[ The
Purposes
of Discipleship,
Cont. ]
This is the second part in a study
on "Discipleship." The term "disciple"
appears in the New Testament about 250
times, the term "believer" about 12 times,
and the term "Christian" only 3 times. So we
can see the importance that Jesus and the early church placed on
discipleship.
[ Part 1 Review ]
In part one
, we saw that a "disciple" is a pupil
or learner
— one who has placed himself under
the tutelage of another, to be disciplined
in a way of life. It was understood
by those who had accepted Jesus as their
Messiah and Savior in the life of the early
church that they were the followers of THE
WAY, and the followers of Christ were
frequently referred to as a part of this
"way" (Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22).
We saw in our last study that accepting
Jesus as our Savior is only the "entrance
gate" into Kingdom citizenship. But to ENTER
INTO and BENEFIT from the greater blessings
and rewards of that Kingdom, discipleship
is a necessity. "Eternal life"
is a free gift (Rom. 6:23), received by
faith (Ephes. 2:8), and implies nothing
more than the restoration of
that which Adam lost on this earth.
Beyond that, the Lord has great "vistas" of
"sonship" responsibility, blessings,
authority, and glory that are so vast in
scope that the average Christian has but
faint conception, or even a gross misconception.
As I continue this study on "Discipleship,"
I think you will realize that this teaching
complements and "fits" right into the
lessons I have been giving on the "overcoming
life" called "Names of Tribes on Gates
of Pearl." It will be incorporated into
those lessons when finished and put together
into booklet form. [Ed. note:
This series is not published on this
site, but is available in hard copy
through Shepherdsfield
.]
In the last study, I
presented first (1) The Perspective
of Discipleship; then (2) The Position
of Discipleship; and then I was in the
midst of presenting (3) The Purposes
of Discipleship, of which there are
several. I had presented the
following purposes of Discipleship based
on Jesus' words in Mt. 11:29 (1) To get
"yoked up" to Jesus Christ, even as He was
"yoked" to the Father, that we might become
"meek" even as He was "meek"; (2) To
"learn of Christ" by diligently studying
His Word
— the Scriptures. We saw that such
"learning" necessitated the quality of
"humility", even as Jesus was "humble"
(lowly in heart). We also saw that that the
New Testament links humility with the
"grace" of God (James
4:6; I Pet. 5:5). It is only through God's
supernatural grace (favor) that we are given
the "spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
(full) knowledge of Christ" (Ephes. 1:17)
that we might understand the Scriptures
(Luke 24:45).
[ Humility Cont., the
Effect of Religious Tradition on
Teachability ]
There are many aspects of humility,
but there were three that I said I wanted to
emphasize: (1) Our willingness to be "teachable";
(2) Our desperate need; and (3) Honesty.
Last time I partially covered the first: "a
teachable spirit." I said that there were three
hindrances to most people, even
Christians, to being truly teachable. I
commented on the first: (1) Too much
secular (humanistic) education;
and I will now proceed to the second: (2) Too
much religious tradition. Someone
has said that "tradition sticks worse than
sin." Jesus found it impossible to "get truth"
into the heads of the vast majority of the
religious leaders of His day because they were
"bound" by their false religious traditions.
Perceiving their total unwillingness to
abandon their traditions, and "hear" the Word
of God, He castigated them severely as we read
in Mark 7:7-8, 13: "Howbeit in vain do they
worship me, teaching for doctrine the
commandments of men. For laying aside the
commandment of God, you hold
the traditions of men.
.
. making the Word of God
of no effect through your
traditions ." Even Jesus' own disciples,
who were committed to Him, were so tradition-bound,
that Jesus had extreme difficulty in getting
them to understand that HIS Kingdom was NOT to
be after the carnal, materialistic, even
militaristic-conquering Kingdom, with a
"swashbuckler" kind of Messiah, after the
fashion of their great "hero-king" David, who
was a great military leader, conquering all
their enemies and establishing an outward
kingdom of great "pomp and splendor." The
disciples were sure, after seeing the
demonstrations of His mighty miracle-working
power, that Jesus would, in time, take up the
sword, rally the multitudes, drive out the
Romans, and restore the Davidic throne, taking
the "scepter" of rulership, and sitting down
on an earthly throne in Jerusalem,. This is
why Peter had the audacity to rebuke
Jesus for saying that He was going to Jerusalem
to DIE (Mt. 16:21-23), for Peter's traditional
concept of the Kingdom
had no place for a dead
Messiah.
