Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

 ²⁰  “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’  If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you;  if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

 ²¹  “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.

 ²²  “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.

 ²³  “He who hates Me hates My Father also.

 ²⁴  “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin;  but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well.

 ²⁵  “But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.’ ”  John 15:18-25. 

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This Scripture is tough to read.  “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.”  “If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you;  …”  “HATED … WITHOUT A CAUSE”:  

Why?

The existence of evil in the world, particularly against the righteous, has always been a tough question to answer.  But, this Scripture begs for this question, and it seems right to try to present some possible answers.

First, we will start with a “Grand Canyon” answer.  About every 3 years, I take a trip to the Grand Canyon to hike to the bottom and back up with 8 Western Michigan Christian High School classmates.  Why do we, and so many like the Grand Canyon?  It is scary.  It is dangerous.  It is dry.  And, it is rocky.  The answer is the broad view of the whole landscape. 

Likewise, our Christian life is scary, dangerous, dry, and rocky.  But, what a broad view!  Psalm Chapters 35 through 38 contain this broad view.  Yes, there is a lot of the wicked hating the righteous.  But, there is that broad view of the LORD saving the righteous and punishing the wicked.  It starts with “Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;  Fight against those who fight against me.”  But, it ends with “But transgressors will be altogether destroyed;  The posterity of the wicked will be cut off.  But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;  He is their strength in time of trouble.  The LORD helps them and delivers them;  He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, Because they take refuge in Him.” 

Second, there is the sharp and vivid contrast between how God punishes the wicked and how God blesses the righteous.  It makes the righteous appreciate God’s grace even more.  “What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?  And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.”  Romans 9:22-24.  Psalm Chapters 35 through 38, previously mentioned, also contain many short parallel descriptive vivid contrasts between the wicked and the righteous. 

In conclusion, evil gives the opportunity to God to broadly and vividly demonstrate His justice toward the wicked.  Evil gives the opportunity to broadly and vividly demonstrate His lovingkindness toward the righteous.  “Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;  but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth;  for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.”  Jeremiah 9:23-24.

 ¹⁴  “You are My friends if you do what I command you.

 ¹⁵  “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing;  but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

 ¹⁶  “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.

 ¹⁷  “This I command you, that you love one another.”  John 15:12-17. 

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A friend is a recipient of love from another.  We see that point in this Scripture for today, particularly in the statement:  “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”  John 15:13.  We may not love all acquaintances, but those that we love, they could and maybe should be known as our friends.  How could we truly love someone and deny that they are our friend?!

OK, some of you don’t agree with that point.  Hold that point in consideration.

A friend is a recipient with whom we fully share our faith.  We see that point in this Scripture for today, particularly in the statement:  “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing;  but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”  John 15:15.  We may not love all acquaintances, but those with whom we fully share our faith could and maybe should be known as our friends.  How could we truly fully share our faith with someone and deny that they are our friend?! 

I find these thoughts convicting.  I am inclined to attend church and worship God and think I love others without reaching out and trying to be a friend to others in the church.  I am inclined to write daily devotions without picking up the phone to call the recipients of these emails.  Some of you may be relieved , but you get the idea.

Why?  There are a number of different reasons.  Here are just two.  First, it is easier to write a daily devotion and send it out than it is to take time to have lunch with them, or even pick up the phone to say:  “Hi!” and talk with them a little.  And, second, if I do take time to have lunch with someone, someone else may see me, and they may think that I am engaging in, or at least approving of that other person’s bad behavior.

So, what do I do?  I use verses such as James 4:4 as a shield and as an excuse.  “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?  Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”  James 4:4.  Now, certainly there is much truth in that statement, but we better be careful that we apply it correctly, because Christ has pounded the table repeatedly and clearly (even as bookends to this Scripture for today) that we “love one another”.  

Calvin in his Commentary on James 4:4 states in part:  “The friendship of the world.  He calls it the friendship of the world when men surrender themselves to the corruptions of the world, and become slaves to them.  For such and so great is the disagreement between the world and God, that as much as any one inclines to the world, so much he alienates himself from God.  Hence the Scripture bids us often to renounce the world, if we wish to serve God.”  Notice that Calvin defines “friendship with the world” as “the corruptions of the world, and become slaves to them”, not as friendships with sinners. 

