What was the significance of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples?

Jesus washing the feet of the disciples was done to show them that those whom are leaders in the called-out Assembly are not to act as lords over their fellow believers, but to serve them with a foot-washing attitude, be willing to wash a fellow believers feet if that is what it takes to bring them closer to the lord Jesus Messiah.

We, in the lord Jesus are all of us priests, unto his God and our God, and we are to act as he did on this earth. Jesus always served those he came in contact with in an attitude of love, even when he spoke in judgment against what some religious leader were doing wrong it was always done in love and as a servant of his God and Father and in loving service to them also.

The greatest of all he said will be the one who acts with a servant attitude and always serves others the way he did toward others. What a beautiful example we have in Jesus and how thankful we should be that what has been written in the N.T. is for us to live by and follow as the sons of God, children of Abraham believing all that God has revealed to us as he did! May we all take upon ourselves the servant attitude of mind that Jesus had and has now as our High Priest and Paracletos.

Phillipians 2:5....let this mind be in you that is also in the anointed one Jesus,

Romans 12:2 and be not conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, for your proving what is the will of God — the good, and acceptable, and perfect.

Phillipians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

1 Peter 3:8: inally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

If we could love our brothers and sister as God has shown how much He loves us by giving His son to be a sin offering sacrifice in order that we could be reconciled to Him and have all our sins forgiven. Precious grace poured out on us who had nothing in us that would cause Him to act in the wonderful gracious way He has toward us who deserved nothing but death.

The question is: "Did Jesus go to hell between His death and resurrection?"

First let's define what the word "hell" means. In the N.T. Hades - hell is the grave, in the ground, under the surface of the earth, or in a tomb where the dead are placed as in New Orlean's.

Jesus was buried in a tomb and he remained in that tomb as a dead person until he was resurrected and appeared to his disciples who recognized him immediately.

Eccl:9:5: For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing.......

Psalm 115:17: The dead praise not Yahovah, neither any that go down into silence.

From these verses, and there are many more, we see that the dead are buried in the ground or tombs, that after they have died they know nothing, that they go down into silence, and will remain asleep in death until they are resurrected.

Now because the dead know nothing, they don't know how much time will have passed between their death and resurrection, so when they are resurrected it will seem like a split second - the same feeling we have after being suddenly awakening by a loud noise. In that moment we don't know how much time we have been asleep.

Those who are dead in the lord Jesus will be resurrected when he returns and the loud noise they hear will be the sound of a loud trumpet calling them out of their graves/tombs and it will seem like a split second from the time that they died, even though hundreds of years may have gone by.

The apostle Paul knew this when he said he was torn between staying with his brethren [alive] or being with the lord [dying and knowing that for him in his recollection it would seem that in the next split second he would be rising to meet the lord in the clouds when the trumpet sounded at the end of this age].

As for the Roman Catholic Church and her daughter churches teaching about an ever burning hell, like "Dante's Inferno"; that teaching is of pagan origin and has nothing to do with the revelation God has given through the inspired scriptures upon which we base our hope!

I am very comforted knowing that my personal friend's who have died in the lord Jesus are now in their graves awaiting there sound of the trumpet when they and I will be resurrected at the return of the lord Jesus.

I would not be very comfortable at all knowing that my mother, relatives, and friends were resurrected at their death and were now in heaven looking down at all the mistakes, faults, etc., that I have made, will most probably make in the future. That cloud of witnesses is not anything that I would want observing my every move.

I know with whom I have to do with and am comfortable having Him witnessing my actions knowing He will guide me in grace by His spirit to enable me to bring glory to His name - Yahovah and to his son's name Yehoshua - Jesus God's anointed one. Knowing that my God and my Father and His beloved son watch and know every move I make and every move all that are His makes is a great motivator to help myself and all of us walk on the narrow path that leads to age upon age lasting life in His soon coming Kingdom. May that day come soon.

GOD'S COMMISSION TO ISRAEL

​Through the example of Israel being a light to the Gentile nations, which they were commissioned to do: God wanted all the nations to come to "fear" Him.

Note: The word "fear" here does not mean terror or fright, for there ​are two usages ​for ​the word "fear".