It is beyond the scope of this study
to deal at length with the intriguing issue of
Jesus' teaching anew of His disciples through
much patience, repetition, even sharp rebuke
at times, etc., but simply to make the point
that their traditional religious concepts had
to be changed, and that was no easy
task, even for the very Son of God. As a
matter of fact, it was not until after
Jesus was raised from the dead, that
the disciples began to recall many of
the truths that He taught, enabling them to
understand that He came to establish a spiritual
Kingdom, which first had to take "root"
in the human heart (through the power
of divine regeneration
—
being "born anew" from above by
the Spirit
— John 3: 3-6) before it
could be manifested outwardly in
ever widening circles of influence .
If you are perceptive, you no doubt
already know the point I now want to make.
Is human nature any different today than it
was in Jesus' day? Are people any less
"bound" by religious traditions today than
in the day that Jesus almost vainly sought
to penetrate the "tradition-clogged" minds
of those to whom He
was sent? I doubt that we need to argue that
our multitudinous denominations, sects, and
religious organizations of various kinds,
with many divergent beliefs, attest
to the fact that we are as "tradition-bound"
as the generation to which Jesus came.
Yes, religious tradition, which can
vary from outright falsehood and error to a
mixture of truth and error, can definitely be
a hindrance to having a "teachable
spirit." It has been my experience that those
who make the most rapid advance in truth and
vital, spirit-quickened realities are those
who have had no church background or religious
training of any "kind. This is because their
minds were not "cluttered" with a lot of
things to unlearn. It is a fact that the hardest
part of learning is the task of
unlearning that which has become so entrenched
in the human mind. I speak from personal
experience! I won't belabor the details,
but how I praise the Lord that because of a hunger
for truth from my youth, and because of the willingness
(by God's grace) to make the sacrifices
necessary to "loose" myself from the
necessity of having to "conform" to the
indoctrination received through 7 years of
schooling to be accepted for pastoral ministry
within a certain religious group, I am now
(and have been for a number of years) FREE to
sit at the "feet of Jesus" and learn from Him,
as He "quickens" His Word by the Holy Spirit.
What a JOY to seek and "fall in LOVE" with
TRUTH
— to become literally "ecstatic" with
God's wondrous plan for man and this earth
—
to literally BEHOLD how ALL "facets"
of His planning and working FIT TOGETHER in a
SYMPHONY of "beauty" that both staggers and
elates the mind, and causes one's heart to bow
in humble awe and adoration before our
indescribably wonderful heavenly Father, and
His glorious Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
[ Effect of Carnality on Teachability ]
Finally, I want to
mention a third factor that hinders a
"teachable spirit." It is simply "carnality"
within the human heart, which is,
again, directly related to pride.
People just hate to admit that they
have been wrong. I can't give all the
possible reasons for this, but I'm sure you
are well acquainted with the innate
stubbornness of human nature which automatically
tends to resist change in traditional
habit-patterns of thinking and acting. Some
may not want to "lose face" with friends,
relatives, or those with whom they are
associated. Some may love the praise of men
more than the praise of God (John 12:43).
Among pastors and other church officials, peer
pressure is a powerful force, as the
tendency is to "thrive" on the honor given and
received from one another. In the light of
this, Jesus profound statements in John 5:41
& 44
— "I
do not receive honor from men. . . How
can you believe, when you receive
honor from one another, and do
not seek the glory that is from
the one and only God?”
— become a serious warning. Another
factor among church leaders is security
of position. Jewish religious leaders rejected
Jesus, not so much for what He taught
(although that was a significant
consideration) but because of their fear
of losing their coveted positions which gave
them their security. Listen to their fears:
"If we let Him (Jesus) go on like this, all
men will believe in Him, and the Romans will
come and take away both our place and our
nation" (John 11:48).
