Passover Service

Wayne Matthews

April 14, 2014

We observe this annual Passover service in a sober minded, and with a sincere heart as we reflect on the sufferings and death of our Saviour, our Passover, Jesus Christ.

Although we observe the Passover in a serious and sober minded manner we also rejoice in a spiritual way since we know and understand the purpose of God's Passover for us.

Jesus Christ taught on His last physical day on this earth that the Passover is about humility in relationships. It's about our relationship with one another and also our desire to serve God. On this Passover we look at those things Jesus Christ taught and what He sacrificed in order to make it possible that we could live God's way of being, God's way of life.

Each Passover service reveals the depth of God's love and the blessing of being reminded of Christ's conquering sin and death for us, on our behalf.

Our participation in this annual service is an expression of our faith in the death of Jesus Christ on our behalf and our faith in the reconciling death of Jesus Christ. The Passover service also reminds us of our commitment to allow God and Christ to live their life in us.

God gave us an appointed time to remind us of the kind of love, the sacrificing love, the reconciling love Jesus Christ has shown mankind and His Church.

If you'd like to turn to Leviticus 23:4 – These are the feasts, and that word is "appointed times" of the LORD, holy convocations, time to gather together before God in spirit and truth, which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. On (In) the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight, "between the two evenings",  is the LORD's Passover. So this service that we are observing today is God's Passover service. It points to the time that God provided a sacrifice for the covering of our sins.

Luke 22:7-18 – Now, this is referring to the thirteenth and what they would do – Then came the Day ("time" or "season") of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed. And it would be killed on the fourteenth as outlined in scripture. And He (Christ) sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat. And of course, that is the Old Testament Passover on the fourteenth. So they said to Him, Where do You want us to prepare? So they were to prepare on the thirteenth, getting ready to observe it on the fourteenth.

Verse 10 – And He (Christ) said to them, Behold, when you have entered the city, a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him into the house which he enters.

Verse 11 – Then you shall say to the master of the house, The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples? Then he will show you furnished upper room; there make ready. So they went and found it just as He said to them, and prepared the Passover. When the hour had come, and this is to eat the lamb, He (Christ) sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.

Verse 15 – Then He said to them, With desire I have desired to eat this Passover, and this is the Passover lamb, with you before I suffer; so this was Christ's last Passover and He is going to demonstrate here the new symbols of the Passover. So they have eaten the Passover lamb and this is the desire that Jesus Christ had, because Jesus Christ knew why He was born, for His purpose, which was God's sacrifice for mankind.

Verse 16 – for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of Heaven. Then He took the cup, gave thanks, and said, Take this and divide it among yourselves; (verse 18) for I say to you,  I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God comes. And that is, of course, at the return of Jesus Christ and the 144,000 on a Day of Pentecost. They were eating the Passover lamb up until this point.

John 13:1-17 – Now before the Feast of Passover, and this is referring to the "season", the Days of Unleavened Bread which were called "the Passover". And of course, Passover is not a Feast day. ...when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. And supper being ended, so this is after the formal part of the Passover meal, of the lamb which had been eaten, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, (to betray Christ) Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper, and this is after the eating of the lamb, of course, and set aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. Now we see the new way to keep the annual Passover being introduced.

Verse 5 – After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, Lord, are You washing my feet? Jesus answered and said to him, What I am doing you do not understand now, and of course, this is because the holy spirit was not dwelling in Peter at this time, but you shall know after this, and this is after the Day of Pentecost 31 AD when they would see the matter on a spiritual level. And that's the point of the washing of the feet, it's actually a spiritual matter.

Verse 8 – Peter said to Him, You shall never wash my feet! So here Peter's pride is revealed. Jesus answered him, If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me. This is symbolically pointing to the need for humility. To be washed clean by water was to be washed clean, and it points to a spiritual matter which was also baptism. So two parts are revealed here. That is to be washed clean in a water baptism, which is the forgiveness of sins, but also points to the need to be washed in the sense of a spiritual washing, which is being washed by the very word of God, which requires humility.

