John 1:47, "Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!"

This morning, we see Scriptural prophecy and testimony being manifested and confirmed over and over again.  When certain things occur in our world that the Bible told us would either come or remain here, we should not act surprised when we see them.  Paul told Timothy that evil men and seducers would wax "worse and worse." (II Timothy 3:13) These perilous times that Paul told Timothy of are most certainly upon us today, for all of the warning signs in that passage from II Timothy 3 are flashing brilliantly today.  However, did Paul mean to convey to the young minister that men would become worse in the sense that the depravity of man would increase and be worse than it was before?  Are men today in these days worse in the sense of heightened depravity than they were in yesteryear?  Since mankind was completely and wholly condemned by the act in the Garden of Eden, he was already wholly set in the deeds of wickedness.  You cannot push beyond what is complete and total.  But, friends, man's depravity will always manifest itself to the fullest extent that it can under the current circumstance it is in.  For example, man's wicked nature wants to do more than is perhaps feasible for a certain setting or situation.  A man cannot commit adultery on his wife with her right there with him.  Though he might have that desire, he cannot act upon it under the present circumstance.  Yet, as evil men wax worse and worse, the text makes a prophecy that days are coming when the circumstances are such that man's depravity becomes worse and worse in manifestation.  He will have circumstances available to him to push the envelope further than it was pushed before.

In our study verse, we see a statement made by the Master that should make us sit up and take notice.  Sadly for me, I passed over this verse quite often in my reading of it, though this passage is quite special to me personally.  My name comes from verse 45 (Philip findeth Nathanael), which makes this passage a personal one.  Still, before we get to the famous "fig tree" discussion that Christ has a little later with Nathanael, He makes a statement that shows us something not only about the man but also about our Lord.  Notice the word that Christ used: guile.  The same word is used by Peter in I Peter 2:22 to state the same thing about Christ.  Peter says that there was no guile found in the mouth of Christ, and here Christ Himself says there is no guile in Nathanael.  Are these statements equal?  Certainly the men were not, but are these equal statements?

Above we mentioned that men today are not more depraved in their nature than they ever have been but the circumstances are such that it is manifested more and more.  Without bounds and checks upon the world, man will fulfill more and more in manifestation of those things that his hearts conjures to do.  When no guile was found in Christ's mouth, He manifested what was already the underlying quality of His character.  The word guile means "craftiness or deceit."  Furthermore, the word stems from a family of words that implies the tactic of baiting someone dishonestly.  In other words, guile is one of the worst forms of falsehood and dishonesty because there is absolute malice and destruction at the center of it.  When someone tries to bait someone else in conversation or otherwise, there is the sense of delight that they try to fulfill by seeing someone else "fall for it" or "fall into it."  Christ not only was completely honest, but there being no guile in His mouth, He did not then nor does He now delight in seeing people fall into things.  A man filled with guile delights when other people "get it" while he is left unscathed.

Knowing then that Christ's character and purity was fully displayed by His righteous conduct and behavior, what does Christ's statement to Nathanael mean?  Was Nathanael as pure as Christ?  Certainly he was not!  However, Christ says that his behavior and action show something else about him.  Not only does he have some quality of goodness – that He Himself put into Nathanael – but it is fully evidenced in his life.  Nathanael was known as an Israelite of the highest moral integrity.  What you saw was what you got with him.  He did not try to trap anybody, nor did he take delight in watching others stumble.  This tells us a lot about the man.  How much/little guile someone has speaks volumes to their character.

When I was growing up, there were levels of punishment in my parent's home based on the level of transgression.  Certain sins were punished more severely than others.  The hardest consequences were reserved for matters of falsehood.  When I lied about doing something and was discovered, I would get a few licks (spanks) for what I did initially that was wrong, but I got many licks for then lying about it.  Dad always stated why lying was so abominable, "Son, no matter what you have done wrong, honesty about your behavior at least allows us to keep talking to one another about it.  When you lie to me, I can't trust anything you tell me, and it kills our conversation."  Furthermore, the hardest spankings for lying in the house came for those lies that were told with more malevolent intent (guile).  For example, if you told a lie to save your hide, that was still a grave offense, but a graver offense came when you lied either to hurt someone else or seemed to delight in your own falsehood.

When Christ Jesus told the people gathered around that Nathanael was without guile, He spoke volumes about him.  Those standing there that might not have known who he was would immediately get a good impression of him and feel able to trust him.  However, this statement not only tells us something about the man, it also tells us something about the Master.  Doubtless, Christ was the reason that Nathanael was good at all, for short of the grace of God in regeneration, Nathanael would have never done anything that was good, and instead of having no guile, his mouth would have been full of the poison of asps and like an open sepulchre. (Romans 3) Still. God's children can develop a reputation of being habitual liars.  Jacob – though loved of God – lied on numerous occasions in his life to try to get ahead – his very name means supplanter or deceiver.  Nathanael's life was not known in such a fashion.  To people that knew him, they thought of him as honest and full of integrity.  But greater still, so did his Lord.

