In This Issue

 

• THE DRAWING POWER OF GOD

• MAKING ALL THINGS ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN

• MORE INFORMATION...

THE DRAWING POWER OF GOD

The Jews complained about Jesus, “because He said, ‘I am the bread which came down from heaven.’ And they said, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus therefore answered and said to them, ‘Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world’" (John 6:41-51).

We might do well to remind ourselves that the apostle John, in his account of the gospel uses the word “Jews” to refer to the religious leaders among the Jewish people. Jesus had first tried to reason with the multitude and get them to understand His spiritual mission. He had attempted to get them to value spiritual nourishment above physical food, but they neither understood nor believed His teachings.

Then the religious leaders, “the Jews,” got into the conversation. They murmured because He called Himself “the bread which came down from heaven.”  They, like the crowd to whom Jesus had been conversing, were so caught up in the physical realm that they could not identify with Jesus’ spiritual application. Physically, they knew Him to be known as “the son of Joseph. They knew his parents. How, then, could He claim to have come from God?

To them, Jesus elaborated on what He had said to the multitude. “No one can come to Me unless the Father draw him.” Then He explains that God’s drawing power is His teaching, as the prophets had indicated. Isaiah had written, All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children” (Isa.54:13). In fact, those who are not drawn to Jesus by His teaching, will not come to Him at all. And those who do not come to Him will never be His. They will miss the spiritual blessings which God would like to bestow upon them. 

 Like Nicodemus in chapter 3 and the Samaritan woman in chapter 4, the Jewish people and especially the Jewish leadership had trouble looking beyond the physical and seeing the more important spiritual truths with which God seeks to draw us to Jesus that we might be have everlasting life in heaven. Though our physical body declines and will eventually return to dust, if we have been drawn to Jesus by His teaching, He will raise us up at the last day to be with Him forever in heaven.

 --Clarence R. Johnson

MAKING ALL THINGS ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN

Many features of the Old Testament system (law of Moses) were put in place by God, to picture what would eventually become reality through the work of Jesus Christ, our great High Priest. For instance, various details in the Jewish tabernacle served to foreshadow the good things God would eventually confer upon believers. The good things to come were pictured by various elements of the Mosaic system. The law, therefore was a shadow of the good things to come, (see Heb. 9:11 & 10:1).

This is one reason why, when Moses supervised the building of that tabernacle, it was crucial for him to make all things according to the pattern which came from the perfect mind of God. Even the detailed furnishings had to be made exactly like the pattern the Lord had shown Moses, (Num. 8:4). Various features of the old Jewish system were designed by God to foreshadow gospel blessings; these institutions served as the copies or shadows of the heavenly things, so Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. God said to him: see that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain. (Heb. 8:5; Acts 7:44; Ex. 25:9,40; 26:30; Num. 8:4.)

We have not been instructed to build, or re-built that Mosaic tabernacle, but when we study these things we must carefully explore for any underlying principles that pertain to us. Just as God expressed His mind to Moses and gave instructions to Him, He has expressed His mind to us, and given us instructions to follow (Heb. 1:1,2). We're to "hold fast to the pattern of sound words" (2 Timothy 1:13).

I am convinced there is such a principle, and I can best express it this way: Gods purpose is carried out when His pattern is followed! The tabernacle is an excellent example. In having the Jews build that tabernacle, we know that God had a purpose in mind. He didn't do this accidentally, nor was this an exercise to keep the Jewish laborers and artisans busy. God had a purpose in mind, when He had the people build the tabernacle; an immediate purpose [Jewish worship], and an ultimate purpose [symbolic of the New Covenant blessings, see Heb. 9:9]. The pattern, or blueprint God gave to Moses was designed to implement Gods purposes, both immediate and ultimate.

The principle is: God, in His perfect mind, forms a purpose; then He reveals His pattern, with admonitions to follow His instructions. Only when men follow Gods pattern, is Gods purpose carried out. Stated negatively, if I don't follow Gods pattern, I fail to carry out His purpose!

In the case of the tabernacle, if Moses had ignored God's pattern and followed a human plan - the tabernacle would not have fulfilled Gods purpose; it would not have effectively functioned in foreshadowing the new covenant and the high-priestly ministry of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary (of which the earthly was only a replica.)! Only as we follow Gods pattern, can it be said that we have performed His purpose. We need to acknowledge how purpose and pattern go together. Behind every pattern revealed by God, there are divine purposes, which are fulfilled when we follow His pattern.

Applications Follow: MARRIAGE. God had certain purposes in mind by instituting the marriage relationship: (a) companionship, (b) reproduction, (c) the nurturing of children, and (d) the foundation of the social order. God had these good purposes in mind. To accomplish these purposes, God revealed a pattern (instructions, law). If we ignore Gods pattern for husband and wife, God's purposes are not carried out.

THE LORD'S SUPPER. All anyone knows about the Lord's Supper is from the Bible. What about the elements we use ... the significance we attach to this feast ... the regularity with which we partake ... Where did we come up with all this? The Bible. When I take everything the New Testament says about the Lords Supper, and use that as my pattern, is there anything wrong with that? Does that make me a radical, a Pharisee, or a conservative or anti? I think it makes me a Christian. This is what being a Christian is all about; letting Christ be the head of the church, and following the instructions given by Christ through His apostles ... making all things according to the pattern, in order for the purposes of God to be fulfilled.

THE LOCAL CHURCH. God, in His wisdom, set up the local church. Thats why, when you read the New Testament, you read about local churches (Jerusalem, Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, etc.). Christians got together. They formed themselves into local groups, to worship together, to edify one another, and to join together for the preaching of the gospel.

Now, when God set up the local church, through the preaching of the apostles, let there be no doubt, God had certain purposes in mind! I submit, if we want a local church to fulfill the purposes intended by God, we need to follow the pattern given by God. Is that difficult or complicated? Is that an expression of human tradition? NO, it is entirely reasonable, and in keeping with everything the Scriptures teach.

So, when it comes to things like ELDERS AND DEACONS; the preaching and teaching we do; the way we use our resources; the worship we provide for; the support of gospel preachers; the assistance given to needy saints, and all other matters that have to do with the local church, we should follow the pattern given by God!

This is not a matter of being conservative, it is a matter of being right. This isn't just about continuing to do what those men believed in, who started a local church in a community, it is about continuing steadfastly in the apostles doctrine (Acts 2:42). When we follow Gods pattern, because we love God, want to honor Christ and carry out divine purposes - this is not the mentality of a Pharisee, this is the mentality of a servant who wants to obey the Lord.

Hebrews 8:5 may not call upon us to build a tabernacle, yet the underlying principle is trans-dispensational. It has always been necessary to follow any pattern given by God. This is the only way we can carry out His purposes.

--Warren E. Berkley via Exton Exhorter

Freedom in Christ makes us conscious of our rights. The love of Christ leads us to waive those rights for the good of others.

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