John 1:6

Below is but a small measure of revelation that my father had received from the Lord. I hope this will be a blessing to you. All that is written below are the words of my father.

June 22, 2020

In loving memory of my father
Robert Louis (Bob) Padgett
July 28, 1931-May 22, 2023

In our previous message we shared some thoughts about the first five verses in John, Chapter 1. Now we will continue with Verse 6 in the first Chapter of the Gospel of John. An alternative title for this message could be, "What's in a name?" Before we read any scripture or before we listen to any message from any minister, we should always ask the Lord to quicken to us what He wants us to hear. Several times in my life I have heard a word from the Lord that had nothing to do with what the minister was saying. 

In our previous message we mentioned that in the Gospel of John, every reference to the name "John" refers to John the Baptist. The Apostle John never mentions his own name in his Gospel ... not even once! He does refer several times to "the disciple that Jesus loved." That is because of the deep humility worked within the Apostle John. Verse 6 therefore speaks of John the Baptist, who was sent from God for a very unique purpose. In like manner, every Christian is sent by God for a very unique purpose. Not every member of the body of Christ is a prophet or an apostle or a pastor or a teacher, but every member of the body is important.

I am sure that most of you are familiar with the birth, life, and ministry of John the Baptist. That may be just one example of a rather serious problem within the Church today. Most folks have heard the saying that familiarity breeds contempt, which means that extensive knowledge of, or close association with, someone or something leads to a loss of respect for them or it. That is because no man is perfect; we all have our flaws. When a visiting minister comes to our church fellowship, we do not see his flaws, so we ooh and aah at his message.

John 4:44, "For Jesus Himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country." 

Jesus expressed that same truth in Matthew 13:54-58.

If someone in our local church shares a scriptural message, we tend to yawn and pay little attention. But if a man comes from out of town and preaches the identical message, we tend to get all excited. Way back in the early 1970's, when visiting teachers such as Derek Prince and Bob Mumford came to our assemblies, I sensed an increase in the level of apparent spiritual fervor among the people, as if we wanted to impress the visiting teacher. All of that is called human nature. What is the remedy for that tendency of man?

2 Corinthians 5:16-17, "Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Another reason that familiarity breeds contempt is because of the mystery and adventure of the hunt. The lure of forbidden fruit is a powerful temptation which pulls us in. That is what happened with Eve back in the Garden of Eden. That is certainly one reason for adulterous affairs. We humans tend to think that the grass is always greener on another side or in another field. That is why the tenth commandment says, "Thou shall not covet anything belonging to thy neighbor." Another similar saying is familiarity breeds complacency. That seems to apply to us Christians today.

I once heard that Ralph Waldo Emerson, in one of his essays, said, in essence: "What if the stars came out only once in a thousand years? Everyone would carefully check the date and time of such a momentous event and be sure to be outside in a place that would be most conducive to witnessing that rare event." We humans would have the same attitude to a full eclipse of the sun or moon. Conversely, because the stars are out every night, we have a ho-hum attitude to watching the stars. Likewise, any common-place event, any event that occurs regularly or on a daily basis, tends to be overlooked. We Christians have heard essentially the same messages over and over again. That breeds familiarity with a resulting complacency, even boredom. After listening to a message from some minister, who among us has not said in our mind, "I know that"?

Isaiah 6:9-13, "And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.

Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

Then said I, Lord, how long? And He answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,

And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof."

That last verse, verse 13, speaks of the remnant. To what degree do we see but not see? To what degree do we hear but not hear? We need to always be on the lookout for an attitude of religious boredom ... for a dull, sleepy response to the word of God.

Another common idiom is "history repeats itself." Someone I know recently sent me a link to commonsenseevaluation.com which contains the following truth: "History is not there for you to like or dislike. It is there for you to learn from it. And if it offends you, even better. Because then you are less likely to repeat it." I might add to that saying. If any word or any Christian brother offends you, then you need to be offended. In the New Testament, only the Pharisees and the heathen were offended. In Matthew 24:10 concerning the last days, Jesus said, 

"And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another." 

Who are the "many" who will be offended? professing Christians.

I believe that was what Jesus talked about when He said, in 

Matthew 5:29, "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." 

I do not believe that Jesus meant we should literally pluck out our right eye for ANY reason. Note that Jesus did NOT say, "If thy LEFT eye offend thee ..." That is because the word "right" refers to our spiritual senses; the "left" refers to our soulish or carnal senses. Moreover, who among us has perfect understanding of all spiritual things? not me and not you. Is it possible that my doctrine might not be perfect? of course! Is it possible that your doctrine might not be perfect? of course!

Many years ago a brother in our fellowship asked me whether or not I believed every word that two visiting men had prophesied over me. My response was, when I eat a grape I swallow the pulp and spit out the seed.

Another quote I read on that commonsenseevaluation site says: "We can't move forward if people want to continue living in the past." That has a multitude of different applications. The Lord, through the Apostle Paul, in Philippians 3:12-14, has the remedy for that:

"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." 