[ Effect of the "Comfort Zone"
on Teachability ]
Another factor relating to carnality
that hinders "teachableness" is the fact that
most people believe what they want to,
based upon the kind of life they want
to live. Someone has said that "a person's
morality dictates their theology." God help
such! They are deceived and blinded by their
own selfish pride! Whether "high society" or
"low society," people tend to "gravitate" to
that which "suits their style." Many are
church members, but not even saved. Some are
saved, but in the "baby", "carnal" state
described by Paul in I Cor. 3:1-3. And there
they "stagnate"— pretty much
left to "do their own thing." Fed a little
"milk" once a week (or less, if their
attendance is not regular), they become a
spectacle of "anemia" and much of the time a
disgrace to the cause of Christ. As a whole,
the church has committed "high treason"
against the HEAD (Jesus Christ) in not
carrying out His commission to "MAKE
DISCIPLES." When we come to the parts in this
study where I deal with the "priorities
of discipleship" and the "proofs of
discipleship," the GRAVITY of this
situation will become more apparent. Christians
have not been challenged! They have
been pampered! Generally (this is not a
wholesale indictment
—
there are notable exceptions) "men of
the cloth" have been more interested in
promoting their reputation, building their churches (in size and numbers),
pleasing their denominational superiors,
climbing the "ladder" of success to larger and
better paid pulpits, and seeking to please men
(Gal. 1:1), than in
PROMOTING THE INTERESTS OF THE
KINGDOM OF GOD. In the pulpits there are too
many "PARROTS" and not enough "PROPHETS!”
But thank God there is a "stir" in
the land. Increasing numbers of people are
becoming dissatisfied with the fact that
they are not being FED; nor taught how to
get into the Word and "feed themselves."
There is a tremendous HUNGER for LIVING
TRUTH
—
"fresh bread from the ovens of God."
God is shedding forth His light as never
before, and those who want reality,
and their lives to be changed, are
coming to that light (see John 3:19-21). More
"seekers" are discovering that ONLY Christ and
His "living Word" can satisfy the desires of
the heart. You can find a measure of
fulfillment in personal relationships and
material things, but truly satisfying and
ULTIMATE fulfillment can ONLY come
through finding your "delight" in a personal,
living relationship to Jesus Christ. He
will give you every desire of your
heart when you start "delighting"
yourself in Him (Ps. 37:4), for He
will even change some of your desires.
If you are unhappy, I can guarantee that you
are trying to find fulfillment in someone or
something other than the Lord Himself.
And that fulfillment cannot be complete
without coming to know Him more intimately
through His WORD and His
Spirit. Jesus said, "It is the spirit that [makes
alive]; the flesh profits nothing: the
words that I speak to you, they are
spirit ([activated ]) and they are
LIFE" (John 6:63). Studying the Word of God is
like a treasure-hunt. Col. 2:3 declares that
in Christ "are HID ALL THE TREASURES OF WISDOM
AND KNOWLEDGE." "Hid"— yes, but
READY TO BE REVEALED to YOU when you take your
discipleship seriously enough
to search and "dig" into the Word. Ah,
beloved, the "gems" that you will "uncover"
will delight your heart as they "sparkle" in
the "sunlight" of GOD' S LOVE FOR YOU. You
will also rejoice in articles and studies
written and sent out by "scribes" instructed
in the things of the Kingdom of God who are
able to bring out of God's "storehouse"
TREASURES NEW and OLD (Mt. 13:52). Do I hear
any JOY-SHOUTS? When they come you might have
to explain to your neighbor; wouldn't that be
great!
[ Desperation: The Second Aspect of
Humility ]
Now back to "humility" —
the KEY to "learning of (from)
Jesus." I said I wanted to impress upon you
three important aspects of humility. I just
finished the first: a teachable spirit,
and also commented on three hindrances to
having a teachable spirit: too much secular
(humanistic) education, too much religious
tradition, and too much carnality within the
heart. The second important aspect of
"humility" that I want to emphasize is: "our
desperate need." Before focusing in on
our desperate need to "learn of Jesus," I will
make a few general remarks. A "proud"
person usually feels self-sufficient—
he is so often "blind" to desperate
needs in his spiritual life. And who among us
can say that we have no pride? I remember the
story of some Christians who were kneeling in
prayer at the altar preceding a church
service. A young man was praying over and over
again, "Lord, keep me humble." His
words were over-heard by an older and much
wiser sister in the Lord who was kneeling next
to him. She leaned over and whispered in his
ear: "Young men, you should be praying,
'Lord, make me humble;'
for when you pray, 'Lord, keep me
humble,' you are assuming that you are
already fully humble."
You and
I know that no matter how much we seek to
humble ourselves before the Lord,
there are still areas
of pride that we are not aware of. Therefore
God has to take us through experiences
that humble us. Every one of you can remember
experiences that caused you to think
to yourself, even to confess to someone: "what
an humbling experience
that was!"
