In this sermon, the preacher focuses on the story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet as a demonstration of humility and servanthood. The preacher emphasizes the significance of Jesus removing his garment and taking on the appearance of a slave to wash the disciples' feet. This act of washing symbolizes the spiritual cleansing that Jesus provides. The preacher also highlights the importance of following Jesus' example and serving others with humility. The sermon concludes by emphasizing the unlimited knowledge of Jesus as portrayed in the Gospel of John.

John's Gospel, and we're at chapter 13. I pointed out last Tuesday that when we start the 13th chapter, we're starting the second section of John's Gospel. See, John has 21 chapters, and from chapter 1 right through to the end of chapter 12 is one complete section. And really it's governed by only two words. These two. Look at John 1 again, the first chapter, and down there at verse 10. John 1 verse 10. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. Those two words, his own, govern the first 12 chapters, which it really means his own nation, his own creature. And for 12 chapters he's been reaching wonderful messages. We've gone through them in chapter 6 and 7 and 8 and 9 and 10. He's been preaching wonderful messages, and through these 12 chapters he's been performing wonderful miracles. But his own nation, at least the majority of his own nation, received him not. And so at the end of chapter 12 comes a change. Do you remember that verse in chapter 12 last week? Verse 37, John 12 37. But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him. For 12 chapters he's been preaching, and performing, but his own nation received him not. And so, at the end of chapter 12, he's turning his back upon them, and he's leaving them in their darkness to dwell. Chapter 13 opens a new section, and what is governed by two words? Chapter 13, verse 1. Now, before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own, oh but that's not his own nation he's talking about now, having loved his own which were in the world, that's talking about his own followers, his own believers, his own saints. And now we start the section that shuts him in with his own believers. And in 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, what wonderful teachings and expeditions come from the lips of the Master to his own followers. So that we're really starting on the cream of the gospel, that is. In fact, the great evangelical students believe that chapter 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 of John's gospel with 20 and 21 are among the richest teachings in the Bible for believers. John 1 to 12, his own preachers heard and received them not. John 13 right through to the end, his own followers, that wonderful spiritual teaching. When they're shut in with the Master, we're trying to get through from verse 1 right through to the end of verse 17 this evening of John chapter 13. And I'm underlining six great truths for you this evening. In verse 1 we read this, Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come. I want to talk to you for a moment or two tonight about the unlimited knowledge of the Lord. The modernist limits the knowledge of Christ. I want to try to bring out of John's gospel, without any quibbles about it this evening, the unlimited knowledge of the Lord. No wonder this gospel ends with Peter in the dusk looking into his face saying, Lord, thou knowest all things. And he does, you know. Matter of fact, there's matter in this. Well, we'll be looking at the unlimited knowledge of the Lord. And then that is followed this evening with another truth in the first verse. Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that he should depart unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. We not only want to look at the unlimited knowledge of the Lord, but we want to have a look at the unchanging love of the Lord, his love for his own belief. It was truth we were singing this evening, loved with everlasting love, and led by grace that loves to know, and we want to know more about it this evening. And in the same verse, there's still another great truth to underline. Not only the unlimited knowledge of the Lord, and the unchanging love of the Lord, but the unquestionable possession of the Lord, his own. There are folks in this meeting, and these two words double. They belong to Christ. They are his own. He owns. He bought them. I would like to know what power would take them from him, because if you can tell me that something can take them from him, then that something is bigger than he is. We are his, and not for the years of time alone. For eternity is the unquestionable possession of the Lord. And then, following on up this evening, there is the unique humility of the Lord, because verse 2 says, and supper being ended. That's a little bit misleading, because the word ended is really a word that the translators put in. Actually, it would have been better translated like this, like it is in one of the older translations. And supper being leads. I think the idea of ending is just the end