Exodus 20:20, illustrates the two usages in the same verse: "Fear not, but rather fear Yehovah". Therefore, it is urged not to be frightened or scared; instead, put your whole trust and faith in Yehovah. In the latter sense, the fear of Yehovah is the beginning of everything: of understanding, of living, of personal separation - holiness unto Yehovah leading to a personal relationship with the living God. This is what the goodness of God was driving Israel to: a key way to bring all the nations to believe in Him. Therefore Israel was to be a witnessing , proclaiming and evangelizing nation. The Gentiles through them had to be brought to the light.

As we know Israel failed to do what Yehovah had commissioned them to do and Christendom not realizing what it meant to be grafted into Israel did not carry out the commission Yehovah gave them to do which was to provide a witness and testimony to all the Gentile nations of the goodness of the one true God Yehovah. Instead they proclaimed a triune pagan god and a god/man that they claim was the son of God, which he ​was not. Jesus was never a god/man!

However, God always has a remnant to carry out His will on this earth and that is what we have been so graciously been called to do. We are the true Israel that is to take the message that Yehovah gave to His son Jesus to give to us to take to the world. That message declares how much Yehovah loves all men/women and gave His uniquely begotten son to be a sin offering sacrifice in order that all those come who believe in him, and to walk in faith-obedience obeying all the words his God and Father gave to him to give to those that are his will gain entrance into the coming Kingdom of God.

As the Israel of God we are, as members, a royal priesthood, individual temples because of His indwelling presence in us. Our duty is to do His will on this earth carrying the good news of the message Jesus preached to the world and thus be a light unto all men/women, leading them to trust and believe in Yehovah. 

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LEAN ON YOU OWN UNDERSTANDING?

First let us understand that our own understanding comes from a heart that is deceitful above all things, blind to its own faults, etc.

Jeremiah 17:9: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

Proverbs 14:12; 16:25 "There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death".

As a result of being in the flesh, the natural man acts accordingly.

For a regenerate man the following it true:

Proverbs 16:9: "A man’s heart devises his way: but Yehovah directs his steps".

Job 32:8: "But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty gives them understanding".

We need to look outside of self to God, and not lean on our own faulty understanding of things, for God knows the end of a matter from the beginning.

Job 12:13: "With Him is wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding".

How do we begin to get right understanding?

Proverbs 9:10: "The fear of Yehovah is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding".

Psalm 111:10: "The fear [reverential awe and respect] of Yehovah is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do Hhis commandments: His praise endures for ever".

Psalm 119:130: "The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding unto the simple".

Proverbs 2:6: "For Yehovah gives wisdom: out of His mouth comes knowledge and understanding".

Jesus didn't do anything without the guidance and direction of his God and his Father whose Spirit was in him without measure.

John 5:19: "Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, the son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do: for what things soever he does, these also does the Son likewise".

John 5:30: "I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father who has sent me".

Jesus did nothing without being in subjection to his Father's will. He carried out to perfection the commission he had been given and when he had done all he cried out "It is finished". What an example for all of us who are in him!

John 6:63: "It is the spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life".

In the flesh we cannot have a right understanding on how to proceed according to the will of our God and our Father. Only as we maintain close communication with Him in prayer, seeking more of the direction of His holy spirit and submitting to His spirit guidance, can we achieve real and true understanding in order to conduct our lives according to His will.

May our God and our Father give a all of us more of His spirit to carry out all He has called us to do as we totally commit to walking in faith-obedience before Him!

 Bruce Lyon Elder: Restoration Fellowship Assembly

WHY GOD GAVE ISRAEL AN EMPIRE

In the days of Moses, when Israel came into existence as a nation, God explained His purpose for making the Israelites a people of influence and power. He told them:

“Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people; for all the earth is mine. And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation…” (Exodus 19:5-6).

God intended to use them as a model nation. He had Moses tell them: “You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of Yehovah your God which I command you… Be careful to observe them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes, and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people’” (Deuteronomy 4:2, 6).

God wanted Israel to set an example that would teach other nations the benefits that come from obeying Him; faithfully keeping His laws. When He established Israel as a great nation He gave Solomon wisdom that exceeded the understanding of the other rulers in the region. Solomon became internationally famous for his wisdom (1 Kings 4:29-34), and his subjects apparently were at peace within their lands.

