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Subject 16 : The Gospel According to JOHN
[Chapter 5-1] The Lord Visits The Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-9)
(John 5:1-9)
“After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, ‘Do you want to be made well?’ The sick man answered Him, ‘Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk.’ And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath.”
How have you been this week? In today’s Scripture passage, Jesus paid a visit to the pool of Bethesda. The name of the pool, ‘Bethesda,’ means ‘the house of mercy.’ By the pool of Bethesda, which is by the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem, a multitude of sick people gathered there and waited for the moving of the water.
According to the tradition, once in a while, an angel came down to this pool of Bethesda and stirred up water, and so the story goes, whoever that enters the water first at that moment was made well of his or her sickness. That was why many sick people with various diseases were there waiting for the water of the pool of Bethesda to move. At that place, there was a sick man who had been in sickbed for 38 years waiting for the moving of the water.
This sick man who had an infirmity for 38 years came to think, “Even if the water should move, I cannot enter, and even if I should try my best, it’s obvious others would enter before me,” and without any hope, he just laid there lamenting his miserable life. Since he could not even move, it was obvious that other sick people there who are waiting for the water to move, such as the lames, the blinds, and the cripples, would be entering before him. As such, there was no hope, but on a single strand of hope that perhaps he could receive the grace of God, he came by the pool everyday carried on a bed and waited. It had been 38 years, since he had made his first appearance.
One Day, Jesus Christ Came by the Pool of Bethesda
Let us think for a moment first. If we were to pursue some human happiness, does everything come about according one’s efforts? Does everyone become rich by living diligently? From where does our blessing come? Whose power does a person’s blessing depend on? If one offers prayers of repentance in the name of Jesus Christ, does the person receive complete cleansing of all sins once and for all? First of all, regarding all things such as sinners receiving the remission of sins, living in happiness, and living with the blessing of God, we should think about whether they are dependent on our own power or on God. The Bible says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain” (Psalm 127:1).
By the pool of Bethesda, a multitude of sick people was lying here and there in small groups. Jesus came to the pool of Bethesda, and to whom did He bestow the grace of salvation? It was to a sick man who had an infirmity for 38 years. Jesus spoke to the sick man who had lain in bed for 38 years unable to move. “Do you want to be made well?” “Yes, but I have no man to put me into the pool.” The sick man who had an infirmity for 38 years confessed he couldn’t do anything by himself. Then, Jesus, seeing the hope inside his heart, said, “Rise, take up you bed and walk.”
Just then, the sick man who had an infirmity for 38 years stood right up, took up his bed by his shoulders, and started to walk. At the time, there were many sick people near the pool, but only the sick man who had an infirmity for 38 years was made to stand up. They all must have been envious. These people could only be dumbfounded because they did not know how the sick man who had an infirmity for 38 years got healed even though he did not enter the pool of Bethesda. They believed that only the one who entered the pool first when it moves could be healed of.
They were trying to heal their sickness by the faith that they had believed. But, a Man named Jesus came and said to the sick man who had an infirmity for 38 years without any foreseeable chance for healing, “Do you want to be made well?” Just as the sick man said, “Yes, I want to be made well,” by the single phrase, “Rise, take up your bed and walk,” all the infirmity was completely healed. And this was something truly surprising. By the single phrase of Jesus’ words, “Rise, take up your bed and walk,” the sick man was able to stand up and walk.
For us to receive salvation is similar. For us to receive the remission of our sins is not dependent upon our own efforts. Then, to whom does it depend? The cleansing of our sins depends wholly on our Lord. It depends wholly on the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, which is the Word of salvation given to us by the Son of God.
As for the sick people sitting by the pool of Bethesda, they were all relying on their own power to heal their sicknesses. Among them, a blind person might have thought, “I am blind, but my hearing is better than anyone with sight. So, I can hear the sound of water moving more keenly than anybody else. I can measure distance by any sort of sound. I can enter the pool first.” Some person who limps may have thought, “I may limp, but one of the legs is stronger than anyone else’s. I also have good eyes as well as good ears. Even if I have to skip on one leg, I will enter the pool first! No matter how, all I have to do is to get into that pool quickly.”