Verse 9 – Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head! Jesus said to him, He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; because this is about humility. Sin will be washed away on a spiritual level.  ...you are clean, but not all of you; and that was referring to Judas. For He knew (Christ knew) who would betray Him; therefore He said, You are not all clean.

Verse 12 – So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, Do you know what I have done to you? Now, Christ was humility in the flesh. Humility is a way of thinking...not thinking we are better or above others. Humility is thinking service to others, sacrificing ourselves to the benefit of others.

Verse 13 – You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. This points to the fact that we are to wash one another's feet in humility, otherwise it is a worthless physical exercise. If it is done in pride, if it is done in ill will, if sin dwells in us and we are not in a state of forgiveness and humility, this service will count for nothing.

Verse 15 – For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Not only at the annual Passover but as a way of life. It's the way we live towards others – service to others in humility. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is He who is sent, which is Christ, greater than He who sent Him (God the Father). If you know these things, about service and humility, blessed are you if you do them. So it is actually about the doing.

Jesus Christ instituted this service of foot-washing to His disciples for the purpose of revealing His desire an willingness to serve and love us unconditionally. He commanded us to follow His example of humility. We are to live a life of humbling ourselves, to serve others out of genuine love, care, and concern. We are to sacrifice ourselves by humbly serving, by putting our own desires down to benefit others.

Our life is measured by how we treat others, how we think towards others. We're to have no ill will towards others, hence, to participate in this foot-washing service we need to do it in a worthy manner, which is to have no ill will towards anybody.

At this point we're going to observe this portion of the ceremony and wash one another's feet. At this time, if everyone would now pause the recording and then after they have finished this portion of the service, the foot-washing, come back and resume the recording of the service.

Now we will partake of the foot-washing service.

If you'd like now to turn to 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 – Now in giving these instructions, it was about the Passover service, I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. For first of all, when you come together as a Church, I hear that there are divisions among you, now, this disunity, of course, is not reflecting what Jesus Christ had just outlined in the foot-washing service, which is the need for unity and humility, and in part I believe it. Their conduct was that way. For there must also be fractions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. It's obviously evident. Therefore, when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s supper? So the reason they were coming there was to partake of the Passover service. For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. So the wrong approach is taking place here with regards to the Passover. It's the wrong way to be observing the Passover. Now, Paul is about to correct the way they are keeping the Passover. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? In other words, they should have eaten something beforehand. This is not about partaking of a meal, this is about the new Passover service, which is pointing to the seriousness of the very sacrifice of Jesus Christ in our stead. Or do you despise the Church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? I do not praise you.

Verse 23 – For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me. And this, of course, is on the fourteenth. In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant (the "new agreement" or "new testament") in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me. And of course, this is annual.

For as often (annually) as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. Until the return of Jesus Christ.

Verse 27 – Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord; because they're doing it in an unworthy  manner, because they are there with sin. And if we are there with sin and ill will and an unforgiving attitude, we are living in sin. And if we partake of the Passover in that attitude we're just putting a sin upon a sin; we are not repentant.

Verse 28 – But let a man examine himself (or herself), and so let him eat that bread and drink of that cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning (not understanding why); not discerning the Lord’s body. And that can be, of course, the Church, the very sacrifice that God has placed for the Church, but also not discerning the very reason of why Jesus Christ existed, which was to fulfill the Passover.

Verse 30 – For this reason many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. And this is referring to a spiritual sleep. Because of this sin, because of this unrepentant sin, this ill will, this unforgiving attitude that they have they're partaking of the Passover service in the wrong attitude; they are asleep spiritually and they are spiritually sick because of it.

Verse 31 – For if we would judge ourselves, in other words, look at our own attitude, look at ourselves, judge ourselves, and correct ourselves, and be repentant before God, we would not be judged by God.

Verse 32 – But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. So correction has to take place. If we are not going to correct ourselves, God, because He loves us, will provide spiritual correction to us.

Verse 33 – Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. In other words, you're doing it for the wrong reason. This is not about a meal, this is about the very Passover and it's a very serious and sober time, to be meditating and thinking about our spiritual condition. And the rest I will set in order when I come.