Let us consider Christ.  Here was absolutely pure and all-knowing God Who is able to see in the darkest, most-hidden corners of the heart. 

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  For one will hardly die for a righteous man;  though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  Romans 5:6-8. 

Christ was not afraid or hesitant to call us friends.  Christ was not afraid or hesitant to act as our friend.  And, he was slandered and persecuted for being friends with sinners.  Christ stated:  “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’  Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”  Matthew 11:19

Some clever one may argue:  “Well, He knew who the elect were and who were the reprobates, and He was only a friend of the elect.”  That may be true, but we don’t know who are the elect and who are the reprobates, and yet, we are simply but broadly commanded by Christ to “love one another” and “love our neighbor”.

In conclusion, I realize that this devotion is not going to instantly change the minds and behavior of many, including myself, but we better meditate more on what love requires, practically, as we encounter new situations in the future.  Even today, this devotion is so appropriate as last night I was disappointed with some friends and wanted to withdraw to some extent.  We better consider that love may require us to be a friend.  There is strong warnings about the consequences of failing to love others as we should.  “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar;  for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.”  1 John 4:20.

 ⁹  “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.

 ¹⁰  “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love;  just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

 ¹¹  “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”  John 15:7-11.

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Let us apply this last verse.  “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”  John 15:7-11. 

Abide in Me and My words abide in you, “so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”

Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you, “so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”

Glorify God, “so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”

Bear much fruit so to prove that you are My disciples, “so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”

Abide in My love, “so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”

Keep My commandments, “so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”

We can better understand the simpler meaning that our joy may be made full, but what does it mean that Christ’s joy may be in us?  Does it mean that Christ experiences joy by thinking about us?  Or, does it mean that Christ gives us joy, so that our joy is full, because we have Christ’s joy?

There may be a sense of both meanings to Christ’s phrase “so My joy may be in you”.

Christ experiences joy by thinking about us.

Zephaniah 3:17
“The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”

Hebrews 12:2
“fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

And, Christ does give us joy.

Luke 2:10
“But the angel said to them, ” Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;”

Galatians 5:22
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,”

“These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.”  John 15:7-11.

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

 ⁴  “Abide in Me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.

 ⁵  “I am the vine, you are the branches;  he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

 ⁶  “If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up;  and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.”  John 15:1-6.

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We can worry and be troubled when we read this Scripture.  We can worry that we will not abide in Christ. 

What are some things that we can do?  There are more than seven things that we can and should do, but within the space limitations of this devotion, here are seven things we can do.

First, we can read God’s Word regularly (daily devotions) and passionately (also at other times out of joy and need).  The very next verses states:  “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”  John 15:7.  “But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.  He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither;  And in whatever he does, he prospers.”  Psalm 1:2-3.  By regularly and passionately reading God’s Word, we can abide in Christ.

Second, we can read God’s Word with a focus and a faith on what God is doing in the Scripture.  Rather than focusing on what we should do, we focus on what God has done.  “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;  From where shall my help come?  My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.  He will not allow your foot to slip;  He who keeps you will not slumber.  Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep.  The LORD is your keeper; …”  Psalm 121:1-3. 

For example, we focus on the fact that Christ is the true vine.  We think healthy vines don’t just drop branches.  Rather, healthy vines send nourishment to the branches,  Healthy vines hold on to its branches.  God the Father is a vinedresser.  A vinedresser helps the branches stay healthy by pruning and cleaning and by protecting from parasites and by fertilizing.  A vinedresser builds and uses fences, lattices, and other frameworks upon which the branches can lean and get support.  We meditate on Christ’s statement that we are already clean because of His word to us.  We think of Scripture such as Ephesians 5:25-27:  “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing;  but that she would be holy and blameless.”

Third, we can remember God’s Word.  We remember John 14:27 which was in yesterday’s devotion and in the prior Scripture passage.  “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”  John 14:27.  This verse is not only a specific encouragement about the role of the Holy Spirit to help us remember God’s Word;  it is also a general encouragement that we do not need to worry or be troubled about abiding in Christ.  