God intended that the wisdom of His way of life and His laws be made available to other nations. He gave Israel a magnificent opportunity to spiritually enrich and bless “all the families of the earth,” as He had promised Abraham.

But neither Solomon nor the people he led kept their eyes on that objective. The physical benefits of prosperity, wealth and fame became their chief focus. They lost sight of the reason for their existence as a nation.

The problem was human nature. Solomon increasingly yielded to his own weaknesses until, at the end of his life, he had abandoned the great God who had given him an empire.

God’s desire for Israel to be a model nation carried with it grave responsibilities. God had no intention of allowing Israel; the nation He created to be the world’s model of righteousness to escape the consequences of abandoning His ways and sinking to the level of the surrounding nations

God then conditionally promised to Solomon to establish the throne of his dynasty over the people of Israel living in their Promised Land forever.

In case Solomon were to fail to follow God with integrity, God explained the consequences. “If you or your sons turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples” 1 Kings 9:6-7, NIV).

God had warned them: “Then the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known; wood and stone. And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul. Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life” (Deuteronomy 28:64-66).

All of these proclamations of God have been fulfilled up to the present day. However: God looks out for the long-term good of those with whom He is working (Hebrews 12:5-12). His ultimate goal, of course, is to bring everyone to repentance (2 Timothy 2:24-26; 2 Peter 3:9), to acknowledge Him and willingly choose to live according to His laws.

Since physical Israel failed to carry out God’s intended purpose for them to be a model nation to be a witness and testimony to the nations of the world they have been for the time being set aside.

However, when Jesus came on the scene of world history according to God's plan of salvation and lived a life as the only perfect man who lived according to every word His God and His Father gave him to do including willingly going to his death on the stake to become a sin offering sacrifice for humanity. Then God was able to graft into Israel all those who became disciples of the lord Messiah Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles. All those who completely committed themselves to walking in faith-obedience obeying all the words his God and Father gave to him to give to us.

Now as the true Israel those who are the disciples of the lord Messiah Jesus have the same commission that Israel of old had. To be a witness and testimony as a holy nation of priests carrying the message that God gave to His uniquely begotten son to give to us to proclaim the coming Kingdom of God and the name of the lord Jesus.

However, Christendom has utterly failed in carrying out this message to the world and like Israel of old have been led astray to worship a false triune god and a false Messiah they claim to be a god/man.

All is not lost however because by God’s amazing grace there is a faithful remnant that are members of the true Israel and are also members of the household of God and members of the body of the Messiah Jesus, the called=out Assembly. These are Individual temples of Yehovah and collectively members of the temple of Yehovah. This remnant is carrying out the commission given by the lord Jesus to preach the coming Kingdom of God to the nations. May that day soon come! 

UPON THIS ROCK - PETER'S SAYING THE JESUS WAS THE MESSIAH, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD

THE CALLED-OUT ASSEMBLY OF GOD IS BASED ON JESUS WORDS TO PETER IN MATTHEW 16:18:

“upon this rock - Peter's recognition that Jesus was the Messiah, the son of God

THE CALLED-OUT ASSEMBLY BUILT ON THE ROCK STATEMENT OF PETER THAT JESUS IS THE MESSIAH; WILL TOTALLY COMMIT TO KEEP ALL THE WORDS GOD GAVE TO JESUS TO GIVE TO US!

I. ROCK SOLID in biblical truth. (1 Timothy 2:3-4) “...God our Saviour desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth.” (John 8:31-32) “If you abide in my word, you are truly disciples of mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

II. ROCK SOLID in our love for God and His son the lord Jesus the Messiah. (John 14:21) “He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me.” (Galatians 2:20) “I have been crucified with the Messiah and it is no longer I who live, but the Messiah lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and delivered Himself up for me.”

III. ROCK SOLID love and support for one another in the body of the Messiah. (John 13:34-35) “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (Philippians 2:3-4) “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind consider one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but for the interests of others.”

IV. ROCK SOLID followers of God's anointed one - the Messiah become a loving team that  grows in the knowledge of God’s word and the ability to reach others with the message of the Messiah and his Kingdom. (Philippians 2:5) “Have the attitude in yourselves which was also in the Messiah Jesus.” (Luke 19:10) “For the son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

We as ambassador's of the lord Messiah Jesus are to seek and save those who are lost continuing his commission that God gave to him to give to us.

