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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Coming to the Disciple and Coming to the World, #10
Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. (John 14:21—NIV)
The Father loves us. Christ loves us. Do you see that two different Persons are being spoken of here?
Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?" (John 14:22—NIV)
Can you see in the above that the Lord Jesus will reveal Himself to His disciples before He reveals Himself to the world? This is a definite coming of the Lord to His disciples in advance of His coming in glory to the world.
Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." (John 14:23—NIV)
As I stated previously, the word "home" in the above verse is the same Greek term as the word "rooms" in John 14:2 of the New International Version. This is the only time in the New Testament this noun is used, although the same word appears as a verb in John 15, where it is translated "abide" or "remain."
If we love Jesus we will obey His teaching. If we obey His teaching His Father will love us. Then the Father and Christ will come to us and make Their home in us.
This verse may be the clearest expression in the New Testament of the spiritual fulfillment of the Old Testament feast of Tabernacles.
There were three major feasts in the Jewish calendar.
Three times a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before the LORD empty-handed: (Deuteronomy 16:16—NIV)
The feast of Unleavened Bread symbolizes the salvation experience.
The feast of Weeks, or Pentecost, symbolizes the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
The feast of Tabernacles symbolizes the coming of the Father and the Son to dwell in us, to tabernacle in us.
Those of us who are saved and have been baptized with the Holy Spirit are to press forward in the Lord. Christ wants to comes to us in a greater way than ever before.
As we keep Christ's commandments He is formed in us. As Christ grows to maturity in us the Father and the Son come through the Holy Spirit and make Their dwelling in that which has been formed in us. This is the spiritual fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles and the climax of the Divine redemption. All that remains is the raising of our flesh and bone body from its place of interment and the clothing of our resurrected body with its house from Heaven. The house from Heaven is fashioned from our actions on the earth. Thus we shall be clothed, in the day of resurrection, with our own behavior.
To be continued.