“His Many Mansions, Part Two”
John 14:1-11

August 21, 2005
by C.W. Powell

1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

Introduction: As we saw last week, all of these verses are connected. Today, let us look at this passage again and see other threads of truth that are woven through this marvelous fabric.

I. Review from last week: “Let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in me. [vs. 1]
Peace in the heart is the absolute requirement for the growth of spiritual virtues. The agitated heart is no soil in which goodness and holiness can grow.

A. We saw the reasons for agitation.

1) Unbelief. This is the root, and Christ would cure the agitation of His disciples by calling them to faith. Unbelief involve ignorance. Chicken Little thought the sky was falling and went on a mission to save the world. Faith and ignorance are incompatible. Unbelief also in-volves a lack of trust. Jesus would remind His disciples of the promises that He had given them and would call them to trust Him and believe.

2) Rebellion: The soul finds rest only in God. The modern world is filled with agitation and dis-tress and fussing around. There is rebellion against the revealed will of God, but you cannot set yourself against the word of God and know peace. There is also rebellion against the de-crees of God. This is the lot that God has decreed for you. This is what Jesus meant when He said, “Man shall not live by bread alone by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. Ps. 34 God has arranged the circumstances of your life. It is just as hard to submit to God’s decree as it is to submit to His precept. In fact, much of Christendom is in rebellion against the doctrine itself, as if God does not decree everything that comes to pass, making God an observer rather than the Lord of all things.

3) Life does not come in nice neat little packages. ‘Canst thou make straight what the Lord has made crooked?” “Rest in the Lord,” the Psalmist said. “Wait patiently for Him.” “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.” (Ps 37:8 AV) “The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD.” (Pr 19:3 AV)

4) It will not due to chafe against your lot, but you overcome it with the virtue of patience. Agitation and unrest are intoxicants that bring the whole soul into disorder, and you end up saying and doing things you ought not to do.

B. Cure for agitation: Faith. “Ye believe in God, believe also in me.”

This is not a pious wish of Christ. Ye believe in God. Believe also in me. Without faith in the Lord Jesus your faith in God is simply a flutter in the mind. Without faith and submission to Christ your idea of god is an idol. But saying that you believe in Christ and really believing in Christ are two very different things. It goes to authority. How do you decide things? Christ is not an idea or an abstrac-tion: He is the Person who lived on this earth some two thousand years ago, who was revealed to be the Son of God with power by His resurrection from the dead. He now is in heaven and rules the church by His word and Spirit. You and I are bound to obedience to Him. To worship God aright is to worship Jesus Christ and the Father who is in Christ.

II. The next verses are remarkable. Vs. 2-4

A. How do we find Christ? We seek Him above. The Lord Jesus would have us seek Him above, in heavenly places. We see this in 2Corinthians 5.

“6 Therefore [we are] always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
8 We are confident, [I say], and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things [done] in [his] body, according to that he hath done, whether [it be] good or bad.
11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
12 For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to [answer] them which glory in appearance, and not in heart.
13 For whether we be beside ourselves, [it is] to God: or whether we be sober, [it is] for your cause.
14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
15 And [that] he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
16 Wherefore hence-forth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we [him] no more.
17 Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2Co 5:6-17 AV)

1. Regarding 2 Corinthians: It is sufficient to say at this time that we walk by faith and not by sight, and we labor to be accepted of Him, not men.
2. Each of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ to be judged by him of the things we have done in the body. This is one of the most sobering thoughts that you can have: You will stand before Christ to be judged of him.
3. Christ has gone away, and we are to seek Him in heaven and not on the earth. This has immense implications for all things on the earth: for holy shrines, images, pictures, relics, holy places, ceremonies, rites, etc. Christ is found in none of them, but only in Heaven. He is not now upon the earth, but will return to take us where He is. There are no holy men to which you can give up your conscience to follow blindly; no councils; no church courts. Good men, good churches, good councils understand this and point you to Christ and make no claims as to the infallibility of their decrees. Infallible truth is found in the Bible alone.
4. What are the implications of Christ being in Heaven.

a) We labor not for this world, but for the world to come. “What shall it profit…” “A city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” “Lay not up treasures upon the earth….”
b) We are directed, not from the ideas, experience, and philosophy of this world, but from the ideas, philosophy, and ideas of the world to come.
c) The manifestation of Christ’s rule is in the church, her offices and her chief treasure: the holy Scripture.
d) The church is the heavenly bride of Christ, and must not be seduced by the love of the world and the praise of the world.
e) We look to heaven for the culmination of all things at the appearing of Jesus Christ.

