Life-Study of Johnpor Witness Lee
ISBN: 0-7363-0957-8
Copia impresa: Living Stream Ministry disponible en línea
ISBN: 0-7363-0957-8
Copia impresa: Living Stream Ministry disponible en línea
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In this message we come to another major subsection in the Gospel of John. We have seen that this Gospel is composed of two sections: the eternal Word incarnated coming to bring God into man (chs. 1—13), and Jesus crucified and Christ resurrected going to prepare the way to bring man into God, and as the Spirit coming to abide and live in the believers for the building of God’s habitation (chs. 14—21). We have already covered the first three subsections of the first main section: an introduction to life and building (1:1-51); life’s principle and life’s purpose (2:1-22); and life meeting the need of man’s every case (2:23—11:57). The principle of life is to change death into life (2:1-11), and the purpose of life is to build the house of God (2:12-22). Beginning with chapter three, we see nine cases which illustrate how Christ as life can meet mankind’s every need for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. This brings us to the end of chapter eleven. After this, in chapter twelve, this Gospel reveals the issue of Christ being life to man: the producing of the church. The church, a house of feasting, is the place where the Lord can rest and obtain His satisfaction. The issue of Christ being life to man is the church. What then is life’s multiplication? In chapter twelve we see a small church. It is small in number, in size, and in the growth of life. How can this church be multiplied? It is by the multiplication of life. The issue of life is to produce the church, and the multiplication of life is to increase the church in size, in number, and in the growth of life.
Chapter twelve stands alone. It is not the continuation of the nine foregoing cases; it is the conclusion of all of them. The conclusion of the nine cases is that Christ as life issues in the church. In 12:1-11 we see life’s issue, which is the church.
In chapter eleven the Lord raised Lazarus from the dead. That resurrection issued in the church life. We all were dead persons. Then the Lord came in to resurrect us. After He resurrected us, we became the church. Thus, in chapter eleven we see Lazarus resurrected and in chapter twelve we see that the resurrected person becomes the very place where the Lord can find rest and satisfaction. This is the church. Now we need to consider the church as the house of feasting.
This house of feasting is outside of religion. It was not in Jerusalem, the holy city, or in the holy temple. It was in a little house in Bethany, outside of Jerusalem and outside of religion.
The Lord being life to people to meet all of their needs brought about His rejection by the Jewish religion. Judaism could not tolerate seeing the Lord being life to so many kinds of people. So the religious ones rejected the Lord as life. This rejection began in chapter five (vv. 16, 18) and reached its climax in chapter ten (vv. 31, 39). In chapter eleven the Jewish religionists even held a council on how to put the Lord to death because He had raised Lazarus from the dead (11:53, 57). The Jewish leaders also plotted to put Lazarus to death for the same reason (12:10). This shows how much religion is against the Lord as life. It not only persecuted the Lord, but also tried to destroy those who participated in the Lord as life. Religion always renounces and rejects the Lord as life.
As we study the Gospel of John, we must see the difference between religion and Christ as life. The Lord Jesus came to earth in His incarnation not to be a religious leader but to come into man and to be man’s life. From the first case of regeneration in chapter three to the last case of resurrection in chapter eleven, all that the Lord did was to present Himself as life to people outside of the Jewish religion. If we look at religion, including Christianity, from a viewpoint other than that of life, we shall be easily cheated and misled, for religion teaches people how to know God and worship Him. It even teaches the Bible. It seems that there is nothing bad about it. However, if the Lord has mercy on us and if His Spirit opens our eyes, we shall see that what God is doing in the universe is not merely to make people worship Him or serve Him. In this age God’s desire and intention is to come into man in the Son, by His Spirit, and through His Word to be man’s life that man might live by Him. This is absolutely different from religion and altogether contrary to the religious concept.
When the Lord came as life to man, He was rejected by the Jewish religion. Throughout all the succeeding centuries, He has been continually rejected by religion. Whether that religion is Catholicism or Protestantism, as long as it is a religion it will not and cannot purely take the Lord as life. In this matter of taking the Lord as life, both the religion of Catholicism and the religion of Protestantism have been great frustrations to people, just as the religion of Judaism was in the Lord’s time and still is today. Therefore, we must be aware and alert concerning any kind of religion. If not, we might be led astray.
Nota: Esperamos que muchos se beneficien de estas riquezas espirituales. Sin embargo, para evitar cualquier tipo de confusión, les pedimos que ninguno de estos materiales sean descargados o copiados y publicados en otro lugar, sea por medio electrónico o por cualquier otro medio. Living Stream Ministry mantiene todos los derechos de autor en estos materiales, y esperamos que ustedes los que nos visiten respeten esto.