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Exploring Life in John – The Need of the Impotent – Life’s Enlivening

LIFE MEETING THE NEED OF MAN’S EVERY CASE

The Need Of The Dying –

Life’s Enlivening

Verses:

Galatians 3:21  

Is then the law against the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given which was able to give life, righteousness would have indeed been of law.

2 Corinthians 3:6b  

for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

John 5:1-16  

1  After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

2  Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes.

3   In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

4   For an angel went down from time to time in the pool and stirred up the water; the first then to step in after the stirring up of the water was made well of whatever disease he was being held by.

5   And a certain man was there, who had been thirty-eight years in his sickness.

6   When Jesus saw this one lying there and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, Do you want to get well?

7   The sick man answered Him, Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.

8   Jesus said to him, Rise, take up your mat and walk.

9   And immediately the man became well, and he took up his mat and walked. Now it was the Sabbath on that day;

10   Therefore the Jews said to the one who had been healed, It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your mat.

11   But he answered them, He who made me well, that One said to me, Take up your mat and walk.

12   They asked him, Who is the man who said to you, Take up your mat and walk?

13   But he who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, there being a crowd in that place.

14   After these things Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, Behold, you have become well; sin no more so that nothing worse happens to you.

15   The man went away and told the Jews that Jesus was the One who made him well.

16   And because of this the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill Him, because He did these things on the Sabbath.

Ministry Excerpts:

THE INADEQUACY OF RELIGION’S LAW-KEEPING AND THE SUFFICIENCY OF THE SON’S LIFE-GIVING

The case of the impotent man exposes the inadequacy of religion (5:1-9). No religion on earth is better than the Jewish religion, for it is the genuine and typical religion formed according to God’s holy oracle. The Jewish religion was formed according to the Divine Word. It worships the one true God in the correct way. No other religion can compare with it.

However, religion does not belong to God’s economy and it cannot fulfill God’s purpose. God never intended to have a religion. Yes, God did give to His people His Holy Word, the Old Testament, and He did tell them how to contact Him. There is no doubt about this. However, God had no intention of having a religion. Religion is a human invention, a product of the fallen human mind. It is the best invention of human culture. But, concerning God’s economy, religion is God’s worst enemy. It is absolutely against His economy. I say again that God had no intention of establishing a religion. His intention was to give His Holy Word to His people, revealing to them that the coming One, the Son of God, would be their salvation and life for the fulfillment of God’s purpose. This coming One would be everything to them—righteousness, holiness, redemption, and glory. The Jewish people did not have this realization. Instead, they selected portions of the commandments in God’s Holy Word and used them to devise rituals and regulations. They put together these commandments, rituals, and regulations and formed a religion. What is a religion? The best definition of it is not found in Webster’s dictionary. Religion is to worship God and to behave ourselves without Christ. Religion is just you trying your best to worship God, to behave properly to please God, and to be a perfect person—all without Christ. Although everything may be good—you worship God according to the regulations and you behave yourself—it is all void of Christ. It seems that people have Christ in Christianity, but mostly that is simply Christ in term. If you only have Christ in term, that also is religion. We must have Christ as reality. Only with Christ as our reality are we outside of religion.

When the Lord Jesus came, He came as the One who was prophesied in the Old Testament. He was the One who came to be salvation, life, righteousness, holiness, redemption, glory, and everything to God’s people. But, when He came, God’s people, the Jews, were fully occupied with their religion. They had no room in their hearts for this coming One. If you read the four Gospels, you will see that wherever the Lord went and wherever He was, He was opposed by that typical religion formed according to God’s Holy Word. Those religionists opposed this living One according to their religion. They thought that they were opposing Christ for God. They even sentenced this living One to death in their attempt to protect God. According to their realization, when Jesus said that He was the Son of God, He was speaking blasphemy, making Himself equal to God (5:18). It seems that they said, “We have only one God and no other. Our God is Jehovah Elohim. We don’t have a God by the name of Jesus. If You say that You are the Son of God, You are making Yourself equal to God and are blaspheming. We must put You to death.” That was religion.

The Inadequacy of Religion’s Law-keeping

The central point of this case, on the negative side, is to show the inadequacy of law-keeping in the typical religion. Law-keeping was the main thing in Judaism. Every Jew respects the law and believes in keeping it. The Jews realize that, apart from keeping the law, they have no way to please God, to behave themselves, and to perfect themselves. Any typical Jew will tell you that, next to God, nothing is as great or as important as the law. God is number one and the law is number two. So, law-keeping is everything to that typical religion.

