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| HOW CAN I KNOW THE WILL
OF CHRIST? |
#203
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Nothing is more important than knowing the Word of Christ
and obeying it; for the Word of Christ is no less than the Word
of God. Jesus made it plain that His words were more than just
the teachings of a mortal man, for He said, “the Father Himself
who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say, and what to
speak ... therefore, the things I speak, I speak just as the
Father has told Me” (John 12:49-50). Obviously, we need to know
the exact words of Jesus. We need to know what God expects from
our daily lives and what God wants the church to be like. But
how can we be sure that the exact words Jesus spoke are
available to us? Can we feel confident that God’s will for His
church is available? Jesus is not with us today in a physical
form to reveal these important truths. Can we trust the memory
of New Testament writers to accurately and positively preserve
the message of God through Christ? Did they really represent God
when they wrote the words of the New Testament?
Before Jesus departed from this physical world, He set in
place a means by which God’s message could be preserved for all
times. It was the plan of God that His Word be entrusted to a
group of specially selected men whom Jesus called “Apostles.”
Jesus promised His apostles that the Holy Spirit would help them
remember everything He had taught (John 14:26). He went on to
explain that when the Holy Spirit had come upon them, they would
be guided “into all the truth” (John 16:13). We need not fear
that the words of Jesus and the will of the Father were left to
feeble human memory. The Holy Spirit of God “inspired” the
apostles of Christ with a miraculous recollection of all
He had spoken; then guided them into “all the truth.”
We have then a marvelous “chain of inspiration” which
begins with a message of life from the Heavenly Father. Then,
this message was embodied in the person of Jesus; who, in turn,
passed on the keeping of this message to His Spirit filled
apostles. The Holy Spirit brought to their memory far more than
just the “ideas” that Jesus taught, they were given the very
“words.” Like runners in a relay race, Jesus passed the baton of
God’s Word on to His apostles. On their behalf, Jesus prayed to
the Father and said, “for the words which Thou gavest Me
I have given to them ... I have given them Thy word ...
as Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into
the world” (John 17:8-18). In Mark 13:11 Jesus assured His
apostles of the Spirit’s presence. He said, “... do not be
anxious beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever
is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it
is the Holy Spirit.”
It is obvious that Jesus’ apostles understood that their
teaching was inspired by the Spirit. When the Apostle Paul sent
directions to the church in Corinth he wrote, “... the things
which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment” (I Corinthians
14:37). Again, to the church in Thessalonica he said, “... when
you received from us the word of God’s message, you accepted it
not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of
God ...” (I Thessalonians 2:13). In I Corinthians 4:17, Paul
assured the people that his ways were indeed the ways
of Christ.
It is true that Jesus never wrote a book which contained
His teachings; but His apostles did. They were guided by
the Spirit to remember all things that Jesus taught; and
they wrote it down. They were guided by the Spirit into all the
truth; and they wrote that down. In fact, Paul taught that the
written word of inspired teachers was of equal authority
with their spoken word. He encouraged Christians to “...
stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught,
whether by word of mouth or by letter from us” (II Thessalonians
2:15). Neither Jesus nor His apostles are physically with us
today to convey the Word of God. But we can know what
they taught by reading the Holy Scriptures. Paul said, “All
Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the
man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (II
Timothy 3:16-17).
| Bible
Probe |
HOW CAN I KNOW
THE WILL OF CHRIST? |
203
|
1. According to John 12:50, the “Word of Christ” is actually
the word of _________ (whom)?
2. After the ascension of Christ back to heaven, the Word of God
was entrusted to a group of specially selected men whom Jesus
called _____________.
3. Jesus promised these men that the Holy Spirit would help them
in what two ways:
John 14:26 ___________________________________________
John 16:13 ___________________________________________
4. True or False: The Apostles of Christ were assisted by the
Holy Spirit to remember only the “general ideas” that Jesus had
taught. (John 17:8,14)
5. What assurance did Jesus give His Apostles in Mark 13:11?
6. From the following passages of scripture, what clues do you
see that the apostles fully understood that their teaching was
inspired by God?
I Corinthians 14:37
_______________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
I Thessalonians 2:13
______________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
I Corinthians 4:17
________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
7. Did the apostle Paul expect Christians to respect the
authority of his written words as much as they did his spoken
words? (II Thessalonians 2:15)
8. “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for
__________, __________, ________, for training in
_______________; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped
for ________ good work”
(II Timothy 3:16-17)
9. Where should we look today if we want to know the will of
Jesus Christ?
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Your Bible questions answered here.