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

John 13:3-5 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 Himself; 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 13:1 says that the Lord “loved His own who were in the world” and that “He loved them to the uttermost.” Because of this love the Lord washed the disciples’ feet. Hence, the foot-washing is a matter of love, a love to the uttermost... This shows the importance of foot-washing. This is our uttermost need...Therefore, the Lord has to take care of this by showing us His love to the uttermost.

When the Lord Jesus was about to wash His disciples’ feet, He laid aside His garments (v. 4). Garments here, in figure, signify the Lord’s virtues and attributes in His expression. Hence, the laying aside of His garments signifies the putting off of what He is in His expression.

The Lord washed the disciples’ feet with water (v. 5). Here water signifies the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5), the word (Eph. 5:26; John 15:3), and the life (John 19:34)...The Lord washes us spiritually by the working of the Holy Spirit, by the enlightening of the word, and by the operating of the inner law of life. In the Scriptures each of these three items is symbolized by water. (Life-study of John, pp. 327-329)

The Lord came through incarnation to bring God into us and He went through death and resurrection to bring us into God... As far as our spirit is concerned, God has been brought into us by the Lord’s coming, and we have been brought into God by the Lord’s going. Yet, as far as our physical body is concerned, we are still here on this earth. In our spirit we have been joined to something heavenly, spiritual, and eternal, but in our body we are still on the earth. In our spirit the Lord has brought God into us and us into God, in our spirit we are one with God, and in our spirit we are in the heavenlies because we are in God. But in our body we are still on earth. As far as our regenerated spirit is concerned, we are no longer the old creation; we are the new creation. However, as far as our body is concerned, we are still in the old creation and on the earth.

Although we have the divine life and have become the church, we are still living in this fallen flesh on the earth. Through the earthly touch we are often dirtied... In the ancient days of Judea, the people went almost everywhere by walking, by contacting the earth with their feet...Consequently, foot-washing was a necessity for them. Spiritually speaking, it is the same for us.

To be sinful is one thing and to be dirty is another. You may be absolutely sinless and yet be very dirty. Perhaps nothing is wrong, but you are dirty simply because of the earthly touch...We constantly touch the earth, and this makes us dirty. As a result, much of the time we are not clean. Therefore, we need footwashing.

[The Jews] washed their feet especially when they came to a feast. A feast is a center for fellowship. At that time the Jews wore sandals, and since their roads were dusty, their feet easily became dirty. If, when they came to a feast, they would have sat at the table with dirty, outstretched feet, the dirt and smell would have frustrated the fellowship. Therefore, for a pleasant feast they needed foot-washing. When the guests were invited to a feast where they fellowshipped with one another, they had to wash their feet before the fellowship. Without the washing the fellowship would have been hindered. Before they could come together to feast and fellowship at the table, they had to be washed. Otherwise, they simply could not have had pleasant fellowship. (Life-study of John, pp. 329-331)