Let us now consider some aspects of the practice of law-keeping. The sheepgate (5:2) signifies the entrance to the law-keeping religion’s sheepfold (10:1). The name of the pool, Bethesda, means house of mercy, signifying that the people who practiced law-keeping realized that they needed the mercy of God because they were impotent, weak, and wretched, as portrayed in Romans 7:7-24. The porches, like a sheepfold, signify the law-keeping religion’s shelter, and the number five denotes responsibility. The angel who stirred up the water signifies the agent through which the law, which could not give life, was given (Gal. 3:19, 21). The stirring up of the water to make people well signifies the practice of the law-keeping trying to make people perfect. By considering these aspects, we can see the situation of law-keeping, which is the major thing in the typical religion.

The impotent man had been sick for thirty-eight years. He was unable to move. He was filled with expectation when he saw the waters stirring, but it was impossible for him to get there in time. Because he was impotent, unable to move, he could not receive healing. Likewise, due to our impotence, we cannot keep the law. The law is good, holy, and spiritual. There is no problem with the law; the problem is with us.

Man is not only sick, but also dead. We know from 5:25 that, in the eyes of the Lord, the impotent man was a dead person. How can a dead person walk? If he is to walk, he must first be made alive. As long as you cannot make a dead person live, he can do nothing. Galatians 3:21 says that the law cannot give life. The law only makes demands upon people; it never supplies them with life. Due to the lack of life, man is absolutely unable to keep the law. If you are still religious, still trying to keep the law, let me ask you a question. Are you dead or alive? You must admit that you are dead. Since you are a dead person, how can you keep the law? A dead person can do nothing.

Because of the weakness of the flesh and because of the lack of life, it is impossible for man to keep the law. Although there are an angel, the water, and the stirring of the water, there is no way for you to fulfill the requirement of getting to the water to be healed. This is a clear picture showing us that the impotent and dead people find it impossible to keep the law. There is no hope for man with the law. With respect to the law, we are helpless and hopeless cases.

The Sufficiency of the Son’s Life-giving

We have seen that this case on the negative side exposes the inadequacy and vanity of the law-keeping religion. That religion had so many good things—the holy city, the holy temple, the angels, the Holy Scriptures, the holy feasts, the holy Sabbath, and the pool, but none of these good things could help the dead people. The holy city could not help the impotent man; neither could the holy temple, the Holy Scriptures, nor the holy days. Although it was a feast day, he had no joy, and although it was the Sabbath day, he had no rest. Nothing could help him. He was a hopeless and helpless case. Suddenly, a little man came into this situation. It was not an archangel, but a little man named Jesus. He had no beauty or attraction, and no one paid attention to Him. He came directly to the sick man. Just as the Father in eternity past foresaw the Samaritan woman and the Son went to find her at Jacob’s well, so the Father also foresaw the impotent man, and the Son came to him while he was lying at the pool. He asked him, “Do you want to get well?” That meant, “Would you like to be healed?” The impotent man knew nothing beyond the pool, the water, and the angel who stirred the water. He also knew that he had no hope or ability in himself. So he explained the situation to the Lord Jesus. Then the Lord Jesus said, “Rise, pick up your bed, and walk.” The impotent man heard the enlivening word of the living, life-giving Lord and was healed. We may think that he rose up and walked before he was healed. But this is not true. He was healed before he rose up, took his bed, and walked. Note the sequence in verse 9. “And immediately the man became well, and picked up his bed and walked.” “And immediately the man became well” precedes “picked up his bed and walked.” He was cured before he rose up. He was cured when he heard the voice of the living Son of God. It was his hearing of the living word of the Lord that quickened him. Formerly the bed carried the impotent man, but now the enlivened man carried the bed.

If I had been the impotent man, I probably would have said, “Sir, I can’t make it. I have been relying upon this bed for thirty-eight years. The bed has been carrying me all this time. How can you tell me to pick it up? I can’t do what you say.” We should never argue with the Lord’s word. We should simply say, “Amen,” to whatever He says and do it accordingly. Do not argue or reason. If you reason, you will lose His blessing. How good it was that the impotent man not only rose up, but also picked up his bed and walked. He was not only healed; he was enlivened. According to verses 24 and 25, this is for him as a dead man to pass out of death into life and live. In the principle set forth in chapter two, this is the changing of death into life.

