As recorded in the gospel of John chapters 13 to 16 a special message was given by Jesus to his disciples just prior to his death. These four chapters cover important information that is connected to the approaching cross and clearly show that a new dispensation was being ushered in at this time in history. The old order under the Mosaic law had come to an end, and a new order under grace was about to begin. There is no clearer dispensational teaching in the Bible than is found in these four chapters, and it is difficult to understand how, in view of them, it is possible that many believers hold on to and retain so much of the demands of the old order in their understanding.
Notice the new commandment in Chapter 13:34. “A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” A new commandment means that it had not previously been in effect. It was first given at that specific time. It also means there had been a former admonition. You may ask, what was the old commandment? Jesus had previously answered one of the lawyers and said: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matt. 22: 37-40).
According to this word of truth, the Mosaic law was based upon authentic love even as is the new commandment, but the new is much greater than the old to the extent that the divine admonition under grace is greater than that which is from human viewpoint and law.
The measure of love under the old commandment was with “thy heart,” “thy soul” and “thy mind.” Each of these commands are on a human level. Love for the neighbor as one’s self while totally unfilled by anyone remains as a limited human love. To love one another as Christ loved is to love with a love that is supernatural. The Apostle Paul wrote about this kind of love: “Who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). This new commandment transcends the old to the degree that infinity transcends the finite. It calls for a standard of life never before contemplated by man and never before fully realized by anyone.
To believe that the moral standards of the law are an essential obligation upon believers is to insist upon a purely human standard of life for those who, by regeneration, have become members of the new creation in Christ Jesus. Everyone who is a part of this new order must realize there is a divine rule of life that is to be lived according to the perfect love that emanates from the Lord Jesus Christ and not from the demands of the Mosaic law. As the believer comes to this realization it is evident that to insist upon the law as a guide to spirituality under grace is to lower the standard of grace that far exceeds the best that can be accomplished by obedience to the law.
To demand a higher and more perfect divine rule does not lower the bar but raises it. Also, it does not do away with the correctness of the law for all good that issues from human love is included as a part, but only a small part, of all that issues from divine love. Therefore, the moral requirements of the law are restated in the teachings of grace in the epistles, but in these letters, they are presented as details which are becoming to the earthly life of the individual who is in Christ and who has been called by a heavenly calling.
An additional statement may be found in John 14: 16,17. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever…. He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.” Until these words were spoken the Holy Spirit was with them but did not dwell within them. The indwelling occurred at the Baptism of the Holy Spirit which was first experienced on the day of Pentecost.
Jesus had previously said: “He that believeth on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” (But this said he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified), (John 7:38,39). The Holy Spirit is the source of power and production for all believers, but He was not received until after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit was active in the Old Testament economy, but the indwelling did not occur until the day of Pentecost when He indwelt the entire body of believers who were waiting in the upper room for Him to descend upon them.
God temporarily indued Moses and a few others with the Holy Spirit to accomplish specific tasks. It was necessary for them to ask for help to perform that task. God said to Moses: “Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel… and bring them unto the tabernacle… and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee and will put it upon them: and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone” (Num. 11:16, 17). Therefore, Moses temporarily received the spirit to accomplish a specific task, but that task was specifically limited. Further, this enduement of the Spirit was taken away when the task was performed. A similar thought may be found in the words of David; “… take not thy holy spirit from me” (Ps. 51:11). This was possible because although Moses and David were endued with the spirit, they were not indwelt by the spirit who would abide forever.
The sacrifices under the law provided a covering but could not take away sin. “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb. 10:4).
Therefore, they served only as an atonement (covering for sin). The sacrifice of Christ was sufficient to take away sin, and those who are sanctified are perfected forever. “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are sanctified” (Heb. 10:14). Notice the language. It is not being sanctified. It is those who are sanctified! It is a completed action.
Jesus Christ was the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world, therefore, one who has been sanctified and perfected forever by becoming a child of God is living in a body that is a sacred temple in which the Holy Spirit indwells and abides forever.
