“If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them...I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father.” (John 13:17; 2 John 4)

Practising the Word that We Already Know

In his writings the apostle John spoke in the most simple way about the five kinds of walk mentioned by Paul in the Epistle to the Ephesians.

The Gospel of John says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us...full of grace and truth (1:14). In this way John made reference to what Paul had said about walking in grace and in truth. The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

As for walking in the light, in his first epistle the apostle John made clear: “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” (1:5). If Paul had told the Ephesians that they ought to walk in love, John helped them to understand and practise this word, writing: “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:8-9). Verses 10 to 21 of this same chapter bring out other very rich points concerning this matter.

The apostle John really gave us a great help about how we can walk in love. We are born of God and have His life, which is manifested through love. Thus we must walk in love so that it may flow from each one of us. We must also walk in grace and in truth, which came through Jesus Christ.

In addition, God is love and light, and we are children of God, children of love and light. By calling on the name of the Lord and reading and praying His word, we enjoy grace and truth and receive more life in order to express His love and His light.

The Christian life is to walk in the Spirit. This is the fifth aspect mentioned by Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians, which was developed years later by John. John 14:18 records that the Lord Jesus said, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” That is, the Lord will come back as the Spirit of truth, the other Comforter (vv. 16-17). The Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Spirit (v. 20). Therefore, today if you want to walk in God and walk in the Son, you just need to walk in the Spirit.

John helped the saints to practise the word they already knew. He was in the spirit, and because he called on the name of the Lord and took the word of God with prayer, life flowed from him to all. This was his ministry, and we who are following the Lord have John as a model servant.

John’s burden was to help the church in Ephesus practise Paul’s teachings through the Spirit and life, so he stressed the practice of the truth (John 13:17; 2 John 4; 3 John 3-4). In other words, if God is love and we are children of God, love must be manifested in us. If God is light, the light must shine in our living. This is to practise the word.

As for us, we must grow in life in this age and take the life we have received everywhere. This refers both to preaching the gospel to unbelievers and to announcing the gospel of the kingdom to those who have already received grace and been saved but don’t know how to go on in the Christian race.

After we are regenerated, each one of us needs to receive more and more life by denying our self in order to grow in the divine life. We need to practise this, and we also need to help our brothers and sisters do the same, dispensing to one another the Spirit and the life that are in the Lord’s name and in His word.

This is John’s ministry through which we continue to receive much help. Jesus is Lord!

Key Point:

Supplying life to one another.

Your Key Point:

Question:

What is the last ministry, and how can you apply it in your life?

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