RELIGION’S OPPOSITION TO LIFE

In 5:10-16 we see religion’s opposition to life. “The Jews then said to the one who was healed, It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to pick up your bed” (5:10). Life’s enlivening breaks religion’s ritual. Religion is offended by life and begins its opposition to life from this point. The Sabbath is for man (Mark 2:27) and should be a rest to man. Religion’s law-keeping did not bring rest to the man sick for thirty-eight years, but life’s enlivening did it in one second. Yet, the religious people cared only for the ritual of Sabbath-keeping; they had no concern for the sick man’s rest. What a life we have! We do not need any religious things. As long as we have Jesus, all religious things mean nothing. As long as we have Jesus, we have life. Let religion with all its things go. They could not give us life, but Jesus does. Jesus enlivens us. Jesus gives us life. Life brings us joy. Life brings us rest. Life brings us light and everything we need. Praise the Lord!

The real significance of this case is the difference between religion and Christ, which is the difference between the law-keeping of religion and the enlivening of Christ. Religion’s law-keeping is good, but we are weak. Religion’s law-keeping may be effective but we cannot meet its requirements. There is no requirement with Christ, for when He comes to us, He speaks His living word so that we can hear His voice. If there is any requirement, it is simply to hear His living word. When we hear His voice, we pass from death into life. The contrast in this case is that religion requires, but Christ’s word quickens. (Life-study of John, msg. 14) 

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Exploring Life in John – The Need of the Dying – Life’s Healing

LIFE MEETING THE NEED OF MAN’S EVERY CASE

The Need Of The Dying —

Life’s Healing

Verses:

John 4:43-54  

43 And after the two days He went forth from there into Galilee,

44 For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.

45 Then when He came into Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all that He did in Jerusalem at the feast, for they also went to the feast.

46 He then came again to Cana of Galilee, where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain royal official, whose son was sick in Capernaum.

47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and asked Him to come down and heal his son, for he was about to die.

48 Jesus therefore said to him, Unless you see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.

49 The royal official said to Him, Sir, come down before my little child dies.

50 Jesus said to him, Go, your son lives. The man believed the word which Jesus said to him and went his way.

51 And as he was now going down, his slaves met him and said that his child was living.

52 So he asked them the hour in which he got better. They said then to him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.

53 Then the father knew that it was in that hour in which Jesus said to him, Your son lives; and he believed, he and his whole house.

54 Again, this second sign Jesus performed when He came out of Judea into Galilee.

Ministry Excerpts:

 JESUS COMING BACK TO THE PLACE OF THE WEAK AND FRAGILE PEOPLE

Jesus returned to Cana of Galilee, the place of the weak and fragile people (John 4:43-46). Cana is in Galilee, a despised place (7:41, 52), which signifies the world of a low and mean condition where the weak and fragile people are. The Lord was here once during the first sign to change the death water into life wine. Now He comes back to the same place to do the second sign, which in the principle of life corresponds with the first sign—to change death into life.

THE WEAK AND FRAGILE PEOPLE DYING

This case, the third among the nine, reveals the dying people’s need of healing. This case concerns the son of a royal official who was about to die. Mankind firstly needs regeneration, secondly satisfaction, and thirdly healing. We all need a certain amount of healing. In a sense, we are living; in another sense, we all are dying. When a baby is newly born, his mother would think that he is growing. Actually the baby is dying. Everyone on earth is dying. If you are young, still under thirty years of age, you may not have the sense that you are dying. However, when you reach the age of sixty or seventy, you realize that you are dying. A life span of seventy years may be likened to seventy dollars. Each year that is lived is the equivalent of spending a dollar. Once you have lived sixty years, you have spent sixty dollars. When you reach the age of sixty-nine, it means that you have only one dollar left. Once that dollar has been spent, you will be exhausted. So, human beings are apparently living, but actually dying. This is why I do not ask my children or grandchildren to celebrate my birthday, for my birthday tells me that I am dying. Tell me, is your age increasing or decreasing? The longer we live, the less time we have to live. I do not want to reach the age of seventy. I would like to stay back, but I cannot do it. We all need healing.

We have been regenerated and, day by day, we may contact the Lord, the living Spirit, for our satisfaction. In addition to this, we need healing. We are all sick and dying people. We are fallen people, weak and fragile, who are dying and who need the Lord’s healing. If you have the healing of the Lord Jesus, your dying will become living.

