‘If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.’ KJV
A little earlier, in John 10:30 speaking to the Jews He removed all doubt concerning the nature of the Godhead when He said, “I and my Father are one’. Can you hear the echo of the Old Testament revelation, ‘Hear O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord…’ Deut 6:4. His listeners certainly understood His meaning for they immediately took up stones to stone Him. Jesus Himself quoted this very principle from the Old Testament in Mark 12:29 in answer to one of the scribes, “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:” This one Lord has made Himself known to us in Christ. He, who is ‘one with the Father’, stated the following words in John 14:23,
‘Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.’
In John 14 and 16 the Lord Jesus discussed the promised presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. In His physical absence He has made provision for us to continue in His presence by the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer. He, the living God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, comes and indwells us and He, personally has promised to guide us into all truth…
‘Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. John 16:13 KJV
What is important about this is that we have this incredible treasure of the indwelling presence of the Godhead in each of us with the expressed willingness to constantly make Himself known to us in ever greater and greater ways; comforting, sustaining, teaching us about His word, and showing us things to come. That John knew exactly what the Lord Jesus meant is revealed in his first letter, 1 John 2:27,
‘But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.’ KJV
The Bible in Basic English is helpful with this passage,
‘As for you, the Spirit which he gave you is still in you, and you have no need of any teacher; but as his Spirit gives you teaching about all things, and is true and not false, so keep your hearts in him, through the teaching which he has given you.’ BBE
The Lord has given light and insight to many of His people, all play their part in the scheme of things, but no other person, no other book, nothing but nothing, is meant to take the place of the personal, indwelling experience of the inner teaching and guiding of the Godhead in the heart and life of the believer. He comes to make His home in you. His presence in you will be so wonderfully real that you have NO NEED of any other teacher. He, the Lord Himself, by the Spirit, will teach you and me about ALL THINGS. Isn’t it interesting that over the last two millennia religious institutions and religious leaders have constantly sought to rob us of that reality. The church has, and in many ways still does, gone to amazing lengths to tell you what to believe and to suggest overtly and covertly that someone else has far more insight and capacity to understand the Word of God than the ordinary believer and that their words are what you need hear, read or listen to in order to know the mind and will of God. Believe nothing you hear or read, including this little article, until you read and ponder the Word of God for yourself and then prayerfully and seeking His supernatural guidance by the Holy Spirit, seek to know the truth directly from the Godhead whom Jesus has promised will dwell within you.
So, I finish where I began, ‘set aside quality time for the Lord’ in your life. Read and meditate on great chunks of the Bible. Read it and read it and read. Pray over it and pray over it and pray over it. Make it your highest priority. ‘He who sees in secret will reward you openly’. Matthew 6:6. One of the great signs of the end of the age is the increasing activity of spirits (plural) of deception and anti and false Christ’s. These will culminate in the man of sin himself, the Beast and the False Prophet -the final manifestation of incarnate sin and evil. We are told to ‘Take heed that you be not deceived…’ Luke 21:8. So, take heed and turn to the scriptures as never before and read them and pray for light, guidance, direction and understanding. As you do, we, your brothers and sisters in Christ will benefit as you share with us those things the Lord has given you.
1 Corinthians 14:26, 1 Peter 4:10, Ephesians 4:16.
But remember, we too must judge and think about what we share among ourselves and reflect and meditate to see whether what is said fits with, and is in accord with, the Word of God and sound doctrine. Let us
‘…grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.’
Every blessing in Christ,
John