Friend
Someone wrote making a reference to John 15:15 and the use of the word "friend" in John 15:15 saying:
- Since we ARE friends, defined by Jesus: " I CALL you Friends; for ALL things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you" Jn.15:15.
But John 15:15 actually says:
- "Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you." John 15:15
It goes on to say in verse 16 and 17:
- "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. 17 These things I command you, that ye love one another."
I may have many friends but they may not be in the sense that Christ used the term here which is the Greek word philos [1]
Jesus tells His friends, "I have chosen[2] you, and ordained[3] you" where he makes a point of describing with two verbs that He, the Christ, picked and appointed these men of His little flock to a particular position for a purpose:
- "go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain:"
and then gave them a direct order to:
- "love one another."
You cannot really love someone on an email group or social media and without a diligent desire to make your relationship more substantive and real there will be little or no fruit, certainly not any lasting fruit.
Jesus had come to take the kingdom from those who were not bearing fruit and not doing the will of the Father and were serving the Fathers of the earth and delivering the people back into bondage.
The Greek word nation in Matthew 21:43[4] was ethnos which is commonly translated "gentiles".
He also made it clear in Luke 12:32 that He was going to be appointing that kingdom to His little flock.[5] These words in John 15:15 through 17 are about that appointment to the Apostles to which he gave specific instructions about what to do and not do.
Knowing these instructions helps you distinguish between those who were and are appointed by Christ and those who are not. If they make you feel good or saved or tell you what you want to hear they may not be of Christ nor His friend.
Christ made it clear that it is "by their fruits" you will know them.
- Matthew 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
- Matthew 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
The verses between also show how important this idea of bearing fruit is to Jesus and The Way he was teaching His disciples.
- Matthew 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
We see similar references in other Gospels:
- Luke 13:9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.
- John 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
The modern Church divides the Modern Christians by thousands of denominations and doctrines that clearly do not follow the early Church.
The modern Church and ministers send those in need to men who call themselves Benefactors but exercise authority one over the other. They send the people to the Nimrods and Cains of this World. In fact those Ministers of the modern Church are almost always very much a part of the World and dependent upon the World for its daily bread.
Where is your religion
- Where do you find the Daily ministration of the early Church, the Pure Religion of James and the Corban of Jesus?
- Are you following The Blessed Strategy of Christ like the Early Christians?
- Are you following The Way through Love of one another or the way of the world and the Fathers of the earth?
- Do you seek the benefits of bankrupt nations, or do you forgive and seek the benefits of Christ's appointed Kingdom?
- Do you only gather for the comfort it gives you, or do you gather to benefit others?
- Christ came to serve, not be served. Do you desire to be served, or are you coming in His name and according to His character to serve others?
If we desire His Grace but we only love those who love us, then there is no Grace because it is clear we do not really believe in Him.
If we do not Repent of our Covetous Practices and are not diligently gathering together in Free Assemblies of Love for all to provide for one another in Charity according to the Perfect law of liberty then we have nothing according to Paul. According to Luke 6:32 if we only love those who love us there is no "Grace". Christ also said if you do not Forgive neither will the Father forgive you.[7]
It is not enough to hate the deeds of the workers of iniquity, but we must return to Thy first love and thy first work. To break the yoke, we need to return to the ways of righteousness spoken of in Isaiah 58 which are the ways of Christ and the early Church. And His yoke is light for it is carried by our love of one another.
Abraham, Moses, John the Baptist and Christ all created Networks of charity to care for the true needy of society without force which is how they were able to help set people free. Do you gather with His Church to attend to the Weightier matters as Christ said?
- Are you gathering in a Network of righteousness?
- Do you come to love others or just be loved?
- Are your Congregations' gatherings fruitful enough so that no one has to pray to Benefactors who exercise authority one over the other?
- Does anyone in your Free Assemblies have to apply to the Fathers of the earth, or seek their many benefits?
Early Christians found themselves in conflict with these systems of social welfare because they made the word of God to none effect. Christians had repented of their covetous nature when they received the Baptism of Christ. They heard and became Doers of the word not hearers only.
Remember Proverbs 12:24, "The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the Slothful shall be under Tribute."
We know that liberty under God is not for the covetous who are Biting one another but it is also not for the slothful. If we are not congregating together in free assemblies bound together in a broad network by faith, hope, and charity alone according to the perfect law of liberty then we are not truly seeking the Kingdom of God nor His righteousness.