Written by For Christ and His Kingdom Bible Teacher and Pastor, Dick Eldred and edited by Pastor Bruce Lyon

A MASTER KEY TO UNLOCK THE BIBLE

“And Jesus cried aloud and said, ‘He who believes in me, does not believe in me, but in Him who sent me” (John 12:44).

Observe that Jesus “cried aloud” these words, “He who believes in me, does not believe in me, but in Him who sent me.” The fact he spoke this at the top of his voice barely a week out from his own crucifixion, surely indicates it is significant and we better listen up!

Before proceeding to unpack these profound words from Jesus, I will make a guess that this is not one of your all-time favourite memory verses! Chances are you have not previously meditated on John 12:44 much (if at all). Maybe if you are honest, you did not even realise it was in the Bible, much less from Jesus’ own lips. But I am going to prove to you that it is a master key to unlocking our understanding of Jesus, his relationship with God, and the significance of all he came to be and do for us. A big statement surely! So let’s investigate.

Jesus “cried aloud” these words after the nation had, through their official religious and political leaders, rejected his claims to being their Messiah. They had not only witnessed his healing and teaching credentials fulfilling all that the prophets had previously announced, but in the immediate context, they had seen Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead. The Gospel writer John tells us that even Christ’s enemies admitted Jesus was “performing many signs” (11:47). John himself says the raising of Lazarus was a “sign” (12:18). A sign is an attesting miracle. Jesus’ mighty miracles were proof God had sent him. So, by rejecting Jesus, they were sinning against clear light and deadening their own consciences.

In this context Jesus “cried aloud”. He wants them to hear he really has been “sent” by their God. Which is to say, Jesus is making the stupendous claim that he is the bone fide ambassador of the One God of Israel. His works and his words have been performed because he has been “commissioned”, and is therefore God’s true representative or agent.

THE PRINCIPLE OF AGENCY

Because we come from another culture and another generation many times removed from Jesus, it’s easy to miss the impact of Jesus’ “loud” statement here. Indeed, few readers of the Scriptures know the significance of the principle of agency that Jesus is appealing to. Therefore, to understand Jesus’ claim, we first need to appreciate the culture and mindset of that day’s original audience.

Simply stated, in Hebrew and ancient Middle Eastern thinking, one who is ‘sent’ (the agent) is treated as if he or she were the principal (the sender - commissioner) himself or herself. Although the principal and the agent are two distinct persons, they are treated as ‘one’, not literally of course, but functionally.

This is accurately stated in the words of the The Encyclopedia of the Jewish Religion, Agent (Hebrew - Shaliah):

The main point of the Jewish law of agency is expressed in the dictum, ‘a person’s agent is regarded as the person himself’ [Ned. 72B; Kidd, 41b]. Therefore any act committed by a duly appointed agent is regarded as having been committed by the principal, who therefore bears full responsibility for it with consequent complete absence of liability on the part of the agent.” (1)

Don’t miss this vital fact: “A person’s agent is regarded as the person himself.“

Furthermore:

In Hebrew thought a patriarch’s personality extended through his entire household [and] … in a specialised sense when the patriarch as lord of his household deputised his trusted servant as his malak (his messenger or angel) the man was endowed with the authority and resources of his lord to represent him fully and transact business in his name. In Semitic thought this messenger-representative was conceived of as being personally - and in his very words - the presence of the sender.” (2)

So, when the agent acts on behalf of the one who sends him, it is as though the principal, the master, the lord, is himself there in person speaking and acting. Understanding this principle will help us avoid what often appear to be contradictions in the Scriptures. Let me show you a simple instance or two where understanding this ‘law of agency’ will keep us from error and unlock new significance in understanding Jesus - as agent - and his relationship with his Father God - as Principal.

THE CENTURION AND ELDERS DEMONSTRATE AGENCY

In Matthew’s telling of the healing of the centurion’s servant, it is the centurion who personally comes to Jesus and begs on behalf of his sick servant…

And when he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, appealing to him, and saying, “Sir, my servant is lying paralysed at home, suffering great pain. And he said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’ But the centurion answered and said, ‘Sir, I am not qualified for you to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it… (Matthew 8:5-9).

