EXCERPTS FROM THE MINISTRY

LIFE-STUDY OF JOHN

MESSAGE EIGHT

THE NEED OF THE MORAL PEOPLE—
LIFE’S REGENERATING

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After the principle of life and the purpose of life have been set forth in John chapter two, from chapter three through chapter eleven the writer then relates nine cases to prove the principle of life set forth in the first sign in chapter two. He uses these cases to signify some spiritual and meaningful points. These cases first expose the condition and need of man, and then they reveal how the Lord can deal with all the conditions and meet all the needs of man. Life meets the need of man’s every case. We must realize that life here means the Lord Himself, the Word which was God and which became flesh. Although the Lord might have dealt with thousands of human cases, John selected only nine of them to illustrate how the Lord as life could and still can meet the need of every human case.

MAN’S CONDITION AND NEED

Let us see, first of all, the condition of man in each case. The first case in chapter three is about a high-class, moral person who came to the Lord. He is a superior gentleman, highly cultured, very religious, God-seeking, and God-fearing. The second case in chapter four shows forth exactly the opposite condition. The first case is about a moral man; the second case is about an immoral woman. The former is about a mild, high-class person, while the latter is about a wild, low-class person. This wicked woman had five husbands and was living with a sixth who was not her husband. The third case in chapter four is about a young man who was sick and about to die. The fourth case in chapter five is about a man who had been sick for thirty-eight years. He was utterly weak and unable to move even one step. The fifth case in chapter six is about the hungry multitude who was seeking something to feed on. The sixth case in chapter seven is about the thirsty people whose thirst could not be quenched by the best religion or by anything of this life. The seventh case in chapter eight sets forth a sinful woman who committed a terrible sin and who was under the condemnation and bondage of her sin. The eighth case in chapters nine and ten concerns a blind man who was born blind. Finally, the ninth case in chapter eleven is about Lazarus who died and was buried for four days.

The conditions of the people mentioned in these nine cases represent the conditions of all men. Some men are good like Nicodemus, while others are wicked like the Samaritan woman. Others, like the young man in Capernaum, are dying. Most are weak like the man who was sick for thirty-eight years. They desire to do good, but they do not have the strength to fulfill that desire. They know religion, but, because they are weak, they do not have the power to live out its standards or fulfill its regulations. Other people are hungry, craving for something to enjoy, while some are thirsting for something more than their human life can offer them. There are some people whose thirst is so great that nothing in this life can satisfy them. Some people continually commit sins and are under the condemnation and bondage of their sins. Some, like the blind man, are blind, not physically, but psychologically and spiritually. Finally, the last condition of all men is death, for they are in death and, at the same time, are on the road to death. They are dead already and yet they all will die later. All men are dead men who are going to die. Therefore, these nine cases portray the true conditions of all men. These conditions speak for man’s need, which only the Lord as life can fully meet.

EACH INDIVIDUAL’S CONDITION AND NEED

All the conditions of these nine cases can also be found in each individual person. One person can possess all the conditions of all men. For example, you may be a good man, or, at least you have the intention of being a good man. You may also be quite religious, fearing God and seeking Him. At the same time, however, you may also have done something mean, something which is not honorable. You may be a religious gentleman with high morals and yet have done something low. On the one hand, you are a high-class person; on the other hand, you are a low-class person.

You are also sick and about to die morally and spiritually. You may be very living physically, but you are dying morally and spiritually. Even physically you are also dying day by day. Apparently you are living; actually you are dying.

Another condition of yours is that you are a weak person. You know that you should do good and you know what is right, but you lack the strength or the power to do it. Perhaps you are not yet twenty-five years old, but you have been sick for “thirty-eight years.” You know that you should love others, but you are weak; you want to keep all the laws of God and you desire to please God, but you are unable to do so. In other words, you have the desire to do good, but you do not have the ability to perform what you desire. You need the proper power of life.

Hunger and thirst are also two items of your condition. Many times you feel that you are a hungry person; many times you are thirsty for a Ph.D. degree, for money, or for pleasure. You need the Lord as the bread of life to satisfy your hunger and you need the Lord’s living water to quench your thirst.

Another condition that can also be found in you as an individual is your sinfulness. You are sinful. You are a sinner and you commit sin. You need the forgiveness of the Lord as well as deliverance from the bondage of sin.

In another respect, you are in a state of blindness. Even though you may have perfect vision with your physical eyes, you cannot perceive the meaning of human life, and especially you cannot see spiritual things. You are blind and you need the Lord to open your eyes and to give you sight.

Your last condition is that of a dead man who eventually will die. Have you ever realized that you are a dead person? No one is alive in spirit—everyone is dead. You need the resurrection life of the Lord Jesus.

Every person has, in his fallen condition, every aspect of these nine cases. Every person, to a certain degree at least, is in each of these conditions. Every condition is an indication of everyone’s real need.