Tag: John 4:23-24

Revelation 4 – Part 4

“The twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne.” Revelation 4:10

Bob Wilkin writes, “Businesses use various incentives to motivate people to do their best work. For people in sales, there are three types of prizes: cash, merchandise, and trips. Top managers are given cash bonuses as well as promotions, increased base salaries, and stock options.

“Christianity offers incentives too. One of these is eternal reward. Although there are rewards now for the believer, most of them won’t be given to us until after this life is over and we appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ. This may mean waiting decades to receive them. Thus, the length of time these rewards will last once we receive them, makes a difference as to how motivated we will be to obtain them and how meaningful they will be to us once we do.

“Of those who believe in eternal rewards as an idea distinct from eternal salvation, there are three views concerning how long rewards last: a few minutes, a thousand years, or forever.” 1

In today’s study of Revelation, we will discover just how long Christ’s rewards will last for the Christian. When the apostle John was caught up through an open door in heaven to enter God’s throne room, he saw God the Father sitting on a glorious and majestic throne surrounded by twenty-four elders representing the church (Revelation 4:1-4). John also saw four living angelic creatures around God’s throne whose worship focused on God’s holiness (“holy, holy, holy”), power (“Lord God Almighty”), and eternality (“Who was and is and is to come!”) (Revelation 4:5-8).

Next John writes, “9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever and cast their crowns before the throne.” (Revelation 4:9-10). Some Bible students read these verses and conclude that Christians will immediately give back their rewards (“crowns”) to Christ after receiving them at the Judgment Seat. They reason that the casting down of crowns before God’s throne shows that all glory, honor, and power uniquely belong to God. If Christians were to hold on to their eternal rewards, they would be robbing God of the glory, honor, and power that uniquely belongs to Him. 2

This interpretation, however, fails to recognize that the casting down of crowns is in the middle of a verse that begins in verse 9 with the word, “Whenever…” The crown-casting in verse 10 is not an unrepeatable event. It takes place repeatedly. Undeniably, every time the living creatures say, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” (4:8b), then the twenty-four elders, representing the church, cast down their crowns. And according to the first half of verse 8, the living angelic creatures “do not rest day or night…” This crown-casting clearly does not refer to something believers do once immediately after the Judgment Seat of Christ. This is an ongoing event in which Christians along with angelic beings participate.

“While all glory, honor, and power come from the Lord Jesus, this in no way suggests He will not share these with others. Indeed, He promised to share these blessings with believers who persevere (compare Matthew 16:27; 2 Timothy 2:12; Hebrews 1:9; 1 Peter 4:13; Revelation 2:26; 3:21). Allowing humans to have some measure of glory, honor, and power in no way diminishes Christ’s glory. If it did, Moses’ face would never have shone. Elijah wouldn’t have been taken up to heaven in a whirlwind and flaming chariot. David would never have been king of Israel. The Lord Jesus would not be called the Son of David. He would not have promised the Apostles that they would rule over the twelve tribes of Israel. He wouldn’t have given Adam and Eve and all of mankind dominion over the earth. And so on.” 3

The Lord Jesus commands believers: “19 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matthew 6:19-20). The heavenly treasure that Christ distributes is permanent. Moths and rust cannot destroy it and thieves cannot steal it. It is eternal.

The apostle Paul also states in I Corinthians 9:24-27 that Christians are to run in such a way as to obtain an “imperishable crown,” not a perishable crown (9:24-25). This refers to an eternal reward, not a temporary one. If our rewards only lasted a few minutes or a thousand years (as some teach), they would not be imperishable. But an imperishable crown is forever!!!

The apostle Peter spoke of eternal rewards for believers when he referred “to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (I Peter 1:4). Peter’s readers were believers (1:2, 23; 2:7), who were experiencing persecution (1:6). Their faith would pass the test only if they persevered (1:7a). In that case they would gain “praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” in the form of eternal rewards (1:7b). 4

Imagine standing before the throne of God after appearing before the Judgment Seat of Christ in heaven. Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, you would then bow down before God’s throne with other church-age believers. But because you did not live in such a way on earth to earn eternal rewards (cf. I Corinthians 3:15), you have no crowns to cast down before God’s throne. What might that feel like for you to watch other believers cast crowns before God’s throne when you have no rewards to give back to the Lord God Almighty? Prior to the new heavens and earth (Revelation 21-22), believers will be able to experience sadness and shame due to the loss of rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ (cf. Matthew 22:11-14; 25:26-30; I John 2:28-3:2). Since they will have glorified resurrection bodies, they will be even more sensitive to sin and shame at that time (I Corinthians 15:50-54). They will still be saved, but they will experience the painful loss of rewards “as through fire” (I Corinthians 3:15).