At the place, there was also a cripple. That person must have been convinced, “I may not be able to stand, but I have two strong arms. I can go into the pool faster than any of you with these arms.” And so, the person must have come to the side of the pool day after day. A scrawny sick person may have thought, “I may not have any strength, but I have a lucid mind. So, I came here earlier than anyone else, and took my place closest to the pool. When the water moves, all I have to do is to spin down once, and I will be the first.” What is common among all these people with an illness at the pool of Bethesda is that they were hanging onto their own will, ‘I can do it,’ by relying on their own power.
But, if we were to think about it again, would we human beings be able to receive God’s blessings with our own efforts? The answer would be, never. What are the Bible Scriptures, which are the Word of God, telling us? No matter how hard we put in our efforts and exert ourselves, we cannot receive the remission of sins by our own power. The Bible tells us, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (James 1:17). People receive salvation from sin only by depending on God’s grace of salvation. Therefore, if we truly want to receive God’s blessings, we must seek such blessings within the gospel of the water and the Spirit that God has given us. Why? It is because we must first receive the remission of sins and then become His children in order to receive all of God’s blessings.
It Was the Sabbath Day When the Sick Man’s 38 Year-Old Infirmity Was Healed
When the sick man who had been bed-ridden with an infirmity for 38 years stood up, people should have given thanks to Jesus, and praised Him. And, as they congratulated the man for getting healed, they should have asked, “Who is it that has healed you who had an infirmity for 38 years?” Just as the healed man said, “Jesus has healed me,” they should have thanked Jesus and asked Him to heal the infirmities of their own.
But Pharisees and the scribes said to him, “Why did you stand up on the Sabbath Day? You have been lying still in bed for 38 years, yet why did you have to stand up on the Sabbath Day? There are six other days in a week, yet why did you have to stand up on the Sabbath Day, having been a sick man for 38 years? Is it right for you to receive healing, take up your bed and walk on this holy Sabbath Day?” Because of the event, a sick man receiving a healing at the pool of Bethesda, there came about a discussion on whether it is right or wrong to heal on the Sabbath Day.
Through such reaction of the Pharisees and scribes, we are able to know how much they were bound by religious formalism. Whatever it may be, whether a person was healed on the Sabbath Day or on some other day, whether or not a miracle occurred while eating, or whether or not one received a healing while in a bathroom, it is more important that the infirmity of a sick man who had been bed-ridden for 38 years was healed. Isn’t this so? Yes, it is. All is settled when a sick man who had an infirmity for 38 years met Jesus and received healing by His words. Yet, regarding this event, what need is there for someone to say, “Why are you walking on the Sabbath Day? Who is it that has healed you?”
“Then they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well” (John 5:12-15).
Because of this work, religious leaders at the time started to persecute Jesus. Jesus said, “My Father has been working until now, so I have been working, also.” Jesus had called God, His Father. Because of those words, the Jews tried to kill Jesus. “What? Are You saying that God the Father is Your Father? If so, do You mean to say that You are God’s Son?” Because, this time, Jesus, who had broken the Sabbath from their view, called God, His Father, they started to persecute Jesus even more. Without any concern, Jesus said, “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will” (John 5:20-21).
To honor the will of His Father, Jesus does the work of raising the dead. Jesus saves and gives life to those He wants to. Our Lord came to this earth and did the works of a healing ministry. And all the works of healing show that He has come to do the work of healing the infirmities of everyone’s soul. If you recognize that your Lord is the Savior and if you believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the Lord will cleanse all your sins. The Lord gives remission of sins and eternal life to those whose souls that were dead because of sins. Just as God the Father has saved people and given eternal life, our Lord Jesus Christ has come to this earth and saved those that He wanted to by giving them the remission of sins. And, to do so, He had to cleanse all the sins of the world.
The Jews didn’t believe in their hearts that Jesus is the Son of God. But, Jesus was essentially the Son of God, and He is our Savior. Also, to those of us who believe in Jesus, He is the true God. He is God and the Son of God. By knowing and believing Jesus as the Savior, we receive the grace of salvation, and we are able to receive the remission of all sins.
We believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior who has given all human beings the remission of sins to save them from their sins. We believe that Jesus has saved us from sin and death. We believe that Jesus came to this earth in the flesh of man and has cleansed everyone’s sin by the gospel of the water and the Spirit. In order to save sinners like the sick man who had an infirmity for 38 years, Jesus came to this world, received His baptism at the age of 30, and took on all the sins of every human being completely at that moment. And then, He received the judgment of sins vicariously by shedding blood on the Cross. By doing so, the Lord has blotted out all our sins. We, who are like the sick man who had an infirmity for 38 years, received the grace of salvation by believing in Jesus, who is the Son of God and the true God to us, as our Savior.
Those who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, have received salvation not only from 38 years’ worth of sins but also from all sins throughout their entire lives. The fact is that anyone who acknowledges that he or she is headed toward hell because of sins and then believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit will receive the remission of sins. Whoever it may be, anyone who believes in the fact that Jesus took on all his or her sins by receiving the baptism at the Jordan River will receive salvation from sins, get an eternal life, and be saved from God’s frightening judgment.
When our Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth, He came like a lowly one with nothing to really boast of. Our Savior Jesus was born in an animal barn. Joseph and Mary, Jesus’ parents of the flesh, were not wealthy, and Jesus had not attended any school. And, at the time when Jesus Christ was born on this earth, the nation of Israel was a colony of the Roman Empire. Jesus was like a root out of dry ground. He was very thin, and His physique wasn’t that outstanding. He was very unattractive in appearance. Therefore, people of those days might despise and reject Jesus and even hide their faces from Him (Isaiah 53:2-3).
Yet, Jesus took on all the sins of the world by receiving the baptism from John the Baptist as He turned 30 years old. He cleansed the sins of all the people by bearing them once and for all. He healed all sicknesses as He spoke, “Receive the healing for it is My will,” and by performing the miracle of five loaves and two fish, He fed over five thousand people with some left over.
Our Lord gave remission of sins to whomever He met. That is why He said to a woman who got caught in the act of adultery, “Woman, neither do I condemn you. You have received your remission of sins.” In order to stone the woman who had been caught in the act of adultery to death, people of religion were holding rocks in their hands. Our Lord spoke to scribes and Pharisees who were the representatives of those religious people. “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” Even those who did not believe in Jesus, being convicted by their conscience, went away one by one, beginning with the oldest to the youngest. They threw away the stones one by one and left.
To the woman caught in the act of adultery, Jesus then said, “Woman, for neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more. And, follow Me. Those who follow Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” Those who believe in Jesus, that is, those who believe in the fact that Jesus has saved them from all sins by the baptism that He had received and the blood never again become sinners. They live forever as the righteous.
Jesus shouldered all the sins of humanity by His baptism, and He died vicariously on the Cross for the sins of humankind. Thus, He had saved all humanity from sin. Jesus never committed a sin after coming down to this earth. Though no sin of His own could be found inside of Him, He took on all the sins of humanity by the baptism that He had received, and so, He had to die on the Cross due to those sins. Jesus became the Savior of those who believe, the Savior of all humanity, by bearing by Himself all the sins that everyone born to this world commit throughout their lifetime, dying on the Cross, and being resurrected.
At the time when Jesus received the death sentence, there was a heinous and unlawful criminal named Barabbas inside Pontius Pilate’s prison. Like us, he was to go to hell. At the time, Barabbas was on death row certain to be crucified in front of all the people. But, he was released because of Jesus. It shows that Jesus had to receive the baptism and be crucified in order to save such heinous sinners. If Jesus Christ hadn’t come into this world, we who are like Barabbas would never have escaped from death. Jesus gave life to us, the heinous and the unlawful, by dying vicariously on the Cross while bearing the sins of all humanity through His baptism.