As a practical tip, when I try to remember a particular verse, I just try to remember two things:  the book and the chapter in which the verse is located.  I have discovered that if I try to remember three things (book, chapter, and verse), then I give up and forget all three.  However, I have discovered that I can remember two things (book and chapter), and with the memory of those two things, I can find that particular verse. 

Also, as one more practical tip, I try to remember key words.  If I remember key words, then I can use BibleGateway to do a search to find that verse – Click here: BibleGateway.com: Search for a Bible word or phrase in over 35 languages and 50 versions.

Fourth, we pray.  Notice the prayer of trust within the following Scripture.  “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!”  Psalm 91:1-2.  

Fifth, we can attend church regularly (each Sunday) and passionately (also at other times out of joy and need).  “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD.”  Psalm 122:1.  “And many peoples will come and say,
         “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
         To the house of the God of Jacob;
         That He may teach us concerning His ways
         And that we may walk in His paths.”
         For the law will go forth from Zion
         And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”  Isaiah 2:3. 

Sixth, we can partake of the Lord’s Supper.  “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.”  John 6:56.

Seventh, through God’s grace (and all of these things that we can do, we can only do through God’s grace), we can keep God’s commandments.  “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love;  just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”  John 15:10.

 ²⁹  “Now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe.

 ³⁰  “I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me;

 ³¹  but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me.  Get up, let us go from here.”  John 14:27-31.

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What is this peace? 

Peace can mean a lot of different things to different individuals.  Peace can mean just the absence of war or strife.  Peace can mean just the emptying of cares or even the emptying of self.  But, peace can mean more.

Calvin in His Commentary on verse 27 states:  “By the word peace he means prosperity, which men are wont to wish for each other when they meet or part; for such is the import of the word peace in the Hebrew language.  …”  This commentary was very thought-provoking.  I started to search through Scripture and was amazed at this connection between peace and prosperity.

Here are some verses that I discovered showing this connection between peace and prosperity:

“The LORD will give strength to His people;  The LORD will bless His people with peace.”  Psalm 29:11.  When I clicked the footnote over the word peace, it led me to Psalm 37:11:  “But the humble will inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.”

“⁶  Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
         “May they prosper who love you.
    ⁷  “May peace be within your walls,
         And prosperity within your palaces.”  Psalm 122:6-7.

“¹  How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,
         Who walks in His ways.
    ²  When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands,
         You will be happy and it will be well with you.
    ³  Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
         Within your house,
         Your children like olive plants
         Around your table.
    ⁴  Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed
         Who fears the LORD.
    ⁵  The LORD bless you from Zion,
         And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
    ⁶  Indeed, may you see your children’s children 
         Peace be upon Israel!”  Psalm Chapter 128. 

Psalm 147:14
“He makes peace in your borders;  He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat.”

“¹³  How blessed is the man who finds wisdom
         And the man who gains understanding.
    ¹⁴  For her profit is better than the profit of silver
         And her gain better than fine gold.
    ¹⁵  She is more precious than jewels;
         And nothing you desire compares with her.
    ¹⁶  Long life is in her right hand;
         In her left hand are riches and honor.
    ¹⁷  Her ways are pleasant ways
         And all her paths are peace.
    ¹⁸  She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
         And happy are all who hold her fast.”  Proverbs 3:13-18.

Proverbs 16:7
“When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”

Song of Solomon 8:10
“I was a wall, and my breasts were like towers;  Then I became in his eyes as one who finds peace.”

“¹⁵  Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high,
         And the wilderness becomes a fertile field,
         And the fertile field is considered as a forest.
    ¹⁶  Then justice will dwell in the wilderness
         And righteousness will abide in the fertile field.
    ¹⁷  And the work of righteousness will be peace,
         And the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.
    ¹⁸  Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation,
         And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places;”  Isaiah 32:15-18. 