of laying the table. It isn't that the supper's over. No, the table that's being laid is before we start the supper. The Lord rises from supper. Verse 4, laid aside his garments and took a towel and dredged himself. After that, he poured his water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet. And we shall look at this as the unique humility of the Lord. My, there's a real gush of going down right into the slave's place here, that we shall need to take time to see the feet. And then comes the first part of the teaching in these 13, from 13 on to the end, in these wonderful chapters, this rich teaching of the tender truth of feet washing. And that, of course, is the real depth of the portion that we're dealing with this evening. And we shall take time with the unmistakable teaching of the Lord, because that's what he wants to teach us too this evening, this tender truth of feet washing. And then we shall close this portion by looking at the unassuming example of the Lord. He left them an example, and it's there for us too. And so, that's the portion that we're going through this evening. So, let's begin at the beginning. I think it's well to remember all that we have gathered up, or at least most of it, from the other chapters about the knowledge of the Lord. I honestly believe that John's gospel, the whole 21 chapters, brings forth in a wonderful, yet in a remarkable way, the unlimited knowledge of the Lord. Let's go through the chapters just for a moment. We'll go back to chapter one. I'm doing this for the younger ones, and the older ones will have to bear with it. They're just gathering up a few threads. John chapter one, verse 43. The day following, Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. Now, Philip was off Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael. Saith unto him, We have found him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Judah. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith unto him, Behold, in this the life and deed in whom is no trial. And Nathanael almost jumped out of his shoes, you know. Nathanael said unto him, Whence knowest thou me? By the Lord shook him, as the Lord knew a lot about him. Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that, Philip called thee, Whence thou was under a fig tree? I called thee. This knowledge was too wonderful for Nathanael. Nathanael answered and said unto him, Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel. The Lord knew him. Now, let's go from there to chapter two. You see the end of chapter two, verse twenty-four? But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men. He did not that any should testify of man, for he knew what was in man. And if you go from there to chapter four, you remember the story of the woman at the well. And in verse sixteen, he said to her, Go call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband, for thou hast had five husbands. And he whom thou knowest is not thy husband. In that sense, thou truly might the Lord knew, didn't he? You see, what I'm trying to underline quickly is this, that he knew all about passion. And her past, he knew all about. If you wanted to put another one to it, look at chapter five just for a moment. And we're at the pool of Bethesda, and there was a certain man there in verse five, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years, when Jesus saw him lie unused. But he had been now a long time, and not take you. He had been there for thirty-eight years, and yet the Lord is only thirty-three and a half years, or thirty-three. You see, he knew all about passion, and her past. Go to chapter six quickly, and at verse five, When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great multitude come unto him, he saith unto Philip, When shall we buy bread that these may eat? And this he said to prove him, for he himself knew what he would do, did he? So did he. All he knew. He knew he would treat the multitude. You see, he just tested the apostle, but he really knew the answer. And he knew the people, and he knew the past, and he knew the apostle, and he knew the answer. Go to chapter ten now, just for a moment. I'm passing by some wonderful things, but you can find them for yourself. Verse fourteen, I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep. Quite a wonderful one, isn't it? You know, the foundation of God's standard sure of enlisting, the Lord knows them that are his. How every one of them. He calls his own sheep by name, you know. He knows every name of every single person of Adam's race that with simple trust in him. Knows every one of them. Yes, I know that the psalmist said his understanding is infinite. Why, he knows the number of the stars. And the greatest scholars today, they don't know a thing about it. But he not only knows the number of the stars, he calls them by their name. This God and this God. Knows the name, every one of them. Knows the name of every believer. Yes, he knows his own sheep, doesn't he? What little bit did he put behind at verse fourteen? I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. And the Father knows