Living the Christian Life Magazine

The Works of God

Blessing is stamped upon this introduction to the history of God’s interest in man and His creatures

He blessed the living creature (Gen 1:22)  -  He blessed man (Gen 1:28) -  He blessed the seventh day  (Gen 2:3)

In the Gospel of John Chapter 5. The Lord Jesus reminded the Zealots that His command for healed man to carry his bed on the Sabbath, was in accordance with a previous act by His Father recorded in Genesis Ch.3:21 “the making of the coats of skins to clothe the nakedness of Adam and Eve”

And as sin had broken the Father’s rest after creation, so Christ had come because of sin to “work the works of Him” He alone could say “I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do” (John Ch.17:4)

In the healing of the lame man, The Lord Jesus presented proof of His Messiah-ship to the nation on the Sabbath that they might learn that He Himself was the “True Sabbath” in which God rested. God’s creation Sabbath was wrecked by sin. The Sabbath was given as a token of the covenant between man and Jehovah, but man’s disobedience destroyed it.

Here in John Chapter.5 the Jews persecuted Jesus because He healed the lame man on the Sabbath (v16). But the Jews had degraded the Sabbath and the Passover in that it became “A feast of the Jews (John Ch.5:1) and not “the feast of Jehovah”

Man degraded himself so that he became lifeless which is in contrast with Him who is “the giver of life”. Man clings to forms and festivals all the more strongly when lacking the life which can be described as “covenant of works”. They will use their religion of works to fight against Him of whom they witnessed (John Ch.5:18)

The Christian Sabbath –  the resurrection day opens the “New Creation” in which the Christians rests  Hebrew Ch 4 reminds “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest” (v11)  The Pilgrim Christian rests not in the first creation, in which the first Adam corrupted, but in the second because it is God’s redemption rest, and Christ being that Sabbath. It is a rest that cannot be disturbed. (Hebrews 4:9-11) (Hebrews 4:3)  For we rest in the finished work of Calvary

“I have glorified Thee on earth, having accomplished the work which Thou hast given Me to do” (John 17:4)

Just has sin had broken the Father’s rest after creation, so Christ had come because of sin to work the works of Him that sent Him. The statement “My Father worketh until now and I work” (John 5:17) is deeply affecting, for it declares that neither He nor the Father could find that their Sabbath in the midst of the sad fruits of sin

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In John Ch.5:24 we are reminded that Jesus Christ gave eternal life to whoever believed on Him as sent by God, and that the eternal destiny of all men would be decreed by Him (28-29) so that if they would not receive Him as Life-giver they would be rejected by Him

That eternal life is lived out by the Pilgrim Christian   - not in his own strength, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, and as such the Father works our His purposes  in us through the Holy Spirit,  The work of God in relation to our eternal destiny lies in the  necessity of the  Pilgrim Christian to be renewed in spirit  (or be born again)**  The necessity  grows out of the incapacity of the natural man to see or enter the kingdom of God, However gifted, moral, or refined he may be the natural man is absolutely blind to spiritual truth and incapable of entering the kingdom  Jesus goes beyond mans concept and comes to the very heart of man's problem, the need for spiritual transformation or regeneration produced by the Holy Spirit

**For a fuller account  see  The New Man. “Ye must be born again” Bible reading John Ch3 v1-15