John the Apostle had a mending ministry of life – the way he mended the church and the situation among the believers was by presenting Christ as life to them. What we need in order to be mended by the Lord for His building is not outward correction or self-improvement but life, the divine life.
In John’s ministry life is not a thing, a substance, or an element – life is Christ Himself! In Christ was life, and life was the light of men (John 1:4), and He came that we may have life and may have it abundantly (John 10:10). Christ is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25) and He is the way, the reality, and the life (John 14:6). So now he who has the Son has the life, but he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life (1 John 5:12).
The entire Gospel of John is a book of life, and this life is a living Person, the Triune God Himself (see John 5:26; 11:25; 6:63). The Triune God as life is mysterious, indescribable, and yet He is so available, real, and enjoyable.
When John starts his first epistle he doesn’t “preach the gospel” neither does he “speak about Christ” directly – he declares the life which was with the Father and was manifested to the disciples, and they saw it, handled it, and beheld it – now they testify of this life.
Wow, what a mysterious matter, yet how real it is that Christ as life is in us, going with us wherever we go and being always in us as the life-supply! We should forget about right and wrong, good and evil, and simply focus on life – God Himself as life! This life will mend us, will deliver us from any religion and hindrance, and will make us God’s house in life.
The Gospel of John is a Book of Life
If you read the gospel of John carefully you will realize one thing: the Lord Jesus focused on life, the divine life. People asked Him questions and wanted a YES or NO answer, but He always drew their attention to life. He always turned people from the tree of knowledge of good and evil to the tree of life.
With the Lord Jesus there was only life – not right or wrong, good or bad, just life. When you have the divine life, everything is fine! This life will mend us to the uttermost. Anything else but life opens more holes and gaps, but life mends us and closes every gap!
The ministry of the apostle John was a mending ministry of life (see John 1:4; 10:10; 11:25; 1 John 1:1-2; 5:11-13, 16), and the Gospel of John is a book of life. In Christ was life, and the life was the light of men (John 1:4). If we believe into the Lord we will have eternal life – He came that we would not perish but have eternal life (John 3:15-16, 36; 5:24).
Jesus Christ is the resurrection and the life – if anyone believes into Him, even if he should die, shall live (John 11:25). Jesus Christ is the way, the reality, and the life, and no one comes to God the Father except through Him (John 14:6). The entire Gospel of John was written that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing we may have life in His name (John 20:31).
This life that John speaks of is not the human life and it is not something in the air, a substance or an element; this life is the eternal, uncreated life of God, which is actually the Triune God Himself. What God gives us is not a thing apart from Himself – He wants to give us Himself as life.
The mending ministry of John is deeply and intimately personal, first with the Lord Jesus and then with those who receive this ministry. This is the testimony which John saw from God, that God gave to us eternal life and this life is in the Son.
If we have the Son of God we have the life, but if we don’t have the Son of God, we don’t have the life (1 John 5:11-12).
Life is a Wonderful Person who is Personally and Intimately Related to Us
Everything in God’s economy is personal, and everything in our Christian life and church life depends on our personal life with the Lord. Life is mysterious. Life is wonderful. Life is a Person, Christ Himself. This Christ is now in us as the Spirit, intimately and personally related to us.
When we are in our spirit, enjoying the Lord, praying over His Word, meeting with the saints, we may not have a strong sense of His presence but He is right there in us as a living Person imparting life to us.
However, if we do things that displeases the Lord, if we are in places that the Lord doesn’t agree with, He will be more living and active in us, bothering us from within, You shouldn’t do this! You shouldn’t be here! You shouldn’t speak this!
The Lord Jesus is life and not a religion; we need more life and we don’t need religion! We have the living Christ in our spirit, and He will never leave us! We may think that if we do things to offend Him or if we sin, He may leave – NO! Christ as life is here in us to stay, and He continually imparts life into our being.
This is very mysterious: somehow, at our regeneration, when we called on the Lord and repented before Him, a living Person came into us, and He is with us all the time. God Himself in Christ as the Spirit is a living Person in us, dwelling in us and living in us to be our life. He came into us to give us life abundantly (John 10:10).
When the Apostle John wanted to testify of Christ as life, all he could say was,
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we beheld and our hands have handled, concerning the word of life (and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and report to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us) (1 John 1:1-2).
Life is mysterious – it is not a thing but a Person. There’s a mysterious element in the working of the mending life, which is beyond our capacity to analyse or understand. Somehow at one point in time we were in a certain place and we were a certain kind of person, and now we are in another place being another kind of person. How? We don’t know – the divine life in us operates continually, and we can’t describe who and what and where….
It is only the Triune God flowing into us, being our life and person, intimately related to us and being personal with us, always taking the best care of us. He’s not here to point out our lack and defects but to mend us by imparting His divine life into us and making us real as He is real.
Lord Jesus, we open to Your life’s flow in all our being. Thank You for coming into us and being our life. Lord, we take You as our person so that You may be our life. Impart life into us abundantly. We simply open to You to enjoy Your life and grow in Your life so that we may be mended by You. We treasure our personal time with You. May nothing come between us and You in our sweet, intimate, spiritual, personal, and private time with You. Lord, we want more life! We want to minister life to others!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Ron Kangas’ speaking in the message for this week, and portions from, The Mending Ministry of John (chs. 3-5), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Mending Ministry of John, week 1 / msg 1, The Mending Ministry of Life.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Oh, what a life! Oh, what a peace! / The Christ who’s all within me lives. / With Him I have been crucified; / This glorious fact to me He gives. / Now it’s no longer I that live, / But Christ the Lord within me lives.
# We have this Life within us, in our spirit today; / To our spirit we turn, O Lord, and take You this way. / We can overcome Bios and the Psuche too; / Hallelujah, the Spirit of the Lord takes us through.
# So I’ve no cause to frown as one who’s received this zoe. / I know life runs its course and triumphs inevitably. / I’m required just to stay in the flow, / If I do the drinking then God gives the growth.
# I treasure my time alone with You, / Just to gain the best love You long for. / My dearest Husband, draw me with Yourself / Into Your chambers right now. / Be the first in all my work and life, / Be the first in all my service too. / In relationships, You must be the first; / Have preeminence in me.
