| John 2 Previous Chapter | Next Chapter 1 On the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Both Jesus and his disciples were invited to the marriage. 3 And when there was no wine left, the mother of Jesus said to him, "They have no wine." 4 And Jesus said to her, "Dear woman, what is that to us? My time has not yet come."1 5 His mother said to the servants, "Whatever he says to you, do it." 6 Now there were six stone water pots standing there, as the Jewish custom of purification (ceremonial washing) required, holding twenty to thirty gallons each. 7 And Jesus said to them, "Fill the water pots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. 8 Then he said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the ruler of the feast." And they took it. 9 When the ruler of the wedding feast had tasted the water that had been made into wine, he did not know where it had come from; but the servants who had drawn the wine, knew. Then the ruler of the feast called the bridegroom, 10 And said to him, "Every man serves the good wine at the beginning; and after the men have drunk significantly, then he serves to poorer wine. But you have saved the good wine until now." 11 This was the beginning of Jesus' miracles, in Cana of Galilee; it revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him. 12 After this Jesus, his mother, his brothers, and his disciples, all went down to Capernaum; and they stayed there a few days. 13 Now the Jews' Passover was near, and Jesus went to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple He found those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting within it. 15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, including their sheep and oxen; and he poured out the coins of the money changers and overthrew the tables; 16 Saying to those who sold doves, "Take these things from here; do not make my Father's house a house of merchandise." 17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, "The zeal for your house has eaten me up." 18 Then the Jews said to him, "What sign [of God's authority] can you show us, since you do these things?" 19 And Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." 20 Then the Jews replied, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?" 21 But he spoke of the temple of his body. [As Jesus' body was the temple of the living God, so is the body of a purified believer the temple of the living God: Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Cor 3:16.] 22 Therefore when he had risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this to them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had spoken. 23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles that he did. 24 But Jesus did not commit himself to them, because he knew all men, 25 And he did not need any testimony from man, for he knew what was in man, [the evil in their hearts].2 [Until the Lord has trained a disciple, taught a disciple, chastised a disciple, cleansed a disciple, and purified the hearts of disciples, a man is unfit to be talking of the things of God. After being taught and cleansed, a man can speak words supplied by the Spirit of God immediately before speaking. From George Fox's Letter 316: (written in 1600's) "Such as talk of Christ, and do not walk in him, such as profess him, and do not possess him, such as live not in the religion that was set up above sixteen hundred years since, such as profess Christ the way, and walk not in the way, the truth, and the life; all such talkers, and not walkers, are dishonorers of God, and cause his holy name to be blasphemed among such as make no profession." The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked...Jer 17:9 ...for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth...Gen 8:21 Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | |||||||||
1 My time has not yet come. Jesus is telling his mother that he has not yet been ordered by the Father to begin his miracles. Note! Jesus did not make his own decisions. He told his brothers the exact same thing, when they suggested he go up to the feast of the tabernacles to reveal himself.
A true minister of God does not make his own decisions about where to go, who to see, when to go, what to do, and what to say. All such decisions are the will of man. A true minister of God only moves and speaks when he is specifically ordered to do something. Look at the next footnote for what Jesus says about how he makes no decisions on his own; instead he does the will of the Father in heaven. And if we expect to go to heaven, we too must only do the will of the Father: Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but [only] he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven. Mat 7:21-23
2 he did not need any testimony from man, for he knew what was in man, [the evil in their hearts]. Why? As He said, "because he knew what was in man;" the hearts of men are full of evil. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?...the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth...those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies. Mark 7:21-23, Mat 15:18-19, Jer 17:9,7:24, Jer 11:8, Gen 8:21.
Until you possess Christ in sufficient measure to supply your words to speak, you should not be talking about God or Jesus. Why? Because what you say will not be words from the Spirit that reach the heart of your listener; instead your words come from your carnal mind, which words are still mixed with error and which come from an evil heart and mind in enmity with God; such words scatter instead of gathering.
Until the Lord has trained a disciple, taught a disciple, chastised a disciple, cleansed a disciple, and purified the hearts of disciples, a man is unfit to be talking of the things of God. After being taught and cleansed, they spoke words supplied by the Spirit of God, resident in their pure hearts. The Apostle Paul said: we speak, not in the words, which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit instructs. 1 Cor 2:13. As Peter said: If any man speaks, let him speak with God's words [oracles]. 1 Pet 4:11. He who does not gather with me scatters. Luke 11:23, Mat 12:30.
When the Lord sends you to speak to a person or people, you must only speak words from Him, not a sentence from Him and then adding your own words. From the Word of the Lord within:
Even Jesus only spoke words from the Spirit of the Father:
And Jesus said that anyone speaking on their own was seeking their own glory. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but he who seeks the glory of the One who sent him, that man is true, and there is no unrighteousness in him. John 7:18. If you are not specifically sent, and if you are deciding what to say, you are speaking from yourself and seeking your own glory. To be seeking God's glory and not your own, you must first be sent and then only speak words heard from the Spirit immediately before speaking.
If Jesus, as great as He is and was, would only speak the words He heard from the Father; then how much more should we be careful to speak nothing about God or Jesus unless we hear the exact words to say at that moment. If you are not specifically sent, and if you are deciding what to say, you are speaking from yourself and seeking your own glory. To be seeking God's glory and not your own, you must first be sent and then only speak words heard from the Spirit immediately before speaking. The disciple is not above his master, but everyone who is perfect [purified, restored to the spiritual image of God, specifically authorized, and perfected] will be like his master, Luke 6:39-42; the Master sees everything to do and hears everything to say before speaking. If you are speaking and/or working for God without being specifically ordered in each and every word and action, you are essentially claiming that your own words and deeds are superior to what Jesus' would be if he made his own decisions about what to say and do. Anyone without perfection, not having been sent, and speaking without God providing his words to speak, is a blind guide seeking his own glory, your admiration of him, and/or your money.
From George Fox's Letter 316: (written in 1600's)
Such as talk of Christ, and do not walk in him,
such as profess him, and do not possess him,
such as live not in the religion that was set up above sixteen hundred years since,
such as profess Christ the way, and walk not in the way, the truth, and the life;
all such talkers, and not walkers, are dishonorers of God,
and cause his holy name to be blasphemed among such as make no profession.
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