The administration of the church and the ministry of the word, week 3, chapter 4, Thursday

 THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE CHURCH
AND THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

CHAPTER FOUR:

THE IMPORTANCE OF EDIFICATION

REVEALED IN JOHN 14

WEEK 3 - THURSDAY

Bible Reading: Jn 14:1-6; Eph 2:6

Read and pray: "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.'" (Jn 14:6)

GOD CAME TO EARTH THROUGH MAN,

AND MAN WAS UNITED TO GOD

THROUGH THE LORD

Verse 3 continues: "So that where I am, you also may be." What does this "where" refer to? The Lord was not referring to heaven, but to the Father. He would be in the Father, and we would be as well. The adverb "where" does not refer to a place; it refers to being in the Father and in the Lord. The Lord's going through death and resurrection was not to be in heaven but in the Father. When He resurrected, He entered the Father and also brought the disciples into the Father. This is the meaning of "so that where I am, you also may be."

In verse 4, the Lord continues: "And where I go, you know the way." The disciples were not the only ones who did not know where the Lord was going. Many of us do not know either. However, the erroneous teaching of Catholicism says that the Lord went to heaven to prepare mansions for us.

This is not a biblical concept. Therefore, we should not think that we are going to some kind of heavenly mansion. In verse 5, Thomas says to the Lord: "Lord, we do not know where You are going; how can we know the way?" This verse shows that, according to Thomas’s understanding, the Lord was speaking about going to a place. However, the Lord’s response: "I am the way," demonstrates that He was not referring to any place. The Lord stated: "I am the way, and the reality, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me" (v. 6).

Because the translation "no one comes to the Father" does not align with the Chinese linguistic standard, the Chinese Union Bible translates the second part of this verse as: "No one comes to the place where the Father is, except through Me."

As a result, people consider the place where the Father is to be heaven or a heavenly mansion. The expression "to the Father" in verse 6 refers to believing into God, the Father. This verse does not refer to our going to heaven through the Lord Jesus, but to our being united with God and contacting Him. No one can touch God or enter into Him except through the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus is the way, the reality, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Him. Consequently, this has nothing to do with the question of going to heaven.

According to the teaching of the Plymouth Brethren, this chapter speaks about going to heaven; however, it actually speaks of believing into God, not of going to heaven. There is a picture of a heavenly mansion with a staircase that refers to Christ. The picture also bears the inscription: "No one comes to the Father except through the Lord." This implies that going to the Father is equivalent to going to the heavenly mansion. This understanding is completely incorrect. John 14:6 means that no one can enter the Father except through Christ; no one can contact God except through Christ. Therefore, "where I go" means that through His death and resurrection, the Lord would enter the Father.

BEING IN GOD MEANS BEING

IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES

Human thinking always conflicts with God's. Our minds always consider going to some place—whether heaven or hell—but God's idea is about a person, not a place. We think about heaven and earth; God thinks about God and man. The central concept of the Bible is the Lord Jesus entering into man, not His coming to earth. The fact that the Lord became flesh and entered into man is His coming to earth.

Similarly, man enters into God. He does not go to heaven. If the Lord Jesus had not entered into man, He could not have come to earth. To come to earth, the Lord Jesus had to enter into man. In other words, when He entered into man, He came to earth. In the same way, man goes to heaven by entering into God. When man enters into God, he is in heaven.

Our human concept refers to a place, whereas the divine concept refers to a person. By entering into man, God was able to come to earth; by entering into God, man is able to enter heaven. The earth is related to man, and heaven is related to God. If the God of heaven came to earth without entering into man, that would not be His coming to earth. He needed to enter into man for His coming to be complete. Likewise, without entering into God, man cannot go to heaven. To go to heaven, he must enter into God. When he enters into God, he is in heaven. If we understand this, we will be able to understand the Bible.

Ephesians 2:6 says: "And raised us up together and seated us together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus." We can be seated together with Christ in the heavenly places because we are in Him. If we are not in Christ, we are on earth and not in the heavenly places. However, by being in Christ, we can be seated with Him in the heavenly places. We may be sitting on earth, but once we are in Him, we are also in the heavenly places. We cannot be in heaven by being in ourselves; rather, we are in heaven only by being in Christ. We need to change our concept.

Enjoy more: Hymn 277

"In my spirit He remains,
With His power He sustains;
As the Spirit one with me,
He is my reality."