaven He
delegated to us the task of spreading forth the Gospel. Therefore we read in Eph
5:8, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the
Lord: walk as children of light”. We are light in the Lord. Only because we are in the Lord can we be called “the light of the world”. And
what world is this that we are called “to let our light so shine before men
that they may see our good works and glorify our Father which is in Heaven”?
What world is this? It is remarkable that the word “world” is especially
prominent in the Gospel of John. In the 1st three Gospels the word
“world” occurs a total of 15 times, but in the Gospel of John alone it is found
77 times. So, when you want an understanding of the word “world” you
need to go to the Gospel of John, or to the Epistle of 1st
John. Most of the time the word “world” does not mean the whole wide world,
and most of the time it does not mean every human being in the world. In every
single instance the word “world” must be defined by its context or by
parallel passages that show us how the term is to be understood. For example,
here in John 8:12 the Lord Jesus said, “I am the light of the world:
he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the
light of life”. This verse implies that there are people who shall walk in
darkness and there are those who shall walk in the light of life. Either
people go to Hell, or they go to Heaven. There is no third group.
Therefore we recognize that it is extremely important to know to which group we
belong. Only for those who shall walk in the light will Christ be the Light of
the world. Everyone else who remains in darkness does not benefit from Christ
as “the Light of the World”. Therefore the word “world” in John
8:12 means “the world of the elect of God”. On the other hand, take
a look at John 7:7 (2X), where the Lord Jesus says, John 7:7, “The
world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the
works thereof are evil”, this is clearly "the world of the
reprobate”. The context has determined in every case how the word “world”
should be interpreted.
Joh 8:12 ¶ Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the
light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but
shall have the light of life.
Who are those that follow Him? They
are those who have been saved. God the Holy Spirit has given them a “Born
Again” soul and has given them faith, because the Lord Jesus Christ has
paid the guilt for all their sins on Calvary almost 2000 years ago. All those
for whom the Lord Jesus paid for the guilt of their sins will at some point in
their life receive the faith that accompanies a “Born Again” condition.
And after this event, when they have become saved, they will be followers of
Jesus Christ. And so, you see that the second half of John 8:12 proves
that Christ did not suffer and die on the cross for the sins of everyone in the
whole world. Only those who follow Christ have the “light of life”. Only
those who have become saved will follow Christ and have the “light of
life”. Only those for whom the Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died will
become saved and will follow Christ, and shall have the “light of life”. This Divine
Light is something possessed only by those who ”follow” Christ.
The
unregenerate
have light. They are capable of weighing moral issues. They have a conscience
which either accuses or excuses them. God says in Rom 2:15, “Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts,
their conscience also bearing witness, and their
thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another”. They also have the capability to recognize all the
evidences which testify to the existence and the attributes of our Great
Creator, so that they are without excuse. God says in Rom 1:19-20,
“Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath
shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the
creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are
made, even his eternal power and
Godhead; so that they are without excuse”. But spiritual light they do not
have. Therefore, although they have moral discernment and intelligence in
worldly matters, spiritually they are in darkness. This was the reason the Lord
Jesus said, “he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have
the light of life”. The implication is that the world of the unregenerate
is in spiritual darkness. They do not recognize their priorities. They do not
see the true character of God, or the worth of their souls, or the judgment to
come. And so, what does it mean to follow Christ? It is to commit
ourselves without reservation to Him as our only Savior and Lord in our doctrine
and in our conduct in this world. And to all those who faithfully serve
Him the Lord Jesus promised, “Ye shall have the light of life”. It means
that we can trust Him. It means that He will never let us down. It means that
Christ will be faithful to those who are His faithful servants. You may have
heard the rumor, “The church is dead. You must leave your church, or
else you will come under condemnation”. This is an outright lie. Christ
will be faithful to those churches who serve Him faithfully. He will not
abandon those who put their trust in Him, because He has promised, “he that
followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life”.
We can examine ourselves and receive the assurance that Christ
promised here. Now let us turn
#2. Ye
Shall Die in Your Sins (John 8:21,24, Jer 29:13, Rom 8:28)
Joh 8:21 ¶ Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way,
and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot
come.
What
ominous words! To whom did the Lord Jesus speak these words? The answer
is in V. 24,
John 8:24, I said therefore unto
you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I AM, ye
shall die in your sins
Three
times in these
two verses does the Lord Jesus say, “Ye shall die in your sins”. What do we see
here? Having refused the Light of the world, they shall continue in
darkness. Having despised the only Savior, they shall die in their sins.
Having rejected the Son of God, it shall be impossible for them to come
where He has gone. These scribes and Pharisees had come to listen to the
most gracious preacher that ever lived. They have heard the Gospel from
the lips of God Himself. They have seen the most wonderful miracles that
were ever performed on this earth. They knew all the OT Scriptures which
prophesied of these events. And yet they remained unsaved, hardened in their
heart, and developed a hatred for the Lord Jesus to the point of willing to
commit a murder. They were like the children of Israel in the wilderness
who also hardened their heart, in spite of seeing the miraculous pillar of
cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Every day and every night were
they reminded of the miraculous presence of God in their midst, and yet most of
them remained unsaved. We can hardly believe it. But God wrote these things for
our benefit. God reminds us that salvation is entirely by grace, and not by
how cleverly we evangelize the unsaved. If it is God’s will that they remain
unsaved, then they will remain unsaved. Moreover, when Jesus said 3 times, “Ye
shall die in your sins”, Jesus pointed out that there are sins that have
not been atoned for at the cross. There are many who teach that on the cross
Christ bore the sins of everyone on the whole earth. They insist that the
entire question of sin was dealt with and settled at the cross. They claim that
the only thing that will send any man to Hell is his rejection of Christ. But
how can this be when Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees, “Ye shall die
in your sins”. Those sins have not been atoned for.
