Weekly Bible Study – August 11, 2014

The new things that have come;
The dispensation of invisible heroes.

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Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to have faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life:

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries

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STUDY TITLE:

The new things that have come;
The dispensation of invisible heroes..



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Terms & Abbreviations used:

PPOG = Predesigned Plan of God
Human Good = Evil + Good Deeds while not in fellowship with God
OSN = Old Sin Nature
TLJC = The Lord Jesus Christ
SSE = Spiritual Self Esteem
PVTD = Positive Volition Towards Doctrine
+H - The Happiness of God
NVTD = Negative Volition Towards Doctrine
Doctrine = Bible Truth

To look up other “terms”, go to:

Alphabetical Listing

BEGIN BIBLE STUDY
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotes and references
are from the NASB – New American Standard Bible

The new things that have come;
The dispensation of invisible heroes.

Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. And during supper, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, {the son} of Simon, to betray Him, (However, Jesus) knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God, and was going back to God. (JOH 13:1-3)

Beginning in verse 4, our Lord begins to illustrate how an invisible hero lives and the visibility and fruit that will follow.

The Lord rose or literally was caused to rise from supper, and He laid aside His garments [analogous to our Lord in the essence of God]; and taking a towel [an ordinary towel representing His unglorified humanity], He girded Himself about. Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. (JOH 13:4-5)

We now come to one of the problems: There is one person who didn't want his feet washed.

And so He came to Simon Peter. He [Peter] said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you shall understand hereafter.” (JOH 13:6-7)

What a true statement. Many times God does things we simply do not understand until later on in life. Part of becoming an invisible hero is understanding the importance and value of rebound and acceptance of the divine appointments in this life from God.

Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” [He absolutely refuses, you will never ever wash my feet] Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you [maybe I will, maybe I will not], you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.” (JOH 13:8-9)

Peter figures that if it’s good to wash the feet then maybe I should get triple blessing....so, wash me all over!

Wash my hands and my head! You see, Peter was always trying to out-think and out maneuver the other disciples and he was always trying to get ahead!

In verse 10, TLJC uses foot-washing to make a distinction between regeneration, being born again sin and rebound.

Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all {of you.}” (JOH 13:10)

The phrase has bathed is a perf-pass-part of the Greek word leloumenos which means to be washed all over or to take a bath. The perfect tense indicates, once saved always saved. The invisible hero understands and believes in the doctrine of eternal security. The passive voice, the believer receives this washing or receives salvation. The issue here is one bath but many foot-washings or saved once, rebound many times. You see, Peter wants to take a bath again. He is like a believer who doesn’t believe in eternal security. Like a holy roller who thinks he can lose the gift of God, that is the gift of salvation.

The phrase you are clean is the pres-act-ind of eimi which is este which means you keep on being clean...and that’s eternal security. Now, there's one exception, but not all and this of course refers to Judas Iscariot. In other words, the Lord is saying this message is not for him. There’s nothing relevant to Judas Iscariot in the upper room discourse. He’s an unbeliever and, in effect, in the analogy, Judas came without a bath, or not regenerated.

He has not been washed from his sins in our Lord’s own blood, a reference to our Lord’s spiritual death.

For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.” (JOH 13:11)

The word for knew is the pluperfect-act-ind of oida which is edei which indicates that Jesus always knew that Judas Iscariot would always remain an unbeliever. The Lord knew that Judas Iscariot would remain an unbeliever billions and billions and billions of years ago in His deity. He also knew it in His humanity because He knew the Scriptures or He knew doctrine.

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him. And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father.” As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore. Jesus said therefore to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and {yet} one of you is a devil?” Now He meant Judas {the son} of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was going to betray Him. (JOH 6:63-71)

There is also the Old Testament prophecy of the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, PSA 41:9, “Even My close friend, in whom I trusted, who ate My bread, has lifted up his heel against Me.” This was fulfilled in JOH 13:18, LUK 22:47-48. Also the fact that our Lord would be sold out for money is recorded in the Old Testament in Amos 2:6, ZEC 11:12, and our Lord knew these prophecies in His humanity. So the Lord knew perfectly that Judas was going to betray Him....from His deity and from His humanity.

For He knew the one who was betraying Him; for this reason He said, “Not all of you are clean.” (JOH 13:11)

The Greek word betraying is a pres-act-part, paradidonta meaning to betray, to deliver up, to hand over.

The present tense is a futuristic present meaning that the betrayal has not occurred yet but He always knew who would do it. This is why our Lord said in JOH 6:70, “Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and {yet} one of you is a devil?” The active voice tells us that Judas betrayed the Lord from his own free will. Judas was not a victim but a villain.