The modern reader is under no illusion that the centurion himself made this request while literally standing right in front of Jesus. The centurion “came to him” and spoke in the first person throughout, “”My servant … my roof … I too …me … I say …” Jesus also spoke directly to the centurion and “said to him”.

But when we turn to Luke’s parallel account of the same story, a problem presents itself to the modern reader...

And a certain centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. And when he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking him to come and save the life of his slave. And when they had come to Jesus, they earnestly entreated him, saying, ‘He is worthy for you to grant this to him; for he loves our nation, and it was he who built us our synagogue.’ Now Jesus started on his way with them; and when he was already not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, ‘Sir, do not trouble yourself further, for I am not fit for you to come under my roof; for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed … (Luke 7: 1f).

Without the crucial knowledge of the Hebrew law of agency - that the agent is as the principal himself - the modern reader thinks he spots a contradiction. For in Luke’s telling, the centurion does not literally stand before Jesus asking for his servant’s healing. Instead, “he sent some Jewish elders” to do the asking. “They” made the centurion’s request known to Jesus. Then Jesus “started on his way with them” to go to the centurion’s home. When just about at the centurion’s house, the centurion from inside his own house sends other servants outside to tell Jesus, ”I did not consider myself worthy to come to you …”

The Biblical way to reconcile these apparent contradictions between the two accounts is to know that the centurion (the principal) sends (commissions) certain Jewish elders to act on his behalf as his agents. There is no confusion in the mind of either Matthew or Luke, for in the Bible the one sent is “regarded as the principal himself”.

The principal and the agent are not always clearly distinguished, and can be treated as though they were one and the same person! Matthew’s account only mentions the principal (the centurion) without distinguishing his agents (the Jewish elders and house-servants). Luke mentions both the principal and the agents separately. To listen to the elders’ was to listen to the centurion himself. Indeed, the agents can even speak in the first person! (Is this starting to make sense of John 12:44 where Jesus says, “He who believes in me, does not believe in me, but in Him who sent me”?) (3.)

MOSES’ ROD ILLUSTRATES DIVINE AGENCY

This ‘law of agency’ is scattered right throughout the entire Bible. Let’s take an OT example.

Yehovah God tells Moses, “See I make you as God (Heb. Elohim) to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron shall be your prophet” (Exodus 7:1). When Moses stands before Pharaoh it is as if it is God Himself really standing there speaking and acting. As the agent, Moses is sent to speak and to act, as if he were God Himself. The agent is regarded as the principal!

Later in the chapter, Yehovah God says to Moses, “By this you will know that I am Yehovah: behold, I will strike the water that is in the Nile, with the staff that is My hand, and it shall be turned to blood” (v. 17).

Next, God instructs Moses to tell Aaron, “Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the water of Egypt, over the rivers … that they may become blood … ” (v. 19). As God’s agent, Aaron at Moses’ command stretches out his staff before Pharaoh over the waters, but God says He is the One Who strikes the waters with the staff that is “in My Hand“. Aaron’s action is God’s action. Moses and Aaron are standing before Pharaoh in the very place of God Himself. In the Hebrew mind those men are God in Egypt! What they do is what God Himself does. But in the Hebrew mind there is no confusion as to the actual identity of Who the Principal is and who His agents are.

ANGELIC AGENCY

This Hebrew “law of agency” also holds good when God commissions His angels. Angels can be spoken of as if they were God and can even speak in the first person as though they personally were God before whom they were speaking.

A classic example is the burning bush (that didn’t burn!) in Exodus 3. Who is it who appears to Moses in the bush and talks to him in the first person, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Ex. 3: 6)? The majority of evangelical commentators answer, “Why, this is Yehovah God of course.” Even noting in verse 2 that the text specifically states, “the angel of Yehovah appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush” they rush to the conclusion that this angel of Yehovah must be God in Person, or even the pre-existent Son of God himself, because he speaks in the first person as if he is God.

Here is a clear case of a failure to enter the Hebrew mind and observe the ‘law of agency” in full swing. For what is happening is that the angel in the bush has been sent as an agent by God to represent His Principal. Remember that the agent is regarded as the principal himself. The commissioned angel is as God Himself before Moses.