If you'd like to turn to Isaiah 53:1-10. This is referring to Jesus Christ. Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He (referring to Christ) shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty, so He wasn't easily recognized as being very different. Jesus Christ was a Jew, of course, we understand that, but He had no obvious beauty or appearance that would make Him very different than anyone else.

Verse 3 – He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows, He had this physical and mental suffering that took place as a man, and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our grief's and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. All for a purpose.

But He was wounded for our transgressions, so He was tormented because of our sins, He was bruised for our iniquities; and chastened for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. Now, this healing, of course, there is a potential of physical healing, but the more important thing is that of a spiritual healing, a reconciliation that must take place. This reconciliation can take place because of the very Passover sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So this reconciliation is towards God. "He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed." All of us like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; the natural carnal mind; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity's of us all. So all of our sins can be covered because of the very sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Verse 7 – He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He didn't retaliate, He didn't speak back or accuse anybody of anything. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who has declared His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; He was killed. He was murdered. For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And that is the purpose. And they made His grave with the wicked—But with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was deceit in His mouth. So He had no deception. There was no sin.

Verse 10 – Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; It pleased Yahweh Elohim to crush Him. He has put Him to grief. When You made His soul an offering for sin: So God purposed that He would be our Passover. He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.

Hebrews 4:14-16 – Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession, to this commitment, to God's way of life. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, so Jesus Christ understands our weak physical state. He understands what it's like to be human. ...but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. So he has undergone these tests and trials but He never sinned; He was tested. Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. So Jesus Christ is now our High Priest because of what He fulfilled in fulfilling the Passover.

Luke 22:19 – And He took the bread, (talking about Jesus Christ), gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me. Jesus Christ instructed the disciples to eat some unleavened bread which symbolizes Christ's suffering for us so that we can eat this way of life, God's way of life, His way of living, the way Jesus Christ lived, which was God living through Jesus Christ, the true unleavened bread of life – which Jesus Christ was.

Let's look at John 6:32-58 – Then Jesus said to them, Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, because it was God, but My Father which gives you the true bread from heaven, and it's referring to Himself, the Word of God.

Verse 33 – For the bread of God is He, and it can be "it", "the Logos", who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. When? This was actually going to happen in part, the beginning of the process, on Pentecost, which was referring to the holy spirit – which of course is the Word of God, the mind of God coming out, living and manifesting in Jesus Christ at this time, but not in others at this time.

Verse 34 – Then they said to Him, Lord, give us this bread always. Because they're thinking physically, of course, and they're wanting physical bread. And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in/on Me shall never thirst. And of course, it's referring to spiritual living waters. But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet you do not believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, so it requires a calling first by God the Father, and then, of course, we come into the Body of Christ where Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church; and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, and that is, of course, "come out of heaven," because Jesus Christ was the Word of God and it was God's Word (Logos) dwelling in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ had the very mind of God. ...not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him (Father) who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I will lose nothing, but shall raise it up at the last day; and it's referring to a resurrection.

Verse 40 – And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him (or "on Him"), believes the Passover and what Jesus Christ fulfilled, may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Verse 41 – Then the Jews murmured amongst themselves against Him, because He said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said to Him, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? Who is it then that says, I have come down from heaven? Jesus, therefore, answered and said to them, Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me (to Christ) unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, "And they shall all be taught by God." Therefore, everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me, because it requires a calling.

Verse 46 – Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; because He had the very mind of God; He has seen the Father, because it's spiritual, it's about spiritual character, it is not about something physical. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in/on Me has everlasting life, because they have the same mind. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. And He's referring there to, of course, the forefathers ate the bread and they've all died. Well, Christ is now pointing to something spiritual, that if we are to partake of the "bread of life", which is Jesus Christ's life living and dwelling in us, we will not die. And it's talking about something spiritual, not physically.