As we said before, pride "blinds;"
but humility causes us to "see" our desperate
need. I am deliberately using the word
"desperate" because I believe our need is that
serious. We have a desperate need to
"learn of" (and "from") Jesus, if we are not
to remain "stagnant" or even "regress" in our
Christian life. Only as we continue to
learn, grow, overcome,
incorporate and apply the principles
of the Kingdom
of Christ can we reap the blessings
and benefits that God has for us, as
well as prepare ourselves for
"usefulness" in the Kingdom, both now
and in the age to come. We are now
determining our FUTURE DESTINY AND GLORY
(beyond just "salvation") by what we do with
the time and opportunities we have. We need to
get our minds and hearts "saturated" with the
Spirit-quickened —
"living" WORD OF GOD. How else can
God "write" His spiritual LAWS on
our minds and hearts, which is the essence
and purpose of the "New Covenant" —
see Heb. 8:10; 10:16
.
[ Natural Types Illustrating our Depth of
Need ]
All through the Bible there is a parallel
between the natural and the spiritual.
As a matter of fact, all natural things are
TYPES of spiritual truths and realities. God
made them that way to help get simple truths
through our stupid heads. So I will take
some very simple natural illustrations to
help us to see our desperate need to "get
INTO the Word of God," and "get the Word of
God INTO us." I know this will seem
elementary to some of you, but bear
with me while I get this point across
for those who NEED it. It doesn't take long
for you to go without food to realize that
you are hungry, and if are without food for
many days, you are very much aware of your
desperate need to feed your body in
order to live. When you receive Christ and
are "born anew" within, NEW LIFE, and a "new
creation" has begun WITHIN you by the power
of the Divine Life-seed of
Christ. That new life needs to grow
and develop—
changing
you from within into the very likeness
of Jesus Christ—
from glory to glory (II Cor. 5:17;
3:18). That new life needs to be FED with the
WORD OF GOD. There is the "milk" of the
Word for new "babes"
in Christ to grow by; there is the "bread"
of the Word to BUILD spiritual strength and
character; there is the "meat" of the
Word in order to MATURE and progress DEEPER
into Christ and develop that WISDOM which will
enhance your usefulness in His service (see I
Pet. 2:2; John 6:32-35, 48; I Cor. 3:2; Heb.
5:13-14). The WORD is also said to be "sweeter
also than honey and the honeycomb"
(Ps. 19:10), because it truly delights
the heart. Jeremiah said, "Your words
were found, and I did EAT them; and your
word was to me the joy and rejoicing
of my heart" (Jer. 15:16).
There are so
many symbols of the Word of God taken
from nature and from the types
of the Old Testament, that it would take pages
to deal with them all. So I am going to limit
myself to just a couple more illustrations to
get my point across [of] the importance
of "learning from Jesus" through HIS WORD.
Besides food, as illustrated above, the Word
of God is likened to WATER (John 15:3; Ephes.
5:26). Now, beloved, if you are in your right
faculties, no one has to tell you when your
body has collected enough dirt and
un-cleanness that you need to take a bath or
shower. And how good it feels afterwards to
feel clean and refreshed.
Spiritually, as we read and meditate in the
Word of God, it WASHES us WITHIN from the
"filth" and "uncleanness" of this world.
[ - An Aside: The Scriptural
Use of "Walk" to Define Behavior]
In the New Testament, the word "walk"
is used to symbolize the manner
or way in which we LIVE our Christian
life —
in thought, motive and conduct.
We are instructed to "walk by faith,
not by sight" (II Cor. 5:7); "walk in newness
of life" (Rom. 6:4); "walk honestly,
as in the day" (Rom. 13:13); "walk in
the Spirit, and you shall
not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Gal.
5:16, see also Rom. 8: 1,4);
"walk in good works. . .
for we are God's workmanship" (Ephes.
2:10); "walk worthy of the
vocation to which you
are called" (Ephes. 4:1; see [also] I
Thess. 2:12; 4:7, II Thess. 2:14); "walk in
love, as Christ loved us, and has
given himself for us an offering and a
sacrifice" (Ephes. 5:2); "walk circumspectly
(carefully), not as fools, but as wise,
redeeming the time, because the days are
evil" (Ephes. 5:15-16); "walk worthy
of the Lord to all pleasing
[of Him], being fruitful
in every good work, and increasing
in the knowledge of God" (Col.
1:10—but
continue to read vs. 11 on); "as therefore
you have received Christ
Jesus as Lord, so walk [ ] in him:
rooted and built up in him,
and stablished in the faith,
as you have been taught, abounding
therein with thanksgiving" (Col.
2:6-7); "walk in wisdom toward
them that are without, redeeming the time.
Let your
speech be alway with grace,
seasoned with salt, that you may
know how to answer every man" (Col.