Under the law only a temporary enduement of the Spirit was given to certain individuals to perform specific tasks. Under grace the Spirit permanently indwells all believers to comfort, teach, and empower the earthly life to be lived on a spiritual level. To love our neighbor as ourselves or to love as Christ loved are commands that cannot be accomplished in the energy of the flesh and must be accomplished by the power and controlling ministry of the Holy Spirit. The believer’s failure to recognize the transition from law to grace has caused many well-meaning believers to look to themselves for power to keep the law that cannot be accomplished by the energy of the flesh. This conflict between law and grace continues to contaminate and confuse the lives and effectiveness of many well-meaning and dedicated believers in Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ said: “You are my friends, if you do whatsoever, I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knows not what his Lord does: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you” (John 15:14,15).
Henceforth means from this time on. It definitely indicated a fixed time at which a change takes place. Prior to this time Jesus had called His disciples servants and had said to them: “You call me Master and Lord: and you say well; for so I Am” (John 13: 13).
The relationship of master and servant is well recognized under the law. The obligations of each are governed by strict adherence to the law. Several courts of justice and jurisprudence involve questions that arise out of this relationship. It is not so in the case of friendship. There is no legal responsibility that arises from this kind of relationship. It is a reciprocal relationship; It is a give and take proposition.
No court system has ever been called upon to decide a single case based on the obligations of one “friend” to another “friend.” Both of these relationships are based upon reciprocal actions between the two parties. The servant works for the master and in return the master pays wages. There are fixed stipulations regarding the work to be accomplished for which wages are to be paid. On strict legal grounds wages are the incentive to work or perform to a certain acceptable standard. The incentive to work under law comes from the outside of the servant to the inside.
Similarly, under the Mosaic law God promised blessings to Israel if they hearkened diligently to His voice and obeyed all His commandments.
“Now it shall be, if you will diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you will obey the Lord your God” (Deut. 28:1-2).
The passing of this legal relationship between God and His royal family of believers in Christ is implied in the words, “Henceforth I call you not servants.”
A true friend may do much work for a familiar friend, but neither is personally required to generate a fixed amount of work nor is a wage paid or required. The very moment a reward is required the labor is not on the basis of friendship but is for a reward. The incentive to labor under friendship must not be for a reward or a paid wage.
The moment any requirement of reward enters, the labor is not on the basis of friendship but is because of reward. The incentive to labor under friendship is not because of impending fear or loss of reward. This unfettered labor springs from within, from the very heart of a true friend and is expressed by the word “love.”
The reliable and consistent love from a mother is one of the best demonstrations of love that can be known by anyone. There is no written law, nor any manifest compulsion, that determines or demands the sacrifices she will willingly make for her children.
A mother’s love does not count the costs, the hours of labor, or the times of exhaustion because her labor is given and can never be required, earned, or deserved. The child is totally dependent and cannot give. It is helpless and can only receive the rich benefits that come from a faithful, loving, and giving Mother.
A mother’s love cannot be earned or deserved because it comes gratuitously from her storehouse of unconditional love and not from the child. A responsible mother’s love is truly a God ordained labor of love. As children mature and look back on all that she willingly accomplished, they will have good reason to be in awe of the uniqueness of her labor of love.
The apostle Paul makes reference to some of the things believers do in service of the Lord and they are defined as a “work of faith, and a labor of love” (1 Thess. 1:3).
Christian service is frequently defined as, “Our service for Christ.” This is applicable so long as the word service is not a legally binding requirement in observance of the law. It is most unfortunate when a believer’s service is performed under compulsion and becomes a servile duty. This kind of legalistic effort, no matter how extensive, cannot be considered as a labor of love. Whenever the work of a believer is performed for merit, recognition, or reward it does not spring from love which is the true basis for friendship.
A believer’s service is not to be rendered in compliance to the law or of duty or compulsion from work for wages. When grace is clearly understood the service becomes a joyful giving of self in appreciation of what God has accomplished through Jesus Christ. When works for merit are in question, grace is out of the question. Grace is all that God freely does for humankind on the sole basis of what Christ has accomplished on the cross. It is certainly not all that humankind can do for God.
When Jesus no longer called His disciples servants but friends, He did not say nor imply that in this new relationship they might regulate their own lives or live anyway they so desired. He did not teach that believers may freely live according to the dictates of the old sin nature and fulfill the lusts thereof.
The believer’s life under His amazing grace envelops into a state of friendship with the Lord only on the condition that “If Ye do whatsoever I command you” (John 15:14).
The new relationship under grace is not one of self-will but is of obedience to the Son of God. Our service must be from a joyful desire and not from a dutiful obligation.
