Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXIMaclaren, Alexander
Religion
Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI
Maclaren, Alexander
Bible. John -- Commentaries
Scripture is not given to us merely to make us know something about God
in Christ, nor only in order that we may have faith in the Christ thus
revealed to us, but for a further end--great, glorious, but, blessed be
His Name! not distant--namely, that we may 'have life in His name.'
'Life' is deep, mystical, inexplicable by any other words than itself.
It includes pardon, holiness, well-being, immortality, Heaven; but it
is more than they all.
This life comes into our dead hearts and quickens them by union with
God. That which is joined to God lives. Each being according to its
nature, is, on condition of the divine power acting upon it. This bit
of wood upon which I put my hand, and the hand which I put upon it,
would equally crumble into nothingness if they were separated from God.
You can separate your wills and your spiritual nature from Him, and
thus separated you are 'dead in trespasses and in sins.' And, O
brother! the message comes to you: there is life in that great Christ,
'in His name'; that is to say, in that revealed character of His by
which He is made known to us as the Christ and the Son of God.
Union with Him in His Sonship will bring life into dead hearts. He is
the true 'Prometheus' who has come from Heaven with 'fire,' the fire of
the divine Life in the 'reed' of His humanity, and He imparts it to us
all if we will. He lays Himself upon us, as the prophet laid himself on
the little child in the upper chamber; and lip to lip, and beating
heart to dead heart, He touches our death, and it is quickened into
life.
The condition on which that great Name will bring to us life is simply
our faith. Do you believe in Him, and trust yourself to Him, as He who
came to fulfil all that prophet, priest, and king, sacrifice, altar,
and Temple of old times prophesied and looked for? Do you trust in Him
as the Son of God who comes down to earth that we in Him might find the
immortal life which He is ready to give? If you do, then, dear
brethren! the end that God has in view in all His revelation, that
Christ had in view in His bitter Passion, has been accomplished for
you. If you do not it has not. You may admire Him, you may think
loftily of Him, you may be ready to call Him by many great and
appreciative names, but Oh! unless you have learned to see in Him the
divine Saviour of your souls, you have not seen what God means you to
see.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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