Verse 51 – I am the living bread which came down from heaven. And of course, that "living bread" is Jesus Christ, which is the mind of God. So if we have this "living bread" living and dwelling in us, we have God living and dwelling in us, and Jesus Christ living and dwelling in us. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world. And this, of course, is the Passover sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He was going to give His very life.

Then the Jews quarreled amongst themselves, saying, How can this Man give His flesh to eat? And of course, this is contrary to what they knew as far as the Old Testament laws, which was about eating flesh, which was forbidden by God.

Then Jesus said to them, Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides (dwells) in Me, and I in him. As the living Father has sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. It's talking about a spiritual matter here and it's referring to the power of God's holy spirit to live and dwell in us and that we yield in humility to God's spirit and choose to obey God, and therefore, God can live and dwell in us.

Verse 58 – This is that bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever. The bread is symbolic of Christ's suffering in our place for our sins. The punishment that we deserve for our guilt fell upon Jesus Christ, and the unleavened bread is also symbolic of the life of Jesus Christ living in us and of our need to live by every word of God.

In this symbolism of eating the bread it also pictures the unity we are to have in the Body of Christ, because it is about a relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ, and also about a relationship with one another in the Body. And we are to have no ill will to anybody in the Body, and therefore, we have unity because we love one another.

At this time everyone should remove the cloth covering the bread and I will pray over it. If everyone would like to rise and bow your heads....

"Father, in heaven, we come to You on this appointed time, this Passover service. We ask You to bless this bread, which is a symbol of Christ's body, broken and given for us that we may continue to receive that true bread of life into our lives. We understand, Father, that Jesus Christ suffered for us and we ask You to help us to become more willing to suffer for others as He demonstrated for us. And Father, we ask that You will place Your spirit in us during this time, and therefore, we will be willing, Father, to sacrifice ourselves to the benefit of others. We thank You for all your mercies and the benefits that You have given to us in providing us the knowledge of this very Passover, the very sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We ask that You give us more of Your mind, more of Your spirit, and that Your Son dwells in us, that we might have a right attitude of service towards You and towards other members of the Body of Christ. And we ask this in Christ's name, Amen."

Now it is time to break the bread and pass it out. So after being served a piece of the unleavened bread you should quietly and solemnly eat a small piece of bread, thinking about what it means to you as an individual.

Now it is time to pause the recording and then resume once you have finished this portion of the service.

Matthew 26:27 – This covers the next thing to follow, and it states: And He took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

If you'd like to turn over to 1 John 1:5-10 – This is the message which you have heard from Him (God the Father) and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. Referring to the truth, that God is truth, that He is pure and there is no darkness, there is no sin, there is no error in God. If we say we have fellowship with Him (with God), and walk in darkness, we walk in error or sin or contrary or in disunity or in ill will, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, if we walk in the truth, if we walk with righteousness, if we walk with no ill will, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, is cleansing us from all sins. Because it is about ongoing repentance. So this cleansing can take place upon repentance, of accepting the very sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the remission of our sins.

Verse 8 – If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, the natural carnal mind deceives itself, and the truth is not in us.

Verse 9 – If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So it does require repentance. And this is the new agreement, that if we are willing to repent God will forgive us of our sins.

Verse 10 – If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. Because we just don't understand the natural carnal mind, because we are born this way, we are born with the natural carnal mind that sins. So we don't declare that we have not sinned, we actually declare we have sinned and we seek forgiveness, and therefore, God is righteous, God is right, and His Word does dwell in us because we are willing to be here at Passover to acknowledge we do sin, and we're looking for the very covering of our sins through the Passover sacrifice.

Hebrews 9:11-15 – But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation (not of this building), because it's now not a physical thing, it's actually spiritual. It's referring to the Church. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, so He had now entered where God is, having obtained eternal redemption, through a resurrection. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies (set asides) for the purifying of the flesh, which is physical, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the Eternal's spirit offered Himself without spot, as you remember back about the lamb was to be without spot, without blemish. So Christ has here offered Himself without spot, without blemish to God, purge your conscience from dead works, which is sin, to serve the living God? It's a great question! Well, it is because of this very sacrifice. How much more worthy is this, that we have been given this opportunity for the forgiveness of sins?

