#89 For without Me ye can do nothing
From Meditations on the Epistles of John, by Samuel Froehlich
I John 3:1 ff.
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
The mystery of the sonship of God and the glory of the same is so great that it demands our persevering diligence and zeal, with reflection and prayer, to learn to know and understand in its length and breadth, depth and height, what it means to be a child of God, and even then we will know it only in weak outlines. Because of this, it is necessary that we learn to know the Father and the Son rightly, which the world (i.e. all natural men) certainly is unable to do because it is not of God. And as we have been of the world also, we cannot otherwise know God or be His children unless we, at a time in our life by the call and election of God, have become His children, and the more our glimpse into this mystery is expanded, the more we must be astonished at it and in enchantment be carried away from all that is earthly, visible and temporal, be it sorrow or joy, advantage or self-denial in this world, in order that in the Spirit we may be at home with the Lord, immovable and undistracted. (I Corinthians 7:35).
And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.
Our presence in the present evil world, as it is, carries along with it so many disturbances and distractions that we need not seek or give ourselves over to them, but on the contrary should rather watch and pray and battle against them so as to make our calling and election sure and to perfect our holiness in the fear of God. If we consider how great beyond all measure is the promise that the living God will dwell in us and walk about on earth, we reasonably ought to ask, "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" (II Kings 2) For if we are indifferent—indolent, absentminded—in the world in the thoughts and meditations of our heart, we slight taking care of the treasure which we carry in earthen vessels and are in danger of losing, and in that case experience nothing of the overwhelming greatness of the power of God that worked so wondrously in the believers and saints of the early times because they abode continuously in Him, prayed without ceasing, and consequently took from His fulness, grace for grace.
For those believers, of themselves, were no stronger than we are. A Paul could and would boast of nothing of himself except his weakness, but such powers as worked in them came from their abiding in Him and drawing from Him and, by reason thereof, His abiding in them. "For without me ye can do nothing" was the instruction. (John 15). They had not the source of power in themselves, neither had they a supply from which they could have subsisted and worked independently of Him for a time, but their power lay in their faith and love to the Lord, Who will reveal Himself to His own in just this, that He gives them what they have need of and succors them as often as they entreat Him. Then we experience the nearness of the living God Whom the world does not know; then faith becomes an active profession.
Why are men at present—yes, even the believers—so weak and unfruitful in good works, so despairing in affliction? Not because the power of the Lord could have diminished but because men are so completely distracted by earthly things, devoid of faith and love to the Lord; otherwise the same power would manifest itself in them as in those past times. But men, on account of their spiritual indolence and lukewarmness, no longer know and experience the living God and yet it would be so necessary to apply this short time of grace entirely toward this cardinal and central point, around which the entire life of the children of God revolves, namely to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. Certainly this was the unremitting prayer and supplication of the Apostle Paul for all believers, that God might give them ‘enlightened eyes of understanding to know what the hope of His calling really is, the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints and the exceeding greatness of His power in the believers. (Ephesians 1).
Pastor Lucius once said that if a man would always live in God, he would always be prepared to preach, which utterance was set down to his pride and foolishness.