^“10  “For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,
         But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,
         And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,”
         Says the LORD who has compassion on you.
    ¹¹  “O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted,
         Behold, I will set your stones in antimony,
         And your foundations I will lay in sapphires.
    ¹²  “Moreover, I will make your battlements of rubies,
         And your gates of crystal,
         And your entire wall of precious stones.
    ¹³  “All your sons will be taught of the LORD;
         And the well-being of your sons will be great.
    ¹⁴  “In righteousness you will be established;
         You will be far from oppression, for you will not fear;
         And from terror, for it will not come near you.
    ¹⁵  “If anyone fiercely assails you it will not be from Me.
         Whoever assails you will fall because of you.
    ¹⁶  “Behold, I Myself have created the smith who blows the fire of coals
         And brings out a weapon for its work;
         And I have created the destroyer to ruin.
    ¹⁷  “No weapon that is formed against you will prosper;
         And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn
         This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
         And their vindication is from Me,” declares the LORD.”  Isaiah 54:10-17. 

“¹²  For thus says the LORD, “Behold, I extend peace to her like a river,
         And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;
         And you will be nursed, you will be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees.
    ¹³  “As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you;
         And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.”
    ¹⁴  Then you will see this, and your heart will be glad,
         And your bones will flourish like the new grass;
         And the hand of the LORD will be made known to His servants,
         But He will be indignant toward His enemies.”  Isaiah 66:12-14. 

How delightful to read these Scriptures about the abundant prosperity of peace.  But, there are warnings!

Isaiah 57:21
“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

“⁸  I will hear what God the LORD will say;
         For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones;
         But let them not turn back to folly.
    ⁹  Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,
         That glory may dwell in our land.
    ¹⁰  Lovingkindness and truth have met together;
         Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
    ¹¹  Truth springs from the earth,
         And righteousness looks down from heaven.
    ¹²  Indeed, the LORD will give what is good,
         And our land will yield its produce.
    ¹³  Righteousness will go before Him
         And will make His footsteps into a way.”  Psalm 85:8-13. 

In conclusion, the foregoing Psalm 85:8-13 is a good summary.  Yes, peace brings abundant prosperity.  “But let them not turn back to folly.”  Peace and righteousness should go hand-in-hand.  They kiss each other.  In other words, peace should produce righteousness, and righteousness should produce peace.

 ²³  Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;  and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.

 ²⁴  “He who does not love Me does not keep My words;  and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.

 ²⁵  “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you.

 ²⁶  “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”  John 14:21-26.  

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This Scripture continues with the explanation of the role of the Holy Spirit.  In a devotion three days ago, we also quoted this Scripture of John 14:26.  “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”

This Scripture also continues with the explanation of love for Christ being a motivation for obedience,  In a devotion four days ago, we focused on a similar Scripture, John 14:15:  “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

So, what is new in this Scripture?  On what should this devotion focus?

I notice this Scripture mentions “disclose” twice.  In John 16:13-15, Jesus refers to “disclose” three times in describing the role of the Holy Spirit, but I think we should wait until we get to that passage before we look at those uses.

In this Scripture, I am more interested in the contrast between the two groups:  those to whom Jesus discloses and those to whom Jesus does not disclose.  See verses 21 and 22, particularly verse 22:  “ Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?”  And, as a Calvinist, who pounds the table on election as taught in “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, it is natural for me to have this interest. 

But, it does not seem to me that Jesus directly and simply answers Judas’ question.  Here is what John Calvin stated in His Commentary on John 14:22.    

22.  Judas (not Iscariot) saith to him.  It is not without reason that he asks why Christ does not cause his light to be imparted to more than a few persons;  since he is the Sun of Righteousness, (Malachi 4:2) by whom the whole world ought to be enlightened;  and, therefore, it is unreasonable that he should enlighten but a few, and not shed his light everywhere without distinction.  Christ’s reply does not solve the whole question;  for it makes no mention of the first cause, why Christ ‘manifested himself to a few,’ conceals himself from the greater part of men;  for certainly he finds all men at first alike, that is, entirely alienated from him;  and, therefore, he cannot choose any person who loves him, but he chooses from among his enemies those whose hearts he bends to the love of him.  But he did not intend, at present, to take any notice of that distinction, which was far from the object he had in view.  His design was, to exhort his disciples to the earnest study of godliness, that they might make greater progress in faith;  and, therefore, he is satisfied with distinguishing them from the world by this mark, that they keep the doctrine of the Gospel.