As Jesus died on the Cross, He said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30) Dear fellow believers, by believing in whom, were you and I able to receive salvation from sin? By believing in what sort of a great man were you and I able to receive salvation from sin? Dear fellow believers, we were able to receive salvation from sin by our faith because Jesus Christ came to this earth and carried out the great work. We were able to receive salvation from sin by believing in Jesus Christ because our Lord took on all the sins that you and I commit throughout our lifetime once and for all by receiving His baptism. You and I have received salvation from sin by believing in the Word spoken by Jesus Christ, the work of salvation that Jesus Christ had carried out, and in the ministries of the water and the blood. Jesus Christ has saved us from all sins like this. Jesus Christ also has the power like that of God the Father, and He gave life to those of whom He wanted to. And, He had those who believe in Jesus Christ to have an eternal life. Hallelujah!
What Sort of an Era Is This Day and Age?
This is an era when a person can hear the voice of God the Father’s Son. The Lord said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice” (John 5:25-28).
Dear fellow believers, did you receive the remission of all sins by hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ? Those who hear the voice of the Son of God will live. It is not the case that one gets salvation by doing something good or by living virtuously. We must believe in the fact that the remission of sins depends thoroughly on Jesus who has saved us from all sins, not on our good deeds. It is impossible for a person to receive salvation by striving to win first place in keeping the Law. It is because the cut-off line for acceptance that God had drawn with the Law is something that humans can never reach.
We receive salvation only by listening to the voice of the Son of God: We receive salvation by believing in the Truth that Jesus Christ had taken on all the sins of yours and mine that we commit throughout our lifetime; we receive salvation by believing in our hearts the salvation completed by the Lord through the baptism He had received at the Jordan River; and, we receive salvation from destruction by believing in the fact that Jesus had vicariously received all the judgment at the Cross, that is, the fact that He had received the judgment on our behalf. One can receive the salvation of the remission of sins by having faith after having heard the Word of the Truth from the servants of God.
How Do People These Days Receive Salvation from All Their Sins?
It is said, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). You must know and believe this Word. We were able to receive salvation from sin by hearing and believing in the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, which says that Jesus Christ has blotted out all our sins. The way for all humankind to receive salvation is by hearing the voice of the Son of God, that is, the Word of the Lord. The voice of the Son of God is recorded in the Bible Scriptures. It is the case that anyone who believes in this Word has heard and accepted the voice of God and has obtained eternal life for having received the remission of sin.
By believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, you and I have received salvation from sin. Everyone on this earth has to hear the Word of God in order to receive salvation from sins. If one hears and believes in the Word of God, then the person receives salvation from sins and is born again for having received everlasting life. Just as Lazarus came out alive, bound in a grave cloth, when our Lord went to the tomb of Lazarus and said, “Lazarus, come forth,” the souls of those who hear and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit also do not die, but live forever.
Our Lord is God. Our Lord is the Master of life. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:1-2). Our Lord is God of the Word. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. This Omnipotent God who has created the universe and all things with His Word is none other than our Lord. By coming down to this earth and receiving His baptism at the Jordan River, this Lord has saved all the descendants of Adam from all sins, from evil tricks of Satan the Devil, and from death brought forth by him.
When Jesus was receiving His baptism, He said to John the Baptist, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). Here, the phrase, “for thus,” is ‘οϋτως γάρ’ (hoo’-tos gar) in Greek, which means ‘just in this way,’ ‘most fitting,’ or ‘there is no other way besides this.’ If Jesus wanted to blot out the sins of all people, He had to come to this earth and receive the baptism from John the Baptist who is the representative of all humankind. It means that Jesus had to receive the baptism in order to most appropriately take on the sins of all humankind in a way that is most suited. And by having done so, He is able to do all the righteous work for us people. And thus, the sins of all people are cleansed from the tablets of their hearts.
We Must Hear the Voice of God through the Gospel Word of the Water and the Spirit
You have to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit in order to receive the remission of sins, to have your soul come to life, and to obtain everlasting life. Anyone who believes in the gospel of the water and the Spirit gets to receive salvation from sin. Only by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit can people become children of God, be alive having received salvation, and gain everlasting life.
