Servitude

[Ross]

G'day All;
Prime example Christ gave in washing the disciples feet.

John 13;3-17  Jesus, knowing the Father had given unto Him ALL things into His hand,
and that He was from God and He was going to God,
roused Himself out of the supper, laid aside His garments, and taking a linen cloth tied it around His waist.
Next He poured water into the wash-basin and began to be washing the feet of the disciples and to be wiping them with the linen cloth which was tied around His waist.
When He came to Simon Peter, Peter asked Him,
' Lord! Why do you wash my feet?'

Jesus answered him saying,
' As yet you do not know what I am doing. However you will get to know later.'


Peter said to Him,
' In no way will I ever let you wash my feet!'

Jesus said to him,
' If I do not wash you, you will have no part in me.' [incredible statement ]

Peter said,
' Lord, wash not only my feet, but also my hands and head as well.'

Jesus said,
' HE THAT HAS BATHED HIMSELF IN ME HAS NO NEED TO GET WASHED EXCEPT THE FEET, BUT IS PURE AS A WHOLE. And you are pure, but not all of you.'

Therefore when He had washed their feet and taken His garments and reclined, He said to them,
' Are you taking note what I have done for you?
You call me The Teacher and The Lord, and say well because I am.
If then I, The Lord and The teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example that you should be doing just as I did to you.
Truly, truly I say to you a servant is not greater than his Lord, neither one sent forth greater than He that sent him. If you know these things, happy are you if you be doing them."

vs 19 " Henceforth I tell you before it comes to pass so that you may believe that I am He when it does come to pass."

vs 34 " A new commandment I give to you; that you love one another just as I loved you.
By this all men shall know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

* The initial statement seems to be the security of position; knowing where He was from and where He was going; just like we have been made aware of that position in Christ.

* The statement of being wholly pure!

* What He has done for us as the example of humility, servitude for others regardless of the magnitude of position. God's son, our saviour, doing that for us. Not yelling or abusing, but teaching in love as an example of correct choice of action with loving motivation.

*Telling them before His resurrection so that this would become clearer way of life than the previous misconceptions.
Also seems to link with the whole advantage of knowing the resurrections to come before they have occurred so that these happenings will back up the promises clearly and precisely.
Learning as we go so the data will be like a graduation ceremony with applications of the truth in the big picture of the life to come.

* Loving others as Christ loved us is definitely a light in a dark place. The flesh cannot comprehend that love or copy to the same extent.

* Preparation for the coming ages of real love;
Amen!!

C.U 

[sheila]

Cain answered unto God ..'Am I my brother's keeper?"  Jesus answered unto the Father 'I AM my brother's keeper"

[sheila]

Footwashing is a commandment  John 13;8,14,15

  the handwriting of ordinances was nailed to the cross Psalms 45;1 Galations 3;24,25 [feet pierced with nail]


   The earth is God's footstool,Isaaih 66;1 and a footstool is an object to rest ones feet.

  Who are God's feet? 1 Cor 12;12,15,21,22 and 2 Cor 6;16  God's feet are special members of the body in whom He dwells.

  these people as feet can become dusty dirty and smelly  Mt 10;14,15;18-20 Isaaih 3;16,24 and Exodus 16;4,15-21


  People defiled by evil thoughts,speaking evil words and behaving wickedly are the real dirty feet that Jesus was revealing in

the footwashing act.


   Manna is angel's food..or 'words from heaven' delivered unto men.  If it is 2000 yrs old or more it is possible it might contain

  spiritual worms,and/or stink.  So 'foot' men teaching and preaching old doctrines and teachings/traditions of men under

the old and new covenants may be 'stinking feet"


  If a man is a 'foot' soldier in the army of God his feet must be shod with the Gospel of peace.  Sos 6;4-8,7;1  You must wear

  shoes!  The Gospel of Peace is THE PRINCE OF PEACE. Isaaih 9;6, Ephesians 6;11,15.