B. He would go away to prepare a place for us.

1. This place is heaven, and the dwelling places for us in the everlasting glory. As our HC puts it:

Q49: What benefit do we receive from Christ's ascension into heaven?
A49: First, that He is our Advocate in the presence of His Father in heaven.[1] Second, that we have our flesh in heaven as a sure pledge, that He as the Head will also take us, His members, up to Himself.[2] Third, that He sends us His Spirit as an earnest,[3] by whose power we seek those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God, and not things on the earth.[4]

Q52: What comfort is it to you that Christ "shall come to judge the living and the dead"?
A52: That in all my sorrows and persecutions, I, with uplifted head, look for the very One, who offered Himself for me to the judgment of God, and removed all curse from me, to come as Judge from heaven,[1] who shall cast all His and my enemies into everlasting condemnation,[2] but shall take me with all His chosen ones to Himself into heavenly joy and glory.[3]

2. The cure for agitation of spirit is to seek those things which are above.

a) We already sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

(1) Ephesians 1:20: God raised Christ from the dead and set Him in heavenly places.
(2) Ephesians 2:6: We have been quickened and raised up with Him to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. You and I are heavenly people and we are no use on the earth if our minds are not in heaven. Humanism: “So heavenly minded he is of no earthly good.” The opposite is true. You are worth nothing on the earth unless you are heavenly minded. Peter was overwhelmed by the waves when he took his eyes off Christ.

b) We cannot understand heavenly things unless we have been born again. ““If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you [of] heavenly things?” (Joh 3:12 AV)
c) See Romans 8:

“10 And if Christ [be] in you, the body [is] dead because of sin; but the Spirit [is] life because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bod-ies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” (Ro 8:10-13 AV)

3. We are therefore to let the peace of God rule our hearts and minds, according to

“12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” (Col 3:12-15 AV)

III. How do we know the way? How different the answer given to Thomas and the answer given to the Rich Young Ruler. They both asked the same question essentially.

A. What must I do to inherit the kingdom of God? As I must say again, the Rich Young Ruler was a proud, self-righteous, and self-sufficient man and Christ told him to keep the commandments. When he confidently said, “All this I have done from my youth up,” Jesus told him to go and sell all that he had and give to the poor, the only time anyone was told in the Bible to do this. The proud and rich in spirit, who think they have all the answers, must be humbled by the law and slain by the law and laid in the dust by the law.

B. Thomas: “How can we know the way?”

1. Last week we compared the RYR with Thomas. The RYR thought he knew the way and wanted Christ to confirm it. If he had believed Moses he would have believed Christ. He believed nei-ther. He believed in himself and his ability to understand.
2. Jesus said that Thomas knew the way; Thomas said he didn’t. Every Christian knows the way, but he is often not aware that he knows. The wise man knows more than he thinks he knows; the fool thinks he knows more than he knows.
3. The humble are often confused and distressed; this is the reason for these assuring words by Christ. Solomon said, “wisdom is before him who has understanding, but the eyes of the fool are in the ends of the earth.” The truth was right there before Thomas; so was the way; so was the life. Don’t set aside the humble Christian, as though he doesn’t know anything. He very often knows a great deal more than you think he knows, but it is also true that he often is not aware of how profound his knowledge is. A wise man will draw out the wisdom of a man.
4. Knowledge puffs up, Paul said. “If any man think he knows something, he doesn’t know anything yet as he ought to know.

C. “All you need is Me, Thomas.” I am right here before you. I am the way, the truth, and the life.

1. Christ is the Way; without Him there is no going.
2. Christ is the Truth; without Him there is no knowing.
3. Christ is the Life; without him there is no living. Without Christ, what you think is life is but the painted face of life, a painted face that hides the rot of your own sin, your deadness and gloom, shut up in your own heart, without joy, without thankfulness, without anything but your fretfulness and misery.
4. All the rest is folly and death. This is the message of the Lord Jesus. You do not come to me to be enabled to go somewhere else. When you have come to me, you have all that there is; the Father is in Me and I am in Him. We will send you the Holy Spirit, who will teach you all things. This is all that you need. You are complete in Me, Thomas.

“An angry man stirreth up strife, and a furious man aboundeth in transgression.” (Pr 29:22 AV) “Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go:” (Pr 22:24 AV

Amen and Amen.

May God bless you.