Too often, we can play the dangerous game of thinking of ourselves as worthless.  By nature, we are.  By His grace, we are not.  Further still, a godly and faith-driven walk is not worthless either.  Christ's very statement shows that He thought of Nathanael in a positive light.  Christ commended his behavior and course of life.  When you read through those godly characters in Hebrews 11, you are not reading a record of perfect people.  Nor are you always reading a record of people who always acted faithfully in the matters recorded about them.  For example, Sarah is mentioned as having the faith to conceive and bear a son in her old age.  Yet, the Genesis account records her laughing about having a son in her condition.  Did God get it wrong when He inspired her to be spoken of in such a glowing fashion in the New Testament?  No friends, it shows that even though we fall so short of perfection, we do not always fall short of His commendation.

Good advice for a young preacher is to never undervalue his sermons and ministerial efforts if they bless those he serves.  Surely, they are not perfect, but that does not mean that they do not bless anybody.  Good advice for young parents is to never undervalue their efforts in bringing up their children.  Again, they will not be perfect, but God has and does bless us when we seek to go the right way in that regard looking to Him and His Book for the answers.  Nathanael was a sinner, and I have little doubt that he had told a lie(s) at some point in his life.  Perhaps he even had delighted in baiting someone else just to watch them fail.  However, his manner of life was known more for honesty and uprightness.  Christ smiled on his behavior and plainly and unequivocally stated it.

Today friends, we are going to fall short of the mark on a daily basis.  Thank God His grace has been given us to have the capacity to serve Him with reverence and godly fear.  May our lives be known as Nathanael's was.  May people see in us an honest people that do not delight in what the evil men and seducers delight in.  Though their manifestation of sin and carnality may increase and get worse and worse, may our sense of moral integrity shine brighter and brighter than at any other time.  Since these men are not any more depraved than anyone else but manifest it more, I am convinced that we are no more righteous than any other of God's children that have ever lived (we were all saved completely and equally by Christ), but may we manifest that righteousness more than any others that have gone before us.  Just as Christ was pleased with Nathanael's conduct and efforts, I feel certain based on His immutability that He will be just as pleased with us if we try to follow a similar course.

In Hope,

Bro Philip 

John 14:4, "And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know."

This morning, many tout the name of Christ without admitting and freely confessing His power and authority.  While they pay lip service to the person of Christ, their belief system and structure patently denies the power of God, sacrifice of Jesus Christ, etc. by removing the glory and power of it.  They do this by stripping the glory of grace by leaving the decision and power in the hand of the sinner.  Should any power for an "eternal decision" rest in the hand of any sinner, then the whole system of salvation would result in a 100% miserable failure.  Yet, the fact that man has no power to affect this glorious salvation, there are certain aspects of it that touch us quite deeply and profoundly while we live here in this world.  This "experiential religion" is an internal testimony to the rich grace and ultimate power of Almighty God.

Oftentimes, in my haste of reading and studying Scriptures, I miss – over and over – some principle or verse application with each and every pass through the lesson.  Sometimes, the verses surrounding a verse are so rich that one verse in a passage seems more neglected than others.  Our study verse is one such verse for me.  Even though it is rich in thought, I generally went through this portion of John in one of two ways: 1. I was so taken with the thoughts in verse 3 (second coming of Christ), that I never made it to verse 4, or 2.  I was in such a hurry to get to verse 6 with the wonderful truths there that I glossed over verse 4.  To see the beauty of verse 4, let us briefly consider some of the background to this verse.

Chapter 13 ends with Christ's perfect prophesy of Peter's thrice denial of Him before the night was over.  Such a proclamation by the Master would be enough to sorrow the boldest of hearts.  However, Christ – in His deep compassion for us – follows up that foreboding prophecy with the immediate command to not be troubled in heart.  Even though we have failures in life, just as the Saviour foretold for Peter in his life, He commands us not to wallow in the misery but rather look up and revive in spirit.  How does one revive in spirit, especially in the face of being faced with one's own shortcomings?  Christ lists 4 reasons not to be troubled in heart, and these 4 things do not change.  Ever.  Regardless of our sin-ridden lives, these 4 principles stand fast and sure forever.

The first principle is found in verse 1.  Christ commands them to believe in Him just as they believe in God.  The first and foremost reason to not be troubled is that Jesus is God and has all the power and authority of God.  His life is not just some good moral lesson, but rather it is a rich and beautiful display of grace that culminates in the salvation of His people.  However, Jesus being God is not the only unchanging reason to not be troubled.  He declares that His Father's house has many mansions, and He Himself is going to prepare a place for us.  So, there is an inheritance that is glorious, permanent, and eternal that is securely fixed and cemented in the work of Jesus Christ.  The third unchanging reason to not be troubled is that He is coming again to receive us to Himself: we will be where He is!