When we turn to Stephen’s inspired commentary on the burning bush any dispute that this is the case should end. Stephen is a man “filled with the holy Spirit”, a man “full of wisdom”, and “a man full of faith” (Acts 6: 3,5). So I don’t want to disagree with this man! Listen to Stephen’s explanation:

“An angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush. And when Moses saw it, and he began to marvel at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of Yehovah; ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.’ And Moses shook with fear and would not venture to look. But Yehovah said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. I have certainly seen the oppression of My people in Egypt, and have heard their groans, and I have come down to deliver them; come now, and I will send you to Egypt … [Moses] is the one whom God sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush” (Acts 7: 30-35).

Who appeared in the burning bush? Who spoke in the first person as if he were God? Who said, “I am God” so “take off the sandals from your feet for this is holy ground”?

Stephen is a Hebrew-thinking Christian, steeped in that culture and his Scriptures, and he is convinced that the angel-agent is as the Principal-God Himself. In Hebrew thinking, to pay homage to the angel-agent commissioned by God is to give the ultimate honour to God. As the agent of the One Who sent him to Moses, the angel of Yehovah is so identified with his Principal that we find it hard to distinguish him from God! That sent angel speaks in the first person as if he really was God!

We could demonstrate this is the case with every angelic visitation in the Old Testament. (Even the occasion when Abraham had lunch with God in Genesis 18 fits this pattern. You can read my full exposition of this amazing story in my article, “Anyone Round here Seen God?”) We know this is the case because the Bible insists, “No one has ever seen God” (John 1:18; I John 4:12; I Tim. 6:16). But men have seen His angels, His agents, who acted and spoke as if they were God Himself. This is the “law of agency”, where the agent is as the principal himself. (4)

JESUS THE MESSIAH IS THE SUPREME EXAMPLE OF DIVINE AGENCY!

Now we are getting closer to understanding John 12:44 and Jesus’ claim to being the agent of the One God of Israel.

One of the arguments for the popular notion that Jesus is God Himself is that texts attributed to God Almighty in the OT are in the NT attributed to him, so therefore Jesus has to be God. If God alone is the Saviour (Isaiah 43:11) and Jesus is our Saviour, then Jesus must be God, right? If God is the Shepherd (Psalm 23; Ez:34:11ff) and Jesus is “the good Shepherd”, then Jesus must be the God of Israel, right? If every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Yahweh is God, and since every knee and tongue will do this before Jesus, then surely Jesus is Himself God, right?

If God is the Judge of all the earth (Gen: 18:25) and everybody will one day stand before Jesus as Judge (2 Cor:5:10), then surely Jesus is God, right?

And what about all the OT passages that tell us that God Himself is coming in “that Day” to reign over all the earth, but when we come to the NT, those passages are now applied to Jesus at his Second Coming? For instance, the prophet Zechariah announces:

In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle … (14:4).

Surely, if “His feet” in Zechariah 14 are the LORD’s feet, then Jesus must be God, right? Well, before jumping to that conclusion, how about we compare Scripture with Scripture and apply the law of agency? Remember how Aaron’s hand is spoken of as Yehovah’s Hand (Exodus 7:17-19)? We are to understand that in exactly the same way Jesus’ feet are said to be God’s feet, for he too has been “sent” as the ultimate agent of the one God. The “law of agency” provides a very reasonable and satisfying answer to the whole question.

The same applies in the matter of Jesus being our Saviour. Moses also is called ‘saviour’, and Joshua is ‘saviour’ and all the judges of Israel are each called ‘saviour’ (Acts 7:35; Jude 3:9,15; Neh: 9:27, etc.). When God sends somebody to deliver His people that agent is called ‘saviour’ (often translated as ‘deliverer’).

The fact Jesus is called ‘Saviour’ does not prove he is God anymore than Moses who is called ‘saviour’ proves he is God.

This principle is very clear when Jesus is spoken of as the judge of the world. Jesus clearly claims agency when he says his Father God has “given” him all authority to judge. Paul also says that God\:

Has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom He has appointed [commissioned, sent, as His agent], having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead (Acts 17:31).

Of course there is only One ultimate Saviour of all men, One ultimate Judge of all men, One ultimate Authority over all the Universe - the God and Father of Jesus (Eph:4: 6). And Jesus is His perfect agent who will do the judging on behalf of the One God Who has appointed him for this work. Or, to put it in the words of Jesus who shouted it out:

He who believes in me does not believe in me, but in Him who sent me (John 8:44).