Keeping all of those aforementioned principles in mind, let us try to see and hear what the Spirit is saying about John the Baptist.

John 1, Verse 6: There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

As we said earlier, that verse speaks of John the Baptist. Let us think for a few minutes about names.

1 Corinthians 1:12, "Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ."

First Corinthians, of course, is primarily a letter of correction that Paul wrote, concerning a variety of errors (at least seven) that had crept into that church. It is worth reflecting that this situation (members of The Church at Corinth calling themselves by different names) is the FIRST error addressed by Paul. He addresses this problem even before the (rampant) fornication, which he first mentions in Chapter 5. Why the order? Perhaps because "he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body" (Chapter 6:18), but the naming process from 1 Corinthians 1:12, had affected EVERY believer. Compare that with the many denominations, non-denominations, and house churches today.

BEFORE the fall of Adam and Eve (the timing is significant), 

"the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof" (Genesis 2:19). 

Adam also gave his wife her name (Genesis 2:23). Then AFTER the fall, in 

Genesis 9:1, "And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." 

After the fall, man no longer had the charge to "subdue the earth: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." As a result of losing his God-given dominion, man also lost his authority to give out names.

Of course, man has continued to exercise the function of giving names, even though he no longer has that authority. This is an external outworking of the rebellion of man. For example, in 

Genesis 4:16-17, "And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, ... and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch." 

Another example is recorded in Daniel 1:7, where the Babylonian prince of the eunuchs gave (different) Babylonian names to Daniel (renamed Belteshazzar) and three other chosen men of God. Everyone remembers the Babylonian names of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Who remembers their REAL names? (Hananiah, which means the Lord is gracious; Mishael, which means who is what God is; and Azariah, which means the Lord is our Keeper)

There seems to be at least four categories of giving of names:

1. Man (in his rebellious state) still exercises the lost charge to give names or to make a name for himself/herself. That is called P R I D E ... pride, which thing the Lord hates.

Some of us name businesses, houses, lands, streets, cities, boats, cars, and children after our self. This is usually motivated by a proud desire to perpetuate our own name. Such was certainly the case for my wife's father, who built his own empire and was characterized by the following verses. 

10 For He seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.

11 Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all generations; they call their lands after their own names.

12 Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he is like the beasts that perish.

13 This their way is their folly: yet their posterity approve their sayings. Selah.

Psalm 49:10-13

2. Man (in his rebellious state) still exercises the lost charge to give names, but this is later overturned by the sovereignty of God. For example, God changed the name of Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob to Israel, and Saul to Paul.

3. Man, in a right relationship with the Lord, seeks the will of God for the name of an offspring, and gives the God-desired name.

4. God sovereignly provides the name, without man asking. Two prominent cases in this category are

 

John the Baptist (Luke 1:13): "and thou shalt call his name John"; and

 

Jesus (Luke 1:31): "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS."

So the dominion (and the right to "name") originally given to Adam, but lost in the fall, now belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ as a result of the redemption purchased at the cross of Calvary.

And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name. Isaiah 62:2

Any believer walks in a very precarious position when he begins to make a "name" for himself. It is a very easy thing to make a name for our self, but it requires some compromises along the way. Anyone who has an apparent gift that appeals to the senses (such as healing or miracles) or a reasonable message of "truth" (or even a word that sounds pleasant to the ears) can relatively quickly establish audiences in numerous places. Before long, you can become a speaker at the large conferences and make your self nationally known. There are currently, in the United States, dozens, perhaps hundreds, of such "names" that will one day be humbled by God in the sight of man. Some already have been. Many of these "names" will surprise you. I remember one such man who years ago had developed a nationally-known "name." Then he was humbled (because of his own deeds) in the sight of other believers. Apparently in a state of repentance, the man received a word from the Lord that, "the Lord has allowed this thing to overtake you such that you will be less known to man, but more known of God." Unfortunately, after a season of repentance, it appears that man has fallen into another snare, which also is related to making a name for yourself. How do I know? because the Lord sent me one Sunday morning to "his" church to see for myself. Why did the Lord want me to see the snare that brother is in now? to pray for him. I am quite sure he is not aware of his present entrapment. Only a sovereign touch from the Lord will set him free.

Even if man begins to acquire a "name," but not through his own efforts, there is still potential peril, albeit of a different variety. Such a person is subjected to significant attacks by the enemy. There is no better example than Jesus Himself. Not only did Jesus not make a name for Himself, He MADE Himself of NO reputation (Philippians 2:7). Perhaps a better translation of that verse is that "He emptied Himself." In Mark 1:34-38, after Jesus had healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils, Simon and those with him came to Jesus and said unto him, All men seek for Thee. And He said unto them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth." Jesus never sought the applause of men.

The "best" name for any believer may be summed up by Revelation 2:17 and Revelation 3:12.

To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. Revelation 2:17

In Revelation 2:17, the OVERCOMER (not just anyone who has accepted the saving grace of our Lord) is promised a new name ... the believer's new name. No one else except the overcomer himself knows that name. Therefore, no other person can prophesy to you your new name.

Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. Revelation 3:12

In Revelation 3:12, the OVERCOMER is also promised a new name, but this new name is the Lord's name. In both verses, the word "new" is the Greek "kainos," which means new as to quality, not "neos," which means new as to time.

But even better than that is the name of Jesus ... name above ALL names! the name to which every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! Why is the name of Jesus even better than the new names promised to the overcomer in Revelation 2:17 and 3:12? One of the best answers to that question can be found in Philippians 2. Because Jesus:


6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:6-11

I am sure we are all familiar with the circumstances surrounding the birth of John the Baptist.

Luke 1:5-17

A priest named Zacharias and his wife, Elisabeth, were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. 

And they had no child, because Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. 

While he executed the priest's office before God, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. 

And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 

But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. 

For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

Here we see another miracle birth, just like Isaac, because Elisabeth and Zecharias were past the child-bearing age. But nothing is impossible with God. We note that an angel of the Lord told Zacharias that his son's name was to be John.

We are all familiar with the ministry of John the Baptist.

Matthew 3:1- 12: 

1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

4 And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,

6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

12 Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

We also are all familiar with what Jesus said about John the Baptist.

Luke 7:24-30:

"And when the messengers of John were departed, He began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts.

But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.

This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee.

For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

And all the people that heard Him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.

But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him."

However, let us think about the character of John the Baptist. What a powerful, life-changing message is in his life for Christians at all levels! A name is meant to describe the nature of that person. The name, John, means "the Lord is gracious." Both John the Baptist and the Apostle John had the same name. The Apostle John lived about 105 years; John the Baptist lived about 35 years, but the Lord was gracious to both Johns. We read of the character of John the Baptist:

(1) His self-denial (Matthew 3:4); (2) His courage (Matthew 3:7 and 14:4); (3) his powerful preaching (Mark 1:5); (4) his humility (Mark 1:7); and (5) his holiness (Mark 6:20); his burning zeal (John 5:35). Those same qualities also were made flesh within the Apostle John. Of course those qualities of character were and are personified by Jesus.

Jesus said, in Matthew 11:28-30, 

"Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."

Matthew 5:3, 5, 

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

The qualities of brokenness and humility must be made flesh within us. The way up is down. We must be immersed in a sense of unworthiness apart from Jesus Christ. For the true saint, the path of brokenness leads straight to the throne of grace. There is no shortcut to holiness and usefulness in the work of God. The one and only way to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ is daily and hourly fellowship or communion (koinonia) with the Father and the Son. There is too much time taken up with active work for the Kingdom. Surely if God's servants are to speak and preach in the power of the Holy Ghost they must be daily broken of self and give themselves regularly to prayer.

Psalm 34:18, "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit."

Psalm 51:17, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."

2 Chronicles 7:14, "If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Samuel Rutherford wrote: "A bed watered with tears, a throat dry with praying, eyes a fountain of tears for the sins of the land are rarely to be found among us."

Leonard Ravenhill, a highly respected English 20th century evangelist and teacher once said, "Wet-eyed preachers never produce dry sermons."

Anyone who is intimately acquainted with Jesus Christ will see what Jesus saw and therefore care, weep and pray like Jesus. Such a man was Stephen, Peter, and Paul. Such a man was the Apostle John. But our supreme example was (and is) the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter, in the book of 2 Peter, four times speaks of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. No verse speaks of the reverse order of our Savior and Lord. Why? because if He is not our Lord, then He is not our Savior, not in the fullest sense of the meaning of salvation.

Now for an example of the opposite of brokenness. Uzziah was king of Judah for 52 years. As long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper. 

2 Chronicles 26:16, "But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense." 

Then Uzziah compounded his sin of pride by becoming angry at Azariah the priest, who warned him to leave the temple. Azariah told the king that it was not his place to burn incense. As a result, the Lord smote Uzziah with leprosy. So Uzziah, which means "strength of the Lord," changed his "name" to mean the "strength of man." God is no respecter of persons. History repeats itself.

Are you aware of any modern-day ruler who has consistently tried to usurp functions of government that are not his to command? and who gets angry at those who oppose him? Did you know that the name "Donald" means "world leader"? The only world leader I know is the Lord Jesus Christ. That is why Paul told Timothy and us, in 

1 Timothy 2:1-4, "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;

For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;

Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." 

Now the important question is, What did you receive from the Lord during this message? What did I receive? If all we receive is a history lesson, then we need to clean out our ears. Some of us have become blinded by the temporal till we can no longer see the eternal reality of the holiness of heaven and the horrors of hell. Lord, draw us back to the prayer closet where blind eyes see and hardened hearts are broken. Lord, have mercy and bring us to brokenness. Work within us that which you worked within John.

Finally, as we stated earlier, history repeats itself. The Lord is in the process of preparing a final Elijah company ... those overcomers who will, like John the Baptist, prepare the way for the second coming of the Lord. That Elijah Company will have the same quality of character that was made flesh within John the Baptist and the Apostle John. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.