me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. You know, he knew all about persons and their past. He knew the apostle, and he knew the answer. And he knew the sheep, and he knew the sacrifice he would have to make for the sheep. Oh, the modernists say that when he was in Gethsemane, he didn't know anyone. Because they never read John 10. He knew the sheep, and he knew the price he would have to pay. Do you remember chapter eleven? Here's one little word out of it. Do you remember how Lazarus was sick, nigh unto death, and he abode in verse six, two days, till in the same place where he was? And then, at last, in verse fourteen, then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead, and nobody told him. You see, he knew. He just waited until Lazarus was dead. Now, he says, we'll go now. Big task ahead of us. But he knows the task, and he knows the triumph that will be his. Here's what he said to Martha in verse 23. Jesus said unto her, thy brothers shall rise again. Oh, he knew. He knew all about people, and he knew about the past. He knew the apostle, and he knew the answer to the problem. He knew every single solitary soul that will place their trust in him. He knows his own sheep. And he knew the sacrifice he would have to make for them. He knew the task here. He's going to rise a dead man from the dead, and he knew the triumph. When we come to John 13, we see a lot of it now. Just try to get the picture, really, as it is. It's in the upper room, and it's at the Passover feast. And here's what it says in your first verse. Now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, he knew the hour had come. You know, he came down from the glory, and took upon him the form of a servant, and every breath he took, and every step he took, and every moment he was down here in practice, he was moving towards one goal, the cross of Calvary. Time after time, he would have to say to his disciples, and those around him, My hour hath not yet come. And he moved on steadily towards it, and now, now he goes. The hour. Nobody else down here knew but he. He knew his hour had come. Now, watch this. Verse 3, Jesus knowing. That's a lovely little bit, too. Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands. Oh, I wish I could paint this for you. I wish you could see him in the upper room, youngster. I wish you could see him dressed in the garments of a lowly Nazarene. I wish you could see him standing with twelve miserable creatures. Oh, yes, before the night would be over, some of them would deny him, and some of them would betray him, and all of them would forsake him. He'd be standing in the midst of them, and he knows just there ahead of him lies the cross. And just at that second, he knew that God had given all power into his hands. My, if Khrushchev only thought that he had all power tonight. This world sits up and takes notice, but he's not too sure he's got a tremendous lot in him. But he just knows he hasn't got all the power. But at the psychological moment, we're looking at the Master. He knew that God had given all things into his hands. And yet look at him, kneeling down to our feet. Oh, I hope we'll follow him fully. My, if God blessed some of us, there'd be no putting up with us. But he knew more. That for ye, Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and, and, and that he was come from God, and, and went to God. You know, he not only knew the hour had come, and he not only knew the honor that was his, but he knew the whole history of the past and the future. He knew he came from God. For some of the modernists that occupy Pulpitch in this country, they say that he was the son of a German soldier who was a prostitute called the Blessed Virgin. Well, it doesn't sound like it was their nonsense. He knew that he came from God. And what's more, standing in the upper room, he knew he was going back to God. There was never any doubt about it. There was never one single moment of doubt about the victory of Calvary. He knew his hour. He knew the honor. He knew the whole history of the past and the future. And then down the chapter a little bit, he's talking here again. Verse 10 will do us just for the moment. Jesus saith unto Peter, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean everywhere. And ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him, didn't he? Oh, how much is in the chapter that you pass by, and you don't take your time to find it, do you? It's in plain English. It's not hidden anywhere there. He knew his hour had come. He knew the honor that was his all power belonged to. He knew that he came from God and that he was going back to God. He knew that sitting right in front of him was the taker. When you go through John's Gospel and take out of every chapter, I've only touched some of them, and you take out of 21 chapters the knowledge of the Lord, you'll find it was unlimited. I don't know what they talk about limiting the knowledge of the Lord. Well, we believe he was God, and there can be no limitation. No, that will do us for the unlimited knowledge of the Lord. There is more in the chapter, but we'll find it by and by. Then let's notice this in verse 1. Now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that he should depart out of this world unto the fathers, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. Now, that phrase, he loved them unto the end, doesn't mean that he loved them unto the end of his earthly life. Oh no, there's another old translation. I read it this morning, and it read like this. Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them the whole way through. You see, here's the idea. It isn't talking about loving them unto the end of his days on earth, not at all. It's loving them the whole way right through their earthly pilgrimage. Here's the idea. He loved Peter right through his denials and denies the Lord. And it means that he loved Thomas right through those days of unbelief. That he loved you, and that he loved you because the love that he has for you is unchanging, it's unending, it's undying, it's unquenchable. Many waters cannot quench this love. Oh, what a wonderful truth it is, that he has love for you. You see, here's what the New Testament teaches in Romans chapter 8, in the last two verses. Paul says, I am persuaded that neither life nor death, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor heights, nor depths, nor any other creature can separate us believers from the love of God that's in Christ. Oh, what love. It doesn't make a matter who you are tonight, or what you've done tonight, or how far away from the Lord you've got tonight. I want to tell you this, that he loved you right through the whole thing. Oh, I know you've changed, yes, yes, but he loved you. And in love, he loved the whole way through. What a wonderful thing. Yes, that's the unchanging love. But I think we need to notice these two words before we go any further. His own. Why, there is no question at all about him possessing. Those who really, someone trusts them, they really belong to him. Bought them with the price they're not their own. That's what can be said of every believer here. You are bought. Not only are you bought, but he thought what he bought. Yes, if the Lord hadn't come and looked for you, you would still be in darkness. And he not only thought, but caught. For it was he who threw out the gospel nets and brought you in. And not only did he, did he buy, not only are you bought him, sought and caught, but you are brought into the kingdom. Translated from the kingdom of darkness and put right into the kingdom of God, dear friend, and you belong to Christ. And only his own, his own possession, his own faith, his own sons, his own servants, his own soldiers. Why, you could go on and preach for a week on his own. What a wonderful thing. If you're not his, who's are you? Right now, if you're not his, who are you? My, you're in the grip of the devil. And you're in the kingdom of darkness. And you're going down to destruction. Thank God for everybody here who can say, I belong, his own. But let's rush on now. I want you to notice this bit. That too. I'm supper being laid, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot Simon Sam to betray him. And I'm not touching the betrayer this evening, because next week we're going to take the time to deal with the betrayer exposed. There are quite a lot of questions about Judas Iscariot. Some people say, why was he chosen as one of the twelve? Why did the Lord put up with him for three and a half years? Why, why, why, why aren't there other options? Well, we'll try and answer them for you next week. We'll deal with the betrayer exposed. So we'll pass that by. He rises from supper. He's laid aside his garments. Now, it doesn't mean that he laid aside all his garments. No, it just means that he laid aside the outer garments. You remember the Bible differentiated between the garments and the vesture. Yes, they parted my garments among them, and for my vesture did they cast lots. And when he laid aside his garments, he's standing in a vesture. And you know, I'm told by those who know best, that when the outer garments were taken off and his thin, tiny, slender vesture was on the man, he looked a real odyssey. Innocent. And he immediately lifted a towel and put it round him, tied it in a knot, and there he stood in a thin vesture with a towel round him. And he was now taking the place of one of the lowest slaves in history. Mind you, in his mind at that moment, he knew that all power, the outer garments were off. He tied the towel, and he stood exactly just as a slave would have stood. Mind you, it was real humiliation for him to leave the ivory palaces and come down past the angels, the law of an angel. It was real humility to be made of a woman, to come through a woman. It was real humility to take upon him the form of a servant. But he's going down, down, down, down, down, down to the very dust, it seems, of death and touching slavery. Now, if you want to go through the scriptures sometimes and look at the girdles, you'll get a lot of information. And this is a very touching one here. Dredging himself with the towel. You see, if you went to Palestine today, and you could see some of the folks in their long eastern robes, some of them