Let me share with you my secret prayer to the Lord. I have told the Lord, “Lord, the time of Your coming is near. Do me a favor—keep me from seeing death. Lord, I want to see You physically face to face. Keep me living until You come.” Hallelujah, He is coming! While He is coming, He is healing. While He is on His way, He is healing our spirit, soul, and body. If you want to be healthy, you need to enjoy the healing of Jesus. Jesus is the real health food store. Come to Jesus, contact Him, and enjoy Him. If you participate in Jesus continually, you will have the best food, the real health food. How we need the healing of the divine life!

Romans 8:11 says, “And if the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.” If we allow the indwelling Spirit to make His home in our being, this indwelling Spirit will saturate our dying, mortal body with resurrection life. Our mortal body will be enlivened, quickened, and healed with the divine life. Romans 8 reveals that our spirit, soul, and body all may receive the divine life. When we believe in the Lord Jesus, He, as the life-giving Spirit, comes into our spirit. Since He is the life-giving Spirit, the Spirit in Romans 8:2 is called the Spirit of life, meaning that the divine Spirit is life. When we called on the Lord Jesus, this divine Spirit who is life came into our spirit and enlivened it. Therefore, our spirit is life (Rom. 8:10). When we set the mind of our soul upon the spirit, our mind also becomes life (Rom. 8:6). If we give ground to the indwelling Spirit, the Spirit will spread Himself from within our spirit through our soul into our body, making our mortal body a body full of life. Eventually, this divine life becomes a fourfold life: the life in the divine Spirit, the life that fills our spirit, the life that will saturate our soul, and the life that will permeate our body. Our whole being—spirit, soul, and body—will be filled, saturated, and permeated with the divine life. This is healing. Whenever the divine life enters into a part of our being, it heals that part. This means that the divine life changes the death of that part of our being into life. Death is swallowed up by life—this is healing.

We need regeneration, satisfaction, and healing. Many of us, particularly the sisters, need healing in our emotions. The sisters need healing in their unbalanced emotions, for there is a kind of sickness in their emotions. Why do you sisters cry so easily? Probably because of the sickness in your emotions. You need healing. The brothers need healing in their unbalanced mind and in their stubborn will. Why are you brothers so stubborn in your will? Once you make up your will, nothing on earth can change it. That is a disease, a sickness. We need healing. Praise the Lord that He is healing! To tell you the truth, even this morning I received some healing through my dear wife. My wife was not the healer, but she was the dispenser of the heavenly medicine. We all need healing. This healing is the transformation. The more we are healed in our mind, emotion, and will, the more we are transformed.

HEALING BY THE LIFE-GIVING WORD THROUGH BELIEVING

Although the royal official begged the Lord to come down and heal his son (4:47, 49), the Lord simply spoke the word, and the boy was healed. “Jesus said to him, Go, your son is living. The man believed the word which Jesus said to him and went his way” (4:50). The royal official believed the word out of the mouth of the Lord. When he learned from his slaves that the boy was living, he and his whole household believed (4:51-53). Hallelujah for the life-giving word! We love the life-giving word, not the word in dead letters, but the word that is the Spirit. The Lord simply spoke the life-giving word, and the dying boy was healed. Today the Lord is still sending forth His healing word. When the dying people receive this word through believing, they are healed with life. Once the life-giving word has been transfused into us, whether or not we are conscious of it, we can never be the same. The life-giving word brings about a real change in our life.

When dying people receive the word through believing and are healed with life, this, in principle, is changing death into life. Death’s deadening power is overcome by life. Praise the Lord for His healing life and for the life-giving word that heals all our sicknesses! Death is of the source of the tree of knowledge, and life is of the source of the tree of life. We were born into the sickness of death. The Lord’s word of life heals our death. All we need is to receive and believe in His life-giving and healing word.

The case of the healing of the son of the royal official signifies that there is no need for us to contact the Lord physically. As long as we have the Lord’s word, it is sufficient. Even though we do not have the Lord’s physical presence, as long as we have His word and work, it is good enough, and nothing more is needed. When we have the word of the Lord, we shall be saved and filled with the Lord. Just His word is enough to heal and save us. (Life-study of John, msg. 13) 

 

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Exploring Life in John – Life’s Principle

LIFE MEETING THE NEED OF MAN’S EVERY CASE

LIFE’S PRINCIPLE

Verses:

John 2:1-11 

1   And the third day a wedding took place in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.

2   And Jesus also was invited, as well as His disciples, to the wedding.

3   And when the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, They have no wine.

4   And Jesus said to her, Woman, what do I have in this that concerns you? My hour has not yet come.

5   His mother said to the servants, Whatever He says to you, do.

6   Now there were six stone waterpots lying there, according to the Jews’ rite of purification, holding two or three measures each.

