There will be several days studies and then the little book will be finished. It's been a revelation to me, all the things I've learned through these studies, you can always read them over again. They are all listed in sequence on the right side of the page, just scroll down to find them.
"As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you; continue ye in My love. If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love. These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you". John 15:9-12
Last time we concentrated on John 15:9, where the disciples learned that God made Jesus His personal Representative for the purpose of revealing love, and His character of love, to the entire universe. God--we are speaking of the "Triune God" (or what many people call the Trinity)--needed such a representation, and was going to succeed or fail on the basis of the manifestation of Himself in the life of Jesus, a responsibility that Jesus carried by Himself.
WE also learned that Jesus has placed a similar representational responsibility on us. Just as Jesus represented God to the universe, so we are to represent Jesus to our fellow men. Jesus has commissioned us for this role in spite of our sinfulness, weakness, and frailty. Fortunately, He has assigned our task and told us precisely how to execute it.
Describing His Own role, Jesus told the disciples He had been sent to accomplish the will of the Father. Regarding our role, Jesus said, I'm sending you the same way My Father sent Me. Fundamental to the way the Father sent Jesus, was Jesus' continued dependence on His Father. As a result Jesus could say, "Of Myself I can do nothing." So the Bible says, "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself " 2 Corinthians 5: 19. In the same way, Jesus is presently in this world through His human representatives and is choosing us to be His representatives in the same way the Triune God chose Him to represent them to the universe. That's why Jesus said, "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you" John 15:16.
Reflect for a moment on what it meant for God to make Jesus His Representative, and what it means for Jesus to make us His representatives. If you were to select a person to represent you such that the authority of your name could be used for any purpose, what level of confidence would you need to place in that person? Complete confidence! Complete confidence is what God placed in Jesus, and complete confidence is what Jesus places in us. As a result, Jesus could say, "If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it" John 14:14. I've thought about that many times, because it is like an ambassador being sent to a foreign country and using the authority vested in his sovereign's name to transact any and all business. When we use the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are enjoying the same privileges, and operating under the same mandates, as that ambassador.
My thoughts are, What a responsibility we have as Christ's ambassadors. We must not let Him down and when we do, we must repent and confess the fact that we let Him down and we are as if we had never sinned. What a wonderful Savior we have, there is nothing He won't do for us to save us, we need to trust Him with all our strength and know that He loves us with that love that never ends. Can Jesus have complete confidence in us? I hope so. Grandma Joan
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