with a girdle round and tied over, the girdle would immediately tell you what they were, or their standing in society, or their occupation in life. And there's a lot in the scriptures about the girdle. I'll start you off, and then you go on with the study yourself. Come back here to the second book of Kings, and the first chapter. Second Kings, and we're at the first chapter, and you remember the king. The king was sick, and you remember how he sent messengers, and how they were met by the prophet. I don't want to waste the time reading it all, and how the prophet called down fire upon him. The verse 13 will do us, and he sent again a captain of the third fistry with his fistry. And the third captain of fistry went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life and the life of these fistry thy servants be precious in my sight. Behold, there came down fire. There came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fistries with their fistries. Therefore, let my life now be precious in my sight. And the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah, Go down with him. Be not afraid of him. And he arose and went down with him unto the king. And he said unto him, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to inquire of Beelzebub, the god of Israel, is it not because there is no god in Israel to inquire of his words? Therefore thou shalt not come down of that bed in which thou art gone up, but thou shalt surely die. Now, before we came to that portion, down the chapter a little bit, the king had said unto them in verse seven, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you and told you these words? And they answered him, He was a hairy man, and dirt with a girdle of leather above his loins. And the moment they said that to the king, he said, That is Elijah the fish-man. How did he know? You see, all the prophets in history, they wore a leatheren girdle. You remember John the Baptist was the last of the prophets. And much as Gospel chapter three says, his meat was lucas and wild honey, and he wore a leatheren girdle above his loins. You see, there was nothing spectacular in this leatheren girdle, but it told those who had eyes to see that he was the prophet of the Lord. You know, the leather spoke of hardness, and the prophet of the Lord had to endure hardness as a good soldier. So, that's the leatheren girdle. Now, here's another one for you. Have a look at Revelation chapter one. Do you remember this one? I think this is a beautiful one. John's on the Isle of Patmos, and he heard a voice behind him saying, I am Alpha and Omega, and in verse 12, I turn to see the voice that speak with me, and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks, and in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one went on to the son of man, clothed with adornment down to the foot, and jilted about the breast with a golden girdle. That's a golden one. You know, if leather speaks of toughness, then gold is something that speaks of something that's everlasting. Unchangeableness. And here, John was looking after a great high priest, and he hath an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore he hath a golden girdle about his breast. Do you remember the one in Ephesians chapter six? Have a look at it. Ephesians chapter six, and the last copies, you get the rest of them. Ephesians six, verse thirteen, Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand, some therefore having your loins jilted about with tooths. Why, that's the girdle the believer ought to be wearing. You know, when you really buckle on the tooth, it just means that you're submitting to the word of the Lord. My dear friends, this submissive death is very important in the day and hour in which we live. But, you know, the one that we're looking at tonight really speaks of humbleness. It's the tongue. I think that I would be right in saying that there are six more girdles in the book that you need to find for yourself, and they all speak of something. But we're just looking at the Lord Jesus stripping off his garment, standing in that inner garment that made him really look like a slave, and he's pouring water into the basin. This is a unique place of humility. Now, let's go on now to find the truth that he was about to teach. That's the real heart of the story this evening. Now, watch this. Verse five, After that he poured his water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and wiped them with the towel wherewith he was girded. And, you know, all the time he's doing this, Peter's having a good look at this. He's looking at the Lord Jesus dressed like a slave, and he's going around all these disciples. There he is, kneeling down and washing John's feet. There he is, washing Andrew's feet, washing the feet of Matthew. And, you know, Peter's really thinking this up, at least so he thinks. And when the Lord comes to him, here's what he says, Then cometh he to Simon Peter, and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Of the emphasis is on the emphatic Bruno. Lord, dost thou wash my feet? And here's what the Lord said to him. Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Now, just because Peter was so stubborn, he is, and wanted to take a stand, he thought he was doing something, you know. We've got a statement that we need to pay attention to. You know, there are places in the streets tonight, perhaps our brother knows more about it than I do, where they actually took this teaching in John 13 literally, and they wash one another's feet. I think if they had paid attention, they would never have done it. Here he is down with the basin, and he's about to put Peter's feet into the basin, or wash his feet with the water. And he's saying to Peter, What I do thou knowest not now. Well, you wouldn't dare to tell me that Peter didn't know that he was actually washing feet, would you? So the very statement will tell you that there is something more than the physical, material, actual feet washing here. There is something beyond that, something that you don't know, Peter. You know all about what I've been doing. It's an orgy. But Peter, there's something beyond that. I'm teaching a lesson here. I'm not wanting you to get occupied with the actual, or the physical, or the material. There's something beyond that. There's a spiritual lesson here. And folks have left the spiritual lesson and taken up the material. Lord wasn't wanting us to wash one another's feet, you know. He was teaching a lesson. And what a lesson it is. We mustn't miss it. Now, let's get that all over again. Verse six. Then cometh Peter, Simon Peter. And Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now. But thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. I told you that was taking off something, wasn't it? He just almost shouted. He said, Thou shalt never wash my feet. I told you that was taking off something, wasn't it? He just almost shouted. He said, Thou shalt never wash my feet. He just wasn't going to allow the Lord to do this. And again, it's very good that he was stubborn because it only leads us into the depths of the truth. Now, we mustn't live it too hard on Peter because, although he was standing on his high horse here and almost shouting, Thou shalt never wash my feet, yet in the next second when the Lord explained something, he immediately said, Not my feet, but my hands and my head also. It was rather changing, you know. Well, some of us, you know, we would get down on Peter because he was so stubborn. But, you know, we're of a nice kind. We say, Yes, Lord, that's gratuitous, yes, we'll do that tomorrow, but we never do it. Well, we're just the opposite, you know. Peter said, You'll never do it, but he did it. You say, I'll do it, Lord, but you never do it. So don't be too hard on him now, because you may be the worst of the two. But look, this leads us into the truth now. Let's get it all over again. I'll be one of the young ones to miss it. Then comes Peter, Simon Peter, and Peter said unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter said unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou art no part. That word part is the whole case of the whole truth that we need to learn tonight. That word part is a wonderful word. You see, the word part actually means communion or fellowship. I think you'll see it clearly if you just turn from where we are at the moment, and go to 2 Corinthians, chapter 6. Just let's sit there for a moment, because we want to get this really clear. 2 Corinthians, chapter 6. Now, here's the Lord teaching his own saints through Paul in verse 14. 2 Corinthians, chapter 6, verse 14. Thee ye not unequally yoke together with unbelievers. That is a large word, you know. For what fellowship, there's a lovely word, what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? Could you tell me? There it is, none. And what communion, there's a lovely word too, because that's just the same as fellowship, isn't it? What communion hath light with darkness, there's none. And what concord, that's the same word again, you see. Concord is just fellowship or communion. But look, what part, that's the same word again. That's the word we have over there. It's the word that means fellowship. It's the word that means communion. Now, let's get back to John 13, and let's get the whole thing clear. He's gone up Peter's feet, and Peter's saying all these things, and Jesus said unto him, Jesus answered him at the end of verse 8, If I wash thee not, thou hast no fellowship. Now, he didn't say, thou hast no part in me. Not at all. You see, I want you to get the hold of this. The day that we came and trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as our own and personal Savior, the moment that we bowed at his feet and put our whole trust in him and his clockwork, through the efficacy of the blood of Christ, we were floored everywhere. I want you to get the hold of this. The day that you trusted the Lord Jesus, you were made righteous and true, and you came into union with God and Christ and the Holy Ghost. That's encha. That's having part encha. But there's all the difference between union and communion. You see, your union will never be touched because the precious blood of Christ settled that forever. Through