CHRIST’S DIVINE CONSOLATIONS INTRODUCED, Part II (ODell)

Declaring that nothing below Jesus Christ Himself will afford any comfort to a troubled soul.

John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also IN ME.”
 
In our text, we discover an exhortation, i.e., “Let not your heart be troubled,” and an exhortation, “ye believe in God, believe also IN ME.” Since Christ is about to depart in His bodily presence, He would hold them up with higher views of Himself, knowing their weaknesses would lead them to sinful fears respecting their Heavenly Benefactor. He would have them learn to serve God “WITHOUT FEAR, in holiness and righteousness before Him,” Luke 1:74,75. It is the way of Christ’s caring for His saints in all His teachings, to keep His disciples from sinful fear. His Instructions in Luke 12:29,32 speak to this very issue. Wherein you hear, “neither be ye of DOUBTFUL MIND” and “FEAR NOT little flock…”
 

To try to live on creature fruits is a FEAR-FILLED EXPER-IENCE of life.

This is in stark contrast with laboring under the FEARFUL bondage of punishments and rewards if we DO THIS or DON’T DO THAT as taught by Lucifer’s law-keepers. Not only does this drive men away from God, but it causes the child of God to attempt to do in the flesh what can only be done by grace. Having been erroneously taught, that they have abilities they must exercise to earn spiritual blessings and Christ’s gracious presence, they set out to do that which properly belongs to Christ Himself as Prophet, Priest, and King of the saints. Introspection follows, which results in dismay when they discover within themselves nothing but INABILITY! “Ye be not able…which of you CAN,” Luke 12:25. On the contrary, Gospel truth teaches us the same power that raised Christ from the tomb of death, is the very power that God the Father bestows upon His children while working His love in them resulting in their loving faith towards Him.

This very experience of grace is what Paul was explaining to the Ephesian saints in chapter 1, verses 19-20: “And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward that believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead…” And again in Col. 2:12-13, “…ye are risen with Him (Christ) through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead. And you…hath He quickened together with him…” This is the Father’s way of working love into the souls of His little children. By way of application of resurrection power to them, in their time state, He brings them up into a saving knowledge of their eternal paternal union with Him as “their God” and themselves as His children, having been loved with an everlasting love and thereby drawn to Him with cords of love. In this gracious unconditional process, He works in them “both to will and to do of His good pleasure” so that they “always obey” just like the Philippian believers. Compare Phil. 2:12-13.
 
Gospel truth teaches us that “the fruit of the spirit” in the regenerated [the born-again is a better term since this word is never applied to believers - ed.] child of God is “love” followed by “joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, and faith,” Gal. 5:22. This is how they are brought by grace to “serve one another by love,” Gal. 5:13. Not by LAW considered as a legal commandment. All good works come from Him who is LOVE essentially in the first place. “For OF HIM, and THROUGH HIM, and TO HIM, are ALL THINGS: to Whom be glory forever. Amen,” Rom. 11:36. And, “God worketh ALL IN ALL,” I Cor. 12:6.
 
Concerning the idea of earning blessings by law-keeping, we stated earlier, “Not only does this drive men away from God, but it causes the child of God to attempt to do in the flesh what can only be done by grace.” To this we would add, it teaches men to attempt to live upon the creature rather than the creator. This is what happens when we try to live upon the ACTIONS OF GOD UPON US such as repentance and faith. Both of which are God’s gifts to His children. The same is true when we try to live on the ACTIONS OF GOD WITHIN US such as our love for Him Who first loved us. If your focus is on the fact that you repented and put faith in Christ, you will eventually despair in the effort because you can not determine if you repented correctly, adequately, or not at all. If your focus is on the act of your faith, you will eventually wonder the same way, because you simply cannot tell by looking at your faith if you have believed enough or not at all. And, if your attention is on the ACT OF GOD WITHIN YOU TOWARD HIM, you will likewise suffer because you will never know if you are loving Him as you ought to or not at all! There is a world of difference between living upon the FOUNTAIN OF LIFE as compared to the streams proceeding from it!
 
Here is the lesson: To try to live on creature fruits is a FEAR-FILLED EXPERIENCE of life. And if that is a sinful fear, I will leave that to you to discern. To close: The party speaking in our text is Jesus Christ Himself. The end of which was to keep His disciples from sinful fear since He was about to depart from His bodily presence. His way of doing so was to draw their attention away from themselves and their previous man-centered religions based on fear, because He Himself is “the way, the truth, and the life” of every little child of God He is in union with. It is our hope to discover this more clearly moving forward under three main headings. These are:
 
THE MATTER SPOKEN OF
THE CONCLUSION OF THE MATTER
THE LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE MATTER.

Dan O’Dell, S.S., 

Weslaco, TX. 1.21.2024