4:5-6). "If we say that we have fellowship
with him (Christ), and walk in darkness, we
lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in
the light, as he is in the light, we
have fellowship with one another, and the
blood of Christ cleanses us from
all sin" (I John 1:6-7). "He that abides
in him (Christ) ought himself also so to
walk, even as he walked" (I John
2:6). "And this is love, that we
walk after his commandments" (III
John 6). "I have no greater joy than to hear
that my children walk in truth;"
III John 4).
I usually do not quote so many
scriptures, but felt to set these before you,
so that as you read and meditate on them
you might grasp more clearly
just how we are to "walk" (conduct our
lives in thought, motive, word and deed) in
this world. This may not be the study in
"deeper truth" that you like to read, but I
want to say emphatically that God
is requiring us to get our lives in order In
a practical way, and all the "deeper
truths" that we study will avail nothing
unless we learn to "walk" (LIVE and
conduct our lives in a way that is pleasing
to the Lord).
[ Focus on the Illustration
of "Washing" ]
Getting back to the symbolism of
the "washing" of the Word: In
Bible days, people walked a lot, and their
"footwear" usually consisted of open
sandals which exposed their feet to a lot
of dirt. It was customary when arriving
home after considerable "walking," to wash
one's feet upon entering the house. Or, if
a person was invited to another's house
for some occasion, it was customary to
provide a basin of water and a towel so
that the guest could wash his feet on
entering the house of the host. Or, if one
was rich enough, he would provide a
servant to wash the guest's feet. (Notice
how inconsiderate Simon the Pharisee was
to Jesus who was a guest in his house—
Luke 7:44).
Now the spiritual truth that I want
to emphasize is this:
as we go about our daily
activities, or engage in the business or job
whereby we make a living, we inevitably
have a certain amount of contact
with this world and worldly people; and in
doing so, a certain amount of the "dirt"
(ungodly words and actions—
unkindness, lies, deceit, compromise,
and just plain carnal "filth") is
"picked up" or "rubbed off" on you, affecting
your mind and emotions, and thus
"contaminating" your "daily WALK" with the
Lord. Thus you desperately need to get
by yourself to read and meditate in the WORD
OF GOD (along with prayer) to let THE LORD "WASH YOUR FEET!"
The above is graphically
symbolized by Jesus' action as
recorded in John, chap. 13. I cannot here
explain the symbolism of the whole story,
which is so beautiful, but point out some
important highlights. The scene was at the
Passover supper which Jesus partook with his
disciples before His death. In John 13:4-5,
we read that Jesus "rose from supper, and
laid aside His garments; and taking a towel,
girded himself about. Then he poured water
into the basin, and began to wash the
disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the
towel with which he was girded." Jesus
"laying aside" His garments, is a symbolic
picture of His voluntary sacrificial
DEATH for us. When His Spirit "withdrew" on
the cross, His "outer" or physical body was
laid aside in the tomb, and His "inner" soul
body was, according to Isa. 53:12: "poured
out unto death" and went into "hades" (the
unseen realm, for a soul-body cannot be seen
by physical eyes). But Ps. 16:10 assures us
that His soul was not to be left in "hades"
("sheol" is the O.T. word)— see also
Acts 2:31. In John 13:1 we see that He "took
up" His garments, symbolically
portraying His Resurrection. Thus the
symbolic picture shows us that His death
and resurrection has made
possible our cleansing. His blood
cleanses our conscience from the guilt
of sin, and His WORD ("'quickened' by the
Sprit" —
even as His resurrection body was
"quickened" or "made alive" by the Spirit)
WASHES us from the contamination
("dirt") that gathers in our mental-emotional
being through contact with this sinful world
as we seek to live the Christian life in our
"daily walk."
When Jesus came to Peter, his
response was: "You shall never wash
my feet." But Jesus reply was: "If I [don't]
wash you, you have no
part with me" (John 13:8). Now in verse 10,
a beautiful truth is brought out that is not
conveyed in the English translation because
of a lack of distinction in two Greek words.
I will quote the verse, inserting the Greek
words according to their meaning: "Jesus says
to him, He that is washed (Gr. louo:
meaning to bathe the whole person) needs
not [bathe] except to wash
(Gr. nipto: meaning to cleanse a
part of the body—
the hands, face, or feet) his
feet, but is clean completely
." When Jesus uses the first word
"washed" (Gr. louo) it symbolizes
our initial "regeneration" or "new birth" by
the incorruptible seed of the Word of God (John 3:3, I Pet.