that one offering he hath perfected forever. And it doesn't need to be repeated, and it doesn't need to be all the groaning that I hear going on. But you know, that day that you came into in union with in Christ, you know, you started to walk with him. And you know, as you walk through this world, as a pilgrim, you know, you get your feet dirty. Ah, you do. And you know, when you get your feet dirty, you get out of communion with him. He says, if I wash not your feet, you have no communion with me. He didn't fully understand that now, but he understood it afterwards. There came a moment when he stood at the fire and warmed his hands and denied the Lord with oils and candles, and he got in his feet. And he's out of fellowship, but there was never anything done which filled Christ's soul. And now what the Lord is teaching him is this. So, if I don't wash your feet, you'll have no fellowship with me. He didn't say, you have no part in me, you have no fellowship with me. Now, Peter goes to the other extreme. Just watch it. Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my arms and my head. So, he's away again. Jesus said unto him, now watch it. He that is washed, actually the word could be bathed. He that is bathed needeth not save to wash his feet, but to clean every whip. And he hath cleaned, but not all for he knew he should but say. The whole nation who had put their trust in him were cleaned every whip. But you know, as they walked with him along the dusty highways, their feet became clean. And they needed to be cleansed, not by blood, no. By water. You get that? Because I would need to drive it into some of your heads, for you can never see anything. You just pay attention. Just you sit up and cross your knees. Here are eleven followers who are cleaned every whip because they were once bathed. Washed, whiter than snow. But in walking with Christ through the wilderness, through this world, their feet became stained with dust. And they made their feet cleansed by water. What is the spirit you're speaking of? We know now that it wasn't the actual, literal, physical thing he was talking about, do we? What was he trying to get over? He was trying to get this over. That if you want to keep in constant fellowship with me, as we walk together through the road of life, you'll need to have your feet cleaned continually by me, by water. Well, now I guess the feet speaks of the walk. Where does the water speak of? There's a child here could tell me. It speaks of the words. Now, let's get that bit clear. Let's go to Ephesians now, shall you see? And we're at Ephesians, and we're at chapter five. Ephesians, chapter five. Look at verse twenty-five now. Watch this carefully. Husbands, love your wives, even if Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. Didn't he give himself for it? That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water, which is by the word. By the word. How are you going to keep in fellowship with the Lord if you're going to go on disobeying his words? You needn't close your eyes every night and say, Lord, cleanse me in the blood. For even when you're saying that, you're still disobeying the book. Oh, you cleanse your ears. And you know, if you really want to have a walk in close fellowship with the Lord, you'll have to let the Lord, who has all power, apply the word to your walk. Your faith would need to be in the Lord's hands. Don't come talking to me about sanctification when you're breaking the book. Some of you second-glassers, when we kept teaching about believer's baptism, you'd go away in a rage. Well, it happens to be that believer's baptism is the word of the Lord. Oh, and you're talking about it, aren't you? You're very smart. You think you're clever, turning your nose up at God's book. Well, just think again of it. Because I would like to know how you could be in real fellowship with the Lord when you're breaking the word of the Lord. You will find this, that when you come and place your trust in Christ, the blood of Christ will make you whiter than snow, and you'll be perfected forever. And if you're going to get near to the Lord from that day forward, you'll get near by letting the Lord apply his word to the walk, the mighty one, the loving one, and you'll get real fellowship with the Lord when you obey the word of the Lord. I'll tell you how it works out. I was saved 27 wonderful years ago, and when I was saved, as you know, I was just a tramp on the roadside. Two days after I was saved, in my life, I got a job, got a job. I got a job in Dixon's nursery, digging among the roses, and I had to punch the clock at seven o'clock in the morning, and just because I loved the Lord, I made sure I was there at ten minutes to time, not ten pounds. And I'll tell you why I made sure of that, is because I found this out. I was reading the day I was saved, or at least the night I was saved, in Ephesians, and I got a hold of this verse. At least it got a hold of me. Servants, love your master, and serve not with idols, but do it unto Christ. I said, Lord, I've got to go and work for old Dixon, just as if it were you who would unto me. And the words