In the gospel of John Chapter one verse twelve a new relationship may be realized which includes all who are born of God and become children of God. The condition for entering into this relationship is to receive Christ by believing on His name and his finished work on the cross.
The individual who has become a child of God may become a “friend” by doing what is commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ. It is abundantly clear that all believers are not “friends.” Sadly, many believers do little or nothing, and these are not friends for they go along for the ride, but do not wish to be disturbed or challenged.
Friendship with the Lord Jesus Christ means not only obedience and a labor of love for Christ; It also means a revelation by Him of the things of God. “I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15).
What a rich blessing it is to have the blessed assurance that all things he has heard from the father is made known or revealed to the believing friend. The information from the Father is contained in writing within His revelation in the 66 books of His infallible word.
It is not incidental that Abraham was called “The friend of God” (James 2:23). It was revealed to him that which God intended to do to Sodom. “And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do” (Gen. 18:17).
Moses was never called the friend of God but is always identified with his position as the one through whom the law was given; he is “Moses my servant.” David was also called “My servant” and so is the Nation Israel. In prophecy Jesus is called servant “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom My soul delights” (Isa. 42:1)
An amazing contrast from law to grace is found in all biblical references to the church. It will be in vain to find any statement that is made in His word wherein any individual under grace is called “my servant.” Yes, Paul called himself a bondslave of Jesus Christ, but that was his personal designation, and it was the love of Christ that caused him to do so.
An additional statement that shows the transition from law to grace is found in John 16: 23,24. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatsoever you shall ask the Father in my name; he will give it you. Hitherto have you asked nothing in my name; ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be full.”
Therein is an unmistakable change in conditions. Until this time His disciples had asked nothing in His name. To ask in His name is to ask on the basis of who and what He is and what He accomplished in His finished work on the cross. It was not on the basis of who and what they were or had accomplished which, at best, was far short of the perfection that resides in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
From this time and forward prayer is to be directed to God the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, by means of the power of the Holy Spirit. The merits of Christ leave no room for merit on the part of the one who makes petitions through prayer. God’s response to prayer must be an unmerited provision in love and only emanates from His matchless grace. As before indicated, when merit is in question, Grace is out of the question.
The Lord’s Prayer:
This prayer was taught prior to Jesus saying, “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name” The Lord’s prayer cannot be a prayer in His name as the granting of the petitions did not depend upon the merits of Christ. The forgiveness of sins was based exclusively upon the meritorious acts of those who prayed.
These petitioners first forgave the sins of those who had sinned against them. This is human merit. The granting of these petitions cannot be called unmerited favor and therefore is not by means of grace. In this prayer there is a distinct element of human merit that is offered as a basis for God’s favor; therefore, this kind of prayer is associated with the dispensation of the law. Under law, man can pray on no other ground than that which is permitted under the law. Under grace, Christ became the propitiation for sin and all who receive Him become “accepted (of God) in the beloved” (Eph. 1:6). As a child of God, access is made through the one and only mediator, Jesus Christ, the righteous one.
The statement “Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name,” is a declaration that they had been functioning under the law, and the granting of the petitions did not depend upon the merits of Christ. By learning to ask in His name they were brought under the amazing and liberating grace of God.
On the eve of His death Jesus proclaimed the passing of the old order under law and presented the advent of the new order under grace. In this new order the standard of life is on a divine level instead of a human plane under the law.
It is accomplished by means of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit and does not emanate from the energy of the flesh.
As an enablement to live according to this exalted standard of life nothing less that the Spirit of God Himself is provided. Human labor for God is on the basis of friendship and is actuated by Spirit controlled love instead of being under servitude and operating by fear. The good news is those under God’s mighty hand of grace may approach Him on the sole merits of His perfect Son instead of their upon their own weak and beggarly human efforts.
Without Jesus Christ no one has access into and through the door to heaven. In receiving Him as the only savior entrance is gained because of His finished work. Look to Him and not to the weak and beggarly merits of the fading human flesh. A Holy Spirit inspired soul uttered these words as he approached our Holy God in prayer, “O Lord, I approach you not on the basis of my feeble understanding of you, but on the sole basis of who you know yourself to be.”
“Truly, truly, I say unto you I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” (John 10:7:9).
“But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish; and neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:26-29).
“He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not on the son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).
“And this is the record that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life and he who has not the Son of God has not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God that YOU MAY KNOW that you have eternal life, and that you may believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (1 John 5:11-13).