Jesus knew he was “sent” to stand in the very place before us as though he were God, but never claimed himself to be that One God, and never imagined his followers would confuse his identity as none other than that God’s anointed agent.

Yes, Jesus is functionally God to us. So, when he speaks, God speaks to us. When he acts, God acts for us. Although perfectly one in mission the Bible never confuses their personal identities. Nobody in Bible times for a moment imagined Jesus was Yehovah God Himself. Certainly Jesus never did! Remember this: The agent is as the principal himself.

John 10:30

hich by the way brings us to the oft-quoted words of Jesus, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). (5) If I have heard it once, I have heard it dozens of times quoted as a sure-fire proof-text that, Jesus is God. Well, hold your horses a minute! Has anybody stopped to consider the context of this statement?

The subject under discussion is whether Jesus really is the Messiah who has been sent by God. The Jews say to Jesus, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly” (v. 24). Jesus replies by claiming to do his work by the Name or under the authority of his Father God, i.e. his Principal.

Jesus further explains that all the sheep who trust in him will not perish because they are held safe in his hand. Jesus explains the reason for their absolute safety is that the Father “has given them to me” and that because He is “greater than all, no one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand” (v. 28-29) … and so, in this way, “I and my Father are one”.

‘Blind Freddy’ can see the obvious context concerns “the works” of Jesus in his mission to care for God’s people. It is an unwarranted imposition on the text to make Jesus talk about “essence” or “being” (i.e. a question of ontology). Not at all! The subject is oneness of ministry, that is, unity of mission between the Father who “sent” His Messiah to be His agent in this work. This is a classic case of the law of agency, for Jesus’ power to keep the sheep is derived from the commission given him by his Father.

Ah, it will be objected, that the Jews then want to stone Jesus “for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, make yourself out to God” (v. 33). But please don’t stop 6 reading there. Jesus once again corrects their erroneous and misguided allegations. (How often do the Jews misunderstand Jesus?) He explains that even the magistrates and judges in the OT who were appointed by God were called “gods” (just as Moses was called God in Exodus 7:1!) so it is only reasonable that Jesus should be called “the Son of God” [i.e. the Messiah] for he reflects like no other human or angel before him the Principal-God who “sent” him.

No other agent sent by God before him, comes near to the superior status of Jesus as God’s Son. He is fully authorised, fully empowered to do God’s work and accomplish his God-given mission to the sheep of his Father. This passage is another classic instance of the principal/agent law we have noted. (6)

Which brings us full circle to John 12:44. Jesus’ own “loud” testimony is that if we believe in him, we do not ultimately believe in him, but in the One God Who sent him as His perfect agent. This “law of agency” is surely a master key to understanding Jesus and his relationship to the One God and Father he beautifully represents. As God’s appointed Messiah, Jesus supersedes all other agents who came before him. He is greater than Moses, greater than any angel. As God’s model agent Jesus is the perfect reflection of his Principal-God. To hear and to see Jesus is indeed to see His Father. This is Jesus’ own “loud” claim.

Understand John 12:44 and you have a master key to understanding Jesus, for “he who believes in me, does not believe in me, but in Him Who sent me”. In the Bible the agent is as the principal himself. Oh, and don’t forget Jesus says to you and to me, “As the Father sent me, even so I send you”, which means we stand before the lost world with all the authority as though we are Jesus! Wow!

1. Werblowsky, R.J.Z., Wigoder, G. The Encycopedia of the Jewish Religion. New York: Adama Books, 1986, p. 15.

2. Johnson, R.A. The One and the Many in the Israelite Conception of God. (As quoted in my book They Never Told Me This in Church! with permission by Juan Baixeras, p. 65).

3. You may like to see how this key unlocks other apparent contradictions between two accounts of the same incident, such as Matthew 20: 21 and Mark 10:35-37. Who literally comes to make request of Jesus, the sons of Zebedee, or their mother? You now have the key!

