Two Points of View

This afternoon Becky and I drove to South Bend to do some shopping. On the toll road, I read the first few chapters of the Gospel of John as she drove. The following passage sparked a little discussion:

"The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, 'Follow Me.' Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.'" (Jn 1:43-45 NASB)

We thought a few points were of interest. First was the word 'purposed'. This means that Jesus' going into Galilee was according to His plan, by His will. This was not a chance happening. In Galilee He 'found' Philip and calls him to follow. The first thing that Philip does is find his friend, Nathaniel. Notice his words: "We have found Him."

This passage shows us two points of view. In the salvation of sinners, God purposes to save, seeks and finds them, and then calls them to Himself. Though God has done all there is to do, the newly saved individual still cries out "I have found Him!"

Spurgeon preached a sermon on this text, which can be found in its entirety here. In it he imparts a word of personal testimony that parallels the experience of Philip:

"Dear friends, I recollect very well that, after I had found the Lord, I did not at first fully understand the doctrines of grace. I had heard them preached; but I had not comprehended them. I think at the time I should have been very much puzzled with the doctrine of election, if anybody had spoken to me about it; but I was sitting down, one day, gratefully reflecting on what God had done for me. I knew that my sins were pardoned, I knew that I was accepted in Christ Jesus, and I knew that I was renewed in heart, and in one moment the revelation came to me, "All this is the work of God." The instant I saw that truth, I said to myself, "Yes, that is the fact, and God be glorified for it! But why has this great work been wrought in me?" I knew that there was no merit in me before the Lord had dealt in mercy with my soul, so I said to myself, "This is the effect of sovereign distinguishing grace." Then I understood in a moment how it is that God begins with us, and that it is God's will and God's eternal purpose, which, after all, lie deeper down than our will or our purpose; and God's will and God's eternal purpose must have the glory. What a revelation it was to me! I saw the doctrines of grace immediately; and I think that anybody who has been brought to find the Saviour, and who prayerfully studies the reasons for his salvation, can see the same truth that the Lord revealed to me." - C. H. Spurgeon

So it is, I think, with all of us. As John tells later on: ""The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." (Jn 3:8 NASB) Though we see the effect of salvation, the full import thereof is often missed until later on.