People do not know the things of the Spirit very well. What are the things of the Spirit? To people, there are the things of the flesh and the things of the Spirit. And, while the things of the flesh are to commit sins, the things of the Spirit are to save lives. The things of the Spirit are the works of God, allowing people, no matter who, to hear the voice of God and receive salvation by faith. The Lord said, “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). You and I must hear the voice of God and do the things of the Spirit.
Just as you and I honor and revere God the Father, you and I must honor and revere Jesus Christ. And we must serve Jesus Christ and respect and spread His Word. By our spreading the gospel of the water and the Spirit, it is the case that those who were once dead crushed by their own sins come back to life. When we are preaching the gospel by which Jesus Christ has saved us, everyone must hear the sound with their ears and believe with their hearts. And in that moment, do the souls that had been dead come back to life.
Dear fellow believers, even now, there are many spirits locked up in prison. We mustn’t think that only those who have committed sins of the flesh and have received judgment according to the laws of the world are imprisoned. Even among those spirits strutting down on wide roads as if nothing is wrong, there are spirits that are imprisoned in the prison of their sins. If one has a sin, it locks up the person in the prison of sin and makes it so that the person cannot avoid the punishment for sin.
Even now, the flesh of someone may be strutting along carefree, but his or her soul is in agony, locked up in a prison of sin. And, there are many such people awaiting for the day when they will be set free from the prison. They are just waiting for the news of salvation of Jesus. To those people, we must spread this joyous and wonderful news of salvation accomplished by Jesus Christ. All those who hear the voice of God come to life without fail.
Dear fellow believers, we were set free from the prison of sin and we gained everlasting life because you and I believed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Did we receive such grace because we had something to be commended for even just one bit? No, that is not so. No matter how hard I think, I cannot find at all even just a bit of goodness in those of us who have received the remission of sins and in those others who have not yet received the remission of sins. Even so, our God came to this earth and saved you and me who are lacking and unattractive. By the gospel of the water and the Spirit, Jesus saved the spirits in prison of sin, and had them obtain freedom (1 Peter 3:19).
A brother in a correctional facility sends me letters, and whenever I read his letters, I realize what a great blessing it is to live with a freedom of the flesh. We can go anywhere we want to, but those who are imprisoned cannot even go to one place to their heart’s content despite their desires to go. “Dear Pastor. How have you been? Birds came by and sat on a branch seen through the window bars. They sang for a while and then flew away. Where a person can live free as those birds, the outside world seems so beautiful.” As I read those words from his letter, I come to realize that this freedom, which we enjoy without any thought, is actually a great blessing. What it means is that the freedom, which we enjoy so rightly, is such a great blessing to those people behind bars.
There is innumerable number of people whose spirits are in the prison of sin due to not having received the remission of sins. Because they have no spiritual freedom, they earnestly desire to receive the remission of sins. We must realize how thankful and valuable it is that we who cannot but commit sins have received salvation from all sins. The fact that I have received salvation and freedom by having been released from the prison of sin by believing in Jesus having saved me by the gospel of the water and the Spirit is something for which I am so thankful that it actually seems marvelous to me. Our Lord said, “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel” (John 5:20). And because our Lord did accomplish this great work of salvation, no matter how hard I think, it is just something ever so marvelous. What I am saying is how could the sins of people like you and me go away?
The Lord said, “For there is not a just man on earth who does good, And does not sin” (Ecclesiastes 7:20). Do we always do good deeds just because we are righteous? Just because we are the righteous, do we commit no sin? Although we may not sin all the time, we don’t always do good deeds and there are times when we do evil. There are times when we torment, harass, fight, hate, and commit envy. Even so, we are the righteous. We have no sin. This is what’s so marvelous. The fact that He has perfectly cleansed those of us who were supposed to go to hell because of sins is marvelous, and the fact that those of us who could not but sin are living while doing the righteous work of God because of the Lord is also marvelous. All the works our Lord has done for us are truly marvelous, but above all, the fact that God has given people the remission of sins is most marvelous.