7   Jesus said to them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.

8   And He said to them, Draw some out now and take it to the master of the feast. And they took it to him.

9   And when the master of the feast tasted the water which had become wine and did not know where it came from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew, the master of the feast called the bridegroom

10   And said to him, Every man sets out the good wine first, and when they have drunk freely, then that which is worse; you have kept the good wine until now.

11   This beginning of signs Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed into Him.

Ministry Excerpts:

John presents several cases to illustrate the matter of life. Although Jesus did a great many signs before His disciples (20:30-31), John selected not more than twelve of them to illustrate the matter of life. Beginning with the case of Nicodemus in chapter three and ending with the resurrection of Lazarus in chapter eleven, nine cases are presented. If we add the incidents of the changing of water into wine, of the cleansing of the temple, and of the washing of feet, we have a total of twelve events. If you compare the record of the Gospel of John with that of the other gospels, you will find that they include many things which John does not, and that John records many things which they do not. For example, Matthew, Mark, and Luke say nothing about Jesus’ changing water into wine. Neither do they mention the Lord’s conversation with Nicodemus regarding regeneration. Do not think that these differences are accidental. No, each gospel was carefully planned by the Divine Writer….All the cases recorded by John prove that Christ is life to meet our need. Based upon this principle, we must realize that the incident of changing water into wine (2:1-11) is not merely the account of a story; it has a spiritual meaning with a special significance. Now we need to find out the spiritual significance of this event.

Life’s Principle—to Change Death Into Life

When I first heard the story of Jesus’ changing water into wine, I did not know the meaning behind this event. Later I came to understand that this was not simply a story, but an event accomplished by the Lord Jesus to establish the principle of life. What is the principle of life? The principle of life is to change death into life. In each of the nine cases recorded from chapters three through eleven, the principle is to change death into life. This is especially clear with the case of Lazarus. Lazarus was dead and had been buried for four days. He even smelled. He was full of death from top to bottom and from the inside to the outside. In every layer and corner of his being there was nothing but death. As the record of chapter eleven tells us, when the Lord Jesus learned that Lazarus was sick, He did not go to see him. He waited until he was full of death, until he was dead and buried. Then He came to raise Lazarus from the dead. If we apply the principle of life to that case, we see that Jesus changed death into life.

The whole story of changing water into wine is an allegory, and we need to allegorize every part of it….We must allegorize the wedding and the wedding feast. Marriage is very significant and essential to human life, for without it human life is hindered. If you eliminate marriage, you terminate human life. Marriage signifies the continuation of human life. What does the wedding feast signify? It signifies the enjoyment and pleasure of human life. Nothing on earth is a more joyful occasion than a wedding. Have you ever seen people weep mournfully at a wedding? If you were to weep in such a way at a wedding, it would mean that you are impolite or uncultured. When attending a funeral, on the contrary, you are not permitted to be joyful. When attending a wedding, however, you must be happy. According to human culture, a wedding is a joyful occasion.

The marriage feast, whether in ancient times or in the present, whether in the East or in the West, depends primarily on wine, which typifies that all human pleasure depends on life. Since wine, unlike water, derives its source from grapes, it comes from something living. Wine signifies life, for the wine of the grapes is the life of the grapes. Thus, the enjoyment of man depends upon the life of man. When life is brought to an end, all enjoyment is gone.

The wine, which was the center of the enjoyment of the wedding feast, ran out (2:3). This signifies that the enjoyment of human life will be terminated when human life runs out. When the wine runs out, the pleasure of the marriage feast is gone. This signifies not only that the enjoyment of life is over, but that human life is finished. Regardless of how much pleasure you are enjoying, when your human life is ended, all your human enjoyment is also gone. Regardless of how good your wife, your husband, your parents, your children, or your job may be, if your life has come to an end, your pleasure is gone. When the wine has been exhausted, the feast is over, for the feast is dependent upon the wine. All your enjoyment depends upon your life. If your life has been terminated, your enjoyment is brought to an end. Regardless of the kind of wedding you are in, when your human life runs out, your wedding is terminated and the enjoyment is over. That is what happened that day in Cana of Galilee.