Whenever the twenty-four elders, representing the church, cast down their crowns before God’s throne, they will say, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.” (Revelation 4:11). Throughout all of eternity, rewarded church-age believers will be able to honor the Lord God Almighty by casting their crowns before His throne and acknowledging His worthiness to “receive glory, honor, and power.” Why? Because God “created all things,” including every believer in His church. All of us “exist” because of God. Everything that exists owes its existence to the Lord God. He is the Creator. Apart from Him, there is no existence. We are not the product of evolution as our atheistic society teaches. God spoke our universe into existence (Genesis 1-2), and He sustains the universe and all that is in it through the power of His word (cf. Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-3). We will worship Him throughout eternity as our magnificent Creator God!!!

One of the greatest joys of our Christian lives is to help lost people on earth come to know their Creator God by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with them so they can worship Him in heaven throughout eternity!!! This is why Jesus told a hurting Samaritan woman at a well, “23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24). The God Who created the universe, including you and me, is seeking true worshipers to worship Him “in spirit” with their hearts and “in truth” with their heads. God created us to have our spirits connect with His, to have our hearts filled with the truth of His Word. Perhaps that is why you are here to read this article. You are seeking the God Who made you, and you may not even realize it yet.

Like the Samaritan woman who tried to satisfy her thirsty soul with romantic relationships, you may say to yourself, “Could I be one of those whom God seeks to worship Him? But how could I ever approach the infinite and eternal Spirit who desires my worship? My own spirit is soiled by the sinfulness of my life. And it is hopelessly dried up by the emptiness of dissatisfying relationships.”

Jesus had freely offered the Samaritan woman living water that gushes up into eternal life (John 4:10-14). Life that would bring her into contact with the living God, washing away the emptiness of her life. All she had to do was know Who was offering her eternal life as a gift and then ask Him for it (John 4:10). As Jesus interacted with her and disclosed all she had done and still loved her, she came to believe in Him as the Christ, the Son of God (John 4:25-26, 28-30, 42; 20:31).

What about you? God created you to have a personal relationship with Him forever (John 1:1-5, 12; 17:3). All He asks is that you know the gift of eternal life that He is freely offering you (John 4:10-14) and its Giver, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world (John 1:1, 14; 4:15-26, 42; 11:25-26). The way you can receive His gift of eternal life is to believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (John 20:31), Who died in your place on the cross and rose from the dead (John 2:19, 22; 3:14-15; 12:23-24, 27-33; 10:11, 17; 19:1-20:18). The moment you believe this, you “have everlasting” (John 3:16) which can never be lost or taken away from you (John 10:28-29).

Prayer: Almighty Creator God, we come into Your presence with a sense of awe and thanksgiving. Thank You for Your Word which gives us a heavenly perspective amid a world that often seems so out of control. Because You are our Creator, You know us better than we know ourselves. You know what it takes to bring us into a personal relationship with Yourself. Thank You for Your free offer of eternal life through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. The moment we believe in Jesus, we become members of Your family forever and we can worship You as our Creator God throughout eternity. As our Creator, You understand what will motivate us to live for You on earth after we become Your children. More than ever, we appreciate the eternal rewards You offer to us for living a life that pleases You. Knowing that these rewards last eternally, increases our motivation to live for You now so we may honor You throughout eternity with them. Thank You, our Lord and our God for giving us these eternal incentives. In the matchless and mighty name of the Lord Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

ENDNOTES:

1. Robert N. Wilkin, The Road to Reward: A Biblical Theology of Eternal Rewards Second Edition (Grace Evangelical Society, 2014 Kindle Edition), pg. 52.

2.  Joseph Dillow, Final Destiny: The Future Reign of The Servant Kings: Fourth Revised Edition (Grace Theology Press, 2018 Kindle Edition), pg. 1016.

3. Wilkin, pg. 53.

4. Ibid., pg. 54; Dillow, pp. 215-217.

How can I overcome spiritual blindness? Part 5

“Then he said, ‘Lord, I believe!’ And he worshiped Him.” John 9:38

Unable to overcome the former blind man’s logic and the evidence of a miracle, the Pharisees “answered and said to him, ‘You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?’ And they cast him out.” (John 9:34). They were saying that this man’s blindness was due to specific sins in his life to shame him into silence and discredit his testimony. He could not teach them because he was a sinner and they were righteous. This is the fifth symptom of spiritual blindness – DISTORT THE TRUTH ABOUT THEMSELVES (John 9:34) – they perceived themselves to be superior to this former blind man and to Jesus for that matter. These educated religious leaders were unwilling to learn from a beggar. They continued in their stubborn rejection of Christ despite the overwhelming reasons to believe in Him.

“They cast him out” of the synagogue to silence him and limit his influence of others. This also served as a warning to others who are tempted to confess that Jesus is from God. This is probably the best thing that could have happened to the former blind man because now he would not have to listen to the works-salvation message of the Pharisees. He was now more prepared for his next encounter with Jesus. God can use the rejection of others to make non-Christians more open to hearing the gospel.