1:23). An apt description of this is
given in Titus 3:5:
"Not by works of righteousness which we have
done, but according to his mercy he saved
us, by the washing of regeneration,
and renewing of the Holy Ghost." The word for
"washing" in this verse is loutron—
meaning "a bath," and comes from louo
, which is the same word that Jesus
used in John 3:10 when He said, "he that is washed (louo)
needs not [bathe] except to wash
(nipto) his feet." In other
words, our initial "washing of
regeneration," or "new birth," when "eternal
life" is engrafted into our soul through the
glorified life-seed of Jesus (see James
1:21; I Pet. 1:23), does not need to be
repeated.
However, the symbolic
drama which J esus portrayed in John 13, was
to demonstrate the absolute
necessity of letting the Lord cleanse
the "feet" (Christian "walk") of
every one who has received the initial
"bath of the new birth" (which is the
way the Amplified Version renders
Titus 3:5). The cleansing
of our "walk" must be a continuous
experience, for daily we "pick up"
the "dirt" (mental —
emotional impressions) from the
world which need to be "washed away" by
meditation in the Word of God .
The distinguishing of the two
different Greek words used in the John 13
"drama" helps us to understand an important
truth with reference to our relationship to
Jesus and our future destiny. When Jesus
responded to Peter's refusal to let Him wash
his feet, Jesus did NOT use the word louo
which we have seen refers to our initial
"regeneration" and GIFT of "eternal LIFE."
But He used the Greek word nipto,
when He said to Peter: "If I [don't
] wash (nipto) you
, you have no part with me"
(John 13:8). Now listen carefully, for this
is simply something most Christians do not
understand. It is possible to have received
Jesus as our SAVIOR, and have been "born
anew"; yet that, in itself, DOES NOT
QUALIFY us to be a
part of that "elect" BODY, "called, chosen,
and faithful" (Rev. 17:14) who will be
intimately associated WITH HIM in His
heavenly Kingdom GLORY to REIGN with Him.
Salvation is just the FIRST STEP. Beyond
that there must be a DEEP CLEANSING of the
heart of the bondage of all carnality. Only
the pure(ified) in heart shall see God (Mt.
5:8). Without holiness (separation from sin
and uncleanness) no man shall see the Lord"
(Heb. 12:14). So when Jesus said to Peter,
"If I [don't] wash you, you
have no part with me", He was NOT
dealing with the matter of salvation. In the
symbolic drama of John 13, Peter represents
a ''saved person," but who must submit to
the continual "washing" by Jesus (THE
WORD) of his "feet" (Christian walk) if
he aspires to have a part WITH JESUS
in His "ruling retinue" of "overcoming" sons
and daughters.
After washing the disciples’ feet,
Jesus said: "You call me Master
(Teacher) and Lord: and you say
well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and
Master, have washed your feet; you
also ought to wash one another's feet .
For I have given you an example, that
you should do as I have done to you.
Truly, Truly, I say to
you, the servant is not greater than his Lord;
neither he that is sent greater than he that
sent him" (John 13:13-16). I personally do not
believe that Jesus, by these words, was
establishing an ordinance for the church of
literal foot washing. I have no objection
to literal foot-washing for
those who believe that they should practice
it. However, I believe the KEY to the John 13
passage is that Jesus was portraying by
symbolic (or "parabolic") drama
the basic truth of "inner cleansing"
which I have been seeking to convey. Now, in
the passage just quoted, Jesus says that WE
should follow His example. Perhaps generally
speaking, we could say that He was admonishing
us to see our need to humble ourselves to
serve one another in ANY menial task or way.
If our Lord was so willing to humble Himself,
we are certainly not greater than our Lord.
But more specifically, I believe He was saying
that we should have enough concern for one
another's spiritual welfare that we are
willing to "humble" ourselves, and take the
time and effort to HELP one another with the
spiritual problems, temptations, concerns, and
perplexities involved in our "daily walk" for
the Lord. And especially ministering
relevant and meaningful SCRIPTURE verses
that will help to bring "release" and
"cleaning" to heart and mind. This, I
believe, is the true "washing of one
another's "feet."
But HOW can
we do this unless we KNOW THE WORD OF GOD!
This is why I have been seeking to impress on
you that aspect of "humility" which enables
us to see our desperate need to
"learn of Jesus" and get HIS WORD into our
minds and hearts."If you continue
(abide, remain, live) in my word: then are you
my disciples indeed; and you
shall know the truth and the truth shall
make you free." (John 8:31-32).
(to be
continued)