Title: God's Good Friend (John 15:13~17)
Contents
The God we believe in is the Almighty God who cannot do anything. Looking at Genesis 1, God created the heavens and the earth and all things with the word in 6 days, and finally, created man in “God’s image” (Genesis 1:26-27). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Then, why was man created ‘in God’s image’? There are many reasons, but it is because God specifically wanted to have fellowship with people.
God delights in fellowship with people. He even wanted to meet and fellowship with sinners. Isaiah 1:18 says, “Come, let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow,
Though it is red, it will be like wool.” Even though a person's sins are great, it is a message to come before God. I mean, let's meet. Thank you so much.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 says, “I know my thoughts toward you, says the Lord, and not disaster, but peace, and a hope for your future. Hear me, and you will find me if you seek me with all your heart.” He also said in Amos 5:6, “Seek the LORD, and you will live.”
Even a sinner who has no choice but to die because of his sins, if he seeks God, he will live. Our God finds and delights in those who seek Him, regardless of who they are. Therefore, the psalmist writes in Psalm 73:28, “Drawing near to God
It is a blessing to me.” That's right! We believe that if we draw close to God, who is the source of all blessings, we will receive true blessings.
The first man, Adam, had a very close relationship with God while he was in the Garden of Eden. He was very happy and happy as he lived in fellowship with God every day. I believe that when you and I go to heaven in the future, we will meet God every day, have fellowship with God, and live with joy. However, since the fall of man, his intimate relationship with God began to be destroyed. For those other than a few, such as Abraham and Moses, God became the object of fear.
God said to Abraham, “You, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham, my friend.”
did (Isaiah 41:8). Since the creation has become the friend of God the Creator, where is this kind of honor? Even if God the Creator exalts human beings, how can he further exalt them beyond God's friend? There is no way to increase it. Exodus 33:11
It says, “The Lord speaks face to face with Moses, as a man speaks to his friend.” God treated Moses closely as a friend.
Also, when God saw David, he praised him as a man after my own heart, and he loved David and said that he would do all God's will (Acts 13:22). Job, Enoch, and Noah also had a good relationship with God. However, most human beings have become more and more depraved, and their close relationship with God has also been broken and a fearful relationship.
According to the Old Testament, no one was allowed to enter the Most Holy of the Tabernacle except the priests. Moreover, people had no choice but to fear God because everyone lost their lives when they approached or saw God. However, when Jesus, the Son of God, came to this world 2000 years ago and died on the cross to atone for all human sins, the close relationship with God that had been lost was restored.
Romans 5:8-11 says, “God demonstrates his love for us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. We will find salvation from wrath, that if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. We also rejoice in God through the Lord Jesus Christ.”
In other words, we who were enemies have been reconciled through the grace of Jesus' atonement on the cross. Not only that, but now I live with God and enjoy joy in God. Now, if anyone believes in Jesus, their sins are forgiven, they are justified, and they become saved children of God. You can come to God with boldness at any time, see God, and have fellowship with God.
Look at verse 15 today.
“From now on, I will no longer call you servants; a servant knows what his master is doing.
I have called you friends, so I will make known to you all that I have heard from my Father.
I have done it.” Servants and friends are different. nice to meet friends
It is a very special relationship where we share and comfort each other with words that we cannot tell our parents. Jesus is
All the words they heard from Heavenly Father to the disciples
You have conveyed The friend I'm talking about here isn't just about knowing a face, it's really
It refers to a person who has a very friendly relationship who is close and trusts each other.
London
When the Times recruited for an article about the definition of a friend, there was a flood of articles.
Among them, the three best articles were selected and awarded.
“A friend is the whole world and all
When someone abandons me, it is the person who comes to me at that time.”, “It is so painful that no one
A friend is someone who understands what you are saying when you are silent and unable to speak.”,
“When I meet with a happy heart, my joy multiplies and increases, and I
A friend is a person whose pain is halved when they meet when they are in pain.”
defined.
God is the ‘Creator’ and we are ‘creatures’. God is
‘Judge’ and we are ‘sinners’. But I was saved by believing in Jesus.
From then on, God became our Father and we became His children.
God wants to be our friend. very loving and trusting each other
You want to have a close relationship. To be good friends with people
Just as it takes effort, it takes a lot of effort for me and you to become good friends of God.
Required.