Verse 15 – And for this reason He (Christ) is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgression (our sins) under the first agreement, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. And that, of course, is about conversion. We are called for the purpose of conversion, transforming our thinking, and that is the purpose of life itself. So we accept the very sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.

So again, it is time now that you remove the covering of the wine and we will pray over the wine. If everyone would like to rise and bow your heads.

"Holy Father, we give You thanks, and we ask now that You bless this wine, which is a symbol of the very shed blood of Jesus Christ for the remission of our sins. We do thank You, Father, for the very sacrifice of Jesus Christ for us. We thank You for this opportunity now to partake of the ceremony, and to partake of the wine now, and we ask these blessings of You in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

So now if each of you would now take a glass of the wine that is going to be passed out and quietly and reverently drink it and remember that it is a symbol of your acceptance of the blood of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins. Now we will partake of this part of the service, which is the drinking of the wine as a symbol of the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Now it is time to pause the recording and then resume once you have finished this portion of the service.

It's now time to replace the napkin over the unused portion of the unleavened bread and to place the napkin back over the wine.

John 13:31-35 – So, when he (Judas) had gone out, Jesus said, Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately. Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, "Where I am going, you cannot come," because He was going to enter the Kingdom of God and He was going to be in Elohim. ...so now I say to you. (verse 34) A new commandment I give you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, Christ loved by sacrificing, that you also love one another. That you also sacrifice your desires for the benefit of others.

Verse 35 – By this, by this sacrificing for one another, all will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another. If we are willing to sacrifice for the benefit of others we are then disciples (followers) of Jesus Christ. By nature we cannot love one another as Christ did. To love on a spiritual level requires God's holy spirit in a person. The love of Christ and God is a sacrificing love.

John 14:1-24 – Let not your heart (your inner thinking) be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

Verse 2 – In My Father’s house (which is "Temple" or "Church") are many dwellings, or "many mansions" it says in this particular version, but it's "places of abode," "places of dwelling"; if it were not so, I would have told you. I (Christ) go to prepare a place for you. So by Christ's death a way would be made for sin to be forgiven, and therefore, the way of God to dwell in members of the Body of Christ, the Temple of God.

Verse 3 – And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again, or "I am coming" and receive you to Myself; that where I am, which is dwelling in the Body, in the individuals, the members of the Body of Christ, the Church, there you may be also. So Christ dwelling in us makes us at-one with God.

Verse 4 – And where I go you know, and the way you know. Now, Christ is referring here to a spiritual path, a spiritual way of living, a way of life. Thomas said to Him, Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. So no one can have a spiritual relationship with God unless they are called and accept the Passover sacrifice of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin.

Now Christ is speaking to them on a spiritual level so they will not be able to understand Him at this point in time. Verse 7 – If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. If we have "seen" Christ, the way that Christ thought, you have "seen" God's way of love, because that was the Word of God living and dwelling in Christ. It was God's mind, the Logos, the very Word of God.

Philip said to Him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us. "We'd be happy just to see Him on a physical level." Jesus said to him, Have I been with you so long, that you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me, in other words, "seen" the way that Christ was, had understood the way He acted, the way He thought, the way He was, has seen the Father; so how can you say, Show us the Father? If he had "seen" the ways of Christ, His thinking, words, and actions, He would have seen God the Father, because Christ was the Word, the Logos, the mind of God in the flesh.

Verse 10 – Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak of My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. In other words, the evidence; the evidence was there, it would be obvious.

Verse 12 – Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, and of course, believes in Him in the sense of the Passover and what He represented, which was the very sacrifice of God, the works that I do he will also do; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. So this is about conversion of the mind, God working in a human being, these works that would be done. For whatever you ask in My name, I will do it, and this is about spiritual fruits, of course, it's not about physical things, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. So this is about asking for spiritual things like the very mind of God. It's God dwelling in us.

Verse 14 – If you ask anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, "if you are agape Me" keep My commandments. So if we have this sacrificing love and then we prove that we do this for God, He says, "keep My commandments"; observe them and do them.