began to wash me, and I was the only man out of seventy of them who punched the clock at the right time. And every morning, six to nine of them stood down at the end of the field, and some of them talked, and some of them played cards, and some of them led their bibles to hypocrites. They were worse than the card players, and they were dodging their masters. And there was only one wee half-shed, half-clothed fellow up the road. But I was working for the Lord. And every time I put the spade in, it gave me no bother. I enjoyed it. I was digging for him. It was his word. Applied by himself, that was making my practical watch. That's exactly what it ought to be. I mean, you bibles couldn't have known the loyalty of death. Oh yes, I know you can turn the book over. I know you can talk scripture. I know you know all about the fundamentals. But when it comes to practical Christianity, where are some of you? Lookin' for the bus brake every morning. Go on, blush when you're up. You need to be washed, wouldn't you? That's true. If you let God's word, you know, take a hold of you, my heels ship you out. You'll be sanctified through the Word, that's a promise. And cleansed through the Word. And you'll walk in sweet fellowship with the Lord. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way, but by taking heed thereof. Now don't talk about closing your eyes. Just start talking about the play and the book. That's all it was. It's pretty good, isn't it? That's the first spiritual truth he taught them in the upper room. Oh, there are many more to come. If you just go on, he'll teach you too. But watch this. Let's get down to the last little bit. Verse 12. So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments and was set down again, he saith unto them, Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord, and ye say, Well, for so I am. I think there's a lovely bit there. We should always call him Master and Lord. I think you're doing well when you do that. You know, some of us just take the name Jesus, and really, that's all the Pharisees ever call him. But remember, through us tonight and right through the rest of the New Testament, he is spoken of as the Lord Jesus Christ. And when you say Master and Lord, you say, Well, for so I am. But he went on, If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet. Well, that's the bit he was speaking of. Well, I've given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you. Now, this is the unassuming example of the Lord. Now, maybe you know some brother, and you know just exactly where he's feeling the Lord. Well, now, you can go very humbly and worldly to him, and you can bring the word of the Lord and apply it to him, and you can do the very same for him as the Master did here in this occasion. But the trouble with us is that when we start to wash one another's feet, you know, we make the word that hot that we nearly lose it. That's what I'm guilty of three quarters of my time. Oh, I know that. I've got a lot of hard heads to knock it into, and I hate to get a bother in my own way. But I know this. I know that you can make it so hot that you almost roast the poor fellow. And I know you can go to the other extreme. You can be so cold that you almost freeze him. It's a wonderful art. It's a tremendous tool. But I believe this. When we come to chapter fifteen, we'll be dealing with the abiding life. And I shall go into the promise of the abiding life and the power of the abiding life and the production of the abiding life. Then I shall come to the proof of the abiding life. And the proof of the abiding life is this. He that saith he abideth in him, art himself also so to walk. Christ walks. You see, you need to be walking in the centre of the King. I weigh yourself. Let him that is spiritual. Let me do the feet-walking. We are to walk. And then the book says we are to love. And if you're really walking in love, then you can walk. And I don't think you can do it before. Then the Lord ended this wonderful paragraph like this. If ye know thee things, happy are ye if ye do. May God bless you. Let us bow to Jesus. Now we'll not sing any more. Just let us take a moment in the Lord's presence. Lord, we thank thee for thy knowledge. We thank thee for thy love. We thank thee that so many of us are under this heading this evening. His own. We belong to thee. We thank thee for thy humility. Lord, we thank thee for this great lesson tonight. That once when we came to thee, the efficaciousness of the blood of salvary made us as far as our standing is concerned whiter than this night. O Lord, thou art teaching us that if we want to walk continually in fellowship with thee, we will have to let thee apply thy word to our walk. Lord, our feet would need to be in thy hands. O make us conscious continually of the voice behind us saying, walk ye in it. Bless thy word through every belief. Remember those who are not thine own. Speak to them even tonight and draw them for complete clarity so the fountain opens for sin and unfinishedness. Part us all in thy fear and with thy blessings through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.