These three unchanging facts should be enough for us to remember and realize that everything is going to be all right.  No matter how wicked the world gets and no matter how wayward we get in thought or deed, these truths – glorious truths – will never be undone or shaken.  Yet, Jesus Christ – the Son of God and finisher of the glorious work of salvation – gives one more reason not to be troubled.  Just as the other three tenets are secure and sure for every child of grace, so is this one as well.  Even though Thomas shows in the succeeding verse that he lacks the intellectual knowledge as to what Christ is talking about, that does not change the fact that Christ's words were true and Thomas (as well as every other heir of grace) knows what Christ here says we know.

The two things we know are 1. where He is going, and 2. the way He is going.  Now this unqualified statement by the Lord seems somewhat bold (to the cursory examination) to declare that His family knows where He is going and the way He is going.  Certainly some heirs of grace never know His name or have ever heard a glorious gospel message.  Even moreso, they have no Bible to read these glorious statements.  So, how can all of God's children have this rich principle apply to them without exception?

The answer is found in the subject of "experiential religion."  What we mean by that statement is that Scripture teaches about the internal testimony of God's children.  Paul referenced this testimony at the opening of Romans 9.  His conscience bore witness to the same thing the Holy Ghost also testified, corroborated yet still by the truth of Christ.  Friends, many today like to talk about their own "personal spirituality" that they believe supersedes organized religion and church worship.  However, sound internal testimony never contradicts Scripture, and Paul's internal testimony (in his conscience) harmonized nicely with Scriptures as well as the leading and impression of the Holy Ghost.  Gentiles in Romans 2:14-15 that had no gospel knowledge or knowledge of the law and the prophets were said to become a law unto themselves when they did the things contained in the law.  How did they do that?  Internal testimony in their conscience showed the difference between right and wrong, and accused or excused them accordingly.

Furthermore, Paul declares in rich detail in Romans 8:18-24 that the new creature in every born again child of God yearns and longs for heaven.  Even though we have never seen it, our hearts, souls, etc. long for that place called heaven and home.  Even if someone is unchurched but still born again of the Spirit, they long inside for home.  Maybe without words to frame it or a name to call Him whom they have never seen but still they love (I Peter 1:8), they long for Him and the place where He dwells.  This internal testimony and longing for home is precisely the point that Christ is making in our study verse.

Yet another reason to not be troubled is because something inside us tells us, "This world is not your home."  Something reaches for a place beyond compare.  As an interesting aside, while I was thinking about this concept recently, it occurred to me that this verse is a rich defense of the free grace of God by His sovereign and mighty hand.  Should it be true that people could help others "get saved" to heaven and immortal glory, then it should equally stand to reason that those same "helpers" would be able to direct people to heaven.  If a preacher could save someone's soul, then it stands to reason, logically, that that same man could say, "These are your directions to heaven when you die."  Yet, no preacher (of any flavor) that I have ever heard of claimed such an impossible ability.  No preachers sit in hospital rooms whispering to dying people, "When you die, hang a left at the second star in the sky."

However, the same One that has saved us has imprinted the knowledge of Him, where He has gone, and the way He has gone upon us and in us.  He says we know where He is going (heaven), and we know the way (path or direction) He takes.  Paul tells us in Hebrews 6:16-20 that this knowledge is our hope.  It anchors our soul in heaven, and the forerunner is already gone before us.  The path is well-trodden by His glorious and triumphant steps.  No need to ask for directions to heaven, nor to ask where we are going.  Our inner man bears the image of Christ (Colossians 1:27), and it knows where to go at the moment of death's release.  The sweet path of Christ (the Way) will be richly illuminated as His voice (Life) speaks those sweet words (Truth) and ushers us into the heavenly portals.

Christ gives this as the fourth and profoundly intimate reason not to be troubled in heart while traversing this low ground of sin and sorrow.  Yes, He is God.  That never changes.  Heaven is real, permanent, and prepared for us.  That never changes.  He is coming again to take us home with Him.  That will not change.  Yet, for our personal, intimate comfort here daily, we have knowledge (intimately) of a rich nature.  Our souls have been stamped with the testimony that we are headed out of this world.  Our spirit has been subjected in hope that we are going away.  This longing and yearning is a daily proof that we are His, and such proof (especially when coupled with gospel knowledge for us who are so blessed to have it), should make us the most uplifted people in this world.  Just as those other principles will never change, so also will the imprint of God's hand on our soul never change.  What He has done will forever be upon us, and that longing of the creature will never cease.  May we continue this day and for whatever days we have left uplifted and rejoicing.  Yes, we will fail, deny Him, and let Him down, but nothing changes these glorious truths of who He is and what He has done.

In Hope,

Bro Philip