But
now we are also puzzled by the statement in verse 21, “ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins”. How can we harmonize this with what we find in Jer
29:13, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart”? Obviously
these two verses say quite the opposite of each other. When do these two verses
apply? The sovereignty of God is prominently in view here. To those who are
God’s elect Christ would never say, “ye shall seek me, and shall die in your
sins”, because God knows that they shall not die in their sins. On the
other hand, to those who are reprobate Christ would never say, “And ye shall
seek me, and find me, when ye shall
search for me with all your heart”, because God knows that they will never
find Him. Therefore, since Jesus knew that these scribes and Pharisees were
among the reprobate, therefore said He unto them, “Whither I go ye cannot
come”. Did they understand His words? No! For whom did God record
these words? For US! God is reminding us once again that He is
sovereign. But these reprobate scribes and Pharisees were there for a reason.
They were there to cause Jesus to be crucified on our behalf. They were there within
the plan of God, who orchestrated all these events. And God determined that Christ
must be crucified in order to atone for our sins, so that salvation for His
elect will come. And that is the good that flows forth from everything that
comes to pass around us. That is why God could say in Rom 8:28, “And
we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to his
purpose”. Even when we come across dreadful verses such as John 8:21, we
can still be comforted by these. Then Jesus said
Joh 8:23 And he said
unto them, Ye are from beneath; I AM from above: ye are of this world; I
am not of this world.
“I AM from above”. Here is another one of the “I AM” statements of the
Lord Jesus, confirming to us His Deity. Then He said, “ye are of this world; I
AM not of this world”. Most churches these days believe that we presently
live in a church age. But when the Rapture of the believers has come then
Christ will usher in a Jewish age of 1000 years wherein Christ will personally
reign from Jerusalem and all the blood descendants of Jacob will be
evangelizing the world for Christ. There are many problems with this idea.
First of all, the entire NT does not support this idea. God does not lie
when He says in John 1:13, “which were born, not of blood”,
meaning “not by bloodline”. God does not poor His favors on someone
because he happens to be a blood descendent of Jacob. No one goes to Heaven on
the coattails of one of his ancestors. The remnant chosen by grace does not
follow certain bloodlines, but is entirely according to the good pleasure of
His will. God chose His elect people out of every tribe, and nation, and
tongue, and people. Secondly, God does not lie when He says in Gal
3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free,
there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus”. God
does not have two different plans of salvation, one for the Jews and one for
the Gentiles. Moreover, the Lord Jesus stated in John 8:23, “I AM not
of this world”. The Lord Jesus repeated this statement in John 18:36,
where He said, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world,
then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but
now is my kingdom not from hence”. We need to keep in mind that on this
earth Christ’s Kingdom is a spiritual Kingdom. As long as we live on this side
of eternity we live on a sin-cursed earth, which must be destroyed because the
heathen have defiled it. Christ would not be pleased at all to set up a kingdom
on this dunghill. But for cockroaches a dunghill is a beautiful place
with plenty of food. It is only after we have arrived on the other side of
eternity that we will fully agree with God to destroy this dunghill. Let us
now turn to verse 28.
#3. Then Shall Ye Know That I AM (John
8:28-29, 12:32, Phil 1:6)
Joh 8:28 Then said
Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that
I am,
and that I do nothing of myself; but
as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.
When
you have lifted up the cross
on which I will be crucified, then shall you know that I AM. The word
“he” is in italics, so I can leave it out. Again here is one of the “I AM”
statements of Jesus, confirming that He is God. And not only that He is God,
but also that those who have lifted Him up shall know that He is God.
Historically we do not see this prophecy fulfilled. There is no record of the
salvation of all the Roman soldiers who nailed Jesus to the cross and lifted up
the cross. But who nailed Jesus to the cross? We nailed Him to the cross.
It was for our sins that He had to be crucified. This is the only way Jesus’ statement
in verse 28 can be satisfied. Moreover, Jesus spoke of His crucifixion also in
this way in John 12:32. Please turn to John 12:32 (2X). There the
Lord Jesus said,
Joh 12:32 And I, if I be
lifted up from the earth, will draw all (men)
unto me.
Who
are the “all men” that Jesus would draw unto Him? This could not refer to all
the males in the world. The word “men” is in italics. Even so, the Lord Jesus
would not draw everyone in the world to Himself after His crucifixion. Only a
remnant chosen by grace will be drawn to believe that the Lord Jesus Christ
suffered and died for their sins. And so just like the word “world”, we see
here another word, the word “all”, that must be interpreted based on the
context. It is true that many have been and still will be drawn to the Lord Jesus as their Savior, but
it still is only a remnant chosen by grace. Please turn again to John 8:29
(2X), and here the Lord Jesus said, “And he that
sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those
things that please him”. This enormous
principle applies both to Christ and to US. Just like Christ was not abandoned
by the Father, so Christ will not leave us alone. He will not abandon us. “Being
confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will
perform it until the day of Jesus
Christ” (Phil 1:6). He will not abandon His faithful servants. We
can be very confident of this very thing. When Christ said, “I Am the Light of the World”, He
committed thereby to be our Light in this world, so that we will always do
those things that are pleasing in His sight. And therefore He will never leave
us nor forsake us.
AMEN. Let
us turn to the Lord in prayer.