God created the heavens and the earth with His word. This is exactly what a marvelous work is. God had us be born in flesh, and also had us be born again in spirit. The work of having made us righteous and taking us in as the children of God by blotting out all our sins is exactly the most marvelous work. There is no other work more marvelous than these works done by the Lord. Do you believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit by which the Lord has saved you and me? The work of God blotting out our sins is so marvelous that, no matter how hard I think, I cannot measure all the work Jehovah has done for me. It is because it is truly impossible for us to become righteous if we look only at our own flesh.
Do You Have the Confidence Not to Sin Anymore?
No, you do not. Do you have the confidence not to do the carnal work? No, you do not. Although we go on living committing sins everyday, the fact that Jesus has perfectly saved us by blotting out all those sins shows the truly great power of God. It is the case that God Himself came to this earth and did the things of the Spirit. When I read the Scripture passage in the Bible, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” I began to think: “From the moment when God created human beings, He must have had the plan to have them be born in flesh first and then be born again in spirit, after which He would place the Holy Spirit in their hearts and then have them be resurrected as a being that would never die for all eternity. He must have wanted to make us His children without sin by saving us through the gospel of the water and the Spirit and to have us live with Him forever in Heaven. This was the intention of God.”
I believe in this good intention of the Lord. The reason why God made the heavens, the earth, and us was to have us be born into this earth in the flesh first and then be born again by believing in the salvation of Jesus Christ, just as nymphs become cicadas and caterpillars become butterflies. By giving the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the Lord had all those who believe in Him become the righteous and the sons of God. Just as dragonflies float in the air after having gone through metamorphosis, God had human beings live together with God in Heaven forever by having them become the children of God who have been born again by the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
I believe in this. We have seen, heard and believed in such a marvelous work done by God. Though I don’t know when, this world will come to an end in the near future. When our Lord comes back, those in the grave will hear His voice. Just as Jesus called upon Lazarus in the tomb to come out, our Lord will call upon all the human race to come out from their grave. Just as He said, “Those who have done good will come forth to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation,” at that time, everyone will come out from their grave. At the time of having come back to life, people who have received the remission of sin by faith by hearing and believing the voice of God will resurrect to everlasting life and will live forever in happiness along with God. In contrast, those who hadn’t believed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit by which God had saved us will resurrect to condemnation and be sent back to the burning place. When the children of God are living in the world of everlasting happiness, the children of wrath will face eternal pain from the punishment of hell.
Our Lord has saved you and me. Our Lord has saved all the people throughout the entire world. Our Lord wants all people to hear the voice of God, so He wants us to spread the Word of God far and wide. Only when we do the things of the Spirit and go on living with spiritual thoughts for the remainder of our lives, does the Word of God get spread far and wide.
We give glory to God who has saved you and me from all sins. Although we are lacking, we are those who have received grace from God and have gained everlasting life. We don’t know how much longer we will live, but I wish for us to strive in the spiritual work. Let us have all people hear the voice of God. Let us continue to spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
At the recent revival meeting of Daejeon Church, a few souls came by, heard the Word, and received the remission of sins. Just as the sick man who had an infirmity for 38 years heard the voice of Jesus and was healed once and for all, anyone who realizes his or her lacking and seeks God will hear the gospel of the water and the Spirit and receive the remission of sins. For these people, we can never stop the work of spreading the voice of God.
The work that the Lord did in order to save us from sin is precisely what is the most marvelous work from God. The Lord came to this earth in the likeness of the flesh of man, received the baptism, died vicariously on the Cross, and was resurrected. This is the most marvelous work. When the Lord came to this earth in the likeness of man, He was born in a manger. And, our Lord received His baptism at the age of thirty and received the judgment at the Cross in order to save the vile lives of yours and mine. This is the gospel of the water and the Spirit. This gospel is the gospel of Truth that has salvaged us from prison, tomb, judgment, sins, and curse. Dear fellow believers, do you believe this?
Before we were born again, we were all like that sick man who had an infirmity for 38 years. But, God saved us by the gospel of the water and the Spirit. To our Lord who has saved us, we give thanks. We are truly thankful to the Lord who has allowed us to hear and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit so that we would be freed from the prison of sins and be healed from the infirmity of sins that had prevented us from standing upright.
Let us not forget these thankful thoughts, and let us spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit until the end.
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