   Wash the feet the way Jesus showed us by use of 'spiritual water words' to remove evil thoughts,evil words in our moths and

  wicked behaviour.


  Clean up our doctrines by using 'fresh manna' less than two days old. Trim and decorate our clean 'footlamps' with 'the

  Beauties of Holiness" Psalms 110;3....and put shoes on,which is the Gospel of Peace.

[Eduard]

Cain answered unto God ..'Am I my brother's keeper?"  Jesus answered unto the Father 'I AM my brother's keeper"

AMEN sister!  :girlheart:

[eaglesway]

Between Cain and Able, we see the clear "two paths" that begin at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, take its next step of separation in the family of human kind.

Able's blood, as God stated and Jesus reiterated, is "crying out from the ground" along with that of all the prophets and sages slain from the beginning. It is crying out against the indifference of "Cainites" like the Pharisees or any so-called leaders/shepherds forsaking the call to serve their fellow man in order to increase their own wealth and stature.

For me this returns to the two great comands "Love the Lrd your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength"nd "Love your neighbor as yourself and the second is the same as the first"- where Jesus shows that the essense of true faith is love, as Paul also said, "true religion is to care for the fatherless and visit widows and orphans in their affliction", and "faith which works by love"....

Spiritual "Cainites" judge by what they know and the power they think that some exclusive hold on esoteric knowledge gives them over other men- and they will kill to preserve it. "They will kill you and think they are doing God a service"....."Man looks at the outward appearance and God looks at the heart"- as Jesus demonstrated in the parable known as "The Good Samaritan".

This(imo) is the danger of trying to judge the whole world by what we think we know as Chrstians and categorize people but little doctrinal creeds like the Nicene creed or the "Four Spiritual Laws" or whatever.

Spiritual "Abel-ites" (Abel lights ;o)offer sacrifices in humility, in love for God and man and the truth that is in Jesus, "No greater love has a man than this, that he lay down his life for a friend", "Who are our friends?"....the afore-said nieghbors, fatherless, widows, orphans, thirsty, naked, in prison, etc...."Yield your bodies a living sacrifice and so prove what is the good and perfect and acceptable will of God" ..."As you have done to the least of these"

"I judge no one but the word I speak judges".

Nowhere is this more clearly stated(imo) than in James, who gets so little credit for his teachings on love, in James chapter 3, showing the two trees and the pathways of Abel and Cain.....

Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing(Cainites). But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.(Abel-lights)

Cain being the prototypical carnal man(You lust and you cannot have so you kill and make war -James)

Abel being the protype of the Lamb, the spirital man Christ(Not my will but Yours be done- Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane)

The Garden of Gethsemane is the pathway back to Eden, where Eden grows in human hearts, not tablets of stone, a testimony of life and love and light rather than laws and ordinances and so-called knowledge of arcane and esoteric doctrinal beliefs about God and the scriptures. It is the place where Christ truly laid down His life, when He resolved to do the Father's will even tho it revulsed Him forseeing the shame and ignominy and pain- for the joy set before Him, the salvation of all mankind, and because it pleased the Father.

"For this reason God also highly exalted Him.....

"For so it pleased the Father to make all the fulness dwell in Him and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself through the blood of His cross, through Him I say, whether things in heaven or in earth."

[sheila]

 :thumbsup: John......the problem with living sacrifices is...they tend to crawl  off the altar.... :mblush: only faith,hope and love will remain.

   the greatest is love. bound on the altar with these three ties...diminishes the propensity to crawl off the altar of living sacrifice.

[eaglesway]

Yes they do. "Watch ye therefore and pray, for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak."

[marie glen]

* Loving others as Christ loved us is definitely a light in a dark place. The flesh cannot comprehend that love or copy to the same extent.

* Preparation for the coming ages of real love;
Amen!!

Amen!!  :goodpost: To "the flesh" the lower, un-regenerated nature, "washing other's feet" would be foolishness!

Cain answered unto God ..'Am I my brother's keeper?"  Jesus answered unto the Father 'I AM my brother's keeper"

Amen!!