(tm) Day 8
Back to John Seventeen, Devotional
Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. (John 17:7,8)
When we are first confronted with the Gospel the question comes to us, "How can we be sure Christ truly is from God?" It is not always easy for the seeker to assure himself he is not putting his trust in fables.
John 7:17 has proved to be a blessing to some who have had this problem: "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself."
Here is a contract: If we will receive and practice what Christ has spoken to us in the name of God, we will find for ourselves, to our own satisfaction, whether Christ is speaking from the Spirit of God or out from Himself.
Those of us (including the original disciples of the Lord) who have received Christ’s words and who live by them know Christ came from God. We know it was God who sent Christ to the earth.
When the author first came to Christ fifty years ago he questioned whether Christ actually was from God. The decision was made to obey what Christ has stated, hoping to determine whether the Gospel is true.
The circumstances of our life from that moment are undeniable evidence that Christ has come from God and is alive today. Christ is from God. We have done what He said when it was pleasant and when it was unpleasant; when we understood what was happening to us and when we did not understand what was happening to us.
We now know beyond all doubt that Christ is what He claims to be and what the Apostles claim He is—the Word and Son of God. Christ neither spoke His own words nor performed His own deeds. What He said came from God Almighty. What Christ did proceeded from the Creator of all.
We know also that Christ will come again in clouds, just as He departed in the sight of many witnesses. We know one day the heavens and the earth to which we are accustomed will pass away and there will come into existence a new heaven and a new earth in which will dwell righteous behavior and praise to God through Christ. We know the words Christ has spoken to us shall never pass away.