No Longer a Servant, but a Friend

J.J. Stark

March 2016

Week 8

IGNITE Class 10

Inductive Bible Study (IBS)

No Longer a Servant, but a Friend

“No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.” – John 15:15 (NKJV)

Hebrew 4:11 – “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even the division of the soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  I love how the author of Hebrews uses the vivid description of God’s word being a two-edged sword, and reading John 15:15 really drove the point of that sword into me.  I’ve been pondering this verse for a little while now.  Normally when doing IBS, I come out feeling very convicted and needing to allow the Lord to change something in my life.  I don’t know why, but when digesting this passage of John, I got a very warm, assuring feeling rather than that of conviction.  This also brought me to think about the two-edged blade analogy.  The sword, dagger, and knife are tools designed for cutting and slashing.  In war these are very versatile weapons, used in both attack and defense; in either stance the edge can damage and harm to the opponent.  Interestingly, a knight in Medieval times would carry all three into war with him, with each weapon designed with a certain purpose in mind.   In combat, the sword was the first line of attack, obviously because it had the longest blade and provided the best chance of doing the enemy harm without getting harmed personally.  If the fighting became intense and the knight either lost his sword or the space became too confined for it to be useful, he would then switch to the dagger.  This was much more effective when in a hand to hand situation where only a few feet separated opponents.  The last resort was knife; if everything had failed, the situation was desperate, or things were so close contact that the knife could have been the difference between life and death. 

That all being said, there are also other purposes a two-edged blade can also be used for.  I am referring to healthy purposes, in particular the medical field, where a double-edged blade at times used to cut away bad or infected pieces of flesh so that healthy flesh grows.  Lately I think God has had to use all three weapons on me: His sword to first split me wide open, then a dagger to do some closer work, but finally a knife for some intricate removal of some unnecessary tissues (a.k.a “issues”).  At the moment, I think the surgery is over, and I am in a short healing period and I am at peace.  Christ is my comfort and Rock to anchor on.  In His loving mercy He has cleaned up my faith by removing all the extra things I had added on to it.  In John 15:15 He tells me what I am - “No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”  Jesus wants a relationship with me!  He doesn’t just want me to serve Him, He wants be my friend, and me His!  He shared the communion that He had with His Father, inviting His disciples into His life so that they could become a part of Him. Christ wants to do the same thing with me today – become a part of His body.  Because I am a part of His glorious love, I am to share it with those around me, devoting myself to ministering to each individual the love that the Lord has shared with me.  Lord, let me abide by Your word in John 15:12-17 and invest Your love into Your people:

“¹²This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  ¹³Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.  ¹⁴You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.  ¹⁵ No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.  ¹⁶You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.  ¹⁷The things I command you, that you love one another.”

Application:  Today I will visit with Christian about my life more and get to know him more as a friend.