Verse 16 – And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another comforter ("another helper"), that it may abide with you forever – it's referring to the holy spirit... Even the spirit of truth, which the world cannot receive, because it neither sees it nor knows it; but you know it, for it dwells with you and will be in you, which is the very mind of God in us individually. I will not leave you orphans; "I will not leave you comfortless", I am coming to you. "I'm going to be with you." So it's an ongoing process that is going to take place. We are the very Temple, the place where God dwells, so we are God's Temple.

Verse 19 – A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. And this is talking about spiritual life, the life that dwells in us.

Verse 20 – At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. And this is about the very mind of God, unity of spirit, unity in the sense of truth dwelling in us.

Verse 21 – He who has My commandments (My instructions), and keeps them (observes them), it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. Now, this is about revealing spiritual knowledge. We will develop the very mind of God in us!

Verse 22 – Judas (not Iscariot), this is Judas, the brother of James, said to Him, Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world? So he's still thinking physically, which is all he has the ability to do. Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. "Our abode with him", and this is about a continual coming by the flowing of the holy spirit.

Verse 24 – He who does not love Me does not keep My words; so there is no obedience there; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me. So all truth comes from God to Christ through an apostle into the Church, into where God desires to grow Elohim.

John 15:1-14 – I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me (in Christ), had to be connected to Christ, that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes (God prunes) by testing, that it may bear more fruit. So it's got to yield spiritual fruit, has to yield the very mind, the very ways of God. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide (dwell) in Me, stay connected through obedience, and I in you. As a branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. So this is about the choice to repent. We must stay connected to God and Christ through obedience, which is done through repentance.

Verse 5 – I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. So we can't do anything of ourselves; we have to be connected to God through Jesus Christ.

Verse 6 – If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. This is symbolically pointing to a second death if we don't stay connected to develop the very thinking and mind of God. If you abide in Me, if we dwell in Christ, and My words abide in you, which is the very Logos, the very way of thinking, which is the way to live, you will ask what you desire, which is God's will to be done, and it shall be done. Which is talking about Godly character, the fruit of the spirit. We will learn to live love to others. We will have this sacrificing love, which is what the Passover is all about, this sacrificing love, which is no ill will. Because if we have ill will we will not have sacrificing love.

Verse 8 – By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. So God is glorified if He can live in us, this sacrificing love; we will bear fruit, we will bear God's way of life to others.

Verse 9 – As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, which is this sacrificing of the self; is the only way we can keep the commandments, is to sacrifice the self; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love, which is genuine concern for the welfare of others.

Verse 11 – These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. And this is about having a right relationship with God and a right relationship with others. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. So we're to lay down our life, which is to sacrifice our desires for the benefit of others. We are to put the self down and learn to give, to give of ourselves, to have no ill will to others, which is this greater love, is to lay down our life for others, which is to sacrifice our desires for the benefit of others.

Drop down to verse 18 – If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. In other words, we'd be accepted by the world. But we're not, which is one of the proofs that we are God's people, the fact that we are hated. Well, it shouldn't be a surprise because they hated Jesus Christ. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. In other words, Satan's system can't accept us because we live the truth and Satan's system hates the truth.

Verse 20 – Remember the word that I said to you, A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me (Jesus Christ), they will also persecute you. Because we have the same mind, the same Logos dwelling in us. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

John 16:12-16 - I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now, because it requires God's spirit. They can't carry what He was going to say because it's spiritual in nature; they didn't have the full understanding that was going to be needed. However, when it, the spirit of truth, has come (is coming), it will guide you into all truth; for it will not speak on its own, but whatever it hears it will speak; and it will tell you things to come. And this will be done through Christ. We'll be able to understand prophecy because of the very things that God will reveal through Jesus Christ to the Church. It will glorify Me, for it will take of what is Mine and declare it to you, declare it to the Church. All things (the truth) that the Father has are Mine. Therefore, I said it will take of Mine and declare it to you. This is about government; and the truth will be revealed through Jesus Christ. A little while, and you will not see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me, because I go to My Father. They're into spiritual knowledge, that you cannot "see" Christ or God without God's spirit to reveal God to us. It's about spiritual knowledge comes from God. It's the only way we can have any knowledge of God or begin to "see" Christ and God – is because of God's mercy towards us.

