Daily Devotional

A Ministry of the Kerwin Baptist Church

April 6, 2018

by Pastor Hawtree

I AM PERSUADED THAT HE IS ABLE:

TO PUT HIS LOVE IN ME

John 17:26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

The word “declare” here in this verse, in the Greek definition, means “to make known”. Jesus is telling God the Father that He will make God’s name known unto everyone that Jesus came in contact with, and even those that He didn’t. Jesus came to do the will of the Father. By the way, that is what we are to do also. We are to tell others the truth of the Gospel. Just like in John 3:16, that God so loved us that He gave. Jesus made sure to declare God’s name, as we are responsible to now declare to others Jesus’ name. As the church was patterned in the book of Acts, we are taught that it is our responsibility to share His name.

* Acts 4:11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Jesus continues to explain that the reason He declares the name of God, is so that God can change people. Remember the Bible says, “how can they hear without a preacher”. God is to be declared so that people will come to know Him. Remember, “if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me”. So, we declare Christ, Christ draws men, men trust in Christ, and Christ changes them. That is how it works

Jesus in this passage tells us how we are changed:

1.) The Love of God is put in us.

I want to be very clear about this. We are not born naturally with that kind of love. It does not “come naturally”. We must spend time with God to come close to having that kind of love. God must put it in us. Obviously, because of this verse, we see that it is important to Jesus and to God the Father for us to have this kind of love. We could never love “like” God, but we can have the love “of” God. It is very personal here that Jesus describes the love that God the Father had for God the Son. “The love wherewith thou hast loved me”. Jesus is saying that God’s Love is so wonderful, that everyone needs to experience it, and everyone needs to exercise it.

2.) The Spirit of God is put in us

“And I in them”. We are changed because the Holy Spirit comes to reside in us. Literally, God lives in us. That’s how we are changed. Unfortunately, sometimes we try to change people from the outside in. God changes people from the inside out. It all starts by declaring His name.