Now, this mark comes after the commencement of faith, for it is the effect of their calling.  In other passages, Christ had reminded the disciples of their being called by free grace, and he will afterwards bring it to their recollection.  At present, he only enjoins them to observe his doctrine, and to maintain godliness.  By these words, Christ shows in what manner the Gospel is properly obeyed.  It is, when our services and outward actions proceed from the love of Christ;  for in vain do the arms, and the feet, and the whole body toil, if the love of God does not reign in the heart, to govern the outward members. Now, since it is certain that we keep the commandments of Christ only in so far as we love him, it follows that a perfect love of him can nowhere be found in the world, because there is no man who keeps his commandments perfectly;  yet God is pleased with the obedience of those who sincerely aim at this end.

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In summary, there are at least two lessons in this Scripture for today.  First, we need to accept Scripture for what it teaches, not twist it for what we want to use it based on our own desires or agenda.  Second, we need to use this Scripture to aspire to what it first directly teaches:  “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word”.  And, as Calvin states:  “Christ shows in what manner the Gospel is properly obeyed.  It is, when our services and outward actions proceed from the love of Christ”. 

 ²⁰  “In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”  John 14:9-20.

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We could be left as orphans.  Worse, we could be left for dead. 

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Ephesians 2:4-9.

As my Pastor preached last Sunday, we are not in a contract with God wherein God will grant us salvation if we do our part of the contract (whether it be sufficient works, sufficient faith, or even as little as sufficient acceptance of Him).  We are in a covenant where God performs all that is necessary for our salvation.

This should make sense.  If we are truly “dead in our transgressions”, what can we do at all, much less perfectly satisfy any divine contractual obligation?  

Reformed doctrine a/k/a Calvinism is not just “closer to the truth”.  The trouble that I have with that language is that it implies that other doctrine is also the truth and that other doctrine is acceptable.  When you hear that language, to get rid of that thought, think sarcastically how ridiculous it would be to think that saints in heaven are “closer to” God than the condemned in hell (even though it may be technically true).    

Christ is the truth.  Christ is not what we want Him to be, whether it be a loving hippy (as portrayed in some pictures) or as some lone figure knocking on a door hoping that we will open it (as also portrayed in some pictures) or some Santa Claus or as some big and vague authority figure in the sky with His arms folded waiting to see if we somehow will satisfy His strict requirements.

Christ is the way.  Christ does not just provide the way such as just teach us how we can do sufficient works or teach us how we can otherwise perform our part of the contract.  Christ comes to us, the elect, and brings us within the friendship and fellowship of the Trinity.  That is an unconditional covenant.

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When we read this Scripture and other similar Scriptures, our minds may dream of some luxury that we want.  Before we throw a wet blanket over those thoughts, God does grant us so many wishes of things that we want which are beyond our needs.  For example, God gives us necessary bread, but God also gives us the best steaks.  God gives us necessary water, but God also gives us “.. wine which makes man’s heart glad, So that he may make his face glisten with oil, …”  Psalm 104:15. 

But, why does Christ do what we ask in His name?  Does Christ do what we ask only to satisfy our desire for pleasures?  No!  James 4: 3 makes that clear.  “You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.”  James 4:3.

Christ does what we ask in His name, “so that the Father may be glorified in the Son”.

By what is the Father glorified?  Jesus said:  “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.”  John 17:4. 

What is that work?  “Jesus spoke these things;  and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come;  glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.”  John 17:1-2.

Thus, Christ does what we ask in His name as part of His work to give us eternal life.

God does richly supply us with all things to enjoy.  But, Paul warns us:  “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.”  1 Timothy 6:17

“… No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”  Psalm 84:11  These good things make us appreciate more the goodness of God.  These good things also make us appreciate more that God is our Father.  “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”  Matthew 7:11.  We receive these good things, so that we can glorify God more.  We are reminded of Question and Answer 1 of The Westminister Larger Catechism. 

Question 1: What is the chief and highest end of man?

Answer: Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.

In conclusion, whatever we receive from the hand of God, “all things must be subservient to my salvation”.  Question and Answer 1 of The Heidelberg Catechism.  But, even more, whatever we receive from the hand of God is “so that the Father may be glorified in the Son”.