Jesus warned the Pharisees that had set up a Daily ministration based on forced offerings of the government rather than Freewill offerings or what we call charity. These were the Benefactors who exercised authority one over the other like Nimrod and Cain and at that time by Caesar and Herod and now by the elected leaders of the World everyone has come to depend upon. The early Christian Church no longer depended upon nor applied nor prayed to these Benefactors. They provided for one another through Charity and Love.
This meant they had to graft to one another in a network of voluntary charity. This was a different way of thinking and acting - a different spirit.
THIS WAS REPENTANCE.
Modern Christians have returned to the mire of such welfare systems; to the Corban of the Pharisees that makes the word of God to none effect and are not bearing the Fruit of repentance.
So, again it may be said to the modern Christian and their Churches as in Matthew 3:7,8:
- "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:"
Today the whole World is in a bondage of debt and their Children are cursed with paying that debt. This is because of our Covetous Practices which have made us Merchandise. This has all come about when the Modern Church was preaching a watered down Gospel that does not bear fruit nor does it provide salvation. In truth it makes many Workers of Iniquity and not Doers of the Word which produces no Fruit nor Righteousness.
We are not repenting unless we come out of the thinking and doing of the World "religiously, legally and financially". This means you cannot forsake the coming together for the purposes of the Church and should start earnestly seeking the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness.
You are not a friend of Christ nor have you repented and accepted Christ unless you are friends with one another as Christ was friend to us.
You are not coming in His name unless you are gathering to serve one another.
How can you say that you have fruits worthy of Repentance when you have no Daily ministration, functioning like the nations of the World but by Faith, Hope and Charity by way of Freewill offerings of the people, for the people and by the people through the Perfect law of liberty as true friends in lovingly grafted Free Assemblies?
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Footnotes
- ↑ 5384 ~φίλος~ philos \@fee’-los\@ a primitive word; TDNT-9:146,1262; {See TDNT 831} adj AV-friend 29; 29
- 1) friend, to be friendly to one, wish him well
- 1a) a friend
- 1b) an associate
- 1c) he who associates familiarly with one, a companion
- 1d) one of the bridegroom’s friends who on his behalf asked the hand of the bride and rendered him various services in closing the marriage and celebrating the nuptials
- 1) friend, to be friendly to one, wish him well
- ↑ 1586 ~ἐκλέγομαι~ eklegomai \@ek-leg’-om-ahee\@ middle voice from 1537 and 3004 (in its primary sense); TDNT-4:144,505; {See TDNT 431} v AV-choose 19, choose out 1, make choice 1; 21
- 1) to pick out, choose, to pick or choose out for one’s self
- 1a) choosing one out of many, i.e. Jesus choosing his disciples
- 1b) choosing one for an office
- 1c) of God choosing whom he judged fit to receive his favours and separated from the rest of mankind to be peculiarly his own and to be attended continually by his gracious oversight
- 1c1) i.e. the Israelites
- 1d) of God the Father choosing Christians, as those whom he set apart from the irreligious multitude as dear unto himself, and whom he has rendered, through faith in Christ, citizens in the Messianic kingdom: (#Jas 2:5) so that the ground of the choice lies in Christ and his merits only
- 1) to pick out, choose, to pick or choose out for one’s self
- ↑ 5087 ~τίθημι~ tithemi \@tith’-ay-mee\@ a prolonged form of a primary ~θεω~ theo \@theh’-o\@ (which is used only as alternate in certain tenses); v AV-lay 28, put 18, lay down 12, make 10, appoint 6, kneel down + 1119 + 3588 5, misc 17; 96
- 1) to set, put, place
- 1a) to place or lay
- 1b) to put down, lay down
- 1b1) to bend down
- 1b2) to lay off or aside, to wear or carry no longer
- 1b3) to lay by, lay aside money
- 1c) to set on (serve) something to eat or drink
- 1d) to set forth, something to be explained by discourse
- 2) to make
- 2a) to make (or set) for one’s self or for one’s use
- 3) to set, fix establish
- 3a) to set forth
- 3b) to establish, ordain
- 1) to set, put, place
- ↑ Matthew 21:43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
- ↑ Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
- ↑ 5622 ὠφέλεια opheleia [o-fel’-i-ah] from a derivative of the base of 5624 profitable; n f; AV-profit 1, advantage 1; 2
- 1) usefulness, advantage, profit
- ↑ Matthew 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Mark 11:26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
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