Friday, 19 January 2024

The Upper Room Discourse 65

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John 17:6 I have made Your name known to the men of this world that You gave Me. They were Yours; You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.

Yeshua begins the second paragraph of His prayer with a restatement of the mission for which He was sent ... to make God's name known. And His mission has been passed on to us as our mission. Isn't that the essence of being a disciple, to know God's name? Therefore; to make a disciple, one must make God's name known.

Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, immersing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Ruach ha-Kodesh, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. And remember! I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Remember, a name is not a label or title, but a reputation. To make God's name known is not just to "shout it out," but to demonstrate His power. We don't tell people Who God is, we show them.

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

God's purpose in demonstrating His power is to lead people to Himself. He wants our love and adoration. He created the world so He could receive it.

Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Ruach ha-Kodesh has come upon you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and through all Judah, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

And so, we are His disciples if we keep His word.

John 8:31 Then Yeshua said to the Judeans who had trusted Him, "If you abide in My word, then you are truly My disciples."

Yet keeping God's word is not selfish, but the way of showing love for one another. Some people (especially Messianics) seem to think that obeying God is for the purpose of personal holiness. Yet it is so much more than that. We obey God to show the world the benefits of receiving His favor.

John 13:34-35 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so also you must love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

See, Yeshua's prayer really is about us. We've been given by God to the Son to be an expression of His love. Through obedience to His Word we make His name known.