John Chapter 2

In John chapter we read the first miracle Jesus performed: He turned water into wine. This first mentioning of the miracle sets forth the principle of miracles in the Scriptures, that is, to change death into life. Read the following verse (John 23-11):

And when the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, They have no wine. And Jesus said to her, Woman, what do I have in this that concerns you? My hour has not yet come. His mother said to the servants, Whatever He says to you, do. Now there were six stone waterpots lying there, according to the Jews' rite of purification, holding two or three measures each. Jesus said to them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, Draw some out now and take it to the master of the feast. And they took it to him. And when the master of the feast tasted the water which had become wine and did not know where it came from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew, the master of the feast called the bridegroom And said to him, Every man sets out the good wine first, and when they have drunk freely, then that which is worse; you have kept the good wine until now. This beginning of signs Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed into Him.

Also I was touched by the Life-Study Message:

The wine, which was the center of the enjoyment of the wedding feast, ran out (2:3). This signifies that the enjoyment of human life will be terminated when human life runs out. When the wine runs out, the pleasure of the marriage feast is gone. This signifies not only that the enjoyment of life is over, but that human life is finished. Regardless of how much pleasure you are enjoying, when your human life is ended, all your human enjoyment is also gone. Regardless of how good your wife, your husband, your parents, your children, or your job may be, if your life has come to an end, your pleasure is gone. When the wine has been exhausted, the feast is over, for the feast is dependent upon the wine. All your enjoyment depends upon your life. If your life has been terminated, your enjoyment is brought to an end. Regardless of the kind of wedding you are in, when your human life runs out, your wedding is terminated and the enjoyment is over. That is what happened that day in Cana of Galilee.

Do you not believe that before the Lord Jesus went to Cana He realized that the wine would run out? Surely He knew it ahead of time, for that was the reason that He went to Cana. The wine did not run out by accident. The Lord Jesus foreknew that the wine would be exhausted, and He went to Cana to establish the principle of life, changing death into life. By coming to the marriage feast, He came to deal with and to heal the situation. The Lord healed death in the human situation by turning it into life like the way Elisha healed the salt water by making it fresh (2 Kings 2:19-22).

When the Lord came into the world, He came into a situation where human enjoyment existed, but was not lasting. He came into a situation where the death of human life terminates all human enjoyment. The changing of water into wine is a sign which must be understood figuratively. For example, if we are over sixty years of age, we are approaching a time when the wine is almost gone. When our wine is about to run out, we know that our marriage feast will soon be over. But, praise the Lord, it is at such a time that the Lord comes into our situation. In our marriage feast we have the Lord! We need not be afraid, for He can change the water into wine.

John 1:19 - 51

The Lord continues to bless us with His rich Words....the second Wednesday that met together, we continued with the second-half of John chapter 1. I was touched that John chapter 1 ends with the fulfillment of Jacob's dream. In John 1:51, the Lord tells Nathanael that

"Truly, truly, I say to you, You shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man." (John 1:51)

This is marvelous! The Son of Man, Jesus, now is a ladder connecting the earth to the heaven, connecting men to God! In our daily life, we all have troubles, problems, things we don't know how to handle with. But praise the Lord we have Jesus - who is our ladder that takes us from our situation and enter into God. We need this kind of savings every day!

John 1: 1- 18

We began our Wednesday noon Bible class with Gospel of John. I was touched that the Gospel of John is a bridge connecting the beginning and the end of the Bible. In this gospel, we can see that 1) The eternal Word incarnated coming to bring God into man, and 2) Jesus crucified and Christ resurrected going to prepare the way to bring man into God, and as the Spirit coming to abide and live in the believers for the building of God's habitation (Outline of Gospel of John in the New Testament RcV).

The following is an excerpt from Life-Study of John, which is a fantastic introduction to this gospel:

The Bible is very consistent. If you read it with insight and with the heavenly vision, you will discover that it begins with life and building. We see life and building in Genesis 2. Immediately after the creation of man, life was introduced. After the Lord God created man, He placed him in a garden in front of the tree of life (Gen. 2:7-9). Following this mention of the tree of life, we see the flowing river and three precious materials: gold, bdellium, which is pearl, and onyx, a precious stone. According to the further revelation of the Scriptures, especially Revelation 21, these precious materials are for God’s building. In Genesis 2:22 we find specific mention of the building. “And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, builded he a woman, and brought her unto the man” (Heb.). God took a rib out of Adam’s side and used it to build him a wife. Thus, the man was created, but the woman was builded. In Genesis 2 we see life, the materials that proceed out of the flow of life, and the building of a wife. Therefore, in Genesis 2 we have life and building.

The book of Revelation also speaks of life. Revelation 2:7 says, “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” This certainly is a reference to the tree of life in Genesis 2. Revelation 2:17 says, “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone.” This verse speaks of a stone which, according to the Bible, has no purpose other than that of building. In the last two chapters of Revelation, which are the last two chapters of the Bible, we see the building of the New Jerusalem. In the New Jerusalem the river of life flows and the tree of life grows in the waters of the river (Rev. 22:1-2). Thus, it is clear that the Bible ends as it begins, with life and building.

Between Genesis and Revelation, the two ends of the Bible, there is a wide gap, a broad span. What bridges this gap? The bridge is the Gospel of John. The book of John opens with the words, “In the beginning.” However, if you read this gospel carefully, you will discover that the history recorded in it has no end. Hence, it starts from the beginning in eternity past and it continues indefinitely into the future. Thus, it bridges the span between Genesis and Revelation.

How wonderful is it that now God come to be with men!

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The New Testament Recovery Version

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"You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that testify concerning Me. Yet you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life. " (John 5:39-40) The footnote in this verse really tells the importance of "scriptures" and "life":

To "search the Scriptures" may be separated from "come to Me" (v. 40). The Jewish religionists searched the Scriptures but were not willing to come to the Lord. These two should go together; because the Scriptures testify concerning the Lord, they should not be separated from the Lord. We may contact the Scriptures, yet not contact the Lord. Only the Lord can give life.

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COC at Street Fair

Praise the Lord after a lot of prayers we had our presence on campus at UM-Flint! We participated the New Student Welcome Day Street Fair to welcome the arrival of a new academic year and many new faces on campus! We wish everyone the best in this semester and don't forget our Wednesday Bible class. We will meet in the Lapeer Room at University Pavilion from 12:30 to 1:30 PM.