John 17 – Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. So it required a calling from God the Father first. And this is eternal life, that they may know You; so this is the purpose of our calling, to come to know God the Father; the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. And Jesus Christ had magnified the knowledge of God on this earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do; which was about being the Passover. And He was now going to move forward to fulfill what God had given Him to do as far as His role and responsibility and purpose.

Verse 5 – And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. This was not about pre-existence, this was about the determination, that God had predetermined in His plan that Jesus Christ would be the Passover sacrifice for our sins, for the sins of all mankind.

Verse 6 – I have manifested Your name to men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. So everything that Jesus Christ did, they have come to understand they were from God the Father.

Verse 8 – For I have given them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. So the disciples now had this understanding that Jesus Christ was of God.

Verse 9 – I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, and for they are Yours.

Verse 10 – And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world; I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are, "as We are one." The same Logos, the same Word, which is a truth of God, which is the Church of God. This is God's Church. It's the name of God's Church is the Church of God, and that's how we are kept in the Father's name, because we carry God the Father's name. We are the Church of God.

Verse 12 – While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. So it was determined exactly how this would take place, that Judas would betray Jesus Christ.

Verse 13 – But now I have come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves; talking about the disciples and followers in the future. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. So they were sojourners, just as we are. I do not pray that You (God the Father) should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil. Keeping them from evil, which is from Satan's ways. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them (set them apart) by Your truth. Your word is truth. So that's what actually separates us from the world, which is the truth of God, which is empowered by God's holy spirit. That's why we are "set aside". We are "set aside" because of God's holy spirit and because of the truth that God has revealed to us.

Verse 18 – As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sake I sanctify Myself (I set Myself aside), that they may also be sanctified by the truth.

Verse 20 – I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; and it talks about us today. It's talking about something in the future that would take place and we are part of that future, we are those that now believe because of the very sacrifice of Christ and because of the word that He preached at that time.

Verse 21 – that they may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they may also be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And this is talking about unity of spirit. This is about one mind, which is the very mind of God.

Verse 22 – And the glory which You gave Me, and this is the purpose, of course, the glory that He had was the very purpose or the mind of God that He had and which He had and had been given to Him, that they may be one just as We are one: it's talking about a unity that is required, which is about that one mind.

Verse 23 – I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

Verse 24 – Father, I desire (I will) that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, and this is only going to be taking place because of God's holy spirit, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. So this refers to the very mind, the Logos of God that we can have.

Verse 25 – O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.

Verse 26 – And I have declared to them Your name, and declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.

Mark 14:26 – And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

So if you'd all like to rise now, brethren, we're going to conclude this evening by singing a song here, "In Thy Loving Kindness, Lord"; and we will conclude at this time by singing this particular hymn. We are going to sing all four verses, and then after that the service is over and you're all dismissed.

In Thy Loving Kindness, Lord

Psalm 51

Dwight Armstrong

In thy loving kindness Lord, be merciful to me;

In compassion great blot out all iniquity.

Wash me thoroughly from sin, from all guilt cleanse Thou me;

For transgressions I confess; sins I ever see.

'Gainst Thee only have I sinned, done evil in Thy sight,

That Thou speaking may be just, and in judging right.

My iniquities blot out, my sin hide from Thy view,

And in me a clean heart make, spirit right renew.

From Thy gracious presence, Lord, O cast me not away,

And Thy Holy Spirit take not from me I pray.

Joy which Thy salvation brings again to me restore;

With Thy spirit free do Thou keep me evermore.

Sacrifice dost thou not want, else would I give it Thee,

And with offering shalt Thou not delighted be.

For a broken spirit is to God a sacrifice,

And a broken, contrite heart, Thou wilt not despise