Perfect Love Without Fear (Part 1) – Learning to Receive Christ’s Love

John 14:2 – In my Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. And I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also.

John 14:10 – Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and do you not believe that the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you, I do not speak on My own behalf, but the Father, who is abiding in Me, does His works.”

That undoubtedly means the Father was speaking within Him.

John 14:11-12 – Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me. If you can’t do that, believe on account of the work that has been done. Truly I say to you, He who believes in Me, the works that I do shall He do also, and greater than these shall he do because I go to the Father.

John 14:13-21 – And whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I’ll do it. If you love Me, you will keep My commandment. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another one just like Me, that He may be with you forever. Who is this? He is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it cannot see Him. The world cannot know Him, but you know Him, because He abides with you right now. And right after Pentecost, He will be in you. I will not leave you as an orphan. I do plan to return. Just a little while, the world won’t see Me ever again. But you will behold Me, because I live; you’re also going to live. And in that day, you’re going to know that I’m in My Father. And you’re going to know that you’re also in Me. And you’re going to know that I am in you. He that has My commandments and keeps them, that’s the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him.

I guess in all of God’s Word, nothing is quite like John 14. After Genesis 1 and 2 comes the fall; God has another picture. That’s the picture of what He wants. It’s not the real thing. It’s a very long picture. It takes over a thousand years to dramatize. What is that picture? Israel. What does Israel do? She was to be the Lord’s wife, but she became a sinful, fallen woman. She constantly goes away from the Lord. Now, you and I see this in the Old Testament. Who else saw it? The Lord saw this. So I’m still overwhelmed by this—that one day God stepped out of eternity into time.

I can almost see Him angry when He cometh into time. He wants a wife worse than any other creature has ever wanted a wife. Yet He sees this picture of Israel, and He is here to do something about it. Now, I’m not going to go over all of that. I’ll not review it. I’ll only say that when the Lord came up out of the baptismal waters, He was looking for His wife, and He ministered for three and a half years.

Now, especially in the book of John, you cannot always tell whether the Lord is talking about right then, where He was standing, or about what would happen after the cross. Sometimes He speaks as though the cross had already taken place and He had done all He was going to do. You cannot always tell whether He’s speaking in the present or after the cross, but we can ask this one question: could Jesus tell who had been chosen before the foundation of the world? Yes. Are you sure? Yes. Prove it.

I even know those whom the Father has given Me, and they hear My voice, and they follow Me. Everyone whom the Lord had chosen heard Jesus’ voice and followed Him. Now, let me ask you a question here. You remember in John 6. Jesus said, “Eat My flesh and drink My blood,” and some heard it as a hard saying; after that, they turned back and no longer followed Him. So were they His people? I wish I knew the answer myself. I really don’t know. My very strong impression sometimes is this: the Lord said, “The only reason you’re following Me is that you’re getting a free meal.” They followed a physical Lord for physical refreshment, but they knew nothing of the Lord’s spiritual purpose. Therefore, they weren’t followers. In the mission field, they’re called “rice Christians.” They are Christians as long as there is rice to eat. On the other hand, perhaps one of you here is correct. Perhaps they were followers; they just didn’t want to go as far as the Lord wanted, to the cross and beyond.

Well, then I ask the question for this reason. Could the Lord stand in eternity before time began and see those who would follow Him? Yes. Now, brothers and sisters, as He walked on this earth, He could see His bride. Well, I must skip that and go on, and the resurrection, we went very clearly through it. We talked about Mary Magdalene. She’s really a picture of the church. Now, we have got to come to something much more basic than this. All of this is irrelevant. Utterly, totally, completely irrelevant. It has nothing to do with you and with me. Until now, it has been a dead doctrine.

Brothers, go back to eternity and remember that Jesus Christ, or God the Father, or just God, before He was either the Son or the Father, when He was God, He wanted some place for His love to go. Now, where does that love want to go? It wants to go to you. Now, there are some conditions for that love to reach you. What are they? Alright, I’d like for you to tell me the conditions of that love.