4. In Genesis 32 Jacob wrestles with “a man” and reports, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved”. Rather than jump to the conclusion of many commentators and say Jacob physically wrestled with God Himself (an impossibility for Jesus says “God is Spirit” in John 4: 24, and besides God Himself is All-powerful), or even with “God the Son” before he became incarnate as Jesus, why not accept the inspired prophet’s explanation that Jacob wrestled with God’s angelic agent that, “he contended with God, yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed” (Hosea 12: 3-4)? If you are interested, here is a sample of other Scriptures that demonstrate the Bible’s ubiquitous testimony to the “law of agency”… Judges 4: 15-16; Ex. 13: 21 with Ex. 14: 19; Ex. 23:21-23, 30-31; I Sam. 13: 3 & 4 where Jonathan as Saul’s son and agent 7 does the actual killing, but king Saul as the principal is the one ultimately attributed with the victory. 2 Sam. 3:18; 2 Kings 14:27; 1 Chron. 11:14. Also compare 2 Chronicles 4:11 where Huram finished the work king Solomon commissioned him to do, but in verses 18-19 the work is actually attributed to Solomon as though the king himself literally did all the work! Etc., etc.

5. My NASB translation transgresses the bounds of translation and ventures into overt commentary by its note in the margin which reads… “Lit., neuter, a unity, or, one essence.” As the NASB states, the adjective “one” is indeed neuter in the Greek (hen), but it is wrong to lead the reader to think Jesus is referring to oneness of “essence” or “being”, which of course, is what Trinitarian doctrine believes. The masculine (heis) is always the Greek word employed for the Personal God, as for instance Jesus’ own creedal statement about God in Mark 12: 29f.

6. In describing the unity of his ministry with Apollos, Paul says, “he who plants and he who waters are one (Neuter, hen) (I Cor. 3: 8). Paul says his ministry is in perfect harmony with the ministry of Apollos, because they are “fellow-workers”, commissioned by God Who gives their whole missionary endeavour growth and increase. There is no suggestion from my Trinitarian friends that Paul and Apollos are “one in essence”, of the “same substance”, or of the “one being” when it says they “are one”! Yet this is a clear parallel to Jesus’ own mission statement in John 10:30!!!

Written by Greg Deuble: www.thebiblejesus.org

Edited by Bruce Lyon

What is the point of prayer when God knows the future and is already in control of everything?

God's foreknowledge has nothing to do with the reason we aught to pray to Him. The inhabitants of Nineveh prayed when Jonah came through the city telling them God was going to destroy that city and as a result God repented of His decision as Jonah knew he probably would and wasn't happy about God's decision. God answers the prayers of all those who come before Him in a humble and contrite attitude of heart. Heartfelt prayers move God to act in mercy and loving kindness and He always answers the prayer of a humble and contrite person, unless in His over-all plan He sees that giving that person an answer would not be to their good as to the end result He sees for them. That is why some are not healed or don't receive an immediate answer to their heartfelt prayers. God know what is best for us and as a result acts toward us accordingly.

When we pray to our God and our Father we are talking to Him and letting him know how much we love Him and thanking Him for all he has given us through His beloved son Jesus. We have truth, light, life, and know the way to entrance to the coming kingdom of God to be established in the coming new age. He has given us the right to come boldly into His presence as His begotten sons as his little children to experience His loving arms drawing us to Himself. With all of this before me, why would I not want to come to God in prayer, telling Him about all that I need help for and waiting on His grace to assist me in those things. He has given us a paracletos - one who comes alongside to help us and his name is Jesus. He has given us a High Priest in heaven for us to intervene for us as our advocate and his name is Jesus. He has given us a comforter who promises to be with us always and his name is Jesus. He has given us a life giving spirit to be with us and his name is Jesus. Why would I not come before the throne of Jesus' God and ours, Jesus Father and ours and give him thanks for all His wonderful grace poured out on all of us who do not deserve anything at all and yet He has blessed us immeasurably! Halil Yah - Praise God.

Hebrews 13:15 Through him - Jesus therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.

When we do this more and more we will feel the presence of the One with whom we have to do. It is a great comfort to know we are never alone, that our God has provided a person to come alongside us to help keep us on the narrow path that leads to life in the coming new age. That fact alone should to give us reason to come before our God and our Father with thanksgiving and praise continually. Indeed what a friend we have in Jesus and what a Father we have in our God who gives us all we have need of!