Appointed To Bear Fruit: A 90 Day JourneyНамуна

Revealing Christ To the World

Now that the mystery about the oneness of the Father and Son was revealed, this mystery needed to be explained to the world. Judas (not Iscariot) put forward an important question: “If what you told us is so important then why are you only sharing it with us? Everyone must hear of it.” Judas was correct. This was big news and needed to be told to the entire world. But that was not Jesus’ role. Jesus came to fulfill the Father’s plan of salvation. It was the Holy Spirit’s role to work through every believer to spread the news of redemption throughout the world. Through the testimony of believers, the world will know the true God. 

The church’s mission is to know Christ and to make Him known to all the world, so that His name will be glorified. Jesus explained how someone can know Him. It begins by loving Christ. This means that we discard the idols in our lives and only worship the true God. We can’t love both God and the world. For example, Jesus taught that we must choose between our love for God and our love for money. Which one have you chosen? If we have chosen Christ, we demonstrate our choice by obeying His commands. It’s our obedience that honors God in front of non-believers. When we obey Christ’s commands, we experience the Father’s love, and as a result we grow closer to Him. It’s the Holy Spirit indwelling in us who helps us obey Christ’s commands and grow in knowledge of Him.  

John has already told us that the Holy Spirit will fill us (v. 17). Now he writes that the Father and the Son will dwell in us. God not only is involved in our salvation, but also in the daily lives of believers. In the same way that God’s glory filled the Holy of Holies in the Temple, so too God fills each believer. Our hearts are cleansed by the redemptive work of Christ on the cross, and He poured out His blood to make us holy before God. Now, God is near to us in a personal and intimate way. When we confess our sins, the obstacles that hinder our fellowship with God are removed. 

Christ didn’t reveal Himself to the world. Rather, He chose us to continue His work by sharing the Good News with the world. The Father, Son, and Spirit are in us for that purpose. Wherever we are, God’s presence is with us. He is watching over us as we proclaim His greatness. The indwelling Christ works through our lives to bring others to the Risen Son of God. He gives us His words to speak so that even a heart of stone might respond to the gospel. But, Christ gives the world a choice: people can believe in Him, who is revealed through His church, or reject Him. Those who reject this message, reject God Himself. When people reject the gospel, they are declaring that they don’t love Christ. By rejecting Christ, they are also rejecting the Father. The world has a choice, but it is our job to faithfully make Christ’s salvation known to the world. 

Application:  How are you revealing the mystery of the oneness of the Father and the Son to the world?