(tm) Day 15
Back to John Seventeen, Devotional
I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. (John 17:14)
Again we come to the Divinely constructed wall that stands between the elect and the world. The passages of Scripture that control the destinies of each of the Lord’s chosen can be found throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament. These passages are clear: there is a Divinely ordained difference between the elect and the remainder of mankind.
Each member of the elect must keep his part of the covenant by cleaving with all his strength to the Lord who has called him out of the world. If he does not, the Lord will bring him under discipline. If he refuses to be disciplined he will discover he is facing an angry God even though it had appeared he was a member of the elect.
In John 17:14, Jesus acknowledges to the Father in Heaven that He has given the Father’s Word to the elect. Hasn’t Jesus given the Word of God to everyone? Not in the sense meant here.
Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables but He explained the meaning of the parables to His chosen. Only three from among the chosen disciples were allowed to behold His transfiguration. We can see three levels of opportunity displayed here: the multitudes, the chosen, and the three from among the chosen.
A level of opportunity in the Kingdom of God is not earned, it is assigned by Divine election. (Although who can say what God will do on the behalf of any individual who seeks Him with a perfect heart?)
It is the giving of the Word of the Father to the elect, to the chosen, that causes them to be separated from the world. As a result, the world hates God’s elect. Every member of God’s Israel was called out from the world. Israel is an elect, a chosen, a remnant of mankind. The world, and the church people who never were called of God, hate God’s chosen and will murder them because of envy.
The citizenship of the saint is in Heaven, and until the Lord returns he is a stranger and pilgrim in the world. It is the Word of God that separates each of God’s elect from the world.
God’s elect of today who can hear His voice must redouble their efforts to walk carefully and prayerfully before Christ, turning to Him in sincere repentance and humility of mind.