I am the resurrection, and the life

 

I am the resurrection, and the life

(John 11:17-26)Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.  Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off:  And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.  But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.  Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? 』

 

Martha said, "I believe that if Jesus asks of God, He will give anything." So Jesus said, "I will live again", but Martha is thinking about "living again" not present, but resurrection on the last day of the future after the death of the body. What the Lord wants is present. Even when it comes to sin, we must not think, "Someday my sins will be forgiven." It is the present forgiveness of sins. Faith is now.

What Jesus tells Martha is, "I am always resurrection and life. Those who believe in me have the spirit dead, but they are alive, and if the spirit is raised, they will receive the gift of faith from heaven and will not die forever." Looking at this word from the perspective of the flesh, it means, "He who believes in me will die, but one day will rise, and those who believe in me will not die forever." The structure of the sentence is very awkward. The word of the Bible speaks of the spirit, but someone is turning it in the direction of the flesh.

Even if you know a lot of Bible knowledge, faith is important now. What the Lord is saying is important. In John 5:24-25, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but he is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. 』This is not something that will happen in the future, it is a present word. It means "when you hear the voice of the Son of God now, the dead spirit will come to life."

Salvation is not by listening to the voice of the Son of God and waking up to be judged in order to be judged in the future. It means that the spirit is revived by listening to the word of the Son of God and repenting. In 5:26 he said, "I give you life." If this does not happen, no matter how much you read the Bible and work hard in your church life, you will not be saved unless the spirit is alive. This is done by repentant faith. The Lord gives the gift of faith to those who repent. This faith is the word “the spirit is alive now”.

And in 5:28-29, "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. 』This word is not a present word, but means that all those who have died in the flesh will be raised in the future. He was talking about what will happen when Jesus comes again as King in the last days. This does not require faith, but is made alive by the power of the Lord.

In John 6:53, ``Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 'Many therefore of his disciples his, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? 』People are gossiping, and Jesus said again in verse 63, "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 』 Since Jesus speaks of the Spirit, in verse 66, ``From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. 』The person who is the master can see him go away, even if he is a disciple of Jesus. He says that if he doesn't like the words of the Bible, the person he is the master will someday leave.

The Gospel of John tells us that we cannot follow the Lord unless we repent. It teaches us that we cannot trust the Lord unless we repent. Because the Bible speaks of the spirit, those who do not repent do not understand because they see them with the eyes of the flesh. You are not saved by memorizing and understanding the Bible through the action of your brain, but when the word of the Bible enters the spirit, it becomes the word of life. If the spirit does not rise, it will not become the word of life. Only those who repent will the spirit rise.

 

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