Judas Iscariot is an unbeliever and Bible doctrine is not for the unbeliever. The only issue for the unbeliever is that portion of doctrine called the Gospel, made up of Christology and Soteriology, and that’s the only part that is applicable. Judas has already rejected the Gospel many, many times. In the upper room the Lord has 12 people in His congregation, one of them is not saved and He is not going to teach the Gospel. One is an unbeliever, 11 are believers. Many pastors would spend all their time speaking the Gospel and that would mean that 11 people would sit there and get absolutely nothing. So the Lord is going to speak to 11 people and one person is going to get absolutely nothing. The Lord is not going to cater to the unbeliever. Many churches, week after week, teach the Gospel over and over again every Sunday and they starve the sheep. Starved sheep not only do not produce wool, but they bleep in a horrible way as they go to their death.

And so when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments, and reclined {at the table} again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? (JOH 13:12)

There’s some interesting analogies here. Remember that Jesus Christ stripped off His clothes to do this washing and that is a reference to Him being stripped at the Cross, (MAT 27:28).

And they stripped Him, and put a scarlet robe on Him. (MAT 27:28)

The phrase when He had washed their feet is a reference to the Cross where the Lord Jesus Christ washed us from our sins. As TIT 3:5 says, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. In REV 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.

So the washing refers to our Lord’s saving work on the Cross cleansing us from sin and all unrighteousness.

Then it says that “He took His garments”. Do you remember what they found in the tomb of our Lord when they went inside and found the body missing? They found the folded garments of the Lord! So the taking of the garments refers to His resurrection from the dead.

And so when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments, and reclined {at the table} again, (JOH 13:12)

The phrase reclining at the table is a reference to our Lord’s session being seated at the right hand of God the Father. With the Lord Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of God the Father, God the Father is now able to do something that He has not been able to do in all of human history. Once again to open the flood-gates of Heaven, only this time not with rain but with Bible doctrine. Doctrine that had been held in secret from the beginning of the human race, the doctrine of the Church-age, mystery doctrine. The doctrines that we have recorded in the New Testament. These things are now available to us after He was seated at the right hand of the Father or, if you will, after He reclined at the table. That’s why in JOH 13:12, the last half of the verse says “Do you know what I have done to you?” He is going to explain what He has done.

In effect then, in foot-washing, the Lord is actually depicting Himself in resurrection, in ascension, and session, and only after that, when Christ is glorified, does God the Father provide from Heaven the mystery doctrines pertaining to the Church-age. Only then does the Church-age begin. Historically, the Church-age began ten days after Jesus Christ was seated at the right hand of the Father.

“You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for {so} I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.” (JOH 13:13-15)

These eleven are going to be the first communicators of doctrine in the Church-age.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master; neither is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. I do not speak of all of you. I know the ones I have chosen; but {it is} that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’ From now on I am telling you before {it} comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am {He.} Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” (JOH 13:16-20)

This section deals with the principles derived from foot-washing. The first principle is found in verse 16.

“Truly, truly means point of doctrine, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master;” (JOH 13:16)

The Greek word for slave is the nominative singular masculine noun doulos which refers to the disciple or the student from the standpoint of his discipleship....he’s a slave! Here it refers to the apostles who will be communicators of doctrine and therefore disciples of the word! We hear a great deal these days about discipleship but a disciple is a student under strict discipline and receives information. The slave and the disciple are two sides of the same coin!

“Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master;” JOH 13:16

The Greek word for Master is the genitive singular masculine noun kuriou which connotes Deity and also indicates the greatest possible contrast between the disciple and the Lord Jesus Christ. Literally this means that a disciple is a student under strict discipline with no privileges, no rights....that is a disciple! A slave is exactly the same thing! Why does the Lord use interchangeably the word slave and disciple? If the Lord is actually teaching them, He calls them disciples! But, if they are out of school, they are still not out from under His discipline and therefore they are called slaves! Remember JOH 13:13 when the Lord said “You call Me Teacher and Lord.”

Teacher or didaskalos is our Lord’s authority over us when we are called disciples. The word Lord is Kurios or His authority over the disciples when they are called slaves. So even though He has done a very humiliating thing, He has not traded places with the disciples. One of the principles that comes out of foot-washing is that authority is always authority. Because the Lord Jesus Christ washed the disciple’s feet, He did not lose His authority. He not only washed their feet, but He did it without sinning, that’s more that what most of us would have been able to do. We would probably have wanted to bust a few toes while washing. Yet by doing this humiliating thing, He did not in any way lose His authority. He was still the Lord! He still sat at the head of the table! He still controlled the situation!

“You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet [and I have], you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master; neither is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. (JOH 13:13-15)

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.