2022-5丨General Subject：Loving the Lord and Loving One Another for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ

General Subject：Loving the Lord and Loving One Another for the Organic Building Up of the Church as the Body of Christ

I. Since John is a book of signs (2:11), what is recorded in John 13 concerning foot-washing should be considered a sign, which is a symbol with spiritual significance (vv. 1-17):

John 2:11 This beginning of signs Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee and manifested His glory, and His disciples believed into Him.

John 13:1 Now before the Feast of the Passover, Jesus knowing that His hour had come for Him to depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the uttermost.

John 13:2 And while supper was taking place, the devil having already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, that he should betray Him,

John 13:3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all into His hands and that He had come forth from God and was going to God,

John 13:4 Rose from supper and laid aside His outer garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself;

John 13:5 Then He poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

John 13:6 He came then to Simon Peter. Peter said to Him, Lord, do You wash my feet?

John 13:7 Jesus answered and said to him, What I am doing you do not know now, but you will know after these things.

John 13:8 Peter said to Him, You shall by no means wash my feet forever. Jesus answered him, Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.

John 13:9 Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

John 13:10 Jesus said to him, He who is bathed has no need except to wash his feet, but is wholly clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.

John 13:11 For He knew the one betraying Him; for this reason He said, Not all of you are clean.

John 13:12 Then when He had washed their feet and taken His outer garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, Do you know what I have done to you?

John 13:13 You call Me the Teacher and the Lord, and you say rightly, for I am.

John 13:14 If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.

John 13:15 For I have given you an example so that you also may do even as I have done to you.

John 13:16 Truly, truly, I say to you, A slave is not greater than his master, nor one who is sent greater than the one who sends him.

John 13:17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

John 13:18 I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, "He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me."

John 13:19 From now on I am telling you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe that I am.

John 13:20 Truly, truly, I say to you, He who receives whomever I shall send receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.

John 13:21 When Jesus had said these things, He became troubled in His spirit, and He testified and said, Truly, truly, I say to you that one of you will betray Me.

John 13:22 The disciples looked at one another, perplexed over whom He was speaking about.

John 13:23 One of His disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining on Jesus' bosom.

John 13:24 Simon Peter therefore nodded to him to inquire who it might be about whom He was speaking.

John 13:25 Then he, while reclining thus on Jesus' breast, said to Him, Lord, who is it?

John 13:26 Jesus answered, It is he for whom I will dip the morsel and to whom I will give it. And dipping the morsel, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.

John 13:27 And at that moment, after the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus therefore said to him, What you do, do quickly.

John 13:28 But none of those reclining at table knew why He said this to him.

John 13:29 For some supposed, since Judas held the purse, that Jesus was saying to him, Buy the things that we have need of for the feast, or that he should give something to the poor.

John 13:30 Therefore having taken the morsel, he went out immediately; and it was night.

John 13:31 Then when he went out, Jesus said, Now has the Son of Man been glorified, and God has been glorified in Him.

John 13:32 If God has been glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and He will glorify Him immediately.

John 13:33 Little children, I am still with you a little while; you will seek Me, and even as I said to the Jews, Where I am going, you cannot come, now I say to you also.

John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

John 13:35 By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

John 13:36 Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, where are You going? Jesus answered him, Where I go you cannot follow Me now, but you will follow later.

John 13:37 Peter said to Him, Lord, why can't I follow You now? I will lay down my life for You.

John 13:38 Jesus answered, Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say to you, A rooster shall by no means crow until you deny Me three times.

A. Foot-washing should not be taken merely in a physical sense but rather, and even more intrinsically, in a deeper, more important, and spiritual sense.

B. In John 1—12 the Lord as life came and brought forth the church, composed of the regenerated ones; in their spirit the regenerated ones are in God and in the heavenlies, but in their body they are still living in the flesh and walking on the earth; this shows us the necessity of the Lord's fellowship in John 13.

John 1—13 To be omitted.

II. “Jesus knowing that His hour had come for Him to depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the uttermost??Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all into His hands and that He had come forth from God and was going to God, rose from supper and laid aside His outer garments; and taking a towel, He girded Him-self; then He poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded”—vv. 1, 3-5:

John 13:3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all into His hands and that He had come forth from God and was going to God,

John 13:4 Rose from supper and laid aside His outer garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself;

John 13:5 Then He poured water into the basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded.

A. The outer garments that the Lord laid aside signify the Lord's virtues and attributes in His expression; hence, He was putting off of what He is in His expression.

B. The Lord's girding Himself signifies His being bound and restricted with humility—cf. 1 Pet. 5:5.

1 Pet. 5:5 In like manner, younger men, be subject to elders; and all of you gird yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

C. In ancient times the Jews wore sandals, and since their roads were dusty, their feet easily became dirty; if, when they came to a feast, they sat at the table and stretched out their feet, the dirt and smell would certainly frustrate the fellowship; hence, for the feast to be pleasant they needed foot-washing.