Perhaps you have experienced rejection from your spiritual leaders or religious community because of your interest in Jesus Christ. You have interacted with Christians and they have shown you love instead of hatred. In fact, they have shown you more love than the people of your own religion. And this increases your interest in Jesus.

The Bible then tells us that “Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him…” (John 9:35a). Hearing of his excommunication, Jesus sought the former blind man out. Jesus did the seeking since the man had not yet seen Jesus.

Whatever opposition you have experienced for confessing Christ publicly, please know that this is not the last word. Jesus was aware of the former blind’s man’s excommunication, and He sought Him out. Jesus is also aware of your situation, and He seeks you out to reveal more of Himself to you. Your religious community or family may reject you for speaking the truth about Jesus, but Jesus will never reject you when you diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6b).

Now, for the first time, the former blind man could look at the One who restored his sight. Jesus is very direct with the man. “He said to him, ‘Do you believe in the Son of God?’ ” (John 9:35b). This is the purpose for John’s gospel. John recorded these miracles of Jesus so you “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20:31). This personal response is necessary for receiving the gift of eternal life.

Many people today believe that Jesus exists and died for them on the Cross and even rose from the dead, but they are not trusting in Him alone for this free gift. They are still depending on their own religious efforts to get them to heaven.

The former blind man “answered and said, ‘Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?’ ” (John 9:36). The beggar is willing and ready to believe, but he is ignorant. He wants the Son of God to be identified so he may believe in Him. Jesus identifies Himself as the Messiah-God when He says, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” (John 9:37). The words “seen Him” must have meant a lot to the man who up until that day, had never seen anything.

As soon as the man knew the identity of the Son of God he immediately responds in faith. “Then he said, ‘Lord, I believe!’ And he worshiped Him.” (John 9:38). Jesus used the physical healing of this blind man to prepare him for his spiritual healing. Jesus had once again mixed His own divine DNA (His Word) with humanity (the former blind man) so that an even greater healing could take place. Out of gratitude for his physical healing, the man believed in Christ as the Messiah-God, which meant he now had eternal life (John 20:31)! This is the climax for the man in a process that has been taking place throughout the whole chapter. His insight into the Person of Jesus has been growing:

“The man who is called Jesus” (John 9:11).

“I do not know” (John 9:12).

“He is a prophet” (John 9:17).

“Whether He is a sinner, I do not know” (John 9:25).

The Man who has “disciples” (John 9:27).

“He has opened my eyes” (John 9:30).

“If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing” (John 9:33).

“Lord, I believe” (John 9:38a).

“He worshiped Him” (John 9:38b).

The man has been moving from darkness to the Light. After believing in Jesus, “he worshiped Him.” The word translated “worshiped” (proskunéō) is a compound Greek word meaning “towards (pros) to kiss (kunéō),” which refers “to kissing the ground as you prostrate yourself before a superior, to fall down on your knees to adore someone of superior rank.” The former blind man was honoring Jesus as God by worshiping Him (cf. John 5:23).

There is only one Person in the universe who is worthy of worship (Exodus 20:3-5), and Jesus did not stop this man from worshiping Him. If Jesus is not God, why would He permit the man to worship Him? God told Moses on Mount Sinai, “You shall have no other gods before Me… You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” (Exodus 20:3, 5). The healed man was bowing down before Jesus to worship Him. When Jesus accepted the man’s worship, He was making a statement that He was God! This confirms what the apostle John said in John 1:1, “And the Word was God.” If Jesus was not God, then He was endorsing idolatry.

The former blind man could no longer worship God in the synagogue, but now he could worship  God to His face. And Jesus will never “cast out” of His family those who come to Him in faith (John 6:37). This is the fourth way to overcome spiritual blindness. DEPEND ON CHRIST ALONE FOR ETERNAL LIFE (John 9:35-38). Only Jesus can meet our deepest spiritual needs.

When we believe in Him, He gives us everlasting life which can never be lost (John 3:16; 10:28-29) and places us in His family forever (John 1:12; 6:37)! We now have brothers and sisters in Christ from all around the world! And we can begin to see Jesus in a more intimate way as we worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). Christ is our only source of life and acceptance. Let’s enjoy Him!

Prayer: Precious Lord Jesus, I praise You for seeking me out when I experienced exclusion from my former religious community. Thank You for revealing my own sinfulness to me at that time so I could see my need for You and Your gift of everlasting life. Thank You for accepting me into Your family the moment I believed in You for eternal life. Thank You for the new brothers and sisters I gained from all around the world at that moment of faith. What a privilege I now have to approach You in worship! The more I focus on You, the more the cares and concerns of this world fade away. Your light dispels the darkness in my own heart and gives me a hope that never ends. With You at the center of my life, I have joy beyond my own understanding! You are more than enough for me!!! Please use me to share Your light with those who are in darkness so they, too, may obtain everlasting hope and life in You. In Your precious name I pray. Amen.