The
Beginning Of New Life
John 21:7 “Therefore that disciple whom
Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now
when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt
his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and
did cast himself into the sea.
8
And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for
they were not far from land, but as it were two
hundred cubits,) dragging the net with fishes.
9 As soon then as they were come to
land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid
thereon, and bread.
10 Jesus
saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now
caught.
11 Simon Peter went up,
and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an
hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were
so many, yet was not the net broken.
12
Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And
none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou?
knowing that it was the Lord.
13
Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth
them, and fish likewise.
14 This
is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to
his disciples, after that he was risen from the
dead.”
1. Naked Came I
2. Enter Into Rest
3. Come And Dine
1. Naked Came I
Verse seven: “Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.”
When Adam and Eve were in the garden [before sin came into the world], we had a perfect world. The conscience of man was pure and undefiled. We see this in Genesis chapter two in verse twenty-five: “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” [Genesis 2:25]
When sin came into the world this condition of unawareness … changed. There was an awareness of the lack of a covering.
Man knew inherently that sin needs to be covered.
Now, how it was to be covered was another matter. Man wanted to provide the covering of his own choosing. [Genesis 3:7] “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.”
Man’s choice involved a work of his own invention. This is the way it is today. Man wants to stand on his own works, and be his own BOSS. This is SALVATION BY WORKS, and is man’s COVERING for SIN.
Incidentally, the LORD has a totally different set of thoughts concerning the whole matter of SIN and the COVERING of sin. Therefore, GOD has a totally different solution to the problem of SIN, and what constitutes a COVERING for SIN. [Genesis 3:21] “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”
There will be more on this subject later. We will now consider what Job said about his nakedness [in Job chapter one verse twenty-one]: "And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." [Job 1:21]
This is a UNIVERSAL truth. We come into this world … naked, and we leave this world … naked.
Let me tell you what this means. This means … if we clothe ourselves with our WORKS to COVER our SIN, then it follows that we will lose this man-made covering … when we leave this Earth. Guess what? This means … the very best that man can do … is to achieve a TEMPORY salvation, which proves the old adage that all the chickens will come home to roost at the end of the day … for anything that is man-made!
2. Enter Into Rest
Verse nine: “As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.”
Do you see what has happened here? Peter and company have labored to pointless exhaustion yet someone else has already done “everything” that matters in life for them. There, on shore, Jesus Christ has already laid the fish and the bread on a fire with a bed of coals that HE has prepared for them. The work was already all done by the SON of GOD! What more can a man ask for?
It was D-O-N-E! All the disciples had to do was enjoy what someone else has provided for them. Yea, no more empty temporary lasting WORKS. Amen!
Remember what God said about man’s good works [“our righteousnesses”] in the book of Isaiah: “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” [Isaiah 64:6]
We [man] need to “enter into” the labor of SOMEONE else! This is what the Apostle Paul, by the Holy Ghost in Hebrews chapter four, [starting at verse eight] reveals to us concerning “the people of God” who enter into his REST.
Turn there [in the book of Hebrews] and we will read from there. “For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.”
[Do you see now WHO can give you REST?] There is something else here, also. What is it? “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.”
[We will CEASE from our own works [a works type of salvation] which are of our own invention, and just trust [REST] in God’s “finished work” on the Cross of Mount Calvary. Amen!] “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” [Hebrews 4:8-11]
Now, how does a person enter into the REST that Jesus Christ offers the sinner?
• Well, first of all that person needs to realize that they are naked [just a sinner] before GOD [with WHOM he, or she, has to do]. [Hebrews 4:13]
• Next, that person needs to “jettison” [or throw out] the man-made feeble remedy of the GOOD WORKS SALVATION which is just an effort to cover his, or her, own nakedness, and go to Jesus Christ … to be clothed with HIS COVERING. This covering is the BLOOD of the LAMB of GOD … which ATTONES for our sin.
Now, you can see this all worked out for you by the Spirit of God in the book of Second Corinthians chapter five. We will start to read in verse two: “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.” [2 Corinthians 5:2-4]
The sign that a person is saved [BORN AGAIN] is that want to be clothed upon. The person who has entered into the REST of the SON of GOD is the very same person who is trusting in the covering [or clothing] given to him, or her, when they were born spiritually born [born-again as is shown in [John 3:7] “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”
My friend, do you “groan” to be “clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life” as Paul described here?
I DO!!! Amen!
3. Come And Dine
Verse twelve: “Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.”
Now, what can be more beautiful than this to the believer in Jesus Christ?
We all have the great an invitation to COME to the table and DINE with our LORD and SAVIOR Jesus Christ. Amen!
Yes … yes … this will happen in the near future for all those who have been coming to SON OF GOD for these last two thousand years. We are the BRIDE of Christ [the CHURCH], and we all are going to be there at our MARRIAGE to the LAMB of GOD [the BRIDEGROOM].
Turn with me to the book of Revelation in chapter nineteen and we will see into the near-future this great event for ourselves.
Come on done to verse seven, and we will start reading there: “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.” [Revelation 19:7]
Brethren, COME and DINE!
This is the beginning of a new life when we come
and dine with Jesus Christ. Amen! Amen! Amen!