D. The Lord washed His disciples' feet to show them that He loved them to the uttermost (John 13:1), and He charged them to do the same to one another in love:

1. “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet”—v. 14.

John 13:14 If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.

2. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another”—v. 34.

John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

E. The Lord's washing of the disciples' feet was the washing away of their dirtiness so that their fellowship with the Lord and with one another could be maintained.

III. In our experience the defilement of the feet signifies separation from God and from one another through contact with the world; foot-washing signifies the recovery of spiritual freshness and vitality and the recovery of our fellowship with the Lord and with one another:

A. In our experience the washing water in John 13 signifies the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5), the word (Eph. 5:26; John 15:3), and life (19:34; 10:10; 1 Cor. 15:45b; 2 Cor. 3:6; 1 John 5:16); the Lord washes our feet by the work of the Holy Spirit, by the enlightenment of the living word, and by the operation of the inner law of life.

Titus 3:5 Not out of works in righteousness which we did but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit,

Eph. 5:26 That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word,

John 15:3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and may have it abundantly.

1 Cor. 15:45 So also it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living soul"; the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.

2 Cor. 3:6 Who has also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant, ministers not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

1 John 5:16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask and he will give life to him, to those sinning not unto death. There is a sin unto death; I do not say that he should make request concerning that.

B. This is not the washing away of our sins by the blood (1:9); this is why, after John 12, there is the need for such a sign in chapter 13; spiritual foot-washing saves us from staleness in our fellowship with the Lord.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

John 12—13 To be omitted.

C. Today the world is dirty, and we, the saints, are easily contaminated; for us to maintain pleasant fellowship with the Lord and with one another, we need spiritual foot-washing carried out both by the Lord in His love and by one another in love.

D. This is absolutely necessary for us to live in the fellowship of the divine life, which is revealed in John's first Epistle, a continuation of the Gospel of John.

1 John To be omitted.

Morning Nourishment

Titus 3:5 ...According to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Spirit.

John 15:3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

Since the Gospel of John is a book of signs, what is recorded in chapter 13 concerning foot-washing must also be considered a sign having a spiritual significance. We should not take foot-washing merely in a physical sense but rather in a spiritual sense. Since this is a sign, the significance of foot-washing is that it is for fellowship with the Lord and with one another...While we are in this world, we touch the earth day by day...Foot-washing means that while we are still on this earth, the Lord as the life-giving Spirit washes our feet; that is, the Lord always keeps our walk clean from every kind of dirt due to the earthly touch.

In chapter 13 the Lord established an example by washing the disciples’ feet that they might have a pleasant time of fellowship, enjoying the Lord and one another. We need such foot-washing today...Today the world is dirty, and we, the saints, are easily contaminated. For us to maintain pleasant fellowship with the Lord and with one another we need spiritual foot-washing. (Life-study of John, pp. 331-332)

Many times you are not sinful, but you are dirty. Dust is everywhere. How easy it is to get dirty... Even as you are driving down the street on the way to the meeting, your eyes may accidentally see something that causes you to become dirty. Before you got into the car, your spirit was living and uplifted but... simply by seeing certain things on the way to the meeting place you were dirtied and your spirit went down. Sometimes, even in our fellowship we can become dirty.

For things that are sinful we need the cleansing of the blood, but for things that are dirty and not sinful we need the spiritual washing. We need a washing by the Holy Spirit, the living word, and the inner life. (Life-study of John, p. 332)

There are many things which separate us from God. These things may not be sin, but there may be worldly elements that are produced through our contact with the world. When you read the Bible and prayed in the morning, you felt that heaven was very close. But as a businessman who spends three to six hours in your office doing many seemingly “proper” things (you may not have lied or sinned at all), are you still as close to God in the evening as you were in the morning?

Students busy themselves in schoolwork at the schools, and housewives engage themselves in their household chores at home. Once a person occupies himself in these affairs, he feels as if heaven has moved away... He may still be able to set aside some time to pray, but he has nothing to say. He can only touch the superficial letter of the Word; he can no longer touch the inward reality. When the prayer meeting comes, he may want to pray, but he is short of words. Even when he does manage to think of some words to say, his conscience bothers him. He may still shout Hallelujah, and the words and sounds may still be the same, but the meaning and taste are different. He feels that something has separated him from God, but he cannot pinpoint any sin... If he was separated from God through sin, he should deal with it through the application of the blood shed on the cross. But this does not seem to be a question of sin. He only feels somewhat dimmed and has lost the former brightness ...This is different from ordinary sins. What is needed is the foot-washing. What is foot-washing? It is dealing with everything apart from sin that separates us from God.

This happens to us all the time... It is understandable when a person is separated from God through sin. But we do not know what to do when we have not sinned, yet cannot touch God. Thank the Lord that He has not only washed us of our sins, but washed our feet as well. (CWWN, vol. 42, pp. 233-234)