When the Lord came into the world, He came into a situation where human enjoyment existed, but was not lasting. He came into a situation where the death of human life terminates all human enjoyment. The changing of water into wine is a sign which must be understood figuratively. For example, if we are over sixty years of age, we are approaching a time when the wine is almost gone. When our wine is about to run out, we know that our marriage feast will soon be over. But, praise the Lord, it is at such a time that the Lord comes into our situation. In our marriage feast we have the Lord! We need not be afraid, for He can change the water into wine.

Before doing the miracle, the Lord told the people to fill the waterpots with water (2:6-7). These water containers, made of stone, were six in number. The number six represents created man, because it was on the sixth day that man was created (Gen. 1:27, 31). Therefore, the six stone waterpots signify the natural man who was created on the sixth day. Naturally speaking, we are nothing but “waterpots,” vessels to contain something. We, the “waterpots,” were located in Cana, the land of reeds, full of weak and fragile people. We were the waterpots in Cana, weak and fragile.

The Lord told the servants to fill the waterpots with water, and they filled them up to the brim (2:7). What does this mean? As we shall see, it signifies that human beings are filled with death. The waterpots, that is, mankind created on the sixth day, are filled with the waters of death.

When the Lord commanded the people to fill the six vessels with water, it indicated that the natural man is full of death. Water in the Scriptures has two symbolic meanings. In some cases it stands for life (John 4:14; 7:38); in others, death (Gen. 1:2, 6; Exo. 14:21; Matt. 3:16). The waters in Genesis 1 and the water of baptism signify death. In this instance, water also signifies death. All the stone vessels were full of water, meaning that all humanity is naturally full of death. Just as the waterpots were filled to the brim with water, so we were filled with death.

The Lord’s miraculously changing water into wine signifies that He changes our death into life. The water signifies death, and the wine signifies life. When the Lord changes our water into wine, that wine in our marriage feast will never end. Since we have been regenerated, life with its spiritual enjoyment will last forever. We shall have an eternal marriage feast which will never end. This feast is not in our original life, but in the new life which we received through regeneration. Even as the ruler of the feast discovered that the new wine is better than the former wine (2:9-10), so we too shall find that the life we receive through regeneration is much better than our natural life. Our former life, symbolized by the poor wine, was greatly inferior. The Lord did not give us the best first, but the best last. The first life, the human, created one, is an inferior life; the best life is the second life, the divine and everlasting one. This life is the best because it is the life of God Himself in Christ. So, our pleasure will last forever and ever. We have everlasting enjoyment, for Christ has translated us from death into life. He, as our everlasting, eternal life, can maintain our pleasures and enjoyment forever and ever. A new marriage feast began when we were saved, and it will never end. There is always joy within and there is always a marriage feast within because we have the divine wine, which is the divine life—the Lord Himself.

We all have had this kind of experience. Before we were saved, we were waterpots filled with death water. One day we said, “Lord Jesus,” and He came and changed our death water into life. Regardless of the kind of death situation we might be in, if we turn our case over to the Lord Jesus, He will change that death into life. For example, even Christian husbands and wives may reach a point in their married life that the life runs out of their marriage. It seems that they are unable to go on in their married life. However, if they open to the Lord Jesus, He will change that death into life. In many marriages the Lord has changed death water into life wine.

In this book, all the miracles done by the Lord are called signs (2:23; 3:2; 4:54; 6:2, 14, 26, 30; 7:31; 9:16; 10:41; 11:47; 12:18, 37; 20:30). They are miracles, but they are used as signs to signify the matter of life. The word translated “miracles” in the King James Version is the word “signs” in Greek. A sign is that which signifies something. For instance, a red light is a sign that tells us to stop. All the miracles performed by the Lord Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of John were not only miracles but signs.

The first mentioning of anything in the Scriptures sets forth the principle of that particular matter. Therefore, the first sign here sets forth the principle of all the following signs, that is, to change death into life. The Lord’s changing water into wine establishes the principle of life—changing death into life. Since this is the first sign, so the principle of life which is set forth in it can be applied to all of the other cases….The principle of life set forth in the incident of changing water into wine can be applied to every case throughout the Gospel of John. (Life-study of John, msg. 6)